ASM Online Update, 22 May 2020

 

22 May 2020 Greetings, ASM Parents, Week #13 of online learning is, as some say, ‘done and dusted’. Teachers at ASM capped the week with a Professional Growth Day today, and we’ve been “Zooming it up” with professional sharing and reflections on the work we’ve done this spring and as we look towards the year ahead. This morning, I attended three quick but fantastic sessions led by our teachers: Mrs. Marjersson and Mr. Evans presented on Visible Thinking in the classroom. (Visible Thinking is a Harvard School of Education program). Dr. De Rosa presented on brain science and learning success, and Mr. Bayson presented to a zoom-ful of teachers on his uses of Peardeck educational software for teaching and monitoring students’ understanding. These 20 minute sessions were fast, engaging and full of good learning. Thanks to all 15 ASM teachers who presented today.  I’ve been on campus all week, and slowly, little by little, there are signs of life at ASM. Coming to campus these days starts with a temperature check by one of our friendly guards. We’ve installed hand sanitizing stations throughout campus, and signs on doors and walls remind us of proper distancing protocol and to wear masks.

Finally, each room has posted how many people can be in at one time, based on the current government edicts.

We welcomed seniors back to campus Monday through Wednesday (spaced at 15 minute intervals)  to take photos for their virtual graduation ceremony. Our Librarian Ms. Coutras collected books while Mr. Minera collected laptops. My current information is that the Italian government will issue some directives in the coming week that will give us some guidelines and rules for school re-opening in September and what will be required of us.

That information, when we have it, will allow us to start building a clearer picture for all of what school might look like in September.  Speaking of signs of life, while the kids and teachers have been away, other local residents have made themselves right at home: this family of birds set up a nest in the open dining area just outside the cafeteria. They have been growing rapidly, and momma has shown some anxiety at people returning...but the babies (three of them) seem nearly ready to fly. I’ll be checking in on them daily.

I will be having my weekly Coffee again this coming Wednesday. Here is the link. Have a great weekend!

Weekly Message from ASM Counselors Hello ASM Families, We hope you and your family are staying healthy and well as we carry on with learning from home. The end of the year is fast approaching, and we are working diligently to support our students as best we can, knowing that “closure” looks quite different for many of us this year. We have begun saying “farewell” to the seniors, by filming a virtual awards ceremony and virtual graduation this year. We will also be working to support other student transitions in the next few weeks. These transitions might include students moving up into the middle school or high school, and students who will be leaving ASM at the end of the year.  Please encourage your child to be on the lookout for emails from us regarding various groups or meetings to help support these transitions. The below initiatives pertaining to the overall balance of wellness and self-care during this time will continue to be updated by our team through the end of the school year. We continue to be available to support you and your family as the days continue, too. Best regards, Your ASM Counselors

Wellness Initiative Wellness Challenge Weekly Highlight Videos (continue to email submissions to Mr. Jesse if you are in elementary school and Ms. Ely if you are in upper school):  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Weeks 5&6 Counselor Articles: Staying Healthy, Faking It To Make It, Quarantine Routine, On Grief and Loss,  Productivity & Guilt in Quarantine Wellness Calendars: Calendar 1 Calendar 2 For Brain Games and Stress Relief: Click here Other  Resources and Articles: Boost your immune system Self-Care for Teens Helping your kids stay connected to friends You and Your Kids Can’t Stand Each Other. Now What? Self-Care for Staff, Students and Families Managing Mental Health Tips Loneliness in the time of Covid-19  Brain Pop video Great clip for kids, explaining the virus and how to stay healthy A Curious Guide for Courageous Kids Short story written in both Italian and English about the virus and prevention Weekly Wellbeing: Elementary Weekly Wellbeing Click here Middle School Weekly Wellness Click here High School Weekly Wellness Click Here Contact Your Counselors Jesse Sweeney Elementary Counselor (Grades K-5) jsweeney@asmilan.org   Shelbie Ely Middle School Counselor (Grades 6-8) sely@asmilan.org   Eric Stullman High School Counselor (Grades 9&10) estullman@asmilan.org   Margie Karathanasis High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names A-K) mkarathanasis@asmilan.org   Logan Westmoreland High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names L-Z) vwestmoreland@asmilan.org

ASM Update, Week 13 of Online Schooling

 

Greetings, ASM Parents,

We enter Week 13 of online schooling with some optimism for the reopening of Italy and some excitement for the end-of-year traditions that are starting to take place. Albeit in new and different forms, the Upper School held Senior Awards Night last night (a video of the ceremony was compiled and sent home via an email link) and the Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation is being assembled currently. The Principals and their teams are planning for Library book drop off, locker clean-out, and laptop return. Details will be coming your way shortly. 

Meanwhile, we have five weeks of learning remaining, and while classes continue, teachers are also reflecting on their own learnings from the past 13 weeks. What have we learned that has allowed us to better engage students? What new tech tool has given better insights into student learning? What has been fun and cool and has elicited student enthusiasm? A committee is collecting those learnings, and this Friday, May 22, we have a Professional Day with no classes for students, but learning and sharing for teachers. 15 ASM teachers will present their reflections and learnings with their colleagues during a virtual ‘mini conference’ as we look to continue our growth and development as teachers and as a school. 
 

What will school look like in September? 

I know that this has been a question for many of our parents as look at the calendar and read government edicts. It is also a question on which thinkers and scholars the world around have been pondering….not only what will we have to do, but what might we possibly do? If we can get past the fear of the changes that seem likely to be imposed on our schools--social distancing, class size limitations, and all that those changes will mean (which is a LOT) what might we do to be better? I enjoyed the reflections of this author who, in his role as home school teacher, has focused on ecology for the curriculum for his daughter: article here. A highlight: “A survey reported this week suggests that six out of 10 people in the UK want the government to prioritise health and wellbeing ahead of growth when we emerge from the pandemic.”  What if….?  As I stated last week, we don't know exactly what ASM's classes will look like in September. Loosening of travel restrictions (earlier than I expected) may suggest that other restrictions will be dropped as well. What I can confirm is that ASM will open, on schedule, and will continue to offer what we believe is the best American-style international education available in Milan.

As an American and a father of two college age kids, this Freakonomics podcast, shared with me by one of my Econ teachers, provides both a bracing, but also a hopeful look at what post secondary education might do with itself in the post-COVID era...evolve or die seem to be the choices for many schools. While the scale of the challenges are different and the needs of the learners different at different ages, many of the issues facing colleges and universities are the same as those facing schools like ASM. Worth a listen if you have the time. 
 

Have a great week!

Mr. Rutherford

--
Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM Update, Week 12 of Online Schooling

 

Greetings, Parents,

I've been told that the Milano spring this year has been unusually sunny and fine; today we seem to be catching up on our precipitation levels. 

Today I will talk a bit about September, as we seem to have relative clarity about how this year will end. Planning is on-going for our Class of 2020 Graduation (virtual, it seems almost assured) and a committee of seniors and teachers are working to make the best of an unusual situation. Gradually, we hope to see campus reopen for employees in the coming weeks. But what will the new school year bring?

As I have said previously, ASM will open on time, with our first day of classes on Tuesday, September 1. However, beyond that simple pledge, there are several major uncertainties. We await clear direction from the Italian government (at several levels--national, Lombardia, Opera) about what, exactly, we will be allowed to do. We await regulations on social distancing. We await regulations on required hygiene regimens. As America's Doctor Fauci said, early on: "The virus sets the timetable" and so we also await the direction of the viral trends that will inform the government decisions.

ASM is preparing for foreseeable eventualities: we have ordered Personal Protective Equipment and will order more. We have purchased digital thermometers and are researching other systems for taking the temperature of 900 people rapidly entering a building through one (or two) entrance(s). We are speaking with our important partners about how bus transportation may need to be altered and how our cafeteria procedures may need to change. We are in frequent meetings with our teachers and Leadership team about how best to be prepared for the classroom realities that will confront us next September.  

We are also doing the things we do annually to prepare for a new school year: placing orders for classroom supplies, sports equipment, and textbooks. We are working with our newly hired staff to get their paperwork processed in a timely manner (a different kind of challenge this year). And planning for necessary summer campus maintenance projects. 

I can't see or convey to parents exactly what school and classes will look like next fall. I can promise that we will have committed and caring teachers prepared to deliver ASM curriculum, and that we will meet--and in many cases exceed--the proscribed safety requirements for operating a school. 

I will again be holding a Parent Coffee on Wednesday morning at 10am. Please come for an update and to ask any questions you might currently have about the remainder of this year or about next school year.

The link for the coffee is here.

Kind regards,
Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM Online Update, 1 May 2020

 

Greetings ASM Parents, Thank you for your support as we worked together through Week #10 of online schooling at ASM. Who could have anticipated, way back in February, that we would be online for this duration? It has been a year of incredible challenge, but also of incredible growth for our entire community, and in particular, for our learners. I continue to hear from teachers about learners who have blossomed, who have excelled, and who have found real agency to take ownership of their learning. We love these stories and hope to capture the factors that allowed for these students to excel during lockdown. At the same time, we know that many of our students have struggled with the separation from friends, the lack of physical activity, and the loss of the many important events and activities that would have populated our spring calendar. We so look forward to returning to campus where, it is our sincere intention, we can revive the wonderful things about our community at ASM, but also ask important questions about what we might discard and what we might emphasize, based on all we’ve learned during online schooling. A committee of teachers will be formed shortly to reflect on these big questions.  Thank you to the approximately 150 parents who joined the Board’s virtual Town Hall meeting on Wednesday. Questions were collected and we are composing responses this weekend. The FAQ sheet will be published early next week for those not able to attend.  I will be hosting another Parent Coffee on Wednesday, May 6th at 10am, and our Athletic Director, Ms Ilieva, will join me to talk about looking ahead at sports for next school year. The link to the meeting is here. I am sure that we are all looking forward to the [limited] new freedoms we will have as of Monday. I’m certainly looking forward to going for a run!  Be well this weekend. Mr. Rutherford   A message from our Wonderful Counseling Team:

Weekly Message from ASM Counselors Hello ASM Families, We hope you and your family are staying healthy and well as we carry on with learning from home. The below initiatives pertaining to overall balance of wellness and self-care during this time will continue to be updated by our team. We would like to focus on the self-care practice of gratitude this week as we strive to live each day with a positive attitude during a time when negativity can overwhelm the news and our thoughts. Students are encouraged to participate in a “Gratitude Challenge” by sharing a picture, word or thought with their respective counselor of things they are grateful for over the next week. These will be compiled into a visual to share with the community. Please know that we are available to support you and your family as the days continue. Best regards, Your ASM Counselors

Wellness Initiative Wellness Challenge Weekly Highlight Videos (continue to email submissions to Mr. Jesse if you are in elementary school and Ms. Ely if you are in upper school):  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Weeks 5&6 Counselor Articles: Staying Healthy, Faking It To Make It, Quarantine Routine, On Grief and Loss,  Productivity & Guilt in Quarantine Wellness Calendars: Calendar 1 Calendar 2 For Brain Games and Stress Relief: Click here Other  Resources and Articles: Boost your immune system Self-Care for Teens Helping your kids stay connected to friends You and Your Kids Can’t Stand Each Other. Now What? Self-Care for Staff, Students and Families Managing Mental Health Tips Loneliness in the time of Covid-19  Brain Pop video Great clip for kids, explaining the virus and how to stay healthy A Curious Guide for Courageous Kids Short story written in both Italian and English about the virus and prevention Weekly Wellbeing: Elementary Weekly Wellbeing Click here Middle School Weekly Wellness Click here High School Weekly Wellness Click Here    Contact Your Counselors Jesse Sweeney Elementary Counselor (Grades K-5) jsweeney@asmilan.org   Shelbie Ely Middle School Counselor (Grades 6-8) sely@asmilan.org   Eric Stullman High School Counselor (Grades 9&10) estullman@asmilan.org   Margie Karathanasis High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names A-K) mkarathanasis@asmilan.org   Logan Westmoreland High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names L-Z) vwestmoreland@asmilan.org

ASM Online Update, 27 April

 

Greetings ASM Parents, I hope Week #10 of ASM Online is off to a positive start for the learners in your home. There is a guarded optimism in the air as we look to slightly more freedom of movement in the coming weeks.  As many of you will be aware, Prime Minister Conte stated last night on TV that Italian schools will not re-open this school year. ASM, as a consequence, will not re-open for school year 2019-20. This is a disappointment for us all, as we had hoped that we would be able to reunite to conclude the year, celebrate accomplishments, and say farewell in person to our friends who are leaving. While the news is sad, it does at least provide us with a small degree of certainty about the future, and the ability to plan some things with more clarity. ASM leadership has begun discussing how we will set up a system for families to return library books (likely ES families first) and ASM-owned computers (as late as possible, given our need for that connection for on-line learning). More will come specifically from Principals about these systems once the details are established. We will also try to coordinate into those times the ability for Upper School students to clean out their lockers. There are several things we are working to plan for, within the safety constraints necessary.  I will be hosting my fourth Director's Coffee Hour this Wednesday, April 29th at 10am. Dr. Amodio and Mr. Capello will join, and we will be speaking primarily about the journey of the Upper School through this online learning adventure. The link to the coffee hour can be found below. Last week we had nearly 90 participants!

Link to Join Coffee Hour

Also a reminder that the ASM Board of Trustees will be hosting a Town Hall meeting to discuss the state of the school and future planning for ASM as we continue to work through this time of uncertainty. The meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday, April 29th, and a link will be sent tomorrow or Wednesday morning--we are still working on how best to set up a meeting which may have quite large numbers. Thank you again for your continued support of our amazing teachers and the learning work of your students. I have been 'observing' some classes this week, and our students continue to produce quite remarkable work that shows their genuine interest in learning.  Kind regards, Mr. Rutherford

ASM Online Update, 17 April 2020. Online Day #38

 

“Pulling together, or Pulling apart?” Greetings, Parents,  I hope you are well as we close out Week 8 of online schooling at ASM. I am going to take some time to share a personal story about my own kids...but it is not just about my kids, it is about all of us. I have, as many know, two kids in US colleges. Their campuses are closed. They are doing online learning and will do so for the remainder of the academic year. Maya goes to a private, liberal arts school in Oregon. It is expensive. (imagine triple ASM’s highest tuition, and you are close). She earned a nice scholarship based on her qualifications, but that covers about ⅓ of the cost. It remains very expensive. Sam’s state university is less expensive, but still a significant cost. (imagine double ASM’s average tuition, and you are in the neighborhood). We knew, as do all American parents, that college would be expensive, so we saved money. There are quasi-government-backed savings/investment plans called 529s in the US. I started a long time ago, putting money away for the kids’ college education. In March (last month), I needed to pay Sam’s third term tuition, so looked at his 529 account. I was startled to see that all, ALL, of the investment gains that had accrued over a decade of growth had evaporated in the three weeks of COVID-related economic crisis. In other words, I could have been putting money in a coffee can in the kitchen and been as well or better off than I was after all my ‘responsible planning’. But tuition was due, classes were starting (online) and there was no question--I paid it.  Things for my kids are not what we’d imagined. Their experience is not ‘like college was for me’. There are no late-night dorm room conversations. There are no parties. There are no cafeteria hijinx. There is no access to the fitness center. There are no games to attend or plays to watch. My son’s summer job at the university, that offered housing, food and a salary (first job ever!! Nice work, Dude!) has been cancelled. My daughter had a leadership role on the planning committee for a big environmental symposium this spring--cancelled. Her overseas study program to Senegal, for which she’d taken months to apply, cancelled. My kids currently live as guests in a relative’s spare room. We are trying to find them both jobs and housing for the summer. Their grandparents are elderly and the time of COVID is not, sadly, the time to stay with the grandparents. And so….it is rough, and I feel very badly for my kids, because it isn’t what we’d hoped for or imagined for them.  I made a choice to send my kids to these schools--I chose to save the money, to agree to the expenses, and to sign the financial contracts saying I’d pay the tuition. I did so because I believe that a university education is important and because I believe that the schools they attend are good places for them to be learning--not perfect, but really good in many ways. I believed I could afford it, because I’d saved money. Now, things are different. A significant amount of money I thought I’d saved has, almost magically, disappeared. The kids ‘aren’t getting what I thought I was paying for,’ though they are still getting an education from highly qualified professors who care about their learning, who are working very hard at doing something old in a completely new way, and who make themselves available for discussion and questions via office hours--whether my kids avail of those hours or not. I know that those professors have salaries and that the university has other costs. I know that it feels like...hmm...is this what I was paying for? And I know that I’ve got to sit down with my wife and have a talk: is this what we are going to pay for? And we have a choice….several choices, actually. We could pull the kids out of school and have them take much cheaper classes at Community College. We could pull them out and have them find jobs for a year (tough market, though). We could pull them out and have them come here...and do what, I’m not sure. Or, we could support them--by the means at our disposal--to continue their education because we believe that they are in the best schools for them at this time, and because we believe that--ultimately--their education from these institutions will be ‘worth it.’ We could economize to have more to spend on their education and less on ourselves for the time being. We could humble ourselves and ask my parents or her parents if we need financial help. And we will do these things. We will choose to ‘pull together’ with the other parents of these schools because we value the schools and what they offer--in the best of times and the worst of times--for our kids’ learning and for our kids as people. We will not petition for refunds and tuition freezes (any parent of a student approaching college age in America knows that tuitions go up every year). We will not criticize the schools or their leadership via social media and chat groups...how can that possibly help?  US colleges and universities are facing an existential crisis. Some will likely close as a result of this crisis and the economic downturn now and which will follow. (see here and here). Independent schools, and international schools--particularly non-profits--are also vulnerable. Providing the best education available requires investing in top talent, top-flight facilities, the best resources, and constant training and professional development. So a radical drop in revenues will mean schools cutting on these essentials...thereby limiting their ability to remain ‘the best.’ ASM certainly aims to continue to provide the best international, American-style education available in Milan, with the most diverse student body, the  best teacher/student ratio, the best extra curricular program, and the most caring, dedicated educators. We hope you’ll ‘pull together’ to help us continue to be able to do so, as we work to weather this current, harrowing storm. At the end of the day, with committed educators caring about our kids--your kids and my kids--will get out of this knowing they can fight through tremendous challenges, and the kids will be alright.  On a few different notes: Congratulations to ASM Seniors who have received in recent days, admissions to some great colleges and universities including: Berklee College of Music, Johns Hopkins University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts in the USA; along with King's College London (Law), University of the Arts London, and University of Bristol (mechanical engineering) in the UK. Way to go, Seniors! I have been reading the CS Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for students. You can access the recordings here: www.asmilan.org/readingwithwayne and if you 'subscribe' to the channel (big red button), you'll get updates when a new chapter recording is published.  Finally, from our fantastic Counseling team:

Week Eight Message from ASM Counselors Hello ASM Students and Families, We hope you and your family are staying healthy and well as we carry on with learning from home. The below initiatives pertaining to overall balance of wellness and self-care during this time have been updated by our team for this week. Please know that we are available to support you and your family as the days continue. Best regards, Your ASM Counselors

Wellness Initiative Wellness Challenge Weekly Highlight Videos (continue to email submissions to Mr. Jesse if you are in elementary school and Ms. Ely if you are in upper school):  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Weeks 5&6 Counselor Articles: Staying Healthy, Faking It To Make It, Quarantine Routine, On Grief and Loss,  Productivity & Guilt in Quarantine  Wellness Calendars: Calendar 1 Calendar 2 For Brain Games and Stress Relief: Click here Other  Resources and Articles: Boost your immune system Self-Care for Teens Helping your kids stay connected to friends Brain Pop video Great clip for kids, explaining the virus and how to stay healthy A Curious Guide for Courageous Kids Short story written in both Italian and English about the virus and prevention Weekly Wellbeing: Elementary Weekly Wellbeing Middle School Weekly Wellness High School Weekly Wellness   Contact Your Counselors   Jesse Sweeney Elementary Counselor (Grades K-5) jsweeney@asmilan.org   Shelbie Ely Middle School Counselor (Grades 6-8) sely@asmilan.org   Eric Stullman High School Counselor (Grades 9&10) estullman@asmilan.org   Margie Karathanasis High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names A-K) mkarathanasis@asmilan.org   Logan Westmoreland High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names L-Z) vwestmoreland@asmilan.org

ASM Online Update, 17 April 2020. Online Day #38   “Pulling together, or Pulling apart?” Greetings, Parents,  I hope you are well as we close out Week 8 of online schooling at ASM. I am going to take some time to share a personal story about my own kids...but it is not just about my kids, it is about all of us. I have, as many know, two kids in US colleges. Their campuses are closed. They are doing online learning and will do so for the remainder of the academic year. Maya goes to a private, liberal arts school in Oregon. It is expensive. (imagine triple ASM’s highest tuition, and you are close). She earned a nice scholarship based on her qualifications, but that covers about ⅓ of the cost. It remains very expensive. Sam’s state university is less expensive, but still a significant cost. (imagine double ASM’s average tuition, and you are in the neighborhood). We knew, as do all American parents, that college would be expensive, so we saved money. There are quasi-government-backed savings/investment plans called 529s in the US. I started a long time ago, putting money away for the kids’ college education. In March (last month), I needed to pay Sam’s third term tuition, so looked at his 529 account. I was startled to see that all, ALL, of the investment gains that had accrued over a decade of growth had evaporated in the three weeks of COVID-related economic crisis. In other words, I could have been putting money in a coffee can in the kitchen and been as well or better off than I was after all my ‘responsible planning’. But tuition was due, classes were starting (online) and there was no question--I paid it.  Things for my kids are not what we’d imagined. Their experience is not ‘like college was for me’. There are no late-night dorm room conversations. There are no parties. There are no cafeteria hijinx. There is no access to the fitness center. There are no games to attend or plays to watch. My son’s summer job at the university, that offered housing, food and a salary (first job ever!! Nice work, Dude!) has been cancelled. My daughter had a leadership role on the planning committee for a big environmental symposium this spring--cancelled. Her overseas study program to Senegal, for which she’d taken months to apply, cancelled. My kids currently live as guests in a relative’s spare room. We are trying to find them both jobs and housing for the summer. Their grandparents are elderly and the time of COVID is not, sadly, the time to stay with the grandparents. And so….it is rough, and I feel very badly for my kids, because it isn’t what we’d hoped for or imagined for them.  I made a choice to send my kids to these schools--I chose to save the money, to agree to the expenses, and to sign the financial contracts saying I’d pay the tuition. I did so because I believe that a university education is important and because I believe that the schools they attend are good places for them to be learning--not perfect, but really good in many ways. I believed I could afford it, because I’d saved money. Now, things are different. A significant amount of money I thought I’d saved has, almost magically, disappeared. The kids ‘aren’t getting what I thought I was paying for,’ though they are still getting an education from highly qualified professors who care about their learning, who are working very hard at doing something old in a completely new way, and who make themselves available for discussion and questions via office hours--whether my kids avail of those hours or not. I know that those professors have salaries and that the university has other costs. I know that it feels like...hmm...is this what I was paying for? And I know that I’ve got to sit down with my wife and have a talk: is this what we are going to pay for? And we have a choice….several choices, actually. We could pull the kids out of school and have them take much cheaper classes at Community College. We could pull them out and have them find jobs for a year (tough market, though). We could pull them out and have them come here...and do what, I’m not sure. Or, we could support them--by the means at our disposal--to continue their education because we believe that they are in the best schools for them at this time, and because we believe that--ultimately--their education from these institutions will be ‘worth it.’ We could economize to have more to spend on their education and less on ourselves for the time being. We could humble ourselves and ask my parents or her parents if we need financial help. And we will do these things. We will choose to ‘pull together’ with the other parents of these schools because we value the schools and what they offer--in the best of times and the worst of times--for our kids’ learning and for our kids as people. We will not petition for refunds and tuition freezes (any parent of a student approaching college age in America knows that tuitions go up every year). We will not criticize the schools or their leadership via social media and chat groups...how can that possibly help?  US colleges and universities are facing an existential crisis. Some will likely close as a result of this crisis and the economic downturn now and which will follow. (see here and here). Independent schools, and international schools--particularly non-profits--are also vulnerable. Providing the best education available requires investing in top talent, top-flight facilities, the best resources, and constant training and professional development. So a radical drop in revenues will mean schools cutting on these essentials...thereby limiting their ability to remain ‘the best.’ ASM certainly aims to continue to provide the best international, American-style education available in Milan, with the most diverse student body, the  best teacher/student ratio, the best extra curricular program, and the most caring, dedicated educators. We hope you’ll ‘pull together’ to help us continue to be able to do so, as we work to weather this current, harrowing storm. At the end of the day, with committed educators caring about our kids--your kids and my kids--will get out of this knowing they can fight through tremendous challenges, and the kids will be alright.  On a few different notes: Congratulations to ASM Seniors who have received in recent days, admissions to some great colleges and universities including: Berklee College of Music, Johns Hopkins University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts in the USA; along with King's College London (Law), University of the Arts London, and University of Bristol (mechanical engineering) in the UK. Way to go, Seniors! I have been reading the CS Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for students. You can access the recordings here: www.asmilan.org/readingwithwayne and if you 'subscribe' to the channel (big red button), you'll get updates when a new chapter recording is published.  Finally, from our fantastic Counseling team:

Week Eight Message from ASM Counselors Hello ASM Students and Families, We hope you and your family are staying healthy and well as we carry on with learning from home. The below initiatives pertaining to overall balance of wellness and self-care during this time have been updated by our team for this week. Please know that we are available to support you and your family as the days continue. Best regards, Your ASM Counselors

Wellness Initiative Wellness Challenge Weekly Highlight Videos (continue to email submissions to Mr. Jesse if you are in elementary school and Ms. Ely if you are in upper school):  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Weeks 5&6 Counselor Articles: Staying Healthy, Faking It To Make It, Quarantine Routine, On Grief and Loss,  Productivity & Guilt in Quarantine  Wellness Calendars: Calendar 1 Calendar 2 For Brain Games and Stress Relief: Click here Other  Resources and Articles: Boost your immune system Self-Care for Teens Helping your kids stay connected to friends Brain Pop video Great clip for kids, explaining the virus and how to stay healthy A Curious Guide for Courageous Kids Short story written in both Italian and English about the virus and prevention Weekly Wellbeing: Elementary Weekly Wellbeing Middle School Weekly Wellness High School Weekly Wellness   Contact Your Counselors   Jesse Sweeney Elementary Counselor (Grades K-5) jsweeney@asmilan.org   Shelbie Ely Middle School Counselor (Grades 6-8) sely@asmilan.org   Eric Stullman High School Counselor (Grades 9&10) estullman@asmilan.org   Margie Karathanasis High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names A-K) mkarathanasis@asmilan.org   Logan Westmoreland High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names L-Z) vwestmoreland@asmilan.org

Making Connections

 

Greetings, Parents. I hope you had a relaxing weekend. The weather was amazing, and one thing I will look back on fondly from our 'quarantine time' will be the ability to watch spring unfold in my yard and beyond my gate here in Milano 3. 

Two efforts to continue to make connections and enable communication: 

I will again host a Wednesday Parent Meeting this Wednesday (tomorrow). I will be joined by Ms. Segre, and we will be discussing curriculum delivery and adjustments in distance learning. The meeting will start at 10am and will be conducted via Google Meets: think link is here

Also, for interested students, I have begun recording chapters of the C.S. Lewis classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I will attempt to do a chapter per night (and I'll be sending the links daily). Chapter 1 can be found on YouTube here. 

 

Thank you, and have a good week!

Wayne

ASM Community Update: ASM Online, Day 34

 

Greetings, Parents. I hope this finds you and your family well. Yoshiko and I continue to be amazed by the beauty of Milan's spring. Having come from many years in countries with different "seasonal realities", we are so enjoying the cherry blossoms, the daffodils (now past their prime), the tulips, and the many other flowers whose names I do not know. Only wish we could walk more freely in the parks and gardens that we know are in riotous bloom. Soon!? The news about schools re-opening is not positive. The numbers of new infected and fatalities that I'm tracking (on the lab24 website) also stubbornly consistent. Fewer and fewer people that I speak to believe that we will be able to re-open this school year. And so, we will continue to work to offer the best possible virtual schooling experience we can. Our teachers continue to work to connect with their students, and we recognize how important those face-to-face, person-to-person connections are to continued engagement in learning. The power of the teacher-student relationship has really been the fuel that has kept our learning program moving forward through this extended closure. Kudos to the teachers and the students for staying connected.  I started a new means of connecting with parents this week with an online, open, google-meet on Wednesday. I will continue this next week and we will be talking about Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning adjustments during our time of online learning. Our Director of Teaching and Learning, Ms. Segre, will join. You can jump into the meeting via this link. I will also be reaching out to students via a read-aloud starting this coming Tuesday. I will release a YouTube per night of me reading from the classic children's fantasy book 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Links will be sent to parents with the daily upload. I remember fondly reading the whole Narnia series to my children when they were younger--it is a wonderful collection of stories and adventures. I do hope you and your family get the chance to 'recharge' during the coming three-day weekend. Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Happy Passover to those who celebrate. And we are nearly there for Ramadan Kareem, which starts on or about April 23rd.  For your weekend reading pleasure, this is a thought-provoking (though US-centric) Atlantic article about how the US might survive the pandemic.  Be well and stay well! Wayne From your Caring Counselors:

Week Seven Message from ASM Counselors Hello ASM Students and Families, We hope you and your family are staying healthy and well as we carry on with learning from home. The below initiatives pertaining to overall balance of wellness and self-care during this time have been updated by our team for this week. Please know that we are available to support you and your family as the days continue. Best regards, Your ASM Counselors

Wellness Initiative Wellness Challenge Weekly Highlight Videos (continue to email submissions to Mr. Jesse if you are in elementary school and Ms. Ely if you are in upper school):  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Weeks 5&6 Counselor Articles: Staying Healthy, Faking It To Make It, Quarantine Routine Wellness Calendars: Calendar 1 Calendar 2 For Brain Games and Stress Relief: Click here Other  Resources and Articles: Boost your immune system Self-Care for Teens Brain Pop video Great clip for kids, explaining the virus and how to stay healthy A Curious Guide for Courageous Kids Short story written in both Italian and English about the virus and prevention Weekly Wellbeing: Elementary Weekly Wellbeing   Middle School Weekly Wellness   High School Weekly Wellness   Contact Your Counselors   Jesse Sweeney Elementary Counselor (Grades K-5) jsweeney@asmilan.org   Shelbie Ely Middle School Counselor (Grades 6-8) sely@asmilan.org   Eric Stullman High School Counselor (Grades 9&10) estullman@asmilan.org   Margie Karathanasis High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last names A-K) mkarathanasis@asmilan.org   Logan Westmoreland High School/University Counselor (Grades 11&12, last  names L-Z) vwestmoreland@asmilan.org

Director's ASM Online update, 7 April 2020

Greetings Parents,

I hope this finds you well. We are in Week 7 of ASM's online schooling project, and we wait with the rest of Italy to see what updates might be released in the near future that would give us some idea of how long this might go on. We are aware that the Ministry is considering action to cancel/postpone the end of year Italian exams; we will keep Italian families informed if there is official notice. We hope we might be allowed back on campus in May; we realize that there is a possibility that campus will be closed for the whole year. At ASM, we continue to work ahead through this ambiguity, as you do too, making the best of each day, and hoping for clarity about the future.

Several parents have asked me about school finances. Please click here to view the letter in which I attempt to address some of those questions.

A resource recommended this week in the New York Times: the Open Culture Website. Touting itself as having 200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites; there seem to be many good documentaries and other sources of information and learning.

I will try something a bit different this week and host an 'open forum' on Wednesday, tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll try to make it a weekly Wednesday with Wayne coffee and conversation. You can drop in anytime from 10am to 11am, using this link. Please bear with me if it doesn't work as smoothly as I hope it will--we are aware that companies are upgrading security around video conferencing to deter 'bombers'. 

Thank you again for all you are doing to support your child's learning during these most unusual times.

Wayne

--
Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

School Closure Day 30, ASM Online Day 29

 

Parents, Thanks for making it through Week #6 of Online Schooling with us. It has been a long haul! A Board member reminded me that tonight would have and should have been ASM's International Night. We have lost, or had to postpone, so many things on the ASM spring calendar this year. I've been in conversation with the PTO about a rescheduled, slimmed-down International Night later in the calendar, but we will just need to see when we can get back on campus, what is allowed in terms of gatherings, and what we can realistically pull off with the time we have.

Students have lost many favorite events as a result of the campus closure--trips and performances, celebrations and even the simple joy of time with friends. Our Counselors have been working to address the grief that some of our students are no doubt feeling at this time of loss. They have prepared this article for you as parents as you work to help your students through the current and coming difficult times. It is also here in Italian.

The news about so many things is shifting and evolving day-by-day. We still do not have clarity on when school might reopen. Rumor has it that there will be an announcement today/this evening on that matter. We do know from Italian Ministry of Education authorities that two possibilities are being considered for year-end exams. If your child is taking either of the year-end Italian state exams, you may want to read this statement.

I continue to work with the ASM Board of Trustees and the ASM Leadership team to ensure that we are doing our utmost to serve the learning needs of our students, to be prepared for the coming weeks of uncertainty, and to be prepared for school year 2020-21, beginning with the arrival of our new teachers in August. We could not do what we are doing without your support.  Again, thank you,

A few good articles from the last couple of days: 

• This is a long, but thought-provoking article about the world we may live in following the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Here, the WHO makes some recommendations about mental wellness and grief during and after the pandemic. 

Be well and I hope you can enjoy what appears to be a beautiful weekend ahead.

Wayne

--
Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM Online Week #6 update, 31 March 2020

Greetings Parents, 

I would like to share the following video message with you, as well as important information about spring break, below.

After discussions with the ASM Board and Leadership team, our Teachers' Association, and some feedback from parents, I have decided that we will teach through our scheduled spring break, observing the Monday, April 13th holiday, and then use those four days of school holiday later, when--hopefully--we can use them to provide long weekends at a time when we are not in lockdown. 

I understand that some families may have preferred following the established calendar, and that the week off in April was an important 'pressure release valve.' I apologize if this change causes difficulties; I know everyone has been working hard and could use a break. I think there are benefits to keeping the students' days structured and to providing them with purpose during the lockdown. I see saving those days for a better time as our best option. It is based on the hope that we will be able to use future three day weekends to be out and about, freely enjoying Milan, Lombardia, and Italy. 

 

To be clear:

We will have a three day weekend April 11, 12, 13 

We will deliver online schooling April 14, 15, 16, 17

Those four skipped spring break holidays will be observed instead on April 24, May 15th, May 25th, and June 12th, creating four day weeks and three day weekends. We will continue to use Wednesdays as half days of instruction with afternoons for meeting/planning time.

 

The weeks ahead then look like this:

March 30--5 day week

April 6--5 day week

April 13--four day week, Monday holiday (April 13)

April 20--four day week, April 24, Fri. new holiday 

April 27--four day week, May 1 a calendared holiday

May 4--five day week

May 11--four day week, May 15th, Fri. new holiday 

May 18--four day week, May 22nd, Friday, calendared teacher PD day.

May 25--four day week, May 25th Mon, new holiday

Jun 1--three day week, June 1 & 2 calendared holidays

June 8--four day week, June 12th new holiday

June 15--four day week, June 19th calendared no student day

 

We will observe the new schedule regardless of whether we are back on campus or still required to do distance learning. Thank you for your flexibility in this most unusual of times. 

I'll leave you with a couple of articles that I've found interesting lately:

• Another fun read about life during lockdown from our ES Art Teacher Ms Pallio can be found here.
• A Harvard Business Review article about grief, as we all mourn the loss of so many things this spring. 

 

Thank you, and hang in there!

 

Wayne Rutherford

Director

American School of Milan

Greetings ASM parents, Well, Italy's numbers might be flattening, but it is too early to be certain. While the daily totals of infections and fatalities are high, they appear to be trending downward (from what I'm seeing at Lab 24 and WHO) and so, hopefully, that continues and we are over that particular hurdle...though there are many more to go before the end of this long race. I have no new, verifiable news about school closures in Italy or ASM's scheduling. I will share more information about our Spring Break plans in my newsletter next week. Teachers remain some of the big heroes of this global crisis, carrying on with their work in significantly sub-optimal conditions at schools around the world. ASM teachers have been astounding in their work with our students, and in their resilience and perseverance, creativity and care. Every day, they are working, meeting, sharing and striving to ensure that each student is learning, that the learning opportunities are rich and feedback to learning meaningful, and that our students are well and making progress. Thank you, ASM teachers. More great college acceptances for ASM Seniors: In the past week, our seniors reported acceptances to.... George Washington University McGill University Boston University American Univ. of Paris University of Bath University of Edinburgh Drexel UNC Chapel Hill UCLA UC Berkeley University of Alberta Hofstra with an $84,000 Dean's Scholarship!! Oglethorpe University with an $89,000 President's Scholarship! Les Roches Marbella Queens Belfast University SUNY Binghamton. Way to go, Seniors!

A couple of articles that I found interesting this week having to do with our current situation and the situation evolving in the US: Thomas Friedman's Plan to get America Back to Work This London Business School presentation on the Economic effects of the COVID virus is also broad and has much more to it...There is data about the frequency of cross generational contact in Italy vs Korea, as one factor in the extensive spread of the virus here in Italy.  I hope you get a chance to enjoy some downtime this weekend. Be well and stay well! Mr. Rutherford

Dear ASM Parents,

Greetings on a lovely spring day. I do hope you are able to get some fresh air into your life, one way or another. Small gifts, like beautiful weather, are an even greater treasure when we are enduring the deprivation of house-arrest.

ASM is into Week #5 of online learning. We continue to receive grateful and helpful emails from parents, letting us know that what we are doing--while perhaps not perfect--is working, is keeping students engaged and busy, and is giving them purpose and structure during lock-in. We will continue to do so for as long as is necessary. 

The Lombardia government, as I’m sure you are aware, wrote this weekend to extend school closure to April 15. As this is during our spring break, it doesn’t really affect our plans and hopes to be back on campus April 20. We are aware that now ASM’s scheduled spring break becomes a question: do we observe the break as scheduled (but while in our homes) or teach through and try to reclaim those holidays when we are out of containment and able to enjoy them? We are weighing the options.

Also new this weekend was the IB’s news that IB exams for seniors world wide have been cancelled. The announcement was less than complete and left many questions in the air. The IB Office promised more answers and clarity by Friday, March 27th. Until then, we are asking our seniors to ‘hang in there’ and await further news. In the meantime, we are continuing with senior classes and plan to do so through April, as per the previous schedule. 

My days are busy with meetings as I work to stay abreast of the latest and to help in guiding ASM to the best possible end of the year. Yesterday, I had a video conference with the ASM Leadership team and another with ASM Counselors and Upper School Administration. I was also in a ZOOM meeting with the Heads of IB schools in Italy, discussing the IB announcement. Today, I’ve been in a 77 person Zoom with the ASM Senior class and Counselors, as well as a meeting with our Principals to talk about the status of the Italian test prep offered on ASM’s campus, and I’ll have yet another with the Upper School Administration to talk about issues specific to the Upper School….so, like our ASM students, lots of time on screen, working through challenges. 

I’ll leave you with two excellent articles that I think help frame our current situation in some historical and sociological context. The first provides a historical look at other epidemics and some of the lessons learned in leadership, in particular, from those events. You can find it here. The second, from noted author Yuval Harari, provides some ideas for humanity’s best chances for moving forward from this current mess with progress, rather than regression. You can find it here. Finally, this short piece offers a ‘more hopeful accounting’ for how we are looking at our statistics in Italy. From the New York Times, here.

I wish you all a peaceful week as ASM continues to work to provide meaning and also a spark to your children’s days. Check out tomorrow’s ES Assembly for some fun! You may also want to check out ASM’s new COVID-19 website, which we hope will be of use to our community. You can find it here. 

Wayne

ASM Closure Update: Closure Day #17; ASM Online Day #16; Lockdown Day #7

 

Greetings ASM Parents,

I hope this finds you well and staying as sane as the confinement allows. I would imagine many of us will find the time to get to some long-neglected home projects in the coming days and weeks. A small silver lining.

I hope that online schooling continues to provide your children with purpose and meaningful learning opportunities. I believe that our teachers have developed a nearly-refined product, while we continue to tweak and try new things. Again, I wish to remind you that we've moved our half day of teacher collaboration to Wednesday, so tomorrow, for nearly all learners, instruction will be morning only, 9am to noon. Our ES learners will also experiment this week with "OFF line Friday Afternoon" and special projects from Art, Music, and PE teachers. Thank you to Dr. Buren and the ES team for piloting this new idea, which we hope proves a good change of pace.

I've been asked by a few parents what happens after we return to school? Will online learning still be available for students outside of Italy and Milan? We will not be able to offer the same form of online learning once we return to classrooms. Teachers are working full time to provide the current online schooling model, and once they are back in the classroom with living, breathing kids, they will be busy, full time, doing that. We will offer the support and learning opportunities we normally offer to sick students when they miss a day of school, but we will not be able to continue online schooling in its current form when we return to campus. 

As the calendar ticks by with us not at school, we are missing more than just our friends and live-teaching. ASM is missing many of the wonderful events that are the 'special sauce' for our children's school experiences. International trips have been canceled, sports tournaments, and much more. My nephew, who lives in Canada, just had a provincial swim tournament (for which he'd been training, arguably, for years) and a Choir tour to New Zealand cancelled in the same day. My brother reports that he was crushed, which I can well imagine. Our kids are going to lose more than school time this spring; they will also lose chances to participate in the events that, perhaps, were their favorite part of each school year. There will likely be some grieving and some mourning, some moodiness and maybe some anger. It is important, I think, that as parents, we recognize that our kids are losing some big wonderful events, some highlights, as this school closure eats more and more of our school year. 

We will work as a leadership team and team of educators to celebrate the return to normalcy when school reopens, and to do what we can, in the limited time we'll have left, to provide our students with a memorable and joyful final few weeks of school.

Final note of good news: two ASM Seniors have recently been admitted to the University of California at San Diego.  

Kind regards,

Wayne Rutherford

ASM Update, Closure Day 15, ASM Online Day 14, Lockdown Day 5

 

Dear Community,

Thomas Paine said in 1776 'these are the times that try mens' souls'.  He had a different crisis in mind when he penned those words, but our situation is a modern crisis, a pandemic, and a significant challenge for us all. It is trying to the souls of moms, dads, teachers, and students...but it is also an opportunity.

Week 3 of closure has seen several improvements to our online learning delivery, and I'd like to especially thank the Elementary teachers who have continued to evolve their practice each week, bringing in more face-to-face time, more connections, and I think overall a more comprehensive online schooling program. I hope you at home are keeping up with Mr. Witt's online workouts, and trying some Healthy Brain Food. Our Middle and High School teachers continue to maintain the pace of curriculum delivery, working hard to ensure that students are not significantly impacted by school closure in terms of our learning standards and their educational achievement.  A huge 'kudos' to all of our Teachers. Thanks, also to our Counselors, who have been working to promote Student Wellness in several ways via online engagements with students.

We know that the move to so much screen time has been a challenging adjustment. Next week, ES will pilot a 'screen free Friday afternoon' to try to reduce a bit students' on-screen time. This is an experiment, part of our constant evolution in this new environment, and we hope that it provides a chance for some different,  hands-on learning experiences for our students. We are working to try to find ways to also reduce screen time for our teachers, who--like  our students--are obliged to stay in front of  their machines as they delivery online schooling.

This was Week 3. We have three, or perhaps four more to go (hopefully, only three). Thus, it is--we hope-- a mid-point in this experience for ASM. We have learned a lot...a LOT....about online teaching and learning. ASM has established itself as a leader in Europe in delivering online learning, and again, thanks to our Tech Support team. I think that one of our biggest challenges is still about balance, in particular as the need to stay indoors has increased. Getting exercise, caring for one's personal wellness, socializing...all so important, so well facilitated by at-school schooling, and so much harder to do in small apartments and limited spaces. We hope you and your family are finding time to address these critical areas of wellness, using ASM resources or things you've developed on your own.

Another quick college admissions celebration, as one of our ASM seniors was admitted this week to the University of Edinburgh into their Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. Great work!

Have a relaxing weekend, put down the screens, get out on a walk (1 m apart, please), call a friend, and try to reflect on some of the many things we have to be grateful for, including our incredible ASM community.

 

Wayne Rutherford

Director

American School of Milan

ASM Update: ASM Online Day #12; School Closure Day #13

Dear ASM Parents,

Greetings and I hope you are holding up alright whereever you are. Here in Milan, the lockdown has really come into effect, and I can verify that supermarkets are making people stand in line outside to ensure that ‘safe distance’ is kept between customers inside the store. It reminds me a bit of 1974 in America: an oil crisis led to long lines to get gas, and I remember sitting in my mom’s gray Volvo stationwagon waiting for our turn. The oil crisis also led to some food shortage scares, and I also remember being at Prarie Market, a huge warehouse place outside of town, and pushing around a massive (it seemed to 7 year old me) warehouse sled with the biggest bags of essentials I’d ever seen. Fast forward 45 years and here we are in Milan, waiting in line for diminishing products. Thankfully, Italians seem to have produced (and kept for domestic consumption) plenty of wine...those shelves were still well-stocked!

Again, thank you for your flexibility and support as we head into what we now know will be a long haul with online learning and distance schooling. In week #3, we feel that some things are working quite well and will be sustainable through the duration of the closure. Other things, we know, we can still make better, and so you will continue to see tweaks in our delivery of online learning..changes for the better, we hope. I have said several times that we are ‘building this plane while we are flying it,’ and so we are cognizant of wanting to do our best (change and evolve), but also to have routines that you all can follow at home (be consistent). I believe that in the coming days, you’ll see patterns of instruction emerge that will hold through the closure.

One change: we will shift the half day of instruction from Mondays to Wednesdays to better meet the needs of teachers in their planning. Next Monday will be a full day of online schooling; Wednesday, March 18th, will be morning only  teaching and learning. Look to the Principals for any additions to the schedule update.

I’ve been asked several questions in the past few days, prompted by our imposed longer closure and my email to you on Sunday. I’ll answer a few of those here:

• Why do I think we’ll be closed until April 20th, if the current edict runs to the 3rd? We anticipate that the week after the 3rd (Easter Week, in which Italian schools only have a couple of days instruction) will likely be canceled. If it is not, then we will have classes. The week of April 13th, is our spring break which (if Easter week is closed) would lead us to a Monday, April 20, resumption of classes. We might be back on April 6th if Easter week is not added to the April 3 current school closure. 

• Why not cancel spring break and makeup classes then? That seems like a nice idea: makeup days. But several factors make that difficult and also unpalatable; it may, also for many of our learners, be unnecessary. Many of our teachers are doing an outstanding job keeping pace with the schedule of instruction and our curricular goals. While we know we are losing learning time for our youngest learners--for whom classroom socialization and specialized instruction are so important--many of our teachers report being on, or nearly on schedule, despite the closure. Another factor: families and teachers have vacation plans already scheduled for spring break. I think we’ll all need a break from school by then!

• Our IB preparation for seniors is going forward at a good pace. We are confident that most of our IB students’ exam preparation will not be affected by the closure. While we cannot fully replicate in-school learning online, our seniors are responsible, engaged learners and our IB teachers are highly skilled and working very hard. We feel quite positive about where we are with exam preparation. The IB Office, for its part, is presenting some degree of flexibility on assignment deadlines. The test dates themselves, however, remain fixed at this time. Conversations are ongoing, but I believe we will be safe to offer exams by their start date in early May.

• What about bus and activity refunds? We are looking into these questions and will be working to find an equitable solution to the question of compensation for lost activity sessions or unused bus time, though we must wait for the end of the school closure to know the extent of lost time.

• What is happening with upcoming school community events? We continue to look at the calendar and are trying to assess what can be done, what cannot, and what we will need to change. Many things on our calendar, including student performances and the International Night, require preparation and rehearsal...even if we can schedule all of the original performances, will we have sufficient time to prepare the performers? We will continue to review this question. 

 

There are lots of issues still to be decided or clarified, while teachers continue, each day, to deliver the best online learning experiences possible. To close on some positive notes, our seniors continue to receive college admissions news, and in the past week, we’ve heard of ASM senior’s being admitted to The University of Michigan; New York University, Shanghai; and Duke University’s Kunshan Campus--top schools for our outstanding seniors! Congratulations!

Finally, I’m pleased to share with your our wonderful ASM Counseling Team’s Wellness Challenge for Week 3: Click here to take the Challenge.

Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM School Closure Update, 8 March

 

All,

The Italian government yesterday announced an extension of school closures to April 3. (it seems quite likely, given Easter and our spring break, that we will actually not resume on-campus learning until April 20). Other aspects of the edict restrict movement to, from, and within Lombardia. This was unwelcome news, but we are in unprecedented times.

ASM faculty and staff will continue to work to deliver on-line schooling to all students as we have for the past two weeks. This and following Mondays will be half day (9-12pm) schooling, with teacher collaboration time in the afternoon. Tuesday-Friday we will provide full day online schooling. We will do our best to announce any future schedule modifications with some lead time. 

We have surveyed some of our students about their experiences thus far, and one of the challenges is the lack of social interaction that regular school--that being together on campus--provides. ASM has provided parents with access to a tool that can help connect you with your child's peers: the ClassList application. We hope that it will be helpful in providing you with contact information with your child's peers that can help you possibly set up a chance to get together in the park or, perhaps, virtually. 

I hope you will have the opportunity to enjoy today's good weather. 

Kind regards,

Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM Update: Online Learning Day #9; Closure Day #10

 

Greetings parents,

The sun is shining as I write this, trees are in bloom, and spring is in the air. I sincerely hope you and your children will get out and enjoy some greenery this weekend. The parks are, from what I've seen, full of people enjoying the weather and sunshine...when it shines. Physical activity and sunshine are so important for children.

The week at school has gone as well as I think we could hope. On Monday, we will again offer a half-day of online schooling and give the teachers the afternoon for collaboration. As we continue to work to improve our online delivery, there will be some changes and attempts at finding ways for the most effective provision of online learning. Look forward to communications from your children's teachers and Principals about any changes. I am in contact with peers around the world who are also wrestling with the challenges of school closure. I was involved in a Zoom conversation today with 55 school leaders sharing learnings and 'what's working well'. I was able to relay these ideas on to our Leadership team here, and some of those ideas may help us improve what we are doing here at ASM. I've also continued to represent ASM with by sharing some of our learnings here with the larger community of international schools. 

The chance of a longer closure seems to be growing, but we will continue to keep our fingers crossed that we might be open again following the expiration of the current closure edict (which would mean March 16th)...

As the numbers of infections and fatalities continue to grow in Italy and around the world, I continue to try to put the COVID-19 experience into perspective. This article, shared with me by a colleague working at a school in Poland helped with that....we have much that we could do to increase our longevity. 

I wish you all the best for a pleasant weekend.

Wayne Rutherford
Director
American School of Milan

ASM Online Day #7, COVID Closure Update Day #8

 

Greetings ASM Parents,

It appears that the government has decided to extend school closure for another week until at least March 15. Not great news, as we would all like to be back in classrooms, but I hope that this information can provide you with some vision on your near-term planning. 

ASM will continue to deliver our curriculum and provide online learning through next week (and through whatever the term of school closure). 

I am aware that some of the initial excitement around the online learning has worn off as we work our way through week #2. The instruction for younger children requires a lot of parent supervision, and we know that is a particular strain on working parents. The online environment has drastically limited social interaction among our students, and that is affecting many of our students. The work that our teachers are doing is demanding and time consuming, and that is also adding to the stress. We will be sending out a few surveys (I think teachers have already sent out a couple) in the coming days to try to gather data that will help us improve delivery and ensure that we are doing the best work we can in these challenging circumstances. I think our teachers are doing an AMAZING job, and I know that most of our kids, too, are doing their very best to make this work. 

Thank you for your continued support. We sincerely look forward to having everyone back on campus soon....we hope!

Wayne Rutherford

Some helpful and useful articles:
On the importance of outdoor play: 
https://www.parentingscience.com/benefits-of-outdoor-play.html 

One of our own parents on COVID-19 in Milan:
https://easymilano.com/staying-calm-coronavirus-in-milan/

Set in the US and US public schools, but an child-friendly explanation (cartoon) of the virus here

ASM Online/CoVID-19 Weekend Update

 

Greetings, ASM parents,

This week will be another week of online learning for ASM students, in accordance with the government proclamation this past weekend. We are hopeful that we will be able to resume on-campus teaching and learning next week, but must await the government's approval to do so. 

This week, we will be working to assess the educational impact of our online learning experiment. We'd like to try to understand how much learning has taken place at home vs what teachers had planned for these two weeks at school. We'd like to understand how much time and learning has been 'lost' due to the different delivery and learning model. We'd also like to try to capture what 'additional learnings' have come with learning from home: what have students learned about themselves as learners? What additional skills have they developed managing their learning somewhat independently from home? What new tech skills have they mastered? We hypothesize that, while some time has been lost, other gains have been made. A challenge to assess, but we will attempt to do so. 

As long as the week remains in a steady state, I will not be writing each evening. Expect a note from me towards the end of the week, but I will curtail my daily messages as we seem to have found our pace online and we know that we'll be doing "ASM Online" or the remainder of the week.

In case you haven't seen it, a few articles covering ASM's work this past week:
https://excellencemagazine.luxury/2020/03/american-school-of-milan-online-learning-in-times-of-crisis/ 

and 
https://www.aaie.org/cf_enotify/view.cfm?n=604 

We are leaders in Europe, with several schools asking us about what we've done and how we've done it, as they look at the possibility of closing and needing to move online. ASM Leads!

Have a good evening,

Wayne Rutherford 

ASM Online/CoVID-19 Weekend Update

 

All,

Greetings and I hope you were able to disconnect from news and screens this weekend. 

The Lombardy government has announced that schools will be closed for this coming week, so ASM will continue with online learning. As per my Friday email, Monday will be a half day of instruction for students, from 9am to noon, with teachers having time to plan and collaborate in the afternoon. Tuesday through Friday, we will deliver full days of online learning. 

It was good to learn that some other states near us have allowed for schools to re-open this week (Wednesday for our peers at IS Turin) and so we are optimistic that we can reopen our doors next Monday, but of course, we must wait for official notification, which I anticipate will not come until later in the week. 

Kind regards,
Wayne Rutherford

Coronavirus Closure Day #5; Online ASM Day #4

Dear Parents,

Well, we made it through the week! Thank you all for your support and for supporting your children's learning through this week's new instructional 'ecosystem' and our online learning platform. Really, we have done so very well. I do appreciate all the emails of support. 

We don't know what will happen next week and won't know until the Lombardia government chooses to make its next pronouncement on schools. I intend to send out an email on Sunday with an update, provided that we have news from the Government about school closure. Please take some time with your children to really unplug this weekend. It has been an intense and demanding week. Enjoy some time offline, get outside, get some physical activity.

There are two scenarios we can anticipate for Monday:

If Lombardia says schools are open Monday

1. ASM will be open! 
2. I am presuming that the Lombardia government will issue some criteria regarding who should come to school and who should stay home. 
   1. We ask that you observe any government established criteria for school attendance or self quarantine, 
   2. We ask that you, as parents, ensure your child is fully healthy before sending him or her to school. Please take your child's temperature before putting them on the bus or dropping off at school. Please do not send children who have a fever, a cough, an upset stomach, etc.
   3. The CDC rates Italy as a '2' in terms of health risk due to coronavirus. We ask that if you have traveled to a country rated by the CDC as a '3' or more, that you not come to school until the end of your 14 day quarantine. List and ratings are here.
3. Activities and Sports will run after school as per usual, depending on Coach's ability to be here.
4. If we are open, we plan to discontinue our online learning program. If a child is away from school, the usual sick-day process of getting missed work would go into effect, with the usual extended deadlines. 
5. FYI: the salad bar will not be operating the first day we are back.
6. We will all be happy to be back

If Lombardia says schools are closed Monday

1. Students will continue to work from home; school closed
2. Mondays will become 'half days' with instruction online from 9am to noon. Teachers will use the afternoons for much-needed planning and collaboration time. Principals and/or teachers will send more information about the specifics of this schedule to you.
3. If we remain closed, there will be online teaching for the rest of the week as per this week.
4. If we are still closed Monday, March 9, we will again have a half day of instruction and a half day of teacher meetings. 

Further notes:

1. We are having a 'Deep Clean' on campus tomorrow....super hygienic cleaning and disinfecting of the whole facility.   
2. Buses will also be clean and clear to ride, with extra cleaning and driver health screenings in place.
3. The deadline for re-enrollment will be pushed back to March 10th (please do go online and fill out the form!) and the penalty for late re-registration will be pushed back as well. 

Again, thank you for your flexibility, support, and feedback during this unusual week. While our online delivery has not been perfect, this was really a nearly flawless move from regular to online schooling. I could not have imagined it going this well. The smoothness of this move is a credit to our hard working teachers, Administrators, Counselors and especially Tech Team.

Have a lovely weekend,

Wayne