UNES REDHAWK REVIEW

Dean Gianakouros has been working with students to highlight some of the great things that are going on at UNES in our new REDHAWK TV BROADCAST. He will be creating new episodes every two weeks.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR EPISODE 2

The buzz around the building is that this has been an incredible Teacher Appreciation Week! The heartfelt touches, food, and celebration were nothing short of spectacular!! In a difficult time, our PTA and parent community managed to lift spirits and show how much you care for our educators in DEEP, DEEP WAYS. We are beyond grateful!

Special thanks goes out to our PTA Exec board who led the efforts - Cynthia Bing, Audra Jones, Denise Charles, Patti Hill, Meghan Donovan and Sean Hundtofte! I feel deeply blessed to work with such an incredible PTA team. I thank them and you for your support.

IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE FOR A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO OF THE FESTIVITIES

The Music Department happily invites our grades 4 & 5 families to our Spring Concert for Grades 4 and 5 on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 6pm at Upper Nyack Elementary School. The performance will be in the multi-purpose room and will be in person. We invite two parents/guardians per family to see your children perform. Please have your child dress in black and white. We know you will enjoy the concert and your children will be thrilled to have you in the audience.

Parking for the concert is extremely limited on the school property and in the surrounding areas.

Entrance to the concert will be through the cafeteria doors on the right side of the school only. The doors will open at 5:45 PM. Unfortunately, there is no reserved seating for this concert. Thank you in advance for your assistance, as we make this wonderful occasion successful.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CONCERT FLYER

Thanks for Val Mondesir and Christine Kennedy for organizing a new school wide celebration and assembly for us. On May 29, La Troupe Zetwal is coming to UNES. CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT THEIR ASSEMBLY. The assembly is a new addition to our cultural arts repertoire and we're excited to see it in action.

I ask that if there are any families of Haitian descent that would like to join us on this day and possibly be a mystery reader or teach us about your culture and traditions, please be in touch with with your child's classroom teacher!

On Thursday, May 30, our fifth graders will be going over to NMS for the Bridges program. On this day, they experience a wonderful day of 6th grade orientation activities and start to learn about their new school experience that awaits them. I will be attending a part of this day to support our students.

Our fifth grade DARE graduation is Friday, May 31 @ 9:30am. We will be holding our DARE graduation ceremony in the All Purpose Room. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE INVITATION LETTER and mark your calendars.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Linked below are some good resources that may help families struggling with mental health issues related to their children.

CLICK HERE FOR AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD PSYCHIATRY INFORMATION AND LINKS

CLICK HERE FOR A WORRY AND ANXIETY INFORMATIONAL CHEAT SHEET

CHILDREN'S BOOKS FOR KIDS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

FREE RESOURCES FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

We will be holding Kindergarten Screening on Monday, June 10th through Friday, June 14th. During this time, children will visit several kindergarten screening stations in our library such as the motor station, the concept station, and the language concept station. One of our kindergarten teachers will be spending time visiting with the children during the screening and getting to know them.

To schedule the kindergarten screening, please call Nurse Laura Weigel at 845-353-7270. The screening will take approximately 60 minutes.

CLICK HERE FOR MY LETTER ABOUT KINDERGARTEN SCREENING

On Friday, June 7th, we will hold our annual Field Day. (Rain Date - Monday, June 10th) While we love to have community participation, for safety reasons, we will be adapting our plan for parent participation.

This year, parents WILL ONLY BE ALLOWED ONTO SCHOOL GROUNDS BY A REGISTRATION PROCESS IN ADVANCE OF THE DAY. Only registered family members will be allowed to come and watch their children compete in events at the upper field behind the school. Anyone who has not PRE-REGISTERED will be turned away.

In our efforts to ensure that we keep our students safe, all family members will have to pass through a security checkpoint in front of the school on North Broadway and will be given visitor stickers to join us this day. No community members will be allowed to enter the grounds from the Nyack Field house direction, the side fence, or other entry points.

If you would like to attend field day, then EACH FAMILY MEMBER that is interested in attending must register on THIS SURVEY - CLICK HERE - to be on our pre-approved list to be allowed onto school grounds on June 7. All entries must be received by Monday, June 3. Thank you for your understanding. Our children's safety is our paramount concern.

Idling vehicles contribute to air pollution and emit air toxins, which are pollutants known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. Monitoring at schools has shown elevated levels of benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and other air toxics during the afternoon hour coinciding with parents picking up their children. Children’s lungs are still developing, and when they are exposed to elevated levels of these pollutants, children have an increased risk of developing asthma, respiratory problems and other adverse health effects. Limiting a vehicle’s idling time can dramatically reduce these pollutants and children’s exposure to them.

PLEASE DON'T IDLE AT DROP OFF AND PICK UP!! LET'S ALL WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE OUR EARTH.

Please be aware of the following events coming soon. There is certainly no obligation to attend, but these are great opportunities to connect with the community and support our kids beyond the school day:

African American Day Parade and Festival - June 1 at noon

EcoTones Concerts @ River Hook Preserve - Sunday, June 2 @ 2pm

Goosetown Block Party - June 8 from 11am-2pm

24th Annual Rockland Pride Sunday - June 9 from 11am to 5pm

PLEASE CLICK THE LINKS BELOW FOR THE GRADE LEVEL CURRICULUM UPDATES FOR THE MONTH OF MAY

• Kindergarten

• Grade 1

• Grade 2

• Grade 3

• Grade 4

• Grade 5

• Social Communications Class

• SPECIAL AREAS (MUSIC, ART, PE, LIBRARY, STREAM)

Please note that the following dates have been set for two big events at the end of the year.

We know that many people have to plan very far in advance so please mark your calendars:

5th Grade Graduation / Moving Up Ceremony - Friday, June 21 (@ 9:30am)

5th Grade Graduation Dance - Friday, June 21 @ 5:30-7:30pm

Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony - TUESDAY, JUNE 18 (@ 9:30am)

Due to space limitations, we will only be able to accommodate 2 people per student at these events. In June, you'll be receiving two tickets to your child's event in backpack mail. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate more people, but space simply will not allow us to exceed two tickets per student.

Please mark your calendars for these upcoming meetings of our PTA:

THE PTA ZOOM LINK CAN BE ACCESSED AT THIS WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

Monday, May, 13 (TONIGHT)

Monday, June 10

• Tuesday, May 14 - 5th Grade Science Exam & Kindergarten Field Trip to Van Sound Park
  
• Thursday, May 16 - Grade 4 Virtual Visit - VEOLIA PROGRAM
• Monday, May 20 -Buddy Bench Ceremony @ 9:30am
• Wednesday, May 22- Grades 4&5 Concert at UNES (6PM)
• Thursday, May 23 - NMS Administration Visits UNES 5th Grade
• Friday, May 24 - Grade 2 Field Trip to Bear Mountain
• Mon/Tues May 27&28 - MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND - SCHOOL CLOSED
• Wednesday, May 29 - Haitian Flag Day Assembly (AM)
• Thursday, May 30 - 5th Grade BRIDGES PROGRAM - VISIT TO NMS
• Friday, May 31 - 5th Grade DARE PROGRAM GRADUATION
• Saturday, June 1 - African American Parade and Festival @ noon
• Monday, June 3-Wednesday, June 5 - Seed to Salad Harvesting (Grades K&1)
• Tuesday, June 4 - Grade 4 trip to Hook Mountain
• Thursday, June 6 - Grades 1,2,3 Concert & 5th Grade Field Trip to Kruckers
• Friday, June 7 - Field Day (Rain Date Monday, June 10)
• Saturday, June 8 - Goosetown (11-2)
  
• Sunday, June 9 - Rockland PRIDE Parade

There are archives of my community newsletter on the UNES WEBSITE - CLICK HERE, as well as on the UNESPTA Website . If you can't find the old newsletters and are looking for info - you can find that info in these two places.

Building bridges for today's students to cross into tomorrow's world with equity, innovation and optimism.

Email: cdreves@nyackschools.org
Website: https://un.nyackschools.org/
Location: 336 North Broadway, Upper Nyack, NY, USA
Phone: 845-353-7260
Twitter: @NyackPrincipal