I hope everyone enjoyed this long weekend. For those who celebrate Easter, I hope you had a Happy Easter. We return to school on Tuesday, April 2nd.

I wanted to share some wonderful news for PS 88q. Earlier this year, Chancellor Banks, along with Deputy Chancellor Ahmed, came to visit our early childhood program. The Chancellor and his team spent time in all of our classrooms, commending the PS 88q team for their exemplary practices and their passion for early childhood. I was also invited to City Hall to meet with leaders in early childhood with Mayor Adams. It was an amazing opportunity for our school. Well, this opportunity has been extended to include our teachers and our families. Our Deputy Chancellor announced The NYC Reads Early Childhood Education Advisory Council this past week. We are proud to introduce William Ingino, PS 88Q Pre-K teacher, Jennifer Barone; PS 88Q 3K Parent, and Suzanne Hatfield; PS 88Q 3K parent. What an amazing opportunity for all of us to share our thoughts, our feedback and be part of the conversation.

Have a wonderful week!

I am so happy to celebrate this week with two very special women, Ms. Candice Lowe and Ms. Kathryn Herman. I couldn't imagine a stronger team than these two leaders. This week we celebrate them. To give them a Shout out, click here! https://padlet.com/loshaughnessy/celebrating-our-stars-national-assistant-principal-week-for--n1c5fzoph3coj5tn

Many times, families ask how they can be involved, or at least, have the opportunity to discuss educational matters. Our Chancellor is hosting a Town Hall Meeting for District 24 parents this week. Please register to attend!

Today is the start of Autism Acceptance Month: a time to celebrate the differences that make us unique and work to create connections across the Autism community. We recognize Autistic individuals, and their families have a diversity of needs. We are proud to support all of our students, and be part of the NYU ASD Nest family as well. As a school community, we are always learning, and creating an environment that supports our students with autism. This month we will be sharing many resources as well as hosting opportunities to learn more.

Our grade 5 is getting ready to begin their next chapter, but not before we celebrate this wonderful milestone! Grade 5 families, please complete this link ASAP, as we need their sizes for their cap and gown for commencement. No payment is required, as all graduation items are provided.

https://forms.office.com/r/TWESYSDXUV

The PTA has partnered with Mama's Got Heart to create a limited edition T-Shirt showing our Seneca School Pride!

The DOE, in collaboration with community-based organizations, advocates, and education leaders, invites families and school-based staff to attend the Multilingual and Immigrant Family Conference at the Intrepid Museum (Pier 86, W 46th St, New York, NY 10036) from 10:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. on April 17. The conference will include giveaways, resource tables, guest speakers, and workshops to promote multilingualism and advocacy for families and ensure they understand their rights.

PTA UPDATES

PS88 LIMITED EDITION MERCH! Available until 4/14!

We are so excited to offer some wonderful merch in partnership with Mama’s Got Heart to raise funds for afterschool programs!

Go to mamasgotheart.com and use passcode 088 to log in and also to get free shipping. Everything will be shipped directly to PS88 for distribution in April.

LIBRARY COMMITTEE

Do you love all things libraries and books? Are you interested in volunteering in the PS88 library? We’re working on a lot of exciting projects from staffing to developing programming to updating materials.

If you’d like to be involved or just want more info, please email Caitlin (pta88library@gmail.com) and/or Sam (pta88president@gmail.com).

PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (PAC) CHAIRPERSON - Open position

The PAC develops parent outreach and engagement initiatives with the ultimate goal of increasing student achievement. The PAC is charged with 1% of our Title 1 funding to create these initiatives. If you are interested or would like more information, please reach out to Ivett (IPerezlopez@schools.nyc.gov) or Principal O’Shaughnessy (LOshaughnessy@schools.nyc.gov) or Sam (pta88president@gmail.com).

As always, feel free to reach out to your PTA Executive Board with any questions, ideas, or concerns:

Sam (pta88president@gmail.com), Camila (pta88secretary@gmail.com), and Sabita (pta88treasurer@gmail.com)

Dear New Yorkers,

Words matter. They have power. It’s an idea we emphasize often as educators and parents, whether we are teaching our students to read or fostering their civic engagement.

I want to highlight a recent choice of words that caught my attention. In a few days, it will be April, which is Autism Acceptance Month. The purpose of this month is not to simply to acknowledge autistic people. As its name makes clear, the goal is acceptance.

One way we foster acceptance is through building understanding. I’d like to highlight one particular example from our Special Education Office, which hosts terrific webinars in their Beyond Access Series. These webinars share information on supporting students with disabilities, and while they’re designed for families, they are an excellent resource for staff and community members as well.

Last week, we had over 5,000 participants register for a session about becoming a certified IEP Parent Member, a role in which parents support and advocate for other parents in students’ IEP meetings. This is an innovative opportunity for families to develop their own expertise and understanding while also helping fellow parents—what a way to build a welcoming and inclusive culture!

We have another webinar approaching soon, on April 8. This one is focused on related services recommendations, and I encourage interested families and staff to register today. And of course, you can always visit our website to learn more about our work to reimagine special education, such as adopting more inclusive language and expanding our Nest, Horizon and AIMS programs, which teach autistic students in their neighborhood schools.

This month, let’s focus on acceptance. It’s how we want all our children to feel, no matter their identity or background. Follow us on social media @nycschools to learn more about how we’re promoting belonging – from celebrating Women’s History Month in March to honoring Arab American Heritage Month, also this April – and how we’re ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and uplifted.

Soaring high,

David C. Banks

Chancellor