Our Efforts for Ukraine
I hope you are or were able to join us by watching Town Hall or watching the recording to get a sense of our efforts relative to Ukraine support. Following up on my letter from Monday, we are organizing on a number of fronts, the most visible being an ongoing stream of donations that we will continue to process and forward in the coming days and weeks. Keep it coming and many thanks for the outpouring of support so far. Our website for this purpose has all of the necessary links to participate and please check back often for emerging needs.
https://www.aswarsaw.org/community/aswforukraine
Please go here for all the information you need on how to participate. In particular, fill out our survey on what you can offer. We are still in the very early stages of this and as more becomes clear, we’ll reach out continuously to the community. Students are actively engaged in supporting actions here at school. Our Service Learning Office is providing all coordination. We have many families already helping with housing and support for refugees. Others who have volunteered will be contacted as needs become more clear.
We’ll continue our path at school to keep things as normal as possible. Activities and events will go ahead as scheduled. Some may be slightly modified, but there is a strong desire to keep our students engaged and focused in the coming days as we all process and act on what is going on around us. Initial efforts of our team to support specific needs is ongoing and available to you upon request. Open as always to your additional comment and suggestions.
Board Communication on Ukraine
Dear ASW Families:
While I have always been impressed by the dedication, commitment, and generosity displayed by our community during times of crisis, I have never been more proud of our ASW family than now. The #ASWforUkraine campaign is strong, and we are all in it for the long-haul to best support one another and refugees in need of our help. Our efforts continue to be truly impressive and all-encompassing.
The Board of Trustees is fully committed to helping these efforts move forward and flourish on all fronts. To that end, Director Zurfluh has written a comprehensive resolution to support CEESA School students displaced by the War in Ukraine, which the Board unanimously approved early this week. This resolution allows for Mr. Zurfluh and his team to take swift action to support CEESA students and their families coming from Ukraine and Russia in need of our assistance to enroll at ASW (as grade level numbers allow), not worry about Registration Fees or tuition in general, and receive other essential support for the smoothest possible transition here.
The Resolution also describes support of these CEESA member school students in assessments and other related learning services. It speaks to the continued commitment of supporting other refugees through our #ASWforUkraine campaign and other community support and charity work.
Please see the official Resolution HERE.
Thank you all for your continued support, resilience, and unity during this unpredictable and tragic time. Together, we can make an impact that matters and be a refuge for our families most in need, both old and new. And together, we will become stronger and even more capable of changing the world for the better.
Katharine (Kay) LaBanca
Chair, ASW Board of Trustees
Current COVID Status
As all are aware, we have clearly past the peak of the 5th wave and it now looks like we are moving into territory where we can make some moves on a more relaxed posture. We want to complete testing this week before announcing changes, so we will be communicating those next week for implementation shortly thereafter. Our final vaccination event will be this Saturday and sign-up has already closed. Reminders to those who are signed up will come shortly. We won’t be doing anything further with vaccination this school year unless there is a change in protocol or release of new vaccines for our youngest students. Please keep us informed of your child’s vaccinations by sending your documents to aswhealth@aswarsaw.org
Board Elections
Later this week you will receive your personalized ballot for ASW Board of Trustee Elections. While we have two candidates and each are running unopposed, we need to complete this election process as prescribed by policy. Here are our candidates for each seat (US and non-US:
- Ms. Sarah Kyle (US seat candidate) – video
- Mr. Peter Jambor (non-US seat candidate) – video
Your ballot will include a personalized link that can only be used by you. An invite will be sent to all parents registered in our system with your personal email. Please contact us at director@aswarsaw.org if you do not receive your ballot by the end of the week. You will receive reminders until you cast your ballot and click on submit. The voting closes on March 17 and the results will be certified by the board at their regular meeting on April 11.
Board appointments were completed at the last board meeting and we are pleased to announce the appointment Magdalena Kowalska who will extend her time with the board for an additional 3 years, and please welcome Mr. James Simmons for an initial two year term. Information on both board members can be found in the board action item HERE.
Parent Portal – My ASW Key – @my.aswarsaw.org
We are happy to be launching our new portal to provide parents access to all things ASW. You will be issued a new ‘My ASW Key’ made up of a username, which is a parent ASW email address and a password for use in accessing all of our ASW portals and resources. This will take us some time and processing, but will improve our communications significantly in the coming weeks/months. It starts with sending each of you a new account credential under the “my.aswarsaw.org” domain. This works like any other Gmail account and you should install it on your favorite email application. In the coming months during our transition period, we want parents to adopt this as our primary way of communicating with you. But, we also need to maintain contact with you through your personal email and phone numbers, so there is still a place in PowerSchool for updating that information as it changes and we will have access to your personal email for urgent communications during the transition period. The more you use the Parent Portal address, the more effective this tool will become in providing a protected space for our school community. This aligns with our GDPR and child protection initiatives and effectively creates a safe arena for expanding access to key resources that we use to support your child. Please watch for further communication on this and the key messages that will get you up and running as smoothly as possible. Directions and instructional videos can be found in the Parent Portal Support Page. If you need help at any point, reach out to help@my.aswarsaw.org for assistance.