11 Counseling and Student Support Services

Counseling

TAS counselors promote all students’ social, emotional, academic, and multicultural competencies in a safe, respectful, and motivating school environment. This is achieved through a collaborative partnership of school personnel, parents, and community with the purpose of preparing all students for wellness, academic success, lifelong learning, and global citizenship.

We believe:

• Student well-being is at the heart of our educational approach;

• All students are deserving of a sense of belonging and connection;

• All students are capable of change and growth;

• Student success is individually defined and enhanced by one's own unique strengths;

• It is essential to celebrate diversity in all its forms and to support our students’ development towards an awareness of their personal identities; and http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

• Communication between home and school should be collaborative and ongoing.

In the Lower School, our counseling team works with students to support their overall well-being. The counselors help students develop a feeling of belonging in our school community and make meaningful connection with their peers and teachers; they also help students learn to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate their emotions. In addition, counselors provide support around friendships, family relationships, and personal identity. Lower school counselors work closely in partnership with parents to support their child. Students and families may be referred to outside counselors or agencies when appropriate. In compliance with Taiwan law and the child protection policy, the School is required to report cases of child abuse or neglect.

Our counselors are a part of the daily life of the Lower School, advocating for students as they collaborate with classroom teachers and administrators. Counselors host parent education events in response to community needs, coordinate the new student orientation program, and support social emotional learning in the classroom. Our counselors are visible, trained professionals with an open door. Any member of the school community who is concerned about someone, including one’s self, should reach out to a counselor.

2022-2023 Lower School Student and Parent Handbook

Last revised: January 30, 2023

Student Support Services

There are counselors, nurses, speech/language teachers, academic support teachers, and a psychologist in the student support services department who specifically serve lower school students. The members of the department, along with the lower school administrators, form a student resource team (SRT). This group meets to discuss and evaluate lower school students. Student support classes are available to students who manifest learning differences and have been reviewed by the SRT. TAS accepts and supports students with no more than mild learning differences. There is a clear system of referral and intervention.

http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

Food Services

TAS provides meals and snacks in the cafeteria, the snack bar (available to lower school students only after 3:00 PM), and the fourth-floor café (only available to upper school students) near the upper school information commons. For additional information, please visit the TAS Food Services section on the TAS website; click here to see our weekly menu and nutritional information

Health Services

The TAS upper school health office is across from the Chinese library in 1B70. The health office is staffed from 7:15 AM to 5:45 PM by registered nurses. Nurses are involved in health teaching, screenings, medication administration, and treating illnesses and injuries that occur during the school day. If a student is injured or becomes ill during the school day, they should report directly to the health office or ask a teacher for assistance. Please visit the TAS Health Services section on the TAS website for more details.

Medical Examination Forms

A medical examination form, available in PowerSchool, is required for each new student upon initial registration and students entering Grade 3 and Grades 6 through 12. Students will not be allowed to attend class if they fail to provide the medical examination form to the health office by the specified deadline.

Treatment in School

With minor injuries, the nurses administer first aid as necessary. In the case of illness, the nurse will assess the student and may send the student home if necessary. If a student is well enough to attend school, they are expected to participate in all class activities including PE and swimming.

In the event of a life-threatening emergency, parents are notified, and the student is taken to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. A school employee will accompany the student and stay with them until their parents arrive. In the event of an injury that requires medical treatment but is not life-threatening, the school nurse will contact the parents and work with them to discuss transportation and medical care.

http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

Medication at School

Medication should not be brought to school unless it is essential to the health of the student. Student medications should only be taken in the health office as dispensed by the school nurse, not in the classroom or cafeteria. Over-the-counter medication may be dispensed by the nurse per the doctor’s standing order with written permission from the parents. Prescription medication should be delivered to the health office before school starts with a prescription from the doctor and the parent’s or guardian’s signature.

Return to School after Illness

Please do not send a student with a fever to school. Students with a fever need to be fever-free and not taking any fever-reducing medication for 24 hours before returning to school. These guidelines are to ensure that the spread of illness is kept to a minimum.

Please keep your child at home and contact the health office if your child has been diagnosed with a communicable illness such as chickenpox, shingles, hand-foot-andmouth disease, an enteroviruses, influenza, pink Eye or conjunctivitis. The nurse will provide instructions regarding their return to school.

Concussion Management Plan

When a student suffers a head injury on or off campus, the concussion case manager (CCM) is notified, and works closely with the divisional concussion management team (CMT) to support the student and to provide a safe plan for returning to school activities. Parents who would like further information regarding the Return to Learn protocols and procedures may contact their child’s school counselor.

Libraries

The Joanna Nichols Memorial Libraries at Taipei American School consist of three divisional libraries (upper school information commons [USIC], middle school library, and lower school library), and a KA-12 Chinese library. The libraries are designed to foster a love of learning and reading in our students and are staffed with professional librarians who teach information literacy skills to help students meet learning goals.

In addition to a rich collection of print materials, the libraries provide access to a wide range of digital resources, including ebooks, audiobooks, and online databases.

http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

Last revised: January 30, 2023

For further information specific to each of the Libraries, such as hours, checkout privileges, contact information, catalog, and more, please refer to the following links:

• The Joanna Nichols Memorial Libraries

• Upper school information commons (USIC) homepage

• Middle school library homepage

• Lower school library homepage

• Chinese library homepage

Personal Property and Lost and Found

There are multiple lost and found locations on campus. For example, the lost and found shelves in the lower school lobby area, and the lost and found bins near the TYPA lobby. Students must manage and care for their personal property at all times. TAS strongly recommends that any items of value not be brought or worn to school, as the students must assume all risk for damage or loss of their personal property, and the School will not make any reimbursement for missing items. Recovered articles of great value must be clearly identified by the owner in order for the item to be released. The School recommends that students put their first and last names on all personal items.

Transportation Services

The School maintains school bus routes to most areas of residency in Taipei and its suburbs. All arrangements are made through the transportation office, located in Room 1B68. Morning buses are scheduled to deliver students to TAS at least five minutes before the first class. Afternoon buses depart TAS approximately 10 minutes after class dismissal. A late bus is provided at 5:30 PM for middle and upper school students participating in a scheduled after-school activity, although these buses may not drop students at the same stops as their regular routes. Monitors are there to help students identify the correct bus to take. Additional information regarding bus passes, registration, and safety guidelines is provided in the student bus service handbook available at the transportation office.

Student Accident Insurance

Parents are provided an opportunity to purchase insurance at the time of registration. According to TAS board policy: “Taipei American School will offer accident and injury insurance for all students and will make this insurance mandatory for all those students http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

2022-2023 Lower School Student and Parent Handbook

Last revised: January 30, 2023 who participate in organized athletic competition sponsored by Taipei American School, unless they are otherwise insured.”

TAS ID Cards

The TAS ID is issued to every student and is used for campus access, checking out books, copier/printers, and as a meal card in the cafeteria. Lost or stolen or damaged IDs may be replaced at the main security guardhouse for a fee of NT$100. To enable the meal card function, credit is added to the card through payments made directly at the cashier’s office (in increments of NT $100) or using an automated kiosk located outside the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR), or by bank transfer. Information about how to add value to the meal card account through ATM/bank transfers is available at the cashier’s office.

http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook

Parent–Specific Information

Campus Access for Parents

Please refer to the most current campus access information on the TAS website here.

Parent Absence from Taipei

While school is in session, it is against TAS policy for parents to be absent from the home without notification to the School. When both parents are going to be absent from home, one parent must notify the office in advance and state who is responsible for the student(s) and whom the School should contact in case of an emergency Please use the “parent out of town notice” electronic form available in PowerSchool.

School-Parent Communication

Taipei American School strives to keep open communication between families and the School. We welcome inquiries. Parents are asked to refer to the parent-school communication page on the school website when they need to communicate matters regarding their children.

In matters relating to students’ performance in a class, parents should first discuss the matter with the teacher. Open, direct, and cordial communication is a crucial element of our school. We always value student and parent feedback. Parents have many opportunities to communicate with teachers at conferences, back-to-school evenings, and parent coffees. Parents are encouraged to meet their lower school children’s teachers any time there is a concern. An appointment can be made by contacting the teacher by e-mail.

Parents should also inform the health office of any significant change in the health status of a student.

Grade level blogs and the lower school principal’s letters serve as important communication tools and provide up-to-date information on school topics and activities on a regular basis. Additionally, TAS offers many parent events and publications, and the latest school information may also be found on the TAS Parent Zone, TAS website, calendar, and social media feed.

All community members using social media to communicate about school-related events should adhere to TAS values. Since the school utilizes a variety of electronic http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower

2022-2023 Lower School Student and Parent Handbook

Last revised: January 30, 2023 communication, parents should ensure that their PowerSchool information is up-to-date at all times.

PTA and Volunteering

Once registration is completed, a parent automatically become a member of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The purpose of the PTA is to promote friendly relations and mutual understanding between parents, teachers, and administrators, and to advance the interests and physical well-being of students. The PTA offers parents a wide variety of services, such as educational seminars, social activities, a PTA store, and fundraising activities. Parents are invited to stop by the PTA office on campus for more information. Parents are also encouraged to volunteer in our classrooms and at special events. Each classroom has room parents to help with communication and the coordination of special events. Room parents are determined at the start of the school year.

Reporting Student Progress

Sharing student learning progress with families is important to us. KA to Grade five classes have conferences twice per year, one in each semester. Additional reports are given for students enrolled in the EAL program and for those receiving student support services. A digital report is available in PowerSchool after the second and fourth quarters.

Translation

Translation in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese can be provided to parents upon request for in-person meetings.

http://www.tas.edu.tw/divisional-handbooks/home/lower-school-handbook