I hope everyone had a lovely week. With the beginning of Spring this week, we seemed to have reverted back to winter weather! The cherry blossoms that are in bloom in the front of our building do give us hope that those warm temperatures will return.

This past weekend, at our Saturday Academy, we had visitors from Central DOE come to see what we do. Our Saturday Academy focused on supports for our English Language Learners, but it is so much more. Our students are taking part in a citywide initiative that implements Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning is something that all of our students at PS 88Q benefit from. For more information on what PBL is, click here https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl.

Our students are engineers, designers, problem solvers, and critical thinking. On Saturday, they are working on playground design. They are supported by Ms. Melecio, Ms. Cybura, Ms. Kuqi, Ms. Bawer, Ms. Hardardt, Ms. Williford and Ms. Roldan. Simply amazing!

Concurrently, we also have our Parent Academy. This supports our families in English classes, as well as self-care. Ms. Torres, Ms. Tavella, Ms. Sharabi and Mr. Canales provide english language instruction, yoga, and open discussion. All families are welcome. Our visitors were simply in awe of the work our team does every week, and have been doing for the past three years.

Check out the podcasts below:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227217/14716303: a Spanish speaking parent, who attends our Saturday Adult ENL classroom. She was grateful for our school in how she has been treated by our staff.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2227217/14499387: Our students talking about the program

This is only one sliver of the amazing work our staff does every day! If you are interested in joining our English classes, email me at loshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov. We are here on Saturdays at 9:15am and Tuesdays @ 5:30pm

Have a great week!

Our grade 3, 4 and 5 students will be taking the NYS ELA and Math test this Spring. At PS 88Q, it is imperative that we create a culture where test anxiety is not present. How do we do this? We talk about how it simply is one measure of their ability, and not the only one. We prepare our students everyday, in the most authentic way, through high quality instruction. Test prep builds anxiety, and constant talk about "the test". We avoid that by letting them know that they are prepared, capable and loved, whatever the score reveals.

That does not mean that we do not prepare them for success. We have celebrated our highest proficiency levels in 13 years on the 2023 state exams, so having all children succeed is our mission, always. High scores, YES...test anxiety, NO!

Ms. Kabashi and Ms. Lobosco will be sharing some information for families regarding the NYS Tests in person. Please come in, as they will be modeling the format.

For those who can not attend in person, I am also adding a link for any questions you may have. All questions will be answered.

Dear Families:

The annual New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics will be administered to all students in grades 3-8 later this spring. Students in grades 5 and 8 will also sit for the New York State science test. These tests are required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and are designed to provide important information about whether students are prepared to progress through school and graduate with the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning skills they need for long-term success in school, college, and careers, and to support students in their pursuit of economic security and a choice-filled life.

These tests are just one of several measures our schools use to assess student progress: grades, report cards, writing samples, projects, assignments, and other performance-based student work are equally important.

Click here for more information: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/testing/student-participation-guide

Our grade 5 is getting ready to begin their next chapter, but not before we celebrate this wonderful milestone! Grade 5 families, please complete this link ASAP, as we need their sizes for their cap and gown for commencement. No payment is required, as all graduation items are provided.

https://forms.office.com/r/TWESYSDXUV

Ms. Corniel has an amazing initiative, partnering with the NY Mets. More information below regardiing the program but this weeks shout outs are:

SHOUTOUTS:

Top Reader WEEK 3: Serena Doda of Ms. Kuqi's class 542 minutes read

Top class week 3: 3-304 Bonnie/Verderber of 1,220 minutes read

Top student in total: Ereny Jacop of Ms. Bonnie/Verderber's class 1,488 minutes read!

Top class in total: 3-304 Bonnie/Verderber 4,896 minutes read!

Total minutes read as a school: 33,232

We are so excited to kick off March Madness @ PS 88Q! Each class will learn about the university, decorate their door and classroom to represent the university, and cheer for their team!!

The PTA has partnered with Mama's Got Heart to create a limited edition T-Shirt showing our Seneca School Pride!

New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) is looking forward to partnering with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) once again for Summer Rising 2024. Summer Rising connects elementary and middle school students to fun, culturally relevant, and hands-on experiences that strengthen their academic, social, and emotional skills. Summer Rising is free, and open to any NYC student currently in kindergarten through grade 8.

Grades K–5:

• The program will run from July 2, 2024 to August 16, 2024, and will run Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

We will be sharing your creation code as soon as they are sent to us.

Greetings from the School of American Ballet!

Spring is upon us once again! That means our faculty will be coming back to a neighborhood near you for our annual Community Auditions.

The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the official training academy of the New York City Ballet and is the premier ballet academy in the United States. For the twenty-fifth year of this special audition program, we will select promising 6 to 10 year olds from communities around the city to begin ballet training at our Lincoln Center headquarters in the fall. Our goal each year is to remove barriers to access so that we may build a student community that is truly representative of the city of New York, and for that, we need your help!

Since the inception of SAB’s Community Auditions in 1998, children who have applied to the School through this program have progressed into the highest levels of study, and a number have gone on to pursue professional dance careers around the United States. Whether they go on to become professional dancers or not, all children who enroll at SAB greatly benefit from the discipline, focus, and perseverance instilled by classical ballet training.

Linked here is our flyer for the upcoming free Community Auditions. On April 7, April 13 and April 14 we will hold auditions in Harlem, Queens, Bronx, Lower East Side (Manhattan) and Brooklyn. No previous ballet training is required – we look for well-coordinated children with an affinity for movement and music. Substantial need-based financial aid is available for all accepted students. Because our enrollment is relatively small at all age levels, there are a limited number of openings each year. We hope to fill some of those openings with students from your own community. We are currently offering optional online pre-registration on our website.

The DOE, in collaboration with community-based organizations, advocates, and education leaders, invites families and school-based staff to attend the Multilingual and Immigrant Family Conference at the Intrepid Museum (Pier 86, W 46th St, New York, NY 10036) from 10:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. on April 17. The conference will include giveaways, resource tables, guest speakers, and workshops to promote multilingualism and advocacy for families and ensure they understand their rights.

PTA UPDATES

PS88 LIMITED EDITION MERCH! Available until 4/14!

We are so excited to offer some wonderful merch in partnership with Mama’s Got Heart to raise funds for afterschool programs!

Go to mamasgotheart.com and use passcode 088 to log in and also to get free shipping. Everything will be shipped directly to PS88 for distribution in April.

LIBRARY COMMITTEE

Do you love all things libraries and books? Are you interested in volunteering in the PS88 library? We’re working on a lot of exciting projects from staffing to developing programming to updating materials.

If you’d like to be involved or just want more info, please email Caitlin (pta88library@gmail.com) and/or Sam (pta88president@gmail.com).

PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (PAC) CHAIRPERSON - Open position

The PAC develops parent outreach and engagement initiatives with the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement. The PAC is charged with 1% of our Title 1 funding to create these initiatives. If you are interested or would like more information, please reach out to Ivett (IPerezlopez@schools.nyc.gov) or Principal O’Shaughnessy (LOshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov) or Sam (pta88president@gmail.com).

As always, feel free to reach out to your PTA Executive Board with any questions, ideas, or concerns:

Sam (pta88president@gmail.com), Camila (pta88secretary@gmail.com), and Sabita (pta88treasurer@gmail.com)

العربية / বাংলা / 中文 / Français / Kreyòl ayisyen / 한국어 / Русский / Español / اردو

Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls

Dear New Yorkers,

In my three-plus decades in education, I’ve developed some core beliefs about the ways students grow, including that the most meaningful learning often happens outside the four walls of the classroom. For education to feel relevant and exciting, students need opportunities to engage with the world around them.

This belief comes to mind as I reflect on our sixth annual Civics Week, which took place March 11-15. After kicking off the week at P721K, the Brooklyn Occupational Training Center, I continued to hear updates of the incredible civic engagement happening across our city, from student meetings with local elected officials to letter writing campaigns on important issues. These experiences prepare the next generation for lifelong civic leadership, and for that reason, 25 districts have signed up for year-round resources and training through our Civics for All Partner District program.

At NYC Public Schools, hands-on learning takes place in the summer, too. We recently launched our Summer Rising application (over a month earlier than usual, to give families extra time to plan). This will be our fourth consecutive year of the program, which offers free, safe summer learning and fun to 110,000 students currently in grades K-8. Students in Summer Rising take advantage of all this city has to offer, visiting museums, parks, sporting events, and cultural institutions. The application window closes on March 25—so learn more and apply today!

Whether your student registered to vote during Civics Week or is counting down the days to Summer Rising, I invite you to ask them about all they are learning—both at their desks and beyond the classroom walls.

Soaring high,

David C. Banks

Chancellor