Dear Nido Parents and Staff,

I have already received several e-mails from parents asking what, if any, changes would be made to the school calendar as a result of the missed school days due to the earthquake. I have consulted with the Executive Committee of the Nido Board of Directors to consider a variety of alternatives and following a lengthy discussion, the following decision has been made:

1. The existing calendar will remain the same with the exception of April 29 and 30, which were originally set aside for parent/teacher conferences. These days will now be regular school days for students. Parent conferences will be scheduled individually with teachers after school at the end of the third quarter.

I am aware that there are differing opinions about if and how the school might address the days missed due to the earthquake. The following are some of the issues considered in making this decision:

2. Nido regularly schedules extra days into the calendar in the event of school closings due to weather or other emergencies throughout the year

3. Nido will still meet the minimum number of required school days as prescribed by our US accrediting agency and due to the special circumstances the Ministry of Education in Chile has confirmed that it is not necessary to make up days missed due to the earthquake.

4. Among the alternatives considered were: holding classes on Saturdays, canceling the Easter holiday, extending the school year in June, and extending the regular school day by one hour. However, all of the above created other problems, including that many families and Nido faculty have already made travel commitments (purchased air tickets/paid hotel deposits, etc.) for the Easter weekend and end of year in June, extending the school day negatively impacts all after school activities and sports, and Saturday classes conflict with many weekend sports events and disrupts family schedules.

5. Teachers will be advised to maximize all available class time on activities and content that is directly related to the Nido curriculum standards and to restrict out of classroom activities, such as field trips, to only those that are of the highest priority.

On behalf of the Nido Board of Directors, the administration, faculty and staff, I want to thank the Nido community for its patience and understanding as all of us dealt with the earthquake and its aftermath. I have visited many classrooms in the past few days and I am pleased to report that all is operating smoothly and that students appear to be happy to be back at school.

Sincerely,

Don Bergman
Headmaster


***************************

VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL:

Estimados Apoderados y Empleados de Nido:

He recibido varios correos electrónicos de apoderados preguntando si se harán cambios al calendario escolar como resultado de los días perdidos debido al terremoto. He consultado con el Comité Ejecutivo del Directorio de Nido para considerar varias alternativas y luego de una larga discusión, se ha tomado la siguiente decisión:

1. El calendario existente permanecerá igual con la excepción del 29 y 30 de abril, que originalmente se habían reservado para reuniones de apoderados. Estos días ahora serán días de clases regulares para los alumnos. Las reuniones de apoderados se agendarán individualmente con los profesores después del horario de clases al final del tercer trimestre.

Soy conciente de que hay diferentes opiniones acerca de como el colegio deba encarar los días perdidos debido al terremoto. Siguen a continuación los temas tomados en consideración en la toma de esta decisión:

2. En Nido solemos agendar días extras en el calendario por si hubiera que cerrar el colegio debido a razones climáticas u otras emergencias a lo largo del año.

3. Nido de todos modos cumplirá con el número mínimo de días de clases exigidos por nuestra agencia de acreditación en los Estados unidos y debido a las circunstancias especiales vividas por nuestro país, el Ministerio de Educación de Chile ha confirmado que no será necesario recuperar los días perdidos a causa del terremoto.

4. Algunas de las alternativas que se consideraron son las siguientes: impartir clases los sábados, cancelar el feriado de Semana Santa, extender el final del año escolar en junio, y extender la jornada escolar en una hora. Sin embargo, todas las alternativas señaladas crearían otros problemas tales como: muchas familias y empleados de Nido ya han contraído compromisos de viaje (compra de pasajes aéreos/pago de depósitos en hoteles, etc.) para el fin de semana de Semana Santa y para fines de junio, extender la jornada escolar impactaría negativamente las actividades extra programáticas y deportivas, y las clases durante los sábados entrarían en conflicto con los numerosos eventos deportivos y afectaría los programas familiares.

5. Se le pedirá a los profesores maximizar y concentrar el tiempo de clases disponibles en actividades y contenidos que estén directamente relacionados con los estándares de curriculum de Nido y restringir las actividades fuera de las clases, tales como los viajes de estudio, a solamente aquellas que sean de la mayor prioridad.

En nombre del Directorio de Nido de Aguilas, la administración, los profesores y empleados, quiero agradecer a la comunidad Nido por su paciencia y comprensión mientras todos tratábamos de solucionar los problemas ocasionados por el terremoto. He visitado varias salas de clases en los últimos días y me complace informarles que todo funciona sin problemas y los alumnos parecen estar contentos de estar de regreso en el colegio.

Atentamente,

Don Bergman
Rector

*******************
 

Nido Update:  Monday March 8, 2010

Dear Nido Parents and Staff,

Hopefully this will be the last of the daily updates regarding operations here at school and our recovery from the earthquake. Thank you for your patience regarding the inconvenience associated with the closing of school last week.

1. On Sunday evening, the school was informed that the cables and wires blocking El Rodeo would be removed by this morning. However, as you know from the need to divert traffic this morning, they were not able to clear all the wires from El Rodeo. They are working on it again today, but if for any reason it is not safe to use El Rodeo tomorrow, Nido will post a guard at the intersection of El Rodeo and Lo Barnechea to direct traffic to Av. Nido de Aguilas, as we did this morning.

2. Daylight Savings Time Extended: The government of Chile has announced that daylight savings time will be extended for three more weeks, until midnight, Saturday, April 3.

3. Both the elementary and middle and high school cafeterias will be operating as normal on Tuesday.

4. As a reminder, in case of an emergency (such as an earthquake) while students are on the morning or afternoon school bus, the bus drivers have been instructed to return directly to the school, from where we will telephone parents and supervise children until they can be picked up by parents.

5. Chile Earthquake DonationTables will be located at the drop off area and in front of the administration building and at the drop off area throughout this week. The greatest need at this time is for NON-PERISHABLE FOOD and PERSONAL HYGIENE ITEMS rather than clothes. Nido will ensure that all donated items are taken to local collection sites in Lo Barnechea.


Don Bergman
Headmaster
 

***

Nido Update:  Sunday March 7, 2:30 pm

Dear Nido Parents and Staff,

Nido will resume classes on Monday, March 8 at the usual time (7:45 am). As noted in my e-mail yesterday, water has been restored and although we still do not have electric power from Chilectra at the time of writing this e-mail, our school generators have sufficient capacity to support all of the school's needs. Please note the following:

1. The power poles that were knocked down at the intersection of El Rodeo and Nido de Aguilas by a large truck on Friday night are being repaired today and we have been advised that both Av. EL RODEO and NIDO DE AGUILAS should be clear for traffic on Monday morning.

2. Please send a lunch and a drink with your child, as the cafeteria will not be operational until Chilectra restores power. The Ximena Montes cafeteria service can not re-open until they are able to restock their freezers and food supplies (most of their existing food supplies spoiled due to no electricity to their refrigerators and freezers. Nido's drinking water has been restored and will be available as usual.

3. As noted in my e-mail of March 5, the following activities will take place when students return on Monday morning:

-teachers will review the earthquake safety procedures and emergency evacuation routes with all students
-everyone will practice the DUCK and COVER safety procedure and use it whenever there is a noticeable aftershock (please note that not all after shocks are felt in some of our buildings, especially on the ground floors)
-counselors will be available for any student who feels the need to talk about their feelings and provide strategies for how they can deal with fear, emotional stress, etc.
-teachers have already been advised on how to help students share their emotions, fears and concerns regarding this tragedy and will offer time for students to talk about their experiences and how this has affected them and their families

4. All regularly scheduled after school activities will take place on Monday (this will be the first day of elementary after school activities and the weekly schedule is available on the Nido web site

5. All morning, afternoon and activity bus service will operate as usual beginning Monday morning

Finally, I want to thank all those from our community who participated in Nido's Teleton Earthquake Relief fundraiser on Saturday. Nido collected 40 million pesos, which was donated directly to Teleton on Saturday night. Special thanks go to Vivi Fosk, Clara Kaye and Elke Arnold who quickly organized this event and for all the parents, students and Nido staff who supported and contributed to it's success.

Don Bergman, Headmaster
Nido de Aguilas

***

Nido Update:  Saturday March 6

Dear Parents and Staff,

Last night around 7pm, a large truck came up Ave. Nido de Aguilas, hit the power lines that cross the road causing three of the concrete power poles at the intersection of El Rodeo and Nido de Aguilas to fall. It is NOT possible to enter the school via El Rodeo. Please use Ave. Nido de Aguilas to access the school. If you are coming to Nido today for the Teleton, please drive with caution as there is only one narrow lane available due to the fallen concrete power poles blocking the road.

PLEASE note that this problem has nothing to do with the earthquake or after shocks. We have no idea what a truck this large was doing here, as it was not delivery anything for the school. I have attached several photos for your information.

Some good news, the water connection was restored last night so we now have water. Although Chilectra has still not been able to connect the electricity, we have fuel and are running on generator power.

Assuming there are no new problems, we will be ready for classes to resume on Monday morning at the usual time. School buses will operate as usual, including all after- school activity buses.

As an extra precaution, please have your child bring a bottle of water and lunch on Monday, as we are not sure about the status of the company that operates the cafeterias.

Sincerely,

Don Bergman, Headmaster
Nido de Aguilas
 

***

Nido Update:  Friday March 5
Dear Parents and Nido Staff,

Last Saturday's Earthquake and after shocks continue to hold Chile in their grip, adding to the suffering and uncertainly that continues to affect all of us in one way or another. Here at Nido, we have continued to survey classrooms, assess damage, and clean up in preparation for the day classes can resume. Although our classrooms are ready for students, Chilectra has not yet re-instated electric power and the school's water supply was cut last Wednesday leaving the school with only a small reserve in our storage tanks. Some good news,color: #ff0000; we have found a source of fuel for our generators so we have power, but until water is restored, we are still unable to resume school. The following is a summary of events in recent days:

1. Although after shocks continue throughout the country, none of these has caused any additional damage to the school

2. All classrooms and offices have been cleaned and any bent or broken fixtures, acoustical ceiling panels, and the supporting metal framework that supports them, have been removed so classrooms are safe and ready for whenever school resumes. Although you will see a number of missing ceiling panels in classrooms, some surface cracks to stucco walls, and some missing bricks along the wall of the library, three different safety inspections by teams of architects and construction engineers and have been conducted and all have determined the classrooms and buildings to be safe

3. The school's internal gas, water and electrical systems have been inspected and deemed safe

4. Insurance representatives have already visited the school and have authorized us to begin making repairs as soon as we can secure contractors to do the work

5. As we have fuel for the generators, we will continue to keep our computers and servers working to send and receive mail and communicate with parents and staff. Updates regarding when classes resume will be posted on the Nido web site and via e-mails sent to parents

6. As some areas of the city still do not have electric power, teachers will also be asked to use the emergency telephone tree to communicate with Nido families when a final decision is made about when we can resume classes

7. I am hopeful that we can resume classes on Monday, March 8. However, that will depend on the following:

-water connections restored by Sunday, March 7
-Chilectra restores power OR we have sufficient fuel to run the generators
-there is no further damage caused by after shocks

I will post a notice on the Nido web site and principals will forward e-mails to parents and staff by 4pm on Sunday afternoon confirming whether or not classes resume on Monday, March 8th. From Monday onwards, I will post an announcement by 4pm each day on the Nido web site and have the principals send parents and staff an e-mail regarding the status for the following day. We will also attempt to contact all parents via the emergency telephone tree the day before we expect classes to resume

8. When school does resume, the following activities will take place for students:

-teachers will review the earthquake safety procedures and emergency evacuation routes with all students
-everyone will practice the DUCK and COVER safety procedure and use it whenever there is a noticeable aftershock (please note that not all after shocks are felt in some of our buildings, especially on the ground floors)
-counselors will be available for any student who feels the need to talk about their feelings and provide strategies for how they can deal with fear, emotional stress, etc.
-teachers have already been advised on how to help students share their emotions, fears and concerns regarding this tragedy and will offer time for students to talk about their experiences and how this has affected them and their families

9. When classes do resume, please have your child bring a bottle of water and a lunch in the event we have a problem with either of these services on the first day

10. All regularly scheduled sports and after school activities will commence on the same day school resumes

11. The library will be CLOSED until some additional repairs are made

Finally, when earthquakes strike, I always receive a few e-mails from parents asking about the "TRIANGLE OF LIFE" earthquake emergency procedure. At Nido we use the traditional DUCK and COVER procedure, which is the one recommended by almost every major earthquake emergency agency. The following organizations all recommend the DUCK and COVER strategy:

Red Cross- this organization is a leading disaster assistance organization
http://redcrossla.org/preparedness/earthquake-safety

Emergency Survival Program based on the book "The Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety"
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html

USGS- U.S. Geological Site
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/prepare/

These organizations are the leading centers for disasters, particularly with earthquakes and we believe that the research overwhelming supports this model. Even if the Triangle of Life model was a legitimate strategy, it is not practical in most schools as typical classrooms do not have the heavy kinds of furniture that this strategy refers to. More importantly, even if there were one or two such places in a classroom, who would get them and what do we do with all the other students in the classroom? It also assumes that everyone has time to get to one of these so called triangles. Many injuries from earthquakes are caused by falling objects, which is why the DUCK and COVER method is recommended. In the event of a collapsed building there may, indeed, be small open triangles that might protect a person. But it is impossible to determine in advance where these void spaces might be. The following website is an article on the Myth of the Triangle of Life which may be of interest to parents who are unsure about the school's use of the Duck and Cover method: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp

Hoping your families remain safe.

Don Bergman, Headmaster
Nido de Aguilas

***

March 2 update: This is a brief note to let you know where we are on things here at Nido:

1. Given the unstable conditions in Santiago and the national crisis in Chile, including power, communication, and even possible security concerns, I have decided to cancel school for the remainder of the week. I will communicate over the weekend to confirm whether or not school will open on Monday, March 8.

2. Nido is still without power from Chilectra and we don't have any idea when it may be restored.

3. We're operating on emergency generator power right now but don't know how long the fuel will last. We have ordered fuel but the provider has not been able to confirm a deliver date, as they have many priorities such as hospitals , emergency services, etc.

4. We will use the remainder of our fuel supplies to run the generator that supplies the central administration and tech offices so that we can maintain e-mail and internet communication with staff and parents. In order to further conserve fuel, we will limit the use the generators each day to two hours each morning (from 8am to 10am ) and two hours each afternoon (3pm to 5pm) That way, if you have electricity at home, you will be able to log onto the Nido web site and also receive e- mail each morning and afternoon to check for updates. We are receiving hundreds of e-mails so please note that we may not be able to respond to every individual e-mail.

6. We are also setting up an alternative e-mail and communication link using another off campus server. It is a "blog" site that will enable us to send communication to parents even if we do not have electricity at Nido and our own Nido servers are not operating. The address for the "blog" is

7. Each principal will also be using the Nido emergency telephone tree to contact families, as many areas are still without power and internet.

8. On the first day of school, Nido will be collecting cloths, blankets and other donations for earthquake victims. Large collection bins will be stationed in the parent parking lot and near the drop off lanes. Any donations will be very much appreciated.

9. When classes do resume, we anticipate that all sports and after school activities will also resume.

10. Please note that when the school does not have electricity, including when the generators are not operating, Nido phones do not function.

The earthquake has been devastating to Chile. Despite what we see on the news, many of us are unable to fully comprehend the full magnitude of the suffering and destruction that has occurred. Even for those who have not been directly effected by this tragedy, the earthquake is a deeply painful event for all Chileans. I want you all to know that for many of us foreigners who have made Chile our home, we share in the anguish and suffering that is widespread throughout Chile

I hope you and your loved ones are safe.

Sincerely,

Don Bergman

Headmaster

Nido de Aguilas