This Week @ PS 88Q

It has been truly wonderful to see such an incredible presence of families in our school community this fall! From our Back to School Night in September, to our first PTA meeting, Coffee with Mrs. O’Shaughnessy, engaging parent workshops, and our fun Little Bites Event this past week — your involvement continues to make a big difference.

This week, we’re excited to continue that momentum with a very special workshop on Wednesday at 3:00 PM in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We hope you’ll join us for this important and meaningful event.

Looking ahead, we’re also thrilled to invite you to our band’s first performance of the year on October 29th — we can’t wait to see you there and celebrate our students’ talents together.

Your ongoing partnership and support truly help make our work even better. This past week was filled with so many great moments — check it out below!

This past week, we had the joy of hosting our "Little Bites / Pequeños Bocaditos" event — a beautiful celebration of community, culture, and connection. As part of this special gathering, we welcomed Suzie Jaramillo, the talented author and creator of Canticos, a beloved bilingual children's brand.

Suzie shared a heartfelt read-aloud with our Dual Language classes and their families during the school day, bringing her stories to life in both English and Spanish. Her visit continued into the evening, where she joined us again for our Social Justice Committee’s family event, sharing her work and the inspiration behind Canticos with our broader school community.

The event was filled with warmth, learning, and laughter — a true reflection of the power of storytelling to bring people together across languages and cultures. We are so grateful to Suzie for sharing her time and talent with us, and to all the families who joined us to make the evening so special!

Mr. Seeger and class 309 take reading to the next step! While reading Dear Primo https://youtu.be/SSZUOhCTNbM?si=8mhaUJ9USkiOjNrD, Mr. Seeger reached out to one of his families for some marbles. Canicas was the game they wanted to play! This was something that most of the class knew how to play, and loved showing those who didn't know how.

October 2025

Dear Families,

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. PS 88 wants to stand alongside the Survivors and current Warriors.

During the week of October 13th, we will have a pink ribbon photo backdrop in the back of the building. Feel free to take pictures and post them onto our PS88 Instagram account with the hashtag # or email them to loshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov.

On Wear Pink Wednesday, October 15, 2025, the school community will wear pink to raise awareness for breast cancer.

These are mobile screening events in Queens.

• Provider: Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center mobile bus.

• Location: 1288 Central Avenue, Far Rockaway.

• Time/Date: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. October 16th

• To schedule: Contact the Addabbo Family Health Center for registration information.

• Provider: American-Italian Cancer Foundation mobile mammogram van, hosted by Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr..

• Location: Outside Senator Addabbo's office at 66-85 73rd Place, Middle Village.

• Time/Date: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.. October 19th

• To schedule: Appointments can be made by calling the American-Italian Cancer Foundation at 877-628-9090.

NYS Cancer Services Program

Offers free breast screenings

866-442-CANCER

What a fun way to kick off the fall season and Halloween! Join us for our Special Fall Concert featuring talented student musicians from our Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday band groups.

🕔 Doors open at 5:45 PM
🎵 Show begins at 6:00 PM

Come enjoy an evening of music and celebration with our amazing students — we can’t wait to see you there!

Dear Families,

Join us for a virtual middle school event! NYC families with fifth graders are encouraged to attend.

During these sessions we will cover how to explore middle school options, understanding admissions priorities, and how to build a balanced application.

All events are in English, each with interpretation services into different languages. Check the events below to find out what interpretation services will be available at each event.

• October 21, 5pm to 6pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Bangla, Korean, Spanish, Albanian, ASL
• October 22, 5pm to 6pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Chinese (Mandarin), Haitian Creole, Urdu, Ukrainian, ASL
• October 23, 1pm to 2pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Arabic, French, Russian, Uzbek, ASL

How to join:

• Each event will be hosted live on Zoom. Click https://bit.ly/2026MSFallEvents at the event start time and enter passcode 123456# to join.
• Interpretation Services: Find phone numbers for the languages provided at schools.nyc.gov/MS.

Can’t attend, or want to learn more?

• Visit schools.nyc.gov/MS. A captioned recording of the presentation will be available on our website one week after the first event.

All best,

The Middle School Admissions Team

Office of Student Enrollment

• Wednesday, October 15, 2025: Middle School Application Opens
• Monday, November 3, 2025: Deadline to register to test for Mark Twain I.S. 239 (21K239) and District 21 Talent Tests
• Friday, December 12, 2025: Middle School Application Closes
• Wednesday, April 15, 2026: Middle School Offer Release

P.S. 88Q is proud to be a Title I school, which means we receive additional federal funding to help ensure that all students have access to a high-quality education. Title I funds allow us to provide extra resources, academic support, and enrichment programs—including many of our afterschool opportunities—that directly benefit our students and families.

Our school’s Title I status is reviewed each year based on lunch form submissions. Even if your family does not qualify for free or reduced lunch, completing the lunch form helps us maintain our Title I designation and the important funding it brings.

Please take a moment to complete the form today:
👉 https://www.myschoolapps.com/

Your participation makes a big difference for our entire school community!

P.S. 88Q is seeking a Parent Advisory Council (PAC) Chairperson for the 2025–2026 school year!

As a Title I school, we receive additional federal funding to support student learning. The PAC Chairperson plays an important role in representing the voices of our Title I families. This parent leader works closely with the principal and school leadership team to:

• Share input on how Title I funds are used to support students and families

• Help plan family engagement activities and workshops

• Communicate important information about Title I programs and rights to parents

If you are passionate about family involvement and want to make a difference in our school community, please consider joining us as our next PAC Chairperson!

Interested? Contact Mrs. O’Shaughnessy @ loshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov or our Parent Coordinator, iperezlopez@schools.nyc.gov for more information.

Elections will be held at our Title I Meeting, on October 16th. Please see attached information.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We’re excited to invite you to a free Cancer Education Workshop hosted at PS 88 The Seneca School in partnership with Weill Cornell Medicine’s Meyer Cancer Center.

📅 Date: Wednesday, October 15
🕒 Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: PS 88 The Seneca School, 60-85 Catalpa Ave., Ridgewood NY 11385

🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/GJkkxyZiP4gs5DJS9

This workshop is designed to help families learn about:

• Preventing breast, ovarian, cervical, and uterine cancer
• Recognizing symptoms and understanding screening options
• The role of genetic testing and clinical trials

🎁 Bonus: Parents who attend and complete both short surveys will receive a $20 gift card.

and there will be a kids activity during the workshop. Please click this link if you are bringing your children, so that we can plan a fun activity:

We hope you’ll join us for this important and empowering event!

At PS 88Q, your voice matters! 💬 As we begin another exciting school year, I encourage all families to share your ideas, feedback, and hopes for what you’d like to see in our school community. Your partnership helps us grow stronger together, and every suggestion—big or small—makes a difference for our students. Let’s keep the conversation going!

https://forms.office.com/r/v5hTtXLwcm

YOUR PS88 PTA | HERE’S THE LATEST

Hello, parents! We have a few important events coming up to keep in mind (and mark on your calendar). For 2 of these—Caring Closet and Fall School Pictures—volunteer spots are now open to all PS88 parents!

Caring Closet (Free Fall Clothing & Costumes)

Saturday, Oct 25 (10a - 1p)

Our biannual Caring Closet is coming up. Caring Closet a free ‘shopping day’ open to the PS88 and Ridgewood communities, offering gently used fall/winter clothing and accessories for all ages—and this year we’re including Halloween costumes!

Clothing Donations

You do not have to donate clothes to participate, however if you have kids clothing, shoes, hats, etc. we would love your donation (No underwear or socks unless new and still in package.) or accessories accepted Oct 21–24 (bins at the front of the school).

Volunteers Needed!

We have 3 slots available: Set up (8a-10:30a), Morning Shift (11a-1:30p), or Afternoon Shift (1p-3:30p). Come spend a couple hours and help us sort, organize, and help others find the clothes they need. (Your kids can ‘shop’ too!)

» Volunteer here: bit.ly/FWCaringCloset2025

Fall School Pictures

Wednesday, Oct. 22 & Thursday, Oct. 23

It’s time for Fall School Pictures! This takes place during the school day on Wednesday, October 22, and Thursday, October 23. (Your child’s teacher will let you know the day and time.)

Volunteers Needed!

Please come and help teachers and kids before, during, and after pictures are taken! We have two time slots available: 8:30a-11:30a, or 11a-2p. If you are available for a full day, you can volunteer for both slots. Come join us!

» Volunteer here: bit.ly/SchoolPictures2025

Next PTA Meeting

Thursday, Oct 30 | 6–7 PM

Note: This will be an in-person only meeting

At this meeting, you can vote on important SLT and PAC Elections and we'll talk about building the year’s events based on what you said matters most. Learn more about the SLT and PAC elections below.

• School Leadership Team (SLT) Elections: Learn more
• PAC Elections: Learn more

Keep In Touch

Here's your one link to everything PS88 PTA: linkin.bio/ps88pta

Dear Families and Colleagues,

There’s an acronym you might be hearing frequently these days—in the classroom, at parent-teacher conferences, in staff professional development, and more. That acronym is MTSS, and it stands for Multi-Tiered System of Supports. While MTSS has a lengthy title, it means something very straightforward: every student gets what they need.

MTSS starts with deeply understanding students’ progress. Teachers carefully analyze multiple data points, including diagnostics, assessments, classwork, and more, to identify students who need extra support and what type of support they need. For example, with reading, one student might require extra help with phonics, in order to improve their fluency, while another might benefit from vocabulary support, to better understand the words on the page.

Then, to address these unique needs, teachers provide each student with targeted instruction—called an intervention—so they can practice that specific skill, often in small groups. Over the course of the school year, teachers adjust these interventions based on students' progress.

Many schools have been implementing MTSS for a long time. But as I announced recently, we are now taking a systemwide approach to MTSS as part of NYC Reads. We are setting guidelines for MTSS across our city, designating which interventions schools should use so that all children—including our students with disabilities and multilingual learners—have high-quality, personalized learning experiences.

With MTSS, we are ensuring our students get what they need to become proficient, thriving readers.

In partnership,

Melissa Aviles-Ramos

Chancellor