This Week @ PS 88Q

Hello December!

If we weren't sure it was December, the weather sure did remind us this week! I hope everyone is staying warm.

As we count down the final 10 days of school for 2024, and plan for 2025, we have so much to celebrate. Our amazing students are making so much progress every day, in so many ways. I hope this past week you all had the opportunity to discuss your child's progress with their teachers. This home school communication is so important, and is not limited to just parent teacher conferences.

This week we are already preparing for our incoming students for the 2025-2026 school year! Our 3K, Pre-K and Kindergarten applications are all opening shortly. See below:

Kindergarten Applications Open: December 10 and Close January 24

3K and Pre-K Applications Open: January 15 and Close February 28

Daytime Open Houses: The Week of December 9th-13th: 9am Daily

Evening Open House: Thursday, December 12th @ 5:30pm

I look forward to welcoming you all to PS 88Q, showing you all that PS 88Q has to offer, and sharing this fabulous space with you all.

Friday evening is our Holiday Show, which features our PS 88Q Band under the direction of Mr. Dumont, and our PS 88Q Chorus under the direction of Mr. DeCastro. Its a wonderful night to share with the school community, to celebrate our students. The performance is open to all!

As a reminder, Friday, December 20th is the last day of school, as Winter Break begins on Monday, December 23rd. Students return to school Thursday, January 2, 2025

Have a wonderful week!

We are so excited to begin planning for the 2025-2026 School Year. Please note the following dates"

Kindergarten Applications Open: December 10 and Close January 24

3K and Pre-K Applications Open: January 15 and Close February 28

We are hosting a series of Open House events for our future families.

Daytime Open Houses: The Week of December 9th-13th: 9am Daily

Evening Open House: Thursday, December 12th @ 5:30pm

December 13th: PS 88Q Holiday Show: Band and Chorus 6pm @PS 88Q

December 16th: PS 88Q Holiday Show for all students

December 17th: Grade 5 Ballroom Basix Performance @ 10:30am

December 17th: Band and Chorus Performance @ Peter Cardella Senior Center

December 17th: PTA Meeting and Performance 6pm

December 18th: IS77 and PS 88Q Performance @ IS 77 6:00pm

We are excited to launch our Giving Tree! Our Giving Tree is displayed in our lobby, and symbolizes community, and giving to one another. This season, many families are in need. Please complete the link below if you would like to give, or if you are in need. Tags will be sent home with specific needs.

With all of the upcoming holidays, as well as others this year, we want to know what your family celebrates! Some celebrate Hanukkuh, some Christmas, others Kwanzaa, but what does your family celebrate. Please share with us some of your family traditions so our Social Justice Committee can highlight and represent everyone. Click on the link below to share.

Winter is fast approaching (it feels like it's already here!) and with it is our annual WINTER FEST starring Mariella Price and Her Band on Tuesday December 17!

Please join us at 5pm for the monthly PTA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING.

While the adults are meeting the kids will be enjoying Winter crafts, pizza, and snacks!

Then we'll all come together at 6 pm in the auditorium for WINTER FEST with live music, dancing, a photo op, and cookies and other treats!

(All students must be accompanied and supervised by an adult during the celebration.)

We're continuing the tradition of our PS88 families contributing their favorite cookies or other special winter holiday treats.

Please sign up here if you'd like to contribute:

bit.ly/WinterFestCookies

Volunteering to decorate is a great way to meet other parents and get to know your school better! And we need your help!

All parents are welcome to sign up to help decorate here:

bit.ly/WinterFestDecor

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns, or ideas! You can reach us at PTA88President, PTA88Secretary, and PTA88Treasurer @ gmail.com.

Remember YOU are the PTA. And together we make PS88 as vibrant and wonderful as we can imagine!

Celebrating Inclusive Schools Week

Dear Families and Colleagues,

I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving break. As our staff and students returned to school on Monday, we kicked off December with Inclusive Schools Week, an annual opportunity for schools across the country to emphasize the importance of creating welcoming environments for all our students, and especially for our students with disabilities.

Inclusivity is a value I hold close, both as an educator and as a parent. And I’m proud that New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) continues the essential work of making our classrooms more open and accommodating for all. Last spring, we created DIAL, the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning, which is entirely focused on supporting our students with disabilities and multilingual learners. And just this year, as part of our Inclusive Schools NYC initiative, we launched a citywide network of Disability Affinity, Disability Pride, and Inclusion Clubs (you can find pictures from that launch event in the photo banner above). Over 90 schools have opted in to this initiative, forming clubs and organizing programming ranging from panel discussions to participating in the Disability Pride Parade in Manhattan.

These clubs are one of the many ways we promote inclusivity in NYCPS, along with our yearly Respect for All Week and our annual Inclusive Education Student Summit. We also have our inclusive specialized programs for students with disabilities, including ASD Nest and Horizon, which provide instruction for autistic students alongside their general education peers, and Path, which offers a therapeutic classroom environment with intensive social, emotional, and behavioral support.

Of course, the work of inclusion is never done, and it shouldn’t be confined to a single week, either. It’s about changing mindsets, structures, and systems year-round to ensure that every one of our students knows they belong.

In partnership,

Melissa Aviles-Ramos

Chancellor