Dear PS 107 Families,
It is hard to believe that it has been 23 years since September 11, 2001. I stood on my stoop last night, staring in silence at the Tribute in Light, and I couldn’t believe how clear and present the memories were for me from that terrible day, 23 years ago. I know it is the same for all of us, and please know that I am holding space for our entire PS 107 community right now.
We did not address 9/11 in our classrooms today; however, if it comes up at home, and you would like resources to support conversations with your children, you can find many age-appropriate materials here. While this document is for educators, it can certainly serve as a resource for families as well.
We are halfway through the first full week of school, and I am so impressed with your children! They have been bringing nonstop joy, curiosity, and kindness to the PS 107 community this week, and our classrooms are positively humming with energy and excitement.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION VOLUNTEERS
Many of you have already asked whether we’ll be running our Physical Education parent/guardian volunteer program at the Armory again this year now that we have a new Physical Education teacher. The short answer is: YES! The longer answer is that we are still making a few adjustments to our Physical Education schedule, and we aren’t quite ready to bring volunteers in just yet. However, sign ups will be happening soon, so please keep an eye out. Our PE teachers, Ali Annunziato and Mark Sacoto, are so excited to welcome you to their PE classes this year!
WELCOME BACK POTLUCK: THIS SATURDAY!
Please join us this Saturday from noon to 2 pm at our first-ever Welcome Back Potluck, which is sponsored by our parent Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team. We would love to see as many members of our community as possible there – and please bring a dish to share! We will also have a special community service opportunity for our students to take part in – cleaning our Imagination Playground blocks with Ms Joanna! Many children are asking when the Imagination Playground blocks will come out at recess, and we’ve shared that they need a good deep cleaning before that can happen. With a great weather forecast for this Saturday, we’ll be cordoning off a corner of the Big Yard to get our blocks cleaned up for the new year. We need two baby pools (inflatable or hard plastic) to fill with water and non-toxic cleaning solution, so if you have one of these that you can lend to us on Saturday, please email me at jcohen72@schools.nyc.gov or DEI lead Christine Canedo-Pullan at christine.canedo@gmail.com.
CURRICULUM NIGHT: SEPTEMBER 25TH
PS 107 will be hosting Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 25th from 4:30 to 7:30 pm, in-person! The schedule for the evening is as follows:
Specialty Teachers (Art, Music, PE, Library, and Science) will be giving a panel presentation, 4:30-5:25 pm, 4th Floor Art room
Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade presentations, 5:30-6:25 pm, individual classrooms
PreK, 3rd + 4th grade presentations, 6:30-7:30 pm, individual classrooms
5th grade teachers panel presentation, 6:30-7:30 pm, 4th Floor Art room
School Administrators – Ms Joanna and Ms Rinah – will be available in the main office and the halls to say hello and get to know you and your family
Please note that we are working on arranging childcare for Curriculum Night, as the classroom presentations are only for adults. Stay tuned for details!
Finally, a few reminders:
Please cross the streets surrounding PS 107 only at the crosswalks.Our crossing guards have witnessed several families crossing mid-block and have asked me to share this important reminder with the community: You are modeling how to safely cross the street for your children, and it is extremely important that you demonstrate the necessity of crossing only at the crosswalks and when you have the “WALK” signal. Thank you for your attention to this.
Please remember to email your children’s teachers at their @schools.nyc.gov email addresses. Teachers are not permitted to use Konstella to communicate with parents. Please also keep your email communications to absolute essentials or significant concerns. Our teachers have very limited time to respond to emails as they are working face-to-face with your children all day long. Thank you for your consideration!
I’m looking forward to another great week at PS 107, and I hope to see many of you at the Welcome Back Potluck on Saturday afternoon!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna
The FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes and celebrates extraordinary public school teachers who inspire learning through creativity, passion, and commitment.
One grand-prize winner from each of the five NYC boroughs will receive a $25,000 unrestricted cash prize, and their schools will receive a $10,000 grant designated for use in an arts-based initiative designed by each winner.
Click here if you would like to nominate a teacher: https://flagaward.org/
LOST & FOUND
Please be sure to check for your child's lost items in this virtual lost & found document: Did You Lose Me?
*If you see an item you now have in your possession, please just ignore the picture in document
CLOTHING SWAP @ PS 124
On September 14th, from 9am to 12pm, there will be a clothing swap at our sister school, PS 124. All gently used, in season clothing is welcome (all genders/ages) and curbside pick-up is available! If you would like to volunteer to bring snacks or to help with sorting, clean-up, or transporting of unused items, please sign-up here.
WELCOME BACK POTLUCK
PS 107 will be hosting our first ever Welcome Back Potluck on Saturday, September 14th from 12-2pm in the big yard. Meet new friends, catch up with old ones, and welcome new families to our PS 107 Community. Sponsored by the DEI Committee, there will be music, activities for the kids, and food for all. Please contribute what you can; sign-up to bring food or volunteer for set-up, clean up, or food service here.
PTA GENERAL MEETING
Please join us on Thursday, September 19th from 8:45 to 9:45am for our first PTA General Meeting of the 2024-2025 school year. This first meeting of the year will be held in-person at PS107. (Subsequent meetings will generally take place on Zoom.) The agenda will be shared prior to the meeting. We hope to see you there!
PS 107 GEAR SALE
AT PS 107, it is strongly encouraged that students wear school shirts for gym and trips. Get your PS 107 gear here: PS 107 Online Gear Shop (zeffy.com), or in person on Thursday, September 19th or Friday, September 27th.
CHIPOTLE FUNDRAISER
On Saturday, September 21st from 4pm to 8pm, order online and pick-up Chipotle using the digital code 6TTFLRL or show the cashier the digital flyer here and 25% of event sales will be donated to the PS 107 PTA!
2024-2025 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
PS 107 is a school like no other thanks in large part to the generous efforts of our school community. There are numerous opportunities for parents and family members to contribute in the upcoming school year - our goal is for 100% of caregivers to volunteer at least once! Please see the Konstella announcement here for some ways you can contribute.
SUPPORTING THE PTA = SUPPORTING PS 107
Contribute to the Annual Fund, which directly supports essential school programs and resources. Here’s how:
- Donate via Konstella here,
- Share this link with non-Konstella using friends and family, or
- Leave a check made out to PS 107 PTA with Ms. Nadia in the office.
- We also accept gifts of stock here - stock donations are tax-free!
YOUR GIFT MATTERS! Thank you for all the ways you show up in our beautiful school community!