No School: Monday and Tuesday, February 15 – 16. President’s Day holiday.
There WILL be school Wednesday – Friday, February 17-19, but there will be no bus service and no after school activities. These three days are regular school days.
Advocacy Day in Albany: About 10 people went to Albany last Tuesday and had a good day speaking to legislators and meeting folks from other charter schools. Thank you to Elizabeth Juviler for organizing the trip and thank you to everyone who participated.
Student Belief Statement: We have created a belief statement for students that embodies the values of our school. All students will learn this statement from memory and recite it every day. Teachers will conduct discussions about the meaning of the statement with students throughout the year. Kindergarten and first grade students will learn only the first two lines. By the time they get to third grade they will learn all of it. We believe it is important for students to be reminded of the purpose of school and to focus them on the important goals on a daily basis. This is the statement:
We are the Ethical Community Charter School.
We believe in the ability of each and every person to share in building communities based on ethical principles.
To do our part, we set goals, embrace challenges, and encourage each other every day.
The love and respect that we share holds us together in a strong, cooperative, and supportive community that empowers us to imagine possibilities and to work toward shaping a better world.
School Photos: We will have School Photos on March 8. Look for a flyer in your child’s folder. We will wear our uniforms that day as usual.
Parent Coffee: Although attendance was small, those of us who came enjoyed the parent coffee. We got to know each other a little better and had a chance to ask questions and give suggestions. We’re looking forward to seeing some new faces next time. Our next Parent Coffee will be on Wednesday, March 3, at 8:00.
FTA: The next meeting of the Families and Teachers Association will be held on Friday, February 19 at 8:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing many of you there as we plan for the rest of the semester.
Parent Meeting and Presentation: We invite you to a parent meeting and a presentation on The Responsive Classroom. We hope that as many parents as possible will come out and join us for an evening event on February 24th or 25th. The same program will be presented on two different nights from 6:00 -7:30. Parents have already volunteered to provide child care. Please let me know if you can help with child care on one of the nights.
School Tours: We are accepting applications for the next school year for grades K, 1 and 2, so please tell your friends and relatives about our school. There will be school tours and information sessions at 9:00a.m. on Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 11 and March 23. Please call for an appointment: 718-599-2176.
School Survey: In March we will send home a school survey that will give you a chance to give us feedback on all aspects of our school, from the curriculum and instruction to the food service and communication with parents. There will be an opportunity to fill out the survey on line, if you choose. Look for more information at the beginning of March.
Video of each student: We are planning to make a very short video (1-2 minutes) of each student each year. We will keep the video on file and add new segments each year. The purpose of the video is to keep a record of your child’s development as he or she progresses through school. Parents will receive a copy on a disk when their child graduates; or you may bring in a disk at any time and get a copy. The video project will start in the month of February.
Earthquake Relief: The classes are still collecting money for Haiti. The funds will be sent to Doctors without Borders, an organization that sends volunteer doctors to places in the world that need emergency medical care. We will ask that our donation go to Haiti.
FTA fund raiser: Please collect Capri-Sun packages, “box tops”, and Tyson chicken labels. Our school can earn money by sending these labels in to the manufacturer. Our FTA is organizing this collection. Look for more information soon.
This Week in Ethics: We’re talking about Service this week. Each student will bring home a “Kindness Coupon Book”. Each coupon is good for a service that your child can perform at home. Please take advantage of these services!
Information for Family Directory
We are putting together a Family Directory. This Directory will be available to families only and will not be given to any third party. Please list the following information as you would like it to appear in the Directory. If there is some information that you do not want to list, just leave it blank. Please return this form in your child’s folder.
Student’s Name: ____________________________________________ Grade: __________
Parents’ or Guardians’ Names: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Best telephone number: ______________________________________________________
Email address: ______________________________________________________________