Used books find new life at our book sale last Friday
Dear PS 107 Families,
We are in the midst of PS 107’s annual Powerhouse Book Fair, and I’ve had the great pleasure of visiting all of our Kindergarten classes this week to read aloud a book that I recently purchased from Powerhouse, The Story of a Book by Joy McCullough. This beautiful picture book is about the magic of reading and seemed an ideal story to help our students get excited about their upcoming visits to Powerhouse. It’s been such a joy to see children so engaged in this story – one of my favorite parts of being an educator has always been reading aloud to students, observing their reactions to the characters and all that they encounter over the course of a book. Reading is quite simply the best way to experience magic in our daily lives. Thank you to parents Kseniya Babkina and Feba Michel for organizing the Powerhouse Book Fair!
Thank You Community Outreach Team
I also have to shout out Emily Hager and Jeanne Schwartz, our parent Community Outreach team leads. Most recently, they organized a used book sale, which is another fabulous way to give a second (or more) life to books. So many happy children walked away with new-to-them books last Friday! This is so wonderful, as not only are we able to share the joy of books with more and more children, but it’s also an environmentally sustainable practice. In addition to organizing this used book sale, Emily and Jeanne have been establishing a relationship of mutual aid with the PS 124 community where 40% of students are living in temporary housing (read about the difference between mutual aid and charity here), collecting weekly donations for our beloved neighborhood resource CHiPS, organizing the PTA Fun Run, and much, much more. I encourage you to join the Community Outreach WhatsApp group if you would like to become part of our mutual aid work.
Welcome New Staff Members
I’d also like to introduce two new staff members to the community. Jelisa Wilson is our second nurse, which we were able to secure as a result of some of the significant health needs of our students. Jelisa has been working as a nurse for four years and is the parent to a 4-year-old currently in PreK. She is thrilled to be a part of the PS 107 community! Getting a second nurse would not have been possible without the advocacy of several 107 parents. Thank you to Sarah and Tim Geisenheimer, Basia and Ian Burgess, and Andrew Tucker and Nicole Williams.
We also have a new recess coach, Coach Todd Nesbitt! Coach Todd takes the place of Coach Destiny, who unfortunately had to leave the Asphalt Green Recess Enhancement Program for personal reasons. Coach Todd has been doing an amazing job bringing additional structure to all of our recess periods by blocking off zones in the Big Yard for specific games; teaching students the rules of kickball, basketball, and soccer; and helping children to resolve conflicts when they arise. As always, students are not required to participate in games with Coach Todd, but his presence has made an enormous difference in all children being able to engage in safe, healthy play during recess periods. Many thanks again to the PTA for their support of PS 107’s recess coach!
The Peace Path and Anti Bullying Workshops
In classrooms, our students are also learning to resolve conflicts and be on the alert for bullying. Our counseling team, Sarah Green and Colleen Dondero, are visiting every classroom in the next month to teach them the Peace Path, a method for conflict resolution, as well as how to be an upstander rather than a bystander in a bullying situation (and how to recognize bullying when it is happening). Currently, Sarah Green is visiting all of our Kindergarten through 2nd grade classrooms to teach them the Peace Path and Colleen is visiting all of our 3rd through 5th grade classrooms for two anti-bullying workshops. In January, they will switch grade bands, so that K-2 students can learn from Colleen and 3rd-5th grade students can learn from Sarah. Learn about the steps of the Peace Path here for K-1 and here for grades 2-5.
Cafeteria Updates
Are your children complaining that the cafeteria runs out of a particular food item before they are able to get lunch? Please reach out to Nadia to let her know what that food item is! This will help us to communicate with our kitchen manager about ensuring that they order enough of popular menu items.
Safer Access Updates
As many of you know, the NYC Public Schools are in the process of installing video buzzer systems (similar to a Ring camera) in the main entrances of all school buildings, so that front doors can be locked and visitors admitted by being buzzed in. PS 107 is part of the first phase of this project, called “Safer Access,” and a survey was recently conducted of our entry locations. We are expecting to have our video buzzer system installed in the next few months. We will continue to keep you updated.
Attendance Before Holidays
Next week is Thanksgiving, and we know that many families prefer to start their holiday travel on Wednesday (or earlier). We encourage you to send your children to school as much as possible next week – even if that means for a few hours on Wednesday! We will have full days of teaching and learning next week, and in-person attendance is so important for children. Help us avoid the before-holiday attendance dip!
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
PS If you have not yet completed your Family Income Form, please do so now by clicking here. It takes just a few minutes! Note that you can opt out if you prefer not to disclose your household’s income information. In order to do so, after you begin the form, you’ll click the box that says "I do not wish to provide my household information.” You will need to finish filling out the form by listing all of your children who attend the NYC public schools, along with their date of birth and OSIS (student ID). You can find your child's student ID in Operoo or in your NYCSA account. At the end of the form you need to digitally certify and submit. You will receive a receipt in your email in-box if you have correctly submitted the form. If you have questions about completing the Family Income Form, please reach out to Nadia Benlarbi at nbenlarbi2@schools.nyc.gov. THANK YOU for taking the time to complete this important form which helps our school receive the funding we need.