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,
February is a busy month at PS 107! First and foremost it is Black History Month, and we are honoring Black Americans who have contributed to making our nation the diverse, multifaceted place that it is today. We are commemorating the ongoing struggle for civil rights, along with the many examples of Black excellence that historically have not been accorded adequate representation in our culture. Soon, all 107 students will begin an artist study of Bisa Butler, who uses rich, colorful textiles to create portraits of important figures in Black history. Thanks to our DEI Team and, in particular, Julie Brunner Cross, for putting together this special artist study. Finally, we are examining our curriculum to ensure that Black history does not just come alive in February, but that it is fully integrated across the year in all that we do, because Black history is American history.
On February 14th, which is also Valentine’s Day, we will host the second workshop in our series called Practical Parenting for the 21st Century. This workshop, entitled Strengthening Executive Functions at Home: Creating a Practical Toolbox for our Children features Dr. Anna Levy-Warren, who has been working with PS 107 staff this year on understanding neurodiversity and the ways in which we can support neurodiverse learners in our classrooms. The workshop will be held on the 4th floor, in our Art Studio, at 8:30 am, and will also be livestreamed. To sign up to attend via livestream, register here. It was great to see many of you at last Thursday’s workshop on supporting your children through friendship challenges with school counselor Sarah Green.
On February 14th, we will also send love and support, along with funds, for the earthquake victims in Northern Syria and Turkey. We will be hosting a schoolwide Bake Sale from 2:30-5:30 pm, with all proceeds being donated to Bridge to Turkiye Fund and White Helmets. Thank you to our Community Outreach Team, and parents Elif Karakurt Franco, Olga Morkova, and Vanessa Sparling for organizing this critical effort. Please sign up to help on Konstella!
February 15th is the 100th Day of School, which is a landmark day of the year that we love to celebrate! It means that we are more than halfway through the school year, plus the number 100 is an important one in our base 10 number system. Students learn about the hundreds place and how it is made up of 10 groups of 10. This is foundational knowledge important to making sense of our number system.
This Friday, February 17th also marks the last day of school before the annual Mid-Winter Recess. It will be a day of instruction and of fun and celebration, and we strongly encourage you to make sure your children attend school that day. Our attendance has historically dipped significantly on the days before vacations, and we’d like to break that trend in 2023.
We encourage you to continue to advocate for traffic safety on 8th Avenue and the neighboring side streets near PS 107. You can write to our State Assemblymember Robert Carroll and City Councilmember Shahana Hanif to advocate for traffic safety measures, including a speed camera and/or red light camera on 8th Avenue near our school, speed bumps on side streets close to where children and families cross 8th Avenue, and more city funding for crossing guards. We also remind all parents who drop off their children by car to please be mindful of where you stop your car to let your children out. In particular, please do not block the crosswalks.
Finally, last Thursday, February 9th, our structured literacy work was announced at a press conference at nearby PS 295, as well as in this press release. You can also take a look at this video produced by the DOE’s Press Office, in which I share what I believe the benefits of structured literacy will be for all students in the NYC public schools. Literacy is a civil rights issue, and I’m proud that PS 107 will be at the forefront of this necessary change in how we teach reading and writing in New York City.
Have a wonderful week and a restful mid-winter break!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
SCHOOL NEWS
FEBRUARY PARENT WORKSHOPS
-Please see this flyer for our February workshops in PS 107's workshop series: Practical Parenting for the 21st Century: A Workshop Series for Parents, by Parents.
-Please join the District 15 team for a special session on Wednesday, February 15th at 6:30 p.m. The conversation will be surrounding ‘Drug Prevention Strategies and Supports for Schools and Families’. This Town Hall will be held remotely, via Zoom. See the attached flyer for more information. Use the link below to register: Registration link: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYoduCsrj8vHNSlaIC4q5IjdlCEUN-pkIyQ
-D15 Parent/Family Workshop on Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday 2/16/23 at 10am - See attached flyer
SCHOOL SURVEYS
How are we doing as a school? We want to hear from you! This Monday, February 13th, the DOE's annual School Survey administration begins. Your feedback on the School Survey helps us to learn and grow, so please be sure to complete your survey. You can either complete your survey online at www.nycschoolsurvey.org or you can complete a paper copy, which will be backpacked home with your child on or around February 13th. We look forward to your feedback!
TRAFFIC SAFETY
- Need assistance getting your student to school? We can help! Recently, there was a traffic incident that involved a PS 107 parent, but had the potential to affect other students and families of our community as well. Needless to say, we are all very concerned for the well being of all of our community. If you need assistance in finding a group of children or a family that your child can come to school with, please reach out to us and we will assist in connecting you with other families. If you are a parent of a student, especially in our lower grades, and would be willing to help us in this endeavor please reach out as well. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that every student here at PS 107 arrives here safely
-It has come to our attention that parents dropping off their children at school are parked in the crosswalks on 8th Ave at 13th & 14th Streets. This makes it difficult for crossing guards to do their job and blocks the way for students and families who are crossing the streets. As a community we ask you to be mindful of pedestrian safety when you are dropping off or picking up your children. Our communal vigilance will help keep everyone safe. Please do not block the crosswalks.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our children!
REMINDERS
VISITING THE SCHOOL BUILDING
Please be sure to have your ID with you when you visit the school building. Proof of one dose of the COVID 19 vaccine is no longer needed.
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 . We are still reporting positive cases to the situation room and notifying classrooms and staff.
LOST AND FOUND
Our lost items will be bagged and donated after our parent teacher conference day on 3/9/23. Please click here to view the virtual 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.
PTA UPDATES
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Summer Camp Online Auction - Feb 13th-18th
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Lucky Batch Online Fundraiser - Jan 29-Feb 24th
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Next PTA Meeting - 6:30pm Feb 16th Zoom Link Here
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Read-A-Thon - March 3rd-24th
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Heritage Day - March 18th
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Auction/Gala - April 28th
SUMMER CAMP AUCTION STARTS TOMORROW 2/13-2/18!!
Get ready to sign-up or bid for some of your favorite camps at a discounted price! The Summer Camp Auction starts Monday at 9am. Click on this link to check out all the amazing offerings! Questions? Email jennifer@ps107.org
2/14: VALENTINE’S DAY - SPREADING LOVE AND SUPPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY
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All families and students are welcome to create Valentine's Day cards that will be distributed to Bishop Boardman Senior Apartments and the Park Slope Women's Shelter next Tuesday. There is a drop box in the front entryway of school to deposit your cards from now through Tuesday.
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Our weekly CHiPS food drive will be on Tuesday this week - what better way to show some love and support to those in need! For Tuesday's collection, we will also accept individually wrapped Valentine's day treat bags or goodies to brighten up the day for those facing food insecurity. Refer to the Valentine's Day announcement for more information.
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In the spirit of sending love and support to the community this Valentine's Day, a school-wide bake sale will be held on Tuesday from 2:30-5:30 PM to support the people of Turkey and northern Syria in the wake of the devastating earthquakes; all proceeds will be donated to the Bridge to Turkiye Fund and White Helmets organizations. Refer to the Bake Sale sign ups for more information and consider volunteering and/or providing baked goods to support the event!
LUCKY BATCH COOKIE FUNDRAISER
This month, the 5th Grade Committee has partnered with Lucky Batch, a Brooklyn-based cookie company that does online bake sales to benefit schools. Owned by a mom of a 6th grader and her sister, Lucky Batch aims to make doing good taste good. Our bake sale starts on January 31 and runs until February 24. Each batch costs $25 with $5 going directly to the 5th Grade Fund!
Please order online. Cookies can be shipped nationwide or select "Pick up" to get them at school drop off or pick up. For more information see the Konstella announcement from earlier this week here. If you have any questions please email: 5thgradeps107@gmail.com
HOST A ROOM FOR HERITAGE DAY
As you may have seen from the recent Konstella announcement the date for Heritage Day is set for March 18th. If you'd like to 'host' a room, please fill out this survey so we know how many folks are interested in participating! In the past, Heritage Day has been a great way for families that share backgrounds to team up and co-host.
Events like Heritage Day are what make our school community so cozy-- and they can't happen without volunteers! If you're not inspired to host a room, know that we'll need lots of help in other ways too. If you have questions, email me at bibamilioto@gmail.com.
SPRING AUCTION GALA
The Spring Auction is coming April 28th, 7-11pm at the Picnic House. Save the Date! As the committee plans for the great event we are looking for your support! Have an amazing donation to contribute to the auction? Fill out our Google Donation form at this link! Aren't sure or have questions? Read more about what makes a great donation from our earlier Konstella post here or email Alyse (alyselaw@gmail.com) and Christine (christine.canedo@gmail.com).
WEEKLY GREEN TIP FROM PS107 GREEN COMMITTEE
Want an easy way to save energy? Just unplug any devices you’re not using - like coffee makers, toasters, unused phone chargers.
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)
- 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
- February 14 - Parent Workshop: Strengthening Executive Functions at Home: Creating a practical toolbox for our children - 8:30 - 9:30 am 4th Floor Art Space + livestream
- February 15 - D15 Superintendent Town Hall - See attached flyer
- February 16 - D15 Parent/Family Workshop on Parent Teacher Conferences 10 - 11 am
- February 16 - PTA Meeting 6:30 pm
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS
- February 20 - President's Day Observed - School Closed
- February 20 - 24 - Mid Winter Recess - School Closed
Thank you
Nadia