ISY Elementary Blog
Elementary Update – January 24th, 2020
Sandy Sheppard, Elementary School Principal
Dear all,
We have had a wonderful week at ISY. Please read this blog for important updates, events, reminders and information celebrating our many events.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sandy Sheppard
We rise by lifting others – Robert Ingersoll
AFTER SCHOOL
Students not accompanied by an adult should wait on the teak steps after their after school activities are finished.
PLEASE NOTE
After 4pm all calls to the elementary office are diverted to the security office.
New Staff Directory on Power School
UPCOMING DATES
25th January – Nay Pyi Taw Open House
25th January – Color Run – 8:00 am
30th January – Chinese New Year celebration assembly
30th January – Parent presentation – Child Protection & How to Raise a Child in a Stressfree World – 7:00 PM – Cafeteria
3st January – Movie Night – 6:00 PM – organized by the Elementary Student Council
7th February – Reports go home
12th February – No school
15th February – International Day
We have an increasing number of students who are not taking part in swimming. Swimming is part of the curriculum and children are expected to take part. A student requires a medical certificate from their doctor if they are not to take part in swimming.
MOVIE NIGHT
Elementary Student Council will host a Movie Night on Friday, January 31, 2020. All families and friends are welcome to join our showing of “Abominable.” The show begins at 6:00 PM. Attendance is free but snacks will be sold for fundraising purposes. We hope to see you there!
COMPASSION
We are seeing more and more examples of our students indpendently making a difference in the world. This week I would like to share the following:
Our young students are making a difference. This is Sophie below from KG who raised a total of 600 USD, and made a donation to World Wildlife Federation (WWF) to help the animals in Australia. She asked her friends to donate money for her birthday rather than buy her a present.
This is an example that one small action can trigger change . We are very proud of Sophie, her sister Emma in Grade 3 and all the KGB students who contributed .
CORONAVIRUS
You have probably heard about the emerging virus in South China called the Coronavirus. It affects the respiratory system and is being spread from human to human. There are reported cases in Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. Currently there are no cases reported in Myanmar. However, due to our proximity with China, it would not be surprising if we start seeing cases here in the near future.
The following recommendation has been shared with our clinic from the Bureau of Medical Services, US Department of State:
Recommendations for the community regarding 2019-nCoV?
Encourage staff to rely on trusted sources for information and not the media hyperbole. Both WHO and CDC have excellent up to date information regarding 2029-nCoV. (For you as a provider CIDRAP and ProMED are excellent sites for the latest data)
Avoid live or dead animals and animal markets and persons exhibiting signs of respiratory illness
Report fever and lower respiratory tract symptoms (cough, shortness of breath)
Practice frequent good hand washing and cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands)
Ensure you have had an influenza immunization this season to minimize the chances of getting the flu that may mimic coronavirus infection
Preventive Measures Taken by ISY
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The ISY Clinic is educating the ISY staff and community about this new virus
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ISY is promoting, encouraging and teaching students correct hand washing techniques as well as respiratory hygiene.
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ISY has hand sanitizer dispensers around campus
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ISY emphasizes environmental cleaning and disinfecting of school supplies and school work surfaces are sanitized every day.
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ISY encourages the community to have an annual flu vaccine and stay current with immunizations
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The ISY Clinic Instructs teachers to be vigilant for the signs and symptoms of respiratory illness among students and report them to the clinic immediately
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The ISY Clinic keeps the community informed with updated information regarding the status of this new virus
To stay healthy parents should:
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Keep your children home if they are sick. ISY policy indicates that a child must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication (paracetamol, ibuprofen)
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Teach your children how to wash their hands and practice good respiratory hygiene
Please see some links to useful posters about hygiene below.
Hand washing:
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/pdf/wash-your-hands-steps-8×11.pdf
When to wash our hands:
https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/handhygiene/why/whenwash.pdf
Correct respiratory hygiene:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/protect/cdc_cough.pdf
Please contact the clinic if you have any questions or concerns.
INTERNATIONAL DAY INFORMATION
International day takes place on the 15th of February. Each country has a country coordinator that will be sharing information.
There will be a cultural show on the day with performances by students. Each act should be no longer than 3 minutes in length and ideally be a group piece involving several students. To participate in the cultural show, please sign-up here by Friday, January 24.
There are a limited number of spaces and signing up does not automatically mean your child will be performing. You will get an email notice after January 24 if the act has been approved.
There is a mandatory dress rehearsal the day before the cultural show, Fri, Feb 14 for all participating groups. It will be after school.
There will also be a Parade of Nations where students will walk with their flags. If a student would like to walk with a country other than their noted nationality in Powerschool, please email Communications Associate, Ivy Kuhn by Friday, January 24. Her email is ikuhn@isyedu.org
Previous Elementary School Posts
Elementary Update September 27
The teachers enjoyed the Compassion Conference on Friday. They were able to learn not only new ideas but be inspired by our keynote speaker, Wilma Derksen. I hope that many of you were also able to attend Wilma’s parent talk this week.
Elementary Update September 20
This week on Wednesday I visited the ISY Nay Pyi Taw campus where there are lots of fabulous things happening.
At ISY we continue enjoying our learning.
Elementary School Blog- Sept 13
It seemed that the rain this week purposely chose to come down at break and dismissal times. The rain never hampers our fun here at ISY though and in between the rain we had lots of creative fun outdoors this week (see pictures below).
Elementary School Blog – Sept 6
Dear Parents, It has been another fantastic week at ISY. We have really settled into the school year and we look forward to sharing with you all the wonderful things that are happening in our classrooms over the coming weeks.
Elementary School Blog – August 30
Thank you for the great turn out at the Back to School event this week. We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules to join us. A good home and school connection is so important for student learning.
Elementary School Blog – August 23
Dear all,
This has been a wonderful first full week at ISY. The students have settled into their classrooms an are enjoying school life. In particular the new playground is proving to be very popular.
The International School Yangon
20 Shwe Taungyar Street
Bahan Township
Yangon, Myanmar
+95 (0) 9 880 441 040