Zimplicity

To all of our special guests, faculty, administration, parents, friends, and family members – we thank you for your pride and presence as we celebrate this, our 25th commencement exercises for the class of 2018.

First, my sincere gratitude to Rob Batchelder for your words and your friendship in our graduation ceremony today.  It is a testament to the longstanding relationship between the American School and the US Embassy in Warsaw.  But, more importantly, it will be my fondest memory of our time on this path together.

Mr. Sheehan, thank you again for confirming your deep bond to the students you serve along with your brilliant team.  As always, you are proud of them and, in return, they honor you with their trust and admiration.

Christina and Sara, thank you for representing your classmates so eloquently.  You both captured the experience brilliantly, each in your own special way.

Dr. Taylor, I thank you for your inspiration and wisdom.  As promised in our assembly yesterday you effectively juggled  your words, bringing a message filled with heart and promise.

Students, your teachers know you as engaged learners, empowered by your passion, caring of each other, and motivated to accomplish big goals. Faculty, counselors, and administrators seated before you are beaming with pride.  And they are a talented group who do not consider their work to be the filling of a vessel, but more the launching of a ship.  Their nurturing spirit has prepared you for your voyage and the many challenges on the horizon.

We know as an international community that many here on this stage have had other schooling experiences before joining us in Warsaw. Also, some 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 constant flux of change and transition.  But, as has been my tradition in many schools over a number of years, I’d like to recognize some special Warriors on this stage, nurtured from the beginning of their schooling experience entirely to graduation at the American School. As I call these names, please stand and remain standing so that we can recognize all of you as a group:

10? Students have been identified as having been here since either Pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten:

Kindergarten:

• Alexander C.
• Matthew M.
• Maximilian O.
• Chan Woo P.
• Oskar P.
• Sarah H.

Pre-Kindergarten:

• Kashish K.
• Michal K.
• Iga L.
• Sara M.

Please recognize these students and their families as our Warriors of longest standing.

525,600 minutes – No that is not how long my speech is going to be.

525,600 minutes How do you measure, Measure a year – these are lyrics from a song entitled Seasons of Love from the Broadway Musical Rent.  It’s a powerful song that filled my ears recently and I’m always caught by how it’s one of those tunes that seems to bridge generations.

But, in particular, a key lyric buried in the song goes like this:

It’s time now to sing out,
Though the story never ends.
Let’s celebrate, remember, a year in a life of friends.

525,600 minutes.  A metaphor for our celebration today.

But I thought I would do a little math of my own…

Let’s see – 13 years of school times180 school days, 6 hours per day, 60 minutes per hour:  I know there is a math whiz on this stage that already knows the answer…

842,400 minutes – That’s the journey of your education.

Oh – but wait.  If you add a couple of years of pre-school, it sizes up to over 950,000 minutes.  Then, I started thinking, maybe there was also a bit of summer school and maybe some after school activities, homework time, extended essay research, a few weekend trips for school related sports or academics, some service time on the weekends at animal shelters, and possibly a lesson or two from a piano teacher.  So, since we are all friends here, let’s just round it up to a nice even one million minutes.  1 million minutes invested in your education so far.

Much of life is about perspective and there is a truth about this perspective.  Here it is:  You will never go to school as much after this day as you have already completed.  Even if you go on to complete a MA and PhD investing about 8 years’ of time, it will still pale by comparison to what you have already invested between the time you started walking and talking, and TODAY.  1 million minutes.  Job well done!  Putting it in perspective, the next learning journey should be a piece of cake!

I value that this last year, your 64,800 minutes, will be many of the most remembered.  As noted in our proceedings, you have been a powerful and capable class.  We watched you listen, learn, study, struggle, and dance.  I hope that the entire experience of your education has given you perspective that you too can take into life.  Value each other always, gather family and friends close at every opportunity and cherish the precious moments past, present, and future.

Two years ago was a special graduation for me, owing to my first born son crossing a stage very similar to this one, and I am now contemplating a similar moment for my daughter just one year from now.  My closing and traditional message is gleaned from my perspective as a father, privileged to have led the schools where my two children have studied and will have graduated.  This traditional message, I will note, is particularly poignant on Mother’s Day.

In these final words, I speak for the parents in the audience and I know this will resonate in their hearts as it does in mine:

To the children in the Class of 2018 — when we say we love you, as we often do, it is not because of habit or routine. It is because of how we really feel deep inside each time we utter the words.  The following has been and always will be true:

• you inspire us
• you complete us
• you give our lives meaning

While we will feel lost without you during the times we are apart, we are so proud of your launching, warmed by the anticipation of all that we know you are yet to become.

We love you so much!!

Go forth all of you — embrace your family and then life!!

At this time, I ask Principal Michael Sheehan and Chair of the ASW Board of Trustees, Mr. Rob Batchelder to please join me on stage for the conferring of diplomas…

A short note to herald the work being done by staff throughout the school in regards to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that is coming into effect this month.  We are working diligently to implement all of the components of the new regulation and part of the process has been incremental changes to some of our agreements and systems that help us manage information that is processed on a daily basis.  We’ve done extensive data mapping and continue to work with an international working group on the topic.  Many of the systems at ASW were already compliant with the upcoming regulation and we are moving quickly to assure that all systems will be fully compliant in the coming months.  While we plan to have a more comprehensive campaign regarding this important new regulation, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the regulation and the stipulations therein.  You are likely already receiving notices from various online companies about your  participation in their systems and we will have similar as we return to school in August, if not earlier, via our PowerSchool system.  We presented our comprehensive audit on the topic to the board on Monday and clarified next steps in our process.  Policy was presented for first reading and we are well on our way to the next steps.  If you want to learn more about GDPR, you can go to the EU website on the topic at https://www.eugdpr.org

Other items of attention:

• Please come and join us on Saturday for the Warsaw Spring Cup, our first annual invitational track meet.  Along with visiting schools from Krakow, we’ll have guests from multiple schools here in Warsaw to join us for an event co-sponsored with local track club RK Athletics and our honored guest, Robert Korzeniowski, Poland’s Olympic Gold medalist race walker.  The opening presentation begins on Saturday at 9:00a in the Annex Gym.  Also on hand to help us in opening the ceremony will be John Armstrong, the US Embassy Economics Counselor and himself a former high school track participant.  Please join us!
• There will no longer be a printed version of the calendar. All events can be found at the online calendar on the ASW website https://www.aswarsaw.org/about-us/calendar. The Academic Calendars for next school years are listed on the websites as well. They can be downloaded and printed.
• This is a reminder for all interested ASW families to sign up for the ASW Summer Camp 2018. There are still some spaces available and we are going to open it to a wider Warsaw Community on June 4th.  The details are below under School Wide section of this eNotes.

Accreditation

It’s important to gather our key documents together and you can now access the entire accreditation report via the link below.  We’re happy to share this compiled version that includes the letters of accreditation from both CIS and NEASC along with the entire self-study and the visiting team’s comments.

http://bit.do/aswaccreditation

ASW Robotics Team

The ASW robotics team returns from the FTC World Championship in Detroit where the world was most definitely their classroom.  Out of 134 competing teams from all over the world, our team ended up 55th in their division. Bouncing back after numerous challenges, each of the member of the team pulled together and never gave up. The students had examples and were helped by many teams from all over the globe.  Friends were made and collaborations happened on many levels. Tips and technology that were shared helped us to get on our feet. Felix Morenc stepped up and became an FTC student ambassador from our team.  Shevy Gupts and Jack Kolenbrander spearheaded efforts for the tasks in the Fed Ex challenges. Juwon Park and Max Turner tirelessly coded and tweaked the mechanics of the robot during every minute of the pit time.  On a terrific side note, the boys had accommodations in the center between the home stadiums of the Detroit Lions, Tigers, Pistons, and Redwings. The team comes back in good spirits, more skilled, more knowledgeable, and eager to share and continue to develop the robotics program at the American School of Warsaw.

Campus Safety

A big thank you again to many of our community who assisted in arranging for the installation of our new road in back of the school.  We are still fine tuning this entry, but have a wonderful access for our families that depend on this entrance.  Thank you again for improvement in following all of our on campus rules and please note the new painting of lines and signage that should help you make the parking area safer for all of us.  A reminder that there is no parking in yellow areas and please also check your speeds on campus. We need to be going very slowly at all times and we appreciate your compliance with this important safety expectation.

High School Play

Students have worked very hard getting our last dramatic production ready for you this week.  It is a wonderful family friendly play that will offer both an evening and matinee performance.  Please join us for one or both:

The HS production of You Can’t Take it With You  is THIS Friday at 6pm and Saturday at 2 pm. Tickets for this hilarious, family-friendly comedy are 10 zloty, and will be on sale this every day this week outside the cafeteria, from 12:30 -1:50 or at the reception desk at other times. Some tickets may also be available at the door.

These students deserve a full house!!  Please join us!!

And, by the way, you can also cheer on our lady Warriors at the CEESA MS Girl’s Softball tournament before and after the play on both Friday and Saturday!

Limited Security Staff on Duty

During the vacation, we will have a lighter staff managing the facility.  You may find, during off hours, that the front metal gates will be closed.  We do have an intercom system installed near this entrance and you can call for assistance, but may need to wait for the guard to come from the building monitoring area.  For times where scheduled activities are booked, the normal procedure will be followed with guards greeting at the front entrance.  The back gate will be closed for the entire vacation.

We will still be hosting IB exams next week, so front entrance will be open in the morning and afternoon for students and staff who are on duty from Monday through Friday.  The admissions office will also be open next week for scheduled appointments.  If you have an urgent need, you can contact the direct Security Desk line at +48-22-702-8518.

Parking Lot Painting

Now that the weather has cleared, we will be refreshing the parking lot lines on the school grounds, including the crosswalks, arrows and general markers. Areas of the parking lot will be closed while this work is undertaken, further limiting access during the week.

As part of our work, we’ll also be adding yellow paint to curb areas that will now be clearly marked as “No Parking.”  These yellow areas required that drivers remain with their vehicle and much of this area constitutes our “Kiss and Go” zone for both pickup and drop off. You may not leave your vehicle unattended in these areas and any pause for more than a minute will require that you turn off engines while you wait.  If there is no space in the yellow area, you may continue to circle around the Elementary or Upper School zone, or you can park at your discretion.

Your attention to all of our painted areas is appreciated.  Currently, we are seeing great improvement in adherence to our traffic guidelines, which is making our campus safer for everyone.  I also appreciate the way that drivers are paying attention to turning their engines off while they wait in order to protect our environment.  Thank you for your cooperation with and collaboration in these improvements!!

Mark Your Calendar

Tickets for the hilarious comedy You Can’t Take it With You are on sale now outside the cafeteria from 12:30 -1:50 each day.

This family friendly HS production runs Friday, May 11th at 6pm and Saturday, May 12th at 2pm. Tickets are 10 zloty, so hurry and get them now!

MAKER FAIRE 2018

It’s time!!  It’s our second annual tradition at ASW to bring all of our Makers together for an extravaganza in the form of a Faire – and we need YOU!!!  Please join us in helping at the many booths that will be setup on the day.  Activities for all ages, parents demonstrating or just helping in making sure students have exposure to the beauty and elegance of creation from design.  Whatever you think you might be able to share or even if you can just help on the day, this is a pivotal opportunity for the community to come together and provide a unique experience for our kids that is closely aligned with our core values.  WE NEED YOU!!!

Head here to sign-up: https://goo.gl/SoorkD

CEESA Concert Opportunity

We have a very special event this weekend as we host the CEESA Band and Choir gathering at ASW.  For all of you, it means lots of music going on around the school with our many guests that arrived today!!  There is a unique opportunity to join us for a finale concert on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. in our Theater.  All of the visiting students and our own students will perform for us after some days of collaboration and practice.  Given our recent wonderful presentations, this event promises to be a real tweet.

We had a wonderful Band and Choir Concert on Tuesday night, with our students providing us with instrumental and vocal bliss, regaling the seasons through song and dance (loved the Rumanja shuffle)!  Rock and Rota last weekend was also a wonderful success with guitar festival following that had melodic harmonies wafting through the rafters throughout the school. Thanks go to the entire Performing arts teams, but especially to our directors: Ms. Bechdoldt, Mr. Armstrong, and Mr. Celinski.

So, I’m shouting out a challenge to all to help us fill the theater for one more performance coming on Thursday night for the Middle School Band and Choir, 6:00 p.m.  Please think about joining us and applauding for our kids to honor their preparation and commitment.  Will be an engaging night of song, all as we also prepare for our 130+ guests coming to the CEESA Band and Choir Festival the weekend of April 18-22.  Book now for Saturday night, April 21st, to join us in the Theater for the finale of the festival, which always promises to thrill and impress!

Finally, a note of encouragement:  In the spring time, we all beginning to focus on thinking ahead to next school year.  In that regard, it is time for returning parents to start considering their role in partnering with the school beyond just being a parent.  ASW has always placed a high value on our parent partnership.  Many roles for next year are beginning to emerge that are seeking your time and talent.  In the early stages, we earnestly ask you to consider taking on roles in PTO as they start to finalize their leadership team for 2018-2019.  Whether as committee chair or on the board, they need leadership that will continue to build and inspire everything possible to extend and enrich the school experience for all of our students and families.  Scroll down to the PTO section to find out more and please contact PTO leaders quickly to get involved!!

 

 

What a beautiful day today!!  I hope you all enjoyed the wonderful spring weather and basked in the sunshine.

It was great to also get our traffic back to normal with the re-opening of our back entrance.  With the traffic now rebalanced back to our regular flow, the lines and wait times disappeared.    You may now readjust your departure times accordingly so that all are arriving at their usual time.

As noted in my message, we are thankful that the Hinckfuss family allowed us to return to access of our road while negotiations continue.  We are hopeful of a positive outcome, but we should caution that legal matters can sometime be unpredictable as we work towards longer term solutions.  To that end, we have backup plans now in place should they be required.

We want to thank the many members of the community that stepped forward with ideas and suggestions.  We gleaned many suggestions from others and appreciate tremendously your contributions.  In particular, the support of the Real2B developers and their willingness to work with us on alternative plans was very helpful and much appreciated, setting the stage for a wonderful partnership in the future.  But, particularly want to mention Mr. Peter Wasserman for his support in recent days.  Thank you so much for your help!!

Also, thanks go out to everyone for pulling together during our entrance challenge.  We all appreciate how all demonstrated tremendous flexibility and patience during our traffic lines.  Still smiling as you entered the front gate each day, despite the long wait, was a wonderful testament to our sense of community and the partnership we all enjoy!!

Last Friday, ASW received word that our re-accreditation process was successful and we were awarded full accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS).  Ray Davis, Director of School Support and Evaluation was particularly thoughtful in his commendations:

In reaching their decision, CIS took into account the Evaluation Team’s commendations which were based on evidence of effective alignment with the standards for CIS International Accreditation. In granting the award of accreditation, CIS felt that the commendations – or strengths of the school – far outweigh any areas in which the school was deficient. Of particular note are the following:

• the thorough, inclusive, reflective manner with which the American School of Warsaw Self-Study Report was generated
• the identification and implementation of core values as the touchstone for strategic planning and all decision-making (Sections A and C)
• the creation of student-centred teaching and learning policies to guide instruction and assessment (Sections B, E, and F)
• the development of service learning as one means of engaging students as global citizens (Sections A and F)
• the concerted effort on the part of the Board of Trustees and Director to develop a ‘robust’ Board Manual establishing clear roles and responsibilities as well as policies guiding school operations (Section C)
• the positive school culture evident through respectful and supportive interactions among all stakeholders (Sections D and F)
• the strong financial health of American School of Warsaw (Section G)

These strengths and others should be celebrated by the school community.

As with all schools around the world, our job of continuous improvement is never complete.  The action plan in the final report, largely authored by our team, has carefully articulated our path forward.    With the additional insight and recommendations of the visiting team, we’ll set about that work in the immediate months and years ahead.

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) performed a joint accreditation with CIS and we expect that their findings will be largely aligned.  Our next report of progress on their recommendations will be compiled in the Spring of 2020.  The full report will eventually be posted for all to review after these results have been presented to the board at our April meeting.

A quick note with regards to the board.  Aspiring Board Member training is next week and there are still spots available for your participation.  The link for signing up and details can be found here:  https://goo.gl/forms/HuxZ5JGk0bO5lO9z2

Seems we should be well into the signs of Spring with today being the first of a new season, but, alas, the latest snowfall seems to be sticking around for a bit longer.  We want to thank everyone for keeping the winter coats in play under the current circumstances while we await the warmer rays of the sun that certainly must be on the horizon.

My time in Prague this last weekend at the CEESA 2018 conference was productive and enjoyable.  We connected with our counterparts from dozens of international schools scattered across Eastern Europe and around the world to network and consider new ideas.  One highlight was the presentation by Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Malala, who was shot by the Taliban in 2012.  It was a wonderful story of family legacy, of a father taught by his father to embrace respect and equality.  His simple quote in answer to the question of why his daughter turned out so strong – “Because I didn’t clip her wings.”  I value this story of empowerment between parents and children knowing myself the challenges of, particularly, the growth through adolescence.  It can be daunting at times.  May we always be reminded of the freedom we must grant children to test their assumptions and find their path through adversity.   Our core value of “Bounce back when things don’t go your way” is a testament to the importance of giving permission to fail.  It is only through this process that children find both resilience and an understanding of the growth mindset – the consummate ability to learn from our mistakes.  This is Ziauddin’s message.  Don’t clip their wings in order to keep them safe in the nest.  Instead, let’s all work together to prepare them for the wonders of flight!!

Enjoy the first weekend of Spring!!

https://www.gofundme.com/aswroboticstoworlds

https://youtu.be/itK2CYgOs6I

 

We are preparing for a previously scheduled drill next week on March 20 that has been on our calendar since earlier this year. It should be noted that we considered postponing this drill out of consideration of current events taking place in the United States.  Some of you may be aware that some activities in the High School included the signing of a flag of condolence for the loss of life in Florida just one month ago.  While only a percentage of our student body is connected by citizenship to the issues surrounding the current debate, we are sensitive to the media coverage and the sense that all students may be both aware and have feelings associated with these events in their home country.  Despite this, we feel it is important to keep with our established schedule, mindful that there is never a perfect time for emergency drills or practice associated with safety.

To be clear, we practice, similar to our fire evacuation, a protocol that is called a “LockDown” drill.  In response to an intruder in the vicinity of the school or in the case of an intruder entering the building, we have procedures for urgently locking all classrooms to restrict access to students and staff in that area and move into what is referred to as “Shelter in Place.”  Teachers quickly check hallways and bring any moving students in their vicinity into their classrooms, lock their doors, block windows, and begin attendance with the students and adults present.  Students are kept in this setting until an “All Clear” signal is announced.

As with all of our drills, the intent is not to inspire fear, but to practice our preparedness for any potential situation.  Students and staff need to be generally familiar with all of these types of drills to assure student safety and readiness.  We learn from each drill with an after action report process and our School Health & Safety Committee regularly meets to discuss and recommends improvements.

If you are a parent and are in the school during this drill, you need to be prepared to follow directions of security guards and/or staff members as they direct you to safe haven.  You’ll be required to participate in the drill until the “All Clear” is announced.  Also be reminded that there will be no vehicle access to the campus during the drill and the main entrance will be closed and locked.  We expect the duration of the drill to be about 20-30 minutes.  We will not be sending an emergency text message during this drill, but will test the system again at a future date.  Happy to answer questions as needed!

In this edition of Zimplicity:

• An important project to support some talented students who recently won the right and special opportunity to compete at the world level in our Robotics Program.
• I want to share some thoughts below about our parking lot and logical next steps, for which I need your feedback.
• A little bit about the re-enrollment process now underway in Admissions.

Robotics

Further down in our eNotes and HERE is an article regarding our award winning Robotics team.  They have earned the right to attend an international competition and are raising funds on a short timeline.  They are energetic and excited by this possibility and have setup a fund raising page with a daunting goal.  Please push their message out to corporate donors and others who would be interested in supporting this noble venture.  We are excited for their experience, but also because of the pride and inspiration for all of us that is associated with their opportunity.  Take a look and give what you can to their effort!!

Parking, Safety, and the Environment

In the midst of our challenges associated with rerouted traffic, I’ve been observing more frequently of late, interacting with motorists and getting a sense of logical next steps in safety enhancements.  We plan to resolve the road issue in the most expedient time frame possible, but our challenges revolve around more than just the closure of our back gate.  There are some problems that we have not addressed significantly previously and they require some thinking about how we can change our practice in the future to assure that all of us follow rules that are meant to keep us all safe, and especially the children we all serve.  I’ll summarize some of the key points of consideration below:

• Parking – While we all know that parking can be in limited supply and we will look for ways to make some additional spaces available through moderate redesign, the solution is not going to be provided by allowing parking on curb areas nearest the buildings that are intended only as temporary stop and go loading zones.  This includes the Kiss and Go areas in the front area of the school near elementary, the main entrance area that is lined by chain, the curb along the building near the High School entrance, and the curbed area in back of the school along the track area.  Cars parked in these areas create a risk for children and this is becoming an increasing problem.  These areas are so designated in order to make sure there is proper line of site for cars to see pedestrians before they step off of a curb.  With small children in our facility, this is high risk for potential injury and is the main reason we do not allow parent parking closest to the school in the elementary area and reserve parent parking further away from the building instead.
• Use of Identification not your own.  We have had more than a few cases where drivers approach the front gate and attempt to use ID cards that are not their own.  During high traffic times, this can slow the entry and exit to the school and is one of the reasons for backup in the morning.  We have made it clear that the driver of the vehicle must have proper identification as a parent or helper and that this identification be used for access.  Guards are randomly and regularly checking for this.  Related to this is the requirement for passes from school offices before taking children from school at any other time during the school day.  More than once, parents have been turned back to school offices for this pass before they are allowed to leave campus with any student.  These are both critical safety measures that must be followed by all community members without argument.
• Relationship between guards and parents.  It is important that parents always treat guards with respect.  In our minds, they are equivalent to law enforcement and should always be obeyed in all interactions.  Arguing with a guards is never helpful and only serves to distract that guard’s attention from the students they are primarily engaged to protect.  Our security supervisor and staff at the front desk in the main entrance are available to address any concerns you may have by coming into the school and logging your concern.  We’ll follow up quickly with you to assure that the matter is resolved.  But, it should never be allowed, nor demonstrated to students, that guards can be treated in anything other than a respectful manner.  This is true for cars, bicycles, and pedestrians at all times on the campus grounds.
• Bicycles.  Given the moderating weather, more bicycles are beginning to return to campus and it’s important to remind everyone that bicycles must be walked at all times on campus.  Given our current load of vehicles, it is not possible to provide for a safe environment when mixing bicycles and traffic in our parking lot.  Most are doing a great job with this, but there were still a few reports of bicycle riders not following guard directions when asked to walk their bike.  We would also ask the parents model for children that we need to use crosswalks to cross the road at the designated locations.  This is part of the overall safety measures and important for us all to follow.
• Other.  I’ve also noted some excessive speed in the area, both in our parking lot and also on the road leading into the school.  While we do not control the street area leading to the school entrance, I would encourage all parents to watch speed in this area in order to provide for a safe walking area.  Similarly, I’ve also noted some higher speeds on the campus grounds.  While our speed bumps tend to control this, there are stretches of parking area where parents will accelerate excessively and this is a tremendous risk to student safety where kids may emerge from between cars without warning.  We should all be committed to traveling at a reduced speed at ALL times on the campus grounds.
• Air quality.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that cars are still running for long periods of waiting time, something that we asked you to rectify in earlier messages.  If you are stopped at a curb and waiting,

We are also considering remedies to the above issues and have developed a list of potential options.  The only one that seems immediately viable, given our level of legal authority, is to deny entrance to vehicles when rules have not been followed and when it is clear that the vehicle poses a risk to patrons on our campus grounds.  We have done this in the past, but possibly not at a frequency required to assure compliance in all instances.  We would suggest that after a few reminders, there is little else we can do except to assure that the vehicle is not allowed on campus for a period of time.  We do not have the ability to levy fines for parking lot transgressions, so the seems our only real option.  I’d love your feedback on this method and encourage you to reach out to me with any other suggestions you might have.  I still believe that our common focus is safety and children, as always, come first.  In that regard, I put my faith in the power of community where all of us help police everyone’s choices in our shared public areas by encouraging good manners and collaboration on all fronts.

Admissions Re-Enrollment

The process of re-enrollment is proceeding according to plan with invoices for seat deposits about to be sent.  We appreciate your engagement in the recent survey and, based on your instructions, we will be moving to the next level of commitment.  Please take note of the deadlines as we have high demand and low turnover on the horizon again, which will make every seat for next year important to the families that would like to join us. Thanks in advance for your help and attention.

This will be a longer entry for eNotes this time, so clicking through to my blog post will be important.  Therefore, here are the items I’m covering in this article:

• Accreditation Update
• New and Aspiring Board Member Training – NEW DATE!! – April 5th
• Admissions Policy Explanation

Continue reading…

Accreditation Update

Our visitors from NEASC and CIS left on the Friday before break after completing an exhaustive review of our self-study report and observation of our work throughout the school.  They connected with every faculty member and administrator during their time here along with students, parents, support staff, administrators, board members and others in the ASW community.  We were tremendously proud of everyone who interacted with the visiting team and how they shared our story, rooted in core values and based on our common commitment to the children we serve.  Ji Han, the chairperson for the team, noted their particular reflections on the qualities of our students who demonstrated the best of ASW traditions!!

The accreditation team provided me with an opportunity to review their draft report for accuracy, but was admonished to not release the report until each accrediting body had fulfilled their responsibility to approve it within their respective structures. This process usually takes about 4-6 weeks, or possibly longer.  What I can generally report is that the findings will not likely include any surprises, but have appropriately put focus on our action plans in the places we had expected.  While we might adjust these plans to provide for these points of emphasis, we will be thrilled with their feedback and advice in the final document.  The committee and/or the accrediting bodies will still have to make a determination between the following four final options:

• Award of Accreditation or Re-Accreditation
• Award of Accreditation or Re-Accreditation with specific qualifications
• Postponement of Accreditation or Re-Accreditation for specific reason(s)
• Denial of Accreditation

As we did with the self-study, we will publish the final approved report and their final finding when it becomes available.

New and Aspiring Board Member Training – NEW DATE!!

Likely because of the timing, we had limited sign-up for the New and Aspiring Board member Training scheduled for tomorrow, March 1.  Therefore, we’ve canceled this session.  But, fear not, there is yet another opportunity to participate in this training on the horizon and still in plenty of time to get ready for ASW Board elections!!!  Please consider joining us on April 5, 2018 for the next session of this important training.  Whether you have aspirations to serve on the ASW board, or would like to consider service on other non-profit boards, this training will prepare you for the basic foundations of good governance.  While our focus of context will be the educational setting, the principles of governance apply equally to a variety of similar settings.  You are welcome to attend even if you just want to find out more about how ASW governance works and how the Board of Trustees do their work in support of the school’s core values, mission, and strategic goals.  Please try to join us.  Light snacks and certificate of completion provided.

Thursday, April 5, 2017, 6:00 p.m. in the MPR

Click here to RSVP: https://goo.gl/forms/hlv9r2wflXZuibqs2

Admissions Policy Explanation

In December, the Board of Trustees adopted revisions to the admission policy of the school.  These were primarily meant to address the tightening of our overall structure and better articulate the parameters used in making decisions about a growing stream of applications that are now being processed by the Admissions Department.  Part of aligning our practices was to introduce an online system of application that is now fully operational and receiving positive reviews.

It should first be clear that changes to the admissions policy of the school only affects new applicants to the school going forward.  No current students will be impacted by these changes and nothing in the policy reflects any change that, by itself, would affect the enrollment of any current student beyond what was already in place.

The adjustments to the policy this year (linked here: Policy 8.01 – Admissions) were primarily aimed at reinforcing the goals of the school to maintain its diversity and provide guidance to the admissions process in how, at the admission stage, to determine nationality.  In addition, and as part of our acceptance of diversity, the policy reinforces the non-selective nature of our enrollment process and only identifies the potential limits that might be placed on grade levels for providing learning support, beginner English language support, and nationality as a proportion of the grade. Order of priority rules have also been expanded and clarified to ensure equity and transparency in the admissions process. As an American embassy sponsored and supported school, the policy reaffirms the bylaw established priority for American nationality admissions that have been part of the school’s structure since its formal beginning in 1953 when it was founded due to the efforts of Colonel Frank Gilchrist from the US Embassy military detachment.

If you ever have any questions about the admission policy, please feel free to contact the Admission department.  Our website has been updated to reflect the new policy and we will continue to consider additional changes that are consistent with our growth and development over time.

Accreditation Meeting on Friday

We are having a wonderful week with our accrediting body and enjoying sharing our wonderful school with them.  They are halfway through their week with us and have had robust opportunities for conversation and deeper research.  They are sharing lots of ideas with us and, in return, we are impressing them with ideas they will take home with them as well.  We will have an opportunity to hear their reflections as a whole staff on Friday as they bring closure to their work.  While seating will be limited, additional parents are welcome to join us as follows:

What: The Team Chair and Co-Chair of the NEASC/CIS Accreditation Team will give a 10-15 minute talk about the team’s experience during the visit. In broad strokes, they will report out on areas of strength and areas in need of strengthening.  All faculty, staff, parents, and students are invited to attend, but seating may be limited.

When: Friday, February 16th from 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm

Where: Theater

Board Training in March!!

Mark your calendars for the next session this year of the New and Aspiring Board Member training.  Like last year, I’m leading sessions on School and non-profit board membership. If you have an interest in a position on the ASW board, as a leader in PTO, or if you are looking to serve on other boards in the future, this training will help provide some of the key understandings associated with good governance in a non-profit setting.  The content of this training has been further expanded to also include insights into ASW specifically.  With Board of Trustee elections on the horizon, this is the perfect opportunity to get ready for your candidacy.  We’ll explore selected ASW Board documents and will give some insight into ASW structures and policy as well.

Thursday, March 1, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. in the MPR

If you would like to participate, you can sign up by clicking here: https://goo.gl/forms/WR3O4zHKUo3WsiLO2

There is no cost to attend.

Thanks to all for your support in getting ready for our visit that is now upon us.  Please see the video below of our welcome to the visiting team today and their introductions!  This is to help our community get to know them a bit and we hope that many of you will have a chance to cross paths with our visitors sometime this week.

Looking forward to their reflections with us and insights into our wonderful school and how we can continue to learn and grow!