Now that the restrictions on vaccination are opening up further, there is less ability to schedule vaccination on-site at ASW. Most agencies are limiting us to using their facilities and are setting up new facilities to accommodate the projected additional load.

Despite this, we will try to get another opportunity for vaccination her at ASW – one more before summer. This requires sign-up first, so here is the link for those who are interested. If we are able to arrange a date, we’ll send it to this group only for final registration once confirmed. Click HERE to register your interest in vaccination at ASW or as a group at the Vaxmed facility (see below) for 40+ age levels.

In regards to Vaxmed, our current partner, they have offered dedicated time blocks for the ASW Community in their new facility at Generała Kazimierza Sosnkowskiego 1C, about 30 minutes from here as groups. But, you can also arrange your own appointment with them through their website or via the government registration system.

Vaxmed
Vaccination point Wilanów – Branickiego 15 (but may be closing)
Vaccination point Ursus – Sosnkowskiego 1C
tel.: +48-881 221 433

Other medical entities with supply available have recently been suggested by other parents. Provided here for your reference. Some are a bit of travel from here, but they suggest that they have sufficient supply and are supporting 40+.

Revita Medical Center (requires government pre-registration, PESEL, and 40+)
ul Kombatantów 10A15-110 Białystok
tel.: +48-733002717

PUNKT SZCZEPIEŃ POWSZECHNYCH W SIEMIATYCZACH (requires only name, surname, passport number or PESEL, 40+)
HALA WIDOWISKOWO-SPORTOWA
UL. ŚWIĘTOJAŃSKA 25A, 17-300 SIEMIATYCZE
Phone: +48-856-552-860 (registration between 8am-3pm)

Some other notes:

• On May 10, registration will be opening for all 18+ (appointments 4-6 weeks afterward)
• All wanting vaccines should have access by August.

Also of note is that all numbers are continuing to trend downwards (hospitalizations, ventilator use, quarantine, % positivity). But, we are not out of the most recent wave yet and should remain cautious.

Board Election Announcement

We’re pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees certified the election results at their meeting on Monday. Welcome to our two new board members:

• Heather Rogers (US Seat) – VIDEO – FLYER
• Amila de Saram-Larssen (non-US Seat) – VIDEO – FLYER

Many thanks to all who put themselves forward as candidates and thank you to the 400+ ballots that were cast by the community!

New Staff Published

Pleased to announce that the new staff list for next year is now published on Zimplicity. Excited to be done with recruiting for next year and ready to welcome our newest Warriors in August!!

IB Decision for Poland

As many may be aware, the International Baccalaureate announced their decision yesterday to cancel final exams for our Grade 12 Diploma students, as they did last year. It was disappointing given our unique situation at ASW where we felt fully prepared to sit exams and provide that key opportunity for our students to demonstrate their acquired capabilities. After our meeting today with IB leadership, it has become clear that an exception to the country-wide declaration would not be approved.

I know that this decision has sown much discord in our senior class already. While we thank you for your input, the matter is now settled and it should be clear that our interest in pursuing all options was entirely focused on our role as advocates for ALL of our students and their best interests. We remain as such, your advocates, but now focused on the non-exam route and our energies will legitimately shift to making sure that all relevant evidence is ready to assure good outcomes for the class of 2021. We feel confident that we can achieve that for each of our students and the High School administration and faculty will work tirelessly in the coming days to make sure students understand all elements of the process going forward. Our advantage lies in the good work that has been accomplished this year in classrooms and the degree to which our teachers have a solid grasp on student performance and capabilities. Faculty work in the coming days will be challenging and I want to thank them all for their diligence in advance! More information will come directly from the High School in the coming days. Stay strong and united in your final days now that the decision is made.

Other Notes

We are back in school and heading into the final stretch of our school year, which now ends on June 11. Many things ahead that we are hoping to master in the time remaining, not the least of which is closure on major learning activities culminating in the coming weeks.

A shout out to our Grade 10 students who are in the final stages of their Personal Project. This is a critical waypoint of their learning journey before moving into the Diploma Programme. I’m hopeful that they have found this experience rewarding and they wrapped their learning around a cross-disciplinary approach. We should also remember the cadre of mentors who stepped up to provide guidance along the way. It has been a journey, to say the least. For most, the deeper insight into their thinking will yield an important foundation for more advanced pursuits starting next year. PYPx is also on the horizon for our Grade 5 students, an equally important milestone in the IB journey before progressing into the MYP.

We should also mention Faculty and Staff Appreciation coming next week. PTO is planning some important activities to show our appreciation in a unique way. As always, their creative talents and energy are in full gear and please see their message below asking for your help.

So, it’s been a challenging stretch here at the end before going into the Spring break. This is the first time we have scheduled this break at this time of year in a while and our adjustments back in October moved our professional development day, originally scheduled on Friday, to early March as part of adjusting our calendar for post-February-break testing. Spring break is similar with the rescheduling of parent conferences on the two days following this vacation.

As we move into virtual mode, you have three tasks in the coming week:

• First, you need to schedule a conference appointment for each child in the normal way. You’ll find a link for this in PowerSchool – “Spring Conferences, 12-13 April 2021 Sign up” – You should find this similar to the Fall scheduling and you’ll need to make appointments for each child in your family by switching between children (upper left) and proceeding to the link. Conferences will be held via Zoom.

• Second, you need to schedule ONE family appointment for post-break testing. Since you will bring all kids in together for a single time slot. The purpose of the testing schedule is simply to reduce lines and make sure we optimize the two days. We will have two lines set up in the main lobby for this purpose. No one will need to wait for results and, as normal, we will contact you if you need to come back for testing due to a positive pool.

• Third, we need everyone to complete their enrollment contract in PowerSchool. Many of you are done with this task already (Thank you!!), but we are hoping to get the rest of our returning families completed by the time we return from the break or shortly thereafter.

Thank you for making sure we have these tasks completed as soon as possible and accept our appreciation for your diligence.

Finally, and relative to our announcement earlier today that we would move into virtual mode for the next two days, we want everyone to understand the importance of maintaining our virtual schedule for the next two days and assuring that we have good control of our equipment and participating in all activities. In many ways, this is also a valuable opportunity to practice our use of the virtual experience to the best of our ability. High School simply had a head start and we can now follow their example.

I know that much rests on parents when we move into virtual mode and we want to thank you in advance for your partnership. We know that significant responsibility shifts to you when we flip this switch and we are hopeful again of your engagement. Please keep the momentum for a couple of days. I believe our virtual time will be short and confident of better conditions on the horizon so we can return to school. We’ve done very well together and should all be proud of what we have accomplished.

I wish you a special Easter and a pleasant, safe, and healthy break!!