The Wednesday Weekly
June 24, 2026
Dear Families,
And just like that, the 2025–26 school year is (almost) behind us. Together this year we learned and laughed, we danced and ran, we made art and made music, and we grew alongside one another in ways big and small. I am endlessly grateful to the PS 107 staff for making it all happen. They are the heart and soul of this school, pouring themselves into our students every single day so that they experience an education that is joyful, rigorous, and full of love. Put simply, they are heroes.
Our parent community is the stuff of legends. I am deeply thankful to PTA Co-Presidents Adam Cobb and Christine Canedo-Pullan for the countless hours they have poured into our school this year, and for being such genuine partners to me along the way. To the entire PTA Executive Board, the work you do behind the scenes makes everything else possible. And to every parent who pitched in at events and in the building, whether you were reshelving library books, sorting the Lost and Found, leading Math Magic, tending the garden, or lending a hand in PE, thank you. We simply could not do this without you.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked what you are grateful for about PS 107, and wow, did you deliver. Your responses poured in, and each one moved me. Here are just a few, lightly edited for privacy:
I truly mean it when I say that we are grateful for everything, and so glad we chose to join the PS 107 community. From the teachers who work everyday to meet the unique needs of every single child, to the administration that exudes warmth, care and love and is always trying to learn and understand and be better for students and families, to the afterschool program and staff who know every child's name at pickup and manage our rambunctious little maniacs at the end of the day when they aren't always at their best. And everyone else who isn't explicitly mentioned but is an integral part of creating the safe, nurturing, loving community that is PS 107. I'm overwhelmed just thinking about all of the things you all have to manage and navigate on a daily basis, and you do it all with love and care. Thank you!
I'm thankful for an amazing school staff, community and my kid's safe and happy childhood. I'm so proud of her and fascinated by her continuous intellectual growth which in biggest part is shaped due to the dedication of her loving teachers. Thank you!
All of the amazing PTA events throughout the year, the way our school administration is so engaged and thoughtful in their communications, and our incredible teachers helped my son grow so much this year.
My child's teachers were spectacular. Kind, funny, deeply compassionate, thoughtful in their techniques, and always connected to the kids and the curriculum. I was so impressed by the energy they brought into to the classroom every day.
I appreciate the sense of community. Our family has felt supported by admin and teachers, and I am so grateful for how much my children have grown academically and socially over the course of the year. They enjoy school, and feel safe there, and that is huge!
As my oldest prepares to graduate from PS 107, I'm grateful for that first day when her 1st grade teacher made a small but deeply meaningful gesture to connect with my very nervous (and still masked!) child, to all the incredible moments to celebrate our fifth grader, and to all the moments in between. I'm grateful for the incredible education, the social emotional support, the sense of community and the many friendships we gained over the years. What a privilege it is to be at 107 and to be able to go off to middle school with an entire school community rooting for you. Thank you to the incredible teachers and staff members that make every day special at PS 107.
Teachers that are kind and understanding, and truly care about my kid. That my son comes home almost every day smiling, and when I ask how school was, he says, "Great!" I'm also incredibly grateful for the afterschool program. Having experience with after school programs at other schools, I can confirm that this one is next level, in terms of the offered programming, the staff, and the overall organization. We are so lucky to have it.
That my kid gained confidence, independence, and the ability to begin to read. I'm grateful how many staff and teachers know him and make him feel cared for.
We also received a special message of gratitude from one of our teachers to the parent community: I'm incredibly grateful for the never-ending support I receive from the families of my students. The notes, the emails, the text messages, the hugs...it all comes from a place of love and a sense of community. Thank you, parents, for being there for us whenever we need you.
Thank you for sharing these reflections with us. They are a beautiful reminder of everything we have built together, and everything still ahead of us.
One more highlight from these final days: you may have noticed a bus parked outside PS 107 over the past couple of days. It’s the Mobile Museum of Tolerance, a traveling education center that brings interactive learning experiences to schools, and we were thrilled to welcome it for the very first time this year. All of our 4th and 5th grade classes had the chance to climb aboard for workshops on the Civil Rights Movement (5th grade) or the story of Anne Frank (4th grade), led by trained educators who guided thoughtful conversations about confronting hate, standing up for one another, and acting for positive change. It was a powerful experience, and a fitting one for a school that cares as deeply as ours does about kindness and community.
On to a few logistics. Your child's final report card will be available on Friday, June 26th, through your NYC Schools Account (NYCSA). To access it:
Go to schoolsaccount.nyc and sign in.
Select your child.
Click "My Student" > "Grades" > "Report Card."
Click "Report Card" once more to download it as a PDF.
A quick heads up: NYCSA can be glitchy. If the report card is not there right away, check back in about 24 hours. And if you notice that comments appear to be missing, please know this is a system error and not an oversight. Every teacher wrote comments for every student. If the full report still is not showing by Monday, June 29th, or if you would like a printed copy, please reach out to Parent Coordinator Nadia Benlarbi at nbenlarbi2@schools.nyc.gov. (And thank you, as always, for helping us save a few trees by going paperless.)
To our wonderful 5th grade graduates: we will miss you more than you know, and we hope you will fly back to the nest to visit us often. And to our beloved Assistant Principal, Rinah Fernandez-Vasquez: she embodies everything that makes PS 107 special, her warm smile, her gentle spirit, her boundless kindness, and her ability to get tough exactly when it counts. After eight years here, Ms. Rinah is moving on to a district-level position in Manhattan, where she will help principals like me do our jobs even better. It is the perfect fit, because helping all of us be better is precisely what she has done at PS 107 every single day. We will miss you more than words can say, Ms. Rinah. Thank you for everything.
We also bid a fond farewell to our wonderful crossing guard, Laura Giammarino, who is retiring after 14 years of keeping PS 107 students safe as they cross 8th Avenue. Countless families have come to know her steady, watchful presence at the corner. We wish her all the best in this next chapter, and we thank her for her hard work.
For our returning students, class assignments and supply lists will go out in late August. Please note that we are unable to make changes once assignments have been shared. Each class is built thoughtfully and reviewed through several rounds before it is finalized, and because a single change sets off a ripple effect across many classrooms, we are not able to accommodate placement requests. We are so grateful for your understanding and trust in this process.
We cannot wait to see you on Thursday, September 10th, for the first day of the 2026–27 school year.
Until then, I wish you a summer filled with rest, adventure, and plenty of time together as a family. Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and your steadfast support of PS 107. You are what makes this school the extraordinary place it is.
With love and gratitude,
Ms. Joanna
THANK YOU
We have had an incredible year and I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every person who is part of our school community for all of your hard work, dedication, and commitment. It is important to make the distinction between a career and a calling - a strong inner urge or conviction toward a particular purpose in life. I see this in all of our staff here at PS 107, this sense that this was something that they were meant to do. I am so grateful to work with such amazing and inspiring people!😍
Part of my joy in this position is getting to work so closely with our parents and families. It is incredibly valuable and important to me that we have a connected and fully engaged community. I just want to take a moment to thank all of our PTA and PTA Board Members for their contributions and continued support. I am always mindful of the idea that they do so much to support our school in a variety of ways, as parent volunteers, often in addition to their own careers! True Rock Stars 🤩
My door is always open. Have an idea you would like to share? Have a suggestion? Reach out!
Have a wonderful summer and see you in September!
Nadia
"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much." — Helen Keller
What a beautiful graduation day for our fifth grade students and their families!
There were so many moments that I wanted to capture and share, but had to wear my parent coordinator hat and not my photographer one 😄 (this photo credit goes to Ethan Mitchell).
We are so proud of our graduating families (yes, adults and students!).
Keep your friendships, keep being the best you, and keep coming back. We love to see you!
Just know that no matter what, PS 107 will always be a place you can call home and you will always be a part of our community :💙💛
Please join us on Friday, June 26th , to send off our rising 6th graders with a rousing clap out at dismissal, a time honored tradition.
PARENTSQUARE: ONE PLATFORM FOR ALL COMMUNICATIONS
PS 107 will be adopting a new parent communication tool for the 2026-27 school year: ParentSquare! No more juggling two platforms (goodbye, Konstella and Operoo). Starting next year, all school, classroom, and PTA communications will be consolidated in one place, translated into your preferred language, and available by email, text, app, or web.
With ParentSquare, you'll be able to stay up to date on news and events, send and receive messages with teachers and staff, fill out forms and permission slips, sign up for conferences and volunteer opportunities, and view calendar items and photos from school. The PTA will also be using ParentSquare for all parent-to-parent communications, so we can truly offer one platform for everything.
To get the most out of ParentSquare, we encourage you to download the free mobile app, available for iOS and Android. You can also access it from your web browser at https://www.parentsquare.com/.
We'll be sharing more information soon, including how to set up your account and customize your notification preferences.
SCHOOL & AFTERSCHOOL NEWS
- Last Day of Afterschool is Thursday June 25th : CLICK HERE For Konstella Post
- Missed the June PTA Meeting? You can check out the minutes here.
FIND SOMETHING COOL TO DO THIS SUMMER
New York City has tons of free or cheap summer programming for young people. We’ve compiled them all in one easy place.
Click here to find the best programming for your family.
SUMMER AND TRAVEL SAFETY TIPS
Please see the attached document to keep your family safe and healthy this summer whether you are staying in New York City or traveling! Travelers may need to take extra precautions due to the increased risk of some infections.
ACADEMIC & SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING RESOURCES
NEW SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING CURRICULUM
Our school community has moved into a new and important chapter of our PurposeFull People character education curriculum: the value of Honesty.
For more on our Honesty module, please take a look at the PurposeFull People parent newsletter here, which includes activities that you can do at home as a family to reinforce this value. And feel free to reach out to your child's teacher to learn more about what their specific grade is exploring.
Previous Units:
- PurposeFull People’s Family Newsletter on Respect
- PurposeFull People Family Newsletter on Responsibility
- PurposeFull People Family Newsletter on Gratitude
- PurposeFull People Family Newsletter on Empathy
- PurposeFull People Family Newsletter on Perseverance
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The school year is wrapping up, but there are still ways you can lend a hand:
OPEN PTA EXECUTIVE BOARD POSITIONS FOR THE 2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR:
We have two positions open for next school year!
Note:
The term for PTA Executive Board members is two years.
Board members are asked to attend monthly meetings, held via Zoom, on weekday evenings.
If you are interested in either position, please email christine@ps107.org and steph@ps107.org.
Positions will be voted in during a Fall 2026 Board Meeting.
Class Parent Coordinator:
The Class Parent Coordinator will serve as a liaison between the PTA and class parent leads for all grades. Duties of the Coordinator may include but are not limited to: sharing updates with class parents from the monthly executive board meeting, supporting new class parents with best practices, and reminding all class parents about PTA events, volunteer requests, and other information that would be helpful to communicate to families in their class.
*Note: This is a newly added position! It's an exciting opportunity for someone to take on and make their own!
Director of Aid and Action:
The duties of the Aid and Action Director shall include, but not be limited to: serving our Brooklyn and school communities in their times of need, serving as a liaison for other schools in our district, seeking volunteer and resource sharing opportunities, and communicating them to PS 107 families.
*Note: This is a co-chair position. There is already one person signed up, so you won't be alone!
EVENT LEADS:
Fall Fest:
Fall Festival 2026 planning will start over the summer with varying levels of participation. We are looking for a co-lead interested in partnering for this year's planning. Many portions of the event run themselves, so the lift for event leads is coordinating different teams and general oversight. We will also kick off sponsor outreach over the summer, which is less time consuming but equally as impactful. Please email lisa.k.esterhuizen@gmail.com to get involved.
COMMITTEE LEADS OR CO-LEADS:
Green Committee:
The mission of the PS107 Green Committee is to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship. PS107's Sustainability Commitment is to minimize waste with reusables and no single use plastic.
If interested, please reach out to: Tali Horowitz, talitali@gmail.com
Parents Supporting Special Education (PSSE):
The Parents Supporting Special Education (PSSE) Committee meets monthly to share neurodiverse education and parent resources, schedules parent workshops, hosts tables at school events with neurodiverse activities for all and creates a safe space where parents can discuss challenges and offer each other support. Previous initiatives include bringing neurodiverse books to the school library, creating a special education middle school survey, and setting up a drive collection and Amazon wishlist for sensory supplies which were distributed to ICT classrooms at PS107.
If interested, please rech out to Lisa Uribe: uribe@ms.com
CHiPS (Community Help in Park Slope):
The CHiPS team is seeking one volunteer to collect donations Wednesday morning dropoff 1-2x a month, and a liaison to virtually coordinate with CHiPS about collections, scheduling, tracking sheets, and coordinating volunteers.
If interested, please reach out to the Aid & Action team: Julie Mee Schmidt juliem@ps107.org and Tyghe Trimble tyghe@ps107.org
**NEW 2026-2027 NYCPS CALENDAR - click here
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 26 - Fifth Grade Clap Out
HOLIDAYS / SCHOOL CLOSURES
June 26 - Last Day of School
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