Dear Parents,
I hope that this message finds you and your families well. Over this week we have celebrated International Women's Day (for ISHCMC International Women's Week!).
International Women's (IWD) Day has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gatherings in 1911 supported by over a million people. In 2022 IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. This year's theme #BreakTheBias resonates with me as this year's IWD theme is strongly linked to our ISHCMC Identity and Who We Are as Rhinos.
As a diverse and internationally minded community I wonder to what extent we are taking action to break the bias in our community? How might our core values of curiosity and empathy help guide our actions to individually and collectively have the ability to break the bias in our communities, our workplaces, our schools, colleges and universities? Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for people to move ahead, grow and flourish. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough, action is needed to level the playing field. Are you in? Will you actively call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping each time you see it?
Our students have been involved in taking action this week to #BreakTheBias. They have created and led different activities and our Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) groups have been making connections to our community and raising awareness with ISHCMC.
As an IB School we work as a community to demonstrate the values necessary to create ‘a better and more peaceful world’. When we observe the events unfolding in Ukraine, we recognize that despite being geographically quite a distance away from us, this is a situation that is impacting the community we serve. Over this last week we have continued to observe the unfolding events in the Ukraine and know that the situation is dynamic. It is sad to see loss of life, widespread fear, and loss of safety and security unfolding. We know that many individuals and communities are directly and indirectly impacted by these events.
We also know that this global event is in our classroom and home conversations. It is important that we honor and listen to our students and children if they need to engage in conversation. As always at school when we engage in these conversations we ensure we demonstrate political impartiality and we ensure that our children in our community are protected in these conversations from peer-on-peer abuse (bullying) and they are protected from harassment and discrimination.
We are aware that the current political crisis may leave many of our students and their families confused, anxious and seeking answers. Below are some links to use with your children if needed:
Our colleagues at Pechersk School International (PSI) Kyiv have provided a space on their website where you can access reliable information and trustworthy sources in addition to sharing some ways that you might want to take action as an individual.
Over the last week at ISHCMC we have seen some changes to our Return to School protocols. All updates can be accessed through our Rhino Hub - COVID Guide. We anticipate more changes ahead regarding F1 status and quarantine on arrival into Vietnam. We will share with you official updates as we receive them.
With the recent change in directives, you notice that you are no longer required to obtain a test from a medical center for the return of a F1 to school. Whilst we appreciate the directives have changed and that parents can complete Rapid Antigen Tests at home on Day 7 and send the results to the homeroom teachers we have decided as a school to not to pass this responsibility onto our teachers. We want our teachers to focus on inspiring wellbeing and learning for your children. Therefore, we are continuing to have our medical and administrative teams monitor the F1 return to school and testing protocols. This means that when your child returns to school we ask that you have our medical team complete the test (or you can complete this test under the supervision of our medical team) on campus. Testing services are available from 7.30am.
Over the last week our track and trace teams continued to do an excellent job of reaching out to students and families who have had close contact with a F0. Over the week we have had 16 secondary students and 15 primary students report F0 status and 16 members of our faculty and staff.
As we continue to stay safe together it is important that if your child has any symptoms that you keep them at home. We know that Omnicon can take up to 48 hours to show on a Rapid Antigen Test. If in doubt, please keep your child home and contact our nurses at nurses@ishcmc.edu.vn for advice.
We wish our Rhinos a great long weekend. It is a valuable time for all of our students to find time to re-energize in readiness for next week's learning adventure.
In kindness
Kim Green, Head of School
Comments