Celebrating the 2020-2021 School Year
What a year! Nine months ago, in September 2020, the teachers, students, and administration of The International Preschools entered the school year with a mixture of feelings, from hope to excitement to uncertainty. A lengthy list of protocols allowed for our school to remain open five days a week, for the entire school year.
And what a success it has been! With copious amounts of hand washing, sanitizing of materials, and the wearing of masks, IPS students were able to come to school safely to play, learn, and socialize. With support and trust from the IPS parent community, we were able to remain open during an uncertain time. With hard work and dedication from the IPS teachers and staff, an environment as similar as possible to the one that IPS children had known pre-pandemic came to be.
As the last days of school come and go, many classes are commemorating the end of school with something that hasn’t happened all year: an in-person picnic for families, students, and teachers at Central Park (for the West 76th Street location) and Carl Schurz Park (for the East 86th Street location). For other classes, “Zoom parties” have been scheduled, so that parents, families, teachers, and students can come together to mark the end of a wonderful (albeit different) school year.
Thank you to all of the members of the IPS community for your dedication and support of our school!
Interested in learning more about the IPS community? Read about our play-based learning curriculum on the IPS website.
Already know everything you need to know about IPS? Apply online today!
New York City has been social distancing due to COVID-19 for several weeks now. The International Preschools has been closed since the week of March 16th. While we are constantly reminded that we are “not alone” throughout this process, the weight of being isolated from our peers has undoubtedly taken a toll on all of us. We could all use a little brightening of the spirits!
At The International Preschools, families support a variety of causes that serve our community throughout the year. Currently, IPS is hosting a drive for Ronald McDonald House New York, which houses families whose children are receiving treatment for cancer. The drive includes a collection of goods plus a special event that will take place on Saturday, May 18th. Read on to find out more!
Each year, The International Preschools hosts an event called the Fathers and Special Friends Read-Aloud. It was created ten years ago to foster a love of reading in young children. Because, in the past, mothers and female relatives had often made up the majority of guest readers, the Fathers and Special Friends Read-Aloud provided an opportunity for fathers, as well as other male relatives and friends (brothers, grandfathers, uncles, neighbors, etc.), to model positive feelings about reading to preschoolers. Currently, our Read-Aloud occurs in conjunction with the author and literary studies that take place in the Green (3s), Pre-K (4s), and Junior K (4s/5s) classrooms during the winter months.