COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL MEETING
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014
SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS
PS 48 -
The students of grade 5 are involved in an Energy Conservation Initiative.
The students have learned about “Alternatives to Energy” and are preparing
posters displaying “Conserving Energy in the Building”.
The posters will be displayed throughout the school building. One major
theme is “Turn off the Lights to Save Energy”. The school’s science
teacher, Mrs. Carver, has coordinated this effort for the past two years.
Ms. Ament, the Librarian is highlighting April as Poetry Month with a
contest sponsored by the American Library of Poetry Organization. As part
of this 18th Annual National Student Poetry Contest, the students will write
original poems which will be submitted to this organization. The students
are busy with exciting projects which inspire their learning about the world
they live in.
PS 102 -
The school is celebrating the arrival of Spring and National Poetry Month.
We are looking forward to enjoying and sharing poetry, especially on Poem in
your Pocket Day on April 24. On this day many of the students and teachers
will read poetry together, carry poems in their pockets and share their
personal favorites through reading aloud, recitation, and illustrations. We
love poems by Shel Silverstein, Jack Pelutsky, Basho and many others.
The student government officers created and sponsored Spirit Twin Day.
Student’s schoolwide were to find a friend and dress alike on April 7.
Students had a good laugh and a good time as well!
Grade Three, Four, and Five students celebrate the last meetings of their
Book Talk Book Clubs. This program, sponsored by Learning Leaders, is
popular with students and Learning Leader volunteers who love to read and
talk about books. The groups meet each week from December to April to
discuss reading assignments they complete at home and during April each
Grade will wrap up their work with a group book presentation and party. Parents
and families were invited to celebrate this culminating event with their children!
There was also some excitement in the Journalism Stars Club. This lively group was
visited by two members of the P.S. 102 Class of 1960 who have had successful careers in
journalism. Mr. Gabe Goldberg and Mr. Walter Bohlin met with our on-line Journalism
Stars Club members to discuss P.S. 102 Then and Now and their exciting careers. An
article about their visit will be published soon on the club’s blog
http://jounalismstars.edublogs.org .
This month the school has been busy raising money for the American Heart Association.
Through the efforts of our physical education teachers, students enthusiastically
participated in the Jump Rope for Hearts program and raised $ 9,000 for this worthy
cause. We are proud of the students and staff members who participated in this very
important fundraising event.
Another exciting event the P.S. 102apaloosa will take place on Thursday, April 10th at
6:00 p.m. The Parent-Teacher Talent Show has become an annual happening and is
always lively, entertaining and free. The show will showcase parents and teachers
performing rock, cultural and popular music as well as poetry, dance, and comedy
routines. All are welcome to attend the show and enjoy the great entertainment, fun
food, and fabulous raffles that are for sale that evening.
The school community is looking forward to the Annual Arbor Day Read-Aloud on April
25th when parent volunteers and staff members read books and poetry aloud to the
students that rejoice in the beauty of our world and applaud efforts to preserve and
protect our precious environment. Earth Day (April 22th) and Arbor Day (April 24th)
remind us to honor and preserve our natural world.
Finally, at the end of this month, the PTA will host the Scholastic BOGO Book Fair. This
popular annual event allows students to choose one free book for each one they
purchase. What a great way to encourage and support the love of reading in our
students!
The school community wishes all the students, parents and families a relaxing, and
simply wonderful Spring Recess.
PS 105 -
Lead by the Reading teacher, Stella Sophocleous, teachers and staff
gathered together on March 26 & 27 through breakfast fundraisers to raise
over $1000 for EIF Revlon’s Run and Walk for fight against Breast cancer on
May 3, 2014 in NYC. Students in grades 4 and 5 walked in the neighborhood
to support this event and also raised over a few hundred dollars.
Congratulations to the art teacher, Ms. Ai Zhen Li for guiding her student
Xin Ying Dong who has been selected from approximately 900 entries to be
included in the PS Art 2014 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
They will be invited to attend the opening reception held at The
Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for
Education on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 from 5-6pm.
Over a 1000 students will be taking the upcoming NYSESLAT exam from
April 9th to May 16th.
PS 112 -
Family Fun Night on March 21st was a huge success. Thank you to all that
supported the school!
The Annual Science Fair was held on March 4th. All students participated
from Kindergarten to 5th grade. We had many visitors, including Mr.
Opromalla. All students received a participation certificate.
The Scholastic Book Fair took place the week of March 10th. The theme was,
“Reading Fiesta”. The students and their parents enjoyed choosing books!
The teachers and students continue to prep for the Math test with Math
Test Prep for the exam that will take place at the end of April.
The Cookshop Classes continue for the students and parents. Through a fun
filled hands on lesson, they learn how to prepare and enjoy an inexpensive
healthy meal. At the end of every Parents Cookshop, the parents have the
opportunity to take home a recipe along with the ingredients needed and
prepare it at home with their family.
The first graders assembly will take place on April 25th. The theme is
“Earth Day”. All students will go to this performance and learn about Earth
Day.
PS 160 -
Students, Parents and staff welcomed Superintendent, Karina Costantino,
to the school on March 13th and 14th for our Quality Review. The students
were excited to share their learning with Ms. Costantino.
It was Multicultural Month in March. In addition to celebrating Multicultural
Night on March 6th, staff members celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, St. Joseph
Day and Greek Independence day. At the Multicultural Night, families
contributed food from their cultures. Everyone was treated to dance lessons
from various cultures.
The partnership with Arts Connection continues! Fourth grade students are
learning Spanish dances while first grade students are participating in a
vocal music program.
First grade students have joined the second grade students in taking violin
lessons through a partnership with the Noelle Pointer Foundation.
Second grade students performed the Three Piggy Opera for our PTA
meeting.
5th Grade students are participating in Dancing Classrooms Team
Competition and earned a silver medal. They also performed for their
families and the rest of the school.
The award winning Chess team has been ranked as the number one
elementary school in NYC by Chess in the Schools. They are preparing for
the National Chess Tournament in Dallas, Texas.
5th grade students are participating in Global Partners, an initiative to
connect students around the world. The focus for the second semester is
“Feeding the Hungry”. They are partnering with City Harvest to collect food
for the hungry.
After School Literacy Program and the Saturday Math Program continue to
support the students’ learning. Math enrichment meets two mornings per
week. ESL classes are held five mornings per week. Art, technology,
mythology, chess, zumba, Chinese dance, Italian Culture, and Global Partners
clubs meet every Thursday after school. The Girls on the Run club meets
every Monday and Friday.
We will conduct a Spring Break Math and NYSESLAT Prep Academy over
the spring break.
The school families participate in Parent ESL classes held every Saturday.
Teachers have been participating in Professional Learning Communities
aligning curriculum to the Common Core as well as sharing resources and best
practices.
PS/IS 163 - The school participated in “Read Across America” week. Grades K-4
celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday with Pajama Day. Parents came to read to
the classes and participated in classroom activities. Some classes made
green eggs!
The school wore blue in support of Anti-Bullying Day in support of “Respect
for All Week”.
Annual science fair took place this month.
We are raising money for Pennies for Patients.
Mrs. Wasmuth held the annual “Breakfast with the Principal” for grades 6-8
for the Gold & Silver Honor Roll students.
The whole school wore green in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Most
classes ordered green bagels for breakfast! We also held special assembly
programs with Irish singing and dancing.
The 8th grade Ring Ceremony took place.
Testing meeting for parents of grades 3-8 took place on March 19th.
In connection with My Library NYC, all students and staff received library
cards. A special assembly for grades 6-8 was held with a librarian from
Brooklyn Public Library.
Ballet Tech Auditions for the 2nd grade took place on March 17th. Students
selected through this audition process are invited to attend a five-week
Beginners Program held in the spring at Ballet Tech. Approximately half of
these students are invited back for Level I, an additional five-week program.
Students who show the most promise are invited to enroll at the Ballet Tech
School full-time for the following school year. Last year, we had a student of
ours selected to attend Ballet Tech as a full-time student.
Ballroom Dancing residency began on March 19th for the 5th grade. Dancing
Classrooms is a 10-week program that utilizes ballroom dancing as a vehicle
to change the lives of not only the children who participate in the program
but also the lives of the teachers and parents who support these
children. Dance is a tool for getting the children to break down social
barriers, learn about honor and respect, treat others carefully, improve
self-confidence, communicate and cooperate, and accept others even if they
are different.
PS 170 -
The school was one of the fifty-one schools in the city awarded with a
Family Reading Nights Grant. Sponsored by Target and coordinated by the
Fund for Public Schools, the grant enables schools to teach families various
techniques to explore reading with their children. Mrs. Aweeky, the school’s
librarian, is the grant writer. She and Mrs. Figueroa, the parent
coordinator, are hosting three family workshops for parents and students
grades 1 and 2, scheduled for April 3, May 8 and May 29. The sessions are
designed to encourage families to read with their children and play an active
role in their children’s education. The first session was held on April 3 from
6:00 – 7:30 P.M. Twenty-two families participated in the workshop and light
refreshments were provided. The workshop focus was on how to establish a
reading routine with the children. Mrs. Aweeky demonstrated conversational
reading through a PowerPoint presentation and picture book read
aloud. Parents and their children then selected library books and practiced
the techniques in small groups. After a question and answer period, families
were invited into the library where each student received three books of
their choice, as well as pencils, bookmarks, stickers and souvenir cups. We
have a wonderful evening and look forward to welcoming more families to the
next sessions.
Mrs. Maria Donohue and Mrs. Elen Stratis, two outstanding ESL teachers of
the school have made it into the second round of the Big Apple Award.
Congratulations and best wishes for them!
The school’s Annual Science Fair was held on March 11. Many parents visited
the exhibit and were amazed by the scientific explorations of their children.
All science project winners have received a surprise: a magnifying glass!
PS/IS 180 - -3rd grader, Daniel Shi, won the cursive contest. "Completing his
assignments in print was a challenge for Daniel, but learning how to write in
cursive changed his life," said Ms. Maria Baigini, a special education teacher
at The SEEALL Academy.
Science fair winners received 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals this month.
On April 3rd, Honor Roll certificates were given at our monthly PTA meeting.
The parents were very proud of their children's accomplishments.
PS 186 -
On March 19th, the first grade classes hosted college and career day.
Parents and guests were invited to the classrooms to share their college
experiences and talk about their careers. Children were prepared with a list
of questions for each guest. A few of the guest speakers were Ms. Vivian
Barreto, Director of our ExpandED Program, Darryl Robinson, Assistant
Director, Felicia Balzomo, Pep Coordinator and Ms. Delaney, Parent
Coordinator. The children were so excited to interview the parents and
guests.
5th grade classes held a publishing party on Friday, March 28th. Each student
researched an environmental issue such as water pollution, energy
conservation endangered animals. Each student created their own color
brochure in conjunction with othe technology teacher Ms. Birnbach.
The Student Council along with Ms. Delaney and the Americorps volunteers
will be hosting a bake sale to raise money for Autism Speaks. The PS 186
school family will also be wearing blue on Friday to raise awareness.
PS 186/NIA ExpandEd students performed “Annie Kids”. The children
performed to a packed house on Thursday, March 27th. Families were
delighted to see the children act, sing and dance throughout the
performance. The show was amazing. We could not be more proud of them
and our collaboration with NIA ExpandED.
ExpandED students participated in a basketball clinic to kick off the first
ever Basketball season at the school. They trained with professional
coaches and learned the values of not only the sport but also community
service. The clinic was fully funded by DYCD/NIKE. The team member
under the direction of Ms. Felicia and Mr. Gio received Nike sneakers and
team uniforms!
The students performed My Plate, “The New Food Guide Musical”, on Friday,
April 4. The show was presented by the Ficalor Family Foundation in
association with the Nutrition and Fitness Education Initiative. Parents and
students learned songs about eating right and keeping light, fruit delicious
and fruit nutritious, just to name a few.
The Ditmas student volunteer program concluded on Tuesday, April 8th.
This year 14 students from Ditmas Junior High School joined us every
Tuesday to help in the Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade classes.
The PTA will be hosting their Annual Spring Auction on Friday, April 25th.
Tickets are still available. Please call our PTA or Ms. Delaney, o Parent
Coordinator to purchase tickets at (718) 236-7071
PS 205 -
The school thanks everyone who voted for them in the NY Lottery Singing
Contest.
The Ballroom Dance team won Silver at the Quarter Finals.
Students will be performing and displaying their work at the Club
Extravaganza on April 9, 2014 at 3:15.
We will be holding a G&T Open House on Thursday April 10, 2014 at 9:30am
in the auditorium.
On April 23, 2014, the school will host a very special media event, intruding
the new BING search engine for schools to Ms. Carmela Scalici’s class 4505.
April 25, 2014 is Crazy Hat Day, each class will be awarded certificates for
the craziest, funniest, biggest, smallest and most creative hats.
School wide Art Show on Thursday May 8, 2014. Special thanks to the
fantastic art teachers, Erin Cameron and David Seligman.
The PTA will host Movie Night on Friday May 9,2014 at 7:30 PM in the
school yard. All staff, students and their families are invited to watch
”Frozen” under the stars.
PS 264 -
On March 28th the PTA held its first Spring Gala at the Dyker Golf
Club. The prizes were spectacular and a great time was had by all. The
students and staff are extremely grateful to the hardworking PTA
volunteers who have dedicated themselves to raising funds to enrich the
programs of the school.
On April 3rd and 4th we held the year’s second Studio Showcase where all
students in grades 1-3 showed what they learned in the last cycle of Studio
Time. The showcase included presentations by the Ceramics, Writer’s
Review, Ballroom Dance, Move to Improve, Basketball and Musical Theater
studios among others. The third cycle of Studio Time for the year will be
dedicated to preparing for the Dance Festival.
Disney in Schools production of The Jungle Book is scheduled for the last
week in May. We had a successful Bake Sale that raised over $900 for the
benefit of the musical theater productions. We also held a Community Night
where the families of cast and crew came together to help build scenery and
make costumes and props. The show is going to be sensational.
On Tuesday, May 6th we will be holding the Einstein Science Night. Families
will come participate in a wide range of fun science experiments.
PS 310 -
Enrichment program
The school just finished the second cycle of the enrichments program which
culminated in a “show case” activity, attended by many parents. During this
culminating activity, which took place on March 14, 2014, the students were
able to demonstrate to their parents, teachers and friends what they had
learned during the 8 week enrichment program which took place every Friday
from 2:45 pm - 4:30 pm. During these 8 week programs the students got to
collaborate with both the BRICS ARTS and Salvadori organizations. Both
organizations provided experts in their filed.
Students are also given the
choice to participate in one of the following enrichment programs facilitated
by our own staff:
Team Sports Students engage in a variety of team sports. The goal is for
the students to learn how to set goals and accomplish them through
collaboration, communication, and strategizing while playing team sports.
Reader’s Theatre Children learn to write skits from their favorite stories.
They then use vocal expression to help the audience understand the story
through sets, costumes, and intricate blocking. This activity fosters the
development of language skills, presentational skills, and collaboration.
Dance - Born to Jive This class introduces students to various styles and
basic Jive dance.
The students develop the ability to focus, sequence,
transition and recall through enjoyable movement activities. The class
teaches the fundamentals of footwork and rhythmic hand positions that can
be applied to all other dances.
Drum Students participating in the afterschool drum program will learn to
play the instrument. Emphasis is placed on learning proper drumming
technique as well as improvisation, soloing and rhythm.
Games Club Students will learn how to play board games such as Pictionary,
Scategories, Scrabble, Boggle, Apples to Apples, Charades and Cranium.
Besides having fun, Games Club will help students develop memory, attention,
and problem solving skills.
Robotic Club Students in the Robotic after school program worked in the
areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Robot
Club gives the students opportunity to create moveable robots through
designing, assembling, and programing. Here is a link to see robotics in
action!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9RxyxXL_bc2b2tGU0JWSkNGOTg/edi
t?usp=sharing
Collaboration with UPROSE In collaboration with UPROSE, the schppl held
a meeting on March 26, 2014 with parents to request that something be
done in finding a solution to the disturbing conditions of the MTA path. At
the beginning of this school year we also contacted MTA numerous times to
clean up the side walk. MTA sent a truck to clean it up in a matter of an
hour or two. After that the litter has piled up again. The goal was to make
MTA aware that this should not be a one-time deal. Parents volunteered to
handout the translated flyers throughout the neighborhood and many
showed up to the meeting.
NYSABE The school was invited to perform at the NYSABE conference on
March 7, 2014 at the New York Marriot Hotel. This year the conference focused on
providing teachers, parents, and educational leaders’ with the strategies and tools
necessary to educate a new generation of bi-literate citizens. The students danced in
front of an audience of hundreds of educators, which included Chancellor Farina, and
they never skipped a beat! The audience was mesmerized by their performance! Link to
the NYSABE performance Link: https://vimeo.com/88500000 Password: ps310
Earth Day The second, third and fourth grade classes will be participating in the
New York State Senate Earth Day Competition. The theme is “Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle”. Each class will create one poster for the competition that will be
submitted for review by the state senate’s office. Their poster will be posted to
their website for participating in the competition. All classes involved will
receive a certificate for their participation as well.
Salvadori Scholarship In collaboration with Salvadori, we are competing for a grant
that would partially fund a new program in the school. If awarded, Salvadori will
develop a training program for the teachers on how to integrate learning standards into
arts education.
PS 503 -
Administrators and ESL teachers from North Carolina visited the school
to observe ESL approaches and collaborative teaching.
The PTA hosted Family Movie Night on March 21st was a great success.
Families enjoyed munching on popcorn and watching The Ant Bully.
Grades 3, 4 and 5 finished this year’s CookShop classes this year. The
students have learned about healthy choices and the impact on our bodies.
Grades K-2 still have 2 more units to go. Parent Coordinator Tilcia Sola and
Parent Liaison Qi Dan Lei hosted CookShop Family workshops where the
participants worked together to make a Berry Mash Wheat Snack and Corn
and Tomato Salsa.
Artist in Residence Celia Caro and Arts Liaison Allison Demas have been
selected to receive the Michael Kaye Award for Outstanding Art Educator.
The award, given by Bric Arts Media each year, will be presented in May at
the opening of the student exhibition.
The Sunset Knights won First Place in the Elementary Open Section at the
latest tournament hosted by the school. On to the Nationals in Dallas!
PS 506 -
“Pi Day” was celebrated on March 14th. Students were chosen to compete in
an assembly based on their ability to memorize as many digits of Pi as
possible. Students who participated in the event received a small pie, a Pi
pin and a pencil. The top 3 students received medals and the winner got a
pie party of their choice for their class.
On March 27th, parents came in and read the book, “Testing Miss Malarkey”
to the 3rd to 5th grade students in order to ease test anxiety. The students
were also given pencils to use for the upcoming test. This was a great way to
increase parent involvement!
On Friday, March 28th, we held the annual Talent Show. Students in grades
2 through 5 filled out applications and auditioned to be part of the show.
The students synergized with their performing arts teachers as well as
their classmates to create their own original acts. The show featured
singing, dancing, acting, as well as extremely entertaining musicians and
magicians! It was an eclectic mix that included everything from disappearing
acts to breakdancing. It is always amazing to see what the students create
and we look forward to seeing next year's talent.
Friday, April 4th, at the Parent Meet & Greet, Ms. Soto and Ms. Nagar
conducted a workshop around the “Leader In Me”. The teachers began by
reviewing Habit 1 – “Being Proactive”. Then they started with Habit 2 –
“Begin with the End in Mind”. They had volunteers come up and they were
given 30 seconds to put a puzzle together without having a picture or
example. They couldn’t do it so the teacher opened up a discussion about
what the volunteers would need to accomplish the task. The results of the
discussion, was, that they needed more time and a picture. So after a
picture and more time were given, the volunteers were able to put the puzzle
together. This linked right to the heart of habit 2. Then the parents
worked on creating a banner and making a mission statement that they would
bring home.
PS 682 -
February 2/14 - 100th Day of School Celebration! The students, along with
the staff created a Huge 100th Day Poster with thousands of hearts
attached with their own individual acts of kindness for the day!
2/28 – B.E.A.R Night, Pajama Day, & Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration! The
school held our Annual” Be Excited About Reading” Night for Kindergarten –
2nd Grade. The students came to school in their PJ’s, read their favorite Dr.
Seuss Books aloud with their class, and returned in the evening for a fun
filled night. We had all types of reading crafts, games, and activities aligned
to our school’s “Books of The Month.” At the end of the event, the students
received goodie bags and made their own BEAR cupcakes at our cupcake
station. It was a lovely!
March 3/7 – Family Game Night! The school held the Annual Family Game
Night for the 3rd Grade – 5th Grade. The students came with their family
and played games, such as Chess, Scrabble, Twister, Cards, and Crosswords
puzzles aligned to “Our Books of The Month.” They earned tickets to win
prizes and a chance to decorate their own cupcakes! It was an Amazing
Night!
3/21 – Cycle 2 Enrichment Cluster Showcase. Each student in our school is
given the opportunity to pick from a wide variety of Enrichment Classes.
Such as TAOTS Top Chefs, TAOTS Innovators, TAOTS Green Scouts, and
much more… The students and their teachers put on a show for their
families to demonstrate all that they have learned and experienced in the 10
week Cycle.
3/21 – PTO Movie Night “Frozen” the PTO hosted the monthly movie night
with our Campus School, Brooklyn School of Inquiry – PS 686. Our hearts
melted when we heard the whole auditorium burst into song to “Let It Go”!
Movie Night was a great turnout.
3/30 – TAOTS PTO Annual Gala. The school will be attending the Annual
TAOTS PTO Gala at the Rex Manor. We will be honoring Councilmen
Greenfield.
PS 971 -
March 24th - We had “Data Day”. The staff collected data through out the
building and examined it.
March 27th - M.S.51 visited the students and put on a spectacular
performance.
April 5th- We will be having Saturday morning NYSESLAT preparation.
April 24th - We will be having the annual Community Fair Workshop. This
workshop allows parents to know what businesses and services are in their
community. At the fairs we feature anything from Medical information to
Martial Arts demonstrations. It is a fun and exciting way to keep the
parents informed.
April 30th - The staff Yoga classes will begin!
IS 220 -
The community service students have begun their Relay for Life kick off in
which they have been designing and decorating Luminaria Bags that are being
sold to their family members and to our staff members. The students are
very excited to participate in such an inspiring, wonderful event on June 21,
2014.
On Friday, March 28th, teachers helped to kick off our Relay for Life event
by participating in "Silly T-Shirt" Day. The teachers purchased luminaria
bags that will be displayed at Relay on June 21, 2014. This was a huge
success as we were able to raise over $500.00.
Throughout the month of March, 7th grade students attended field trips to
Showplace Bowling Alley in Staten Island. The field trip was very eventful,
as it was the first time many of our students ever bowled. Students were
calculating averages, throwing strikes and having fun.
"Peer Instructional Coach and ESL Teacher, Marcus Artigliere, recently
presented a workshop on digital literacy and the use of iPads in the
classroom to a group of international educators at the TESOL 2014
conference in Portland, Oregon.
The experience was powerful and educative in that all participants left the
workshop with many techniques to scaffold academic writing and reading
using iPads. Mr. Artigliere will be presenting the workshop again during
Brooklyn, Queens-Day for his colleagues at I.S. 220. "
The Morgan Library & Museum
Congratulations! The students listed below are among the winners of the
fifth annual Morgan Book Project Award, and their handcrafted books are
part of the 26 winning entries selected to be displayed in a one day
installation at the Morgan.
Fanny Zhao, Abra Gonzalez , Laura Giron, Xitlaly Rangel, Maggie Zou and
Linghao Chen
Of the 26 winning entries, this year The Morgan has given distinction to 12
books. These 12 books will be on display at the Morgan from April 8-April
20, 2014. We are pleased to inform you that Fanny and Linghao’s books were
selected for The Morgan’s Exhibition Honor.
IS 227 -
We would like to congratulate and welcome Dr. Edwin Hernandez as Principal
of Edward B. Shallow JHS 227. His appointment will be held at the CEC
Meeting on April 9th at Shallow.
We had the privilege of having guest speaker John Aldridge, an experienced
lobster fisherman off the coast of Montauk, tell us his story which was
featured in the NY Times Magazine section. He survived falling off his boat
in the middle of the night, drifting 40 miles off shore and surviving for 12
hours in the cold waters. After visiting many classrooms, students from the
editorial staff, “The Shallow Gazette”, interviewed Mr. Aldridge and had a
working “Q and A” lunch in the library. Watch for the upcoming movie in
theaters near you!
Penny Harvest raised $500. We are conducting the penny drive now for
“Pennies for Leukemia.”
The school recently showcased the Annual Science Fair where exemplary
projects were exhibited demonstrating scientific inquiry. Urban Advantage
leaders from the Museum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Botanic
Gardens visited and spoke with our student scientists. Many parents
attended, as well as the newest NYC Councilman Mark Treyger. It was a
scientifically wonderful event!
Guest speaker Julie Dorman, a yoga and meditation instructor, visited the 8th
grade health classes and met with the newspaper staff for lunch and an
audio interview.
Ms. Danvers, ESL teacher, is conducting parent workshops every Tuesday
and Thursday from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Classes will be conducted to increase English language proficiency for the
students Mondays through Thursdays from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. and
Mondays through Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Scholastic Book Fair was held and over $6000 worth of books were
sold.
Congratulations to Vance Nghiem and Kalynn Ng for representing the school
at the NYC History Day Fair on March 23rd at the Museum of the City of
New York!
CONGRATULATIONS to all of the 8th graders who were accepted into
specialized high schools. We are so very proud of all of you!
IS 259 -
Congratulations to Nancy Dibra whose artwork The Masquerade Party has
been selected from approximately 900 entries to be included in the P.S. Art
2014 exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She and her art
teacher, Mr. Roma Karas will be honored at the opening reception in June.
Congratulations to the Marching Band directed by Ms. Vargas and the
Cheerleaders directed by Ms. Cooper for participating in the Bay Ridge St.
Patrick’s Day Parade.