March Family Newsletter

HAPPY  WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!

WELCOME TO MARCH 2025!!!

Happy March! This month we celebrate Women's History Month. Thank you to all of the families that supported parent engagement events such as STEM First Fridays, the AttenDANCE celebrations, Real Talk,  and our Black History Presentation month. Since we have started these initiatives, more families have come into the building, and we love having you!  Thank you also to our PTA who put together a wonderful fundraiser for our students! Special thank you to SQPA for work that they do with our students everyday. They showcased this work at the Black Excellence Show on February 28th. Congratulations to Ms. Shanelle for receiving the Ms. Black Excellence Award for her outstanding work in the school community and neighborhood!!!

Report Cards and Parent Teacher Conferences. Report cards were posted in January to NYSCA accounts. Promotion in Doubt letters went out last month and were based on a holistic review of the student’s progress in English Language Arts and Math using multiple measures. These holistic reviews are based on performance on iReady, reading levels, attendance, student portfolios, and classroom performance. On MARCH 6TH, we will be having parent teacher conferences. The afternoon session will be from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm and the evening session will be from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Please set an appointment with your child's teachers. THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL ON MARCH 6TH. THERE ARE NO AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS ON MARCH 7TH.

School Status. Our school has been designated for Local Support and Improvement (LSI) by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) for the 2024-25 school year based on the performance of our students on New York State assessments in school year 2023-24. The designation “Local Support and Improvement (LSI),” recognizes that all schools, even higher performing schools like ours, are in a continuous improvement mode and can benefit from local support from their districts to meet students’ differentiated needs. LSI is the best accountability status currently available. The school’s designation is part of the state’s accountability system consistent with federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requirements.

School Upgrades. Our school is getting some upgrades! Last school year, the floor in two classrooms on the third floor were done. The hallway floors on the first and third floors were done in addition to landings on each floor. Additionally, we received solar panels on our room as of last summer. We have received grants totaling over $3 million to make upgrades to our gym, auditorium, and cafeteria over the next few years. Additionally, we are getting a STEM Lab. 

Summer Rising. New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is looking forward to partnering with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) once again for Summer Rising 2025. Summer Rising connects elementary and middle school students to fun, hands-on experiences that strengthen their academic, social, and emotional skills. Summer Rising is free, and open to any NYC student currently in kindergarten through grade 8.

Grades K–5: The program will run from July 2 to August 15, 2025, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Program will be closed on July 4th in observance of Independence Day. 

Summer Rising MySchools Application
The application will open on March 4, and close March 28, 2025. As in 2024, families can apply for Summer Rising online using MySchools, our online directory and application system.

To apply, log in to MySchools.nyc (if you already have a MySchools account you do not need to create a new one). Your MySchools account, used for admissions, is different from the NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) that you may use to access your child’s health forms and update emergency contact information.

If you have applied to Summer Rising, 3-K/Pre-K programs, or NYCPS schools using MySchools before, your child may already be added to your account. If you do not have a MySchools account, you can create one at MySchools.nyc using your email address, your child’s 9-digit student ID number and a MySchools account creation code, which you can get by contacting your child's school. Families will be able to apply ONLY on the NYCSA app. Please reach out to Ms. Tomblin, Ms. Coyle, and Ms. Excellent if you need assistance with the application. 

Student Supports. We have been preparing our students for the NYS ELA and Math exams taking place in April and May. We will continue until the state exams to support through in school and afterschool test prep. Teachers in grades 3 to 5 will be hosting the second test prep seminars for families on MARCH 11TH at 6 pm. We are beginning a Grade 2 Academy on March 4th. also pleased to announced that we began our K to 2 Saturday Academy on March 2nd to close gaps in literacy and mathematics. 

Our Data Story is as follows: 

• On the New York State ELA exam, we went from 33% proficiency in the 22/23 school year to 35% proficiency in the 23/24 school year. 
• On the New York State Math exam, we went from 34% proficiency in the 22/23 school year to 53% proficiency in the 23/24 school year
• We are continuing to make strides on the southside. 

Banana Splits SEL Program. We started a program last school year that addresses the students in our school that are in single parent households. We recognize that social emotional health and mental health get in the way of academics, and we want to support our students with this. This program is for students in Grade 2 and Grade 4.  

Student Government. We have expanded our student government to include a Supreme Court of Bees. These students will assist in creating bylaws and support other students in times of conflict to support conflict resolution. They were inducted on February 5th. 

Uniforms. We are a uniform school. Please ensure that your child wears uniforms Mondays through Thursdays. Beginning in January, there was a major focus on students wearing their uniform. Please reach out to Ms. Tomblin, our Parent Coordinator, to get uniforms if you are in need. Please know that failure to wear uniform is a violation in the NYC Discipline Code Book. More information is found below. 

Attendance. It is very important that your child attends school on a daily. Attendance is connected to promotion as not being present causes learning loss. If your child has a doctor's appointment in the morning, they may still come to school after the appointment. They will be marked late, but they will not lose out on the whole day's instruction and be considered present. We just hosted our second AttenDANCE Party. This party recognizes and celebrates our students who have perfect attendance. Families are welcomed to come with their children. For the month of February, we will be celebrating over 200 students. 

Please be sure to know that the building opens at 7:30 am each weekday morning, and so whether they want breakfast or not, it is greatly advisable that students come inside rather than waiting in the schoolyard in frigid and/or inclement. 

Birthday Celebrations. Please ensure that you are providing teachers notice of your child's birthday. Please contact our Parent Coordinator, Ms. Tomblin, for more information as well as visit our Birthday Policies on our website. 

Communication. At this time, you should be signed up for ClassDojo. It is how we communicate schoolwide information.