This Week @ PS 88q

As we enter the final days of 2022, I hope you and your family are healthy and well. I always feel that working in the education field, we celebrate the New Year twice, once in September when we welcome our new students, and then again in January. It is a good thing, a new start twice a year, when everyone can start again with a fresh slate. For these final days off 2022, we as a school will reflecting on this past year. We have a lot to celebrate as a community, and a lot to plan for. But this week is the height of fun! The week leading up to winter break is always such a magical place in elementary school. There is so much going on! Here is a breakdown.

• Holiday Spirit Week
• Monday: Wear Blue and White (in honor of Hannakuh)
• Tuesday: Festive Head Wear
• Wednesday: Blizzard of 88: Wear White
• Thursday: Ugly Sweater Day
• Friday: Pajama Day
• Tuesday and Wednesday: In School Winter Performance for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5 Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Our classes will perform for each other. Due to space capacity, we cannot open it up to families. A live link will be shared, and the performance will be recorded so all can see.
• Wednesday, December 21; Winter Wonderland Performance at IS 77
• Thursday, December 22 @ 6pm Winter Band Performance and Holiday Festivities For our Families
• Come back to school for our very own Band Concert, and holiday fun!
• All students who come back with their families are included in Christmas Caroling as guests arrive
• PTA sponsored holiday fun! (stay tuned for details)
• Friday, December 23: Last day of school before Winter Break (December 26-January 2)

Have a wonderful week!

Each Saturday, PS 88Q opens its doors for our amazing program for our students in grades 1-5 who are Multi-Language Learners. This year we have such a well rounded program, which provides not just additional academic support, but enrichment in art and music. We have partnered with Creative Art Works, and our resident artist provides an amazing opportunity in visual arts. Mr. Dumont also incorporates music into the program. This past weekend, Ms. Melecio provided a wonderful experience for our students. Each student built their own gingerbread house! Our Saturday Crew (Ms. Melecio, Ms. Cybura, Ms. Kuqi, Mr. Dumont, Mr. Ingino, Ms. Tavella, Ms. Heras-Torres, Ms. Cortes and myself) love this time with our students. Check out a quick video below of this past Saturday fun!

We are excited to begin the Kindergarten application process. It is a wonderful time for families to explore the many options they have for kindergarten. At PS 88Q, we couldn't be more proud of the early childhood experience that we have created. From as early as our 3K, and PreK, we have focused on developmentally appropriate, play based and project based instruction as well as a focus on the arts and sciences. Our kindergarten classes continue that scope, while incorporating computational thinking, STEM, and project based learning. We are strong supporters of the Science of Reading philosophy, with a multi-sensory approach to phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, background knowledge and verbal reasoning, to name a few. We are proud of our STEM Diversity Class which is a District 24 initiative that we have obtained through a district grant. Our comprehensive and rigorous kindergarten curriculum is detailed and linked on our website. You can find more information at:

https://www.ps88q.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2276247&type=d&pREC_ID=2206722

Below are some current videos highlighting our kindergarten classes as well. Check out our school wide videos at this link:

https://www.ps88q.com/apps/video/

This past week, we hosted our first in person Kindergarten Open House with our future families. It was wonderful to speak with our families, and give them the opportunity to walk our halls, and see our space. We will be hosting more events for open houses in January, both in person and virtually. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me anytime.