MID-WINTER RECESS Student Packages GRADES K, 1 & 2

Dear Parents,

We hope you and your child enjoy this Mid-Winter Recess vacation. We encourage you to rest, explore the world around you, and provide our children with lots of opportunities to question and seek the great volumes of knowledge around them. As always, we are encouraging you to continue fostering an environment at home that promotes reading and learning. Research continues to show that the more our children read and have good experiences with books, the smarter and more articulate they will become. Our children are accustomed to reading independently at school on a daily basis. They are also accustomed to engaging in rich book discussions. We know that you will continue these practices during the break and that you will encourage them to read, read, read and read everyday.

Students in Grades K are requested to read or be read to for 30 minutes EVERY DAY. We encourage you to provide an environment for them to engage in a book discussion with one of their adults at home. Our children should also be encouraged to take picture walks in their books, and also share their thoughts with someone else.

Students in Grades 1 and 2 are requested to read or be read to for 60 minutes EVERYDAY (this reading MUST be broken up into two or three sessions). They must then complete their Reading Logs, and engage in a book discussion with an adult at home. We also encourage picture Walks, and an opportunity for our students to make inferences and predictions about what they see throughout the book.

I encourage you all to take our children to the various museums and public libraries throughout the city.

Your Partner In Education,

Sandra D’Avilar

Principal

MID-WINTER RECESS Student Packages GRADES 3, 4, & 5

Dear Parents of Grades 3, 4 and 5,

We hope you and your child enjoy this Mid-Winter Recess. We encourage you to rest, explore the world around you, and provide our children with lots of opportunities to question and seek the great volumes of knowledge around them. As always, we are encouraging you to continue fostering an environment at home that promotes reading and inquiry. Research continues to show that the more our children read and have good experiences with books, the smarter and more articulate they will become. Our children are accustomed to reading independently at school on a daily basis. They are also accustomed to engaging in rich book discussions. We know that you will continue these practices during the break and that you will encourage them to read, read, read and read everyday. Below we have outlined the work that MUST continue during this break, we ask that you monitor our children as much as possible, and that you remind them that the BEST ingredient for success in school is to PRACTICE and STUDY, so they can be READY for any challenge.

ELA: INDEPENDENT READING:

Students must READ EVERY DAY for 60 minutes, and then complete their Reading Log (ALL Reading Logs MUST be checked and signed by a parent.) Those students who struggle as readers are encouraged to break the 60 minutes up into 2-3 sessions per day (20 mins per session,) and work on reading for longer sessions each day. By the end of the break, we expect them to increase their Reading Muscles, and be able to reach their goal of 1 hour.

ELA: Reading Comprehension/Test Companion Book: Our students MUST complete Practice Test 1 and 2 on Monday; Practice Test 3 and 4 on Tuesday; Practice Test 5 and 6 on Wednesday; Practice Test 7 and 8 on Thursday, and The FULL –LENGTH PRACTICE TEST (located at the BACK of the Kaplan Test Companion book) on Friday. Each Practice Test has its own answer grid, and ALL answers for the multiple choice questions MUST be completed on the answer grid (for each individual Practice Test.) ALL Open Answer Questions must be answered in the book as outlined.

Grade 3 Students MUST also complete Writing Mechanics/Grammar on pages: 123, 124, 125, 126, 129, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 141, 142, 143, and 144.

Grade 4 Students MUST also complete Response to Literature Practice on pages: 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 129, 132, 133, 134, and 135 on pages:

Grade 5 Students MUST also complete Part 2-Writing on pages: 133, 134, 135, 136, 140, 141, 142, 143, 147, 148, 149, 150, and 151.

ELA: Writer’s Notebooks:

Our students are expected to make an entry in their Writer’s Notebook daily. These entries should be up to a page. Students may write entries pertaining to their current unit of study. They may rewrite a topic they have started previously, they may also write on various topics that interest them. Students are to follow the guidelines for writing in their Writer’s Notebook (don’t forget to date each day.)

Parents, we ask that you please monitor our children, have them read the directions carefully each day, and complete their assignments in ELA.

MATH: Test Companion Book: Our students MUST complete Practice Test 1 and 2 on Monday; Practice Test 3 and 4 on Tuesday; Practice Test 5 and 6 on Wednesday; Practice Test 7 and 8 on Thursday, and The FULL-LENGTH PRACTICE TEST (located at the BACK of the Kaplan Test Companion book) on Friday. All answers must be written in pencil, in the answer grids, and ALL open ended questions must be written in the space provided in the book. Parents, we ask that you reinforce our request and have our children show ALL of their work next to each question.

MATH Reflection: Students are expected to complete a Math Reflection in their Math Reflection notebook each day. Students are to make a reference to a problem they solved, or had difficulty with. They may create a math problem, solve and explain how it was solved. We are encouraging our children to write their thoughts about problem solving and explain how they went about solving a problem; therefore we ask that you reinforce this practice at home as much as possible.

Parents, we ask that you please monitor our children, have them read the directions carefully each day, and complete their assignments in Math.

Your Partner In Education, Sandra D’Avilar

KB-8 Donor's Choose Proposal

Jen Paynter, teacher in class KB-8 thought you'd be interested in the classroom project "Playing to Learn and Learning to Play! "

She says, "Five year-olds learn best through play and hands-on experiences. These literacy, math, and science materials will be placed in centers for my students to explore."

Contributions are tax-deductible and donors hear back from the classroom they choose to support. Hoping you'll join us to help bring a classroom project to life, The Donors Choose Team

PS 9 Benefit House Concert: TICKETS ON SALE NOW

• Next up in the popular PS9 Benefit House Concert Series: the Jen Chapin Trio and Candice Anitra.

• Saturday, March 5th, 2011

• Each event will be held at Jen Chapin and Stephan Crump's Prospect Heights apartment.
  

• Child-care drop-off begins at 6:30 pm (reserve with number and ages of kids at jen at jenchapin.com) at a neighboring apartment in their building and includes pizza, games and a movie. Child-care is included in the price of the ticket.

• Adults will have dinner and wine before the Jen Chapin Trio starts the music around 7:45 pm. After a short break for dessert, the featured ensemble will perform. The evening will wrap up by 9:30 pm.

• Tickets are on sale now for this concert, and the rest of the series at brown paper tickets.

Pre-K Admissions Timeline 2011-2012

The Pre-K admissions process has been announced for school year 2011-2012. Applications may be picked up in the school's main office when they become available on March 7. Questions and assistance may be directed to Ms. Bagley, in our main office or Charmaine Derrell-Jacob.


Pre-Kindergarten Admissions Calendar :

• Application period begins: March 7, 2011

• Deadline to submit an application: April 8, 2011

• Offer letters mailed to families: Early June 2011

• Pre-registration at schools: June 6-17, 2011

Visit the DOE's Pre-K page for more information.

Artists' Eyes: Studio in School Exhibition

We are proud to announce that artwork from our 4th and 5th grade students was selected to be a part of Studio in a School's upcoming exhibition, Artists' Eyes.

The opening reception will take place on Monday, March 7 at Studio's Gallery. The exhibition will be on display from February 24 to May 13.

Congratulations to Travian H., Andrew S., Alexis C. and Alejandra E.! We are very proud of our students!

Kindergarten Application Continues for 2011-2012 School Year

ALL PRE-K families MUST complete an intake form to receive an offer at PS9 for September. 

Kindergarten registration is a school-based, 3-part application process:

1. Intake
2. Offer
3. Pre-Registration 

The period from 1/10/11 to 3/4/11 is Part I of the application process, where parents come in to schools and complete "intake forms." Children do NOT have to be present for the intake process. 

In Part II of the process, once schools make offers to families, parents must notify schools whether they will accept or decline the offer, before April 15, 2011. 

Part III, Pre- registration, requires an appointment with Ms. Bagley, (718) 638-3260 X1302. Children MUST be present in order to pre-register at schools beginning on March 28, 2011. You may also contact Charmaine Derrell-Jacob, at (718) 638-3260 X1121 with questions. 

February Calendar

Upcoming Events:

2/7/2011:         Grade 1 READ afterschool Program Begins 3:45-5:15pm

2/7/2011:         New York Junior Tennis League Afterschool Program Begins 3:00pm

2/7/2011:         School Leadership Team Meeting 4pm

2/8/2011:         PTO & Title I Monthly Meeting 6:30pm

2/10/2011:       Cornell University Nutrition Workshop 9:00-10:30am

2/10/2011:       Safety Meeting 9:30am Room 109

2/11/2011:       Family Reading & Math Buddies 8:40am

2/11/2011:       Early Childhood Open House 9:00am

2/11/2011:       PTO Movie Night 6:00-8:00pm 

2/12/2011:       District 13 Legislative Day @ PS256 114 Kosciusko St. 

2/14/2011:       PS9 Glee Club sings Happy Birthday for Mayor Bloomberg and 

Borough President Marty Markowitz at Grand Army Plaza with the 

Heart of Brooklyn, 10:00am

2/14/2011:       Grade 5 "Spirit Week" Begins with "Wear Pink or Red" Day

2/15/2011:       100th Day of School Schoolwide Celebration

2/15/2011:       District 13 Community Education Council Meeting @ PS 93 6:30pm

2/17/2011:       Black History Month Assembly: Pre-K & K 9:15am

2/18/2011:       Black History Month Assembly: Grades 1&2 9:15am, Grades3,4&5 12:30pm

2/18/2011:       PTO Valentine Dance 6:00pm

2/21-25/2011:  Mid-Winter Recess - Schools Closed

2/28/2011:       School Re-Opens 8:40am

Fun PS9 Volunteer Opportunity

The lunchroom parent committee needs parents to help organize and run activities with the children after they have finished eating lunch. If you are available from 10:30 to 11:30 any day of the week, and would like to participate in this fun volunteer opportunity, please contact Tara Rullo at: tararullo at mac.com or 347-661-9645. Any level of participation is helpful, whether you can only volunteer one-time; sporadically; or commit on a weekly basis. 

New Committee on PS9 Promotional Video

Paul Ewen, professional video producer/editor & father to Henry (Kindergarten), is embarking on a project to create a video to help introduce prospective parents to PS9.  The video would be presented to parents on tours and perhaps be available on the school website. It would include shots of the school and interviews with Ms. D’Avilar, select faculty and even a few students expressing their thoughts on why PS9 is a great school.  He is planning a one-day shoot hopefully in the next month. A committee is being formed to help shape the contents of the video.  Paul is looking for creative parents, especially writers, to help work on the project.

 

Please contact Paul: 

paulsewen at gmail.com

Recent fundraising results: $10K

The P.T.O.'s recent fundraising has brought in more than $10,000.

November's candy sale: $5,400

December's boat cruise: $2,300

Online donations (starting in mid-Dec.): $3,090

Video of January 24th hearing

Paul Ewen (Father of Henry, in Ms. Paynter's Kindergarten class) made a wonderful video of the hearing which you can see via You Tube. It shows our beautiful school and chronicles some of our attempts to protect it.
Video link

DOE replies to your emails!

Good work, P.S. 9 supporters – all those emails and phone calls have forced DOE to acknowledge it's in a debate with you all. They blinked! Last night it sent to the PEP voters its responses to some of our arguments.

So did their response pin us to the wall? Nope. You can read DOE's whole response below. In bureaucratic fashion, the Portfolio Planning staff avoided some of our arguments and are flip-flopping under duress.

On growth, they contradicted their own statements in the EIS —they're back to capping enrollment. In the EIS, DOE projects PS 9 growing to 729 students by 2014. Now DOE is back to asserting long-term PS 9 should be at 650 students, which is only 50 more than the school serves at the moment. That is not an honest "projection" based on the neighborhood's genuine need for elementary education seats. It is a prescription, to ensure that Brooklyn East Collegiate can fit at full scale.

Offer your own rebuttals in the comments!

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Turner Aaron" <ATurner5@schools.nyc.gov> Date: Jan 31, 2011 6:22 PM Subject: FW: K009 information To: "Panel for Educational Policy" <Panel@schools.nyc.gov> Cc: "Peterson Sarah" <SPeterson3@schools.nyc.gov>, "Fetter Sarah" < SFetter@schools.nyc.gov>, "Sternberg Marc" <MSternberg@schools.nyc.gov>, "Taveras Santiago" <STAVERA@schools.nyc.gov>

Dear Panel Members,

Many of you have received emails and phone calls related to the K009 proposal up for vote this week. The Portfolio team has responded to the major comments/concerns received:

· The DOE projects additional students at P.S. 9 but has not allocated adequate classroom space for them. Nor has it come up with a plan for repurposing rooms already in use. P.S. 9 may be short of as many as 15 classrooms in five years.

o The long-term allocation of full size spaces for P.S. 9 includes 41 full size classrooms (two of which we are allocating as administrative space), compared to 37 full size classrooms (two of which we have counted as administrative space) that P.S. 9 is currently allocated.

o The DOE projects that P.S. will serve approximately 600-650 students in the long-run ‘ this is approximately 50-100 more students that the school currently serves

o For all projected years, P.S. 9 will have more than the minimum allocation of space the Citywide Instructional Footprints would assign

o Additionally, it is important to note that almost 50% of P.S. 9’s non-G&T population resides outside of the P.S. 9 zone. Meaning, there is significant room for in-zone enrollment.

o This space allocation allows for P.S. 9 to maintain their pre-kindergarten program (dependent upon funding) and their G&T program, while still allowing for an increase in the number of zoned families in kindergarten and, in subsequent years, upper grades. It is true that the number of out of zone families being admitted into P.S. 9’s non-G&T classes will need to decrease if the number of in zone families seeking admissions increases.

· The DOE’s plan will restrict P.S. 9s ability to serve the growing Pre-K through Grade 5 needs of Prospect Heights and surrounding neighborhoods. Last year, 237 families applied for 54 seats in Pre-Kindergarten, a five-fold rise in requests from just four years ago. To meet demand during the past two Septembers, P.S. 9 added a fifth, then a sixth kindergarten class. This year, demand continues to grow: according to P.S. 9s registrar, in the first 2 weeks of registration and with 6 weeks remaining106 students have enrolled for P.S. 9s kindergarten; last year's K class was 117.

o Many pre-kindergarten programs throughout the city have higher demand than can be accommodated. State funding for pre-kindergarten limits the number of new pre-kindergarten classes we can open each year. Through a combination of CBO pre-kindergarten and DOE pre-kindergarten the City strives to meet the community’s demand for pre-kindergarten.

o As stated above, it is possible that demand from in zone families will increase and limit the number of out of zone families able to register at P.S. 9. We cannot confirm the number of in zone families that have applied to P.S. 9 for the 2011-2012 school year because P.S. 9 has not entered any applicant data into the Student Enrollment Management System (SEMS).

· The EIS erroneously asserts that the building has two gymnasiums theres only one.

o This is an error in the EIS. The Building Utilization Plan correctly allocates time for one gymnasium.

· The DOE doesn’t acknowledge the use of P.S. 9s use of the gymnasium after 3 p.m. for two different afterschool programs, serving 100 families a day. One is sponsored by the schools P.T.O., which generates revenue for the school. These programs will most likely be dislodged by the middle schools plan to use the gym after 3p.m.

o As stated at the JPH, the Shared Space Schedule included in the Building Utilization Plan is a proposal, not a binding plan. It is the DOE’s expectation that the principals, via the Building Council, will agree to a shared space schedule that meets the needs of all of the schools in the building. This shared space schedule will include the scheduling of the gymnasium during after school hours.

· The plan also doesn’t make time for cleaning up the cafeteria between shifts. Teachers have recommended that students eat lunch later than 10:30, to increase instructional time in the morning, yet sharing the cafeteria with 3 schools makes this even less likely.

o As discussed above, the Shared Space Schedule included in the Building Utilization Plan is a proposal, not a binding plan. It is the DOE’s expectation that the principals, via the Building Council, will agree to a shared space schedule that meets the needs of all of the schools in the building. This shared space schedule may include separate lunch periods for the schools in the building, or it may include shared lunch periods in order to minimize the number of lunch periods needed. That is at the discretion of the Building Council. Further, a Shared Space Committee (‘SSC’) comprised of the principal, a teacher and a parent of each co-located school, will meet at least 4 times per year to discuss the use of shared spaces.

WNYC covers PS 9's arguments

This morning WNYC radio and Gotham Schools broadcast a report about the phase-out of struggling schools and the reverberations in co-located schools like P.S. 9. It included a recording from the hearing last Monday. Here are excerpts. [apologies for the crazy caps]

WNYC news

Panel to Vote on Phasing-Out Struggling Schools

Monday, January 31, 2011

By Beth Fertig

This week, members of New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy will determine the fate of 25 low performing schools. Joining us now to talk about the debate is WNYC's Beth Fertig and reporter Maura Walz of the independent website GothamSchools.org

Give us an overview if you can, Beth. Aren't many of these schools the same schools the city tried to close last year - before it was blocked by a lawsuit?

Yes - more than half of them were among the 19 schools the city wanted to close last year. The Panel for Educational Policy, which you may recall is controlled by the mayor, voted to close them after an all-night hearing because hundreds of people came out to protest and speak against it. They voted at 4 in the morning. But then the teachers union, some parents and the NAACP filed a lawsuit and won because two courts found the city didn't provide enough community input under state law. So here we are all over again.
And are the closings as controversial this year?

Yes in some places. The new chancellor, Cathiei Black, was booed two weeks ago at another meeting by the Panel for Educational Policy where the plans were mentioned to phase-out the schools. But here's what she told me when I caught up with her at a hearing on the proposal to close a Harlem middle school last week.

BLACK "We're in New York. People have strong opinions. Sometimes they tend to sort of ignore the facts and just have an emotional commitment. So certainly there's been a lot of response. Everyone's got a different point of view."

Maura, you've gone to many of the hearings the city's been holding at the schools that it wants to close. Some of these schools have really low graduation rates and test scores. Why do people want to keep them?

Right, so GothamSchools has been going to hearings, we've been to hearings at Jamaica, Beach Channel and Columbus. And these are all large high schools that the city tried to close last year, too. At these schools, though, they say that the city's been treating them unfairly. They've said the city's setting them up to fail, instead of closing them they should be giving them more resources to help the disproportionately high number of struggling students that the city's been sending them.

[snip]

MAURA - Another school that the city is trying to phase-out is MS 571 in Brooklyn. And they want to replace it with a charter school there. And that's actually upset parents at an entirely different school, PS 9 which is the elementary school that shares that building. They think that adding the charter school to that building is going to squeeze their program, which has been really successful and has been growing. And they also are upset that the charter school admits students by lottery, it's not neccesarily going to be open to everyone in the neighborhood. So tensions have been running really high. I was at the hearing at PS 9 and I came across these two parents, a father from PS 9 and a mother from the charter school who were literally fighting in the hallway over this. The dad said that the city should be working with the community at PS 9 to improve the middle school option there and as you'll hear the mother disagreed with that solution.

MAN: "So you go inside and you go fix it. You work with the people. You work with the students. WOMAN: "No, you create - no no - you create an environment that will foster different results."

So as you can hear tensions are running really, really high at some of these schools.

We mentioned that the city wanted to close 19 schools last year, but it was stopped because it didn't provide enough community notification. Is the city doing things differently this year, Maura?

Yes, this year they're making an effort to reach out to a lot of the schools. Before they even announced which schools were going to be closed they started holding meetings with teachers and parents at the schools. The tone of the hearings has been different. Last year city officials would sit sort of passively as people talked. This year they're making an attempt to respond to some of the criticisms they've been getting.