I hope everyone had a wonderful week and is enjoying this lovely weather. We couldn't have gotten luckier this week with the three days we had for Field Day! About 900 staff and students had their fingers crossed this week hoping that rain would not change our plans. It worked!

You may wonder, what is Chancellors Day and Clerical Day and why are our kids home! I hope this explains a little;

Chancellors Day: This was formerly known as Brooklyn/Queens Day (https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/brooklyn-queens-day-new-yorks-persistent-holiday). Simply stated it is an agreement between NYC Public Schools and the UFT (teachers union) for a day of professional learning, with no students. In this years contract, it became remote, so no staff are in the building.

Clerical Day: This is the day when staff complete the many tasks it takes to wrap up the year and plan for the next year. Student reorganization, completing report cards, cumulative folders, preparation of records for our graduates, etc.

This past week, and upcoming weeks, are filled with so many culminating celebrations for our students and staff. Just this past week, our students were honored and recognized at NYCPS Central Office, Tweed Courthouse, they performed at the Queens Borough Arts Festival, and they had a great day at Field Day. Proud is an understatement!

This weeks newsletter is filled with information! Have a great week!

On Thursday, June 6, students will have a 15-minute window to log into Teachhub and stay on until their end time using the schedule below:
Grades 3K, pre K to 5 students: May login between 9 to 9:15 am

Please click this link to join me for a special read aloud

https://zoom.us/j/93724435027?pwd=GGzDIu8bFg5Xk1iO24Ur8iMtAOV8K0.1

On Tuesday, May 28th, four of our students, along with their families, represented the work of many at NYCPS Central Building, Tweed Courthouse. The day was structured around them, our ENL students who took part in a wonderful Project Based Learning unit with Ms. Melecio, Ms. Cybura and Ms. Williford. They were interviewed, and celebrated! This is just the beginning for PBL! Congratulations to Jacobo, Francisco, Dima and Victoria!

One of the most common questions I receive from families is "How do you reorganize the students each year?" I will explain the process.

Each clerical day, our teachers meet (grades 3K-4) to move students to classes in the next grade. It is completely tentative, as over the summer, students discharge and many others register. Teachers meet with profiles on each student, and we reorganize equally. What does that mean? Students are reorganized heterogenously, a mix of many academic levels, strengths and needs. Additionally, our ENL students are placed in all classes, rather than in one. Students with an IEP are automatically placed in their determined setting (12:1 or ICT). Students who applied to Gifted and Talented and accepted the offer, automatically continue in the G and T track.

Throughout your years at PS 88Q, your child will most likely be in the ICT setting. For most grades, we have two, if not three some years, section on a grade. We have two different ICT settings.

• NEST ICT: We have a Kindergarten and Grade 1 Nest ICT. We are honored to be one of only 83 schools in the city to have this class. This past school year, Ms. Becker and Ms. Agostino were the kindergarten NEST teachers. For more information regarding Nest, click here https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/nest
• ICT (Integrated Co--Teaching):There are two teachers—a general education teacher and a special education teacher. The teachers work together to adapt materials and modify instruction to make sure the entire class can participate.

Each one of our classrooms follow the same curriculum, and our teachers plan as a grade. All classes take the same assessments, and diagnostic tests. All classes are of equal number as well. Teachers and administration do take into account students as individuals when reorganizing as well. This is done in June, as after June 26th, all staff are on vacation (except me). The week before school, sometimes two weeks before, all families receive an email with their class and teacher. You may ask why not in June. Many things change in a school over the summer, from registrations, discharges and sometimes teachers decide to retire, take a sabbatical, or change schools.

On the horizon: I have applied for a dual language program, and am confident that in the 2025-2026 SY we will have our first dual language kindergarten.

If you have any questions about your child's placement next year, please email me @ loshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov

Field Day is amazing because of the hard work Ms. Corniel and Mr. Tripotseris put into this day. Grades Pre-K-5 had the best time at Mafera Park this week. It is always a great day for our families to spend the day with us, having fun together. I am sure they all slept well that night. Check it out below.

On Friday evening, at Queens College, our fourth grade students took the stage to perform The Ridgewood Bound M Train Rag. It is a humbling experience for the students of class 4-404, as there were many applicants to perform at the showcase, and they were chosen! An evening of amazing talent. Our students performed in that big auditorium and they rocked it! Great job Mr. Alboum, Mr. Handell.

Watch it on instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/C7pnoxovilf/

https://queensmuseum.org/exhibition/queens-borough-arts-festival/

Last year, District 24 hosted a wonderful day at the bandshell in Forest Park. All school participated, performed and created a fun day for all. This year, it is being held on June 8th and it will be even better! Our band and our GRYC dancers will be performing again. Stay tuned for more details!

Even when school is out, you can still enjoy free breakfast and lunch(Open external link)! Our 2024 Free Summer Meals Program is here for you all across New York City, and it's totally free for anyone who's 18 years old or younger. You can find these meals at specific places like select NYC Public Schools, community pool centers, parks, and libraries. And guess what? You don't need to sign up, show any papers, or have an ID to get these meals. Just head to one of our spots and enjoy a delicious breakfast and lunch. Have a great summer filled with good food and fun!

As summer approaches more additional information will be available.

Service Information

• All dates, times, locations and menus are subject to change.
• Thursday, June 27, 2024 – Friday, August 30, 2024
• There is no service Thursday, July 4, 2024 (4th of July)
• There is service Friday, July 5, 2024 (Day after 4th of July)
• Breakfast Service Time: 8am - 9:15am
• Lunch Service Time: 11am - 1:15pm
• Text: NYCFood to 304-304 (standard text messaging rates may apply)
• Call 311
• Find A Free Breakfast & Lunch Location Near You(Open external link)
• Open Community Locations(Open external link)(Open external link)
• Open Community Halal Locations(Open external link)

• 
  

Summer Reading

Reading is like any skill: it takes practice! Over the summer, reading together can help your child continue to develop their literacy skills and avoid any learning loss that might occur over their time outside of the classroom.

Our Summer Reading Guide—available online at schools.nyc.gov/LiteracyResources—is a great first step on your family’s next reading adventure. It contains tips for reading at home, recommended titles for students in all grade levels, resources where you can find books, and more. In addition to the guide, our Literacy Resources webpage also features at-home activities and other recommended reading lists that will help foster a lifelong love of reading and learning.

This summer, we also encourage you to use our Citywide Digital Library, Sora. Sora is the quickest and easiest way for NYC students to access thousands of e-books and audiobooks in multiple languages. You can log in to Sora using your NYC Public School credentials at soraapp.com/library/nycschools.

Dear New Yorkers,

In New York City Public Schools, we are focused on the mental and emotional well-being of our students throughout the year. But May is Mental Health Awareness Month, marking an important opportunity to talk to the young people in our lives, whether they are our children or our students, about mental health.

There are many effective strategies for boosting mental health, from journaling to mindfulness exercises to therapy. Unfortunately, mental health care, and specifically therapy, has not always been accessible or affordable. I want to highlight a few steps we are taking in New York City to change the status quo and ensure all our children have access to robust mental health supports.

First, we have NYC Teenspace, a recent initiative from the City’s Health Department and Talkspace, which offers free, live teletherapy to teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17. Since we launched this program, we’ve had 6,800 students sign up, with more students logging in every day. I encourage you to help us spread the word about this groundbreaking initiative. To learn more and enroll, teens should visit talkspace.com/nyc.

But Teenspace is only one tool in our toolkit. Across our schools, we also have approximately 5,000 social workers and school counselors; school-based mental health clinics in over 350 schools with plans to open more; and partnerships with over 150 community-based organizations that offer mental health programming in schools.

Whether a student you know is dealing with peer pressure, everyday stress, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health challenge, I encourage you to share the resources we have available at NYC Public Schools. Together, we can help our students lead healthier and happier lives—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Soaring high,

David C. Banks

Chancellor