This Week @ PS 88Q

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Things start to get busy this time of the year, with Hanakuh starting this week, and gearing up for the upcoming holidays, not to mention winter break and all that goes with that!

One of the things I look forward to each weekend, is my Sunday morning newsletter. Communication is key, but not only for information. Sharing what is going on at PS 88Q, the community and our city makes us not only informed, but connected. I love sharing with you all what is going on.

This week, all principals attended a virtual meeting with Chancellor Banks regarding the incident at Hillcrest High School. If you are unsure of what happened, here is a link for the story https://qns.com/2023/11/schools-chancellor-rampage-hillcrest-high-school/

This incident is disturbing for many reasons, and on many levels. Hatred, bias and violence are what we all spend so much time to deter. To educate our children and ourselves about current events, about culture and above peace always remains our priority. During our meeting, the chancellor, who is a graduate of Hillcrest High School talked about his visit in the wake of this terrible incident. He said that the students involved, mostly freshman and sophmores, received most of their information from social media, and tik tok; hardly any reputable sources for our students to inform themselves. He talked of his discussions with students, and how they were horrified at what happened at their high school, and the actions of their fellow students. A rising feeling of anti-semitism is something that was discussed and what schools can do to educate. I am adding a link with resources: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/subjects/social-studies/current-events

PS 88Q prioritizes the teaching of social justice always. Our Social Justice Committee, which was formed four years ago, creates content for our students to promote acceptance, understanding, and most importantly peace. Right now, the conflict between Israel and Hamas is something that the NYC Public Schools are preparing content and lessons for. History and social studies is not simply past events, but our students are living through history every day. Processing this, understanding this, and learning about this is something that is bridged from home to school, and vice-versa. There is no place for bias or hate at our school. We are a Respect For All School, and that is something that is more than a label. The DOE policy, and PS 88Q regarding Respect for All is:

The NYCDOE is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment that is free from harassment, intimidation and/or bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination on account of actual or perceived race, color, age, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship/immigration status, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or weight.

What struck me was that our students are exposed to so much content through digital platforms, social media, and random websites. At PS 88Q, we are finding that many of our students spend a lot of time on tablets, and sometimes have access to videos and content that is not appropriate. Students have become almost addicted to the tablet, the immediate release of images, and information. Without any understanding perhaps, they have no way of knowing what is fact, and what is fiction and what is opinion. Technology is wonderful, but without the education, and supervision of an adult, it opens so many doors to children. We are planning for a series of workshops and support for families about internet safety. Here are some links for safeguarding your child.

https://www.consumernotice.org/data-protection/internet-safety-for-kids/

This Thursday is Parent Teacher Conferences. It is an important time to discuss your child's progress over the last three months. Dismissal is at 11:20 am on December 7th.

Have a great week!

Our student council asked the students what they wanted, and this is it! They are excited to present their first student run activity for the year. Spirit Week Kicks off Monday, December 4th!

Monday: Pajama Day: Wear your best PJ's

Tuesday: Teacher/Student Sway: Teachers dress like the students/Students dress like the teacher

Wednesday: Twin Day: Dress alike

Thursday: Sports Day: Dress in your favorite team gear

Friday: Dress as your favorite character (book or movie)

Our publicist, Sofia Michel created this wonderful flyer below.

One of the most asked questions we receive is regarding devices. When the pandemic hit, schools distributed all of their school owned devices to students. This purged almost all of our technology, as the remote learning period did stretch until June 2021 (from March 2020). During this time, Central DOE did distribute devices as well to families who requested. Many families received a DOE device during that time.

Central is not purchasing any more devices for distribution, but what they are doing is getting turned in devices back in to circulation. What does this mean? When a student leaves the public school system (graduates, moves out of state, or to a non-public school) they must return the device. Students keep their central owned device for the duration of their enrollment in the NYC Public Schools. In short, they take the device they may have received at PS 88q, and got to middle school and high school with that device.

Students can only receive one device, so if you received a device, and it is still in your possession, you cannot receive another. If it is broken, please return it to PS 88q, so we can account for it. If it is lost or stolen, follow these steps: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/digital-learning/ipads-and-laptops/lost-or-stolen-ipads

We have submitted the list of students who have requested devices to central, in hopes that some of our families will receive a reissued device. Here is a helpful link regarding devices: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/digital-learning/ipads-and-laptops

As for accessing learning platforms, everything can be accessed through teachhub, with your child's email and password. You can access through any laptop, any tablet, any phone. The below survey asks only four questions. Please complete so we have a clear picture of who can access Google Classroom, and who has access to technology.

What a great time we had this past week at the Breaking Break, Building Bonds event. The Social Justice Committee created a wonderful culminating event to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. As we learned about each cultures bread, and tasted it all, we found that all cultures have so many similiarites.

Our Social Justice Committee is already planning more events like this. Please click the link below for the PS 88Q Recipe Book!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1as9pNVH89W6JHomCU6-XPFSwgcaCvvRD/view?usp=sharing

We are looking forward to celebrating this upcoming holiday season with ALL of our families. Please come back to school for a night of fun!