Director's Message
Dear KIS families,
I hope Parent-Teacher Conferences went well and everyone was able to join their meetings. We would like to that you for making the time to meet with teachers. This is always a valuable time in the year to make sure we are all taking the right steps together.
“Although social-emotional competence promotes academic proficiency, the converse is also true: academic proficiency is associated with a lower risk of being identified as emotionally disturbed.” -Valerie von Bargen
Everything we strive to do comes down to student's social, emotional, and academic success. Parent involvement and regular communication are so important in making this possible.
I also want to repeat what was sent out as an informer concerning the recent power cuts in Kyiv. We understand that some students and teachers may not be able to join class at these times. KIS plans to continue with school and make adjustments to make sure we are following our schedule and connecting with students when possible. Our team will work to help any students who have missed class time or important learning. Also, we will not be counting such absences as missed days in our reporting.
Take care and Слава Україні!
Sincerely,
Luke Woodruff
Director
Kyiv International School
Key Dates
31 October - 4 November - Spirit Week
13 November - Dance for Kindness
24 - 26 November - Professional Development Days - No School for Students
PARENT PORTAL
Would You Like To Join PTO?
Feel the call and would like to join our PTO team? Reach out to pto@kyiv.qsi.org or kozakconnect@qsi.org.
If you are a new parent at KIS, feel free to join KIS Moms & Dads group on Facebook to stay connected.
FAQs
SECONDARY
DI's Message
What’s Going on in Secondary
Parent Teacher Conferences
Thank you to all of you who came to our Parent Teacher Conferences on Friday. I hope your conversations were helpful and positive. If you still have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me to arrange a meeting.
We have made some changes to Morning Mindset:
Monday – an all-secondary activity or assembly
Tuesday-Thursday – grade level meetings with the same core teachers
Friday – student choice (Fitness, Art, Yoga, Breakfast)
Daily Schedule
After a student proposal for some block schedule days, we surveyed students about this proposed schedule change and these are the results!
Students had some thoughtful reasons why they loved this or hated it; considering all the perspectives, we have started to explore what a block schedule day would look like on Thursdays and Fridays. Students would have only 3 classes on each day.
Safety
Our priority is the safety of our students and families. Please do what is best for you – for your physical and mental health. There is nothing more important!
Sincerely,
Rachel Geary
Director of Instruction
rachel-geary@kyiv.qsi.org
School Day Schedule
Cooking Classes
TASTY TUESDAYS
Please join us on Tuesday, October 25th to make this requested super simple pasta meat sauce.
Super Simple Spaghetti Bolognese:
- 1 medium onion
- 1 carrot
- 3 cloves garlic
- Half kilo ground beef or pork
- Tomato paste
- 3 cans tomatoes
- Dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- Pasta
COUNSELOR'S BLOG
Have you ever watched the movie or read the Dr. Seuss book “Horton Hears a Who”? In the story, Horton the elephant encounters a speck of dust floating through the air. Through the dust, he hears one resident of “Whoville” share how they are facing destruction. The Whos are trying to make themselves heard by yelling and screaming, but it isn’t working.
Frantically, the mayor runs through town, searching high and low for anyone not making noise. And “just as he felt he was getting nowhere, and almost about to give up in despair,” he encountered little Jo-Jo, a young man who was not adding his voice. The mayor takes Jo-Jo to the highest part of the town, shows him the people, and tells him: “Open your mouth. For every voice counts!” And, though Jo-Jo was small, his voice caused the Whos to finally be heard and their lives were spared. One voice can make a difference.
While that story is fiction, it has a moral for all of us. Speak up. Your voice matters. With your voice you can choose to lift others up or your voice can defend others. With your voice you can make a difference.
October is World Bullying Prevention Month. On October 3, we asked students and staff to wear blue to show their support for making our school a safe and welcoming place for all students.
Here’s how students can help everyone feel welcome at our school:
1. Ask other students how their day is going
2. If a student is by themselves, ask them to join your group
3. Give another student a compliment
4. Make it your goal to make another person’s day better by doing something kind
5. Treat others the way you would like to be treated
6. Respect the differences you see in other students
7. Be kind to other students
8. If you see another student treating another student unkindly, say something
What steps should you follow if someone is not being kind to another student?
1. Ask the person to stop.
2. Walk away.
3. Avoid showing hurt or anger.
4. Talk to an adult who can help: a teacher or parent.
5. Rehearse what you could say next time.
6. Stick up for others and ask them to stick up for you.
LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH
Starting next week, there will be one more session of Introductory Russian and Ukrainian, after school, at 4 pm (Kyiv time). So, teachers willing to learn one of these languages can participate as well.
Ukrainian Introductory (vita-slobodeniuk@kyiv.qsi.org)
Mondays, 1.10 - 1.50 pm,
Wednesdays, 4.00 - 4.45 pm,
Zoom ID: 949-036-4810, pw: Ukrainian.
Russian Introductory (dana-horbunova@kyiv.qsi.org)
Wednesdays, 10.10 - 10.50 am,
Thursdays, 4.00 - 4.45 pm,
Zoom ID: 218-901-3162, pw: Russian.
Russian Intermediate will not be offered for now, since there are no participants. The Ukrainian Intermediate/Advanced group will continue their work:
Ukrainian Intermediate/Advanced (maria-bizhyk@kyiv.qsi.org)
Tuesdays, Period 6: 2.00 - 2.40 pm,
Zoom ID: 465-022-0813, pw: Ukrainian.
Please, don't hesitate to contact the teacher directly if you have any questions.
Спілкуйтеся українською! Говорите по-русски!
Sincerely,
Sergey Berezhny
LOE Coordinator
sergey-berezhny@kyiv.qsi.org
WHOLE SCHOOL PORTAL
STUCO
PHOTO WALK
Global Dance for Kindness
Dance for Kindness
Dance for Kindness is a worldwide event, where people do the same dance all around the world, to promote kindness! https://www.danceforkindness.com/
Kyiv International School plans to DANCE all around the world and on Zoom! We will film our dances and edit them into one video.
We will have a group who will dance together in Kyiv. If you are interested in joining this group please contact Ms. Katya: kateryna-munteanu@kyiv.qsi.org
If you want to dance, wherever you are, please contact: rachel-geary@kyiv.qsi.org
The dance will be shared with anyone who is interested in participating!
#KyivIsKind #KISisKind
LEARNING STORIES & WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
This Is Us: Educator Profile
Amy Mims
Titles: 9YO Teacher
Why am I teaching: I decided to become a teacher when I was in University pursuing an Anthropology degree. I was taking a Linguistics class and my professor told me I should drop his class because I will never pass. It made me think back to elementary school and how supportive my teachers were. I knew I wanted to be a positive influence in the lives of others, lifting others up, and to join a profession that needs dedicated/committed role models. I passed his Linguistics class, earned my degree and headed off to Teachers college, never looking back.
Favourite Quote: "You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result." - Mahatma Gandhi
Favourite thing about KIS: My favorite thing about working at KIS is the community and collaboration. KIS is inviting and feels like a family.
Teacher: Lily Gorbatenko
Students begin PE lessons with an energetic Zumba dance to really warm up. This is followed by a whole-body work out. Then students are stretching arm, back, and leg muscles. They are getting more flexible. Other yoga exercises that we practise help us improve joint mobility. In the pictures you see a Crab pose and arm stretching.
Teacher: Bob Hume
Monday, the whole Secondary met on Zoom and did a full day photo Scavenger Hunt.
Everyone joined a big Zoom call, and got a list of things to take photos of in two categories 'Let's Go' and 'Letting Go.'
Teacher: John Semeniuk
After being introduced to their Internal Assessments last school year, researching over the summer and then investigating an historical event of their choosing, IB History year 2 students have finally conquered a huge component to their course. Polina, Wojciech, Varya and Nika all investigated topics of their choosing and put in over 30 hours of effort into their investigations. They investigated a wide range of topics such as if Gorbachev was truly responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union; what were the intentions of the US invasion of Panama; the Civil Rights movement's impacts in education; and Barbie's influence on young adolescents. We are incredibly proud of the effort and hard work that these students put in and how they truly took on the role of the historian themselves.
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dear Campus Community,
As you know, we have Classifieds section on the Connect Page of the school website. The Section contains the following branches:
If you have an announcement you would like us to place there, please email kozakconnect@qsi.org .