Weekly Newsletter

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IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday, January 27 - PTA Virtual Meeting, 6:30 PM

Monday Feb 1 - Monday, March 1 - Black History Month

Friday, February 5 - District 15 Poetry Slam, 5:00 PM (details below)

Tuesday, February 9 - Virtual SLT, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday, February 10 - PTA Virtual Exec Mtg, 6:30 PM

Friday, February 12 - Lunar New Year, School is Closed

Sunday, February 14 - READ-A-THON Ends (details below)

February 15 - 19 - Mid Winter Break, School is Closed

Find the A/B Cohort calendar here: Weekly Schedule

Please continue to check your Google Classrooms for information from your teacher. As a reminder, you should also check Mr. Foreman's Google Classroom for important updates: class code gk2k2sr


UPCOMING EVENTS

DISTRICT VIRTUAL POETRY SLAM

Friday, February 5, 5:00 PM

We are pleased to announce the first ever District 15 Live Virtual Poetry Slam!  Focusing on the theme "Things That Matter", we are inviting all of our talented students to submit and perform an amazing piece of spoken word at our poetry showcase on Friday, February 5, 2021, at 5:00pm. Check this out: Spoken Word Resource

Please email Mr. Foreman by January 25, 2021 at jforeman@ps154.org. The written piece needs to be submitted by February 1st to the District Office by e-mail to Maggie at MDesir2@schools.nyc.gov and Gina at GKeller2@schools.nyc.gov.


DOE UNIVERSAL LITERACY INITIATIVE

Parent Workshops, February 10 & 25

Are you looking for ways to improve your child’s reading and writing skills? Are you searching for resources to help you work with your child at home? Then you have come to the right place. In this workshop, we will provide you with strategies to support your important work with your child at home. Check out the Universal Literacy Initiative flyer.


SCHOOL-WIDE REMINDERS

  • In person students will need to complete their health screening at home every morning before they arrive in school. Click the link here: Online Health Screening

  • All families must complete the Family Income Inquiry Form, which helps schools receive money for their programs. This is the lunch form, but even if you do not receive school lunch, you still need to complete the form. 

  • Zoom difficulties? Please reach out to Ms. Rached (lrached@ps154.org) with any issues joining Zoom meetings. This is a much faster way to get support than posting to the class stream.

  • Complete the Emergency Blue Card here:  Emergency Blue Card. Please email the completed form to dwattenbarger@ps154.org

  • Schools.nyc.gov/freemeals
    All families can continue to go to any school building (9am-12pm on weekdays) to pick up three free grab-and-go meals. No identification or registration is necessary. Halal and kosher meals are available at some sites.


PTA UPDATES

PTA GENERAL MEETINGS & SLT MEETINGS

Wednesday, January 27 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, February 9 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday, February 24 - PTA General Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, March 16 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday, March 24 - PTA General Meeting, 6:30 PM

Zoom details will be provided in the days ahead of the PTA General Meetings.

Minutes from SLT Meetings are posted on the webpage: ps154.org/school-leadership-team-slt

Minutes from PTA General Meetings are posted on PTA’s webpage: ps154.org/your-pta


PTA EVENTS

THE 2021 P.S. 154 READ-A-THON

Friday, January 15 - Sunday, February 14

The Annual READ-A-THON is underway, and runs through to Valentine’s Day, February 14th. You can download the reading packet and sponsor a child online at https://www.ps154.org/readathon-2021. We have just honored Martin Luther King Jr., and witnessed a historical Presidential Inauguration. Why not, take the opportunity to cultivate your child’s interest in the biographies of a range of contemporary and historical figures from Greta Thunberg and Sonia Sotomayor, to Neil Armstrong and Alexander Hamilton? Nurture your child’s passion for reading, whether it be fantasy, fact or fiction - and take a break from the screen!

Each child that reads the most in his or her grade will receive a gift certificate to Terrace Books, and each grade's class that collectively read the most will get a special reading session with our own Principal Foreman. Please ask family and friends to sponsor your child’s reading per minute or make a fixed donation. (We can only accept online donations this year.)


BOOKMARK DESIGN CONTEST

Friday, January 15 - Sunday February 14

The Bookmark Design Contest is a really fun way for kids to take part in the READ-A-THON, particularly if they are creative or artistic. There will be one winner selected, from each grade, whose design shows what their love of books and reading means to them. Every child in each grade will receive a copy of the winning bookmark. This year we will create a virtual gallery so they can share designs online. For information, visit: https://www.ps154.org/readathon-2021

The deadline for mailing the bookmarks to school, or sending them via email: MONDAY FEBRUARY 14TH. PLEASE SEND YOUR BOOKMARKS TO: pta_info@ps154.org


BROOKLYN RELIEF KITCHEN

What a success! A huge thank you to the P.S. 154 community for donating so generously! We were able to fill an entire cargo van with food, water, paper, goods and baby supplies for Brooklyn Relief Kitchen!

If anyone missed the drive or would like to make any additional donations, or knows of another organization or school that could host a drive, or wants to volunteer their time at Brooklyn Relief Kitchen, please contact Jessica Waverka at Jessica.Waverka@gmail.com.


COMMUNITY CORNER

Trying to keep our children stimulated and entertained is almost every parent’s challenge right now. If your child enjoys both in-person and digital games, and you are looking for a place for them to meet in small pods outside of school or for Summer Camp, Space Station Prospect offers a place for children to explore the best of digital and physical gaming while learning from the design decisions that drive the experience. They also have opportunities to apply those experiences to their own creation of content.

Weekly Newsletter

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IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday, January 12 - SLT meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Friday, January 15 - Deadline for Winter Warmth Drive Donations

Friday, January 15 - READ-A-THON starts (See below for information)

Monday. January 18 - School is Closed, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Wednesday, January 20 - PTA Virtual Meeting, 6:30 PM

Please continue to check your Google Classrooms for information from your teacher. As a reminder, you should also check Mr. Foreman's Google Classroom for important updates: class code gk2k2sr

Find the A/B Cohort calendar here: Weekly Schedule

KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT

The Kindergarten application is completely ONLINE. It is open NOW and the deadline to submit your application is January 19. If you have a child born in 2016, you will apply to kindergarten this winter and your child will begin kindergarten in September 2021.

Find out more information here: NYC Kindergarten Enrollment

Prospective Rising Kindergarten Families, please join us for a virtual tour by signing up here:
Prospective Family Virtual Tour Sign Up


UPCOMING EVENTS

BROOKLYN RELIEF KITCHEN

DISTRICT VIRTUAL POETRY SLAM

District 15 is pleased to announce our first ever Live Virtual Poetry Slam! Focusing on the theme "Things That Matter", we are inviting all of our talented students to submit and perform an amazing piece of spoken word at our poetry showcase on Friday, February 5, 2021, at 5:00 PM. For inspiration on what spoken word poetry is all about.

Please email Mr. Foreman by January 25, 2021 at jforeman@ps154.org. The written piece needs to be submitted by February 1st to the District Office by e-mail to Maggie at MDesir2@schools.nyc.gov and Gina at GKeller2@schools.nyc.gov.

PARENT EQUITY EVENT - DIVERSITY TALK

Thursday, January 21, 6:00 PM

At this month's Parent Equity Evening we aim to provide a space to come together, as a community, and take what we created last year into the new year. This event will include opportunities to deepen our understanding of race and inclusivity through whole group discussions as well as more targeted breakout rooms. The Zoom link will be sent out next week.

To help us plan, please take a moment to RSVP for the Parent Equity Evening here.


SCHOOL-WIDE REMINDERS

  • In person students will need to complete their health screening at home every morning before they arrive in school. Click the link here: Online Health Screening

  • All families must complete the Family Income Inquiry Form, which helps schools receive money for their programs. This is the lunch form, but even if you do not receive school lunch, you still need to complete the form. 

  • Zoom difficulties? Please reach out to Ms. Rached (lrached@ps154.org) with any issues joining Zoom meetings. This is a much faster way to get support than posting to the class stream.

  • Complete the Emergency Blue Card here:  Emergency Blue Card. Please email the completed form to dwattenbarger@ps154.org

  • Schools.nyc.gov/freemeals
    All families can continue to go to any school building (9am-12pm on weekdays) to pick up three free grab-and-go meals. No identification or registration is necessary. Halal and kosher meals are available at some sites.


PTA UPDATES

PTA GENERAL MEETINGS & SLT MEETINGS

Wednesday, January 27 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, February 9 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday, February 24 - PTA General Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday, March 16 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday, March 24 - PTA General Meeting, 6:30 PM

Zoom details will be provided in the days ahead of the PTA General Meetings.

Minutes from SLT Meetings are posted on the webpage: ps154.org/school-leadership-team-slt

Minutes from PTA General Meetings are posted on PTA’s webpage: ps154.org/your-pta


PS 154 FUNDRAISING

WINTER WARMTH DRIVE

Ends Midnight Tonight!

Winter Warmth Drive Deadline FINAL.jpg

HELP US REACH OUR $3,000 GOAL BY MIDNIGHT FRIDAY JAN 15! This is your last chance to help P.S. 154 families who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you so much to everyone who has already contributed to the WINTER WARMTH DRIVE by providing financial assistance to those who truly need it. We have already raised over $1,900. Please consider giving a donation that our school will convert into gift cards for members of our P.S. 154 community to buy necessities to see them through this extra challenging winter! We thank you in advance for your generous donations to families that have privately reached out to Debby Wattenbarger to ask for help.

We can only accept payments through these methods as we are obliged to provide fully deductible receipts for 2021 tax year. For more information, please email pta_treasury@ps154.org.


THE 2021 P.S. 154 READ-A-THON

Friday, January 15 - Sunday, February 14

Our 14th Annual Read-A-Thon starts today - Friday January 15th and runs through to Valentine’s Day, February 14th. We want to encourage our children to develop a life-long love of reading, particularly during this time, when much of our children’s learning is taking place via a screen. For full info about how to support your children’s reading, and help them share their love of books with their peers, please visit: https://www.ps154.org/readathon-2021

Each child that reads the most in his or her grade will receive a gift certificate to Terrace Books, and each grade's class that collectively read the most will get a special reading session with our own Principal Foreman. Please ask family and friends to sponsor your child’s reading per minute or make a fixed donation. (We can only accept online donations this year.)


BOOKMARK DESIGN CONTEST

Friday, January 15 - Sunday February 14

As part of the P.S. 154 READ-A-THON tradition, we are continuing with the Bookmark Design Contest. This is a great opportunity for children to show their love of reading in visual form. One winner will be chosen for their original and inspired design from each grade, and every child in each grade will receive a copy of the winning bookmark. There will be a chance for the kids to share their creativity and see each other’s designs online. For information, visit: https://www.ps154.org/readathon-2021

The deadline for mailing the bookmarks to school, or sending them via email: MONDAY FEBRUARY 14TH. PLEASE SEND YOUR BOOKMARKS TO: pta_info@ps154.org


COMMUNITY CORNER

If your children are looking for new reading material during READ-A-THON, please support our wonderful local and neighborhood bookstores, Terrace Books or The Community Bookstore, by purchasing books and graphic novels from them. Books can be ordered in person or online and and picked up from either store. Visit: https://www.communitybookstore.net/terrace-books . Please also encourage your children to recommend and share books among their social pods. Some of the work they have been doing at school has been based on sharing book ideas, inspiring books, as well as trying genres out of their comfort zone.

Weekly Newsletter

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IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday January 12 - SLT meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday January 13 - Virtual Tour for Prospective Families, 9:00 AM (see below for info)

Wednesday January 13 - PTA Virtual Executive Board Mtg, 6:30 PM

Thursday January 14 - Virtual Tour for Prospective Families, 6:30 PM (see below for info)

Friday January 15 - Deadline for Winter Warmth Drive Donations

Friday January 15 - Read-a-Thon starts

January 18 - School is Closed, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 20 - PTA Virtual Meeting, 6:30 PM

Please continue to check your Google Classrooms for information from your teacher. As a reminder, you should also check Mr. Foreman's Google Classroom for important updates: class code gk2k2sr

Find the A/B Cohort calendar here: Weekly Schedule

Please continue to check your Google Classrooms for information from your teacher. As a reminder, you should also check Mr. Foreman's Google Classroom for important updates: class code gk2k2sr

KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT

The Kindergarten application is completely ONLINE is open NOW and the deadline to submit your application is January 19. If you have a child born in 2016, you will apply to kindergarten this winter and your child will begin kindergarten in September 2021.

Find out more information here: NYC Kindergarten Enrollment

Prospective Rising Kindergarten Families, please join us for a virtual tour by signing up here:
Prospective Family Virtual Tour Sign Up

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE?

Please take this confidential survey to let us know what you need:

Needs Survey

The PTA is working with Debby Wattenbarger to provide extra help to anyone in need this winter. The deadline to complete the survey is January 15. (more information below)


RECENT COMMUNICATIONS


LATEST MESSAGES FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Messages for Families

Schools.nyc.gov/freemeals

All families can continue to go to any school building (9 AM -12 PM on weekdays) to pick up three free grab-and-go meals. No identification or registration is necessary. Halal and kosher meals are available at some sites.

Big Apple Awards for Teachers & Staff

Students, families, educators, school staff, and community members can nominate teachers and counselors by visiting the Big Apple Awards website, today through January 10, 2021.

Nominees must be current, full-time public school teachers or college counselors in a district school, charter school or early childhood education center in New York City who demonstrate exceptional success in the classroom.


SCHOOL-WIDE REMINDERS

  • In person students will need to complete their health screening at home every morning before they arrive in school. Click the link here: Online Health Screening

  • All families must complete the Family Income Inquiry Form, which helps schools receive money for their programs. This is the lunch form, but even if you do not receive school lunch, you still need to complete the form. 

  • Zoom difficulties? Please reach out to Ms. Rached (lrached@ps154.org) with any issues joining Zoom meetings. This is a much faster way to get support than posting to the class stream.

  • Complete the Emergency Blue Card here:  Emergency Blue Card. Please email the completed form to dwattenbarger@ps154.org


PTA UPDATES

PTA GENERAL MEETINGS & SLT MEETINGS

Wednesday January 20 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday February 9 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday February 24 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Tuesday March 16 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday March 24 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Zoom details will be provided in the days ahead of the PTA General Meetings.

Minutes from SLT Meetings are posted on the webpage: ps154.org/school-leadership-team-slt

Minutes from PTA General Meetings are posted on PTA’s webpage: ps154.org/your-pta


PS 154 FUNDRAISING

WINTER WARMTH DRIVE: deadline midnight tonighT

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit some of the families in our community very hard, and it has also made it difficult to share used items. We are running the WINTER WARMTH DRIVE to provide assistance to those that need it. We believe that all of the PS 154 families in our community should be able to stay warm and safe throughout the winter season. Please consider giving a donation that will be converted into gift cards for families to buy the coats, hats, gloves or supplies they need to keep warm through this extra challenging winter! We thank you in advance for your generous donations that will help families requesting assistance privately through Debby Wattenbarger. You have various ways to give. You can donate online below:

Debby Wattenbarger, will confidentially donate gift cards to families who are in real need of assistance.

DEADLINE FOR DONATIONS - FRIDAY, JANUARY 15

We can only accept payments through these methods as we are obliged to provide fully deductible receipts for 2021 tax year. For more information, please email pta_treasury@ps154.org.


READ-A-THON FUNDRAISER

Our 14th Annual Read-A-Thon, will run from Friday January 15th through to Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Particularly, during this time when much of our children’s learning is through a screen, we want to encourage them to develop a life-long love of reading. Each child that reads the most in his or her grade will get a gift certificate to Terrace Books, and each grade's class that collectively read the most will get a special reading session with our own Principal Foreman. Stay tuned for details to be announced next week.


PS 154 AUCTION

We are looking forward to our next major event, the PS 154 Auction. As we embark on a new year, we ask if you could think about if there are items you could donate for the auction, baskets you could put together for classes, community businesses or larger scale organizations you could ask for gifts, or an employer who is willing to donate a product or experience. Not only is the auction great fun, but it really brings in a substantial part of our annual budget, which allow us to deliver more staffing support and programs for our wonderful PS 154 children and their families! If you have donations or ideas, please reach out to Chair of Fundraising, Sara Murphy via the PTA email pta_info@ps154.org.


COMMUNITY CORNER

Our kids have faced many losses and traumas through 2020. Now as we embark on a new year, we begin with a new challenge of explaining to our kids about what happened on January 6, 2021 in our nation’s Capitol, the seat of democracy. Child Mind Institute provides some resources for talking to your child about this. In addition, they provide advice and resources for other social and emotional topics such as how to keep our kids engaged in remote learning after the break, or how to modify an IEP or 504 for children facing challenges with distance or hybrid learning.

Weekly Newsletter

pS154.jpg

IMPORTANT DATES

December 24 - January 1 - Winter Break - No School

Find the A/B Cohort calendar here: Weekly Schedule

Tuesday January 12 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday January 20 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Please continue to check your Google Classrooms for information from your teacher. As a reminder, you should also check Mr. Foreman's Google Classroom for important updates: class code gk2k2sr

Kindergarten Enrollment

The Kindergarten application is completely ONLINE and is open NOW. The deadline to submit your application is January 19. If you have a child born in 2016, you will need to apply to kindergarten this winter for your child to begin kindergarten in September 2021.

Find out more information here: NYC Kindergarten Enrollment


RECENT COMMUNICATIONS


LATEST MESSAGES FROM THE CHANCELLOR

Schools.nyc.gov/freemeals
All families can continue to go to any school building (9am-12pm on weekdays) to pick up three free grab-and-go meals. No identification or registration is necessary. Halal and kosher meals are available at some sites.

Big Apple Awards for Teachers & Staff

Students, families, educators, school staff, and community members can nominate teachers and counselors by visiting the Big Apple Awards website, today through January 10, 2021. Nominees must be current, full-time public school teachers or college counselors in a district school, charter school or early childhood education center in New York City who demonstrate exceptional success in the classroom. 

Messages for Families


SCHOOL-WIDE REMINDERS

  • In person students will need to complete their health screening at home every morning before they arrive in school. Click the link here: Online Health Screening

  • All families must complete the Family Income Inquiry Form, which helps schools receive money for their programs. This is the lunch form, but even if you do not receive school lunch, you still need to complete the form. 

  • Zoom difficulties? Please reach out to Ms. Rached (lrached@ps154.org) with any issues joining Zoom meetings. This is a much faster way to get support than posting to the class stream.

  • Complete the Emergency Blue Card here:  Emergency Blue Card. Please email the completed form to dwattenbarger@ps154.org

  • THE POETRY JOURNAL NEEDS YOU! Each year our kids learn poetry at PS 154, with a focus on reading and writing poetry of all kinds in the classroom. Usually, in April or May, students read some of their own (and other poets') work at an evening event. This year, students will participate in a Zoom Poetry Forum during the school day (more details to follow). All students also publish a poem in a school-wide anthology, which is beautifully laid out and printed by parent volunteers. We definitely need parent help to make it all happen. You can pitch in on any or all of these jobs, depending on your schedule:

    ·      work with class parents to coordinate and gather all children’s poems from teachers

    ·      help in June when the journal with a printed and/or beautifully designed digital version

    Are you a graphic designer? The parent who has been designing the journal over the past few years is leaving us because her child is graduating. We would love someone to help her and learn the ropes to take this on when she leaves.

    Please email pta_info@ps154.org if you are able to lend a hand!


PTA UPDATES

PTA GENERAL MEETINGS & SLT MEETINGS

Tuesday January 12 - Virtual SLT Meeting, 4:15 PM (contact: SLT_Info@ps154.org)

Wednesday January 20 - Virtual General PTA Meeting, 6:30 PM

Zoom details will be provided in the days ahead of the PTA General Meetings.

Minutes from SLT Meetings are posted on the webpage: ps154.org/school-leadership-team-slt

Minutes from PTA General Meetings are posted on PTA’s webpage: ps154.org/your-pta


PS 154 FUNDRAISING

DONATE BY END OF 2020

We are pleased that our PTA funds have been able to supply vital services this year, including an extra substitute teacher, the Read/Write program, as well as activities to engage and connect the PS 154 community. Mr. Foreman highlighted in his talk at this week’s PTA General Meeting, that your donations help to fund essential programs and teaching staff that are not covered by the DOE. We need your help NOW, before the end of the year, to help us budget for a new chapter in 2021, and rebuild the PS 154 our community loves. Typically we ask for $500 per child but in the season of giving, any donation, no matter how big or small is truly appreciated. If spreading out monthly payments is better for you than a one time donation, you can easily sign up at: ps154.org/donate. Your support means the world to us, and helps our kids connect and thrive!

Contributions made before midnight New Year’s Eve are fully deductible for 2020 tax year.


SHOP & GIVE TO PS 154

Still need holiday gifts for someone special? Please select presents from our PS 154 Shop. Most items are discounted so it’s your chance to save and support the school! https://www.ps154.org/shop.

Please remember as you do your holiday shopping, whether it is in the local community, or online that a number of places give back to our school. For example, go to smile.amazon.com and choose “PTA of PS154 Brooklyn Inc.” as the charitable organization you want to support. You’ll find the exact same Amazon site, except that .5% of your purchase will be donated to our PTA. Be sure to bookmark the link so you’ll remember to use Smile, rather than the regular Amazon site, every time you shop. You can also pass on this info to grandparents and other family and friends who might like to contribute. For a full list of participating organizations, please visit: https://www.ps154.org/donate.


PS 154 AUCTION

Thank you for joining us at the Winter Holiday Hangout! It was great community bonding experience for everyone involved, and helped to raise much needed funds for our school. However, those who are familiar with our traditional Winter Fair know that typically our auction is a very big part of this. We chose to postpone this element until the new year. Over the holidays, please take time to think about if there are items you could donate for the auction, baskets you could put together for classes, community businesses or larger scale organizations you could ask for gifts, or an employer who is willing to donate a product or experience. Not only is the auction great fun, but it really brings in a substantial part of our annual budget, which allow us to deliver more staffing support and programs for our wonderful PS 154 children and their families! If you have donations or ideas, please reach out to Chair of Fundraising, Sara Murphy via the PTA email pta_info@ps154.org.


COMMUNITY CORNER

This has been a challenging year for both parents and children, and while we have made several pleas for a Chair or Co-Chairs of a Social and Emotional Committee, we have continued to provide talks for parents to address their children’s needs, and help parents manage their own stress. However, we would really like to do more to support and connect families, and ensure that learning needs are discussed openly. The Social Emotional Committee has provided so much support and training for teaching staff, parents and children over the past few years. We understand that everyone is stretched extremely thin right now, but we would love to maintain this great work at this crucial time. If you are interested in working on this, perhaps collaboratively with a team or you can reimagine this as a PS 154 Parent Support Group, please reach out to PTA President, Jaymie Kelly at pta_info@ps154.org.