Official Newsletter of Fisher Island Day School

Page 1 of 5

March 13, 2020 Dear Students, Parents, Faculty, & Staff, Following are this week’s FIDS updates. FIDS Fifth Grader, Stella Armstrong, Crowned the 80th Annual Miami Herald Spelling Bee Champ. After successfully winning FIDS’s Spelling Bee on Friday, February 7, 5th grader Stella Armstrong went on to represent FIDS at the 80th Annual Miami Herald Spelling Bee on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. I am happy to report that Stella was crowned the 80th Annual Miami Herald Spelling Bee Champ, besting the remaining 170 participants representing schools from throughout Miami-Dade County. Stella will go on to represent Miami-Dade County at the 2020 Scripp’s National Spelling Bee, May 24 – 29, in Maryland. Please join me in congratulating Stella and her parents and teachers as we wish her the best in Nationals. Please view the Miami Herald’s article on Stella’s accomplishment by clicking here.

FIDS Takes 3rd Place in Odyssey of the Mind Regionals. On Saturday, March 7, 2020, FIDS’s Odyssey of the Mind team competed in the Tropical Region Odyssey of the Mind competition, where they vied against teams from all over South Florida. I am pleased to announce that FIDS’s team took Third Place in the problem-solving competition/skit, The Effective Detective. FIDS’s team includes: from Grade 2 – Adriana Hufsky; Grade 4 – Tobin Drury, Zoey Khan, Jack McMahan, & Isabella Volé; and from Grade 5. Our team sponsors are Ms. Andrea Khan (parent volunteer) and Ms. Devon Rivkind, Kindergarten Assistant Teacher. Thanks go to our team members and sponsors. Please join me in congratulating FIDS’s Odyssey of the Mind team.

STEM Fair Expo. As spring rapidly approaches, the FIDS community is excited to begin our annual deep dive into scientific exploration and discovery! The 2020 FIDS STEM Fair Expo will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Early Learning through Grade 3 will complete classroom projects, while Grades 4-8 will complete individual projects. Please stay tuned as students will receive due dates for the various steps of their given project, as well as the opportunity to work on their projects during selected portions of the school week under the guidance of their classroom teachers.

Early Learning - Kindergarten Classroom Open-Exploration Project

Grade 1 Classroom Focused-Exploration Project

Grades 2-3 Classroom STEM Project

Grade 4 Individual STEM Projects

Grades 5-8 Engineering Projects

Page 2 of 5

Athletics, Active Hours, & Extracurricular Programs. FIDS’s Athletics, Active Hours, & Extracurricular Programs (after-school offerings) for the third trimester commenced on Monday, March 9, 2020. Tried-and-true favorites are offered this trimester, as well as new classes—such as Snapology, Fishing Club, Young Men’s and Young Women’s Health & Wellness, Jewelry Making, Ultimate Frisbee, Focused Movement Academy with a Gymnastics Component, Best Buddies (a community-service group), Watercolor Club, and Flag-Football Club. We have partnered with various community-based organizations to offer FIDS students a wide array of extracurricular activities. Course information and a schedule are available by clicking here. Those parents interested in JCC Sports may complete the registration process directly with the JCC at this time. If you need assistance, please contact Ms. Burke, rburke@fids.org.

Gala Gratitude. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s White Hot Miami gala and charity auction an evening of levity and philanthropy. Fundraising aside, the best takeaway of the evening was the strong sense of comradery among our FIDS community. It was a heartfelt culmination of the 2019-2020 school year to have our dedicated parents and exemplary faculty and staff share the joy of our collective and special school community at the annual gala. Thanks go to our gala co-chairs—Ms. Yuliia Faist and Ms. Ellen Singh—for their indefatigable commitment of time and effort. I would personally like to acknowledge our parent and faculty performers for their bravery in taking the stage and to thank them for all the money they helped raise for our school community. In addition, the success of this year’s gala owes to the generosity of our sponsors, Jana & Brian Neff/Sintavia; Myriam & Ali Al-Husseini; Ilona Peterfy/Cristina Mundial International Public Foundation; Carmella & Peter Tully; Suzy Buckley Woodward; Sarah & Jonathan Lewin; Yuliia & Mark Faist; Morgan and David Shara, and the many individuals who donated their time and money to support the effort. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Ms. Mary Reiling, FIDS Director of Development, for her dedication to this endeavor. Gala Photographs. Gala pics are available at the following link: https://blumangostudios.com/

Click on view/order

Enter the password: GALA2020

Page 3 of 5

Dates on the Horizon.

Fri., March 20, 2020 Field Day (Postponed)

March 21 – 29, 2020 Spring Recess Coronavirus. We are continuing to monitor the situation pertaining to the coronavirus and are following all protocols advised by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which are consistent with standard practice at FIDS. Currently, there are no reported incidents of the coronavirus at FIDS. Please refer to the following guidelines issued by the CDC for additional details. One of the important takeaways from the CDC guidelines is to “Stay at home when you are sick.” Potential School Closure/Virtual Instruction. We are continuing to monitor the situation, which changes on a day-to-day basis. In the event FIDS must close due to COVID-19, we will be delivering online/virtual instruction to our students until such time that we can reopen. In order to access our online instruction, our families will need to have at home:

Internet connectivity; and

a computer or tablet (e.g., iPad). It is also recommended that you have a printer. Your child’s homeroom teacher will be reaching out to you to obtain the email address (or addresses) that you will be using for your child/children in the event that we have to initiate online instruction. Each child must have a separate email address to use. Please advise your child’s teacher if you are lacking any of the recommended items to access our virtual instruction. Your child’s teacher will be providing you with additional information in the event we need to go virtual. FIDS will be closed for spring recess as planned. Virtual instruction will not take place during FIDS’s scheduled spring recess.

Page 4 of 5

Additional Precautions at FIDS:

Travel Guidelines: Due to the fluidity of the situation and to help safeguard our school community, FIDS will exceed the CDC Travel Guidelines and require that students and families traveling over spring recess or hosting out-of-town visitors—at any time between now and the end of the school year—declare their travel plans, in advance, to FIDS. Please note that if you elect to travel, you may be required to remain home from school for a period of 14 days after your return. We ask that you keep informed of the U.S. Department of State and CDC’s travel advisories, as the situation is dynamic and likely to change in the weeks ahead. FIDS reserves the right to exceed U.S. Department of State and CDC travel advisories since what is true today, may not be true tomorrow. Many countries are implementing new entry and exit control measures, including quarantines, with very little notice. These actions could severely impact your plans and/or delay your return to school. We strongly recommend that families rethink their travel plans over spring recess.

Field Day: In order to avoid aggregation of large numbers of people, Field Day will not take place as planned for Friday, March 20, 2020. March 20th will be a regular school day. No decision has been made regarding the rescheduling of Field Day at this time.

Field Trips: Any previously planned field trips will remain scheduled as planned; however, if conditions change, these trips may be canceled or postponed. No new field trips will be planned for the interim.

Student Absenteeism: Per FIDS policy, absences for illness may be excused if documented by a doctor’s note. Given the current situation, FIDS will also be excusing absences for families taking precautionary measures to avoid exposure to communicable illnesses. Excused absences do not impact a student’s eligibility for the annual perfect attendance award. Mitigation of Physical Contact: In an effort to mitigate personal contact among FIDS’s stakeholders, we have adopted substitutions for greetings such as handshaking, high-fiving, and fist-bumping. In lieu of these actions, we advocate waving, winking, “air” high-fiving, “air” fist-bumping, and “air” hugs and kisses.

Stay Calm and Wash Your Hands. Given the spate of information on the coronavirus, it is important for us—collectively—to help ensure that our students feel safe and secure. Following are links to expert advice on guiding such conversations with children:

Child Mind Institute Tweens and Teens

Thoughts on how coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads:

1. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person contact: Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

2. It may be spread from contact with infected surfaces or objects. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and

then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes—but this is NOT thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

3. When does the spread happen? People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest). Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this with this new

coronavirus, but this is NOT thought to be the main way the virus spreads. The incubation period for the virus is currently believed to be 14 days.

Page 5 of 5

Prevention: There is currently NO vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. However, as a reminder, CDC always recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including:

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Stay home when you are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

o CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

o Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others.

For more information, the CDC has a hotline with extended hours dedicated to the coronavirus. The phone number is 1-800-232-4636. The hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Saturday/Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Expect a long wait time due to the high number of calls. Please resist the urge to aggregate health information or understanding about COVID-19 from social media. Social media is an inconsistent, unorganized, unreliable, and unregulated platform. Using social media as a guiding source for information may not provide the accurate and vital information and data to protect you and your family. Instead, we recommend that you stay alert and up to date with information from the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention World Health Organization State Department National Institute of Health Florida Department of Health

The good news is that COVID-19, at this time, seems to be less harmful to children, and the World Health Organization informed the public that the virus does not appear to be easily spread by people not experiencing symptoms themselves. This means that the best strategies for prevention and mitigation at this point remain the ones already shared, such as thorough handwashing and staying at home when sick. We will continue to provide the FIDS community with updates as additional information becomes available. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your support in making every week at FIDS a wonderful learning experience for our children. Your partnership is greatly appreciated. Best regards, Michael Bell Head of School Follow me on Twitter @FIDSHOS

Travel and Visitor Declaration Fisher Island Day School

As an added precaution due to outbreak of the Covid 19 (Coronavirus) in the United States, FIDS is exceeding the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and will require that students and families traveling or hosting out-of-town visitors over spring recess—or at any time between now and the end of the school year—declare their plans, in advance, to FIDS. Please note that if you elect to travel or host out-of-town visitors, you may be required to remain home from school for a period of 14 days after your return. We strongly recommend that families rethink their travel plans over spring recess. Directions: Please complete this form and return it to your child’s teacher no later than Monday, March 16, 2020. You may also email the completed form to dvanstsone@fids.org. All parents must complete a form, even if their spring recess plans do not include travel. You only need to complete one form per family, unless your travel plans vary by family member. Student’s Name(s): ________________________________________________________________ Grade: ______

Student’s Name(s): ________________________________________________________________ Grade: ______

Student’s Name(s): ________________________________________________________________ Grade: ______

Student’s Name(s): ________________________________________________________________ Grade: ______ Please respond to all applicable questions with checkmarks () and answers:

⃝ Our family not be traveling during spring recess.

⃝ Our family will not be hosting out-of-town visitors during spring recess. Sign, date, and return.

⃝ Our family will be traveling during spring recess or between now and the end of the school year. List all places being visited and dates of planned visits:

Cities to be Visited Dates of Visit

⃝ Our family will be hosting out-of-town visitors during spring recess or between now and the end of the school year. List all home cities of visitors and the dates of their planned visit:

Home Cities of Out-of-Town Guests Dates of Visit

Parent’s Signature Date