Director's Message
Dear KIS Families,
I would like to thank those who were able to attend our coffee chat this past week as we discussed the phase-by-phase planning for KIS to have students back on campus. We will be sending out a separate KIS informer on Monday about this and share some additional information.
Also, don't forget to join the PTO Potluck Dinner this Sunday happening at KIS!!!
Important Leadership Announcement
I wanted to let you all know of a couple important leadership changes in QSI and KIS that will take place in the 2023-24 school year (next school year).
Mrs. Carla Grossman will be moving to be the Director at QSI Suriname for the 2023-24 school year. We are excited for Mrs. Grossman and the valuable work that she will do there. We also look forward to hearing more about the new opportunities and adventures they will have at this school. They have been a part of the KIS community for several years, all of which have had their challenges, and Suriname will be lucky to have them as a part of their community.
For the 2023-24 school year, I will be changing to be a Regional Supervisor for QSI. This means that I will be stepping away as the Director at Kyiv International School after this school year, but I will continue to be working with KIS and this region of schools. I am very happy that I will be staying connected to KIS moving forward.
I am happy to announce that Ms. Rachel Geary will be the Director at Kyiv International School for the 2023-24 school year. Ms. Geary has worked in several different capacities while at KIS and her wealth of experience with our program, school vision, students, and the community makes her a wonderful fit for this role.
Below is a short message from Ms. Geary.
Sincerely,
Luke Woodruff
Director
Kyiv International School
Message from Ms. Geary
Dear KIS Community,
I am very excited to take on the role of Director at Kyiv International School next year. I have been working for QSI since 2005 and have been in many different roles during that time: Intensive English Coordinator, Resource Coordinator, IB Coordinator, Athletic/Activities Director and Secondary Director of Instruction. Both my children are KIS graduates and my husband, Lee Feekins, and I consider KIS home. While I know that the coming school year will be challenging, I look forward to working with the members of our community to ensure that our students have meaningful, memorable learning experiences. We all would like to see our campus return to the days of light, noise, joy and learning – I am hopeful that with the support of our community we can make that happen.
Sincerely,
Rachel Geary
Director of Instruction
rachel-geary@kyiv.qsi.org
Key Dates
11 December - KIS Family Potluck on School Campus
16 December - Yearbook portraits deadline
17 December - 8 January - Winter Break
9 January - Term 2 begins
Second Term Fees
Since we will be starting the second term online, the KIS Business office will be sending out invoices with the reflected online fees.
Please contact anna-golodryga@kyiv.qsi.org with any questions.
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
ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL
DI's Message
Dear Elementary and Middle School Families,
Our last week before break is jam-packed with learning and fun!
During Morning Mindset each day, Student Council students will be leading activities with elementary and middle school students. Friday afternoon there will be special activities at the end of the day. Your child will receive instructions and details from their homeroom teacher.
Next week, we transition from Quintile 2 to Quintile 3. Parents and middle school students can check student grades anytime through this portal: KISMET: Dashboard, However, at the end of next week, the second Status Report and the Narrative report for Quintile 2 will also be available. More detailed instructions for accessing grades and reports can be found in every newsletter under the Moodle section.
What is a Narrative Report? The Narrative Report is written feedback that describes the why and how behind the grades 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. We redesigned our Narrative Report to make it easier to read and more descriptive – I am interested to hear what you think!
As always, feel free to write with questions or concerns.
Warm regards,
Mrs. Carla Grossman
Carla Grossman
Director of Instruction
carla-grossman@kyiv.qsi.org
School Day Schedule
Passion Project Showcase
Jacob - Dino Book
Jacob is an incredible artist. He especially enjoys drawing Dinosaurs. For his passion project, he decided he wanted to share his love of dinosaurs with others by making a dinosaur book. He is especially skilled at drawing dinosaurs and even used one of his passion project classes to teach me how to draw a Pumpkinsaurus!
Status of Project: Complete
Mentor: Ms. G
- 5 & 6 YO Projects
Zygmunt - Chief Cook
Zygmunt wanted to learn how to make his favorite Marghaerita pizza himself. He was very excited to prepare meals and then eat them. In addition to pizza, Zygmunt prepared pancakes, a chocolate cake, Nutella, and a Minecraft cake. He used kitchen tools, recipes, and ingredients by recipes.
Status of Project: Done
Mentor: Miss Lyuba
- 7 & 8 YO Projects
Illia - Golf
My PP was to learn about golf. I learned a lot of things about golf, like the history of golf, rules, golf gear, and lots of interesting facts about the game.
Status of Project: Done
Mentor: Alla Yarmolenko
- 9 & 10 YO Projects
Nikita - Book Author
Nikita is passionate about writing. For his PP he decided to write a fantasy book full of adventures. His work is still in progress, since book writing takes a lot of time.
Status of Project: In Progress
Mentor: Alla Titova
- 11 YO Projects
Katya - Designing Origami
My Passion is creating origami paper figures! With one piece of paper you can create a whole flower like on the picture (one of my first and favorite designs!).I've made ghosts, turkeys, flowers, Halloween and Thanksgiving themed origami paper figures. Overall, I made 10 paper figures and I'm planning on making more.
I really enjoy this passion and I recommend that you try origami as well.
Status of Project: In Progress
Mentor: Mr. Burke
- 12 & 13 YO Projects
Artem - Learn to Juggle
Mentor: Mr. Lee
- 12 & 13 YO Projects
SECONDARY
DI's Message
What’s Going on in Secondary
Just one week until winter break. I know that students have been busy finishing projects and closing units. I hope that most students will be able to have a homework-free winter break. Next week we will not follow the block schedule. Please see the schedule here, which includes both times to celebrate our community and the end of the term and time to finish up those very last bits and pieces!
Sincerely,
Rachel Geary
Director of Instruction
rachel-geary@kyiv.qsi.org
Thursday / Friday Schedule
School Day Schedule
WHOLE SCHOOL PORTAL
CAS Book Club
Read a good book on the topic of issues of global assistance or global significance? Please share your review with us! How to do it? It's very simple, just use this FORM.
LEARNING STORIES & WEEK HIGHLIGHTS
This Is Us: Educator Profile
Amanda Denney
Titles: Secondary Literature Teacher
Why am I teaching: I wanted to be a teacher because it's equal parts challenging and rewarding. I love that I have the opportunity to be creative and build a legacy. Teaching is different year by year, so it never gets boring!
Favourite Quote: "Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than the things you did do." - Mark Twain
Favourite thing about KIS: I love the sense of community and how dedicated the entire staff is towards providing the best opportunity for students to learn and grow. I'm inspired and motivated by my colleagues!
Celebrating Christmas
Teacher: Kateryna Munteanu
LOE has stared already celebrating the winter holidays. We make Advent calendars and Christmas cards, sing songs and play games, share winter stories and talk about traditions that are so different…
- LOE
"Plant and Animal Structures"
Teacher: Nina Kolonskykh
Young children love to explore all types of living things. Animals are especially exciting because they make interesting noises, interact with each other, and are unpredictable in their behavior.
- 6 YOs
Morning Mindset in Middle School
Teacher: Alina Fishchuk
This Friday during the Morning Mindset time 12 y.o. class wrote winter stories. It took them only 15 minutes to write their stories!
- 12 YOs
Photography Class
Teacher: Leanne Hume
Photography students have been learning about how to capture light and how to creating images that communicate a concept.
- Secondary
Art Independent Study
Teacher: Nataliya Chervonyk
We would like to bring to your attention the variety of artworks that High School students have been working on during the independent study classes. Being self-motivated they were able to show the impressive results.
- Secondary
Secondary Safety Netting
Teacher: Ksenia Kolonskykh
Safety Netting lessons are designed to provide students with individual support in different areas. At KIS, we view time as a resource for students to achieve mastery in their different areas of study. In mastery learning, time is a resource that students and teacher use to increase the success of all students.
- Secondary
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 .