Welcome Back! We were so happy to finally see our students. On Thursday morning, we welcomed back our students. Life is good when we are all together!

This year we had a school wide celebration this past week. All staff returned on Tuesday, September 5th. We are so excited about our new staff! PS 88Q is growing. We are proud of our new programs, our new families and our new staff. Please meet them!

Ms. Kathryn Herman, Assistant Principal (Ms. Lowe is still here!)

Ms. Iris Vargas Pagan, our Bilingual Social Worker

Ms. Amanda Hardardt, Kindergarten

Ms. Dana Mendoza, Kindergarten

Ms. Cheily Zhune, Grade 2 (and a former student)

Ms. Amanda Mackiewicz, Grade 2

Ms. Julea Montalbano, Grade 2

Ms. Quinones, Grade 2/3

Ms. Alyssa Verderber, Grade 3

Ms. Dina Longo, Grade 4

Ms. Mollie Egland, Grade 4

Ms. Jessica Baccarella, Speech Therapist

Our staff directory is being updated, but all emails are on the webstitehttps://www.ps88q.com/apps/staff/

What you should know about this year:

Parent Engagement: The new UFT contract changes the make up of the school day, slightly. Formerly, parent engagement time was built into the school day. PS 88Q always hosted parent engagement time every Tuesday from 2:20pm to 3:00pm. The new UFT contract includes parent engagement, but it cannot be mandated as in person, but rather remote. This includes the four parent teacher conferences (September, December, March and May), which can not be mandated to be in person. What does that mean to our families? There will be no "uniform time" for our school for parent engagement. Teachers and paraprofessionals are responsible for 55 minutes per week of parent engagement. This includes: digital communication (emails, messenger apps) with parents, telephone conversations with parents or guardians, written correspondence with parent or guardians, creating newsletters, creating content for google classroom, preparing student report cards or progress reports, meetings with parents. Our teachers and paraprofessionals are amazing, and being available for you will never change. Please always reach out to your child's teacher and/or paraprofessional. They will make time for you if you would like to meet. And as always, reach out to me, Ms. Lowe or Ms. Herman as well.

*On this note, all third party apps such as dojo, remind, etc, must be approved by the DOE. Currently, DOJO is not approved (although I suspect it will be imminent). I will be using the Messenger app through the NYCSA for messages, so please make sure you have access to the NYCSA. If you do not, please reach out to Ms. Ivett, and we will get you connected. I have included information below on what is available. You will have access to grades, attendance, bus information, IEP documents and so much more!

In-School Events: Just because the parent engagement policy has changed, THIS WILL NOT CHANGE ALL THE PARENT EVENTS WE WILL HOST! Our STEM nights, our band performances, our evening events and our new AMAZING PTA will be in the building. I know how important it is for you to see and be in the space that your child spends every single day. Meeting other families as well is so important too. This month, the PTA is hosting a wonderful evening. I will be there as well. I am hosting Coffee with Me prior to the event. We will have an open forum for questions, and a tour of the building. The students will be so excited to show you their "space" and their friends. Each month, there will be many opportunities for you to be in the school to celebrate our students. Also, Ms. Ivett Perez Lopez, our Parent Coordinator is that perfect liasion between you and the teacher. She is available every day. Her office is in the lobby, and her email is iperezlopez@schools.nyc.gov. You can also call her at 718-821-8121

Computational Thinking Class/Coding with Mr. Nolan: We are so excited to announce a new addition to our school. Students attend special classes each day outside of their classroom. They go to the gym for physical education with Ms. Corniel and Mr. Tripotseris. They travel to the Art Room with Ms. Fogarty. The also go to one of the many music rooms we have with Mr. Dumont and Mr. Alboum. This year, we have added Mr. Nolan and Computer Science! Last year, Mr. Nolan hosted a series of afterschool activities around coding, and it was a hit! Our students thrived! This year, Mr. Nolan will be incorporating all the components of coding, computation thinking, and computer science. We became part of the grant for Amazon Future Engineers and Boot Up last year, (https://bootuppd.org/about/) which includes coding, Scratch and many more opportunities for critical thinking. Our students thrive in this, and supporting them in what is one of the fastest growing industries is our goal.

Chess Continues: Chess is a big part of PS 88Q. We are excited to continue Chess In The Schools for our third year! Grades 2-5 will all have access to the online chess program, as well as in school instruction. Stay tuned for in school tournaments this year! https://www.chesskid.com/

Have a wonderful week! Reach out anytime. loshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov

This week, everyone had the opportunity to see the protocols in action. SAFETY IS OUR MAIN CONCERN!. Dismissal for K and 1 was changed to the small yard because THE LARGE SCHOOL YARD WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION ANY DAY. We want the little ones to be in a safe environment. Please note the following:

• Our teachers are responsible for assuring your child is safely dismissed to the parent. WE WILL NOT DISMISS TO ANYONE WHO IS NOT ON THE EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM. PLEASE UPDATE OPEROO WITH ANY ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.
• We know you are anxious to pick your child up, but the classroom teacher must dismiss one child at a time. With an influx of families calling their child, it could become chaotic. The first week or two is always vital in identifying families, so please be patient.
• PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK EXITS OR ENTRANCES. WE WILL NOT DISMISS CHILDREN TO A CROWD. PLEASE wait for the teacher to dismiss your child to you directly. All staff must be able to recall who picked up a student (in the case another family member shows up after)
• Grade 3, 4 and 5 families received a walk home alone permission slip in their email through Operoo, Please complete if this is something you want.
• Next week GRYC starts, and this will thin our population at dismissal, but SAFETY IS OUR PRIORITY.

A potential yellow bus strike could disrupt service for many New York City public school students this fall. The Department of Education (DOE) is working hard to avoid a strike.

If there is a strike, parents and guardians will be notified by automated call, email, and text. A second notification will be sent on the first morning of interrupted service.

All notifications will be sent to the contact information provided to the school.

You can check or make changes to your contact information through your NYC Schools Account.

Families can get updated information online or through their Transportation Coordinator at their child’s school. Families can also reach out to DOE by email or by phone.

Email

Send email to transportation@schools.nyc.gov.

Online

Get updated information about the yellow school bus strike.

By Phone

• Agency: Department of Education
• Division: Office of Pupil Transportation
• Phone Number: (718) 392-8855
• Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 6 AM - 6 PM

Transportation Alternatives During Strike

If a yellow bus driver strike occurs, all impacted students and families will receive emergency MetroCards from their school.

Prepaid ride-share and transportation reimbursement for taxis, personal, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles will be available to:

• Students with disabilities who have:
  • Recommendation from Individualized Education Program (IEP);
  • 504 Accommodation Plan (504); or
  • Approval from the Office of Pupil transportation
• Students in temporary housing or foster care, including:
  • Homeless shelters
  • Domestic violence shelters
  • Families living with others or transitioning to permanent housing
• Any other students with approved exceptions (such as situations where it is hazardous to access public transportation) See transportation exceptions.

Pre-paid Rideshare

Pre-paid rideshare is a car service that will take you (or another adult) and your child to and from school each day. An adult must travel with your child.

For each eligible child, your driver will provide two rides for you in both the morning and afternoon (for a total of four rides per day).

In the morning, after your child is dropped off at school, the rideshare driver can take you to any destination of your choice, whether it's your:

• Home
• Workplace
• Another location

In the afternoon, the process is reversed:

• The driver will pick you up from your chosen location
• Drive to the school to pick up your child
• Then take both of you home

There's no need for you to arrange separate transportation to or from the school. These extra rides are included in the service and are free for you.

Rideshare is free for eligible families. For this reason, it is recommended that eligible families consider using rideshare instead of seeking transportation reimbursement. Reimbursements can take weeks to process, while the rideshare service is immediate and cost-free.

Prior to the start of the school year, the DOE website will be updated with details and next steps for accessing both rideshare and reimbursement.

September 11th is a day in history that has affected us and continues to affect us. 22 years ago we know exactly where we were. As a mom of two young girls (2 years old and six months old), my husband and I took them on their first plane ride on September 10th. As we walked around Disney in Orlando, we were aware something was happening. Eventually, we were evacuated, as all parks were closed for the following days. My husband, who worked at 4 World Trade Center, and had been there for the first attack, was with us. The following weeks were filled with fear, and many funerals. It was a very somber time for all. For many of our staff, they recall stories of the day from PS 88Q. As the first week of school got going, they were indeed in class, with a birdseye view from the building of the collapse. The chaos that unfolded, anxious parents picking up children, staff with family at work in the city, and the unknown was insurmountable. Years later, our community still suffers the loss of loved ones due to related illness from that day. We Shall Never Forget.

On Monday, September 11, we will memorialize the day during morning announcements. Students will also create messages for our local first responders; the NYPD, specifically the 104 Precinct and local FDNY.

Chancellor Banks and his administration is focusing on literacy. NYC Reads will bring science-of-reading and phonics-based learning methods to all public school students, starting with early childhood programs and elementary schools through high school graduation. The program will be implemented over the course of the next two years and will be split into two phases.

At PS 88Q, we began this work three years ago. Our amazing staff, when returning from the pandemic knew that things had to be different than what was done in the past. Our students needed something more explicit, more purposeful, and more scientifically aligned to how they learn. Rather than just switch curicullums, as a staff, we learned how students actually "learn" to read. This lead us to the Science of Reading, the reading rope, and a book study of The Knowledge Gap. We began implementing these phonics and phonemic awareness interventions into all PreK-2 classes (Heggerty, Fundations) every single day, and progress monitoring with Acadience . Our results are amazing. Our end of year data for our K-2 students was the strongest ever. Our school is in the top 25% of the district for at or above grade level. Please see below video, that our staff viewed this past week. Together, we will do this work together to ensure that every single student is an accomplished reader! Stay tuned for many parent workshops on how to bridge the work to home.

Community Education Council 24

Mosaic Pre-K Center (#777)

50-15 44 Street, Room 109

Woodside, New York 11377

(718) 361-3560, Ext. 1092

CEC24@schools.nyc.gov

http://www.facebook.com/CEC24

Please Join us at the upcoming CEC24 Administrative Meeting

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Public School 110 – The Tiffany School

43-19 97th Place, Corona, New York 11368

ELL (English Language Learner) Position - There will be a revote for the two candidates that took place at the August 22nd meeting.

The Election of the Executive Officers for the CEC24 members has been postponed to the monthly CEC24 Meeting on Tuesday, September 26th.

The CEC24 members will discuss administrative issues after the vote.

Interpreters are available.