Dear PS 107 Families,
I hope that you and your families had a wonderful Halloween! This year was the first school year in recent memory that children were allowed to dress up in school, and yesterday was filled with so much joy. Wednesday Addams, Marie Antoinette, Harry Styles, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Spiderman, and more skeletons, witches, and vampires than I could count enjoyed their day at PS 107!
No Place for Hate Kickoff
On Monday morning, we held assemblies to kick off our work as a No Place for Hate school. No Place for Hate (NPFH) is a project from the Anti-Defamation League that helps schools build a community of inclusivity, respect, and equity. At these assemblies, we were joined by Stay Fit Culture, a non-profit organization partnering with our district, District 15, to support schools with diversity, equity, and inclusion work in an innovative way – through fitness! Stay Fit Culture teaches children about the mind-body connection, and how physical activity helps us to feel better, and an improved mood helps us to be more compassionate towards others and more respectful of peoples’ differences. At each assembly, Stay Fit Culture reviewed the No Place for Hate pledge with all of our students, and our Cheer Team performed an original cheer, emphasizing the role that we all play in building a culture of inclusivity and respect at PS 107.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences are tomorrow, Thursday, 11/2! Students have a half-day and will be dismissed at 11:35 am. There is no afterschool at PS 107 on half days. By now, you should have signed up for a conference slot with your child(ren)'s teacher(s). All conferences will be virtual, unless otherwise requested.
If you would like to meet with one of our specialty or academic intervention teachers, please email them directly to set up an appointment time. They are available during the same windows as classroom teachers, 1-3 pm and 4:30-7:30 pm.
Crystal Barnes, 2nd-5th grade Science: cbarnes13@schools.nyc.gov
Diane DiTonno, PreK-5th grade Physical Education: dditonn@schools.nyc.gov
Gary DiFranco, PreK-5th grade Music: gdifranco2@schools.nyc.gov
Julie Brunner Cross, PreK-5th grade Art: jbrunnercross@schools.nyc.gov
Peg Galella, PreK-1st grade Library + Academic Intervention/English as a New Language: mgalell@schools.nyc.gov
Michele Dente, 1st grade reading intervention: mdente2@schools.nyc.gov
As a reminder, you will not receive a report card prior to Thursday's Parent-Teacher Conferences. As of Fall 2022, PS 107 distributes report cards twice a year, at the end of January and at the end of June. At this first conference, you can expect your child’s teacher to provide you with an update on how they are doing in reading, writing, math, and with social-emotional skills.
As noted in an earlier issue of the Wednesday Weekly, we are now assessing reading skills very differently, and parents will no longer receive A-Z reading levels, such as A, or M, or R, which were based on a flawed reading assessment called the Fountas + Pinnell Benchmark Assessments. Instead, students will be given universal screening assessments three times a year. Students in K-2 will be assessed with Acadience Reading screening assessments. Students in grades 3-5 will be assessed with MAP Growth screening assessments, which are computer-based. These nationally-normed short assessments give us a good indication of whether your child is on, above, below, or well-below grade level. If children are below or well-below grade level on these assessments, we will give more detailed diagnostic assessments to find out which areas in the continuum of phonics skills they need support with. As students become proficient word readers, comprehension is a natural outcome. Comprehension will also be checked with three-times-a-year assessments. If your child shows a weakness in any area, they will be closely monitored and given interventions to help them become stronger in their area of weakness. ICYM the details in the Wednesday Weekly, you can read more about how we teach (and assess) reading and writing at PS 107 here.
Help us get on the Participatory Budgeting Ballot!
As many of you know, in 2022, PS 107 won funding from NYC’s City Council through the Participatory Budgeting (PB) process to resurface our playground (aka The Big Yard). While we had hoped this funding would also cover the cost of some playground equipment, we’ve been informed by the School Construction Authority (SCA) that it isn’t enough. Therefore, we’re submitting another Participatory Budgeting project this year so that we can get equipment for our playground as well. In order to help our project make it to the final ballot, please click here and “Support” PS 107’s playground equipment project. The more support we get, the more likely we’ll get on the final ballot which will be brought to the larger City Council District 39 for a vote!
Got Extra Candy?
Last but certainly not least, if you find yourself with an abundance of extra Halloween candy following last night’s festivities, we’re happy to take it off your hands here at PS 107! We try to keep our Conference Room stocked with treats so that our staff can get a quick recharge when they need it. Please drop off candy or other individually wrapped treats with Nadia in the main office anytime. The entire PS 107 staff thanks you!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna