PARENT COORDINATOR UPDATES

Hello PS 107 Families!

I am looking forward to seeing you in the building this week for the workshop and Heritage Day! 

See below for Ms. Joanna’s weekly message and updates from myself and the PTA. 

MESSAGE FROM MS JOANNA 

Dear PS 107 Families, 

We hope that your conferences with your children’s teachers were productive and that you walked away feeling good about your children’s progress thus far this year. We certainly are proud of our students’ progress! All of our students have different strengths and struggles, but we have seen enormous growth this year and know how hard all of our children are working. Bravo! As always, if you have questions or concerns about how your children are doing during this final third of the year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to their teachers. 

This past Friday, we conducted a walkthrough of 8th Avenue and the side streets surrounding PS 107 with Assemblymember Robert Carroll, Councilmember Shahana Hanif, Brooklyn Borough Department of Transportation Commissioner Keith Bray, PTA Co-President Cynthia Thaler, and Officers DeLeon and Valdez from the NYPD’s 78th Precinct. We identified trouble spots and discussed some possible solutions to calm traffic, including: 

• adding leading pedestrian intervals to the intersections that currently lack them;
• adding small rubber speed bumps so that cars must slow down before turning at the intersections near our school;
• reviewing and adjusting guidance with the NYPD for which intersections crossing guards are required to guard;
• considering the addition of designated loading zones at key points along 8th Avenue to reduce double-parking in the neighborhood; and 
• adding a school zone with a reduced speed limit (and increased fines for speeding) in the blocks around PS 107. 

We also learned from Commissioner Bray that there is currently a mobile speed camera stationed near 15th Street and 8th Avenue! (It is well-hidden — we did not know it was there until Commissioner Bray pointed it out.) This camera is collecting data on the number of cars that are speeding in the vicinity of PS 107. The data gathered will inform the DOT’s determination as to whether a permanent speed camera can be installed on 8th Avenue. Overall, the walkthrough was a positive experience, we felt that the Commissioner took our concerns very seriously, and we were grateful for the support of our elected officials. We hope to see some changes in the coming months!

On another note, we hope that you’ll join us for an important parent workshop — Internet Safety: Parents, Guardians, Communities — this Tuesday, March 14th, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the 4th Floor Art Studio. Led by PS 107 parent and US Secret Service staff member Kevin McCleary, you will learn how to keep your children safe in our increasingly online world. Due to the sensitive content of this presentation, it will only be held in-person and children are not permitted to attend. But, we will have childcare available in the cafeteria! Your children can play games, draw, and read with school aides Ms Malani and Ms Brigid during the workshop. If you plan to make use of childcare, please fill out this brief form.

I hope to see many of you at the workshop this Tuesday, as well as at the return of our beloved Heritage Day this Saturday (see below for details). Have a terrific week! 

Warmly, 

Ms Joanna

REMINDERS

-Internet Safety: Parents, Guardians, Communities  by Kevin McCleary - March 14 @ 6:30 pm  (Childcare will be provided)

-Nurturing Healthy Digital Habits by Tali Horowitz - March 24 @ 12:30 pm - Zoom Platform 

View workshop information here: Practical Parenting for the 21st Century - March Workshops

SCHOOL SURVEYS - WE ARE HALF WAY THERE!

All classes with 95% completion of the NYC School Survey can win a PIZZA PARTY!!                        How can you help to make this happen for your students:

• Parents/guardians should complete a separate survey for each child enrolled at PS 107
• Parents/guardians can take the survey online at NYCSchoolSurvey.org
• To access the survey, parents/guardian should enter the letter “f” (lowercase) followed by their student’s identification (OSIS) number which can be found on their report card, student ID card, NYCSA account, or Operoo (e.g. f123456789)
• The deadline to take the survey is March 31st, 2023
• The online survey is available in 10 NYCDOE supported languages: English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Urdu

Once you complete the survey, please complete this google form so we may track your child's classrooms progress.                                                                                                                                                      Questions? Contact: parentcoordinator@ps107.org 

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 

Most of the items have been bagged with the exception of new items from this week. Click here to view the limited edition of our 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

• Read-A-Thon - March 3rd-24th

• CHiPS Food Drive - March 15th (and every Wednesday)

• Next PTA Meeting - 9AM March 16th  Zoom Link Here

• Heritage Day - March 18th 

• STEM Day - April 1st

• Auction/Gala - April 28th 

• Movie Night - May 1st (more info coming soon)

• Art Day - May 6th (more info coming soon)

• Brooklyn Cyclones Game - May 7th, 2pm 

• Spring Fling - June 7th (more info coming soon)

THIS WEDNESDAY - 3/15 (& EVERY WEDNESDAY) CHiPS FOOD DRIVE

Every Wednesday, we will collect food and pantry items for CHiPS at drop-off. We welcome anything that is nutritious and can be easily handed out. Please message Community Outreach (sarah@ps107.org and brittany@ps107.org) if you would like to get more involved and assist with our weekly food drives! You can also consider online support at chipsonline.org/donate and find a list of specific needs for the CHiPS Soup Kitchen on this Amazon wish list. 

READ-A-THON UPDATE

The Read-a-Thon is in full swing with over 100,000 minutes of reading time and still climbing. Way to go readers! Week one winners of each grade will be announced this week! Parents and guardians, if you have not done so already, please check your account to approve reading sessions so that every minute gets counted!

Haven't signed up yet? It's not too late! Check out the recent Konstella post here for how to register, updates to the website, and more details on your child’s personalized “Support Me” Keep reading PS107!!

HERITAGE DAY UPDATES
Heritage Day is on March 18th! We'll visit Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Persia, England, Korea, India, China, Taiwan, Michigan, Brooklyn, Georgia, and the Dakotas! Registration to host a room is now closed, but we are still looking for some volunteers. If you’d like to help out with day-of tasks or cleaning up after the excitement, please check out the recent Konstella announcement here and if you have any questions reach out to Biba Milioto, bibamilioto@gmail.com 

STEM DAY - APRIL 1st

Mark your calendars and get ready for PS107's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) day on April 1st from 12:00 to 3:00 PM. We plan to transform the school into a science and technology wonderland with exciting hands-on activities, interactive experiments, and fascinating demonstrations. From building and launching rockets to coding, from discovering the intricacies of life under the microscope to experiencing the physical properties of matter, there's something for everyone!

We need YOU to make STEM Day a success! Sign up here to lead or support a STEM Day workshop or activity. We'll also need a team of volunteers on the day of the event - watch for a sign-up sheet later this week!

If you have any questions, please email us at ramroom@gmail.com (Reem) and xinalowe@gmail.com (Christina). 

SAVE THE DATE - APRIL 23rd - NYCRUNS BROOKLYN HALF MARATHON (PROSPECT PARK) 

We have the opportunity to raise $2,500 for the Community Outreach Committee of the PTA by volunteering at the half marathon! It was a fun event last year, and we hope to get a great turnout again this year! Signups and more info to follow later in March.

SPRING AUCTION GALA

Tickets are now on sale for the P.S. 107 Spring Gala, which is being held on April 28th at the Prospect Park Picnic House! Buy now, before they sell out! If you are interested in volunteering, please email auction@ps107.org before you buy tickets, as you may be eligible for a free or discounted ticket.

WEEKLY GREEN TIP FROM PS107 GREEN COMMITTEE
Do you love bubbly water as much as we do? Consider buying a soda maker to make your own instead of buying canned/plastic bottles. 

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

• March 3 - 24 - Read-A-Thon
• March 14 - Parent Workshop- Internet Safety: Parents, Guardians, Communities  by Kevin McCleary - 6:30 pm  In person
• March 15 - D15 Town Hall with Superintendent Alvarez 6:30-8pm virtual platform
• March 16 - PTA Meeting  9-10am
• March 18 - Heritage Day!
• March 24 - Parent Workshop - Nurturing Healthy Digital Habits by Tali Horowitz- 12:30 virtual platform
• March 31 - Family Morning Cycle 2, session 1
• March 31 - School Survey completion deadline
• April 1 - Stem Day

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

• April 6 - 16 - Spring Recess - School Closed

Thank you,

Nadia