103. Head of School Surgery Update & Parent Email

Thank you for all of the well wishes that you sent my way today. I’m delighted to say that the surgery went smoothly and my neurosurgeon is pleased with the outcome. Although the recovery may take a while, I feel very fortunate to have this long weekend to begin my recovery process.

The updates below (prewritten yesterday) will go out to parents this afternoon. I sincerely hope that this weekend provides time for rest and relaxation to all of you. You have done an extraordinary job of starting up the school year in a positive productive way for students at the most challenging time in the school’s history. I am proud to call myself a Dragon!

Have a great weekend!

Catriona

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Dear SSIS Parents,

As we enter into a four-day weekend, I want to provide you with an update and a few extraordinary news items.

But first, I want to thank all of you who took the time to complete the Virtual School Survey, which closed Monday afternoon.

As much as we would all rather be in physical school, we are dedicated to ensuring that your child has the best learning experience under our current circumstances. And your feedback is an essential part of determining the continuous improvements that allow us to do that. Thank you.

We look forward to sharing the survey results with you once we have analyzed the data.

Fees Structure for 2021-2022

I want to reassure you that we continue our dialogue with the Board regarding the fee structure for this school year. We recognize the need among our families during this challenging time, and we are balancing those needs with the sustainability of our operations. Thank you for your patience with this matter. We are committed to reporting back to you before the end of September.

Vietnam Committed to Vaccinating Students

At this time, the health and safety of our families are at the forefront of all of our thinking. So the Prime Minister’s statement this past weekend about the country’s commitment to vaccinate children ages 12-18 with the COVID vaccine was a very positive development.

According to the Ministry of Health, Pfizer/ BioNTech will deliver 20 million doses to Vietnam before the end of 2021, specifically for children ages 12-18.

Details of the government’s vaccination plan for children are not yet available. The SSIS Vaccine Team is working closely with the District 7 CDC and District 7 DoET to have students vaccinated and back on campus as soon as possible. At this time, SSIS is not authorized to administer the vaccine, but the team is exploring options to provide a safe vaccine environment for students. More information will be coming soon about the children’s vaccination program.

New Program Offers 24-Hour Medical Advice for SSIS Students

In my email yesterday, we shared that the school is now providing the “International SOS Campus Resilience Program” for all students at SSIS. The program is a very helpful resource, so please make sure to see my email in case you missed it.

SSIS Cares

The generosity of our community is evident in the ongoing contributions to our SSIS Cares fundraiser. During this week and last, many students were eager to contribute their messages of encouragement, some of which you can see in this video, to the people of our beautiful city. Together, our community can make a difference in the lives of at least 400 local families.

SSIS Cares will run through September 5, so if you haven’t had a chance to donate and would like to do so, there is still time. You can find all of the details you need here. The more funds we raise, the more people we will be able to help.

On a Personal Note

Lastly, as you may recall, I shared with you earlier that I injured my back at the end of last semester. As a result, I underwent a surgical procedure today. All went well, and I expect to be back on Monday to continue our important work.

Until then, I hope that you and your families have a restful extended weekend.

All good wishes,

Dr. Catriona Moran

Head of School