PARENT COORDINATOR UPDATES
Dear PS 107 Families.
Congrats to our very own Ms. Katie & Ms. Sharon who ran in the NY Marathon on Sunday! What an inspiration!
Please see below for Ms. Joanna’s weekly message and updates from myself and the PTA.
MESSAGE FROM MS JOANNA
Dear PS 107 Families,
Teaching our students that their voices have power is so important to all of us at PS 107! We enshrined it in our revised school mission statement last year and have since been working on ways to provide students with opportunities to learn how to use their voices in meaningful ways.
On Election Day, our teachers and paraprofessionals engaged in professional learning focused on ways to build authentic student discourse in classrooms. Too often, in schools, we find that teachers talk too much and students talk too little. We have to actively teach students how to talk in academic settings, along with how to listen. This is a challenge, as most children are (developmentally) focused on themselves and what they have to say. On Tuesday, our staff learned about ways to teach students to ask rich, open-ended questions related to content, as well as how to sustain a discussion on one topic for an extended period of time.
Speaking of student voice, PS 107’s student-run newspaper was featured on News12 Brooklyn last Monday! Check out the interview with our fantastic 5th graders, Elie, Saryah, and Stella, who found the power of their voices when they started their own newspaper in 4th grade, with the support and guidance of 4th grade teacher, Ms Marybeth. Their newspaper, The 5-Day Week, is now PS 107’s official school newspaper, and is currently taking submissions for content from other 5th grade students!
Our students have so much to say and truly have the power to change our world for the better. I’m optimistic about the future.
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
PS Wishlists for PS 107 families in need have almost been fulfilled! Thank you for your generosity. If you haven’t yet contributed and can help out a fellow 107 family, please consider ordering items off of these wishlists:
To see all of Ms Joanna’s weekly updates, click here.
PS Don’t forget to follow our official PS 107 Twitter account! https://twitter.com/ps107brooklyn
SCHOOL NEWS
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL SAFETY
-For safety reasons, please don't open the gates to the schoolyard at arrival or dismissal. That is for the staff to do when they are prepared for them to be open.
-We have seen an uptick in unsafe behaviors when crossing the street, in particular with students who can self dismiss, which could result in injury.
When crossing the street, please model appropriate crossing behavior.
- Please cross with the light.
- Please cross within the crosswalk.
- Please be alert and listen for instructions from the school crossing guard
-First grade families, please have your students line up by the gate until the doors are open and Ms. Sharon and Nurse Kara say it's clear to come in. Students should not be on the stairs at all and should not be near the door. The stairs are not a safe place for standing and the doors swing open toward the stairs, so sometimes the students have been in a position of being right where the doors open and could be hurt. There will be signs to guide the students and show where they should line up, but it is similar to where they would meet their teachers in the beginning of the year.
-Please remember, dogs are not permitted in schoolyard or building. As an additional courtesy, please keep them near you to avoid the sidewalk traffic jams that come with Arrival or Dismissal. Again, this is for everyone's safety.
LATENESS
As of 8:45 am, parents/guardians should walk students into the building if they are coming in late, whether it is because they had a rough morning and couldn't get out of bed or an early doctor visit :) Students need to be escorted in to Agent Sharon's safety desk and await further instructions.
CELL PHONE POLICY
Students are not allowed to use their devices during the school day or in afterschool. If they need to make a call to a parent, they may come to the main office and we will assist them in doing so.
If you need to contact your student during the school day, please contact the main office as well at 718-499-2054. Families should not be contacting students on their devices during their time in school.
Thank you so much for your understanding and consideration.
LOST AND FOUND
We're Back! Please take a look at the virtual lost and found for your child's items.
The biggest hit this week? WATER BOTTLES
LABEL PLEASE
Please label your children’s items with their Full Name (First,Last) and classroom. We make every effort to return items back to students if we can identify who they belong to.
COVID UPDATES
Positive cases of COVID in students must still be reported to the DOE’s Situation Room; therefore, 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 .
PTA UPDATES
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Powerhouse Book Fair - Nov 15-18
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PTA Meeting - 9am Nov. 17 Zoom Link Here
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Craft Fair - 12:00-3:00pm Dec 10
POWERHOUSE BOOK FAIR THIS WEEK!
This week is the start of the exciting Powerhouse Book Fair. Thank you to all the family members who have volunteered to chaperone classes at the Powerhouse bookstore! It is great to have the support from our community to make events like this successful.
In addition to graciously hosting our classes for bookstore visits, the Powerhouse bookstore will also be donating 20% of all sales to support the PS 107 PTA. Shop ANYTIME next week for books at Powerhouse, and mention PS 107 so that 20% of your purchase will support the PS 107 PTA! It's a great opportunity to start your holiday shopping early while supporting our school.
Please remember to send cash with your students. Lastly, if you have any questions regarding the book fair this week, please reach out to Laurie Tamis ltamis@gmail.com
CALL FOR CRAFT FAIR VOLUNTEERS
We are looking for all crafters, makers, vendors, and volunteers to help make our PS 107 Holiday Craft Fair (coming Dec 10th) a huge success! If you are a student, teacher, family member or friend of the PS107 community and would like to hawk your goods, please sign up. If you are feeling less than crafty, but would like to still get involved by donating baked goods, creating a gift basket, or volunteering for the day-of operations, please also sign up. To sign up and see more information click here. Also if you have questions, please feel free to email Jill Davit at Jillhdavitt@gmail.com
IMPORTANT DATES
- November 15 -18 - Powerhouse Book Fair
- November 16 - Superintendent's Town Hall 6:30 to 8pm -Zoom link to follow
- November 17 - PTA meeting 9:00 am
- November 22 - Picture Make Up Day
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS
- November 24 - 25 - Thanksgiving Recess - School is closed
Thank you
Nadia