MS 50 Weekly News: 12/15/25

The Honor Roll ceremonies are this week with the 6th Grade Honor Roll Ceremony today, Monday, December 15th and the 7th and 8th Grade Honor Roll Ceremony will be tomorrow, Tuesday, December 16th. Both ceremonies will be at 3:00PM in the Auditorium and will also be available via livestream at ms50.org/honorroll. You need to enter the password "honor" to view the page. Invitations have been sent out via Operoo and on paper. MS 50's Honor Roll criteria are an 85%+ overall average and a passing grade in all classes. To make Principal's Honor Roll, students must have a 95%+ overall average with a passing grade in all classes.

This is the last Weekly Newsletter before Winter Break. The next newsletter will be sent on Monday, January 5, 2026.

In this Issue:

Footloose Auditions
Classroom Spotlight: Social Studies
Spirit Week
Ordering School Pictures
PTA Updates
Loaned Instrument Return
Spanish Office Hours
Housing Questionnaire
Upcoming Events
From District 14 & NYCPS
Free Internet Hotspot

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We are so proud of our incredible student performers who put on two shows of "Tough City, Prone to Rain" this past weekend! Stay tuned for photos and a recording of the performance. Want to be a part of our spring musical, Footloose: Youth Edition? Auditions are this week Friday during ELT with callbacks next week Monday. You can view all of the information you need for the audition in the linked Google Drive Folder or stop by Mr. Stripp's room.

6th Grade - River Valley Civilizations

Social studies students have explored River Valley Civilizations, focusing on Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Students learned about the Sumerians, Babylonians, Akkadians, and Assyrians, and completed activities to further learning on cuneiform, the ancient writing system developed by the Sumerians. During the activity, students decoded ancient cuneiform and invented their own picture system of writing. Additionally, students analyzed the Code of Hammurabi, the ancient legal code created by King Hammurabi of Babylonian around 1750 BCE, and read an excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh, telling of a great flood that plagued Mesopotamia. Social studies students have examined the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms of ancient Egypt, taking a virtual tour inside the Pyramids of Giza and researching how the Ancient Egyptians used science and mathematics to construct the Great Pyramids!

7th Grade -The Road to Independence

In 7th grade Social Studies, students are exploring the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution. They are learning how colonial grievances over taxes, representation, and British laws led to the Declaration of Independence. Students examine how Patriots, Loyalists, African Americans, Native Americans, and women made difficult choices during the war. Through key individuals, major battles, and geography—especially New York City—students analyze how the war was won. Along the way, they build academic vocabulary, evaluate multiple perspectives, research from diverse sources, and connect Revolutionary themes to modern democracy and current events.

8th Grade - The Gilded Age

In social studies, we are continuing Unit 2 studying the Gilded Age and Progressive Era and how lives changed for many Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This unit explores themes of expanded wealth inequality, urbanization, workers rights, immigration, and racial terrorism. Their assessment will ask them to consider all these themes together and assess whether most Americans lives improved or were harmed during the Gilded Age.

Next week is our second Spirit Week of the year! Students are invited to participate in the following dress-up days:

Monday, December 15: Cartoon Character Day
Tuesday, December 16: Twin Day
Wednesday, December 17: Dress Like a Teacher Day
Thursday, December 18: Throwback Thursday
Friday, December 19: Holiday Colors Day
Monday, December 22: Ugly Sweater Day

School Picture Day was last week Wednesday and ordering for school photos is now available online! If your student was present and got their picture taken last week Wednesday, you can now view proofs of their photos online and place your order. Your individual access code was sent home with your student last week and a direct link to your photos was sent via Operoo this morning. If you need help accessing Operoo, please complete the form at ms50.org/operoo.

December PTA Meeting

Our December PTA meeting is this week Thursday, December 18, at 6PM online. Join us at ms50.org/meeting.

December Clothing Drive - Open Today!

The PTA Clothing Center will be held in the cafeteria on 12/15 and is open from 4:30pm-7pm. The clothing center is open to any MS 50 families who need warm clothes for the winter.

A big warm thank you to all the MS 50 families that donated clothing, allowing us to open our very first MS 50 PTA Clothing Center. Your care and love for our families are immeasurable.

Theatre Fundraising Success

Thank you for your donations in support of our PTA Theatre Fundraiser. And thank you for stopping by our table to shop for tasty treats and for your continued support of our school programs. We truly appreciate you!

MS 50 PTA Donations

PTA Grade-Level WhatsApp QR Codes

If you have a student who is no longer in band and has an instrument at home, please have them return it to Mr. Morocho's room (223) so we can get it into the hands of our current band students!

We’d love for you to join our bilingual team’s weekly open space with Ms. B and parent coordinator Edda and Parent Organizer Teresa—a time to connect, ask any questions, request resources, and build community together. This weekly Zoom meeting will take place every Tuesday at 7PM. Join at ms50.org/martes.

Hello MS 50 Families! Are you and your family living in temporary housing or will be in the next month? (For example, shelter, hotel/motel, car, abandoned building, with another family?) Please fill out the questionnaire in your preferred language. If you have already filled out the questionnaire on Operoo, no further action is required. You can either print this completed form or email it to our social worker Ms. Alex.

Event Information

7th and 8th Grade Band Concert

When?

Saturday, Jan 10, 2026, 02:00 PM

Where?

MS 50 Community School, South 3rd Street, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Upcoming Days Off

Wednesday, December 24 - Friday, January 2: Winter Recess

NYCPS 2025-26 Calendar

View our Full Calendar

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.

D14 Events

Family Institute for Sustainable Change

🗓 Monthly Workshops: Oct 15, Nov 19, Dec 17, Jan 21, Feb 25, Mar 18, Apr 15, May 20
🕘 9:00–11:00 AM
📍 P.S. 147, 325 Bushwick Ave, Brooklyn, NY
A series of 8 interactive workshops for families of students in Grades K–2 (Grades 3–5 welcome!) focused on literacy, multilingual learners, special education, STEM, math support, and more.
RSVP Link: https://forms.gle/3kPrDFtxQppRDCAh8

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To The Moon Gift Giveaway 2025

Holiday toy giveaway at Maria Hernandez Park on Saturday, December 20 from 12-3PM.

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East Williamsburg Downtown Revitalization Survey

The Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, the Graham Avenue BID, and the Grand Street BID are applying for the Department of State’s (NYS) Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant for East Williamsburg and we want to hear from you!

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.

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Instructions in English

Instrucciones en español

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