Director's Message
Dear KIS Families,
This week has been a busy one, as we have been looking closely at one of our MSA standards, Health and Safety. On Thursday, we did a run-through of our emergency drills and evacuation plans. Today, as you will see, we had a COVID-19 case for the first time this year that has impacted one of our classes. The school keeps up-to-date Policies and Procedures for COVID-19 on our website. We also communicate these updates and changes as they are made via emails and in our newsletter.
Vaccinated Individuals
There is already talk about the possibility of moving from the Green to Yellow Zone in Kyiv. According to Ukrainian guidelines, the school is able to continue operating within the yellow and orange zones if we have more than 80% of our staff vaccinated. We are happy to report that we have more than 80% of our staff vaccinated and will plan to have school if the city makes this shift.
SMS System for Communication
KIS tries to communicate with the community as much as possible in a way to keep you informed, but not overwhelmed. The school does this in a variety of ways, including KIS Informers, Social Media, and an SMS system (text message). Next week, we will be testing out our SMS system to make sure these messages are reaching parents. We will send out an Informer before we send the message, so parents will know when to check.
Accidents and Injuries
We are not sure if it is just the excitement of being back to school, but we have had several student injuries and have a number of students on crutches. In the case of an injury, the school's health center will contact parents and organize any next steps for students. We have special temporary car passes for those needing to drop off closer to the campus.
We want to do everything we can to make sure our students and staff are healthy and safe, the school takes appropriate response measures, and communicates all necessary information with parents in a timely manner. We appreciate parents checking to make sure they are receiving these messages and getting communications from the school.
Sincerely,
Luke Woodruff
Director
Kyiv International School
Upcoming Events
20 September - Fall MAP testing begins
22 September -Virtual Coffee Chat with KFN (Lunch Services)
27 & 28 September - Individual Portraits
28 & 29 September - On Campus Coffee Chats with PTO and Admin
5 October - Emerson College Virtual Visit @ 11:30
6 October - UPenn Visit
19 October - University of British Columbia (UBC) Virtual Visit @ 11:00
21 October - University of Calgary Virtual Visit @ 17:00
22 October - QSI Virtual University Fair (All Day Event)
Business Office Note
Dear Parents,
Please, pay attention to the Due Dates for the school fees:
Term 1 - August 27th, 2021
Term 2 - December 17th, 2021
Term 3 - April 1st, 2022
We ask you to take care of outstanding balances at your earliest convenience.
For more assistance, please address us at:
Divisional News
MAP Growth Testing
Dear KIS Parents,
During the weeks of September 20th - October 4th your child will take a MAP® Growth™ test from NWEA® on a computer or tablet.
Your elementary child’s teacher will let you know the specific days for their class in individual newsletters.
Middle School Testing Schedule is below:
MAP Growth scores help teachers check student performance by measuring achievement and growth. Teachers use results to tailor classroom lessons and set goals for students.
MAP Growth tests are unique, and it adapts to your child’s responses to measure your child’s skill level. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next one is easier. These results will provide a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn—whether it is on, above, or below their grade level.
Since MAP Growth tests provide immediate and accurate information about your child’s learning, it’s easy for teachers to identify students with similar scores that are generally ready for instruction in similar skills and topics, and then plan instruction accordingly.
MAP Growth reports also provide typical growth data for students who are in the same grade, subject and have the same starting performance level. Following each testing period, you will receive a Family Report showing a summary of how your child is performing academically on your Parent Moodle. This report is downloadable, like the status reports.
We are truly excited to focus on your child’s individual growth and achievement. For more information about MAP Growth, visit NWEA.org/familytoolkit.
LOE Korner
Language Clubs
If you speak French, German, Russian, Spanish or Ukrainian, and would like to improve your skills, to practice the language in various situations, to do something fun during Kozak 30, please, join our Language Clubs. We will meet once a month and the first sessions will take place:
French (Room 1301): MS - 28 Sept., HS - 30 Sept.,
German (Room 1402): HS - 20 Sept., MS - 24 Sept.,
Russian (Room 1304): HS - 28 Sept., MS - 30 Sept.,
Spanish (Room 1405): MS - 21 Sept., HS - 24 Sept.,
Ukrainian (Room 1403): HS - 21 Sept., MS - 23 Sept.
HS starts at 11.21 and MS - at 11.54.
We have a lot of interesting topics to discuss, funny videos to watch, beautiful songs to listen and to sing, personal stories to share... and it will be up to the members of Language Club to choose the activities. You will decide what we will do!
Mexico’s Independence Day, September 16th
Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain on September 16th every year with parades, fiestas, festivals, lots of delicious food and more.
In 1810, Mexico had been under Spanish rule for 300 years.
On September 15th 1810, the people of Mexico decided it was time for independence from Spain, Father Miguel Hidalgo began the Mexican war for independence with is “Grito de Dolores” or “Cry of Dolores” a cry of freedom.
This year, Ms. Alba commemorated the Independence Day of her country with elementary and Middle School students.. They watched videos and made posters. It was fun!
Sports and Activities
Elementary
Dear KIS Community,
We are happy to introduce and share more information about some of our Elementary Activities Leaders. PLEASE MEET:
Act It
Climb It
Football It
E-mail for the Elementary Activities Coordinator: kateryna-klymenchuk@kyv.qsi.org
Kozak Nation (MS and Secondary)
Gambit Chess Club
The Kozak Nation has a new student initiative: Gambit Chess Club.
Senior, Oleksiy Pabat, has organized and promoted this new club for Secondary students at KIS and the opening day was very successful, with 15 students and 2 staff members participating.
We are happy to support and promote student initiatives. If your student has an idea, have them contact the Student Life Office: rachel-geary@kyiv.qsi.org
Late Bus
Learning Stories
Preschool
Music with Ms. Katya
"Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and by studying music, kids have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world." - William J. Clinton
2 year old’s making their first steps in music: experience maracas and drums. And the school year has just begun!
Preschool
Bubbles, Bubbles and more... Bubbles
by Donna Buck
One of the first activities this year with the students of 4DB has been to discuss the importance of and routine practice of washing hands with soap and water. We believe hand washing with soap and water is an important measure for reducing the spread of germs. We also believe properly washed hands are key to the health of children and teachers.
In 4DB we discussed the importance of washing away the germs. We practiced rubbing our hands vigorously and creating lots of bubbles. We scrubbed the tops of our hands, our wrists, in between each finger and on the palms. Then we rinsed and dried our hands. It would not be PreK without a mess, but soap and water are easily cleaned and dried.
Our Hand Washing (and getting a drink of water) Routine:
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Upon arrival to the classroom
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Re-entering the classroom
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Before eating
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After using the toilet
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Before Circle Time
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After Art Time
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After nap
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Before going home
Elementary
Project based learning in 8B by Wesley Buck
Each year teachers at QSI choose a topic as a Professional Inquiry. It is an area of teaching in which we hope to learn and grow. This year, I am choosing to focus on creating more project-based learning opportunities for my students in 8B.
Last week in Cultural Studies our kids continued to study a unit on our communities. We learned about urban, rural, and suburban communities, their similarities and differences. We also studied the five themes of geography and discussed how these themes applies to various communities.
To increase the knowledge of their own communities, the students created clay models of either the community where they currently live or communities from their countries of origin. When the students presented their displays to the class, they explained what type of community they crafted and how the five themes of geography applied to their design. Mastery was demonstrated and achieved through this hands-on activity.
Middle School
Interviewing the First Emperor of China
Students in Mr. Burke's 12-year-old Cultural Studies just finished studying the Qin Dynasty and China's First Emperor, who was Shi Huangdi. For this in class assignment, students became journalists and interviewed the Emperor. They had to choose which newspaper to write for. The options were "The National Inquirer"(gossip), "The Ch'in Times"(serious), "The Financial Review"(all about money, government-controlled paper), and "Taking it on the Ch'in"(all about being happy with changes, government-controlled paper). The topics for the interview were on The Great Wall of China, Education/Book Burning, Land ownership, Terra Cotta Soldiers, and Creating a Civil Service. Our young journalists had to come up with 5 questions for Emperor Shi. The second part of the assignment, was "role playing" a press conference.
Lunch Services
Dear KIS,
At KFN, we try as best we can to offer a balanced meal with Salads, Soup, Protein, Garnish and a Dessert.
We believe that we offer a good variety of food for several ages and dietary needs.
The school is looking to transition back to a buffet style of eating with plates and cutlery. This also allows us to better offer second servings for the students who are on the lunch program. This also gives students the opportunity to mix and match food options. We look forward to sharing with the community some upcoming changes with KFN in the next couple of weeks. We hope these changes will help reduce the cost, increase variety, reduce unneeded waste, increase portions for older students, and continue to provide a positive lunch experience for our community.
Please find our menu on the website www.kfncatering.school
A new menu is coming soon!
Your KFN Team
Real Talk With Dan
KIS Podcast Episode 5: Dan
KIS YouTube Channel News
Check out KIS Official Youtube Channel and enjoy some new videos posted!
School Announcements
Individual Portraits
Virtual Coffee Chat on Lunch Services
Community English
ENGLISH classes are offered to Beginning, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate and Advanced learners.
Due to KIS Covid protocols, the groups meet in Zoom.
The classes are planned to be running once a week. If interested, please email natasha-kuzovleva@kyiv.qsi.org .
There are no resources or collections to display
School Water Stations
Water Fountain Stations are available on each floor of the elementary building, main building Middle School, Secondary and gyms area. Please, make sure your child has a water bottle, that can be used at school.
Dear KIS Community,
We've added section for Classifieds to the Connect page on our website:
- Recruitment (nannies, drivers, housekeepers, tutors, instructors)
- Property
- Community announcements
If you would like your announcement to be added to that section, please email: kozakconnect@qsi.org
2021 - 2022 School Year Calendar
