Interim Upper ES Principal | Eric.Burnett@aas.ru
Care for our Community
Over the last 20 years, our school has been fortunate to foster a relationship with the Taganka Children’s Fund.
Founded over 30 years ago, this Moscow organization has played an enduring caring role in supporting their community. This charitable organization “works not only on the territory of Tagansky District, but supports more than 700 disadvantaged Moscow families, including single-parent families, large families and families with disabled children or parents.
The Fund has grown into a professional organization, which provides various specialized services to:
- families undergoing financial and psychological problems
- children and young people affected by disability
- teenagers and young people
For more information about the Taganka Children’s Fund, please visit their website.
Visit Taganka Website
Our relationship with Taganka has likewise evolved over the years, with us supporting holiday food and necessity drives, and facilitating cultural visits and exchanges. This last year, many of our faculty and staff chose to donate to Taganka their individual gift from the PTO (a total in excess of 120,000 rubles). These funds were used to support the purchase of acoustic equipment, the repair of their electronic network, the rental of a classroom, and the payment of salaries for an art teacher and teenage leader. We want to thank both our AAS families and our faculty and staff for their generosity and care.
The last couple years, our ability to directly interact with the Taganka community has been impacted due to Covid realities, but we are hopeful in the coming year to discuss possibilities for reconnecting more personally.
Methods of Communication
We wanted to reach out to you to ensure you were aware of the different methods in which we'll be communicating with you this year.
Here are some of the methods:
- ES Newsletter
Our primary method of communication. Shared every Wednesday evening and archived on this website. Provides information on our division's philosophy (e.g., "homework," art integration, conferences), upcoming events (e.g., photo days, parent forums) and how our school community is embedding the school's mission, vision and core values.
- Parent Forums
In these monthly online discussions, we'll offer more detailed explorations of topics parents have identified as priorities and/or provide answers to your questions.
- Divisional Email
We will use whole school email rarely, usually to assist families in signing up for key events. If/when you have any questions or considerations, please reach out to es.office@aas.ru and we will either respond directly or put you in contact with the person best able to respond.
- Parent Phone Queries
Throughout the year, we'll be reaching out to families to see how their child(ren) are doing and to answer questions/listen to feedback. To ensure we get a cross-section of perspectives, we'll be randomly choosing households to contact.
In addition to the above channels utilized by the Elementary School office, you'll also continue to connect with your child's learning and growth through classroom email and our Toddle platform. Also, in the coming weeks, we'll be sharing a communication schedule where you'll see opportunities to connect with other leaders across the school.
Who do I contact if…?
To best ensure your queries are answered in a timely and accurate manner, please ensure your messages are sent to the appropriate recipient.
Classroom teachers are best able to respond to your child’s learning in the classroom and upcoming classroom learning experiences. Please ensure you protect your child’s learning time with their teacher, by directing your queries to the following:
ES School Photo Days
October 1 - 13
From October 1-13, Elementary School students will be having their photo days.
Your child’s specific day for the school photograph is on the schedule below. The attire for school photographs is formal school uniform. All the requested formal uniform orders for ES have been delivered.
For those of you who did not have a chance to purchase a formal uniform last week, the school can provide a tie, but you will still need to have a white formal shirt for your child to wear for the photo day.
See the Photo Days Schedule
Student Health and Participation in Learning (e.g., Swimming)
One of the benefits of our current Covid mitigations (e.g., staying at home when showing symptoms of illness, wearing a mask while indoors), is that other germs, bacteria and viruses are less likely to spread within our community.
However, there is always the chance that one of our students will fall ill and need to take time away from school. When students return from school, we understand that they are healthy enough to participate in all activities.
In a related topic around health and participation, our school is extremely fortunate to offer swimming instruction as a regular part of our students’ required learning. As referenced in our ES Parent Handbook, “there is insufficient scientific evidence to suggest that wet hair will make you sick. Germs, bacteria and viruses cause sickness. Please note: AAS has placed powerful hair dryers in the locker rooms and the children are encouraged to use them after swimming class. Students do not go immediately outside after being in the pool.”
Please look further at our ES Family Handbook (Section 3.9 - page 11) for further details around our school’s policies around this topic, and how we would support extenuating circumstances.
What role does movement play at AAS?
Vera Koroleva and Veronica Ponomaryova-Stepnaya (Occupational Therapy Assistants)
Our current digital lives have us in front of screens more than ever and students today move far less than they did twenty, and even ten years ago. It’s important to recognize that when students don’t have their physical, movement needs met, that void can sometimes impact their academic performance and interactions with their peers.
At AAS, we’re extremely fortunate to offer Occupational Therapy services to students who have designated needs, but our Occupational Therapy team also provides teacher workshops and supports environments where all students can benefit.
Recently, on the school playground, we commissioned the painting of an Obstacle Course, in which students can walk, hop, spin, twirl, dance, and wiggle. This different type of playing empowers students to strengthen their gross motor skills, while developing their stamina and challenging themselves and their peers. Throughout the days, we see students trying all or part of the painted Obstacle Course. Back in the classroom, this type of active movement leads to heightened levels of focus so students can pay better attention to their learning in class.
You too can play a role with your children in modeling how to lead a healthy life. Look for ways around the house, or in the car, or out in the city parks to inspire movement. Maybe try a game of Simon Says, or Twister, or shake and shimmy along to a Cosmic Kids Dance Party video, or maybe co-design your own obstacle course in your home or at a neighborhood playground (you’ll find tons of obstacle course inspiration on Youtube). Whatever you try, just have fun - moving, moving, moving!
