We are excited to celebrate our students who have demonstrated academic and attendance growth so far this year! Our Growth Ceremony is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 11th at 3:00PM in the MS 50 Auditorium. All students who are being honored received a paper invitation last week Friday and families were notified of their invitation via Operoo last week. We hope to see you there to celebrate our students!

*Reminder that schools are closed next week for Midwinter Recess. Our next newsletter will be February 24th*

In this Issue:

• NYC School Survey Now Open
• Congratulations Principal Honoroff!
• Saturday School Begins Soon
• Participatory Budgeting - Cast your Vote!
• Mathletes Competition
• Classroom Spotlight: Social Studies
• PTA Updates
  
• District 14 & NYCPS Updates
• "Know Your Rights" Workshops and Folders
• Upcoming Events
  
• Free Virtual Tutoring
• Free Internet Hotspot

Not receiving these updates in your email? Click the "Subscribe to MS50" button on the bottom of this page.

The NYC School Survey is now live! Every family completing this survey is essential for us to best serve our whole school community. This year we are excited to announce a raffle for all families who complete the survey. All you need to do is complete the short form linked below, upload a screenshot of your confirmation screen, and you will be entered into a raffle to win a gift card to Patrizia's Italian Dining! Please contact Edda, our Parent Coordinator, with any questions.

We could not be more excited to announce that Principal Honoroff was just named the Region 1 Magnet Principal of the Year and will be recognized at the upcoming National Magnet Conference in Nashville this April! We are thankful for his constant leadership and are so proud to have him as an integral part of our school community. Read more about this recognition on the Magnet Schools of America website.

We are excited to announce that MS 50's ELA/Math/ENL Saturday School will begin on March 1! We have prepared small group, intensive ELA, Math and ENL practice in preparation for the New York State Common Core exam. Saturday School will be held from 9:00AM–12:30PM on the following Saturdays:

• March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
• April 5, 26

Your child will work with MS 50 teachers who will supplement our current ELA and Math curriculum with targeted skill practice. All students will receive pizza and snacks.

Please check Operoo to sign up your child for this awesome opportunity. Paper permission slips will also be distributed this week.

Every year our school participates in the Department of Education's Civics for All initiative. Student council is excited to announce that we have been granted $2,667 that the community can decide how to spend. Our student leaders have thought about some issues and the best way to spend this money that would benefit the most students.

Please take a moment to complete the survey below and share what you believe we should spend this money on.

Our mathletes team consisting of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade went to the MathCounts competition last week. They have been preparing all year and were nervous, excited, and ready! We are so proud of all their hard work in the competition in the sprint, target, and team rounds! Great work!

We had a wonderful February meeting last week where we discussed the Superintendent's encouragement of families to apply for the CCEC, upcoming fundraising opportunities, and much more! Check out full minutes from the meeting at ms50.org/pta.

The popcorn stand at our home basketball games have been a huge success so far this year! If you are able to help out for any games, please complete the form below!

At MS 50, we are proud to welcome all of our students fully into our community and firmly believe that our diversity is our strength. We know that there are many questions and concerns at the moment and want to support our families as best we can. There are a few ways that you can access these supports:

• "Know Your Rights" Emergency Folders: We have created packets that students can take home to fill with emergency contact information and informational resources about you and your family's rights. Check this webpage for videos on creating these folders and additional information. You will need to enter the password: "Rights" in order to access the webpage.
• Virtual Listening Circles: We will be hosting virtual listening circles on Wednesday, February 26th at 9AM and 5:30PM for families who would like to share any concerns they have and let us know how we can support you as a school community. Please contact our Parent Organizer Teresa Arieta or our Social Worker Alex Lamond for more information and the link to join.
• Community Knowledge Workshop: El Puente will be hosting a workshop discussing ways to prepare as a community on February 27th at 5:30PM. Contact our Parent Organizer Teresa Arieta or Community School Director Anelin Flete for more information.

Boys Varsity Basketball

• Away vs. MS 577: Tuesday, February 11, 4:00PM
• Home vs. PS 84: Thursday, February 13, 4:00PM

Girls Varsity Basketball

• Home vs. IS 318: Thursday, February 27, 4:00PM
  

JV Boys Basketball

• Home vs. Brooklyn Independent: Wednesday, February 12, 4:00PM - Playoffs

• Monday, February 17th - Friday, February 21st: Midwinter Recess
  

• March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
• April 5, 26

Add the MS 50 Calendar directly to your device! Simply click here to add to your Google Calendar or click here to add it to your Apple device.

We have partnered "PRACTICE" to offer free, on-demand, virtual tutoring and homework assistance for MS 50 students! Tutoring is available in English, Spanish, or Mandarin, Monday to Friday, 4-8pm, starting NOW! You can book a session at the link below up to 24 hours in advance. Booking a session is simple; click on this video link to see how to sign up. Once you've submitted the form, you will receive an email confirmation with the Google meeting link for the session. Please note: student DOE emails are not compatible for session scheduling.

All MS 50 students are eligible for a FREE internet hotspot through T-Mobile's Project 10Million. This provides 100GB of yearly data for 5 years in addition to low-cost laptops and tablets for your student. When you apply online, use "NYC Chancellor's Office" for the school district and "Jhs 50 John D Wells" for school name.