PS 111 Principal's Corner

Remember that schools are closed February 17 - 21. Please ensure that your child reads for at least 30 minutes every day and answers some generic recall questions (who were the characters?, what information did you learn?, what was the setting?, etc...)

Students should also practice their mental math fluency. They need to know their math facts fluently and without thinking (automaticity).

Kindergarten: mentally add two numbers equal to five (1+4, 2+3, etc...)

1st Grade: mentally add two numbers equal to ten (1+9, 3+7, etc...)

2nd Grade: mentally add two numbers equal to twenty (3+17, 11+9, 14+6, etc...)

3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades: mentally students MUST know all of their multiplication tables 1-12 without hesitation! If your upper grade student is struggling with multiplication facts, focus on the 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 tables as these have the most recognizable patterns.

Students in all grades will have the opportunity to shop for books at the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair taking place February 3 - February 7. Thank you to all the PTA volunteers helping to make this happen, especially our stalwart Maria Moyers :)

The next movie night is Friday, February 7th. The Wild Robot will be shown. Doors open at 5:00, movie starts at 5:30 and ends at ~7:15.

We hope to see you all there!

Beginning on January 27th, the literacy strategic intervention periods was changed to three days per week. The other two days per week now focus on mathematics.

Students have been assessed (multiple times) and are grouped by instructional level and need. For 40 minutes every day, students receive targeted support. The three basic levels are: core instructional support (generally grade level work), intervention (addressing lagging skills from previous grade levels), and enrichment (strengthening core level work and exploring advanced standards).

It is imperative that students are in school every day to receive this targeted support especially if they are working on lagging skills to get to grade level performance.

Ricky Yim: 5th Grade ICT Special Education Teacher: Ricky is a 4th year teacher at P.S.111. Prior to becoming a teacher, he was a paraprofessional. He enjoys playing basketball, volleyball, and a sprinkle of pickleball. Landscape and portrait photography are things that he enjoys both at friend gatherings and in his travels.

Laura Greenberg: 5th Grade ICT General Education Teacher: Laura is a 5th grade ICT teacher and this is her 8th year at PS 111. She lives on the Upper East Side and enjoys gardening, painting, and baking. Her biggest recent accomplishment has been learning how to knit, and so far she has made several sweaters. During the summers, she likes to travel to other countries.

Pam Publik: 4th & 5th grade Special Education Teacher: Ms. Publik is a 6th generation Hell's Kitchen native who recently moved to Queens. This is her eighth year teaching at PS 111. When she isn't teaching or running after her 3-year-old, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and reading.

Amber Garrett: 5th Grade General Education/G&T Class Teacher: Ms. Garrett has considered PS 111 her second home for 24 years (!!). She loves our beautiful community of educators and learners. Outside of school, she spends her time with her family and friends in New Jersey and Long Island. She loves to ski in the winter and relax at the beach during the summer.

Arrival will take place outside on any day when the temperature or wind-chill is above 25 degrees. Since students are standing still during the time, we use more discretion to bring them inside. We will send a notice on Operoo by 7:45 AM each morning to let you know if it is indoor arrival.

Note: PreK and Kindergarten arrival is always through the small yard even when it is indoor arrival.

Recess is outside as long as there is no ice, snow, or water on the ground and the temperature or wind-chill is above zero (0). Students should be dressed for the weather! On days when we do have indoor recess, half the students will go to the gym, and half will go to the auditorium. This will alternate each time we are inside.

Dismissal is always outside regardless of the weather.

The 3rd grade classes have organized, and are running, a food drive. Please support this service learning project by contributing non-perishable items with an expiration date far into the future. Canned items are preferred over boxed items to prevent mice and rats from contaminating the food.

All parents & guardians are automatically members of the PTA. If you would like to volunteer to serve on the Executive Board, please see a PTA EB member.

Note: The February PTA meeting will be in-person!

School Leadership Team (SLT) is an opportunity to support the operation of the school to support all students and families. If you are interested in serving as an SLT member for 2025-2026, please put your name forward in the September 2025 PTA meeting. All PTA members are welcome to join SLT meetings as an observer. The next SLT meting is February 12th.

PS 111 partners with several after-school groups for programming. Please reach out to each group individually for more information.

NEW: CENY Spanish Learning. Join today! Wednesdays 2:40 PM - 5:30 PM

Kids in the Game (KING): every day with in-school pickup and activities

Orchestra of St. Luke's: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Chess (Impact Coaching Network): Thursdays

Table Tennis: Fridays

Girls' Leadership: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Spanish Club: Wednesdays (beginning January 22)

We also partner with P.A.L. for an off-site program. They pick-up the students in the school and bring them to their location on 52nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

We want to thank the PTA volunteers are who are working hard to renovate the library into a usable student and community space! We are excited to see what unfolds :)

Be on the lookout for family programming that will take place in the library.

Come take a look during the in-person PTA meeting in February.