I hope everyone had a wonderful week. It was a busy one here at PS 88Q, but that is just how we like it!

This week, our Superintendent, Teresa Caccavale visited our school with Deputy Chancellor Ahmeds Team. Their focus was our early childhood department, but while they were here, we showed them all the things we are proud of! It was a wonderful visit, and our 3k and Prek Team shined! As they visited classrooms, and saw our kiddos in action, they were beyond pleased. Led by Ms. Diercks, the Chief Executive of Early Childhood, they spent most of the day observing, taking pictures and discussing how authentic and child centered our program is. We are so proud of the purpose and the work of early childhood. With 82 students between age 2 and 4, our early childhood program has grown drastically.

Something else we are very proud of is PS 88Q's performance in the NYS ELA and Math tests. The culture we build around standardized testing is very specific, WE NEVER TEACH TO THE TEST, BUT RATHER TEACH TO THE CHILD. Our approach to learning, digging deeper into how students learn, and increasing critical thinking skills has been our over arching strategy. Our overall proficiency in ELA and Math is the highest it has ever been, EVER! This is due to the hard work of all staff and families to create explicit learning, connect learning to home, and the ever present growth mindset in all classes. Families received their child's score in September. Students in all grades have taken their beginning of year assessments, and we are using this information to best teach each child. WE WILL EVEN DO BETTER THIS YEAR!!

This week we also had our first assembly. We are planning for many performances this year; some from our students and some from outside performers. Gathering together is important for many reasons. Ms. Canales and I talked about voice levels in large spaces. We practiced by using different levels for our affirmations: I can do hard things. I learn from my mistakes. I can reach my goals. We then watched the video below. Well, the first assembly did....and then technology problems reared its ugly head. The rain seemed to knock out the wifi. Ugh!!! Classes watched in their classrooms instead. Watch below to see the first 6 weeks! So fun!

Have a great week!

Many of our families are up and running, but many of our families are still not connected. We want you and your child to access THE MANY RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU.

The Teachhub platform for your child gives them access to so many resources. The students MUST ACCESS it during the day in class with their nycstudents email, but many families are not aware. We want you connected! I demonstrated how to access it at last weeks Parent Meeting (PTA), and our amazing PAC leader, and mom, Tania Morales was there. This week she sent me this message:

Ana forgot her reading book at school today and I was trying to look for the book she is reading online, then she told me to sign up on her account. I remember how you did it in the Title 1 meeting, and we found it!! What a great tool! Everything is there and we don't have to keep signing up for every app, Thank you a bunch.

Once you access Teachhub, you don't need different passwords for every other app (Iready, HMH, Google Classroom). It is just one email!

GETTING INTO TEACHHUB (GOOGLE CLASSROOM, IREady, HMH AND MORE...)

TeachHub is a portal that provides quick links to apps for learning, including:

• Google Classroom

• HMH, Sora, I-Ready

• And more!

Students must sign in with their DOE Student Accounts. Once signed in they can access all other apps without signing in again.

Steps to log in to TeachHub

1. Go to TeachHub (https://teachhub.schools.nyc/)

2. You will see the NYCDOE login page.

3. Enter your username.

4. Enter your password.

5. Click on Sign in

6. You are now in TeachHub!

All teachers have your child's email. The student must know the password to enter, but if they forget, it can be reset by families (through your NYCSA account), from the teacher, and through me. The students are taking their HMH assessments this week through the hub, so they are familiar with it. Join me Thursday for a tutorial.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”

We are so excited to launch our new initiative Our Core Value Awards. Our students do amazing things every single day. They exhibit these values not only in the classroom, but throughout the building. We want to celebrate them for their words, their actions, their values! This is more representative of what we want our students to practice, rather than the Student of The Month. We are celebrating monthly students who exhibit one or many of the following core values:

Courage

Honesty

Empathy and Kindness

Self Worth

Positivity and Gratitude

Responsibility

Patience and Perserverance

Curiosity

Respect

Each month, students will be celebrating at our monthly assemblies, as well as at our PTA meeting. Please watch the video below for a description of each value.

I can't believe it is our last full week of October! We are planning a wonderful Fall Festival for October 31st, beginning with our costume parade around the block (weather permitting). Students will take part in fun Fall Themed activities during the day, and we will end the day with a Pumpkin Giveaway on Catalpa Avenue. Families can receive a pumpkin after pick up at 2:20pm.

Ms. Mendez and Class 1-226 had a mystery reader on Friday! Their first mystery reader was Jason Gracia Jr. mom. She read The Crayons Trick or Treat. The students got to dress up a crayon afterwards. We love having our families in our school and in our classrooms!

UPCOMING EVENTS:

School Leadership Team (SLT) Meeting:

Thursday 10/26, Room 103, 2:40pm-5pm

Open to parents to attend and observe. Please email Sam pta88president@gmail.com and/or Ms. Torres LHerastorres@schools.nyc.gov if you have any questions.

Caring Closet, October Fall/Winter Edition:

Saturday 10/28, in the Cafeteria, 9am-1pm

Drop-off Fall/Winter clean and gently-used or new clothing, footwear, and outerwear.

Pick-up what you need for FREE!

A donation bin will be located at the Catalpa entrance during school hours from 10/23-10/27.

Sign up for a volunteer shift here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848ACAB2FA2FDC70-44570702-caring

Scholastic Book Fair - PTA Fundraising Event:

November 6-10, during school, in the Library

Family Shopping Days: Tuesday 11/7 (Election Day!) during the day and Thursday 11/9 evening

Stay tuned for more details and for volunteer shifts!

PTA General Membership Meeting:

Thursday November 9th, 6pm

Kids activity: Read aloud storytime with milk and cookies!

WEEKLY REMINDERS:

- Join our PTA email list and take our short survey here: https://forms.gle/giwhAU7FVfjM6FW19

- Find links to our Calendar, Google Drive, Zoom, and more here:

https://www.ps88q.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2276250&type=d&pREC_ID=2206723

- Email Samantha (PTA88President@gmail.com), Sabita (PTA88Treasurer@gmail.com), and Camila (PTA88Secretary@gmail.com) with any questions or concerns … or just to say hi!

PICTURE DAY UPDATES:

You may have already received a link to your digital proof. If you have any concerns or questions about the photo itself, please contact customer service directly.

Physical picture packages and/or proofs will be delivered sometime in early November.

Order online any time at www.myLifetouch.com. Picture Day ID: EVTZZSRR4

(Note that not all packages come with a class photo. You may need to order it as an Add-On.)

Makeup day: Tuesday 11/28 for retakes and absent children.

**If your child is having a retake, you must return the original package/proof on Makeup day.** You should keep your class photo, though.