The Urgency is NOW!
As we finish the final days before the upcoming holiday break, let me offer a plea to bolster our student work in regard to the school's commitment to #ASWforUkraine. Our recent programs have all had components of asking for additional donations of canned items for our Refugee Center on Lipowa St. and I applaud the student work that is helping to coordinate this effort.
As students stood on stage with me last night encouraging the crowd in attendance to help support the centre and thanking all for their canned good contributions, I recognized the slightest hint of desperation in their voices. Both students offered a message that shared their experiences as volunteers at the centre, seeing the crowds that appear on a daily basis looking for essential sustenance. They see the desperation in their eyes and are well aware that support and services are disappearing throughout the city.
The waning focus on this effort is on everyone's minds. I know we grow tired of the regular requests, but the urgency at this moment can't be more significant. As we get further into winter, the challenge of surviving becomes very real for these families, often only women and children with loved ones stranded back in Ukraine continuing the long and challenging fight against aggression that seems unending.
The school, at the outset, took on this singular challenge to focus all of our efforts and resources on this most important cause. This is my last opportunity to plea for your support before we disappear and head to homes and families around the world. May I please ask your earnest attention to our main chosen venture of service and support. While we help in a variety of charitable causes, particularly at this time of the year, nothing is more important right now than what we are doing under the #ASWforUkriane banner. Through our centre and via our online donation portal, we are committed to this effort through the winter with all students and staff looking for every available option to support through volunteer hours and seeking your donations. As we have requested in many forms and through many activities, please consider what you can do to keep this work alive. Our donation baskets remain at every entrance. Lipowa Centre remains open and serving with what resources we can find. We need a cushion to get us through the vacation and into the new year. Please consider how you might be able to help! Thank you in advance for your attention, support, and understanding.
Parent Portal
It's important to emphasize that we will be increasingly shifting to providing all information and messaging through our parent portal as we move into the new calendar year. We've had a semester to focus on this transition, but it now has urgency that you must start accessing the bulk of school information through this interface. I suggest, through the holiday, that you consider making sure you can do the following:
- You should be able to access https://my.aswkey.org/ with your password and access the parent portal.
- You should be able to access your portal email account.
- You can set up your email client to easily receive messages from your school email account.
- You should be able to access PowerSchool, SeeSaw, and Managebak from the portal
- You should be able to access pages and information for all school activity via the links in the portal, including divisions, Athletics and Activities, Nurses, the Library, and the Director's Office.
If you can do all of the above, give yourself a special award for being a Gold Star ASW parent!! If you are still having trouble with one or more of the above, we can help get you to Gold Star status. Just reach out to support@aswarsaw.org.