Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that this note finds you and your loved ones enjoying the weekend and in good spirits despite the rain.

There is much to share in this edition of the Unity Scoop, including our students and teachers in action within the classroom, a number of photos from Friday’s field trips, some upcoming service opportunities, and our school calendar for the month of October!

Enjoy your Sunday evening and best wishes in the week ahead!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of September 29, 2024:

1. New – Highlights of Students and Their Teachers in Action This Week!: Enjoy the beautiful photos below of our students and staff in action this past week!  We have a mix of pictures across both middle school and high school, including those captured by a professional photographer at the middle school site on Wednesday.  Stay tuned for more amazing photos of our high school in action this month!

Two Unity High students partner up in Ms. Abreu’s Spanish class to practice speaking about what they do in their daily lives using reflexive verbs.

9th grade students in Ms. Aponte’s Biology class work together to hone their graphing skills by charting and determining the relationship between one’s heart rate and body temperature.

2. New – October 2024 Schoolwide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide calendar of events for the month of October – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door! It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

3. New – Unity Middle Students Celebrate the Completion of Month 1 of School with Field Trips!:  Our middle school students ventured out for some enrichment together on Friday. Sixth graders visited LeFrak Skate Park in Prospect Park. Seventh graders visited the New York City Science Museum and our 8th graders spent some quality time together at Bowl 360.  Enjoy the photos below!

4. Updated – Refer a New Student to Unity Today!: Unity has a few seats available in grades 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for the 2024-25 school year. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both referring and enrolling families will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

5. New – Members of the Unity Community to Participate in Walk to End Lupus on Saturday, October 5th: Unity Middle’s Dance & Health Teacher, Ms. McRae, is organizing an opportunity for Unity community members to participate in The Lupus Foundation of America’s Walk to End Lupus Now next Saturday.  See the flier below for details on participating and donating to the cause!

6. New – Save the Date! Unity’s Campuses to Join Forces to Support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on Saturday, October 27th: Members of our community from grades 6 through 12 will participate in a 3-mile walk on Saturday, October 27th, in support of The American Cancer Society (ACS).  ACS’s Making Strides initiative raises lifesaving funds that support breast cancer patients, survivors, thrivers, and caregivers through every step of the journey.  Unity families are encouraged to take part!

7. New – Unity Middle School Students to Earn Dress Down and Pizza by Practicing their ELA and Math Skills during Tutoring Class!  Families – see the flier and please encourage students to develop their ELA and math foundational skills through focused practice during their daily tutoring block.  Through this practice, we look forward to celebrating their growth alongside you in the coming months!

8. New – Urban Advantage Family Science Days – Free Admission to some of the City’s Premiere Museums and Institutions for Unity Students in Grades 6-8!: Through Unity’s partnership with Urban Advantage (UA), middle school families may visit the following museums for free!  See the instructions below for how to obtain a family voucher.  Visit here for additional information.  Contact your child’s science teacher with questions.

Visit any of these Institutions with your family free of charge!

9. Updated – The Fall Athletic Season is Now Upon Us!: See the calendar above for this coming week’s games.  Come out to support our student-athletes in action.  Go Panthers!

10. Recap – Guidance on Supporting your Child with School at Home: As communicated last week, there are four things that you are encouraged to engage in at home and over the course of this month in getting off to a strong start to the school year.  Congratulations on completing #4 below this week.

1. Ask your child about their school day and, more generally, how things are going.  If our team can be helpful to your child in ensuring that they are enjoying their school experience, please reach out to help.ms@unityprep.org or help.hs@unityprep.org or your child’s advisor.
2. Take a moment to check Jupiter for the latest information regarding your child’s progress.  If you are unfamiliar with how to log into Jupiter, here is a brief video tutorial.  And if you have questions about your child’s specific information in Jupiter, email your child’s advisor for support.
3. Establish a designated space and routine at home for your child to complete any homework or practice the skills they are learning in school.  Establishing routines early will reap dividends over the school year and cultivate sound study habits that will benefit your child at Unity and beyond.
4. ☑ Attend your child’s Back-to-School Night Session.  These in-person events are an extremely valuable part of our collaboration, as families learn about curricula, academic programming, and what your child will be learning this year.  Details on dates and times are featured below; you should have also received details  of the event via email and text.  The expectation is that 100% of families participate.

11. Recap – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year can be accessed using the links below.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

12. Recap – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming began on Monday, September 16th. Afterschool applications have been distributed to students and additional copies are available in the main office. Through St. Nick’s programming, 17 students from each grade have access to a free field trip to Dorney Park Halloween Haunt!

Details on St. Nick’s Alliance afterschool program and the upcoming field trip will be shared with families after submitting their application. Please contact Program Director, Luis Rodriguez, with questions via email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org, or by phone at 646-676-1309.

13. Recap – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS 6th-8th grade
• UPHS 9th grade
• UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule.  Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades.  Students in grades 10-12 were informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.

14. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

15. Recap – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Unity High students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

16. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the weekend has been good to you and your loved ones.  I want to express our gratitude to all family members who participated in this week’s Back-to-School-Nights for our middle school and high school.  It felt great to reunite with so many of our returning families and connect in-person with our newest families.  On behalf of our entire team, we thank you for joining us this week and we look forward to our strong collaboration in the coming months and beyond.

In this edition of the Unity Scoop, we share a number of photos from this week’s festivities, including students and teachers at work in classrooms, student-athletes and coaches during practice, and leaders and families during Back-to-School-Night.  We also recap a host of information that was included in recent Scoop editions that are still helpful to families and relevant.  Please take a minute to review to ensure that you are fully informed on all things Unity in the coming week!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of September 22, 2024:

1. New – Highlights of Students and their Teachers in Action this Week!: Enjoy the photos below of our students and staff in action this past week!

Ms. Saint-Louis provides additional support to a small group of 8th graders in her Algebra I class.

Ms. LaPlaca and Ms. Rivera facilitate an overview of how to properly use a microscope in a 6th grade science class.

Ms. Bonhomme and Ms. Diaz co-plan 7th grade science lessons for the coming week.

2. New – Photos from this Week’s Open School Night Sessions: Thank you again to our families for participating in this week’s Open School Night sessions.  And enjoy the photos below!

Principal Yun welcomes Unity High families during the opening session.

Ms. Shunk orients families to using Jupiter to monitor students’ academic progress.
3. Updated – Guidance on Supporting your Child with School at Home: As communicated last week, there are four things that you are encouraged to engage in at home and over the course of this month in getting off to a strong start to the school year.  Congratulations on completing #4 below this week.

1. Ask your child about their school day, and more generally, how things are going.  If our team can be helpful to your child in ensuring that they are enjoying their school experience, please reach out to help.ms@unityprep.org or help.hs@unityprep.org or your child’s advisor.
2. Take a moment to check Jupiter for the latest information regarding your child’s progress.  If you are unfamiliar with how to log into Jupiter, here is a brief video tutorial.  And if you have questions about your child’s specific information in Jupiter, email your child’s advisor for support.
3. Establish a designated space and routine at home for your child to complete any homework or practice the skills they are learning in school.  Establishing routines early will reap dividends over the school year and cultivate sound study habits that will benefit your child at Unity and beyond.

4. Updated – Refer a New Student to Unity Today!: Unity has a few seats available in grades 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for the 2024-25 school year. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

5. Updated – September 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide calendar of events for the month of September – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

Open School Night Dates and Times – all Unity families are expected to attend:

• Grades 6-8 at 432 Monroe Street, Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, 6-7:30pm
• Grades 9-12 at 584 Driggs Avenue, Thursday, September 19th, 2024, 6-7:30pm

6. New – Attention Middle School Families!  Picture Day is this Coming Wednesday, September 27th: We are excited to have our middle school filled with smiles on Picture Day this Wednesday!

7. New – Field Trips in Grades 6-8 to Three Exciting Destinations this Coming Friday!:  Our middle school students will venture out for some enrichment together this Friday.

• Grade 6: LeFrak Skate Park in Prospect Park
• Grade 7: New York City Science Museum
• Grade 8: Bowling at Bowl 360

8. Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year can be accessed using the links below.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

9. Updated – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Congrats to our students who began practicing with their fall athletic teams this past week!  See the photo below of our girls volleyball team hard at work during their practice with Coach Patrick this week.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Congrats to our high school’s flag football team on their first game of the season this past Friday!  Try-outs continue next week with our boys basketball, girls volleyball, and boys volleyball teams.  To participate in either of these sports, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here.

10. Updated – Back-to-School Resources for Families from our Social Work Team!: Upshur Bren Psychology Group is offering to families a FREE webinar series to help make the back-to-school transition feel more manageable for parents and kids alike!  Specifically, the following virtual webinar being offered this coming week:

Reducing Childhood Anxiety: An Introduction to SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)

Tuesday, September 24, 12-12:30pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

11. Recap – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming began on Monday, September 16th. Afterschool applications have been distributed to students and additional copies are available in the main office. Through St. Nick’s programming, 17 students from each grade have access to a free field trip to Dorney Park Halloween Haunt!

Details on St. Nick’s Alliance afterschool program and the upcoming field trip will be shared with families after submitting their application. Please contact Program Director, Luis Rodriguez, with questions via email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org, or by phone at 646-676-1309.

12. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

13. Recap – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS 6th-8th grade
• UPHS 9th grade
• UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule.  Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades.  Students in grades 10-12 were informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.

14. Recap – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Unity High students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

15. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

Dear Families of Unity,

Happy Friday afternoon to you, and congratulations on supporting our students in their first full week of school for 2024-25!

In continuing the strength of this support, there are four things that I kindly ask you to engage in at home and over this coming week:

1. Ask your child about their school day and week, and more generally, how things are going.  If our team can be helpful to your child in ensuring that they are enjoying their school experience, please reach out to help.ms@unityprep.org or help.hs@unityprep.org or your child’s advisor.
2. Take a moment to check Jupiter for the latest information regarding your child’s progress.  If you are unfamiliar with how to log into Jupiter, here is a brief video tutorial.  And if you have questions about your child’s specific information in Jupiter, email your child’s advisor for support.
3. Establish a designated space and routine at home for your child to complete any homework or practice the skills they are learning in school.  Establishing routines early will reap dividends over the school year and cultivate sound study habits that will benefit your child at Unity and beyond.
4. Attend your child’s Back-to-School Night Session this coming week.  These in-person events are an extremely valuable part of our collaboration, as families learn about curricula, academic programming, and what your child will be learning this year.  Details on dates and times are featured below; you should have also received details  of the event via email and text.  The expectation is that 100% of families participate.

We look forward to hosting all of our families next week during our Back- to- School Nights on Wednesday (9/18) at our Middle School and on Thursday (9/19) at our High School.  See below for details!

Kudos to you in advance for engaging in these four things listed above, and for getting off to a strong start to the school year!

In this edition of the Unity Scoop, we showcase our students and teachers in action this week.  In  addition, we congratulate our student-athletes who tried out for our fall athletic teams.  We also offer updates for high school athletic tryouts next week.  Finally, we recap a host of information that was included in recent Scoop editions that are still helpful to families and relevant.  Please take a minute to review to ensure that you are fully informed on all things Unity in the coming week.

Enjoy the weekend!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of September 13, 2024:

1. New – Highlights of Students and their Teachers in Action this Week!: Enjoy the photos below of our students and staff in action this past week!

Unity middle school students begin their day in Dance class with Ms. McRae.

7th grade students in Ms. Wilburn’s ELA classes actively practice their close reading skills.

In Mr. Coleman’s Physical Education class, students complete their fall fitness testing.

Unity High students put their creative design skills to the test in Ms. Gjakova’s Digital Art class as they compete in a “Chair Challenge” in teams.

Ms. Abreu leads her students in a round of introductions in her Intermediate Spanish class.

2. Updated – September 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide calendar of events for the month of September – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

Open School Night Dates and Times – all Unity families are expected to attend:

• Grades 6-8 at 432 Monroe Street, Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, 6-7:30pm
• Grades 9-12 at 584 Driggs Avenue, Thursday, September 19th, 2024, 6-7:30pm

3. Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year can be accessed using the links below.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

4. Updated – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Congrats to our Students who Tried Out for our Fall Athletic Teams this Week!:  Kudos to our many, many middle school students who tried out for our fall athletic teams this past week.  We are proud of your willingness to try something new, engage in a sport that you are passionate about, and represent Unity as proud student-athletes!  We look forward to being your biggest fans this fall season!

High School Fall Athletics:

• Congrats to our high school student athletes who tried out for our flag football and soccer teams this past week. Try-outs continue next week with our cheerleading and girls basketball teams.  To participate in either of these sports, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here.

5. Updated – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming kicks off on Monday, September 16th. Afterschool applications have been distributed to students and additional copies are available in the main office. Through St. Nick’s programming, 17 students from each grade have access to a free field trip to Dorney Park Halloween Haunt!

Details on St. Nick’s Alliance afterschool program and the upcoming field trip will be shared with families after submitting their application. Please contact Program Director, Luis Rodriguez, with questions via email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org, or by phone at 646-676-1309

6. Updated – Back-to-School Resources for Families from our Social Work Team!: Upshur Bren Psychology Group is offering to families a FREE webinar series to help make the back-to-school transition feel more manageable for parents and kids alike!  Specifically, the following virtual webinars are being offered:

2. Executive Functioning and Supporting the Transition to Middle School

Tuesday, September 17, 7:30-8:15pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

3. Reducing Childhood Anxiety: An Introduction to SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)

Tuesday, September 24, 12-12:30pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

7. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

8. Recap – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS 6th-8th grade
• UPHS 9th grade
• UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule.  Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades.  Students in grades 10-12 were informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.

9. Recap – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Unity High students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

10. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

11. Recap – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 2024-25 school year. Finding the right middle school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

Dear Families of Unity,

It was an honor to welcome our high school students back to school this week alongside a strong and productive second week with our middle school students!  On behalf of our entire team, we are excited to engage in a full week of classes next week and are committed to a strong start in the 2024-25 school year!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we offer a number of photos of students and staff in action over the first few days of school.  Do take a moment to take in the photos, and appreciate all that your children are experiencing at the start of the school year.  And, of course, please take some time over the weekend to have conversations with your kids about how they are feeling about school, what went well over the first two days, and what they hope for in the coming week.  I encourage you to reach out to your child’s advisor(s) if there is information shared that you feel could be helpful to us in best serving your child.  Our collaboration with you is invaluable, particularly at the outset of the school year.

In addition to the photos, we share some free resources from our social work team and information on after-school programming.  We also recap a host of information that was included in last week’s Scoop edition.  Please take a minute to review to ensure that you are fully informed on all things Unity going into the coming week.

Have a fantastic weekend!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of September 6, 2024:

1. New – Highlights from our First Week of School!: Enjoy the photos below of our students and staff in action over the first few days of the school year.  There were many meaningful moments of connection and learning over the course of the week!

In Ms. Gibson and Ms. Zayers’ math class, Unity’s 6th grade students created ratios by making batches of different quantities and used tape diagrams to determine unknown quantities in ratios.

In Ms. Bonhomme and Ms. Diaz’s science class, 7th grade students developed their observation skills alongside their partners by identifying different types of rocks and their qualities.

Members of Unity’s Instructional Coaching Team prepared for walkthrough of classes.

Unity High’s Ms. Olivier (Assistant Principal of Climate & Culture)  and Ms. Jaquez (Dean of Students) facilitate grade-level orientation sessions for our high school students.

Unity’s 9th grade students transition to classes on their first day of orientation.

2. New – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming kicks off on Monday, September 16th. Afterschool applications have been distributed to students and additional copies are available in the main office. Through St. Nick’s programming, 17 students from each grade have access to a free field trip to Dorney Park Halloween Haunt!

Details on St. Nick’s Alliance afterschool program and the upcoming field trip will be shared with families after submitting their application. Please contact Program Director, Luis Rodriguez, with questions via email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org, or by phone at 646-676-1309

3. New – Back-to-School Resources for Families from our Social Work Team!: Upshur Bren Psychology Group is offering to families a FREE webinar series to help make the back-to-school transition feel more manageable for parents and kids alike!  Specifically, the following three virtual webinars are being offered:

1. Being Your Child’s Greatest Advocate: Navigating IEPs, 504s and Educational Accommodations

Thursday, September 12, 12-12:45pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

2. Executive Functioning and Supporting the Transition to Middle School

Tuesday, September 17, 7:30-8:15pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

3. Reducing Childhood Anxiety: An Introduction to SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)

Tuesday, September 24, 12-12:30pm

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

4. Recap – Our Middle School Students Complete their First Week of School!: Congratulations on completing our first week of school together!  It felt great to meet so many of our newest families.  Similarly, it felt rejuvenating to reacquaint with our returning families.  A special congratulations goes out to our 6th grade students and families.  We are so thrilled to have you join our community!  Enjoy the photos below of our 6th graders and families on their first day!

5. Updated – September 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated schoolwide calendar of events for the month of September – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website

6. Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year can be accessed using the links below.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

SAVE-THE-DATE!

• HIGH SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH, 6PM
• MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 6PM

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

7. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

New – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place during the week of September 10th – 12th from 3:30 to 5:15pm:
  • Cross Country
  • Volleyball
  • Flag Football
  • Soccer
  • Step
• Permission slips will be made available on Tuesday, September 3rd.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts are set to begin the week of September 9, 2024 for our Flag Football and Soccer teams.  To participate in either of these sports, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here by September 9th to participate in the fall athletics season.

9. Recap – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS 6th-8th grade
• UPHS 9th grade
• UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule.  Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades.  Students in grades 10-12 were informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.

10. Recap – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Unity High students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

11. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

12. Recap – Student Class Schedules:  All students – grades 6-12 – received their class schedules on their first day of school.

13. Recap – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 2024-25 school year. Finding the right middle school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

Dear Families of Unity,

Happy Friday to you!

I want to begin by congratulating our middle school community for a strong start to the new year.  And kudos to our students on completing their i-Ready diagnostic tests this week.  We look forward to sharing the results with families and to customizing our teaching and academic interventions based on the diagnostic results.

As mentioned in last week’s edition of The Scoop, our high school team is fired up and ready to welcome our 9th graders to school on Tuesday (9/3) and our 10th-12th graders on Wednesday (9/4)!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we share some highlights from our first week of school at the middle school. We also provide our September calendar and some updates on information shared last week.  Please take a moment to review and appreciate the information below so that you are fully abreast on how to best support our efforts in getting off to a strong start!

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of August 30, 2024:

New – Our Middle School Students Complete their First Week of School!: Congratulations on completing our first week of school together!  It felt great to meet so many of our newest families.  Similarly, it felt rejuvenating to reacquaint with our returning families.  A special congratulations goes out to our 6th grade students and families.  We are so thrilled to have you join our community!  Enjoy the photos below of our 6th graders and families on their first day!

New – September 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of September – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

The schedule to start the year is designed to best support a positive and strong start.  By having different sessions for our new and returning students, we are able to customize their experiences to best serve their needs as we transition back to school, ensuring a strong start for our community.  See the schedule for this coming week below.

Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

Expect a calendar for the month of September in the next edition of The Scoop.  In the meantime, please reserve in your calendar our Back-to-School Nights!

SAVE-THE-DATE!

• HIGH SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH, 6PM
• MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 6PM

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

New – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

New – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place during the week of September 10th – 12th from 3:30 to 5:15pm:
  • Cross Country
  • Volleyball
  • Flag Football
  • Soccer
  • Step
• Permission slips will be made available on Tuesday, September 3rd.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts are set to begin the week of September 9, 2024 for all fall sports teams.  Details on our teams will be provided next week.  To participate in any sport, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here by September 9th to participate in the fall athletics season.

New – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Course selections for the 2024-25 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

New – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS Supply list
• UPHS 9th grade supply list
• UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule.  Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades.  Students in grades 10-12 will be informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.

Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 202-25 school year. Finding the right middle school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

Student Class Schedules:  All students – grades 6-12 – will receive their class schedules on their first day of school.

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the second half of summer has been good to you and your loved ones.

I am pleased to report that our entire staff at our middle and high school are “fired up and ready to go” as we prepare to welcome your children back to school!

Our middle school team in Bed-Stuy has been back to work for the past week and half and are excited to welcome our 6th graders on Monday, August 26th, and our 7th and 8th graders back on Tuesday, August 27th.

Our high school team in Williamsburg reunited this week and are now gearing up over the next week to welcome our 9th graders to school on Tuesday, September 3rd, and our 10th, 11th, and 12th graders on Wednesday, September 4th.

As a full team, we look forward to making the absolute most of the 2024-25 school year alongside you in honor of your childrens’ promise and future.  In unity, there is strength – indeed, let’s get off to a strong start together!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we provide a wealth of information, including: upcoming key dates, details on fall athletics and after-school programming, supply lists, and more!

Best weekend wishes!

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of August 23, 2024:

New – Schedule for the First Week of School: The schedule for the first week of school is designed to best support a positive and strong start to the year.  By having different sessions for our new and returning students, we are able to customize their experiences to best serve their needs as we transition back to school, ensuring a strong start for our community.  See the schedule below.

Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

Expect a calendar for the month of September in the next edition of The Scoop.  In the meantime, please reserve in your calendar our Back-to-School Nights!

SAVE-THE-DATE!

• HIGH SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH, 6PM
• MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 6PM

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Updated – Summer Assignment Information: Here are the descriptions for summer assignments for students by grade level:

• Grades 6-8 only: Summer assignments for all rising 7th-8th grade middle school students were distributed during Roundtable presentations. Digital copies were also sent via email to all incoming 6th graders.  If you are a new family in need of assignments for this summer, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.  Completed assignments are due on August 29th and are to be turned in to a student’s math and ELA teachers.

New – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place during the week of September 10th – 12th from 3:30 to 5:15pm:
  • Cross Country
  • Volleyball
  • Flag Football
  • Soccer
  • Step
• Permission slips will be made available on Tuesday, September 3rd.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts are set to begin the week of September 9, 2024 for all fall sports teams.  Details on our teams will be provided next week.  To participate in any sport, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here by September 9th to participate in the fall athletics season.

New – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Course selections for the 2024-25 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

New – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS Supply list:https://drive.google.com/file/d/11X8GiFTpLe_L1o_OjvkLEZ5ildnJrAIf/view?usp=sharing
• UPHS 9th grade supply list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DT3knVtJLmjJPXYrWtRGd9dZh5K5MQ39/view?usp=sharing

New – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

Updated – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 202-25 school year. Finding the right middle school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

New – Student Class Schedules:  All students – grades 6-12 – will receive their class schedules on their first day of school.

Dear Families of Unity,

On behalf of the entire faculty and staff, I hope that the first half of summer has treated you and your loved ones well.

The month of July represents a sacred time each year to spend time with loved ones, engage in meaningful personal adventures, and recharge the mind and body. It provides time for our educators to appreciate and reflect on the past school year, as well as plan forward for the coming year, and all that we want to achieve in collaboration with you.

In addition, July also represents an opportunity to provide invaluable service to our students beyond the regular school year, through customized small-group interventions during Summer Academy.

Our school leaders recently returned to school from a much deserved vacation to resume planning and preparation for the coming school year.  As we near our twelfth year as a school, we are excited to put our best foot forward in building on our prior successes in making the 2024-25 school year our strongest year yet!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, I bring to you a number of updates, initiatives, and resources both at Unity and beyond.  We also highlight our heartfelt graduation ceremonies from June.

The next edition of the Scoop will be disseminated during the week of August 23rd.

Best summer wishes,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of July 31, 2024:

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Updated – Summer Assignment Information: Here are the descriptions for summer assignments for students by grade level:

• Grades 6-8: Summer assignments for all rising 7th-8th grade middle school students were distributed during Roundtable presentations. Digital copies were also sent via email to all incoming 6th graders.  If you are a new family in need of assignments for this summer, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.
• Grades 9-12: Students who are mandated to retake Regents examinations will receive summer prep work directions by August 7th.  Some summer school classes may have homework. There are no full-grade summer assignments.

New – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Course selections for the 2024-25 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

New – August Hours of Operation: Here is information on our hours of operation by site through August.  The main office of both sites will be open based on the following schedules:

• 432 Monroe Street (grades 6-8): 718-455-5046
  • August 1st – August 9th
    • The building is closed due to facility renovations.  Contact help.ms@unityprep.org for all correspondence.
  • August 12th – August 31, 2024
    • 9:00am – 4:00pm, M-F
• 584 Driggs Avenue (grades 9-12): 718-682-3725
  • August 1st – August 9th
    • The building is closed due to facility renovations.  Contact help.hs@unityprep.org for all correspondence.
  • August 12th – August 31st
    • 9:00am – 4:00pm, M-F

New – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies will be provided by the following dates:

• Grades 6-8: August 21st
• Grades 9-12: August 28th

New – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8: Here is a link to all things dress code for all middle school students.
• Grades 9-12: Updates on Unity High’s dress code will be provided in early August.

New – Helping Your Child to Continue their Learning This Summer: The brief presentation, which was developed internally last year, is still relevant this year and provides valuable links to paid internships, volunteer opportunities and other things your child can do over the summer to promote critical thinking and learning during the months of July and August.  Click on the image below to see her presentation slides.

Updated – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 202-25 school year. Finding the right middle school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

Recap – Unity Celebrates our Graduates of the Class of 2024!:  We are so proud of our graduates and extremely excited about their college and career pursuits as Unity graduates.  A special congrats to the graduates featured below for their academic achievements.  Again, we are proud of you!

Recap –  Unity Celebrates our 8th Grade Graduates!: Congratulations to the families of our newest 8th grade graduates!  Wednesday’s ceremony was a warm and festive event, and I am so excited for our graduates as they continue their academic pursuits in high school.

Recap – Unity Middle’s End-of-Year Ceremony Honors our Students’ Many Achievements in 2023-24!: An abundance of students were celebrated for their achievements during Monday’s Awards Ceremony.  Congratulations to all recipients, including our Caregiver Award recipient!

Recap – Report Cards for all Unity Students for the Spring Term and Year:

• Grades 6-8: Middle School report cards were distributed during Roundtables.  Report cards that were not picked up will be mailed out by July 1st, in addition to students’ summer assignment packets, and any awards students may have received.
• Grades 9-12: Report card links will be sent out via email to families by June 28th.

Recap – Unity Celebrates the 5th-Year Anniversary for 11 Educators and 10-Year Anniversary for 6 Educators!: This past week, we honored nine Unity staff members who are celebrating their 5th year at Unity, along with two Unity staff members who are celebrating their 10th year at Unity.  As a young school, these teammates have contributed mightily to our programming, our curriculum, and most importantly, the learning experiences of our students.  They are pillars within our community and we thank them wholeheartedly to all that they have brought and continue to bring to our school.  Here they are – feel free to send them a note of congrats!

• Platinum Apple Awards – 10 Years at Unity!
  • Aaron Coleman, Middle School Athletics Director and Physical Education Teacher
  • Brandon Lopez, High School Director of Operations
• Golden Apple Awards – 5 Years at Unity!
  • Calou Beckford, Coordinator of Student Recruitment & Family Engagement
  • Franklin Berkeley, Middle School Art Teacher
  • Amanda Bond, High School English Language Arts Teacher
  • Hillary Bond, Middle School Science Teacher
  • Jamela Gibson, Middle School Mathematics Teacher
  • Zakiyyah Griffin, Middle School Dean of Students
  • Julia McCullough, High Mathematics Teacher
  • Ben Pakter, High School History Teacher
  • Olivia-Ann Richardson, Middle School Director of Support Services