ISY Elementary Blog

Earth Commitments

Mike Simpson, Elementary School Principal

March 18, 2022

Earth Hour is Saturday, March 26. Students and teachers throughout the school are making commitments to do something (or stop doing something!) to help look after our Earth.

Today’s grade level emails will include a link to an Earth Commitments Padlet that you and your child can use to post Earth Commitments. We are committed to developing the environmental consciousness of our students and we appreciate your support. Supporting your child to make a commitment to the Earth and then do it is obviously good for the environment. But it could also help build resilience in your child.

A problem like climate change can be overwhelming for adults let alone children. The problem is so big that it is easy to feel helpless and that there is no point in doing anything. There are many problems like that and we need to be resilient to deal with them.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about our ISY Compassion Conference in which the keynote speaker spoke to faculty about developing resilience in young people. One idea that he shared was to help children slow down. By slow down he meant that when children are overwhelmed by the size of a problem, we can remind them to take pride in completing small tasks everyday.

Remembering to turn off the tap when you brush your teeth or turn the light off when you leave a room might not sound like very resilient things to do. But they are good examples of addressing a big problem by completing small tasks. The small feelings of pride from completing small tasks add up and pride builds resilience.

We look forward to seeing all of the environmental acts of resilience on the Earth Commitments Padlets on Monday!

This week your child heard a presentation about the UWS-ISY Partnership and the Sponsor the Students of Wan Kaung Program. Your child learned that this service learning endeavour has allowed the children of Wan Kaung in Shan State to receive a quality education while providing ISY students with valuable skills as well. At the end of the presentation, students were asked to share what they learned with their families and ask them to consider making a donation. Please talk with your child about what they learned! Donations can be made in-person at the ISY business office or online using one of the following payment programs: ISY Pay Now or through Powerschool’s online ordering system.

Donations can be made at

https://isyedu.org/life-at-isy/online-ordering/

COUNSELOR’S CORNER with Ms. Patty:

Developing a Healthy Body Image

Recently I have been talking with students about body image or the way a person views their own body and how attractive they believe they are. Children form opinions of their bodies at a very young age. Some research indicates children as young as 3 can have a negative view of their bodies. In today’s world, it is difficult to shield anyone from the “ideal” (and typically photoshopped or filtered) images of beauty. So what can you do to support your child in developing a healthy body image?

Demonstrate that exercising develops a strong healthy body for a lifetime, not to lose weight.
Show that the primary purpose of a healthy body is to be a vessel for an active life, not to be viewed as attractive or unattractive.
Praise your child for who they are and the qualities they demonstrate as an individual, not for how they measure up to societal beliefs about external beauty.
Provide healthy meals. Let them know that eating healthy is important, not dieting.
Give your child a choice regarding their meals. Children need to learn how to plan a balanced meal.
At meal time, allow your child to determine when they have satisfied their hunger. A clean plate is not always a measure of healthy eating.
Listen to how your child speaks about their bodies. If you hear them making negative comments, don’t blow it off. Talk to them about their perceptions and learn what is influencing their thoughts. Reframe the conversation to focus on the body’s abilities, not just its looks.

Starting a conversation with your child about their perceptions of beauty and body image can open a larger conversation about value, worth and self esteem.

Ms. Patty is available to ISY families for support regarding body image or other concerns. Please contact her at escounselor@isyedu.org

Patty Amundson-Geisel

Pre-K to Grade 6 Counselor

Mask Wearing

ISY has come to the end of the spike in cases which is in line with what was seen in Yangon. There are almost no cases currently being reported at school among students or staff. Therefore, we have made the decision that, while students and staff are in outside spaces on the ISY campus, mask wearing will be optional. As the situation changes we may go back to mandatory mask wearing at all times or may continue to relax the requirements so please bear with us as we move forward.

Online Learning: A Message from Dr. Hedger

I am writing to you regarding our hybrid program where students not attending school in-person are able to join classes virtually. This program was designed primarily for students unable to come back to Myanmar but who still wanted to continue their studies with ISY.

Now that we are back to in-person school I feel very strongly that any student able to attend class in person should do so. Even in the situation where their teacher has been unable to return, a student has a better learning experience in the classroom and benefits from the social and mental well being of being with classmates physically.

It is important that we prepare students for the end of the hybrid program and with this in mind we are setting a goal to phase out the hybrid program during the remainder of this year. After the Thingyan break, only students who are residing outside of Myanmar will be able to continue to learn virtually for the remainder of this school year. Students in Myanmar who wish to continue to attend the hybrid program will only be able to do so with special permission from their principal and only for select periods of time. If you think your child has a special reason to attend the hybrid program after this time, please email Mr. Simpson on msimpson@isyedu.org to make an appointment to discuss this.

Moving forward, we are also setting a goal to eliminate the hybrid /virtual program for the 2022-23 school year. The only exception to this would be interruptions due to directives from the Myanmar authorities, or short term COVID spikes causing class, grade level, or full school return to virtual learning for short periods.

Many thanks in advance for your cooperation. Together we can hopefully begin a return to normal school life for the students of ISY.

Wellness in Action

This student organized event focused on student wellness and mental health. It featured a set of highly interactive activities that students from grades 1 to 12 engaged in. The ideas for the activities came from ISY students and secondary students ran the activities. We will have more of these events this year. The students loved it!

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