August 2012
Dear Families,
I am writing to welcome you to the coming school year. In this letter, I’ll fill you in on PS 150 news and pass on information
you will need for the coming school year.
I know that first and foremost you want to know who will be teaching your children. Here are our classroom teachers for
the coming year:
Prekindergarten: Brent Harney
Kindergarten: Jennifer Aaron
First Grade: Gwen Trombley
Second Grade: Danielle McKee
Third Grade: Allison Silverman
Fourth Grade: Rachel Tejada
Fifth Grade: Rosie Zagami
I am very pleased to introduce you to our new staff members. I am delighted to have them join the PS 150 family!
 Gwen Trombley is coming to us from P.S. 29 in Brooklyn Heights, where she taught 1st grade for three years.
Prior to her tenure there, she taught at the Little Red School House and in Greenwich, Connecticut. In addition,
she has a Masters of Arts as a Literacy Specialist from Teachers College, Columbia University.
 Rosie Zagami is coming to us from P.S. 130 in Brooklyn, where she taught 4th grade for 10 years. She has
taught 5th grade as well, in Dix Hills, NY. Rosie has spent the last year working on a technology degree and with
her help, we will hopefully become technologically cutting edge!
 Dr. Malkie Davidson will be our new school psychologist.
This fall we will also welcome four new assistant teachers.
 Michelle Martinesi will join us as the Kindergarten assistant teacher. Michelle spent last year as an assistant
teacher in a 2nd grade Gifted and Talented class at P.S. 9 in District 3. She earned her Master’s Degree at Hunter
College.
 Anny Lyan will join us as the 1st grade assistant teacher. Anny has worked as an assistant teacher at the
Anderson School and at P.S. 166 in District 3. In addition, she has substitute taught for the Department of
Education. She earned her Master’s Degree from Hunter College.
 Christina Caselle will join us as the 2nd/3rd grade assistant teacher. Christina earned her Master’s Degree at NYU
and has student taught at P.S. 116 and P.S. 57 in Districts 2 and 4, respectively.
 Mel Hess will be joining us as the 4th/5th grade assistant teacher. Mel has had a long and illustrious career at P.S.
321 in Park Slope – he taught there for 26 years! He has recently retired, but still wants to work with students, so
this is the perfect situation for him! Mel also has a law degree.
This is your official back-to-school letter. In this message you will find a load of information from me. Also included
are a letter from your child’s new teacher & her supply request; a welcome from our P.T.A. and important P.T.A.
information; and an invitation to participate in The Coalition for the Homeless’ Project Back to School.
Dates and Hours
School begins Thursday, September 6, 2012. The regular school day begins at 8:50 AM and ends at 3:10 PM. PreK
children may wait in the lobby with a caregiver until they are invited into their classroom; all other students line up in
the plaza. Children who arrive after classes go upstairs at 8:50 AM are marked late, and should go to the office to
sign in before heading up to class. Please don’t be late.
PreKindergarten students will be dismissed at 11:50 the first two days of school from their classroom.
Prekindergarteners have their first full day on Monday, September 10th.
Kindergarten children will be dismissed at 11:50 the first day of school from their line up spots on the plaza (by the
door). Their first full day of school is Friday, September 7th. Caregivers may accompany their children to the
classroom for the first two days of school, saying good bye 5-10 minutes later (Jennifer will give you the cue). On
Tuesday, September 10, kindergarteners will say good bye on the plaza.
Morning Supervision is available for kindergarten – fifth graders on the plaza from 8:20 – 8:50 AM. In the morning,
balls, scooters, skateboards and dogs are prohibited on the plaza, and running is restricted to the coned-off areas.
Beginning September 19th, the library will be open 8:20 – 8:50 most mornings as well (PreK students must be
accompanied by a caregiver; kindergartners must bring a parent or family caregiver if they want to check out books).
Children in grades K – 5 must be either in the library or on the plaza after 8:20. They can also enjoy school breakfast
from 7:50 – 8:35. It is free, tasty, and available to everyone!
On rainy/snowy/horrendously cold days students line up indoors. Adults with students in grades K - 5 must leave
the building by 8:30 and say good-bye outside if they arrive after 8:30. Indoor line-up goes smoothly when adults
follow the rules – when they don’t, it is crowded, confusing and scary. Please do not ask to come in before 9 AM on
these days. Indoor line up spots:
PreK children wait in the PreK room with a caregiver.
3rd & 4th graders wait in the music room.
1st graders wait in the hall outside the music room
Ks, 2nd & 5th graders wait in lobby spots
Extended Day sessions are offered to students identified as needing extra support. These classes take place from
8:10 – 8:50 Monday – Thursday. Students in extended day classes gather in the lobby and are sent up to their
classrooms at 8:10. Extended day sessions will begin Wednesday, September 19th.
School ends at 3:10 everyday. Meet your child in the plaza at her/his line up and dismissal spot rain or shine (family
members & caregivers may wait in the lobby until 3:05 but must go out to pick up children).
Bus service for Kindergarten children will begin Monday, September 24th for existing stops only. New stops will be
added later. There is no bus service for kindergartners until September 24th. Please contact Christine Walford, our
school secretary, in September if you have questions about busing.
Health, Immunizations and School Nurse
Due to severe nut allergies PS 150 is now a nut-free school. We had a couple of scares last year, and must put
our students’ safety first. Please do not send nuts or nut products in snacks or lunches (seed butter, like sunflower
seed butter, is fine).
PreKs, kindergartners and all students new to New York City public schools must submit completed health
forms by Monday, September 24th, 2012. At that time all immunizations must be up to date. Children must be
excluded from class if we do not have a record stating immunizations are up to date on September 24th. If you have
any questions about immunizations, please contact our parent coordinator, Laura Cohen, our school nurse, Linda
Basile, or Christine Walford.
The school nurse is the only person who can administer medication at school (including inhalers and Epi-pens),
and she can only do so after she has received a medical authorization form that has been approved by the
Department of Education. See Linda or call the office if you would like to request a form. Please remember, children
may not bring any medication to school, including antibiotics, Benadryl cream, acetaminophen or ibuprofen…
Shared Responsibilities
It takes an urban village to raise city kids. We count on all the adults in our school community – staff members and
families – to teach the students of PS 150. I want to take this opportunity to remind us of our mutual responsibilities.
 Families need to get kids to school on time. Punctuality is a critical personal habit and an important
community value. Lateness negatively affects all of our children’s learning and creates additional work for the
adults in the building. Because late students are often inadvertently marked absent, if your children do not go
up to class with their teachers, they will need to go to the office to sign in (please don’t skip this!). There – I
said it – TWICE! Please, please make every effort to be on time every day. We don’t want there to be any
confusion with regard to your child’s attendance record.
 When we have indoor line up, caregivers must exit the school at 8:30. Children arriving after 8:30
must say good bye to caregivers outside. Because this is so important, I am saying this twice, too.
 Kids need to be picked up on time. That means 3:10 PM on full school days, 12:00 on half days. There is
no supervision for children after 3:10, and providing childcare after school hours puts stress on the office staff
(and your children). If a caregiver will be picking your child up, please communicate with him/her how
important prompt pick-up is.
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Caregivers and children must exit the plaza after pick up and may not re-enter the school building.
The school and plaza are closed after dismissal so that they can be used by the after school program. Again,
balls, scooters, skateboards and dogs are prohibited from the plaza after school. We know how parents love
to catch up and chat with each other, so we respectfully ask that you do so elsewhere. And you already know
how great Washington Market Park is for playing.
Whenever possible, children should be responsible for their belongings. Please get in the habit of
having your children wear their backpacks and carry their coats/lunches before and after school. Taking
responsibility for their belongings to and from school helps children learn to be responsible for belongings at
school, too, and instills a sense of independence, which is a great thing!
Teachers and other staff members will respond to your notes and email messages within 48 hours,
max. The best way to reach your child’s teacher is with an email through our website, a note in your child’s
backpack or in the teacher’s mailbox (located in the general office). Please know that though your child’s
teacher does want to hear your concerns, line-up and dismissal are not good times to raise them, as teachers
are responsible for the children at that time. If you are unable to resolve a situation directly with the teacher,
please schedule a meeting with me. Our aim is to get back to you in 24 hours – but please give us 48, as
teachers’ busy schedules do make it hard to answer your queries thoughtfully and promptly.
Communications
E-mail and backpack flyers are the main ways we will be communicating with you. Please make sure you check
your inbox and child’s backpack each day for important notices. Our wonderful PTA will provide each student with a
durable folder for carrying notes to and from school. Your children should bring these every day in full-sized
backpacks. In an effort to save paper, we will send only one paper notice per family.
Keep on top of what is happening by
 Regularly checking www.ps150.net. You will find current news & events, a useful calendar, information from
the classrooms, helpful links, PTA pages, fundraising opportunities, and even updated weather. Our school’s
website is growing – we welcome your input!
 Attending our monthly PTA meetings. They are a fun, interesting, and informative way to stay abreast of
current events at PS 150 and learn more about how to get involved.
 Attending a School Leadership Team meeting, held monthly. The SLT is a collaborative group consisting of
parents, teachers, staff and the principal. We discuss school-wide issues.
 Coming to our workshops on curriculum, parenting, testing, and other school issues (better yet, suggest
one!).
 Participating in one of my regular Javas with Jenny. You set the agenda, so these informal meetings are
great opportunities to discuss a wide range of school-wide issues.
 Signing up for a one-on-one meeting with me to discuss your hopes and concerns.
A few last, unrelated notes
When donating cleaning supplies, please make sure they are environmentally-friendly. This is not only good for the
environment, it is a Department of Education rule!
LABEL YOUR CHILDREN’S CLOTHING AND BACKPACKS. Labeled items can and will be returned to children.
The rest is donated to the needy.
Remind your children about key school rules:
 There is no physical violence of any kind (including hitting back);
 Cell phones, electronic toys and music players are not allowed (the school will not be responsible for the loss
or theft of such items);
 Lunches may contain no soda or glass bottles; and NO GUM OR CANDY;
 Due to severe nut allergies PS 150 is a nut-free school.
 We cannot store roller blades, scooters, skateboards, or strollers at school.
Most of all please send your healthy, well-rested, well-fed kids to school ON TIME every day! I am looking forward to
seeing you in September – enjoy the rest of the summer break!
Jenny
P.S. If your child will not be attending PS 150 next year, please inform us as soon as possible – we have a waiting list
of hopeful families. Thank you!