My voice in the international school community.
Now that my school content has moved to the ASW School website, I’m transitioning Zimplicity back to my personal use for educational blogging. This is my moniker and I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences here.
As a start, I had a unique experience using NotebookLM recently, the new AI testbed from Google. I started with a policy document and was amazed a the summary and the resulting podcast reflecting on it. Then I had a thought and on a lark uploaded my resume to the tool and below is both my resume and a link to the NotebookLM podcast summarizing the resume.
We’ve moved Zimplicity to a new location on the aswarsaw.org website. Logistically, this works better for us from a publication point of view with eNotes. You can find new Zimplicity posts at this new location:
https://www.aswarsaw.org/about-us/news/directors-desk
We’ll keep this website here for historical purposes and to maintain the many links to the content herein. But, all new content will be directed to the new location. Thank you for being a Zimplicity reader! Please join us at the new place!!
Taking this brief and final opportunity to thank all involved in our First Annual Gala on Saturday and my appreciation to all in attendance on a stellar evening. Many thanks to all the administration, staff, and students involved in making this such a special event. We all walked away with our special memories and our actions for the future now on the giving tree that all will see in the future in the main lobby area. We want to thank you for your support and for helping further the cause of our ASW4Ukraine project that continues unabated, due to many volunteers’ continuous efforts behind the scenes. If you know one of these special people, give them an extra hug for all that they do.
We shared them with those in attendance at the Gala, but now have them displayed in the main hallways. I should note that these are the first round of renderings and we are under a soft launch, but the more detailed presentations will come in the Fall. Only minor preparatory projects this summer with much more detail in August and September on the scope and schedule of all of our plans.
We will have our Final School Wide Assembly next week on Wednesday. This will be open to all parents and you’ll see your areas to stand around the perimeter of students as we will again hold it outdoors on our back fields. Everyone needs to think sun. Please be advised that students will return to their classroom after the assembly to say a final goodbye to their teachers and school ends promptly at 11:30a. Parking will be challenging and you should use exterior areas outside of the back gate if parking is not available in the main lot. You may not leave your vehicle parked in any of our yellow zones. Also, be reminded that we will not have a late start on Wednesday, June 15 and school starts at 8:30a due to the shortened week because of the holiday.
Looking forward to a strong closure and will offer a final message in next week’s final eNotes for the year.
Coming to you tonight is this year’s feedback survey. As usual, this is a familiar survey with 80% of the questions we ask each year plus some updates and additions to gather important information from you about our programs. We use this as our primary tool for addressing program changes and improvements. All prior surveys are presented in summary to the board each year in September and the most recent was included in the September 2021 board packet.
You’ll receive a personal invitation to this survey today (some may have already received it as you read this) and you should strive to complete it by July 15. If you do not complete the survey, you will continue to receive reminders until we close the survey in July.
This survey is critical not only to our ongoing operational and strategic work but also to our upcoming accreditation renewal process. Participation is critical in making sure that we keep our finger on the pulse of the school community as has been the case in years past. The survey will take about 40 minutes to complete and we recommend your children be near you for questions as you consider each response. Automatic translation to multiple languages by Google is provided, but it may not always be fully accurate.
Thanks in advance for your continued support of this important annual tradition!!
We’re happy to report that we are finishing up the master facilities design process and will be moving now into project implementation. We’ll have comprehensive information about this come fall as the early projects of upgrades and renovations commence with smaller projects at the beginning, including this summer. Those attending the Gala this weekend will have a special treat as we share a peek at the completed renderings of the various projects. We’ll have these up in August to share with the entire community, but for now, know that ASW has continued its strategic work throughout these recent years of hardship and we continue our work in earnest to stay at the front edge of a world class education.
Just a plea to please reduce your speeds between speed bumps in the parking lot. I’ve monitored in recent days and have witnessed some excessive speeds from multiple vehicles that are very dangerous in a school parking lot. I would ask all to please consider maintaining very slow speeds throughout the parking lot at all times (under 10 km/h). See our Parking Lot Guide for more information.
To all of our special guests, faculty, staff, administration, parents, friends, and family members, whether here or online watching live – I offer you my thanks for your pride and presence as we come toward the close of this, our 29th commencement exercises for the class of 2022.
Our special gratitude to our board members who are present here and watching online today, led by Board Chair Kay LaBanca. Thank you for your courage and leadership through difficult times. You represent and defend the needs of the community with honor and capability! It is a pleasure serving with you all!
Ambassador Brzezinski. I offer special thanks for your message today. Our bonds with the Embassy are always strong. Today you refresh this partnership with your presence and your words, not just as a wise diplomat and friend, but also as an ASW parent with similar hopes and dreams for your own in the years ahead.
Can and Nina, thank you for representing your classmates so well. You both bring a unique and thoughtful perspective — born for both of you through spirit, dedication, and enthusiasm. You have represented your classmates well and we thank you for your service to the greater good, a model for us all!
Ms. Hassan, your message will long be cherished by the students seated before you who both respect and appreciate you for all that you have done, and continue to do, in service to teaching and learning each day. You are a fine choice as a representative of a world class teaching faculty that can only be revered and honored for their commitment and dedication under the most difficult of circumstances.
Whether here in the auditorium or watching from home, we thank you all, the staff of ASW, for your unwavering dedication. Faculty, counselors, administration, and support staff have all been the beacons of hope and resilience for students and parents during the darkest of days. I thank you all for your continued demonstration and modeling of the core values we all hold in highest regard.
We know as an international community that many of our graduates have had other schooling experiences before joining us here in Warsaw. Some even stay with us for a time, leave for a bit, and then return. It is part of being an international school that we embrace this regular flux of change and transition. Over twenty nationalities sit on this stage tonight. But, as has been our tradition, I’d like to recognize some Warriors, nurtured at ASW from the beginning of their schooling experience all the way to this graduation. As I call these names, would you please rise and remain standing so that we can recognize all of you as a group:
12 Students have been identified as having been at ASW since either Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten:
Kindergarten:
Pre-Kindergarten – Age 4:
Pre-Kindergarten – Age 3:
Please recognize these students and their families as this year’s Warriors of longest standing.
I offer a simple message of closure today, punctuating a splendid return to our favorite venue and leaving behind the bumpers and headlights in hopes that they can be fond memories, but never again a reality. Many thanks to Mr. Sheehan and his team as they dusted off their memories and brought back all but a few of our traditions in short order as it became clearer each day that this would be possible.
I’m inspired tonight by a quote that I think may resonate despite the challenges that seem to surround us. This class is the first to have run the full course of our most recent challenge. As you entered your final two years in the Diploma Programme, we had just emerged from lockdown and you are now experiencing life as we emerge from a long and winding, and often daunting, tunnel. So, here’s the quote I bring today:
From past American President John F. Kennedy – “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
While I value that we all believe that there are lessons that we have learned in recent years — and that silver linings should be plowed into new realities, I would ask you to challenge yourself and consider for a moment the unknowns rather than the knowns. While we should all celebrate that we have survived, or will survive, it can unfortunately leave us short-sighted and often too busy in the moment to be inspired by imagination and possibility.
While tired at times, at my core, I’m an optimist. In the darkness, I still seek light. In despair, I look for threads of opportunity. And even in success, I seek aspiration and vision looking toward the next horizon.
I want you to embrace this with me – this optimism and excitement. Like every educator and parent in this room, I wanted to give you a better world, empowering you to embrace it – our legacy is your hearts and minds engaged in finding what has not yet been tried, what has not been considered, what you can bestow upon the next generation.
Look around at the faces in the audience, filled with pride and inspired by your growing. When you greet your family and friends at the reception, see the joy in their eyes that is inspired by your journey, incomplete, but full of promise and potential.
Embrace your parents today in a new way. Thank them for all that they have done to support you, but more importantly just make sure they know that you love them and always will. That’s the only thing that is truly important on this day and in this moment as you prepare for what comes next.
Let’s embrace this with smiles and pride as you cross in front of us. All sins are forgiven, officially for the school at least, and may you always look to the future rather than the past, embracing the optimism that is life.
Class of 2022 and your parents, thank you for letting ASW be part of your lives. We love you and wish you nothing but the best in all that you seek and do!
Warriors always!
In the coming days, we begin a series of events that are considered important milestones in life. A milestone is defined as…
…a significant stage or event in the development of something.
School has always been a place where many reflect on how these growing and becoming milestones are achieved. This weekend, we start with graduation for our oldest students. We look forward to celebrating their achievements, and in the true spirit of a milestone, giving them cementing both memories and a pathway. Graduation, like many milestones in schooling and life, is not about a destination, but more about holding onto the momentum and continuing the journey. For all our students, pivotal milestone moments allow an opportunity to breathe so that we can celebrate, reflect, and then continue in the journey undeterred.
We live both in the moment and in the plan. Let’s rejoice in how we kept learning enabled, with or without challenge, and embrace the “growing” in all its forms. Let’s start with graduates and then look for each of our milestones between now and the final assembly bells, encouraging and enabling those most precious to us, the children we all nurture and serve.
I could not write today without at least mentioning the tragedy in the United States unfolding in recent hours in Uvalde, Texas. I can’t be silent. No child should ever have their life snatched away, whether in war, from famine/disease, or at the hands of deranged individuals. I agree with all who are suggesting that we have to find active and urgent ways to bring this kind of senseless loss to an end. As a family of human beings living together on this planet, we need to find a better path. ASW’s mission is to change the world for the better. All of the adults of the world need to consider it their mission to change the world for the better for our children. As a parent, my heart cries for the families in Texas, who are now engulfed in grief. Please keep them in your thoughts in the days and weeks ahead. If students are struggling with this recent news in any way, please reach out to our counsellors for support.
A final plea to get your tickets soon so that we can lock in numbers for our special event. We will have a wonderful crowd at this spectacular event and I’m very much looking forward to it! Thank you for watching my video last week and please share your thoughts with me to help guide us in our future endeavours in this area of service and advancement under Culture of Giving.
On Monday we noted the reduction of protocols and suspended the “Test-to-Attend” program. Today we are announcing that next week (May 23-27) we will end regular testing for the remainder of the school year. Based on the data recorded to date, this has been approved as our next viable next step and a way of closing the year consistent with what we see in terms of risk level in the current environment. We will maintain a shorter morning testing time for both “Test-to-Stay” which will still be required for all close contacts in a household. But, our testing in cohorts will end next Friday.
An endemic approach requires that we continue our watchful eye on any potential increase in infections. Therefore, we will continue with daily attestation in OK4School. But, starting after next week, you will no longer be prompted for a test expiration and we will rely entirely on the daily survey and your at-home checks. We continue to encourage the use of home tests in the face of emerging symptoms and personal responsibility for self-isolation to protect the broader community in the case of illness. Thank you for all you do to help us remain safe and secure each day at school. Watch for Monday’s Weekly Update for further directions on next steps.
Belated wishes to many of the Mothers of our community and their celebrations last Sunday in honour of your special day. We recognize the importance of celebrating all that you do for your children. In that regard, I hope that the children of ASW took this opportunity to cherish and care for you in essential ways with extra hugs and much lovingkindness to show their awe and appreciation for all that you do.
But, we should also be quick to mention that many countries celebrate Mothers on different dates. Poland officially celebrates Mother’s Day on May 26. France follows shortly thereafter on May 29 along with the Dominican Republic and Sweden. Spain, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, and Lithuania celebrated on May 1st. Other dates in various countries include February 13, November 27, August 12, October 16, and June 12 in 2022. In our diverse community, it means we are celebrating Mother’s Day throughout the year, as it should be! 😉
Wishing you all the best and thank you for all that you do!!
Hoping you have had a chance to check out our website and consider joining us for an elegant evening here at ASW in support of our programs at our inaugural event. We are moving quickly towards our date, so please consider joining us by purchasing tickets either as an individual or as a group or corporate sponsor. Our partnerships are very important to us, and would be so happy to have you with us at this important event!
We had a wonderful PYPx for our Grade 5 students last week. Each year this constitutes a significant capstone of the elementary experience where years of learned skills are brought together into a multi-disciplinary project. We should applaud the talented and capable staff of the elementary school and all the volunteer adult mentors and experts who helped to make this a robust and rewarding experience for our students. The projects were a dazzling array of ideas and actions that will have a profound impact on our school and community, demonstrating a key part of our mission – changing the world for the better. See below for more information in the elementary section of this eNotes.
I hope you all had a wonderful spring break. Certainly, students have shared great stories of their time travelling or just exploring local parks, playgrounds, and backyards during this early part of spring. The joy of getting back to school was wonderful for all of us!
I want to personally thank all of the PTO volunteers who made it such a special day today. The array of treats, the expression of joy, and the appreciation of all that we do for your children was enjoyed by all!! Our partnership as a whole community really shines during traditions like this and the beautiful plants, like our collaboration, will continue to bloom and grow!!
To all Faculty and Staff at school, my earnest thanks and appreciation for all that you do. Like parents and children, I’m particularly thoughtful on this day each year when I ponder all that you do every day to enrich and nurture young lives. I am so proud of all that you have accomplished, through adversity and always. Please accept my acknowledgement in this public forum of our collective awe and regard!!
Here’s the current summary list that we will discuss tonight as well during Town Hall (recording available tomorrow as well).
We’ll talk about this more tonight, but we’ve only seen a limited impact from travel and the only cautionary point regards the number of cases we are seeing based on a family transmission that starts with parent infection. That is the one remaining factor that keeps us slightly cautious and requires a test-to-attend program for parents in the short term. We’ll monitor this over the next week or two, but we believe this to be the prudent approach for the time being. If we can relax further, we will do so based on observed results.
Thanks, as always for your continuous feedback which is reviewed regularly. We are still working hard to find the right balance and be responsive to your hopes (ours too) while not going too far beyond the comfort level of our various stakeholder groups. I know most understand this and will allow us some space for incremental steps that are meant to keep our students and staff safe.
We’ve been working on our plan for COVID mitigation after spring break in recent days while evaluating the results of our recent changes. We have seen a minimal impact from our incremental relaxation so far and feel like we are ready to continue down this path a bit further. Thank you for your patience as we apply government decisions to a decidedly more vulnerable setting with greater expectations for moving cautiously and thoughtfully toward what that data increasingly supports.
At the core, we believe, based on multiple sources of advice, that we are moving slowly from a pandemic to an endemic phase of the virus. There are many sources to this opinion and it is becoming clearer based on reduced hospitalization and continued study.
As such, the school will move from the original strategy of Stop/Protect/React to a lower level mitigation strategy of Protect/Identify/React. The original goal remains – to keep us all in school. But, under the original model, our goal was to avoid infection while under the new structure, the primary goal is to reduce and respond to infection. It maintains many of our layers but reserves some of them more as mitigation measures rather than as daily expectations. This also shifts some responsibility to the individual in determining how they manage risk. We still have to be concerned about the potential for more serious illness. So, in some areas, we will still take a moderate approach until there is greater clarity in Europe and around the world. We have to maintain a readiness to be more restrictive if conditions demand.
Right after the break, we will be slightly more restrictive until we complete a week of precautionary testing. Testing is an area where we are able to adjust when the situation demands. With many travelling next week, all agree that we need to be prudent with testing following the break. While we have not scheduled a re-entry testing day, we have developed a schedule for testing the entire school population in the first 48-hours of our return and a second time that same week to be sure we identify any cases as early as possible. Since we did this same strategy recently for our long weekend, this is the choice for the upcoming break as well. All of our other changes, listed below, will start on May 2nd as follows:
All of the above may be modified or retracted if the situation demands based on the results of testing in the week following the break or in the case where information suggests we should increase protocols due to new concerns (e.g., community spread, a new variant, etc.). This would be based, as usual, on medical advice and Crisis Team consideration.
It’s always good at this time of year to remind everyone about expectations in the parking lot. Please remember that yellow zones are not parking areas. You may not leave your vehicle for more than 30 seconds and you must move your vehicle if directed by staff at any time. That means that you must always be within a line of sight to your vehicle and move it as quickly as possible.
I should hasten to mention, that it is polite and good etiquette in a parking lot to move out of the yellow zone and circle the parking lot to allow others to pick up their students if your child is delayed for any reason. The intent of the yellow zones is to maintain the flow of traffic. While some degree of waiting in your vehicle with the engine off is generally tolerated, we would expect you to move to a parking space if your child is delayed in exiting the building. In this regard, our security or other staff may ask you to move and circle the parking lot to open a space for others and you should obey their instructions at all times. This is critically important in the mornings near the elementary entrance as busses are also using this area to drop children off for school. No car may remain in this yellow area for more than 30 seconds. Staff are on duty for this purpose to monitor your children at the entrance to the building or playground as appropriate to their age. Kiss-n-Go was always meant to be done AT the vehicle to avoid any delay.
All of the above has safety implications and we should add that you must control your speed in the parking lot at all times to less than 10km/h. Stop for crosswalks and pedestrians. Always watch carefully for children emerging from between cars. You must follow the directions of security and other staff at all times and I would also ask for courtesy in this regard as well.
In the case of concerns about any vehicle, the school always reserves the right to deny entrance to any vehicle that is unwilling to follow our directions or protocols. When an infraction occurs, our security coordinator will notify you and this will serve as a warning that future incidents may require suspension of your access privileges.
Thanks to all who help us maintain a smooth flow each day, both morning and afternoon. We are generally very efficient and I appreciate your efforts in this regard!
It’s been wonderful to see all the art opportunities emerge during Art Fest this week and we are all looking forward to the HS Play as well. Many things happening as we finish the two weeks before our spring break this year. But, this week in particular will be amazing! My best wishes to the IB artists tonight and to all the art engagements in the days ahead! Many thanks to all the hands in the Performing and Visual Arts Team for their work toward making this happen for all our students.
I hope the conferences went well for you and I want to thank teachers for all their efforts in sharing your child’s accomplishments with you. With that, you should have a plan for the remaining weeks of the school year in order to maximize opportunities for growth and continued learning. Remember that we are always available to you beyond conferences. Please just reach out to teachers as needed for further clarification or with your questions. We are partners always in nurturing your child toward their goals.
Efforts for #ASWforUkraine continue to grow and develop. It has been a joy to talk to schools around the world who are dedicating their fundraising efforts to our cause. Our distribution center and food preparation is wonderful support for our continued community effort in support of the refugees in our midst. We also have moved forward on our commitment to displaced students from CEESA partner schools and many students are now in our midst on a temporary basis finding safety and normalcy in our midst. The team of parents, students, and staff should be applauded for all their efforts in our multiple tiers of engagement.
Finally, we have encouraging results in our testing today that continues to support a reduction in community spread. We are ready for our next mask optional day on Friday and, if the trend continues, further loosening. Please be mindful of the feelings of others in regards to these changes. We still have a degree of fear and we should be mindful that taking incremental steps is one way we encourage and support the needs of those who are concerned. Please remember that we have students and family members in our community who are more vulnerable and evidence from last week is that they were very concerned about the risks. They are correct to be concerned, as we all should. It is not forward looking to add too much risk hurriedly. Please be patient and supportive of the entire community as we take steps that are structured and prudent. After tomorrow’s testing, we will have a good picture for charting the path forward and avoiding unnecessary consequences.
Tomorrow is our first mask optional day and this is just a message with the most important reminders. First, we support any student’s continued use of a mask on these days. Teachers are prepared to support students in their choices on the day.
Be reminded that this mask optional at school does NOT apply to transportation. Buses will remain masked until our next review before spring break. We are extending mask optional to include after-school activities on the mask optional day as well.
I want to thank you in advance for your patience on the many details for opening up activities to a parent audience at events next week. It will follow the testing structure and strategy, but will include the reduced distancing requirements and the relaxed cohort boundaries. Please offer your feedback as you consider your attendance at these events according to the details below.
We’ll report back on how the day goes tomorrow. We are heading into this day with the full student body tested and a minimal number of cases, primarily from home cross infections, identified. Community spread numbers are also continuing a slow downward trend. We all remain hopeful that this trend will continue.
Our teachers will be engaged in a wide range of learning activities and professional collaboration when we gather without students on Friday. We typically schedule two or three of these days per year and they are important opportunities for strategic, curricular, and instructional work. Teachers have much to share with each other in refining our practices and this collaboration opportunity is critical to achieving consistency of practice while also creating space for innovation and wellness. I know you all join me in hoping that this is a refreshing and rewarding time.
Equally important is our Parent/Teacher conferences, again presented in a virtual format. The results of these virtual meetings has been well received as it increases parent involvement and optimizes our use of time. We fully expect to maintain this virtual delivery format into the future since it has been so well received and given our record setting participation rates across all grade levels.
Signing up for your conferences is easy and done through our PowerSchool interface!!
Parent Conferences sign-up is open NOW and will close Sunday, April 3 at 17:00.
To access the booking sheet you need to
This video will guide you through the process of booking and includes instructions for conference day.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/137WcKmNTVb9aUpYtpSDBbcsh2L07iTtF/view
If you haven’t already set up your My ASW Key account, look for an email that was sent to you on Thursday, March 3, with the subject “Welcome to the ASW Portal and your new My ASW Key” where you’ll find your new parent username ending in @my.aswarsaw.org and your initial password. If you are unable to find this email or are having trouble signing in to your new account, please visit our support page at https://sites.google.com/aswarsaw.org/parenthelp/support or email our support team at help@my.aswarsaw.org
Our efforts communicated to the community on March 2 are in full swing now and this is an update of our status of enrollments and our ongoing service efforts.
Our first focus has been serving a displaced population of students from the CEESA schools most affected in the early stages by the war in Ukraine. In total, 4 schools were forced to evacuated for reasons of armed conflict or political unrest. This includes the two schools in Kyiv, one school in Minsk, and my previous school in Moscow. From this list, more than 60 have reached out for possible placement and we are currently serving about 19 from that list. Others are still in process and some that were originally offered spots have now moved on to other countries or new assignments. In some cases, in order to preserve class size limits, we are only providing part schedules to upper school students where we have space. Some of these students will remain connected to their teachers from their prior school virtually for some classwork. A tremendous thank you to the Admissions department for adding this process to their already busy season of new applications for next year
It’s important to note that these families have been invited to apply for next year, but they will join the existing application process. As you all know, we have challenges at some grade levels and waiting lists are already forming.
Our humanitarian and service initiatives continue to be ongoing and robust. We are working to keep you updated on our work, but it is daunting at times with many initiatives going on at the same time. In general, we have organized as follows:
We have a core team led by our long time Service Learning Coordinator, Ligita Miele, and it has generally established three tiers of action in a collaboration between students, staff, and PTO. PTO is providing additional insights below in eNotes.
Tier 1 was focused on supporting refugees in our ASW community homes. This includes finding additional homes, coordinating support and leveraging community resources. We foresaw a need for everything from legal support to medical needs and asked our community what they could offer. We quickly started up a meal train with families providing meals to host families to support feeding refugees. In order to make this sustainable, we set up a makeshift kitchen and a volunteer chef from the United States flew to Warsaw to help expand the donated preparation space into a competent volunteer preparation center. We now send out prepared and packaged meals to more than 100 each day in support of our host families. Tier 1 is also focused on transitional planning and supporting the move of refugees to onward destinations which may include reuniting with families in other EU countries or other destinations. We also provide COVID testing with our medical partner, Epixpert, when symptoms emerge or as needed in advance of travel. We can’t begin to thank enough members of the community that continue to donate their time, buildings, resources, and effort toward taking care of the refugees in our midst.
Tier 2 is focused on moving donations and supplies to both the above supported refugees locally and the broader refugee population located in Warsaw and to the east along the border. Utilizing the direction of our partner, the Refugee Center, we have directed a massive amount of goods and materials to these destinations, now totalling more than 1600 boxes of clothing, food, baby supplies, pet supplies, etc. Student and parent volunteers sort and repackage donations that are literally streaming in from around the world. Trucks unload regularly and we facilitate new trucks with sorted goods to all of the recommended destinations.
Tier 3 is focused on other sustainable efforts. We are now looking at the establishment of a school-based foundation. We are currently using the pre-existing school charitable foundation in the US (501c3) that is already aligned with this work under service learning here at the school. But, we are now moving close to US$100K in donations and considering the sustainable activities of the above tiers and going further into other areas. The long-term implications of 2.5 million people is daunting to consider. Right now, we are a bridging activity while government funding (Polish and offshore) is organized and funneled to refugees. Our development of a school-based foundation would further support these efforts in partnership with these agencies and expand our outreach to those in transition. This foundation could also be an opportunity to serve the organization of preserving Ukrainian education in the longer term here in Poland as well as further west into Europe, where many of the refugees are likely to migrate. Tier 3 also includes grade level projects that might include tutoring and other activities for refugee children using weekend and after school hours.
Donations are being directed to a wide range of activities that fill gaps and provide for logistics for getting donations to where they are needed most. Funds have been spent to get supplies that were not otherwise donated or fill gaps in clothing sizes where necessary according to the requests. Materials such as boxes and small equipment have been purchased that is combined with donated spaces to provide services. We also support transportation by truck of our processed donations to the centers requesting support in addition to what is used by the 110 refugees we are currently housing with families. So far, we’ve sent multiple vans full of supplies to the border and more loads are in preparation. Funds also provide for supermarket shopping cards to help bridge gaps for refugees who arrive without access to resources. Thus far, using in-kind donations, we have only spent about 10% of the funds raised to date. We are looking at this fund and choosing projects carefully to make sure that the resources are sufficient to support the demand over a longer term.
There is much here to still learn and this is providing students with key opportunities to learn more directly about service at a critical time. We have a strong leadership team made up of a lead school administrator, effective parent leaders, and a cadre of student leaders. We have a strong school ethic of service and care, embedded in the fabric of our core values. In this regard, we have all the tools we need to continue to be both resilient and effective.
We continue to watch current numbers on infections and latest medical advice. As you are all aware, there has been reporting in the news regarding the sub-variant of Omicron that now accounts for most of the new infections. I’ve had a couple of comments in our ongoing survey regarding this current wave that may be, according to data collected, more of a ripple.
While it is hard to predict, the Omicron BA.2 variant has demonstrated that it is more infectious than the main strain and now accounts for a large percentage of cases in areas where studies have checked through genomic testing. These numbers are believed to be the source of recent increases in European countries. While overall community spread continues to mediate, our recent cases may be related to this variant. We are hopeful that this won’t be as serious as the prior wave and it does seem that symptoms tend to me more mild, particularly for those vaccinated.
We continue to review this medical data along with our survey data that continues to come in. Thank you for sharing your thoughts HERE! We’ll share this compiled data and our decisions regarding mask wearing timelines next week. It does seem clear from the survey so far that we will not be ready any changes in early April, so our focus will be on considering dates later in the spring.
We find ourselves at a crossroads yet again with improving conditions, but an air of caution because caseloads, while demonstrating a downward trend are only moving slowly in the right direction. It seems that each day we are encouraged only to be followed by a day where there is a list again. This is challenging for trying to drive projections and move forward with implementing strategies that we see in other places in the world. But, we also know that this pandemic has taught us that no two places are the same and each must be viewed in its own context. This was the reason that the US CDC changed its guidance. First, they change the criteria being used and second they no longer provide global guidance, but three levels of guidance based on localized circumstances. If you are in an area of high spread, you have more restrictions, low area, less restrictions. Sound familiar? Yes, the CDC seems to have affirmed our approach of a low/medium/high posture with regards to protocols.
Tonight we are announcing a schedule of incremental changes over the coming weeks that we intend to constitute moving from Medium level to Low level in some areas of our overall plan. The main document has been updated and can be found here for your review:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T13qBUFwwUIpKtR7O1DQICP5_KPN2RpK/view?usp=sharing
But, the main report does not specify the levels and where we intend to move while we continue to monitor the results. Here is the summary of our changes by date we tentatively intend to implement.
We intend to send details each week in our Weekly bulletins on how each area will be implemented and the slides presented tonight at Town Hall are included HERE in advance and have more detail drawn from the main guiding document. Please join us to ask your questions.
In addition, we are launching a survey on the final steps on April 4 and would seek input from all constituents before finalizing that stage. That survey is HERE (you’ll need your my.aswkey.org – parents – or school email login – students and staff – to participate).
Thanks as always for those who give us feedback. We appreciate your participation and engagement!
ASW has recently launched a new Parent Portal my.aswkey.org. The portal is a great source of information and a gateway to all school services such as PowerSchool, ManageBac, Seesaw, and more. There, parents can find the latest issues of the eNotes, news and resources provided by the counselors as well as photo galleries from the latest events taking place at school. We encourage all parents to visit the portal to view the photos from the recent Middle School musical “Fame”, US VP Kamala Harris visit, or a TVP World coverage of ASW support for Ukraine refugees. To log in, please make sure you get your new “MyASWKey” accounts up and running!
Should you need any assistance logging in please contact help@my.aswarsaw.org. Frequently asked questions and supporting videos and documentation can be found HERE.
Speaking of the my.aswkey.org account above, if you want to read the bios of our new staff for 2022-2023, you can go HERE, but you’ll need your new credentials to access this (see above).
As the community continues its impressive response to support the needs of Ukrainian refugees, we are committed to continue and even grow our efforts. Further, we are also committed to developing our capacity to respond to other needs–some that preceded this situation and some that will exist after. It is precisely for these reasons we established our initiative to formalize and enhance a “Culture of Giving” at ASW. We are pleased to ask you to mark your calendar for the first Saturday in June for an inaugural event.
Celebrate, showcase, and support the members of our community and the enduring impact their actions have. Proceeds will be directed to ASW’s efforts to extend and continue support the Ukrainian refugees as well as the school’s service learning and scholarship programs.
Service Showcase * Raffle * Student Art & Performances * Reception, Dinner, and Dance