Wellesley League of Women Voters to e-host international security expert

October 2, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Juliette Kayyem, Wellesley League of Women Voters speaker — Juliette Kayyem

The League of Women Voters of Wellesley invites the public to attend its fall Opening Meeting on October 8, 2020 at 7pm. The featured speaker will be international security expert, Harvard Kennedy School Lecturer and best-selling author, Juliette Kayyem.
Ms. Kayyem will speak on “COVID-19: Elections and the Road Ahead”.

More on Juliette Kayem

Juliette Kayyem is Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security at the Harvard Kennedy School and Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Over the last two decades she has managed complex policy initiatives and organized government responses to major crises in both state and federal government.

She is currently the faculty chair of the Kennedy School’s Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects and is a frequent on-air national security analyst for CNN. Previously, she served as President Obama’s assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, where she played a pivotal role in major operations responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and H1N1 pandemic, and she was the homeland security advisor to Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.

Ms. Kayyem is the author of the best-selling book Security Mom, and a Pulitzer finalist for her opinion columns in the Boston Globe. She is the founder of Kayyem Solutions, Inc, which provides strategic advice in cybersecurity, resiliency planning, risk management, mega-event security, infrastructure protection, and cybersecurity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been advising mayors through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, as well as governors and CEOs, on crisis response and recovery efforts. Now a contributor for The Atlantic, she has a new book, Beyond 9/11: Homeland Security for the Twenty-First Century, that was released in August 2020.

How to register in advance for this webinar:

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Wellesley’s Hardy/Upham project gets hashed out one last time

September 21, 2020 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Over two dozen Wellesley residents lined up virtually to be heard last week during the final of three community forums regarding the Hardy/Upham project. Hosted by the the School Building Committee (SBC), the webinar featured an update from Compass Project Management representatives on the status of the Hardy/Upham feasibility study.

School Committee (SC) member and chair of the School Building Committee Sharon Gray noted, “This has been a hot topic for many years,” as she welcomed webinar participants.

Overview of the Hardy/Upham project

The SC’s plan is to build one new school at either the Hardy or Upham site, with a construction start date of summer 2023. The school that is not chosen for a rebuild would be closed until elementary school enrollment increases to the point when a seven-elementary school model is once again needed.

On Thursday, Sept. 24, the SBC is expected to make a recommendation of whether to build at Hardy or Upham. The recommendation must then be approved by the SC, the Board of Selectmen, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority board of directors.

Alex Pitkin from architectural firm SMMA gave a brief summary of each site. He characterized the 12-acre Upham site as rectangular in shape on which ledge, a hill, and a forest are primary elements that have been taken into account during planning. The site can be accessed from all four sides.

Pitkin noted that the 9-acre hourglass-shaped Hardy site has no ledge, but there are soil compaction issues that will have to be addressed when building. There is a stand of mature trees, but the site overall is less forested than the Upham site. In addition, Hardy’s close proximity to Route 9 and busy Weston Road present traffic-related challenges.

Construction on the Hardy site would start during summer 2023, with a targeted move-in date of February vacation week 2025, a period of 19 months.

Construction on the Upham site would also have a start of summer 2023, but the targeted move-in would be during April vacation of 2025, a period of 21 months.

People are talking about environmental issues

When it was time for community members to speak, Bob Richards, a near abutter to the Upham site, asked, “What happens if Upham is selected and you get into the actual site work and you discover that there could be 5% variance in the numbers because of the ledge” and other issues. “Are we stuck with an imperfect, expensive project,” he asked, “or do we swing over to Hardy if there’s a sizable problem” with the Upham site? Richards also expressed concerns about potential for damage to area homes due to ledge blasting, as well as the neighborhood disturbance that would result from the 2K-3K truck trips that could be required to remove ledge and other materials.

Compass representative Jeff D’Amico took that question, saying that once a decision is made on the site and the actual footprint of the building plans have been OK’d, there can be no abandoning the Upham site to switch over to Hardy. “Once the building committee makes a recommendation and the boards and the MSBA endorse it, we wouldn’t be able to switch to another site. We’d have to work within the site you have and adjust the costs or the geometry of the building.” D’Amico said pricing contingencies have been built into the project to handle unforeseen problems.

Lisa Moore from the Hardy area stressed the environmental impact of the Upham site as compared with the Hardy site. She noted that 1,200 trees will have to be removed from Upham, “along with the ledge and other habitat destruction.” She wanted to know what the plans were for reforestation of the area.

Pitkin said that the plans do not call for full restoration of 1,200 trees to replace the amount that would be felled, but “There are plans to put in trees.”

Raina McManus, chair of the Natural Resources Commission but speaking as a resident, spoke of her concerns about global warming and said she wanted the trees preserved on both sites. She encouraged the SBC to choose the Hardy plan, which would preserve the Upham trees, and added that despite the challenges of swing space, the Hardy trees should also be preserved. “The consequences of removing trees is a problem and will release carbon into the air,” McManus said.

People are talking about traffic issues

Speakers at the forum skewed heavily toward residents concerned about an increase in traffic on Route 9 and on Weston Road should Hardy be chosen as the site for the new school.

Morgan Norris said, “A neighborhood school means having schools where students can walk or ride their bikes.” He favors building on the Upham site because “1% would have to cross Route 9 to get to school. If we choose Hardy, it goes up to 19%. So 1 in 5 wouldn’t be attending a neighborhood school.” Norris said the Upham site can handle the traffic, but that Weston Road is already extremely busy. “This isn’t about whether or not we’re cutting down some small trees in unhealthy soil behind Upham. It’s about how do we get cars off the road. That’s how we get a more sustainable town.”

Another speaker concurred saying, “People talking about environmental impacts need to think about the next 50 years of all the traffic and idling on top of the safety issue.” Another resident against kids crossing Route 9 to get to Hardy echoed the concerns of many other speakers when he said, “The only issue in this is that of child safety.”

Richard Howes, however, took a risk assessment view of crossing route 9, saying that traffic statistics along Route 9 in the Hardy area “show there have been zero traffic incidents with pedestrians of school age during the school commuting hours since the statistics began to be kept in 2002.”

People are talking about keeping it IMBYP (in my backyard, please)

Many families called in to say that children should not cross Route 9, and that closing Upham would harm the Upham neighborhood. Redistricting came up as well with Michael Ryan, a Bates parent. Ryan asked if there would be an appeals process if a family was redistricted but their home was really near the school their kids have always attended.

Superintendent David Lussier answered that tough question saying, “Unfortunately, anytime you redistrict, someone’s assignment is going to change. People come to love their new schools.” and “we’re going to have great community at either one of these sites.”

Overall, those who called in to speak in favor of building at Upham characterized that district as “a gem of a neighborhood,” and said they were willing to deal with the inconvenience of a major construction project. One resident said he believed that controls are in place and said, “I support the short-term nuisance for the long-term benefit of our town.”

People are talking about blasting

A commenter said building at Hardy would be $5 million cheaper than building at Upham due to what he called the more favorable topography at the Hardy site. He foresaw fewer potential uncontrollable costs at Hardy than at Upham such as abutter litigation, insurance claims, and potential groundwater issues which he said would be the results due to the ledge removal at Upham.

Tom Ahern a Great Plain Avenue resident, pointed out that not everybody in town walks to school. In Ahern’s view, a school community forms based on friendships,”not necessarily on whether the kids take the bus, as ours did, or if you drive or you ride a bike. The school is made up of the people and not the transportation mode.”

Ahern, who lives in proximity to the Fieldstone Way development, said, “The blasting and the ledge removal impacts to nearby houses are likely going to be greater than has been discussed or than you’re going to hear from a blasting company or an engineer.”

People are talking about equity

Resident Erin Reilly saw the Hardy site as a “no-brainer” from a construction point of view, but her main concern was the potential for Route 9 to become “a social barrier. We don’t need to send a message that the houses with the biggest lots and most expensive houses are the ones who are going to get the brand-new school.”

Michelle Chalmers spoke as a member of the World of Wellesley and said racial equity and diversity should be key factors in rebuilding at Hardy or Upham. “Wellesley needs to both acknowledge and dismantle the racial inequities that continue when major decisions about school and neighborhood improvements are made.”

Chalmers said that white students make up 78% of the school population at Upham, while Hardy has the most students of color at 47%. “Wellesley’s 2019 Unified Plan states that diversity is a core value in the community,” so therefore should be a central factor in all decision making. “Closing Hardy would disregard people of color and sever their sense of belonging and erode trust.”

Hardy supporter Tanya Auger, the mother of a Chinese student at the school, took umbrage at the comments of an earlier caller. “I am offended by the Norman Rockwell reference that an Upham supporter shared tonight in his portrait of picture-perfect Wellesley. Why? Because a Norman Rockwell painting in 100% white. When my daughter looks around the classroom and the Hardy school as a whole, she sees many faces that look like her own. Hardy’s diversity is something to be valued and protected.”

Almost all callers thanked the School Committee and the School Building Committee for their years of time, work, and meetings in service of Wellesley schools and families. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes for anything,” was a common consensus.

The Sept. 17 forum was broadcast by Wellesley Media on Comcast Channel 8 and Verizon Channel 40. You can find the meeting on the Wellesley Media Government Channel and on demand.

Wellesley gets rid of its unsavory elements

September 14, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

It was Hazardous Materials Day in Wellesley over the weekend, one of the town’s most-loved holidays. Tradition tells us that Haz Mat Day is a joyful time when residents all over town peer into the deep corners of their basements, garages, and sheds and finally get rid of all the sketchy chemical stuff that somehow ended up there.

We chose to gift the RDF with two gigantic plastic jugs of antifreeze and a couple of cans of malthion, a powerful bug killer that we reasoned could do the same to us. The malthion was an inheritance of sorts, the kind of bequest we seem to attract rather than, say, lots and lots of money. It was passed down to us from a relative whose shed we were tasked with cleaning out. From there the ancestral malthion lived in our shed for over a year until we finally felt ready to part with our share of the estate.

Here a few pics from the big day.

Wellesley RDF, Hazardous Materials Day — I joined the queue that snaked around behind the RDF office. One of the most exciting parts of Haz Mat Day is the opportunity to visit that little-known back-of-beyond part of the dump.

Hazardous household waste collection and document shredding at Wellesley RDF

September 9, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

RDF, Wellesley The Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) is offering Hazardous Household Waste Collection and Document Shredding on Sunday, September 13, 9am – 3pm.

Due to the pandemic, new procedures are in place for these events to ensure safety. These include specific requirements for masks or face coverings, and placement and removal of items to be disposed.

Read the complete procedures for Hazardous Household Waste and for Document Shredding.

Accepted hazardous items:

Acids
Aerosol Cans
Air Conditioning Refrigerants
Ammonia & Bowl Cleaners
Antifreeze
Automotive Fluids
Bleach
Brush Cleaners
Bug Killers
Chemistry Kits
Degreasers
Disinfectants
Drain Cleaners
Fertilizers
Flammables
Herbicides
Hobby Chemicals
Household Adhesives
Household Cleaners
Household Solvents
Lead-based Paints
Needles and Syringes*
Over the Counter Medicines
Oven Cleaners
Paint Thinner
Pesticides
Photography Chemicals
Polishes & Wood Preservatives
Rodent Killers
Sharps
Solvent-based Paints
Swimming Pool Chemicals
Unused Fire Starters
Waxes
Weed Killers

Unaccepted hazardous items:

- Alkaline Batteries
- Ammunition*
- Biological or Infections Materials
- Commercial Hazardous Waste
- Controlled Substances (Drugs)
- Dioxin-contaminated Pesticides
- Empty Containers
- Explosives*
- Fireworks*
- Gas Cylinders
- Medical Waste
- PCBs
- Pharmaceuticals & Prescription Medicines**
- Pressure-sensitive Materials
- Radioactives*
- Smoke Detectors
- Spot Removers
- Unidentifiable Wastes

Regular Wellesley RDF hours:

Mon. – Wed.: 7am – noon
Thur., Fri., Sat.: 7am – 3:45pm
Sun: 10am – 3pm

Wellesley School Committee meeting: In-person instruction will wait until October

August 27, 2020 by Deborah Brown 6 Comments

Wellesley Public Schools offices The Wellesley School Committee (SC) met remotely on August 25th to discuss the future of in-person education in Wellesley.

One take-away — getting kids and teachers back into school buildings will depend largely on the successful implementation of a coronavirus testing program, which will be financed in part by state funding, and in part by local funding. (See Wellesley Education Foundation seeks to raise up to $3.5 million for COVID testing program.)

As for when students will this year begin their education, the State of Massachusetts says that all learning for students statewide must begin no later than September 16. For Wellesley students, school will begin on that date, however, all students will start school remotely.

Initially, the district had planned to start school with a hybrid model that included in-person education starting on Sept. 16. Now, however, students will not report to school buildings until October 1 – 2, when the transition to in-person hybrid schooling will begin.

Wellesley gets a new school

A key component in determining how schools would open in the fall was the results of the Families and Educators surveys, which which were sent out online in July. Those survey results reflected a preference in the community for a hybrid schooling model. Lussier noted, “We’re looking at just over 500 students whose parents have opted them into the remote learning model.” That number reflects roughly 10% of the student population, and to serve them, the town is essentially launching a brand-new school.

The district is in the process of hiring a principal and staff to serve the students attending this new remote-learning school.

“We’re essentially going to have a school of about 500 students who are there stem-to-stern — elementary, middle, and high school — so we do need a single individual who can help provide management and support of that whole program,” Lussier said.

Will there be enough staff?

Whether there will be the necessary staff to teach in-person is right now an unknown. Many school staff members, 95% of whom live outside of Wellesley, may have medical issues of their own or within their families that could preclude them from returning. Also, many staff members have child care issues. With each district developing its own return plans which vary greatly across the Metrowest area, the children of staff may potentially have a very different school schedule than their parents who work in Wellesley.

Then there’s the safety issue, something that has been at the forefront of negotiations between the Wellesley Educators Association (WEA) and the district as they’ve worked toward reaching an agreement on reopening plans. In a letter to the school community, Lussier said, “Our educators have raised a number of serious concerns about the safety of returning to an in-person education and the degree to which our health and safety protocols will mitigate their level of risk, which has been the most significant issue in our negotiations with the WEA.”

“We are concerned that unless we continue to address some of the safety issues, we may not have the staff,” Lussier said during the School Committee meeting.

To address these concerns, the district has gone beyond the baseline safety protocols of planned implementation of social distancing, hand washing, and mask-wearing. Because indoor air quality is a hot-button issue right now, the schools have been working with the Wellesley Facilities Management Department (FMD) to improve air filtration in the buildings. They plan to achieve that through installing MERV 13 air filters in the schools’ HVAC systems. These filters reportedly filter out small particles and debris before they are released into the air.

Production and distribution is proving to be a challenge, however. The delivery time for the filters, which are made out of the same high-demand material used to make masks, is estimated to be from a few weeks away to as long as 10 weeks. The FMD currently is installing the filters as they have been able to obtain them.

The great outdoors

The district plans to leverage Wellesley schools’ outdoor spaces as much as possible and has found 4-season tents which can take on the winter’s snow load. “These are things we can actually use year-round,” Lussier said.

The rental tents will not mimic an indoor space. They won’t have flaps that can be drawn down, nor will they be heated. Their purpose is to reduce time indoors.

Testing 1,2,3

The district sees coronavirus testing as essential to opening schools and to keeping them and to keeping them open. To that end, the plan is for a testing program that has three strands:

A baseline testing of all students and staff
Immediate testing of all students and staff who present with COVID symptoms
Ongoing, proactive surveillance testing

The plan is for all staff to be tested once per week, and either the full population of students or potentially a smaller group, perhaps 1/3 of all students, to be tested each week. “This will allow us to capture any outbreaks of students who might be carriers with no symptoms, so we can move swiftly to quarantine those students,” Lussier said.

Because asymptomatic testing is not covered by insurance plans, the Wellesley Education Foundation has been fundraising for the effort. In addition, Cindy Mahr, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, reported that WPS has received three grants from the state:

$100k grant to be used toward technology
$123k grant from the COVID relief fund
$1 million grant, also COVID-related (to go toward items such as tents; PPE; study costs on ventilation and air circulation)

Air filters, tents, and testing is what passes for good news these days

After explaining plans to order and install air filters, erect tents, and fundraise for COVID tests, you just knew that another shoe had to drop, and it did. Lussier broke the news that school reopening would not go forward with the same trajectory put forth in the original Wellesley Public Schools reopening plan.

Whereas back in July the plan was for in-person instruction of students to begin on September 16, now the plan is for the first in-person day to be two weeks later, on October 1st and 2nd.

Instruction will still begin on September 16, however, that work will begin in a fully remote model.

We’ve heard from a few parents who are feeling frustrated. One parent via Facebook message encapsulated the mood saying, “I don’t understand who is to blame for our kids not going back, when every private school will. How does the union have so much power?”

We’ve heard from other families who have decided to opt out of the public schools entirely for now. They’re searching for a teacher to homeschool their own kids and a couple more from families they know and trust in a pod-model of education. These families are not kidding around and are offering full-time pay, benefits, sick time, and vacation time.

Still, the donors who are pledging big bucks to the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF) may be the silent cheerleaders in support of the public schools. Over 500 families out of a parent community of nearly 3,000 families submitted responses to a WEF-initiated survey designed to gauge interest in funding an ongoing COVID testing program. Respondents indicated a willingness to contribute to the program in excess of $750,000.

WEF has gotten things going by donating $250,000, just to show where they stand in the realm of civic responsibility and leadership.

As the school year creeps closer ever-so-slowly, one thing seems clear. Don’t be surprised if things change again during this time of pandemic.

Below, the most-recent WPS reopening plan:

Download (PDF, Unknown)

Wellesley Schools look to a hybrid model for September reopening

August 7, 2020 by Deborah Brown 5 Comments

The Wellesley School Committee (SC) met on Aug. 6 to hear the Wellesley Public School (WPS) administration’s presentation for a reopening plan for the 2020-21 academic year. The WPS was required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to submit three models by July 31: a full in-person model; a hybrid; and a full remote learning model.

Superintendent David Lussier, instead of making the community sit through the gory details of all three models submitted to the State, led with the spoiler: “The hybrid is our recommended model.” Lussier said the administration wants the schools to go hybrid because the WPS cannot support a full return of students for the fall based on Wellesley’s current reopening standards.

It’s largely a matter of social distancing. The State says that a three-foot distance between students is permissible. If Wellesley got on board with that idea it’s certain that many more students could be brought back into the schools at one time. Still, “No one felt comfortable that three feet was adequate,” Lussier said. Also, even if a three-feet social distancing standard was adopted, Wellesley still would not be able to bring back 100% of the students for a classic five-day in-school educational model due to space constraints. With a hybrid model, 50% of students would attend school in a school building on any given day.

Lussier cited safety as the main school reopening priority, balanced with an equal interest in the social and emotional well-being of students, staff, and families. There’s certainly a lot to balance in the upcoming academic year. The WPS must ensure that the full elements of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) will be delivered. In addition, the schools have high-priority work ahead that they want to accomplish around race, equity, and inclusion. And, Lussier said, “We heard loud and clear about academic rigor.”

Families are being assured that there will be increased expectations for the remote learning part of the hybrid model. Attendance will be taken. Participation will be mandatory. And the early pandemic days last spring that ushered in a certain relaxation about grading will no longer apply. In short, the idea is a return to the days of high academic standards, regular feedback, and an increase in the amount of live time in remote learning.

The nitty gritty

Based on responses to the Family and Educator surveys, which were sent out online in July, there was a clear preference in the community for a hybrid model that alternates within each week. In applying such a model, students would attend “fixed days” within each week.

Something you need to know: it is suggested that half-day Wednesdays be instituted across grades for the entire year. All students would engage in remote learning on Wednesday mornings. Afternoons would be set aside for staff to plan and to participate in professional development.

So for example, Cohort A would attend school on Monday/Thursday and learn remotely on Tuesday, 1/2 day Wednesday, and Friday.

Cohort B would attend school on Tuesday/Friday and learn remotely on Monday, 1/2 day Wednesday, and Thursday.

Prioritized Students (those who particularly struggle with remote learning) would attend school on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday, and learn remotely on 1/2 day Wednesday.

If you’re wondering if Cohort A will get fewer in-person days than Cohort B due to Monday holidays, the answer is yes. The Monday/Thursday cohort would have 57 in-person days under the proposed hybrid schedule, and the Tuesday/Friday cohort would have 62 in-person days.

As for Wednesdays becoming a half day for the middle and high schools for the entire year (normally that’s a monthly thing), some parents feel that adds up to a lot of lost instruction time.

However, Lussier points out that the administration plans to repurpose the half-day Wednesdays during weeks with holidays or other events to balance the number of overall in-person days for each student cohort.

Here’s a handy visual, presented by Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Joan Dabrowski.

Wellesley Schools reopening

The above visual reflects three types of students: four-day in-school students; hybrid students; and fully at-home students. There will likely be some families who will opt out of the above models and take a different approach to educating their children. The rubber hits that particular road during the week of Aug. 10. That’s when parents are asked to indicate the model in which their student(s) will participate (or not), and teachers are asked to formally indicate their intentions to return (or not).

“We know we’re asking a lot of our educators,” Lussier said, acknowledging that the Wellesley Education Association recommends a fully remote-learning model start to the school year.

“That approach will take too long and will ultimately lead to a hybrid,” Lussier said. “We believe we can scale up at a faster pace to get students and staff in schools in person.”

The world truly might be ending

Brace yourself: the State has approved reducing the number of school days for students from 180 days to 170 days. I’ve seen the skies open, the earth shake, the snow fall for days upon days upon days, only to be told school would continue into June as far as it took to get in those 180 days. Nobody, but nobody, cared about our planned mid-June trip to Disney World. Whatever. So we missed 5th grade clap-out. But that’s another story.

Check this out — the first ten days may be teachers and staff only, with students not required to report for duty until Sept. 15:

Wellesley Schools, reopening

Health and wellness

During Citizen Speak, several parents voiced concerns about what could trigger the schools to close. One parent said, ” I would love to know the district’s threshold for positive tests before a classroom closes down,” ending her comments with, “I want to thank the administration, staff, and teachers for all they’ve done this summer.”

Another parent was concerned about classroom realities including cleaning and ventilation. “I think the teachers are going to have a whale of a time getting the kids to keep the face masks on,” he said.

Interestingly, Wellesley is looking into procuring semi-permanent and permanent structures to facilitate outdoor learning.

Lussier said that ultimately the thresholds and triggers that might cause the schools to close would have to be benchmarked against State standards that so far have not been provided. As of right now, such standards appears to be a matter for municipalities in partnership with their health departments to decide.

So if a kid or a teacher tests positive in a classroom, does that classroom get shut down? Does a positive test in one classroom affect adjacent classrooms? Will in-school testing of students and teachers be a part of health protocols? More to come on all of that.

The success of bringing students and faculty back for a hybrid model will, says Lussier, largely depend on what he called a community compact. “We must all remain committed to wearing masks, washing hands, remaining socially distanced.”

Important dates:

Aug. 13: School Committee vote on the WPS SY20-21 Reopening Plan
Aug. 14: WPS SY20-21 Reopening Plans due to DESE

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The Wellesley Free Library reopens—a first look

August 5, 2020 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

We’ve missed the Wellesley Free Library terribly since it closed in March due to COVID-19 concerns, so you can bet we rushed right in to get a first look at the recently re-opened main branch. No matter how many rules we had to follow (and there are a lot of rules) it didn’t matter. We just wanted to drift through one of our old haunts and remember better days.

We managed our expectations and concentrated on molding our behavior to conform to present realities: no congregating, no computers, no copiers, no excessive chit-chat with the staff, no sitting, no bathrooms, no water fountain access. In addition, the library is not at this time taking book donations. But there are books to check out. Lots and lots of books and other materials, waiting to be checked out.

As many as 25 patrons at a time for a maximum stay of 30 minutes currently are allowed in for what Assistant Director Elise MacLennan said is a “soft opening” phase. Nobody timed me while I wandered about. The 30 minutes limit has been put in place for times when there is a line of patrons waiting to get in.

Here are a few pics: