Please find in this newsletter the latest updates to be shared with our community before we break for the holidays.  The length of this message is longer than I would normally like to have for our final message before the holidays.  I appreciate your time in reading through this important information.
 

❤️  Thank You!

As we enter the final school days of 2021, we would like to share our sincere appreciation for the ongoing support and partnership with our families in the learning of our students.

We are grateful to be a part of a community where we work together to benefit AAS students.
 

🖼  Fall Semester in Images

Please take a moment to enjoy the memories from this first semester.

Stay regularly connected with the learning at AAS on our Facebook page.
 

📄  Leadership Hiring Updates

AAS is pleased to share that we have hired the following leadership team members who will join AAS in August 2022.

• Tanya Hawkes as Director of Teaching & Learning (a position that has been vacant for several years) 

• Troy Snyder as Middle School Associate Principal

• Traci Dougherty as High School Associate Principal

The Board will be meeting to make a decision on the appointment of the next Director at the end of this week. Thank you again for your participation in this important process.
 

📝  Faculty Family Visas

AAS still has a number of families who are not in Moscow now due to the renewal of dependent visas.

At this time, we are not certain of the timelines for some of these families to return to Moscow.  Processes are taking longer and with the holidays we don’t know what working hours will be available for finalizing these visas. The Division Leadership will inform families with specific updates if your child’s teacher is impacted.  We recognize that this fall has been challenging with the digital approach necessary for some teachers.

If we could have avoided this situation, we would have done so without hesitation, but we have no control or influence over the invitation letter process nor the visa application process.

Thank you for your ongoing support of AAS.
 

🗓  Calendar Updates 

The Russian government made adjustments to its national holidays calendar.

The Board has finalized the 2021/2022 school calendar to reflect these changes. Please note the approved Board calendars for the current year and the two upcoming school years are linked below and can be found on https://www.aas.ru/calendar. 

• 2021/2022 school year (this year)

• 2022/2023 school year (next year)

• 2023/2024 school year (the following year)

For the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 school years, the earlier start date in August is required in order to accommodate all of the Russian holidays, to maintain the one-week fall break, the one-week February break, and the one-way spring break, the three weeks at Winter Holidays, and still maintain the average of 180 days over a three school year period.
 

😷  Covid

The AAS Covid Response team met yesterday with the following summarized updates:

• Please ensure that your child(ren) stay at home if they are ill or have flu-like symptoms.  Please connect with the Health Office about next steps.

• Please note recent changes from Russian authorities below:

  • The Russian authorities now require a PCR within 48 hours (used to be 72 hours) before arrival when returning from international travel.

  • The Russian authorities now require a mandatory 14 day quarantine for anyone arriving from countries where Omicron is endemic regardless of vaccination status and covid testing.  So far, this only applies to Hong Kong and countries in Southern Africa.  Please monitor these restrictions in relation to your travel as AAS will be required to restrict access to campus for any students traveling to/from Russian restricted countries.

  • By January 4, 2022, AAS will confirm the learning model for January 10, which is currently planned to be Full Modified on Campus.

• All our mitigations remain in place for now until we see what the health situation is like when we return from the Winter Break.

• Current Covid numbers in Moscow reveal that our local community is still at the dark red level supporting that our mitigations should remain in place..

• Please see the CDC Schools Guidance for Covid which helps guide AAS in our decisions.  We reference this chart as well as take into consideration our layered mitigations on campus.

• Our Covid response team has been discussing parent access to campus with an original plan to provide for access after the November break.  However, with the local government mandatory non-work week in late-October/early November based on the health situation in Moscow, we were not able to proceed.  As noted above, the number of new positive cases are decreasing, so based on our team’s previous proposals, we are considering the following: 

• Limited number in-person visits to the Penguin Store and/or the PTO Exchange by appointment with vaccination proof

• Limited number attendance at events in the gyms with vaccination proof, outside of school hours, and pre-registration required

• Competition with outside schools for sports pending clarification from the health authorities on the current federal and Mayoral decrees that suggest this is prohibited as well as responses from possible competitors that they agree to be tested before accessing the AAS campus

• Attendance for events in the Bolshoi based on a pending clarification from the health authorities on the current maximum capacity limit of 50 currently mandated for school spaces
   

🐧  Greetings to New AAS Families!

We would like to share our warm welcome to the new families who will be joining us in January 2022.

We look forward to having you join our learning community after the break.  For returning families, your resilience and engagement has been unparalleled and we look forward to continuing our partnership in January.  For families who are leaving AAS over the holiday break, we wish your families a smooth transition and a warm welcome wherever you may land.

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and support of the AAS learning community!
 

🎄  Happy Holidays!

We wish for all members of our community to have an opportunity to recharge and refocus so that we can best support learning upon our return, so we apologize for any delay in response over the holidays.

We look forward to reconnecting as a community on the 11th of January 2022.

 

⭐️  AAS Director Finalists

We appreciate those who participated in Mr. Smithies interview with parents held yesterday.

The PTO President has summarized the feedback shared to be sent to the Board Director Search Committee. Mr. Murphy’s interview with parents is scheduled for Monday, the 13th of December, from 10:45am to 11:45am via PTO WebEx.

If you are able to participate in this interview or watch the video of this interview, please share your feedback to the PTO President in the timeline requested after this interview so that it can be included in the feedback sent to the Board Director Search Committee.  We appreciate your engagement in this important process and look forward to sharing the Board’s decision about the next AAS Director soon.
 

🐧  Community Connection

Thank you to parents who were able to attend Monday evening’s Director’s Community Connection.

If you were not able to attend, please see the WebEx video of this event.
 

📝  Faculty Directory

Our technology integrators created a helpful guide to support parents in finding their child’s teacher and teaching assistant photo and contact details in the PowerSchool system.

Our teams are still working on a secure online directory where parents can obtain contact information of other parents. These options are being discussed with PTO. Once a plan is confirmed, we will ask parents to give permission through this system for their information to be accessible to other families.

If you or your child has any challenges with PowerSchool or other learning technology, please do not hesitate to email for support at distance.learning@aas.ru.
 

🧶  PTO Craft Fair Postponed

The PTO Craft Fair has been postponed at this time.

The PTO continues to work consider safe alternatives to the traditional format of the PTO Craft Fair which gathers a large number of staff, students, and parents across divisions on the AAS campus.
 

🎁  Holiday Gifts

It has been a tradition within our school community and with the PTO that gifts are provided on occasion to AAS staff members.

AAS is grateful for the generosity of our families and the PTO. However, after extensive research and guidance from our external consultants, it has been decided that for this year that teachers are not in a position to accept gifts due to the highly regulatory nature of reporting through extensive documentation as well as the taxability of such gifts under our NKO status.

Therefore, AAS respectfully requests that families do not provide teacher gifts this holiday season or throughout the school year. Thank you for respecting this decision.
 

❤️  Covid and Illness

Thank you for your ongoing partnership with the school in providing the safest learning environment for our students and staff.

AAS continues to follow the medical research and science as well as our validated protocols and mitigations.  This approach provides for consistency, a solid foundation, and a rationale for why we are making the decisions we are, keeping us grounded as the pandemic evolves.

We recognize and understand the frustration for all with the ongoing challenges of the pandemic now for almost 22 months and we also welcome a time when we don’t need to have all of our mitigations in place on a day-to-day basis. However, AAS based on science and medicine, does not believe that this time has arrived yet and we feel confident that our mitigations are what allow for all students on campus, which is our priority.

Please see a few updates and reminders below:

• Close Contacts
  If you missed the letter from Monday, please find it here or on our covid information page.

• Digital learning access
  The AAS learning model at this time is modified full on campus with all students on campus. Two-way digital learning access is available to students who have tested positive for covid or who are close contacts because they are not able to be on campus due the health and regulatory requirements. When your child is sick, we want them to rest at home and recover.  We are utilizing our normal absence policy where a student is not able to attend:  rest, recover, check Google Classroom or Toddle, and follow-up with the teacher on learning missed. The two-way digital learning is not intended to replace being on campus nor is it intended to encourage children who are not feeling well to have to engage from home.

• Flu-like Symptoms
  If your child is experiencing flu-like symptoms or fever, please keep your child at home and the connect with the Health Office so that they can assist in next steps.

• International Travel
  Russia has introduced a mandatory 14 day quarantine for anyone arriving into Russia from countries where Omicron is endemic.  So far, this is only for countries in Southern Africa; however, this could change. We note that AAS will be required to follow any Russian authority requirements on quarantine after the Winter Break. Please ensure you stay current on travel restrictions.  At this time, the only changes to the AAS protocols for access to campus after international travel are as noted here.  

• AAS Covid Resource Page
  The latest information related to Covid is on this AAS Covid Webpage, please note that at this time there are no changes  being considered in the AAS mitigations.

 

⭐️  Integrity

Integrity is one of the AAS five Core Values of: Respect, Integrity, Courage, Curiosity, and Care.

AAS Core Values are the fundamental beliefs of the School. These beliefs convey expected behavior for interactions of those within the school community and assist the School in fulfilling its Mission and Vision.
 

🏫  AAS Director Finalists

We are pleased to share the two AAS Director finalists who will be interviewing digitally in December. 

• John Smithies and his spouse, Alison Smithies
  - currently the Deputy Director at the American School of Bombay
  - interviews are being finalized for the 7th - 8th of December 6, 2021

• Michael Murphy and his spouse, Lauren Bowers
  - currently the Director at the American School of Kuwait
  - interviews are being finalized for the 13th and 14th December 12, 2021

The detailed schedules include opportunities for the finalists to meet with all stakeholders, ie..students, staff, leadership, parents, Board members.

There will be a leadership team member who will reach out to each of these various interview groups soon to gather interest in participation and proposed questions for these interviews.  We will be in touch shortly so that we can be prepared for these visits.  Thank you for being AAS community partners in this important process!
 

🪆  Virtual Artisan Fair

We are grateful to our PTO for sponsoring another Virtual Artisan Fair that connects our international community with local artisans and craftswomen.

Be sure to check out the catalogue if you are considering holiday gifts from our host country. A special thank you to Lera for choosing the best local products and artisans.
 

🐧  Community Connections

Director and Deputy Director Small Group Session

Thank you to those parents who attended the small group sessions over the past few months and shared their perspectives over their long tenures at AAS.  We will have our next Small Group Session in January after we return from the Winter Break.

We had planned to have another small group session in December; however, with the Director finalist visiting, we will now have this session in January.  Please watch the newsletter in the coming weeks for more information.
 

💻  Director Community Connection

 Monday, December 6, 18:30 

The Director and Deputy Director will host a digital Community Connection on Monday, December 6, 2021, at 18:30 via the Director’s WebEx.

Join via WebEx Here

The format will be open conversation, without pre-submitted questions. We encourage you to join us.
 

😊  Campus Tours for New Parents

 December 4 
 December 11 

As shared in the recent newsletters, AAS will be hosting on campus tours for our new families from 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 on Saturday, December 4, and Saturday, December 11.

Sign-ups for this opportunity closed on November 26. AAS Leadership is managing this experience and have communicated directly to confirm participation.
 

🕯  Passing of Security Team Member

With great sadness we share the passing of one of our staff members, Sergey Sonin.

Sergey was a part of our security team for 15 years. Sergey has siblings and an adult son amongst his immediate relatives. AAS has been in communication with Sergey’s family and AAS will provide financial support as per our employee benefits package.

If you would like to donate and/or support Sergey’s family, our cashier is accepting cash donations, you can send a sealed cash envelope to school with your child, addressed to the AAS Cashier, for Sergey Sonin’s family.
 

 

❤️  Thank you to all in our school community who collaborate for the benefit of our students.

 

⭐️  Student Learning

AAS continues to be proud of our students and the learning they engage in daily.

We encourage all community members to review and engage via your preferred medium with the celebrations of learning taking place every week.

Website | Facebook | Instagram
 

🐧  Community Connections

Director and Deputy Director Small Group Session

Thank you to those parents who attended the small group session this past Monday and shared their perspectives over their long tenures at AAS.  We will have our next Small Group Session in January after we return from the Winter Break.  Please watch the newsletter in the coming weeks for more information.
 

💌  Director Community Connection

 Monday, December 6, 18:30 

The Director and Deputy Director will host a digital Community Connection on Monday, the 6th of December 2021, at 6:30pm on the Director’s WebEx.

The format will be open conversation, without pre-submitted questions. We encourage you to join us.
 

🏫  Campus Tours for New Parents

 Saturday, December 4 
 Saturday, December 11 

As shared in last week’s newsletter, AAS will be hosting on campus tours for our new families from 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 on Saturday, December 4, and Saturday, December 11.

If your new family is interested in signing up for a tour appointment, please complete the survey to express your interest by November 26.

Complete the Survey

After that point we will share the appointment tour schedule with participants.
 

☕️  PTO Community Connection

Thank you to the PTO for another engaging PTO Community Coffee providing opportunities for us all to remain connected.

If you were not able to attend, you can watch the video recording of the meeting.

Watch the Recording

The last PTO Community Coffee of 2021 will be December 14, please join us.
 

😷  Vaccinations and Covid - Close Contacts

The recent decree that was issued on the 11th of November related to a waiver on the close contact requirement of 14 days self-isolation.

This waiver applies to students who meet one of the following criteria:

• had a Sputnik or other Russian approved vaccination within the past six months;
• have tested positive for Covid in the past six months from the date of the close contact.

The vaccination record or the covid test positive result must be provided to the AAS Health Office in order to waive the 14 day close contact requirement.
 

🌍  International Travel

There are no changes to the protocol for access to campus after international travel.

The current protocol requires students who travel internationally, regardless of their vaccination status, will be allowed to access campus only after providing a negative PCR result of a Day 3 PCR (day of arrival is day 1) to health.office@aas.ru and the AAS Health Office clearing the student to access campus without further self-isolation.
 

☝️  AAS Covid Resource Page

The latest information related to Covid is on this AAS Covid Webpage.

Visit AAS Covid Webpage
 

📄  Mitigation Updates

We appreciate the ongoing feedback from parents sharing ideas and suggestions for AAS’ reconsideration of our mitigations particularly in relation to parents accessing campus and for expanded student experiences.

Your feedback is valuable and provides further insights for us to consider as the cases in Moscow continue to decline. Thank you.
 

🎁  Holiday Gifts

It has been a tradition within our school community and with the PTO that gifts are provided on occasion to AAS staff members.

AAS is grateful for the generosity of our families and the PTO. However, after extensive research and guidance from our external consultants, it has been decided that for this year that teachers are not in a position to accept gifts due to the highly regulatory nature of reporting through extensive documentation as well as the taxability of such gifts under our NKO status.

Therefore, AAS respectfully requests that families do not provide teacher gifts this holiday season or throughout the school year.

Thank you for respecting this decision.
 

 

🙏  Thankful

As we approach the American holiday of Thanksgiving, we wanted to express our gratitude to all of the recent support and engagement from members of our community.

There is much to be thankful for, starting with a trend in a lower number of positive Covid cases in Moscow and students continuing to learn on campus.  We also appreciate the engagement of our Board members, staff, and parents in recent virtual conversations. Finally, and most importantly, we are grateful to see our students engaging in meaningful and successful learning experiences supported by the collaboration between teachers and parents.

Please see our Facebook, Instagram, or website for some of our featured student learning in recent weeks.
 

🐧  Penguin Store Opening

The Penguin Store opening announcement was made live during the PTO monthly connect meeting.

If you are looking for uniform items or spirit wear, we invite you to email penguinstore@aas.ru to make purchase and delivery arrangements. More information is available on the Penguin Store webpage.
 

🌟  ES Principal Announcement 

We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Elementary School Principal, Tom Burton, beginning in the 2022/2023 school year!

• After a rigorous process involving ES students, staff, and parents, Tom has been selected to lead our ES division from a pool of nearly 40 candidates. Tom will be joined by his wife, Carolina, who will be an ES teacher, and their two children, Valentina (Grade 10), and Sarah (Grade 5). Tom is highly qualified and experienced, and he has previously served as an Elementary School Principal for over 10 years in two international schools.  We look forward to having Tom visit campus later this school year as he begins his transition.
   

🏫  Campus Tours for New Parents

We are pleased to share that we will have an opportunity for our new families from 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 to connect with us on our campus.

This opportunity is for parents/guardians to come on campus to tour the classrooms, common areas and learning facilities. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at ways to make this possible, while respecting both our school Covid mitigations, as well as local and regional mandates.  

We will provide these opportunities on Saturday, December 4, and Saturday, December 11. We will be offering 45-minute guided tours to parents/guardians who joined during last school year and this school year and have not yet accessed the campus. Requirements to participate in these tours beyond being a recent new family include:

• A predetermined tour guided by school leadership that will discuss the purpose of facilities and range of ways in which each space is utilized
   
• Maximum 6 parents per leadership tour guide (maximum 18 parents on campus at a time)
   
• Students cannot attend to comply with our Covid mitigations
   
• Proof of vaccination
   
• If the school moves to Distance Learning, we will not be able to continue with this offering
   
• A limited number of positions available for each day, so honoring of first preference might not be possible

If your new family is interested in signing up for a tour appointment, please complete the survey.  Please share your interest by November 26.  After that point we will share the appointment tour schedule with participants.
 

⭐️  Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences are coming on November 25 and 26.

Please be on the lookout for an email from your child’s division for digital sign-ups.
 

📚  Learning Model

All digital access to learning has ended except for students who are close contacts.

All students should be attending school on campus. Please connect with your child’s division office if you have any questions.
 

📄  Staffing and Recruitment

In international schools, recruitment for the following school year begins in the fall semester.

Leadership has been recruiting for 2022/2023 faculty for several weeks and we are pleased to share that the interest in coming to AAS Moscow is very high. To support recruiting, AAS asks staff who will be returning next year. We have many quality candidates with international teaching experience for each position. We will continue to be highly selective in our recruitment and we look forward to sharing more about those new staff we hire in the Spring.
 

🚨  Drills

AAS Moscow conducts regular practices (called drills) to ensure our students and staff are prepared for the unlikely eventuality of a real emergency.

Tomorrow, November 19, at 9:15, AAS will conduct a lockdown drill (safely stay in place). On November 23, at 13:30, AAS will conduct a fire drill (evacuation). We thank you for your support in conversations with your children about the importance of practicing safety and knowing how to act in an emergency.

 

Welcome back from the Fall break.

I do hope that all of our community members are healthy.
 

🤝  Parent - AAS Board Connection

Thank you to over fifty parents for joining us last night for a connection and Q&A with the AAS Board and Leadership.

It has become clear from that conversation how committed our parent community feels to making AAS Moscow a great place to learn for their children and we appreciate and we appreciate all of your engagement. We would also like to thank our Board who continue to steer the AAS ship through tough sees and into a place of growth.

If you missed this conversation, we encourage you to take a look at the video recording.

Watch the Recording

Feedback can be shared with the Board here:

Share Feedback
 

🏫  Enrollment

At this time of year, some of our families are learning that they will be leaving Moscow during the Winter Break.

Our teams want to best support leaving families and ask that you contact admissions@aas.ru as soon as you know about your departure plans. This will ensure your transition is smooth, your child’s new school receives school records on time and your withdrawal request is processed prior to your departure.
 

🐧  PTO Community Connection & Penguin Store

 Tuesday, November 16, 10:00 

We invite you to virtually join the upcoming PTO Community Connection next Tuesday, at 10 am on Webex at https://aas.webex.com/meet/pto.

The agenda includes student connections and a live stream from the new Penguin Store.

It’s a time to connect with our school and parent community and we hope you will have the opportunity to join us.
 

☝️  Covid Reminders

AAS protocols are based on information shared directly with us from the Sanitation Department and our external consultants who are monitoring all regulations, communications, and orders so that they can advise us accurately on how we should be responding.

Please see our Covid webpage for easy access to this information.
 

💙  Movember

Movember is about changing the face of men’s health, with the month’s purpose being to raise awareness about three of the biggest health risks affecting men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues.  Encourage the men you know to be aware of these health risks and how to prevent them.

Students and staff can bring awareness to these issues through Movember by wearing blue on Thursdays starting this week.
 

We are hopeful that recent mitigation measures implemented by the city will soon improve Moscow’s epidemiological situation. It is also our sincere wish that all members of the AAS community have a chance to rest and reconnect with their families, friends, and loved ones safely over the Fall break. Our leadership, counselors and school psychologist continue to be available for all members of our community who may need support. Please take time for your personal wellbeing and access the wellness resources available on the AAS website to support you and your family.
 

💻  Distance Learning (DL)

All parents should have received additional information about the distance learning pathway from their children’s divisional offices as we move to DL tomorrow for all students. Parents can also refer to the divisional and schoolwide documentation on our distance learning webpage which includes student, teacher, and parent roles and responsibilities that optimize student learning in this pathway. 

You can also find divisional plans on the distance learning webpage. 

🤝  Community Connections

Board Connection Opportunity

The Board will host a digital Community Connection on November 9, 2021 for the community from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Board WebEx shortly after the break.  The format will be open conversation, without pre submitted questions.  We encourage you to join us.

Small Group Parent Connection Cancellation

AAS canceled the small group parent community connection this past Monday due to the current health situation in Moscow.  We will reschedule with this group as soon as possible after the break.  Thank you for your patience during this unpredictable time.
 

⭐️  AAS Staff

AAS staff members' families are receiving visas and continue to arrive in Moscow. Those still delayed continue to engage with students remotely while substitutes support in-classroom teaching and learning. 

Those AAS families who have been outside the country to obtain new dependent visas should be returning within the next two to three weeks.  We look forward to having them back hopefully by the week after the November break.  The next group of families whose dependent’s visas are expiring in November will begin to depart Moscow in mid-November and are not expected to return until after the Winter Break.  As a friendly reminder, this trip is required due to the type of visa issued to these dependents.  

We recognize that these adjustments to staffing due to delays and limited visa timeframes are challenging.  We continue to provide support across the school for all students and each other with engagement by teachers and in-class substitutes to ensure disruptions to learning are minimized.  We anticipate that we will have all of these dependent visa issues resolved by the return from Winter Break without the need to engage in these periodic visa trips outside of Russia.
 

✈️  International Travel Reminders 

Students who travel internationally over the Fall break (regardless of their vaccination status) will be allowed on campus only after providing negative PCR results of a Day 3 PCR (day of arrival is day 1) to health.office@aas.ru and the AAS Health Office clearing the student to access campus without further self-isolation.

Lastly, having more individuals in our community vaccinated increases the safety for all in our community.  Therefore, students who are traveling internationally over the November or Winter breaks to be vaccinated will have digital learning access for one week after the break while they complete the PCR and limited self-isolation requirement by AAS.  In addition, students who must leave the country to obtain a new visa at any point during the school year will be allowed digital access to learning during their time outside of Moscow with a copy of their new visa being submitted upon return.  Digital learning will be coordinated and approved with the division leadership based on the specific circumstances of the student.
 

😷  Covid Cases for Students and Staff

We have 7 current positive student cases as well as all of Grade 6 students were moved to Distance Learning as of yesterday, Tuesday, and we have a total of 156 students who are close contacts at this moment in time.  In addition, we have 2 current positive staff cases. The school’s layered mitigations continue to show efficacy at preventing the spread of covid on campus. We know that we are entering a break, so we encourage families to minimize public interactions and engagement between AAS families so that if we are able to be on campus after the break, this possibility is not eliminated due to positive cases and close contacts. If you or your child are not feeling well or suspect to have been in contact with someone who has covid, please test early to ensure you are protecting the health of your family and the health of our school community.

Warm regards,
Rhonda and Chris

⭐️  Celebrations of Learning

Please join us in celebrating all of the wonderful learning that has been taking place in the last week by visiting the student news section of this newsletter, as well as, our school’s Facebook page. 

See Student News   Visit OUR Facebook Page
 

😷  Covid Response Team Update

As shared recently, our Covid Response Team met last Friday to consider many items related to managing Covid within the AAS Community.

Thank you to the parents who provided links to articles to consider as a part of our meeting. The following is a summary of the items considered:

• the current epidemiological situation in Moscow

• the current definitions of close contacts by various authorities

• expanding access and use of facilities beyond students and staff

• expanding student activities on and off campus

• pilot for rapid testing students currently being considered by Moscow

• vaccination requirements by the Russian authorities

• response to positive cases and close contact tracing

The team agreed that the current epidemiological situation in Moscow would have resulted in AAS moving all students to distance learning at this time last year. The current data in Moscow indicates our local community is in the red zone per CDC protocols for schools for both the new positive cases per 100,000 in the last 7 days and the acceleration rate of increase in positive cases in the past 7 days.

However, given our current staff vaccination rates greater than 80%, anticipated higher vaccination rates in our parent community than in the Moscow public, and the success AAS has seen with our layered mitigations, AAS will continue in our Modified Full On-Campus learning approach. However, the current situation requires that AAS continues to keep our mitigations in place, so we will not be expanding access and use of the facilities nor expanding student activities at this time.

We will continue to monitor the local health situation as well as evaluate AAS mitigations in relation to the situation. Also, we will respond to positive cases with close contacts with the least disruption to learning, i.e. distance learning by class, course, or grade level instead of moving a whole division and/or the whole school to distance learning unless the local authorities require otherwise.
 

☝️  Covid Close Contacts Clarification

Using the scientific data currently available and the local close contact regulations, we would like to clarify the close contact information we shared in the communication to families on Friday, October 8, 2021. 

A covid positive case will have close contacts traced from 2 days before the symptoms or the positive test (for asymptomatic) up to the 14th day of self-isolation/quarantine.
 

Thank you for your ongoing support and confidence in AAS for the learning of your children.

Warm regards,
Rhonda and Chris

😷  Covid Cases on Campus

We have had 3 more student cases in high school and one more staff case in the last two days.

The school’s layered mitigations continue to show efficacy at preventing the spread of covid on campus. However, we would like to remind families that based on the current epidemiological situation in Moscow, now may be the time to start considering limiting your families’ and your child’s exposure to others in public spaces and in person events. Please consider socialization in small groups (pods).

If you or your child are not feeling well or suspect to have been in contact with someone who has covid, please test early to ensure you are protecting the health of your family and the health of our school community. 

🔔  October 12 Director Connection with Parents 

Thank you to the families who joined us for a productive conversation last night.

If you missed the live session, please CLICK HERE to watch the recorded session.

The topics we discussed included visas, covid mitigations, and learning for students who are not on campus. We appreciate the questions, conversations and partnerships that push all of us to work together in support of supporting your children’s learning at school and at home. We will continue hosting online and in person Director and Board conversations with parents, please keep an eye on our online calendar for upcoming opportunities.
 

❤️  Thank you, PTO!

Thank you to the parents and staff who are actively supporting upcoming PTO initiatives. PTO events are an important component of life and learning at AAS which helps our community stay connected.

Next Tuesday’s PTO connection at 8:45 AM, will be a “walk & talk” with parents meeting by the front gate of Pokrovsky Hills and walking through the forest.

Also next week, the PTO New Book Fair will allow parents to order English language books from a list of over 1000 titles.

See the PTO news for more upcoming events and details on how to participate or volunteer.

 

🗓  School Schedule Reminder

Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday of this week are staff professional development days with no school for students.

Monday, October 11 is a no-school day. Our school calendar is governed by Board Policy and approved annually by the School Board. You can find annual calendar snapshots for this and next school years here:

Annual Calendar Snapshots

❇️  Communication

As we continue to collaborate and partner with parents in our community, we would like to share the previously adopted School Communications Flowchart to support effective communications within the school community.

See School Communications Flowchart

Thank you to our families for your ongoing partnership in support of our students.

 

☎️ Parent Drop-In Session

The Director and Deputy Director will hold a virtual parent drop-in on Tuesday, October 12, at 18:00.  We invite you to connect with us at https://aas.webex.com/meet/rhonda.norris. 

 

⭐️  School Board

New Board Member appointment

We are extremely grateful to the many parents who have expressed interest in contributing to our school by volunteering as a Community Board Member. Our parent community has an incredible depth of experience and goodwill towards supporting and improving our school community. We thank all of our applicants and are pleased to share that the Board has appointed Ľubica Zimanová to the vacant Community Member position effective immediately.  We would like to welcome Ms. Zimanová to the Board.

The Board is a group of volunteers who serve in this role in support of AAS.  AAS is in the process of transitioning the Board structure as well as the Board policies under the NKO such that the AAS Diplomatic School Board is the AAS NKO School Board and our policies are aligned with the required NKO regulations.  The AAS website for Leadership and Governance page lists each of the currently serving Board members and their brief bios on the far right column.
 

📝  Ongoing Feedback for the Board

A gentle reminder that AAS previously created an ongoing  AAS Board feedback digital tool for our community to use in sharing positive as well as constructive feedback related to strategic policies and decisions that are at the Board level. The AAS Board will review and consider feedback to seek trends as well as to inform conversations and decision making. Our Board members are volunteers and have full-time positions outside of AAS, so individual responses are not planned for each submission. You can find more details such as the Board Policies Manual and Board Briefs on our website. 
 

🏥  Health Office

As we continue to transition to the NKO, it is necessary that AAS evaluates every aspect of our Business and Operations that has evolved over the past 72 years so that we can ensure going forward we are in compliance with the NKO requirements.

As a part of this transition, AAS is reviewing all of the services previously available in the AAS Health Office.  Since the school is an educational organization and not a licensed medical clinic, AAS is unable to continue providing services such as community flu shots in the AAS Health Office.  Additional information will be shared in the community when we have confirmed the full range of services that will be available in the Health Office.
 

😷  Covid-19 Updates

Balancing Our Priorities 

AAS wants to have students on campus as much as possible. Teaching and learning are best when everyone is on campus.  We have had challenges with this priority due to Covid, visas, and updates shared by local Health authorities, CDC, and WHO.   We continue to balance between the health and medical information and our compliance with local expectations without putting the school in jeopardy.  School decisions that are not consistent with local regulations can lead to multiple ramifications including school closure.
 

💻  Digital Learning Access

One-way digital learning will be provided for students who are traveling to be vaccinated, to obtain visas, or unable to access campus for other reasons around the upcoming November and Winter breaks.
 

☑️  Upcoming Message Regarding AAS Covid Protocols

AAS will be providing a message later this week to clarify the current information from the health authorities in relation to international travel and close contacts that AAS will follow after this long weekend.

There are complexities and ongoing developments that we need to carefully consider before we share our most updated protocols.  For example, the Moscow Mayor shared yesterday that students attending schools in Moscow could be tested using the rapid test on a regular basis to help schools remain open.
 

🛡  Multiple Layers of Mitigation

At this time, we do want to re-share the following mitigations that are consistent with the local Russian Health Authority (WHO based) and the CDC approaches.

These mitigations have been in place, are in place now, and will continue to be in place until the Health Authorities advise that they are no longer necessary.  We have seen the strength of these layered mitigations and they give AAS confidence in having all students and staff on campus as our primary learning model.

 

Thank you for your continued confidence in AAS to provide learning for your children as well as your families' ongoing collaboration in this learning process.

Community Connections

Over the past several weeks, the divisions have held parent coffees with parents via WebEx and these will continue throughout the school year. 

In addition to these divisional opportunities to connect, the School Director hosted the first small group community connection this past Monday with 12 new parents that started at AAS in 2020 or 2021. During this connection, we gathered feedback on the admissions and onboarding process and engaged in conversations about the overall student experience.  Thank you to these families for their time and engagement and we look forward to continuing with these connection opportunities with other interested parents.  

AAS will remind parents periodically of the upcoming events, please be on the lookout for these opportunities.
 

Covid-19 Cases

In the past several weeks, AAS MS and HS students tested Covid-19 positive resulting in ~170 close contacts between students.

We have been in contact with those families impacted and were coordinating with them on a possible return date.
 

Close Contacts Process Changes

This morning, AAS was contacted by the Russian Sanitation Authority in regard to a positive Covid-19 test result for one of our students.

This Authority confirmed that all students who are close contacts must self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status. Given this direction from the Russian Sanitation Authority today, AAS must return to our previous protocol that all AAS students who are identified as close contacts must remain off campus for 14 days and submit a PCR before they can return  to campus.

It is important to note that any student who is considered a close contact will be provided two-way digital access to learning.

Updated Covid-19 Response Flowchart
 

Masks

There have been questions from some requests from parents to consider eliminating the masks for students on campus. 

AAS will continue with this mitigation because it allows for all students to be on campus.  In addition, last Friday, September 24, 2021, CDC shared three studies from schools that indicate masks keep the virus from spreading.  The odds of a school associated COVID-19 outbreak in schools with no mask requirement is 3.7 times higher than schools with a mask requirement.

 

International Travel

Having more individuals in our community vaccinated increases the safety for all in our community. 

Therefore, students who are traveling internationally over the November or Winter breaks to be vaccinated will have digital learning access for one week after the break while they complete the PCR and self-isolation requirement by AAS.  In addition, students who must leave the country to obtain a new visa at any point during the school year will be allowed digital access to learning during their time outside of Moscow with a copy of their new visa being submitted upon return.  Digital learning will be coordinated and approved with the division leadership based on the specific circumstances of the student.

🗓  2021-2022 Calendar Update

On September 17, 2021, the Russian government made adjustments to its national holidays calendar.

As a result, AAS have made adjustments to this and next year’s school calendars and these changes have been approved by the AAS Board. These changes were necessary to comply with the revised Russian national holiday schedule. Specifically these changes relate to two holidays that have been moved from January to May 3, and May 10, 2022. These holidays are not optional under our non-commercial organization (NKO) school status. This results in two previous three day weekends becoming four day weekends in May 2022.

 

 

You can see the updates reflected on https://www.aas.ru/calendar as well as on the 2021-2022 Calendar one pager linked below.

See the updated 2021-2022 Calendar

We have also adjusted the 2022-2023 Calendar by adding two additional school days that make up for the added May 2022 holidays. The revised calendar for next year has also been approved by the AAS Board. This is consistent with Board Policy 6.20 which requires that AAS ensure the average number of school days is 180 over a three school year period.
 

💙  In-Person Small Group Conversations

Rhonda and Chris will be launching a new series of parent meetings next week with the first Small Group Conversation of the year.

There will be two formats for meetings this year, the small group and the WebEx drop-in sessions. The Small Group meetings are designed to provide parents an opportunity to meet in person with senior leadership in order to connect or reconnect as well as to have a conversation. We plan to have about 8 of these conversations throughout the school year and each conversation will be focused on different segments of our parent population.

Our first meeting will be next Monday, September 27, and for new families who joined our community in the last two years. Invitations will be sent shortly to parents who have responded with interest.

Please note that all parents who attend must be fully vaccinated.
 

📎  AAS Staff

AAS staff members' families continue to receive visas and arrive in Moscow. These delayed educators continue to engage with students and with an on-campus substitute.  

In addition, some of our AAS families will leave Moscow today or tomorrow to obtain new dependent visas. We did not receive authorization to obtain these visas outside of these individual’s home country, so they will be traveling back to North America. We anticipate multiple weeks of absence for this process. The division leadership will keep our parents updated based on the educators who are out.

We recognize that these adjustments to staffing due to delays and limited visa timeframes are challenging. We are working across the school to support all students and each other to ensure disruptions to learning are minimal.  Our goal is to continue with all students on campus. We are meeting student learning needs through digital teaching as necessary which is preferred over distance learning.
 

🚩  ES Principal Update

We have some great news to report.

Our search for a new ES Principal for the 2022/2023 school year is well underway and our application process will remain open until September 30, 2021.

AAS is fortunate to have a strong pool of applicants for this position already and our hiring committee began reviewing and identifying the top candidates for the first round of interviews. Finalists will be selected in the coming weeks. If you are aware of possible quality candidates from other international schools, please share this link with them.
 

🔎  Director Search Focus Groups

Thank you to those parents in our Community who expressed interest in being a part of a focus group with our external consultant, International Schools Services (ISS).

These meetings are being finalized today. There will be two meetings for parents during the week of October 4-8, one meeting in the morning and one meeting in the late-afternoon/early evening.
 

🌳  Life and Learning at AAS

We look forward to more opportunities with parents on campus as the health situation in Moscow improves.

In the meantime, please continue to follow life and learning at AAS by adding our school media channels to your favorites.  

• 🌇  AAS Instagram

• 🖥  AAS Facebook 

• 🎬  Weekly Student News
   

❤️  Celebrating Learning

Dr. Schuster, AAS Deputy Director, debunks the learning loss narrative in a short article that celebrates AAS student learning achievements by reviewing recent MAP and IBDP results.

Read the Article
 

🔎  Director Search Focus Groups

International School Services (ISS), the appointed international recruitment consultant for the AAS Director's Search, will be hosting focus groups with the AAS community to gather input and feedback from the school's stakeholder groups on what these groups would like to see in the next Director who will be appointed to begin in July 2023.

There will be 10 to 12 total groups with no more than 12 to 15 people in each group so that this process is manageable and meaningful. These virtual sessions will take place no later than the first week of October 2021 and are expected to last about 45 minutes each. 

Please express your interest if you would like to be engaged in this process as an AAS parent no later than Monday, September 20, 2021. We anticipate not being able to accommodate all interested community members but AAS will ensure that there is representation from the various demographics across our school community. If you express interest in participating, we ask for your flexibility in being able to participate in the confirmed meeting times with the consultants when shared. Thank you in advance for considering engagement in this important process for the future leadership of AAS.
 

💉  COVID Procedure Update for Vaccinated Students

• Definition of Fully Vaccinated
  Fully vaccinated is considered to be an individual two weeks after the completion of the required series of a recognized covid vaccination series.

• International Travel

  • Vaccinated  NEW 
    Submit a negative PCR on day 3 (arrival is day 1) along with vaccination record to Health Office. Students can return to campus on day 4 with no further isolation with AAS Health Office’s clearance. 

  • Unvaccinated
    Submit a negative PCR on day 3 (arrival is day 1), self-isolate for 7 days, inclusive of the PCR timing then return to campus on day 8 with AAS Health Office’s clearance.

• Covid Exposure

  • Vaccinated  NEW 
    All vaccinated students are required to get PCR tested between the 3rd-5th day after an identified exposure. Vaccinated students without symptoms and with a negative PCR test can come back to campus with AAS Health Office clearance, unless required by local authorities to self-isolated.

  • Unvaccinated
    All unvaccinated students are required to get a PCR as soon as possible. Students can return to campus 14 days after identified exposure with a negative PCR test and AAS Health Office clearance.   

• PCR Test & Vaccination Submissions
  After travel and/or covid exposure, fully vaccinated students should submit their negative tests and vaccine documentation to the health office. Fully vaccinated students must wait for clearance from the health office before returning to campus.
   

✅  Reminders

A few ongoing reminders:

• Please continue to use the “Daily Pass” (you should have received individualized passes for each student).

• Please remember that your child must arrive on campus wearing his/her mask.

• Please reference the updated COVID Response Flowchart for details for individual students with symptoms or considered close contacts.

• Please reference the updated International Travel Guidelines as it relates to students returning to campus. 

• Please remember that these Mitigations are still in place on campus.

• Please continue to communicate with the AAS Health Office at health.office@aas.ru.
   

📝  Community Survey Results

This Community survey was distributed to all AAS parents with enrolled students on June 17, 2021.

There were 712 total respondents.
The 9-year annual average is 939 Respondents.
Please note that AAS did not conduct the survey in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The overall trend in the data is that positive responses are slightly down (a few percentage points) and negative responses are slightly up.

It is clear from the data that our experience last year through the pandemic has challenged effective communication and community building, and should be a priority for this year. The combination of our learning models limiting students on campus, combined with parents not having access to campus, has caused our sense of community to struggle during the 2020-2021 school year.

In an effort to find new ways to bring our community together, we will be scheduling a number of virtual group drop-in sessions as well as invitations for small group parents sessions on campus to connect with AAS Director, Rhonda Norris, and Deputy Director, Dr. Chris Schuster.

Please keep an eye out for these invitations.
 

💻  Digital Access 

Please reference the Learning Guidelines to be clear about timing for moving from one-way digital learning access to no digital access.

This week is the first week for one-way digital access and this access will be in place through September 17, after which there will be no digital access except through special circumstances related to Covid.

Please ensure your family keeps your child’s divisional office updated.
 

♻️  AAS Environmental Responsibility Update 

In past years, the ECO Green committee has been the leader of eco-friendly information and advocacy at AAS.

Over the last 18 months, AAS has made a commitment to create an Environmental Responsibility Board Policy, adopted in May 2021, which guides AAS in decision-making, action and learning around being environmentally responsible.

Please share some of your celebrations and considerations about AAS’s actions and advocacy related to environmental responsibility.

Share celebrations

Share Considerations

If you are interested in joining the AAS Environmental Responsibility working group, please email us at communications@aas.ru or click the survey buttons above. 

 

🌳  Life and Learning at AAS

We look forward to more opportunities with parents on campus as the health situation in Moscow improves.

In the meantime, please continue to follow life and learning at AAS by adding our school media channels to your favorites.  

• 🌇  AAS Instagram

• 🖥  AAS Facebook 

• 🎬  Weekly Student News
   

Welcome to week three of the 2021/2022 school year.

Although we know that not all families are back in Moscow and not all students are on campus, our teams do hope your families have had a good start to the year.

In reading an article by Lara Kain (Paces Connection Staff) recently, it reinforced for me that as we continue to move towards more normalized experiences, it is still important to remember that we are not there yet in terms of being past the pandemic.  Ms. Kain states that the important thing is to “prioritize the heart and proceed with grace” because we “continue to be in uncharted waters”.  She advises that we go forward with the positive intentions, compassion, and empathy helping us to be “better humans for it in the end”.  

We have come a long way since March 2020 and our community continues to adapt and show resilience with every passing day. Our school values of integrity, courage, care, respect, and curiosity should continue to support and guide us in everyday interactions, challenges, and decisions. We look forward to working together with each of us doing our very best.
 

💻  New Families’ Seminars

This past Monday marked the second weekly seminar for new families with a conversation centered on AAS student support and counselor services.

Please visit our new families’ website to see the recording of this Monday’s meeting. Next week, we will discuss technology and digital learning at AAS as well as our Penguin Life programs in more detail. We encourage you to attend to support your transition to AAS and Moscow.
 

📈  Measures of Academic Progress (MAP testing)

Over the next two weeks, all students in grades 2-10 will participate in Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®) testing.

MAP assessments are used across all three divisions as one of many views into your child's progress within the Learning at AAS program. Please refer to this letter to learn more about MAP.

 

🎪  Postponing the AAS Fun Run & PTO Family BBQ

The AAS Fun Run & PTO Family BBQ is a treasured community tradition at AAS.

With our continued focus on ensuring learning continues safely on campus, we are postponing this annual fall event so we can review the epidemiological situation and safety regulations in the spring of 2022. In the meantime, our teams are working together with the AAS PTO to find safe ways to engage our parent community.

If you have experience or ideas and would like to help us plan virtual community engagement events, please contact communications@aas.ru and pto@aas.ru. 

 

🌐  AAS Staff

AAS staff members' families are receiving visas and continue to arrive in Moscow.

We anticipate that a few of our families will be delayed beyond September due to covid related delays in obtaining the required, authenticated documentation. These delayed educators continue to engage with students and with an on-campus substitute.

In addition, some of our AAS families will have to depart Moscow in a few weeks for about one-week to obtain new dependent visas. We are seeking authorization for a location in the same time zone as Moscow. This trip is required due to the type of visa issued to these dependents. We are working with the Russian Authorities and it seems we have a long-term solution for these dependents now that the September 1st visa changes are available to our staff families.

We recognize that these adjustments to staffing due to delays and limited visa timeframes are challenging. We are working across the school to support all students and each other to ensure disruptions to learning are minimal.  Our goal is to continue with all students on campus meeting these needs through digital teaching as necessary.  AAS leadership is committed to keeping our community updated as we have new information related to teaching staff.
 

🦠  Covid Reminders

Please reference the Learning Guidelines to be clear about timing for moving from one-way digital learning access to no digital access.

This week is the first week for one-way digital access and this access will be in place through September 17, after which there will be no digital access except through special circumstances related to Covid. Please ensure your family keeps your child’s divisional office updated.
 

Have a wonderful week!
Rhonda Norris and Christopher Schuster.

Happy Wednesday!

I hope this newsletter finds your families settling into school routines well.

We are delighted to report that many of our delayed visas were received and educators have been arriving steadily into Moscow. We continue to work with staff who have not yet received their visas and hope to see them in Moscow very soon. Those not yet in Moscow continue to engage with students and on-campus substitutes.  AAS division leadership will update parents when we know more about the arrival dates of remaining educators.

I wanted to highlight a few items.

• Please continue to use the “Daily Pass”
• Please remember that your child must arrive on campus wearing a mask
• Please reference the COVID Response Flowchart for details for individual students with symptoms
• Please remember that these Review Mitigations are still in place on campus
• Please reference the Read Learning Guidelines to be clear about how we will move from two-way digital learning access to one-way to no digital access.
   

🌃  MS & HS Back to School Nights

AAS will be hosting the Middle and High School Back-to-School Nights this week.

We encourage parents to participate in learning more about your child’s day and learning at AAS. Building positive partnerships with parents in support of our students is essential for learning.

Please see the MS and HS division information in this Newsletter to learn more.
 

🐧  Penguin Life

MS and HS students already started their Fall Season activities, athletics, and clubs through Penguin Life.

The ES Penguin Clubs sign-up starts today! Please see the Penguin Life section of this newsletter to learn more.
 

📖  New Families’ Seminars

This Monday marked the start of our weekly seminars for new families with a conversation about the curriculum at AAS.

Please keep an eye on our new families’ website for upcoming topics and seminar times. We encourage you to attend to support your transition to AAS and Moscow.
 

💰  Cashier Services

The school is in the process of installing new payment terminals.

We apologize for the inconvenience as we are not able to accept payments until terminals are installed and we are in compliance with local payment regulations for educational institutions. Students are receiving their requested calculators and musical instrument rentals and will pay for them once the cashier is able to receive payments.
 

🏫  Penguin Shop

The school is getting the Penguin Shop prepared for opening.

As noted above, our new payment terminals are critical for our ability to run the Penguin Shop. We look forward to announcing the Penguin Shop opening in the coming weeks.
 

🚍  Bus Coordinator

Sergey, the TLS bus coordinator, is available to answer questions from parents and students via telephone or WhatsApp at +7 (926) 009-27-47.

He also has a desk located in the front entrance lobby for students to access if needed. Student bus services are arranged directly between TLS and families, and we encourage you to work with Sergey regarding any bus transport related questions.
 

🧁  Cafeteria

D&D Catering provides food services to the school on a contractual basis.

Prepayments for student lunches can be made using a debit or credit card. Cash payments are not accepted in the cafeteria due to sanitation requirements, however, parents may contact D&D catering to schedule time to make a cash payment by emailing cafeteria@aas.ru or calling +7 (903) 708-77-41.
 

Thank you to your families for choosing AAS and engaging in our community.  All the best for another fantastic week!

Warm regards,
Rhonda and Chris.

 

Welcome again to the new school year!

It is my pleasure to welcome each of you to the 2021/2022 school year at AAS Moscow! It was wonderful to meet new families through our New Families’ Orientation day this past Saturday and see all of the student and parent engagement during our Open House this past Monday. Our teams continue to value our parent partnerships and thank you for the ongoing support and confidence in AAS.

I do hope your family had opportunities in recent weeks and months to spend quality time together during what I know has been a time of uncertainty and stress. There are parents and staff in our community who have not yet arrived in Moscow. While this is not ideal, we have implemented a support plan for students in all classrooms.

Student participation and engagement was high on the first day of classes. Thank you for your partnership in supporting your children in their successful start to the new school year. Please enjoy our Opening Ceremony video if you were not able to join the live stream yesterday.

Opening Ceremony Recording
 

💗  Connections between Families

One area that we know is important to everyone is making connections between students and adults.

Our teams are seeking clarification on how to appropriately share private contact information between members of our community without violating local legal expectations for data protection. Fundamentally, it is evident that AAS is required to obtain individual approval with specific language from each family beyond the general approval on the Admissions enrollment documents to share family contact information. Our team is in the process of creating the appropriate authorization language and the digital approval system needed alongside a sustainable digital tool for capturing and managing this data so families can access it securely.  In the meantime, AAS staff members cannot provide this information to parents. We recognize this is a significant tool to support our families in connecting to one another. We will share when this approval and tool are available.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.
 

🙏  AAS Board and PTO

We have two groups of volunteers who dedicate many hours to our school, the AAS Board, and the AAS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

We are pleased to introduce the 2021/2022 AAS Board. The AAS website for Leadership and Governance page lists each of the currently serving Board members and their brief bios on the far right column. In addition, there are links on this page to the AAS Board Policy Manual. The structure for AAS and the Board is noted in Policy 1.10 (Charter) and Policy 1.20 (By-laws). AAS wishes to express our gratitude for this group of volunteers in providing support for our school.

For those who expressed interest in the vacant community member position, the applicant information has been shared with the Executive Committee of the Board for review and follow-up.

Also, please meet the PTO Leadership and Committee Chairs as well as learn about the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). As a parent or teacher, you are automatically a member of the AAS PTO. We encourage you to join the PTO activities and events in support of the student learning and wellbeing at AAS.

Thank you for your engagement, feedback, and collaboration that benefits our students every day. Best wishes for an amazing 2021/2022 school year!

Warm regards,

Rhonda Norris, Director
Christopher Schuster, Deputy Director
Anglo-American School of Moscow Anglo-American School of Moscow

Welcome to the new 2021-2022 school year!

It is our pleasure to welcome each of you to the 2021/2022 school year at the Anglo-American School of Moscow! Our teams welcome your collaboration, and partnership in support of students and their learning. We are very much looking forward to having all students on campus in Full Modified On Campus next week.
 

❇️  New Families Orientation

 August 21 

Our new families have been invited to a welcome event which contains virtual orientations from our divisions and departments.

We have also provided for optional in person connection opportunities on the South Field for families that joined AAS in 2020 and 2021. These small group connections include additional mitigation measures and are by sign-up only. If you are a new AAS family in 2020 or 2021 and have not received this information, please email communications@aas.ru.
 

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💻  Virtual Open House

 August 23 

We invite everyone in our community to join us for our Open House, on Monday, August 23.

An email with a detailed schedule for the Open House will be shared with our community on Saturday, August 21. 

• Parents and students from our elementary school will be invited to meet their teachers virtually throughout the morning and early afternoon. 
• All new MS and HS students as well as all Grade 6 and 9 students will be invited to campus for an orientation in the morning. Families will receive invitations directly from the divisional offices. 
• All parents will be invited to join virtual sessions with our Digital Learning and Technology Team, Bus Services, Library, and Penguin Life later in the afternoon.

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🖼  Want to be Included in our Virtual Opening Ceremony?

Share a picture of yourself holding a poster you made that describes how you feel about your AAS friends, teachers, and other community members.

Share your picture here
Hurry! We are accepting submissions only until this Friday.
 

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🏫  Return to Campus

 August 24 

To support the return of all students to school in-person, on-campus please see the previously shared AAS Learning Guidelines noting our phased approach to learning in support of the return of students to learning and the return of families to Moscow after the summer break.

Read Learning Guidelines

As a friendly reminder, please note the access to campus protocols and the mitigations that will be in place as we begin the school year.

Review Access To Campus Protocols

Review Mitigations

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🖌  Staffing

As we begin the school year, we have some staffing challenges based on delayed visas but our AAS teams and our community have pulled together once to support a plan that will allow AAS to welcome students back on campus as planned.

The AAS Community has continued to show support and resilience in times of adversity and we appreciate this strong partnership and look forward to another great year of outstanding learning at AAS. Thank you again for your ongoing support and continued confidence in our teams for the education and well-being of your child(ren)!
 

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🏫  ES, MS, and HS News

Please see the divisional sections of this newsletter to find welcome letters from divisional principals.

ES News   MS News   HS News

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❤️  Thank you!

Thank you to our community for sharing contacts to assist AAS in our transition in services under the NKO.

AAS was able to identify several visa facilitators who we are collaborating with now related to our remaining visas for staff and dependents. We will be reaching out in the future in other key areas of operations that are changing and I thank you in advance for your continued engagement and feedback.

Also, thank you to the community for the survey feedback that you provided near the end of last school year.  Our next steps include a detailed review of the statistics and the individual comments with the goal of identifying trends to be incorporated into our goals and action steps where possible and appropriate for the 2021/2022 school year and beyond.  A summary report will be shared with the Board as well.
 

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🙏  AAS Board and PTO

We have two main groups of volunteers who dedicate many hours to our school, the AAS Board and the AAS Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

We are pleased to introduce the current members of the 2021/2022 AAS Board. The AAS website for Leadership and Governance page lists each of the currently serving Board members and their brief bios on the far right column. In addition, there are links on this same website page to the AAS Board Policy Manual. The structure for AAS and the Board is noted in Policy 1.10 (Charter) and Policy 1.20 (By-laws).

AAS wishes to express our gratitude for this group of volunteers in providing support for our school. Thank you to those parents who have expressed interest in the community board member vacant position.  The Board will be following up with these individuals shortly.

Also, please meet the PTO Leadership and Committee Chairs as well as learn about the PTO. As a parent or teacher, you are automatically a member of the AAS PTO. We encourage you to join the PTO activities and events in support of the student learning environment at AAS.

We invite you to join the Virtual PTO Welcome Back Coffee on Tuesday, August 24, at 10am.
 

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🌐  Community Connections

We would like to share that leadership plans to host a number of Community Connections in the first quarter so that we can get to know more about one another and so we can share more about AAS with our parent partners.

Thank you for your engagement, feedback, and collaboration for the benefit of our students. Best wishes for an amazing 2020/2021 school year!