2021-22 ORIENTATATIOn
Dear CIS Community,
The enthusiasm and energy on the first day of school is one of many wonderful moments each school year. Anxiety falls to excitement, new friendships are started, and much discovery occurs. On behalf of the Cayman International School Team, I extend my best wishes to all students and families as we near the 2021-2022 school year. The purpose of this page and links are to update you on the information needed to help the new school year start as smoothly as possible. Below are reminders to assist in your planning and understanding.
Collectively, we are fortunate to be part of the CIS community. Our principles of kindness, sustainability, good intent and partnership help guide our students and community’s growth. Partnerships are crucial in creating the best learning environment possible. A key component of a good partnership is effective communication. It is very important that the information that we have about your children is kept current and updated. This helps the school share your child’s progress, as well as fostering a greater sense of community. The CIS Weekly Current (our weekly newsletter that goes out on Fridays during the school year) is an excellent source of information. The electronic age helps communication (or possibly creates communication clutter), yet face to face time still remains paramount. I hope to see you at school for the following events.
Principal Welcome Letters
The welcome letters include helpful information for the school year, as well as a smooth start to the school year, including where to go on the first day of school.
New Student Family Orientation & Welcome
Are you a new CIS family? Please join us to learn more about Cayman International School. On orientation day, our Administration and Faculty will welcome new families and answer questions to help everyone get acclimated. A group of staff will be on hand to help new families with lunch (Mise en Place), uniforms, technology, nurse, athletics & clubs and finance, etc. Note that this event is only for NEW families to CIS. We hope to see you there!
Friday, August 20th
Middle School (Grade 6 to Grade 8): 8;00 - 10:00 AM
High School (Grade 9 to Grade 12): 8:00 - 10:00 AM
Monday, August 23rd
Early Childhood (Pre-K2): 8:00 AM
Early Childhood (Pre-K3 & Pre-K4): 9:00 AM
Elementary School (Kindergarten to Grade 5): 10:00 AM
Student Class Placements
Friday, August 20th
Your child’s class placement will be sent via email the evening of Friday, August 20th. Should it be helpful to you, a detailed explanation of how the school develops the class placements is found below:
Welcome Back BBQ & Bazaar
Saturday, August 28th
To kick off our school year, we will be hosting a Welcome BBQ and Bazaar on August 28th from 4:00-6:00 PM at Cayman International School. Our hope is to share the great activity and volunteer opportunities that exist both on campus and in the community. We are also inviting those that already offer great services to CIS families.
Please let us know if you attend on coming to the event.
Sign up HERE
Back-to-School Nights
Elementary School
Tuesday, August 31st
Time: 5:30 PM
Middle School
Thursday, September 2nd
Time: 5:30 PM
Early Childhood
Tuesday, September 7th
Time: 5:30 PM
High School
Thursday, September 9th
Time: 5:30 PM
Safety and Security
Safety is vital for schools. Each child needs to feel safe physically, socially/emotionally and intellectually to be as successful as possible. The world seems to increase in complexity each year – the notion that we might not remember what we were taught, but we remember how someone made us feel continues to be true.
Drills
The first week of school entails a lot of work related to habits and routines. One such routine is knowing what to do in an emergency. All CIS faculty and staff engage in emergency procedure training and review. During the first full week of school we will conduct our first fire drill. Thereafter we have a rotation of earthquake, tsunami, lockdown and fire drills.
Roads & Parking Lots
The first days of school also involve families setting and adjusting their routines of student pick-up and drop-off. Inevitably this means greater traffic in the parking lot and roads near CIS at the start of the school year. Please drive with care, watch for people and be patient with fellow drivers. The speed limit within and around our campus is 15 mph 24 km/h. Our security team and others will be visible in the parking area to assist with the safe flow of cars and people, yet ultimately we count on you to drive with care and courtesy.
Hurricane Season
Please note that CIS will be in line with recommendations and announcements made by the Governor, the National Hazard Management Council, and the Ministry of Education in the event that schools are to be closed due to tropical storm warnings and potential developments into hurricane conditions.
Health and Vaccinations
The Covid-19 pandemic continues. CIS highly recommends that all people eligible for vaccination get vaccinated. Currently, on the Cayman Islands, there are no regulations in place that speak to prohibiting a non-vaccinated individual in a space such as schools. The Chief Medical Officer advises that people who are elderly, vulnerable or not vaccinated wear masks, distance and practice hand hygiene in indoor places.
We know that not all CIS community members are eligible to be vaccinated (by age) and a small number of people elibigible have chosen not to be vaccinated. Again, CIS highlighly recommends vaccinations. Parents who are not double vaccinated are kindly asked to limit or even refrain from coming on campus, noting that we have a significant number of students under 12 years of age on campus. The Cayman Islands Government is not mandating vaccinations. People are encouraged to watch the regularly televised briefings on the matter and to keep up to date with publications released from the Cayman Islands Government.
If you having symptoms of Covid and have recently travelled, please do not come to school and kindly inform Nurse Ann Thomas at ann.thomas@cis.ky.
As the Cayman Islands looks to re-open borders some time in the future, CIS will closely monitor guidelines coming from the Cayman Islands health authorities. It is possible that mask wearing, social distancing, limitations to gathering numbers etc., may be reinstated at some point in time.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 13th & Thursday, October 14th
Parent Teacher Conferences will take place after school on Wednesday, October 13th and the whole day on Thursday, October 14th. Please check the Weekly Current for more information regarding the conferences. The Homeroom Teachers will be in touch with families closer to the time as well.