PARENT COORDINATOR UPDATES

Hello PS 107 Families!

 Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful break :)

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

MESSAGE FROM MS JOANNA 

Dear PS 107 Families, 

Welcome back to school! It’s hard to believe we are entering the final stretch of the school year, with less than 50 days to go until the end of the year. This past week certainly gave us a taste of summer, and I hope that you and your family were able to enjoy the sunshine after a long winter. 

THIS WEEK AT PS 107

The final quarter of the school year will be a busy one, as usual! Starting on Monday, April 17th, parents can apply to have their child attend NYC’s Summer Rising program. For the third year in a row, from July 5th through August 18th, a partnership between the NYC Department of Education and the Department of Youth and Community Development will provide full-day academic and enrichment opportunities for students in the NYC public schools. The city is opening many Summer Rising sites across the five boroughs. The closest site to PS 107 (and our official “partner” site) will be PS 130, in Windsor Terrace. But, parents can apply to any site in the city. Applications will be open from April 17th through May 1st, and you will learn about your child’s placement approximately one week after applications close. Enrollment is not first-come, first-serve, as it has been in the past. Please review the application instructions carefully and reach out to Nadia Benlarbi, Parent Coordinator, at parentcoordinator@ps107.org with any questions. 

This week, on April 19th and 20th, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will take the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) test. We know that they are well-prepared and will be able to tackle the test with confidence! The New York State Math test is coming up for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on May 2nd and 3rd. Please encourage your children to try their best, but not to worry if there are questions they aren’t sure how to answer. These tests have very low stakes and are a good opportunity for students to practice their test-taking skills. 

This Friday, April 21st is Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. It is a day off from school for students. Eid Mubarak to all PS 107 families who are celebrating!

STRUCTURED LITERACY PILOT UPDATES

As all of you know, PS 107 is one of New York City’s structured literacy pilot schools. This is a great honor and puts us at the forefront of the literacy instructional shifts that are happening across the nation and across our city, based on a settled body of research about how the brain learns to read called the Science of Reading. In order to effectively make these shifts, our teachers need to be trained, and this training will begin the week of April 17th. Our school will be working with the AIM Institute for Learning and Research. Nineteen PS 107 teachers will be taking a 55-hour, graduate-level course called Pathways to Proficient Reading, where they will learn the fundamentals of evidence-based literacy instruction. 

Participating teachers will be out of their classrooms for six days between mid-April and the end of the school year so that they can take the course modules. This will get them part of the way through Pathways to Proficient Reading, and they will complete the course over the summer. Your child’s teacher should let you know when they will be out of the classroom to complete the course modules. We have worked hard to stagger the days teachers are out of the classroom as much as possible to minimize the impact on your children. PS 107’s wonderful team of substitute teachers will also provide full days of instruction when your child’s teacher is out. We also believe all of this is worth it — this is highly specialized training that we are fortunate to be able to provide to our teachers thanks to the New York City Department of Education’s and Assemblymember Robert Carroll’s support of our shift to structured literacy. 

ICYMI: WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE BREAK?

Over the Spring Break, News12 interviewed Councilmember Shahana Hanif on measures that we are working on to improve pedestrian safety on 8th Avenue in the vicinity of PS 107. A big thank you to all of the families who reached out to the Councilmember’s and the Assemblymember’s offices! Changes have already started — and more are on the way. This could not have been accomplished without the advocacy of our entire community.  

Lastly, over Spring Break, we reinstalled our spectacular ecosystem sculptures on the side of our building! These were taken down last year to be refurbished by the original artist (and former 107 parent) Marney Fuller and PS 107 students (who provided a lot of able assistance in the spring of 2022!), and they now look better than ever. We’re starting the process of remaking the Big Yard as well, and we’ll be continuing the ecosystem and sustainability theme in that space. 

Have a wonderful week!

Warmly, 

Ms Joanna

PS Our Science teacher, Ms Abby, is still in need of some critical supplies! Can you help by ordering from her Amazon wishlist? 

NEWS

SUMMER RISING

Enrollment for Summer Rising begins on April 17th.  For more information please click here: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/summer/grades-k-8

There will be a Summer Rising parent workshop on Tuesday, April 18th 10 -11am. Many questions about enrollment and program structure can be answered during this workshop.  Please see the attached flyer for zoom information.

PARENT WORKSHOP -SAVE THE DATE

Please join us on April 26 at 6:30 pm for our next workshop in our Practical Parenting in the 21st Century series "Raising Financially Literate Kids" with 107 parent Ron Leiber. More information to follow.

SCHOOLWIDE ASSEMBLIES

Wednesday, April 19th, Michael Hearst will be back to give an Unusual Creatures assembly for our 3rd through 5th graders. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Thursday, April 20, local children's author, Sarah Bagley Steele, is visiting PS 107. Students in grades PreK - 2 will meet the author and hear her new children’s book, THE HAPPIEST KID. Sarah will lead a presentation on collecting ideas and how books become books.
Sarah would love to personalize and sign books for any readers who would
like to order them! Here is the link to pre-order and the attached flyer has the information as well.

https://ps107.wufoo.com/forms/author-visit-sarah-bagley-steele-april-20th/

ADMISSION INFORMATION
Kindergarten 

• Families have until May 5th to accept their offers, and until June 27th to provide registration documents.

Middle School

• Middle School offers will be released on Tuesday, April 25th, 2023, after school hours. 

REMINDERS

LICE

Tuesday 4/18/23 - Schoolwide Follow-up Lice Check  

SCHOOL SURVEYS  - LAST WEEK TO COMPLETE THEM!

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 now April 20, 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 TEST KITS UPDATE

As recommended by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 test kits should now be distributed upon request for students and staff who are experiencing symptoms and/or have a known exposure to someone with COVID-19. This practice, beginning May 1, replaces the previous guidance of automatic distribution of four tests per month to each student and staff. Please see the attached letter for more information.

LOST AND FOUND 

Please click here to view the virtual lost and found. I have hats and scarves temporarily bagged for two weeks due to our current lice appearance. They will make a reappearance after the break :)

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

• Parents’ Special Education Support Meeting - April 19th, Noon
• CHiPS Food Drive - April 19th (and every Wednesday)
• Auction/Gala - April 28th 
• Brooklyn Cyclones Game - May 7th, 2pm  (Buy tickets here)
• Movie Night - May 12th
• Art Day - May 13th 
• AAPI Month Snack Sale Fundraiser- May 19th, After School
• Spring Fling - June 7th

OPEN EXEC BOARD POSITIONS
The PTA is looking to fill its open positions ASAP as voting will happen in May. Please take a look at the open positions here. There are roles suited for all types, so please consider joining the best PTA in all of Park Slope! If you are interested in a role or simply have further questions about the role and/or commitment, please email Davina davina@ps107.org or Cynthia cynthia@ps107.org

BROOKLYN CYCLONES GAME                                                                                                                                               We hope you'll join fellow PS 107 families in cheering on the Brooklyn Cyclones at Coney Island on Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 PM! There will be bouncy houses, giveaways, festivities, sunshine (we hope!), and of course, baseball! A block of seats for the PS 107 community will be reserved in section 11, behind 3rd base.

You can purchase your tickets here for $20 each (plus a nominal PayPal processing fee). This is a school fundraiser, and 50% of the proceeds will benefit the PS 107 PTA.

See you there! Please contact Nisha, nisha@ps107.org, with any questions.

PARENTS’ SPECIAL EDUCATION SUPPORT COMMITTEE                                                                                  The Parents' Special Education Support Committee will meet this Wed, April 19 at noon. All are welcome to join. We'll be planning events and offering a forum to discuss our children's needs. Zoom link here Questions? Message co-chairs Ginny Wiehardt (glwiehardt@gmail.com) or Amber Lewis (lewis.amberlynn@gmail.com)

SPRING AUCTION GALA

The P.S. 107 Spring Gala is SOLD OUT! We thank you all very much for your support and we look forward to seeing many of you at the event on April 28th! Regardless of whether you are attending the Gala, please check out the following updates open to everyone:

• TIME WITH TEACHER RAFFLE STARTS ON MONDAY
  If you didn't already receive one, look for a flyer in your child's backpack for the TIME WITH TEACHER Raffles. The PS 107 teachers and staff have come up with fun experiences that they are donating for students. Students can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win an experience (time with their favorite teachers). You can purchase Raffle tickets by filling out the form and returning it to your child's teacher with cash or check OR you can come by the tables this week before and after school to purchase. Tickets are $3/ticket; $5/2 tickets $10/5 tickets. You can pay by check, cash or cc in person.

• SPRING AUCTION
  THE ONLINE AUCTION GOES LIVE this Thursday April 20th!
• ITEMS NEEDED: We are looking for mannequins or dress forms to display a few clothing items at the Gala's silent auction. If you happen to own one or two you could lend to us, please email auction@ps107.org. Thank you!

WEEKLY GREEN TIP FROM PS107 GREEN COMMITTEE

Safely dispose of hazardous products! And SAVE the DATE

NYC Dep. of Sanitation safe disposal event: Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook on Sunday, April 16th. safely discard old chemicals, paints, harmful items, electronics, and more. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/services/harmful-products/safe-disposal

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

• April 17- Summer Rising Enrollment period opens
• April 18 - Summer Rising Parent Workshop 10-11 am (see attached flyer)
• April 19 - Parents’ Special Education Support Meeting 12pm - Click  here to join 
• April 19 - D15 Superintendent Town Hall 6:30 - 8pm - Click here to register 
• April 26 - Parent Workshop with Ron Lieber 6:30-7:30 pm (details to follow)
• April 28 - Spring Auction/Gala

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

• April 21- Eid school closed

Thank you,

Nadia