Weekly Update From World Academy
Dear Families,

While we are obviously neither medical experts nor predictors of infectious proliferation, like all of you, we’ve been reading, conferring and trying to take our own advice: base decisions on data and rational information rather than speculation and incomplete understanding. The challenge arises when the rational information remains, itself, incomplete. So, we balance on the threshold of that most persistently human of all moments – having to make decisions on a future whose outlines are unclear. A wise man once said, “it is not necessary to know your ultimate destination to take a step in the right direction.” Likely this counsel applies even when no destination seems assured. So, here is what we’ve done this week: 

Wednesday, we started our remote education program for our Kindergarten through Grade 8 students which we have been preparing for over the past several weeks. We are very happy with the rollout and feel like our preparations paid off as our students seem to be adapting nicely. We still have a few new parts of the program that we will be adding over the next few weeks to make the experience for our students fresher and to combat program fatigue. We thank you for your support of our new normal so that we can continue to refine and enrich these experiences in the event we will need to use it for an extended length of time or for the next time we will need to employ it. We know that our students benefit so much when families and teachers work together to be sure our children are learning, developing and excelling, on schedule, and will be ready to pick right back up, onsite, when the risk lessens.

Our Early Childhood Education Program is still operating on a smaller scale at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services until the time the Governor shuts child care programs down which could be any day. We have closed down our campus to outsiders, require hand sanitation at all entrances, and continue deep cleaning and sterilization of commonly used surfaces often during the day. We are mandating social distancing for all here on campus wherever possible and are prepared to keep sending home enriched experiences from Infant through Grade 8 to our families for the duration, which we hope will be mercifully shorter than anticipated. If not, we will keep your children learning and invested in wanting to return to school when the risk subsides. It is important that we support the sustainability of our school so that we will have one to return to and the health of our fabulous teachers so that our World Academy family remains intact. Your continued active participation in our classes, even if remote, will ensure staff is consistently compensated.

Please remember to send us pictures from home showing your child learning and interacting with his/her teachers. They will make special additions to our Coordinates, and your children will get to see their classmates doing exactly what they are doing! 

Warm Regards,
Kathy and Lisa for all of us
President and Head of School

Upcoming Events and Important Dates
Our Father/Daughter dance has been postponed. We will let you know the rescheduled date when it is decided. Don’t put those boots away yet!!!! We will keep you posted. Each event will be evaluated on its safety.
Dance and Karate Classes
In light of the measures being taken in regards to COVID-19, Dance and Karate classes have been canceled. Make up classes will be added for any missed days and the Dance Recital and Belt Tests will be conducted at a later date. We will send updates on this as we learn more.

For Our Dance Families: Dance Progressions will be implementing remote learning from their studio through a google classroom with pre-taped videos of the instructors doing parts of the classes which they hope to have up and running by the end of the weekend. Please click here for more details. 

For Our Karate Families: Master Roy has provided a list of classes that your child may attend in the meantime, remotely through ZOOM! Links will be sent home via email for students to be able to remotely attend.
A Note From The PTO President
Hello PTO Members 
 
As we have all heard by now, World Academy is making significant adjustments to continue serving students and families over the next several weeks. You have read that the school is continuing the Infant through 4-year-old child care programs in order to support families who are essential employees and those who must work. In an effort to keep the campus healthy, the school asks that everyone use hand sanitizer carefully and properly on the way into the building.
 
While World Academy has hand sanitizer on hand for typical usage, extra is needed for this additional measure. Since supplies are scare and unavailable through the typical channels, the school has asked for the PTO’s help in publicizing this request to help them obtain additional hand sanitizer.
 
If you have any extra hand sanitizer on hand that you are willing to donate OR resources on how to obtain some, please let Dr. Dias know.
 
The school community thanks you warmly for your consideration.
 
On a personal note, I hope that you are all able to comfortably make the necessary adjustments over the next few weeks. Please remember that the World Academy PTO is not just serving the school, but we are here for each other. Let’s not forget that we exist as an organization to make connections through our school community. Let’s use those connections to keep in touch and to keep ourselves sane and healthy over the next few weeks!
 
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
Suzy Berman for the PTO
Community Resources
A-Mazing LEGO Maze
Here is the first STEM activity LEGOMAN Dan has created for K-8 students to continue their engineering fun during this unique time. Have your student watch the video below for instructions on building his/her own maze. Be sure to share your creations with us and LEGOMAN Dan!
Free Audiobooks
Audible has opened up a collection of stories to entertain, engage, and inform young people, ages 0–18! Click here to access the library for a screen-free break for your child. Happy listening!
Our Mr. Michael has some special announcements for our kids!
Thank Yous, Kudos and Reminders
Thank you to Dr. Nahla El Falaky, Dr. Cara Mills, Dr. Todd Pollack, Zeina Eyceoz, Sheila Chiodo, Darcy Cutter and Sherri St. Lawrence for their school support.

Special thanks to Sheila Chiodo and Suzy Berman for spearheading our quest for additional hand sanitizer and to Dr. Dias’ sister in Canada for sending some sanitizer to us from afar!

Muchas gracias to the Chiodo Family for supporting the staff with a yummy pizza lunch earlier this week. It was a welcome respite in turbulent times!!!!

Thank you to all of our families who continue to send pictures of their students enjoying remote learning. They will populate our Coordinates community section so the kids can still see themselves with their friends! 

We are also very appreciative of all of the wonderful feedback from families about the depth and quality of our remote learning programs. Just your recognition of the time and talents that go into formulating and maintaining the program makes us work even harder to enrich and support your students’ experiences!! Thank you!

Many thanks to all who supported the access of hand sanitizer. Like a scavenger hunt, when sightings were announced and shared, Mr. Victor was all over town!! We were finally successful! Also, thank you, Mr. Oscar for your support here as well!
Seen Around Our 'World'
We love to know what our students and families are up to outside of school! If you have something you would like to share, please don't hesitate to share it with us! Click here to email us your photos with details for us to post! We especially love to hear (and brag!) about student accomplishments outside of school! We love sharing ALL about each of our students!
Spring has sprung in the hydroponic garden!
Touches of World Academy life, at home!
Make your own Middle School fruit bowls, work baskets, and even a digital homework room!
Remote Learning
Remote learning is in full swing "at" World Academy! While we miss having all our students onsite, we are so proud of how everyone has so quickly adapted to our distance collaborations. K-8 went fully remote this week, and our ECE teams have set up wonderful remote learning curricula for their at-home students as well! Our WA family will hopefully be able to rejoin together under one roof soon, but until then, we are committed to continuing our education of your children with the same level of high-quality curriculum, care, and dedication. Please continue to send us your pictures for our weekly Coordinates!
Click here for a fun video of one of our Kindergarten students practicing French!
Thank you to all our creative ECE teachers who have sent home amazing at-home curriculum, complete with projects and activity ideas!
As all of our ECE families know, the weekly Storytelling/Yoga sessions with Mr. Michael are NOT to be missed!
Mrs. Iannone's artists at all levels are still hard at work!
Our onsite ECE students miss their friends! Check out how Preschool Fours "Funky Monkeys" went on a friend safari and then re-created some stand-in friends in block center!
We love being able to see students using the Google Meet sessions and pictures of them completing their schoolwork. Keep up the great jobs, everyone!
Have a very happy weekend!! We will meet you again next 
week…same time, same place !!! Stay well and keep your social distance!!! Smile…we already have a week behind us. We will be together, in school again, pretty soon!!
 - Ms. Kathy and all of your teachers!!!

(603) 888-1982