Announcements

Monday, February 8, 2010 No school for students. Faculty and staff will have a Professional Development Day. Offices will be closed.

The American Community School At Beirut is excited to announce that we have begun to implement a new product called Family Access by Skyward that will allow you to easily keep track of important information about your children. Among other things, this new service will allow you to view your child’s attendance, grades, schedule, progress, assignments, and emergency information. Although some capabilities of Family Access at ACS are still being developed, the following information will be available to ACS parents (HS = High School, MS = Middle School, ES = Elementary School, EY = Early Years; P = parent access, S = student access, * = currently in development):

Menu Item	Information	HS	MS	ES	EY
Academic History	Past grades	PS	*	*
Activities	Clubs, Teams, After school activities	PS	*	P
Attendance	Absences and tardiness	PS	P	P	P
Calendar	Attendance/assignment¹ calendar	PS	P	P	P
E-Mail Notification	Automatic attendance/grade¹ notices.	PS	P	P	P
Gradebook	Assignments and grades	PS	*	*
Homeroom	Parent contacts in homeroom			P
Message Center	Sending/Receiving messages to/from school online	PS	P	P	P
Report Cards	Copies of report cards online	PS	P	P
Schedule	Class schedule	PS	P	P	P
Student Info	Addresses, phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc.	PS	P	P	P

This week, you will be receiving an e-mail message containing your username and password, as well as instructions for logging into the system. If you want to participate in Family Access and you have not received your password by Thursday, November 19, please send a message toskywardsupport@acs.edu.lb.

We are very excited about how Family Access will help all of us stay more informed about each of our students and we look forward to continuing to help your student(s) learn. If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail us atskywardsupport@acs.edu.lb. Please indicate the school(s) your child/children attend by entering HS, MS, ES, and/or EY in the subject line of your e-mail message.

Please be aware that we have one confirmed case of H1N1 in grade 2, and another 2^nd grade student who is being tested. Other confirmed cases this week are: 1 in grade 6, 2 in grade 8, and one in grade 11. Parents of students in 2C, and in grades 6, 8, and 11 are being informed via e-mail.

Disinfecting measures in school were taken to maintain a clean environment for all of us.

All students with flu-like symptoms are sent home and monitored daily by both infirmaries. In addition, we are monitoring siblings of these students on a daily basis.

Please keep your well being in mind; sleep well, eat healthy food, exercise, keep your hands clean and use soap and water/ hand sanitizers before eating and touching your face. Check your temperature if you were in contact with sick people and stay home when you are sick.

A “go home stay home” policy is in effect. This means that students should not be sent to school if you suspect they have a fever or other flu-like symptoms. If you have any doubt about whether your child is sick enough to stay home, please consult with your school nurse ( Upper School – Nada Halawi, ext. 132; Lower School – Nadine Mattar, ext. 156.)

As you may have heard, the middle school at the IC Ras Beirut campus has been impacted by H1N1 Flu. They are planning to continue school on Monday so that students can get assignments, and then close the middle school for the rest of next week. For more information, go towww.ic.edu.lb

At ACS, we have had a number of cases of flu-like symptoms. We are continuing to treat these on a case-by-case basis, using our “go-home-stay-home” guidelines as published to faculty and parents. Rooms where these students have been identified are being given special cleaning attention by our expanded custodial crew using highly effective germicidal cleaners. We continue to invest in additional infirmary supplies and hand washing supplies.

Please continue to keep your children home if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms and notify the school nurse.

Teachers are posting assignments for all students in upper school on NESA Virtual School, and Teacher Web for the lower school. If you or your child has any questions about how to access these resources, please contact the school office.

Even though we have no plans to close, as a proactive measure, we are preparing to make a smooth transition to online learning if and when the need arises at any time of the school year.

If you have any questions regarding our H1N1 policy, please contact your school nurse.

As we announced in July, an H1N1 Response Team made up of representatives of the major groups of stakeholders among faculty and staff has been formed at ACS. The group has met twice so far, and the ACS Leadership Team has discussed and approved a proposed plan and several of their recommendations. Attached, please find the ACS Beirut H1N1 Flu Preparedness and Response Plan as approved by these two groups.

· A “go home stay home” policy will be in effect. This means that students should not be sent to school if you suspect they have a fever or other flu-like symptoms. If you have any doubt about whether your child is sick enough to stay home, please consult with your school nurse ( Upper School – Nada Halawi, ext. 132; Lower School – Nadine Mattar, ext. 156.)

· A small bottle of hand sanitizer (= 50% alcohol) should be brought to school by each student. The hand sanitizer is a supplement to (not a replacement for) washing hands with soap and water. Hand washing and/or sanitizing should be done each time the student uses the restroom or uses a school computer or other shared materials.

Each teacher at ACS will be sensitive to each student’s physical well-being as they take morning attendance and throughout the day. Any students experiencing flu-like symptoms will be sent to the infirmary for evaluation.

We understand that this is an anxious time for all parents. We share your concern for our students and their continued participation in school activities. We believe that this policy represents the best and most up-to-date information on the subject. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the school nurses.

The primary f ocus o f ACS’s H1N1 Flu Preparedness and Response Plan is to provide procedures to deal with pandemic flu.

The following understanding of the characteristics of H1N1 pandemic flu can help us when implementing the plan:

· The symptoms of H1N1 flu in people are not distinguishable from that of regular human flu.

· People infected with H1N1 flu should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic, and possibly for up to 7 days following the illness onset. Children might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

· Evidence f rom previous disease outbreaks indicates that sel f -isolation is the f astest way f or a community to recover.

· It shall be the policy of ACS Beirut to remain open and continue to provide educational services to our students, while dealing with infected individuals on a case-by-case basis. Any temporary exception to this policy would be determined by the Leadership Team, in response to local and national conditions.

· An H1N1 response team should be created to monitor local, national, and international information resources, to coordinate the school’s response, and recommend needed policies/actions to the Leadership Team.

· The H1N1 response team should consist of two nurses, two leadership team members, two counselors, one physical plant representative, one IT representative, one teacher representative, and one office staff representative.

· The H1N1 response team will coordinate clear communication to reduce rumors and misinformation.

· The H1N1 response team will consider actions to deal with emotional well-being of employees and students in response to potential fear and anxiety.

· Soap and paper towels will be provided in all bathrooms and sinks. Bathrooms will be checked frequently and supplies replenished as needed.

· Teachers will be provided with tissues for their classroom upon request. Tissue supplies in offices will be checked frequently and resupplied as necessary.

· Individual packets or small bottles of hand sanitizer will be recommended for purchase by parents as part of each student’s school supplies, to be used when soap and water are not available.

· Approved (n-95) masks will be provided to the nurses because of their frequent contact with sick children and adults.

· Nurses will train all employees on preventative measures, proper cleaning and sanitizing practices.

· Students and employees will be advised regarding frequent hand washing/sanitizing and other hygienic practices. Reminders will be posted in all bathrooms and high-traffic areas.

· A “go home stay home” policy will be enforced for all employees and students experiencing flu-like symptoms. Persons with flu-like symptoms will go home and stay home until approved for return to school/work. The school nurses, with the assistance of our insurance physicians, will assess symptoms on a case-by-case basis, determine enforcement of the policy, and clear all affected students/employees for return to school/work.

· Parents will be advised to keep sick students at home and to notify the school of their symptoms.

· Students or employees deliberately ignoring the “go home stay home” policy will be subject to temporary exclusion/suspension.

· Parents of remaining students in homeroom classes where a student has contracted the flu will be sent a notification by the nurses, as in other cases of childhood disease.

· NESA Virtual School will be the primary alternative instructional delivery system for grades 6 through 12. Teacher Web will be the primary alternative instructional delivery system for grades 1 through 5. (EY?)

· Teachers will post all course materials and handouts on NVS/Teacher Web. Teacher/class sites will be updated on a regular basis.

· E-mail or telephone contacts will be used to back up the primary alternative instructional delivery systems when Internet access is absent or unreliable.

· Teachers and students will be given written instructions and/or instructional sessions on the use of NVS/Teacher Web.

· Parents will be given written instructions regarding student login procedures/passwords.

· Students will be responsible for finding and fulfilling posted assignments during absences. Assignments will be given credit according to divisional policies.

· Offices will be responsible for updating current information on the school website.

· Offices will determine continuity of critical functions and backup staffing during employee absences.

· Parents and employees will be given information regarding this response plan and other policies.

· Copies of all communications and bulletins will be posted on the school website under the “announcements” link.

· Parents and employees will be given periodic updates and reminders regarding current information, pandemic developments, and prevention procedures.

· The school nurses will coordinate with the D&A office to provide helpful information and articles for ACS Matters and the school website.

· Enquiries from news agencies will be referred to the Headmaster/Deputy Headmaster, who will coordinate their response with the D&A office.

· Anyone hearing or receiving information related to ACS regarding the flu pandemic should NOT pass this information on before checking the facts with a member of the H1N1 Response Team or the headmaster’s office.