Dear Parents,

As I am sure all of you are aware, the Israeli government has announced a lockdown starting Friday afternoon at 14:00.  I am sure you have many questions regarding how that will affect our school going forward.

Let me tell you what we know now; there will undoubtedly be further communications during the week.

1. As planned on our calendar, we will be having a half day of school on Friday, September 18, and we will be releasing our students at 11:30.  The bus companies have been informed and will pick up the students accordingly.  If your child does not take the school bus, please make all necessary arrangements for him/her to leave school at 11:30.
    
2. Starting Monday, we move into our Virtual Learning Plan, and all learning will be online in all divisions.
    
3. Information about the new government regulations:
   • The lockdown will last 3 weeks, with a possible extension if necessary.
   • Movement is limited to up to 500 meters from the place of residence, except for the purchase of food and pharmaceuticals.
   • In closed places, a gathering of up to ten people will be allowed, and in open places - up to 20 people.
   • The government has also decided on a complete closure of all businesses that have customers in the areas of commerce, culture, leisure and domestic tourism, including swimming pools, gyms and restaurants. Malls and hotels are also expected to close. Businesses that close, including restaurants, will be able to continue to provide deliveries.
   • This restriction excludes essential services, places for the sale of food, pharmacies, opticians or shops whose main occupation is the sale of hygiene products, stores for essential products for home maintenance, communication products, communication services and medical accessories.
   • Israeli schools and kindergartens will continue to operate according to the existing format until Friday. During the closure, the educational institutions will be closed, but there will be distance learning at all grade levels.
      
4. You will be receiving more detailed information from your principals regarding specific divisional plans.

Please take some time to review our Virtual Learning Plan which has been revised in light of parent input at the end of last year to include more synchronous learning, all ES students having school owned devices to take home, and other improvements.

And please be on the lookout for further communications from us in the course of this week.

Dr. Devin Pratt

Dear WBAIS Community Members,

Please take a few minutes to listen to this update regarding the recent news on school closures and its impact on WBAIS.

Regards, Devin

Community Message from WBAIS HoS on Potential School Closures

Dear Community,

September 10 is here, and it’s difficult to grasp that school has been in session for little more than a week.  The campus is once again alive with the sounds of children.  The visuals have changed a bit; there are white tents all over the campus, students and faculty are wearing masks as if this is second nature to them. A typical high school classroom will introduce you to a hybrid scenario with a checkerboard Zoom on the whiteboard bringing distant students together with their peers into a class discussion about math, or literature, science or history. Recruiting for sports teams and Model United Nations is in full swing.

It would be easy in this vibrant environment to become a little complacent about the Coronavirus.  We have to compartmentalize our experiences, letting ourselves enjoy this feeling of (something like) normalcy while remembering the serious challenges that we are facing simultaneously.  However prepared we are for different scenarios, my most profound wish is to keep our community on campus and not to have to revert to distance learning. The realization of this wish is only possible with a true partnership between parents, students, and faculty.  Knowledge is power; please make sure to take a look at the Health Resources page of our website here. You will find a health manual there, several COVID-19 protocols that will answer many of your questions as well as useful forms.  Also check out our Health and Information Portal here.

We are, of course, following the Israeli news closely so that we are prepared for all eventualities should the Ministries of Education and Health make any decisions that will affect our programming.

Finally, my thanks to Enid and Steph, our very hard-working nurses.  They are working intensively to keep us healthy; you can partner with them by making sure to follow their directives mindfully and fully.

Wishing you a great weekend,

Dr. Devin Pratt

Dear Families and Colleagues,

Though it is only the first week of having students on our campus, I want to share with you the enormous feelings of gratitude and appreciation I have for the wonderful start of our school year. As I worked with school leaders, faculty and personnel to put our plans in place, we were all filled with many concerns:  Will the campus be safe enough?  Will protocols be followed? How will the hybrid academic scenario play out in real time? Will the campus be filled with the energy and excitement that accompanies the first day of school when students will have to maintain social distancing during their joyful reunions?

I spent the mornings this week observing students alight from their buses and cars, often looking quizzically at the hand sanitizing stations and the touchless thermometers, then moving forward to join the others signing in.  (Thanks to parents for your efforts completing the Health Declaration form). Everyone went to their specified entrances, and in a remarkably short time, were on their way to class with their masks on and their minds on finding their friends and starting this unusual year.  I also observed a few classes where faculty were sharing systems and procedures the students will need to engage in the learning.  As with all new years, we have identified a few areas where we can make improvements but, if there has been a common message among faculty and students, it has been that we are all happy to have kids on campus.  

I want to thank everyone who was involved in organizing these new beginnings, whether on the buses, signing in, greeting the students in person, teaching on zoom.  When our community comes together to bring the best outcomes to our students, the result is impressive.

Let me end with reminding everyone to maintain the best practices for keeping us all healthy and on campus: Wash your hands often, maintain social distancing, and keep your masks on, covering both your nose and mouth.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Dr. Devin Pratt

Dear Families,

I have been spending this week taking phone calls, meeting with various WBAIS stakeholders, but most importantly -- watching the faculty’s PGSC (Professional Growth System Committee) in action. When we decided to start the academic year on September 1, we hoped to use the extra time for professional development for our teachers who are facing an enormous challenge this year, having to plan for 3 possible scenarios of learning -- on campus in person, full distance learning, -- or a hybrid of both.  Led by Mandy Kern (our MS Science teacher turned new Director of Teaching and Learning), the committee has been very ably taking our faculty through a series of orientation sessions designed to navigate the teaching landscape and adapt their methodology to the “new normal.”  Some other important verbs this week have been ignite, innovate and empower. Last year, our faculty responded to the crisis situation with creativity, imagination, resilience and hard work; this year they are ready to make the leap from what could be called “emergency remote learning” to a whole new standard of “effective online learning.”

As someone new to WBAIS, I was tremendously impressed by the amount of work and thought that was invested over the summer by the PGSC and their natural partners, the Tech Department, led by Orlee Medallion.  It is rare to find a school where faculty members volunteer to create professional development opportunities for their colleagues, and reach the high standards that I observed as I joined some of the orientation sessions this week.  Just one example is a set of multi-day sessions on the model of a “Community of Inquiry.”  We take for granted many of the elements of the successful face-to-face teaching which takes place in the classroom. But when we want to transfer that same degree of success to distance learning, we need to consider more carefully how the alchemy of the classroom happens. The “Curriculum of Inquiry” sessions examined three components: social presence (getting to know both the instructors and students also as people with beliefs, feelings and personalities), cognitive presence (making meaning out of discussions and personal reflection) and teaching presence (bringing it all together to design materials and support learners throughout the course). All these components must be present for effective teaching and learning in person or online. This is only one example of the kind of deep thinking and relevant information that our faculty is being exposed to. In the Parent Town Hall last week, I used the analogy of how a car transmission allows for gear shifting to the kind of transitions from one mode of instruction (Hybrid, Virtual or Face to Face) to the other that our teachers will be making.  The PD offered during the inservice days will make these transitions smoother and improve our ability to serve your children throughout this year and in the face of the pandemic.  

In addition to engaging in professional development, faculty, staff and leadership members have been implementing the critical logistical plans we created over the summer.  Multiple tents have been erected in various locations allowing for more outdoor instruction; the school entry model used last spring has been fine-tuned to accommodate more students efficiently; and the logistics of our new Health Declaration and Lunch Order systems should simplify family morning routines.  Thanks to all the faculty, and specifically the PGSC, the staff and leadership for their expertise and efforts.  

Thanks also to parents for the strong turn outs at the school wide and divisional (EY, ES, MS, and HS)  Zoom orientations and Town Halls.  Parent participation in these sessions, your questions and support have focused our attention on your concerns as we plan for the safest possible environment for your children under the MOE guidelines. We are excited to have your children on campus beginning next week; having them here will make all the efforts of the school community worthwhile. 

Dr. Devin Pratt

Head of School

Dear WBAIS community,

Thanks to all of you who were able to attend our Virtual Community Town Hall meeting on Monday August 17th.  The turnout was high, and I anticipate you received answers to some of the questions you had, and learned more about how WBAIS will be operating this year during COVID-19. For those of you who were unable to attend, an audio recording of the town hall aligned with the presentation is available HERE.  We look forward to more events like this one throughout the year.

As mentioned in the town hall, one of our priorities during the pandemic is to create community and support our families.  To that end, the counseling department is organizing an exciting learning opportunity for parents through NESA, our regional international school association.  More information about this can be found in the Counseling section at the end of this newsletter. 

Some of you have asked whether or not there will be tuition refunds should we move into a full distance learning mode,There is a perception that our costs are fewer if we move into that scenario, and that is not the case. As our Board Chair mentioned in an earlier message: “Like most schools and colleges in the United States, salaries for our outstanding faculty and staff account for 80% of the school's operating budget, a fact that remains unchanged even when schools transition to virtual learning. “   As a non-profit organization all tuitions go towards giving your children an optimum academic experience in difficult and unpredictable circumstances.  We do recognize your investment in your child’s future, we take it seriously and will work to maximize value for your children even in a virtual learning environment.  

Our newsletter today is full of  information from your division principals which I am sure you will find useful.  Our full complement of teachers will be on campus starting Friday, and we are excited to partner with you when we reopen school on September 1.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Dr. Devin Pratt, Head of School

Dear WBAIS Parents,
While digital solutions can accomplish a lot in helping bridge communication gaps, there is really nothing that can replace the energy and excitement of meeting people in person. I look forward to greeting you all in person when the Coronavirus situation allows.  
Until then, I am scheduling an opportunity for us to connect.  On Monday August 17, from 18:30-19:30, I will be holding a “Town Hall” on Zoom for all parents who would like to attend.  We received official guidelines from the Ministry of Education on Tuesday of this week which has allowed us to create more grounded plans.  At this meeting, I will  share a general overview of the safety, logistical and academic planning that has been taking place this summer.  You will also have a chance to ask questions that would benefit the broader audience and I will share where to direct questions specific to your family situation.  We will be recording the session and sharing a link for families who are unable to attend.

In order to make the best use of this time, please send your questions before the meeting via this link.  Our Communications Coordinator Aviva Rosensweig will review and group them together by topic so we can cover as much ground as possible.  You will also be able to raise other impromptu questions on Thursday, should time permit.
The zoom link to access the meeting is Parent Town Hall Meeting August 17, 2020.

In advance of  the meeting,  we would like to begin sharing some details on the instructional plans in each of our academic divisions.  At the moment these details are broad, but will give you at least a greater context for how we plan to begin the school year on September 1st.  Please see the summaries from each division below.

As we get closer to our September 1 start date, more specific information will be forthcoming as well as an opportunity for parents to hear directly from each of the divisional principals.   Please be aware that the directives from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Education (MOE) vary slightly by age group so the programs will not be identical.  Additionally the directives require us to have a plan that allows us to quickly change our instructional plan (ie virtual, on campus, hybrid) based on the situation presented by COVID-19.

Thanks for your continued support of WBAIS as we work through the unpredictable environment presented by the COVID 19 pandemic.   Our goal and desire is to have our entire community of learners back on campus all together at the earliest opportunity and to ensure that we do this in the safest manner possible.
Dr. Devin Pratt, Head of School

August 5, 2020,

Dear Parents,
In accordance with the Ministry of Education guidelines, we are creating plans for three possible learning scenarios: full on-campus learning, full distance learning from home, and a hybrid learning plan that combines aspects of on campus and distance learning.  On September first, we anticipate opening with the Early Years and Elementary School students attending full time on campus, and Middle and High School students on campus for a minimum of two days a week (and hopefully more), and with distance learning providing the rest of the academic program.

As we approach the beginning of the school year on September 1, we ask that you please complete this short survey as soon as possible (click here) . Your responses will help us to meet the varying and diverse needs of our WBAIS families, and to start the school year successfully.

Please make sure to fill out a separate form for each child attending WBAIS.

Thank you,

Dr. Devin Pratt, Head of School

Dear WBAIS community,
My family was warmly welcomed by a team of WBAIS colleagues earlier in July as we arrived and began our two week quarantine. Excited to get started, I have used the time to connect virtually with the Board, administrators and faculty (many of whom have been working throughout their July vacation) to further create plans for the opening of school in an uncertain environment. 

In my 30 year international school career, I have often heard of the positive reputation enjoyed by WBAIS, and my interactions over the past several months and during this short time in Israel have confirmed that praise.  Thanks to all of you who have helped make my family's transition this summer easier, and who have given of their vacation time to help plan for next year.

In the second half of July, with our next academic year just around the corner, the Coronavirus in Israel is in its second wave.  The country is experiencing many new confirmed patients daily; the Israeli guidelines are constantly changing in turn, as the government continually learns new aspects of the virus, and looks for ways to balance both the health and economic needs of the country.  Like all international schools, WBAIS is subject to the rules of the host country and, specifically, to the guidelines of the Israeli Ministries of Education (MOE) and Health (MOH). 

In normal circumstances, the focus of an entering Head of School would be mainly on developing relationships and learning about WBAIS through connections with parents, faculty, students and those in leadership roles.  These interactions offer valuable opportunities to learn about the school through multiple perspectives. I, of course, appreciate the value of those connections as well;  however, my most immediate focus is to lead and collaborate with a team of principals, faculty and staff from each division to prepare to maximize value for your children as we align our program with national guidelines. 

Let me share with you some of the decisions we have reached.

Current Planning

The MOE is advising all schools to prepare for the opening of school in 3 possible scenarios:  full distance learning from home, full return to campus, and a hybrid plan which combines elements of both. WBAIS will have divisional plans for all 3 of these scenarios and a plan for shifting from one to another depending on potentially changing safety guidelines.

Classes Begin: September 1 Start Date
With the support of the school board, WBAIS has moved the first day of school for students to September 1.  Please be assured that our new calendar will offer the same number of student contact days, while affording the administration and staff the necessary time in August to:  

• Work with updated guidelines from the MOE and MOH
• Plan and offer professional development to faculty and staff to gain expertise in implementing and moving nimbly between the 3 scenarios as circumstances dictate.
• Ensure that we create the safest possible environment for our students and faculty
• Maximize learning opportunities for our students for each of the 3 scenarios
• Support families who are experiencing travel and related challenges given the current environment 

Serving our community in uncertain times
The programs we are planning will allow flexibility given specific student and family situations. We recognize that members of our diverse WBAIS community may be facing different challenges as we start the school year. There are undoubtedly many questions that require clear consistent answers. During the first week of August, when administrators and staff are back on campus,  we will share more information with you. In future communications, we will also share specific contacts for potential situations that may arise. 

When our students start school on September 1, whatever scenario may be in place, they will receive the same high quality education you have come to expect from all our divisions -- Early Years, Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. As we get closer to our starting date, you will receive more specific information from the school and individual principals, regarding both the academic program and the social/emotional support that will be provided for new and returning students.  

Finally, I hope you can enjoy the rest of the summer vacation, relaxing with your families and friends, and recharging your batteries for the coming year.  I look forward to meeting and partnering with you to give our students the best possible educational experience.

Dr. Devin Pratt

Head of School

As part of our continuous effort to keep our community informed of our plans as a school to address the impact of COVID-19 and our school operations here at WBAIS I am providing this update on these plans.

Late last week the Israeli Ministry of Health and Education provided a number of new directives regarding health considerations and the reopening of schools.   We have been reviewing these new directives and focusing on how these directives could be applied to our school operations which differ significantly from the Israeli public school system. A few of those differences include:
 

• The mixed grade approach at WBAIS with regard to a number of classes / disciplines.  (The Israeli system maintains most students for all coursework within their given grade level in the same classroom/desk.)
• A difference in academic calendars with different established starting and ending dates
• Given the master schedule of our courses there is a much greater challenge to ensuring that students can be contained to a single classroom during the entire school day
• The challenge of maintaining recommended social distancing requirements on buses, in classrooms, while eating, and in transitions to different classrooms
• Differences in our teaching program and staffing

Furthermore we are continuing to utilize our WBAIS guiding principles for possible re-entry which are as follows:

• Safety and Security:  To ensure that our environment is safe and healthy for students and adults
• Effective Instruction:   To provide face to face instruction to meet essential standards that have yet to be addressed during the current school year
• Community Building:  To create an opportunity for our students and faculty to socialize and to focus on furthering our sense of community

After this review our plan for the next phase will be as follows:

• Next week our EY-Grade 3 children will continue to come in two groups on Monday and Tuesday (as we did this week), and then on Wednesday they will begin to come every day to the same classes they were in before the physical closure began. The schedule will remain a half day one 8 am - 12 pm. Specialist classes, EAL and Resource support will continue to be taught through our virtual school platform in the afternoons. 
• We have targeted Monday, May 25th for our 4th and 5th grade students to return to campus for half a day Monday-Friday. The 4th and 5th grade teachers will be on campus Thursday and Friday this week to set up new learning spaces (in different classrooms yet to be determined in order to comply with the needed spacing.) On Thursday and Friday this week the 4th and 5th grade will not be meeting synchronously through Zoom, but will provide asynchronous learning while the teachers are on campus.
• We will continue our successful distance learning program with Grades 6-12. We are committed to getting the most accurate interpretation of the government directives as they are released and how they apply to us so we can effectively plan for the next few weeks. 

We will continue to monitor the government directives. I will communicate to you each week as our plan evolves along with the guidelines. It is our hope that by May 22, there will be a complete plan regarding reentry that takes us until the end of the year. 

Regards,

Neal Jacover

Dear Parents,

As the coronavirus slowly comes under control, the Israeli government has decided to reopen the country, including the schools.  Our decisions as a school have always been guided by government policy, and in this case, as well, we are following their lead and reopening AIS in stages. 

The Ministry of Education has published guidelines for the reopening of nurseries, kindergartens and grades 1-3, and we are using those guidelines as the basis for our Back-to-School plan.

However, our beautiful campus was built to allow groups to work together easily and to collaborate.  Ironically, because of the Coronavirus, one of our new guiding principles has to be Social Distancing. Our classrooms were not designed with an eye to keeping 2 meters between every student and teacher. We have spent the last week (when Israeli schools had already resumed) rethinking how to use our spaces -- modifying them, and  buying furniture where necessary.

This coming Monday, our Early Years program, Kindergartens and grades 1-3 will be returning to campus. They will be divided into smaller groups called "capsules," so that they will be able to sit safely in their classrooms with enough space between students.  Some capsules will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, while others will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There will be a half day of learning on campus; then students will return home and will continue with their specials online. Fridays will be a full day of virtual learning from home.

We hope that, by the following week, we will be able to have all the students in school on a daily  basis.  

While 11th and 12th grade students in the Israeli system returned to school this week, they did so only in small study groups to prepare for their Bagruyot--ther Matriculation exams.   Our system works very differently (with students from different grade levels mixing, which is not permitted now by the guidelines).  We will be carefully monitoring the situation and our plans will evolve in the way that best safeguards our students.  In the meantime, our virtual learning will continue.

Please note the following calendar change: Friday May 15th will be a full day instead of a half day of school.

With each of these changes, we know that parents, students, and teachers have to adjust to new realities that may change even daily. Thank you for being our partners in helping our students adjust socially, emotionally and academically with each new stage.

Stay well,

Neal Jacover

Dear Parents,

We are very aware that you are anxiously awaiting concrete news from us about our next steps. Like you, we want to see our students back on campus as soon as possible, and understand your need for some clarity and context.

If you have been following the news over the last week, you will certainly know that the decisions about whether or not to open schools were taken late last Friday, after prolonged debates between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance; though a rough draft of guidelines had already been circulating for a week before, no clear directives were given for the Ministry of Education to follow, and there was great uncertainty about going forward.

This morning, grades 1-3 in the Israeli system did open and thousands of children returned to school, albeit not the school they remembered from two months ago.  Some local authorities (among them Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Haifa, Beersheba, Ramat Hasharon, Bnei Brak, parts of Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, Rehovot, Acre, Ashkelon, Safed, Karmiel, Kiryat Malachi and Kiryat Gat) delayed opening their schools feeling that they were not yet set up properly to ensure the safety of students and staff.  

What about WBAIS?

Throughout this crisis, WBAIS has always been guided by the decisions of the Israeli government, the Ministry of Health and the  Ministry of Education.  Our overriding consideration with every important and difficult decision we have made has been and will continue to be protecting the health and safety of each and every one of the students, faculty and staff.

Ever since the rough draft of the guidelines was leaked last week, the administrative, emergency response and safety teams have been working hard to implement those same precautions -- while at the same time taking into account the clear differences in our school calendar, the makeup of our student body, and our unique curriculum. 

• For instance:  11th and 12th graders who return to the Israeli system will be doing so with the express purpose of holding marathon study sessions for their matriculation (bagrut) exams, which will take place mainly in June and July.  There is a homogeneity about Israeli classes that allows this to be done effectively.  Our juniors and seniors are sometimes not grouped by grade level,  and in fact we have mixed classes across several grades. Beginning next week, many of our students are taking their Advanced Placement (AP) exam, (equivalent to Israeli matriculation exams).  These differences are central to the decisions we must make when figuring out how to best serve our students and maintain a high level and continuity of instruction.
• We are following closely the steps taken in other international schools -- participating in webinars,speaking with colleagues around the world who are behind us, ahead of us, and just where we are in dealing with COVID 19 -- and sharing insights and conclusions as we navigate each day

What’s happening next?

I assure you that school will begin again at our earliest realistic date -- meaning, as soon as we are convinced that we have examined all scenarios relevant to our particular community, and have made our campus as safe as possible and ready to receive your children.

We await the latest government guidelines and will be surveying you within the next day or two to better understand your thinking and your plans for when we physically and/or partially reopen the campus. 

Thank you to our parents for their continued patience and understanding; thank you to our teachers for the hard work they have invested and are continuing to invest to make our virtual learning program a success.  As soon as we can make the move back to our physical campus, we will let you know our school reopening schedule.

Neal Jacover

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

I hope that this very different and challenging spring break contained some positive elements for you and your family. As a school, we have tried to provide you with information and activities that would be helpful for navigating this unusual time. Interestingly, our teachers and administrators are also engaging in this type of learning through webinars, chat rooms, and on-line groups to evolve as we try to create the best possible learning opportunities for our students in real time.

As you now are probably aware, the latest guidance from the Israeli government does not physically open schools for at least the next two weeks. We are closely monitoring the regulations and, as we have done from the beginning of the crisis, we will continue to follow the directives from the Israeli authorities.

As we begin our next round of virtual learning we have taken the results of the student, parent, and faculty surveys and will make some necessary adjustments to continue to provide this type of learning in the most effective ways! It was gratifying to see how successful and satisfied the vast majority of parents and students seem to be with what we have made available so far. Our goal is to continue to improve as we learn more from this experience.

This Tuesday is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. It is one of the most solemn days of the year as the country traditionally stops to commemorate those who perished. There will be a nation-wide siren at 10:00 in the morning where the custom is for everyone to stop what they are doing and stand in silence as an act of remembering. 

Our community has stayed together and supported each other admirably during this challenging time. As we return to school tomorrow, I expect our students to be re-engaged with their learning. If you or your children find that you need additional support, the counselors are available and have asked me to encourage you to contact them.


Enjoy the spring!

Neal Jacover

Dear AIS Community,

Hope this email finds all of you well and taking advantage of the last week of the Spring Break.

Tonight the last holiday of Passover begins; it is usually a family holiday.  When Passover ends tomorrow night, there is a final celebration called the Mimouna, which is also an opportunity for families and communities to celebrate well into the night.

In order to prevent these gatherings and contagion, the Ministry of Health published the following restrictions:

1. From 17:00 on Tuesday afternoon until 5:00 on Thursday morning, no one is  permitted to leave their towns and cities. In Jerusalem, movement will be restricted within pre-defined neighborhoods.
    
2. To prevent crowding following the conclusion of Passover on Wednesday evening, bakeries and supermarket bread departments will not reopen until Thursday morning.

All the best,

Neal Jacover

Dear Families, 
Happy holidays to those of you celebrating Easter Sunday today.

I hope that you have been able to find some quality time together and that the  "Virtual Spring Camp" and CoronaZine initiatives have given you some options to help make this difficult spring break more manageable. 
As we find ourselves halfway through the vacation, I would like to address some community concerns and the uncertainty about the immediate future that seems to be our new reality.

1. There have been questions about refunds for transportation and after school activities. As we do not yet know whether we will be back on our school campus, and if so, for how long, we also cannot determine the amount of the refund.  I want to assure you that once we have the data we will arrange for those refunds.
    
2. My earlier message about preparing for the continuation of online learning for two weeks after we return is an assumption based on the most likely scenario. We continue to follow the Ministry of Health's guidelines; that is our legal obligation, and best practice in having a professional medical organization guide us in these unprecedented times. 
    
3. Please note: the Ministry of Health announced that, starting today, it is required to wear a mask anytime you leave the house. 
   • Exceptions:
     • children under age 6
     • riding in a car alone or with someone who lives with you
     • anyone with a serious medical condition which makes wearing a mask impossible
        
   • Reminder that all pre-Passover rules are back in place--leaving the house only for
     • buying food and pharmaceuticals
     • medical appointments
     • transferring children between parents with shared custody, 
     • taking short walks alone within 100 meters of your house
     • social distancing -- 2 meters between people outside, in stores, at workplaces
     • hand washing!

Our next steps:

In trying to determine our next steps, we are in close contact with hundreds of schools like ours around the world; while they may be functioning under some different circumstances, we are all struggling with optimally managing our reality as an international school in the time of COVID-19. In addition, we have regular contacts with the Ministry of Health and the local security services that also have a role in managing this crisis. Lastly, we function as an administrative team when making decisions with all voices heard and options considered. 

I hope that the second half of the spring break will be manageable and where possible enjoyable. We will keep you updated as we know more as we begin this last part of the school year. 

Neal Jacover

Dear AIS Community,

On Wednesday night, one of the most important Jewish holidays, Passover, begins, and the traditional celebration of the Seder is usually accompanied with large family gatherings, and a lot of travelling between cities to make these gatherings possible.  These larger gatherings have been forbidden, and everyone has been told that they have to make their Seder in their own home only with people who actually live together with them.

There have been modest health gains since the general quarantine has been in place.  But the government is very concerned that people will break the quarantine in order to be together with their families, and that this will lead to a renewed and dangerous Coronavirus outbreak with more fatalities.

As such, the following restrictions are being put into place:

1. From Tuesday April 7 at 16:00 and until Friday April 10 at 7:00 in the morning, no one can leave the city they are living in (no travelling between cities).
2. From Wednesday April 8 at 18:00 and until Thursday April 9 at 7:00, no one is allowed to leave their house for any reason.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy week,

Neal Jacover

Dear families and colleagues,

As we begin our annual spring break during such unusual and trying times, I find myself looking for the positive takeaways from these days of COVID 19. 

Needless to say, there is little to celebrate in the heartbreak and tragedy the illness has brought and will bring to thousands; we can only mourn those losses and hope for better days.   But we ARE finding new ways of connecting with friends and especially family; these are opportunities for building stronger bonds and learning new ways to reach out and relate to each other. Despite the "clunkiness" of our first steps using the Virtual School, students are finding out a great deal about themselves and developing skills as they are forced to navigate a new reality. Parents, as long as they are a support system and not taking too much responsibility for their children's learning, are also diving into this new medium discovering more about their child's world in school. 

It is in this vein that I refer you to your principals' messages about what spring break will look like for students in each school. Included in those messages will be a wide variety of fun and challenging activities put together and organized by our athletic director Doron Kramer.

Ilana Locker has also proposed an exciting project entitled WBAIS CoronaZine an opportunity for families, faculty, and alumni to be creative and positively engaged, and submit something that captures what they are experiencing now; it will serve as a memento of this trying and unique time that we can revisit when all this is over.  Please read more about this in the message at the bottom of this letter...

April is a month when a large majority of our population celebrates a major religious holiday. Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Bahai will all be taking time to acknowledge their faith, religion, or culture.  And so, I wish you happy upcoming holidays, understanding that the celebrations this year will be different and have an altered focus. I hope that you continue to find ways of making your time together meaningful, joyful, and productive.

Neal 

On April 2nd, this Health Ministry added this:

Everyone should wear masks when they go outside.  This refers to the simple masks (not the N95 masks used in hospitals).  Masks are now available in pharmacies and supermarkets, as well as many other stores such as ACE, Home Center, etc.

Dear AIS Community,

Last night, new health guidelines were published.

1. There will be no gatherings, including for prayer and weddings, in public places. The Western Wall area will allow one quorum of 10 persons to be held with people standing no closer than 2 meters from each other. Funerals (including preliminary funeral rites for mourners) may be held in an open space only and attended by up to 20 people. Circumcisions may be attended by no more than 10 people. Wedding Regulations will take effect April 1 at 8 p.m.
    
2. Before employees arrive at the workplace, employees must take their temperature and only those with a temperature of  38 °C (100.4 F) and an absence of symptoms (such as a cough or difficulty breathing) may be allowed in. This information should be given in writing whenever the employee comes to work and saved by the employer.
    
3. Essential businesses must have an official government permit.  Private businesses must remain closed to customers.
    
4. In a workplace where a 2-meter distance between employee and employee cannot be maintained, the employer must take other measures to prevent infection.
    
5. Employees should work in regular shifts with the same people each time.
    
6. Each employee must be assigned personal equipment used only by them. .Where this is not possible, equipment used by more than one person must undergo rigorous disinfection before each person-to-person transfer.
    
7. Workers must strictly adhere to hygiene rules, including hand washing.
    
8. No more than two passengers may ride in an elevator together.
    
9. Delivery services are allowed for all types of products and in accordance with the Ministry of Health guidelines.This includes restaurant and pharmacy services.
    
10. Going outside continues to be limited to short walks within 100 meters from your residence.  People should go out singly or, if absolutely necessary, only with another person living in the same house.
     
11. The Passover Seder must be held only with nuclear family members who are always  living in the same house.

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

Over the past weeks, the global community has faced an unprecedented challenge to our sense of normalcy. In addition, there have been a myriad other challenges that have taxed our stress levels and ability to cope. And while we are experiencing the larger picture together as a community, the realities of our individual daily life differ -- some of us faced with caring for young children at home, while struggling to teach or work at the same time, trying to support children who may be struggling with the new reality of distance learning, possibly facing new economic realities, and so many other outcomes from our current situation.  

• Families are experiencing tremendous stress while doing their best to cope.   If you and your family are struggling with these new roles, give yourself permission to take a break. Be aware that you might be suffering from a form of culture shock! Step out of the moment and do something different that helps you to reconnect with your family in ways that are more familiar. 
• Recognizing this reality, our counseling faculty has put together a 15 minute support video and slideshow designed to help families navigate these stressful times.  It is posted on our Health and Information Portal HERE.
• We had an administration meeting this morning. One item that was discussed was the current school calendar.  I want to reassure you that we have made no changes to the dates of the spring break or of the summer vacation.

On a personal note:  I have lived in Israel for almost 30 years. There are fantastic elements to life here, challenges as in any country (some unique to here), but the one quality that the country is known for and I have seen repeatedly is its ability to adapt to changing realities and to find a way to navigate those changes with new and creative approaches "while the bus is still moving". This reactive approach can be frustrating at times, but at times of great challenge,  I find a sense of comfort and inspiration in watching how people face these challenges with new and unique thinking.   

Neal Jacover

Dear WBAIS families,

Today marked the first day of our Virtual School.  This was the culmination of much deep planning, technical problem solving and support, teacher and student training, mastering a steep learning curve --and all in a very short period of time .  I want to congratulate everyone who was involved in this effort, and specifically commend the parents and children for being an essential part of this team by enthusiastically embracing this new and necessary challenge.  We are lucky to be living at a time when technology makes it possible for us to come together as a community even as we are each sitting in our own homes.

As the government guidelines evolve, and our public lives become more constrained, I would like to share with you a few announcements:
 

1. On Wednesday, from 15:00-18:00 parents can come and pick up the library books, art and school supplies they have requested.  After 18:00, the campus will be closed to everyone except a few essential personnel.
    
2. We are doing all we can to make sure that you can easily communicate with our nurses and a few other key staff members.  You will receive a list of those phone numbers tomorrow.
    
3. The Coronavirus FAQ page has been expanded into a Health and Information Portal which will be continually updated.  When you come to our website (wbais.net), you are immediately guided to that web page.  If you would like to go to the portal directly, the link is: https://www.wbais.net/health-and-information-portal
    
4. The new Ministry of Health directives are printed HERE, and will also appear on our newA Portal HERE.

Thank you for all your efforts during this stressful time, We are here to support you, and together we will, as a community, find strength and solutions in these uncertain times.

Neal Jacover, Interim Head of School

Dear Community,

We have just met with Dr. Shulman from the Ministry of Health, and she has given the following directives:

1. WBAIS will be closed from today March 10 until and including Monday, March 16.  School will resume on Tuesday, March 17.
    
2. Anyone who was in the cafeteria for 15 or more minutes on March 3 between the hours of 11:00 and 17:30 should quarantine themselves through and including Monday, March 16.
    
3. During these hours, the Elementary, Middle, and High Schools all have their designated lunch periods and can be assumed to have been in the cafeteria during these times.  These hours also cover times when school is let out and after school activities take place.
   
   Please note: the Early Years students WERE NOT in the cafeteria during lunchtime and are exempt from the quarantine requirement unless they visited the cafeteria with a parent guardian after school.
    
4. If you or your child is in quarantine, you are required to fill out and submit a Home Quarantine form for each person. The Home Quarantine form can be found HERE.
    
5. All events that are scheduled to take place during this time period are postponed.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
 

• If during the quarantine,  symptoms of fever or cough or difficulty in breathing appear, call MDA hotline 101 immediately to find out the need to check for the virus; please inform the school as well at nurses@wbais.net 
  
  For instructions on how to quarantine at home, visit the Ministry of Health website: http://bit.ly/MOH-Corona and click on the section HOME ISOLATION GUIDANCE.  
  
  
  Background: 
  
  Patient 42, a cafeteria staff employee, who arrived recently from Spain was on our campus last week while non-symptomatic. He has since become symptomatic on Friday, March 6.   He was present in school on March 3 from 11:00-17:30, in the cafeteria and kitchen. 

Whenever I come to a new international school, I try to learn about the local customs and traditions.  Here, too, I am trying to find out more about local Israeli and Jewish customs.  Tomorrow night marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the first of  several holidays coming up this month.  Rosh Hashana is normally a time of extended family celebrations, and for the observant, prayer and reflection.

Like everything else in our lives right now, these new year festivities will be marked with the signs of the COVID pandemic. With the rise in the numbers of sick and infected people, everything will be more muted: smaller gatherings at home and in synagogues, closed school campuses in between the holidays, family reunions on Zoom rather than in person. But there will still be celebrations, and people are already greeting each other with “Shana tova” (happy new year), and wishing each other blessings of health and happiness.  

Let me be a part of that hopeful optimism, wishing the WBAIS community a year which shines a light on our resilience and creativity, and one that brings with it good news, and a return to normalcy.  

----------------------------------------

A little housekeeping before I sign off:  Please make sure to read the newsletter and the divisional communications carefully.  There is a great deal of important information in them every week.  As we transition to virtual learning, parents will greatly benefit from the communications we are sending out.  They include information about our program, medical updates, links to important resources, messages from counselors, tech information and so much more.  We have worked very hard to prepare for this scenario, and will continue to improve as we gain in experience.  Thank you for being our partners in this endeavor.

Shana tova!

Dr. Devin Pratt