PARENT COORDINATOR UPDATES
Dear PS 107 Families.
Please see below for Ms. Joanna’s weekly message and updates from myself and the PTA.
MESSAGE FROM MS JOANNA
Dear PS 107 Families,
Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, one of the most influential leaders in the American civil rights movement. Many of us will engage in community service to honor Dr. King’s legacy. As a school, we are giving back to Community Help in Park Slope, or CHiPS, providing fresh produce from our 4th grade hydroponic gardens, sandwiches made by our 5th grade students, and thank you cards in recognition of all that CHiPS has done for the most vulnerable in our community for the last 50 years.
This day also provides us with a moment to reflect on Dr. King’s work, and whether his dream of social, economic, and racial justice in America has been achieved, 45 years after his assassination. While we have passed laws forbidding discrimination and segregation by race, it is hard to ignore that, in practice, we still see our BIPOC neighbors, along with those of us with less economic power, facing ongoing, large-scale systemic obstacles.
I have spent 18 years in the New York City public schools, in schools in Park Slope, in Chinatown, and in Sunset Park, and my journey has afforded me an intimate view of the ways in which the systems and structures in our city remain stacked against those without economic means, many of whom are people of color. Our schools are not segregated by law, but they are segregated in practice, both racially and economically. Far too many of New York City’s children — our neighbors — are growing up without access to affordable and safe housing, quality healthcare (including mental healthcare), and healthy and affordable food. While community service is the first step in an effort to make our city a better place to live for everyone, we must go further by advocating at the systemic level for change. I don’t have easy answers for how to do this, having spent my career seeking out avenues to promote large-scale societal shifts. But I do know that voting matters. Holding our elected officials to account matters. All of our voices, united for change, matter.
So on this day when we honor the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, let’s commit to seeing his dream someday realized by using the strength of our collective advocacy to bring about a more just city for all New Yorkers. In the iconic words of King, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” The long-term health of our society is very much connected to how we advocate for and lift up the most vulnerable among us.
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
PS Although the NYC DOE no longer requires schools to notify families when their child is in close contact with an individual testing positive for COVID, please be aware that PS 107 will continue to do so for the remainder of this school year. We will reevaluate this policy over the summer.
SCHOOL NEWS
PARENT WORKSHOPS
-There is a free webinar being offered on Thursday January 19th from 10 am -11:30 am:
"How To Understand The Meaning Of Your Child's Challenging Behaviors"
Please see the attached flyer for more information .
-Sarah Green, our school guidance counselor, is offering a parent workshop on February 9th from 8:30 - 9:30 am : "Parent Workshop: Helping Your Child with Challenging Friendships"
More information to follow
REMINDERS
KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT
If you have a kindergarten age child, this is a reminder to please submit your application by Friday, January 20, 2023. This includes children currently attending pre-k here at PS 107.
Please complete your child's application in MySchools.nyc . If you have any questions, please let me know at parentcoordinator@ps107.org
* The pre-k enrollment process will begin toward the end of the month for those families with rising Pre-K age children.
COVID-19 UPDATES
If your child tests positive, please alert our Parent Coordinator, Nadia Benlarbi, at parentcoordinator@ps107.org and copy Principal Joanna Cohen on your email at jcohen@ps107.org .
NYCSA ACCOUNT
Report cards will come out toward the end of this month via your child's NYCSA account. With this in mind, I recently emailed or sent home account creation letters for all families who do not have at least one NYCSA account created for their child.
This is a NYC DOE parent account from PreK - 12th grade where parents/guardians can view all of their children’s records - grades, attendance, your child’s DOE email, etc.
At least one parent/guardian will need to have access to this account. We strongly encourage all parents/guardians to have their own account.
If your family does not have at least one account created at this time, please contact me at parentcoordinator@ps107.org for instructions and your unique account creation code.
LOST AND FOUND
Please continue to label your children’s items with their Full Name (First,Last) and classroom. The full name is important as we do have students with the same first name and including the classroom saves the extra step of looking up children in Operoo to find their classrooms to return the items to them.
*Click here to view the virtual lost and found.
CEC ELECTION UPDATES
The 2023 Election cycle is beginning – You can learn more about Community and Citywide Education Councils and elections at information sessions that start on Monday, January 9.
Please reference the attached letter from the CEC for session dates and zoom links.
PTA UPDATES
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Next PTA Meeting - 6:30pm Jan 19th Zoom Link Here
- Lunar New Year - Jan 22nd
PTA MEETING THIS THURSDAY - JAN 19th
Please join us this Thursday at 6:30pm for our monthly PTA meeting. Zoom Link Here . Our agenda will be posted this week, before the meeting. We hope to see many of you there!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We have some really exciting committees in the remainder of the school year that need leaders to ensure the events and projects can happen. Please consider signing up for one here. For example, we are looking for one more volunteer to lead the Summer Camp Auction, which allows parents to bid on and purchase many beloved Brooklyn camps at a discounted rate. This is a great position for someone who is looking for a role that can be done mostly on your own time and from any location. The two leaders of this event are in charge of securing donations from the various camps via email, running the week-long auction, and delivering the camp certificates to the winning bidders. We also still have no-one to lead our Heritage Day, which sadly can’t happen if we don’t have someone to coordinate. If you are hoping to participate in Heritage Day by sharing your own heritage anyway, consider taking the lead position. It involves coordinating the other volunteers on the day of the event, and you would have the support of the PTA in recruiting volunteers, in addition to the support of parents in the upper grades that have experienced and enjoyed Heritage Day in the past. Consider signing up with a friend to lighten the load.
SEE’S CANDY FUNDRAISER
PS107 is holding a See's Candy Valentine's Day Fundraiser! All profits will go towards the PS107 PTA. How it works: From Jan 16-27, go to our PS107 storefront and pick out your favorite discounted Sees treats here. Please note that the storefront won't go live until we open on Jan 16; until then the link won't work. All items you purchase will be shipped directly to you with arrival briefly before Valentine's Day. The more candy you buy the more the PTA earns from your purchase. So why not score some Valentine's treats for your family and maybe for your favorite teachers as well! If you have any questions, please email Mike Lew (mike@ps107.org)
SUPPORT THE PS 107 PTA
- Donate to our Annual Fund by clicking here or share this link with friends and family (a special link for non-Konstella users)
- Go to Smile.Amazon.com and select PS 107 Parent Teacher Association before you shop. 5% of your purchase will be donated to the PTA!
- Scan your groceries receipt with the Box Tops for Education app on your phone. It only takes a minute and any purchases with the Box Tops label on them will automatically make money for our school!
IMPORTANT DATES
- January 18 - D15 Monthly Town Hall with Superintendent Alvarez 6:30 - 8pm (see attached flyer)
- January 19 - Free Webinar "How To Understand The Meaning Of Your Child's Challenging Behaviors" 10- 11:30 am
- January 19 - PTA Meeting - 6:30 pm
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS
- January 22 - Lunar New Year
Thank you
Nadia