Seesaw for PreK and Elementary

The Seesaw is a platform for student engagement. It allows students to learn and engage in creative educational activities while giving teachers and parents insight to each students progress and thinking. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. It’s simple to get student work in one place and share with families. Nothing is shared without teacher approval.

Seesaw is the main form of communication with parents at Preschool and Elementary.  The teacher can message parents individually or as a group. This is the best way for parents to message the teacher, especially during the day.  

When there are new posts or messages, parents will be notified and can see what's new! 

Seesaw is private. Parents only see posts created by their child. Learn more about Seesaw's commitment to privacy at web.seesaw.me/privacy. 

How to join Seesaw:

1. Download 'Seesaw Family' from the App Store or Google Play Store. Don’t have a smartphone? Sign up on a computer at app.seesaw.me.

2. Tap 'Create Family Account' and scan the QR code on the handout that the teacher passed out. Make sure it says your child's name at the top.  

3. Create your account to see your child's journal! Make sure to allow notifications to get real-time updates about new posts.

 

In Middle School at KIS we are uniformly using Microsoft Teams (part of Microsoft 365) for much of our communication and curriculum delivery. The Microsoft suite of programs and apps links with you child's account and should offer a streamlined angle to academic productivity, and hopefully you and your child will find most of what you need within it. As such, you should be able to:

1. find curriculum, lessons, and assignments
2. submit work and check grades
3. communicate/collaborate with teachers
4. communicate/collaborate with students
5. join online classes

We hope you find this helpful and can access the array of functions it offers.

 

Season’s Greetings  from the Preschool and Elementary Department! 

We would like to wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season!  The end of 2021 is fast approaching, and what an outstanding first term it has been!!

We want to thank all our KIS community--parents, caregivers, teachers, and students for the fantastic support during 2021!  

BEE Kind, Safe, and Well during this holiday season, and see you in 2022!! 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Mrs. Carpenter (Ms. Cheri) and the Preschool and Elementary Staff!

Dear Middle School Parents,

Our well-earned winter break has arrived!

End of the quintile: The second quintile ended on Tuesday, December 14th. That means you’ll find a status report on the parent site (linked below). Your child’s narrative report will also be found there. The narrative report will help you understand the why and how behind the grades you see on the status report. Teachers carefully craft descriptions of what they observe in class, provide examples of success, and speak to fundamental school skills like working with others, following directions, and staying on task. If you have any questions about specific comments in the narrative, please feel free to email your child’s teacher.

Students and parents can check student grades anytime through this portal: KISMET: Dashboard

January Preview (more information to follow, in January):

During the week of January 10th, we will have assemblies for each age group to celebrate students who received an “Exemplary” mark in one of the Success Orientations during the second quintile. During this week students will also receive information about Winter (Jan/Feb/March) Extension choices.

During the week of January 17th, we have winter MAP tests scheduled for students in the Intensive English program. All students will take spring MAP tests.

During the week of January 24th, some parents will receive invitations to Parent- Teacher-Student Conferences on January 28th. This conference format allows the teaching team to meet with parents together to discuss challenges and find strategies to help their children be more successful.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday break, and good health and happiness in the New Year!

Mrs. Grossman

MS Director of Instruction

Dear Kozak Nation, 

I have accepted the position of Director at QSI Sarajevo starting in 2022-23, so I am leaving Kyiv and KIS at end of this school year. These past 8 years as Secondary Director of Instruction have been a wonderful experience for me and for my family, and I want to thank everyone for making our time here enjoyable and memorable. I have so many fond memories of the teachers, students, and parents at KIS. This place will always be in my heart. Rest assured that, once the new Secondary DI is selected, I will work closely with that person to ensure a smooth transition, and I will continue throughout this school year supporting everyone involved with the education of KIS secondary students.

Warmest regards,

Scott Legan

Course-Selection Process in Secondary 

After winter break, secondary students start the formal process of selecting courses for next school year. Here is an overview of that process and some basic information about graduation requirements and course offerings. We purposefully extend this process over several months so students and parents can make informed decisions. More information can be found on the secondary page of our website.   

Timeline 

Nov-Dec.  Students had general counseling sessions with the secondary counselor and with their homeroom advisor. The school hosted an evening informational session for parents about this process and how AP and IB courses fit into the process. We share the overview of the course-selection process, so students can begin thinking about next school year. 

Winter Break.  Students and parents are encouraged to discuss future plans, visit university campuses if possible, and research university websites for their entry requirements.  

Jan-Feb.  The Secondary Office will distribute an electronic form (one form for each age group) to gather data for course selection. The deadline for completing that form will be Friday, February 19.  

Mar-Apr.  The Secondary DI creates the Secondary Master Schedule to match students with the courses they need/want, as best possible. When scheduling conflicts arise, priority is given to graduating seniors, who have more limited time to take a particular course. Staffing assignments are made to cover the master schedule. 

Our Philosophy—Student Ownership in Decision Making 

In secondary school, students select—with parental approval—courses to study. The electronic form must be submitted by the student, but it should be completed together with a parent. Course options are more limited early in secondary because students must first master foundational subjects that are pre-requisites for more advanced study. Gradually, as students become more aware of their strengths and preferences, they can choose courses best suited for their own path after graduation.  

Graduation Requirements 

There are two main factors about which parents and students must be aware. First, to earn a diploma from KIS students must complete all graduation requirements, that includes a certain number of units in certain courses as prescribed by our accrediting organization. These requirements can be found in the document called My Path to Graduation: Everything a Secondary Student Needs to Know (graduation requirements are found on page 10).  

Course Completion 

The second factor is that students need to complete previous course work before they can move on to the next level. For example, students must master 10 units of Writing I before moving to Writing II. There are some exceptions, whereby a student can move on to the next level with fewer than 10 units, but then the student is assigned Safety Netting to recover those units. A Safety Netting replaces other courses a student might want to take, plus finishing a year with fewer than 10 units looks really bad on a transcript, so I cannot stress this enough, students need to complete all 10 units in each of their courses every year to remain on a good path.  

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences 

We will have Conferences Friday, January 28, exclusively with the parents of students who are struggling to keep on a good path. Here at the end of the 2nd quintile, students should have 4 units mastered in all of their classes. This is just a guide. Some classes move faster or slower. 

Academic Rigor 

We are very proud of our AP and IB programs. For many years, KIS students have earned high marks in these externally assessed programs, usually well above world averages. Students and parents interested in AP and IB can find information by following these links:  

AP Capstone Program Information 

KIS AP Courses Offered 

IB Diploma Program Information 

KIS IB Courses Offered 

We have just two requirements for entry into both AP and IB. The first is 100% unit-completion (another reason to finish all 10 units). The second requirement is at least 90% attendance.  

Online Courses 

Sometimes, courses do not fit into a student’s schedule. Or we do not offer the course a student wants. In these cases, we work through our online learning provider, QVS, to serve students’ needs.   

Contact 

For questions about IB, contact Ms. Assenova randi-page-assenova@kyiv.qsi.org 

For questions about AP and university admissions, contact Ms. Rech lindsey-rech@kyiv.qsi.org 

For questions about graduation requirements and the course-selection process contact Mr. Legan scott-legan@kyiv.qsi.org