Progress Reports

Dear BSI Families, 

 

Report Cards will be distributed tomorrow. Students will receive a sealed envelope right before dismissal. As usual, we will advise students to open them together with their families in the comfort of their home. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Anna

State of the Union: PTO Meeting

Hi all.

This morning at the PTO meeting we unveiled the redesigned BSI website.  We are excited about streamlining all of the rich content that’s on the site and we hope you will be, too.  The core content is there; in the coming days we will work to populate missing information.  On the parent resources page, there’s a handy link to the archived site.  Please, read any of the classroom blogs if you’re curious about what’s going on in other grades.  Stay tuned and don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or questions.

We talked about the Chancellor’s Discipline Code and how it’s applied at BSI.  This document is sent home to families during the first days of school every year.  Unless your child is breaking the rules, you won’t hear much about this document.  Due to the Family Education and Privacy Act, the school can only discuss your child’s behavior with you; we cannot discuss consequences other students face.

The discussion about the discipline code sidelined into a lengthy feedback session from a number of parents about classroom management and a desire to have a Town Hall Meeting. Individual meetings are the appropriate forum to discuss parent concerns; we have always addressed parent concerns on a one:one basis.  We encourage you to reach out to either Anna or me, to get on our calendar.  We are here if you need us.

While we offer math workshops during the school day, it’s not always possible for families to attend.  Going forward, we will film our sessions and post them on the Parent Resources page of the website.

Media Literacy is alive and well in K-3 classrooms.  Our technology partners, XPosure, is in the midst of a cycle in 2nd and 3rd grade and in January, they will move on to 1st and 2nd grades.  Check the classroom blogs for information about this program.

While we would love to have a Librarian at BSI, our efforts to share the cost with TAOTS were not successful this year, and we will revisit again next year.  An active parent volunteer, Yulianna Shbatayeva (Maximillian, 4th grade) is in the process of organizing the library and will soon work with other parent volunteers to get us up and running this year.

This season in particular, we are grateful for the bounty we have shared here at BSI for the past 7+ years.  I am hopeful that we can pull together as the team we have always been to face any challenges that come our way. The children are counting on us, and we have no intention of letting them down.

yours,

Donna

 

BSI in the news.

Good morning,

Hope to see you all on Sunday at the Barnes & Noble Book Fair where I’ll read a favorite Jacqueline Woodson book, The Other Side.

Then, on Monday morning at the PTO meeting at 9:30, we’ll unveil the redesigned BSI website.  Don’t miss it!

Here’s a mention of BSI in the news this morning.

yours,

Donna

BSI Newsletter Issue #5

BSI Newsletter Issue #5 Week of 11/14/16

Schoolwide News  PTCs Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 30th from 12:50 until 3 and 4:00 until 7:00 p.m.  Parent Teacher Conference online registration will be sent out on Wednesday 11/23/16.  Click here for more details.K-3 Family Monday  We invite you to join us on Monday, November 21st, for another Family Monday. Students will be picked up by their classroom teachers in the cafeteria as usual and meet you in their classrooms at around 8:40am. It will be followed by the PTO meeting at around 9:25am. 4-8 Family Share- click here for details. Pajama Day Wednesday, November 23rd, is Pajama Day here at BSI. Our spirit days are an opportunity for us to come together as a learning community to have fun and build school spirit. Students and staff will be participating in the fun. Don’t forget to send your child in or with PJs. Frequently Asked Questions:  What do I need to do if my child is absent? Who do I notify? If your child will be absent you should fill out the dismissal form and check off the absent box. You can also email attendance@bsi686.org instead. There is no need to call the office. What should I do if my child is having a hard time on the bus? If there is an incident or anything else that happens on the bus that your child does not feel comfortable with, please email the child’s teacher, our guidance counselor (vdurandise@bsi686.org) and me (amoshura@bsi686.org). What if I need to pick my child up early from school or change his/her usual dismissal plan? Please fill out an online dismissal form. The cut off time for early pickups and dismissal changes is2pm to ensure that everyone who is involved in the dismissal process receives the correct information and students are all accounted for. There is no need to call the office and handwritten notes as those two methods are fairly unreliable. School Website  On Thursday our redesigned website will be launched. Our goal is to make it easier to navigate and more streamlined. There will be more work done after the initial launch so stay tuned. If anyone has any feedback please feel free to reach out to amoshura@bsi686.org Lost & Found Lost & Found room will be cleaned on Monday. All items not picked up by Monday evening will be collected and picked up by a donation company. Those of you that are coming to our Family Monday will have the perfect opportunity to check the lost and found room for any lost items. Chess News from Vlad Just wanted to share the latest news. Our chess team participated at three tournaments in last two weeks including CIS World Chess NYC Junior Championship at PS 11M. Click here for a detailed update. Pictures  Those of you that ordered pictures by the first deadline will receive them by 11/18/16. The first batch came in and is being distributed on 11/16 & 11/17. If you have any question reach out to msigalova@bsi686.org. B&N Bookfair  Our annual Barnes & Noble Bookfair is Sunday, November 20th from 9am-7pm at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble, 267 7th Avenue, Brooklyn.  No School  There is no school on Thursday and Friday due to Thanksgiving. We wish you a nice and relaxing long weekend.

Middle School News School Loop & Homework Reminders Grades 4-8 Please remember that School Loop sends out a homework reminder email every day at 5pm unless you have opted out of that option. Teachers will not send out individual emails to classes with such reminders. All of that information will come from school loop. Google Classroom and School Loop are merging this week and everything that is posted on Google Classroom will be found on School Loop as well. There is one central place with all homework assignments and classwork related information which is School Loop. If there are any issues, concerns or questions please reach out to amoshura@bsi686.orgDebate Team  Our Debate Team will go on their first tournament this Saturday (11/19/16). If anyone would like to come out and show their support here is the venue information: American Debate League Fall Classic M.S. 172  81-14 257th street, Queens N.Y. (between 257th street and 81st avenue) The tournament is from 9-5 p.m. (Awards ceremony at 4 p.m.)  Trimester Breakdown  Trimester 1 Sept 8th – November 18th Trimester 2 November 21- February 17th Trimester 3 February 27- June 28 8th Grade 8th Graders Timeline. What should 8th Graders be doing now? In the next 2 weeks you should be finishing up all tours and open houses You should be completing your interviews, auditions, assessments and online applications (NYCiSchool, Manhattan Hunter Science High School etc…) Bard HS is still in the process of grading assessments and have not completed the interview invitations. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ms. Valerie.  It’s time to review your lists of schools and programs and begin to place them in your order of preference – choosing what you love 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc… Make sure you have chosen at least 12 programs (remember some high schools have more than 1 program and each one that you are interested in is listed as a separate choice) List your final choices on the application and submit to Ms. Valerie by Nov. 28th. Applications must be signed by both the parent and student.

 

Outside Opportunities: 2017 GOALS for Girls Summer Intensive at the Intrepid Museum on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 for interested female students, parents, school administrators, teachers and community leaders to participate and hear more about the free 6-week application -based summer program.

Upcoming Events: November 21, 2016 8:40am K-3 Family Monday followed by the PTO meeting  November 21, 2016 8:40am Lost & Found clean out  November 22, 2016 8:00am – 8:30 am Parent Engagement Time. Teachers are available for meetings. Don’t hesitate and reach out to and schedule a phone or face to face meeting with ANY of the teachers. November 22, 2016 Grade 2 Trip  November 22, 2016 301 Trip  November 23, 2016 Pajama Day  November 24, 2016 No School: Thanksgiving  November 25, 2016 No School: Thanksgiving  November 29, 2016 8:00am – 8:30 am Parent Engagement Time. Teachers are available for meetings. Don’t hesitate and reach out to and schedule a phone or face to face meeting with ANY of the teachers. November 30, 2016 PTCs / Early dismissal.