Happy February! This is a quick month, with only two weeks until mid-winter break. We return from break for the final week of February, (and March 1st). My mother used to say "The older you get, the faster time flies". She wasn't kidding. And as if we didn't realize, we celebrate the 100th Day of School Friday. This past week we updated the calendar in the office. We have so much going on, that there is barely any room in the boxes. This is a good thing. Schools should be vibrant hubs for a community, a focal point if you may. Last weeks movie night showed us that our community is amazing, and we love having everyone in!

This month we celebrate Black History Month. Throughout the month, books that are part of our libraries all year will be highlighted. Our school, and our Social Justice Committee work hard to ensure that the beauty of our diversity, our collective cultures, and our identities are celebrated and represented every day of the year.

We also celebrate Lunar New Year this month as well. Our Social Justice Committee is planning many activities as well.

We also celebrate National School Counselor Week, and World Read Aloud Day this week.

I will be hosting a read aloud this week in the library, as well as Coffee with Mrs. O'Shaughnessy on Wednesday, February 7th. I look forward to seeing you all!

Do you know your child has access to so many read alouds? All students have access to Sora (click here). This is available on teachhub. Sora has thousands read alouds in many languages.

Another great resource is Storyline Online. You can access that here.

Click below for one of the availale read alouds in honor of Black History Month. https://storylineonline.net/

We are lucky to have Mr. Canales, our school counselor. He does so much at PS 88Q! Let's end him some love! Click here to celebrate Mr. Canales for National School Counseling Week.

https://padlet.com/loshaughnessy/we-love-you-mr-canales-8zop0c1oumnxdxes

During this month, our students will be taking part in celebrating Black History Month. Please see some of the activities below.

We have an amazing social worker at PS 88Q, Mrs. Iris Pagan. Click to hear about what she does, and why she chose this profession.

At PS 88q, our staff not only love what they do, but they bring their passion and their purpose into our community. We have so many strong teams that have the biggest growth mindset and desire to provide so many opportunities to our school community. Our school is filled with leaders......"Build a team so strong that you can't tell who the leader is."

Just wanted to name a few of the "extra roles" our staff. take on.

Committees: Additional Roles/Extracurricular

Instructional Leadership Team Basketball Team

Attendance Team Soccer Team

School Leadership Team Cheer Squad

Math Team Concert Band

ELA Team Pokemon Club

Social Justice Committee Beautiful Me

S.M.I.L.E. Committee Disney Theater Club

The NYCDOE is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment that is free from harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination on account of actual or perceived race, color, age, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or weight.

The NYCDOE Respect for All (RFA) program was launched in 2007 to build the capacity of staff and students to actively promote a community of inclusion in each of our schools. The importance of promoting respect for diversity in our daily practice is vital to creating and sustaining an inclusive school climate and culture in each of our schools so that all students feel valued, supported and safe.

We are so excited about our next performance. Our students have begun working on their music performance that celebrates love. February 14th is Valentines Day, but that shouldn't be the only day we recognize the power of love. As we prepare to celebrate Respect For All Week (February 12-16) this very week, we focus on the power of love. Respect For All Week highlights the following:

Monday, February 12: Wear Yellow Celebrating Kindness/Be an Ally (Kindness Ties us Together). All students will create a link in the Kindness Chain

Tuesday, February 13: Wear Blue Anti-Bullying/Cyberbullying:Students will take part in the Wrinkled Heart Activity

Wednesday, February 14: Wear pink, red or white. Students will enjoy the All You Need is Love Performance and share their "love stories"

Thursday: Wear Cultural Attire or Rainbow: Respect for Diversity Students will share their "This is Me" collage

Friday: Wear Green. Nobody Eats Alone/Make a New Friend. Students will take part in class to class partnerships or Wear Red in honor of Lunar New Year

What a success! Thank you all for making the first movie night a success!