Dear Families of Unity,

Season’s greetings to you!  I hope that the week has been good to you and your loved ones.

Congratulations to our middle school students who exhibited their artwork during last night’s art exhibition.  And thank you to all of our families who came out to support the event and appreciate our students’ talent and creativity.

I would also like to congratulate our high school senior class; 100% of our seniors have submitted a college application for next fall!  Kudos to the families of our seniors, Unity High’s College & Career Readiness Team, and our 12th grade staff and faculty.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we spotlight our students and teachers in action in their classes, our students with stellar attendance (from the month of November), and a number of upcoming events and initiatives, including a toy drive, Family Ambassadors meeting, and next week’s middle school Open House event.  Scroll down!

Have a wonderful weekend and best wishes to your families in the coming week.

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of December 8, 2023:

1. New – Students and Teachers in Action!: It is always thrilling to celebrate the hard work of our students as they engage in their learning each and every day.  This week, we spotlight our students and team in action across grades 6-12!

Unity High’s Algebra II students learning in small study groups under Ms. McCullough’s guidance and support.

Ms. Caspi’s Chemistry students conducting the classic flame test lab!

2. New – Unity’s Middle School Art Students Shine in our Second Annual Art Exhibition!: Under the guidance of their Art & Design Teacher, Mr. Berkeley, Unity’s young artists proudly exhibited their latest art work this past Thursday evening.  The exhibition was attended by a number of Unity’s faculty, families, and students.  Enjoy the photos of the event below!

3. New – Congrats to our Senior Class on a Major Milestone – 100% of Seniors Have Submitted a College Application as of this Week!:  Congratulations to the entire class and their families on achieving this milestone.  And kudos to our high school College & Career Readiness Team and our 12th grade faculty and staff for your continued support and guidance of our seniors!

4. New – Help Shape Your Child’s Experience at Unity by Taking Part in our Next Family Ambassadors Meeting on Thursday, December 21st at 6pm (Virtual)!: All Unity families are encouraged to take part.  During the meeting, we will recap the month of December, discuss 8th grade activities, and look ahead to initiatives in the New Year. Please do not hesitate to contact cbeckford@unityprep.org with any questions.  Here is the Zoom link.

5. New – Upcoming Virtual Open House for Prospective Unity Families, Thursday, December 14th, 6pm: Unity invites prospective families from elementary schools across Brooklyn to join us for an informative, and engaging virtual event. Prospective families will get to hear from school leaders, staff, and stakeholders of Unity.  The session is a great opportunity to learn more about all the amazing resources Unity has to offer.  Here is the RSVP form and the Zoom link.  Please take a moment and forward the RSVP to families of 5th grade students in your networks!

6. Updated – December 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of December – 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.

Note: Middle school athletics events for the month are now included  in the calendar.

7. New – Unity Middle School Holds our Annual Toy Drive to Support the Community!: Unity’s middle school is holding a toy drive this holiday season to help bring joy to kids in need.  The drive began this week and continues through December 20th.  All donations can be dropped off in the main office (room 309).  See the fliers below for details!

8. New – Stellar Attendance in the Month of November – 95% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance during the month of November.  Kudos to these students – we love seeing you each and every day!  And, of course, we look forward to celebrating additional students at the end of this month!

9. Recap – Congratulations to our Middle School Honor Roll Students for the First Trimester of 2023!  Congrats to our students in grades 6-8 who earned Honor Roll status in the first trimester of the school year!  Your consistent hard work, organization, and eagerness to learn things and develop new skills is paying off.  Be proud of your accomplishments and stay the course!

10. Updated – Recent Highlights from Unity’s Athletic Program: There have been many recent highlights for Unity’s athletic teams this fall.  Here’s the latest!

Coach Egharveba presenting game jerseys to senior members of our high school girls volleyball team following their final home match.

As a member of the Step Team, Acai Carrington is our Middle School Student-Athlete of the Month for November.  Acai currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.  According to Coach Martino’ 20, “While all the members of The Rising Royals fall into the category of amazing scholar athletes, Acai Carrington makes it her number one goal to exceed the standards of what it means to be a great student! She embodies intelligence, character, and passion! Acai constantly pushes herself out of her comfort zone to help teach those around her. Her growth in patience and leadership shows her dedication to her team.”  In response to being honored, Acai expressed surprise as well as gratitude: “I didn’t know I had a 4.0 for Trimester 1.  I am really happy to receive this award.  This year I have worked really hard and I am thankful that it paid off.”

11. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

12. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that you and your loved ones enjoyed a delightful Thanksgiving holiday!  And I hope that the start of the new month has been good to you.  I also want to thank all of our families who participated in conferences just before the holiday.  We hope that the experience was helpful as well as informative, and you appreciated your communication with our faculty and staff.

We have three weeks of school until our winter break.  This stretch of the year tends to be both busy and festive, as we continue to engage fully in classes and extra-curricular activities while also embracing an abundance of festivities that highlight our students and enrich our community.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, I offer our December calendar, which outlines the events and initiatives we have planned over the coming three weeks.  This includes an art exhibition on Thursday, December 7th, featuring our middle school students’ recent artwork.  In addition, we spotlight our middle school students earning a place on our Trimester I Honor Roll!

Well wishes to you and your family.

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of December 1, 2023:

1. New – December 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of December – 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.

10.17.23 Board Meeting Minutes

2. New – Congratulations to our Middle School Honor Roll Students for the First Trimester of 2023!  Congrats to our students in grades 6-8 who earned Honor Roll status in the first trimester of the school year!  Your consistent hard work, organization, and eagerness to learn things and develop new skills is paying off.  Be proud of your accomplishments and stay the course!

3. New – Unity’s Middle School Second Annual Fall Art Exhibition, Thursday, December 7th, 5-6:30pm!: Under the guidance of their Art & Design Teacher, Mr. Berkeley, Unity’s middle school art students will proudly exhibit their latest artwork this coming Thursday evening.  All art students are required to participate, and we welcome all of our students and families to attend and celebrate our young artists and latest creations!

4. New – Recent Highlights from Unity’s Athletic’s Program: There have been many recent highlights for Unity’s athletic teams this fall.  Here are a few new additions!

For the second consecutive year, the New York Islanders have sponsored Unity through their Floor Ball Initiative Program.  This includes the donation of equipment to Unity’s physical education (PE) program.   This week, middle school students were introduced to the sport in their PE classes.  Six Unity scholars who mastered the skills earned a free Islanders athletic jersey.

As a member of the Step Team, Acai Carrington is our Middle School Student-Athlete of the Month for November.  Acai currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.  According to Coach Martino’ 20, “While all the members of The Rising Royals fall into the category of amazing scholar athletes, Acai Carrington makes it her number one goal to exceed the standards of what it means to be a great student! She embodies intelligence, character, and passion! Acai constantly pushes herself out of her comfort zone to help teach those around her. Her growth in patience and leadership shows her dedication to her team.”  In response to being honored, Acai expressed surprise as well as gratitude: “I didn’t know I had a 4.0 for Trimester 1.  I am really happy to receive this award.  This year I have worked really hard and I am thankful that it paid off.”

5. Recap – Congrats to our Middle School’s Students of the Month from October!:  Kudos to our Students of Month for showing exemplary scholarship, citizenship, and growth – we are proud of you!

Arsenal Dutchin, 6th grade

Edwin Coronado, 6th grade

Seneca George, 7th grade

Nevaeh Rodriguez, 7th grade

Michael Birgan, 8th grade

Nicholas Thomas, 8th grade

6. Recap – Congrats to our Recent Panther Spotlight Awardees!: Each month, select Unity High students are recognized by our staff and faculty for their academic  achievement and positive contributions to our community.  Congratulations to the recipients below who were spotlighted in September and October!

●    Adriana Pollard (10)
●    Ahkeelah Witty (11)
●    Aleia Brooks (11)
●    Antonio Echeverria Espinal (12)
●    Ashley Estevez (12)
●    Chase Grimes (12)
●    Damani Green (10)
●    Daniel Martinez (10)
●    Destin Mattey (11)
●    Evan Ramos (10)
●    Iliana Laverpool (11)
●    Isaiah Bovell (12)
●    Jade Guallpa (12)
●    Jaheem Auguste Jr (12)
●    Jamari Edmonds (12)
●    Jayda Wellington (9)
●    Jean Alomia (10)
●    Kayla Wright-Martin (12)
●    Kevin Rivera (11)
●    Kimberley Valdez (11)
●    Kira Preudhomme (10)
●    Leslie Paredes Tigsi (9)
●    Leyah Mendez (11)
●    Mariah Horsford (12)
●    Melani Paucar Siguencia (12)
●    Oswaldo Calixto (9)
●    R J (RJ) Mark (12)
●    Sanah Thompson (10)
●    Shirley Longmire (9)
●    Tamese Pratt (12)
●    Terrell Gibbs (9)
●    Vondell Hankies (11)
●    Zion Charles (10)

7. Recap – Unity High’s Debate Team off to a Promising Start in Year 2!: Unity High’s debate team continues to make strides in its second year.  Check out the photos below of our talented debaters in a recent competition at the Brooklyn Public Library.

8. Recap – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Zaniah Jenkins, Unity’s Class of 2020: We are thrilled to share with our entire community the accomplishments of our alumni whenever we can.  This month, we proudly provide an update on the postsecondary success of Zaniah Jenkins, who is now in her fourth year at CUNY Medgar Evers College.  Kudos to Zaniah in making the most of her college experience!

Who: Zaniah Jenkins graduated from Unity in 2020. She is currently a full-time student at CUNY Medgar Evers College, majoring in Psychology. Zaniah has completed all of her CUNY general education requirements and is now taking high-level psychology courses that challenge her to think and learn in new ways! She is currently enjoying the smaller class sizes that come with being a 4th year student and is learning a great deal from discussions and relationships with her psychology professors.

Accomplishments: During the summer of 2022, Zaniah Jenkins got a virtual job working for Techie Youth, a worldwide organization that trains students for future technology careers. During her time working there, Zaniah learned about music production, web development, coding, app development, fundraising, and her personal favorite: 3D printing.

Fun Fact: Zaniah is on track to graduate with her Bachelors degree in Psychology in May 2024.

9. Recap – Attention Unity students in Grades 8-11 – Apply Now for a Paid Internship with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is now recruiting students in grades 8–11 for the 2024 Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. GAP is a great way for teens to get paid to learn about urban agriculture, science, and the environment while working in one of the most exciting public gardens in the world!

More information is available online at bbg.org/gap..  Additional details include:

BBG Garden Apprentices:

            •           Earn a monetary award at the end of the apprenticeship (Tier 1: $600, Tier 2: $700, Tier 3: $800).

•           Work their way up the program to become paid staff as a Tier 4.

•           Learn about botany and environmentalism through hands-on lessons.

•           Grow and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the Children’s Garden.

•           Facilitate lessons to teach children about plants.

•           Explore Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s amazing plant collections.

•           Develop job skills, including teamwork, communication, and leadership.

Apprentices make a nine-month commitment to GAP, from March to November, which includes spring training, summer programming, and a weekly commitment after school or on weekends throughout the academic year.

10. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

11. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

Well wishes to you and your loved ones on this holiday weekend.

I want to congratulate our  newest members of Unity’s National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) and National Honor Society (NHS).   Our new students were inducted during yesterday’s joint ceremony in our middle school auditorium.

To our 65 NJHS and NHS members for the 2023-24 school year: we are so proud of you, and look forward to your positive leadership and service impacting our community this year in a meaningful way!

Thank you to Ms. LaPlaca, Ms. Peters, and Ms. Behan for organizing the affair. In addition, thank you to our fellow staff for attending the ceremony and showing your support.  Finally, thank you and congratulations to the families who participated in last night’s festivities!

In this edition of the Scoop, we spotlight our students engaging in school and learning new things alongside their classmates.  We also feature exciting new updates on our college & career readiness and alumni success programming.  Finally, we celebrate the recent accomplishment of our student-athletes, as well as our P.R.I.D.E. leaders from the month of October!

Enjoy the holiday weekend and much love and respect to the veterans among our family community!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of November 10, 2023:

1. New – Students and Teachers in Action!: It is always thrilling to celebrate the hard work of our students as they engage in their learning each and every day.  This week, we spotlight our students and team in action across grades 6-12!

6th grade math students launched their new unit with a partner game. Together, students (Kaleb and Taribbi) identified factors of numbers and challenged each other to collect the most points. Shout out to Ms. Gibson and Mr. Mejia for engaging students in learning and making math fun!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE FOOTAGE.

Shout out to 7th grade advisories for keeping the college spirit alive during PM advisory. The chant battle between U of Albany and NYU is epic. Here’s a clip of students and advisors showing their college and community pride.

Anatomy presenting their experiments and going through the scientific method to create hypotheses, design an experiment, and determine a conclusion! Thank you, Mr. Harvey, for providing our seniors with an opportunity to actively practice presentation skills and put science into action.

2. Updated – November 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of November – 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.

• Conferences are coming!  On 11/20 and 11/21, we are holding our Fall Family Conferences.  Conferences will be held in person on 11/20 from 5pm-8pm and on  Zoom on 11/21 from 9am-2pm.  Families have the option of participating on either day.  Students’ advisors will continue making calls this coming week to schedule conferences with individual families.  Students are expected to take part in conferences alongside their families.  Conferences will be led by students at our high school.

3. Updated – College & Career Readiness in Full Force at Unity High!: It is an exciting and busy time in the world of college & career readiness for Unity High students and staff.  Recent milestones include:

12th grade students visited the campus of St. Francis College in downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday.  Thank you, College & Career Readiness team for organizing the trip!  And thank you, Aniya Hayes (‘23), for being such an excellent host!

Adewale (Ade) Fasanmi (‘20) is now in his third year of college at SUNY Brockport where he is a proud member of the Men’s Basketball Team.  Ade’s team plays at Hunter College, at 695 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (the entrance is between 68th and 69th Streets) on Tuesday, November 21st, at 5pm.  Members of the public may attend the game.  If you are able to attend, Ade would love to see you in the crowd!

Unity 11th and 12th graders learn about Skidmore College and its offerings during a visit to Unity High from one of Skidmore’s admissions representatives.  Unity fun fact: Ja’don Rene, Class of 2021, is now in his third year at Skidmore and majoring in Oceanography and Philosophy.  How cool is that!

Our first college admittance of the year!  Congratulations to Jaylen Ayers on being offered admission to SUNY Brockport.  This is just the beginning of a very exciting season for our community!

4. New – Unity’s Student-Athletes Continue to Compete with Pride this Fall Season!: There have been many recent highlights for Unity’s athletic teams this fall.  Here are a few!

Unity’s Middle Flag Football Team wins first 1st place among all middle school teams in Brooklyn!

Congrats to Unity’s Middle’s All-Conference, All-Star Student-Athletes!

• Caleb Rivera – Flag Football
• Jencarlos Hernandez – Soccer
• London Kingston – Volleyball

Unity Middle’s staff and students enjoyed a fun, festive, and always competitive match in our Annual Faculty vs. Student Volleyball Match!

Members of our girls volleyball teams have engaged in mentoring over the course of their seasons to learn, support, and root for one another!  Enjoy the photo below of the teams recently taking part in a practice session.  Unity’s volleyball program is preparing for greatness!

London Harris is our Student-Athlete of the Month for October.  London currently has a 3.8 grade-point average.  According to her coach, Coach Patrick, “There aren’t enough good words I can say about London Harris. Quiet leader, but hard worker. Enjoys her time with teammates, and does her best to set the best standards on and off the court. I am very proud to have London on the volleyball team!.”  In response to being celebrated, London expressed humility, pride, and appreciation: “It is pretty shocking that I earned the Scholar-Athlete of the Month Award. I definitely did not expect it but I am happy and proud of myself.  I want to give a shout out to my mom and dad, because I love them.”

5. New – Kudos to our P.R.I.D.E. Leaders for the Full Month of October!: Our P.R.I.D.E. Core Values of Progress, Respect for All, Integrity, Discovery, and Empathy represent qualities that we covet as a school community.  They also represent qualities that we believe empower our students to lead fulfilling lives and, therefore, qualities that we have a responsibility to actively teach and positively reinforce.  The students listed below were leaders for the month of September in being recognized by their teachers for demonstrating our Core Values.  On behalf of our school community, we are proud of these students, and look forward to continuing to shout out all of our students when they demonstrate P.R.I.D.E. in our community.

6. Recap – Unity Continues in its Community Service a Community Drive this Month!: Coming off of our schoolwide Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and fundraiser with the American Cancer Society, we are now engaged in a Can Drive in partnership with City Harvest.  Between now and November 17th, all Unity families are encouraged to donate non-perishable food.  All donated goods will go directly to providing nourishment to our fellow community members in the greatest need.  Unity students who participate in the drive will earn Panther Pride Points for demonstrating our Pride Value, Empathy.

7. Recap – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in our First Family Ambassadors Meeting of the Year!: We are grateful to our families who participated in our Family Ambassadors meeting on Zoom last week.  The meeting was productive, energizing, and, of course, fun!  Here are the slides from the meeting.  Contact Mr. Beckford with questions.  Unity’s Family Ambassadors will meet again on Thursday, December 21st, at 6pm – all families are encouraged to attend.

8. Recap – Attention Unity students in Grades 8-11 – Apply Now for a Paid Internship with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is now recruiting students in grades 8–11 for the 2024 Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. GAP is a great way for teens to get paid to learn about urban agriculture, science, and the environment while working in one of the most exciting public gardens in the world!

More information is available online at bbg.org/gap and at our Info Session on Saturday, October 28th, at 2pm. Reserve your spot here.  Additional details include:

BBG Garden Apprentices:

            •           Earn a monetary award at the end of the apprenticeship (Tier 1: $600, Tier 2: $700, Tier 3: $800).

•           Work their way up the program to become paid staff as a Tier 4.

•           Learn about botany and environmentalism through hands-on lessons.

•           Grow and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the Children’s Garden.

•           Facilitate lessons to teach children about plants.

•           Explore Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s amazing plant collections.

•           Develop job skills, including teamwork, communication, and leadership.

Apprentices make a nine-month commitment to GAP, from March to November, which includes spring training, summer programming, and a weekly commitment after school or on weekends throughout the academic year.

9. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Thank you to the many families who provided feedback this past week!  As mentioned, our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 11/3, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

10. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

11. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the week has been good to you and your loved ones after a full week of learning.  Kudos to our middle school families who participated in this week’s Grade Level Family meetings.  Moreover, I want to thank those who participated in last night’s Family Ambassadors meeting.  Indeed, there is strength in Unity!

In the coming week, we have a four-day week with no school on Tuesday due to elections.  Get out the vote!

In this edition of the Scoop, we spotlight recent milestones with our college & career readiness programming.  We also congratulate our newest National Junior Honor Society and National Honor Society members.  Finally, we highlight recent achievements among our student athletes and share details on current community service initiatives.

We turn back the clocks this weekend – I hope you indulge in something fun for you and your family during that extra hour on Sunday!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of November 3, 2023:

1. New – College & Career Readiness in Full Force at Unity High!: It is an exciting and busy time in the world of college & career readiness for Unity High students and staff.  Milestones include:

Unity 11th and 12th graders learn about Skidmore College and its offering during a visit to Unity High from one of Skidmore’s admissions representatives.  Unity fun fact: Ja’don Rene, Class of 2021, is now in his third year at Skidmore and majoring in Oceanography and Philosophy.  How cool is that!

Our first college admittance of the year!  Congratulations to Jaylen Ayers on being offered admission to SUNY Brockport.  This is just the beginning of a very exciting season for our community!

Select 12th graders are gearing up for a college campus tour of St. Francis College on Tuesday of next week.  This photo is from last year’s visit to St. Francis.  Another Unity fun fact: Unity alumni, Aniya Hayes (‘23 and Class Valedictorian), Danille Howard (‘23), Anthony Moreno (‘23) Zariya Millington (‘21), and Isheanna Matthias (‘20) all attend St. Francis.  Also incredibly cool!

2. New – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in our First Family Ambassadors Meeting of the Year!: We are grateful to our families who participated in our Family Ambassadors meeting on Zoom last night.  The meeting was productive, energizing, and, of course, fun!  Here are the slides from the meeting.  Contact Mr. Beckford with questions.  Unity’s Family Ambassadors will meet again on Thursday, December 21st, at 6pm – all families are encouraged to attend.

3. New – Congratulations to Unity’s Newest National Junior Honor Society and National Honor Society Members!: Unity’s chapters of the NJHS and NHS have expanded in their membership. Congratulations to the over 50 new inductees!  We will be celebrating them in an induction ceremony next Thursday, November 9th, at 5:30pm at our middle school.

4. New – Unity’s Middle School and High School Teams Embrace Mentoring! Members of our girls volleyball teams have engaged in mentoring over the course of their seasons to learn, support, and root for one another!  Enjoy the photo below of the teams recently taking part in a practice session.  Unity’s volleyball program is preparing for greatness!

5. New – A Shout-out to our Student-Athlete of the Month!: Congratulations to our Student-Athlete of the Month, London Harris, of Unity Middle’s Junior Varsity Volleyball team! Congratulations, London, and go Panthers!

London Harris is our Student-Athlete of the Month for September.  London currently has a 3.8 grade-point average.  According to her coach, Coach Patrick, “There aren’t enough good words I can say about London Harris. Quiet leader, but hard worker. Enjoys her time with teammates, and does her best to set the best standards on and off the court. I am very proud to have London on the volleyball team!.”  In response to being celebrated, London expressed humility, pride, and appreciation: “It is pretty shocking that I earned the Scholar-Athlete of the Month Award. I definitely did not expect it but I am happy and proud of myself.  I want to give a shout out to my mom and dad, because I love them.”

6. New – Unity Continues in its Community Service a Community Drive this Month!: Coming off of our schoolwide Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and fundraiser with the American Cancer Society, we are now engaged in a Can Drive in partnership with City Harvest.  Between now and November 17th, all Unity families are encouraged to donate non-perishable food.  All donated goods will go directly to providing nourishment to our fellow community members in the greatest need.  Unity students who participate in the drive will earn Panther Pride Points for demonstrating our Pride Value, Empathy.

7. Recap – Students and Teachers in Action!: It is always thrilling to celebrate the hard work of our students as they engage in their learning each and every day.  This week, we spotlight our students and team in action across grades 6-8.  Thank you to Ms. Williams and her team for spotlighting these highlights for our community!

7th grade Scientists engineer earthquake-resistant structures. They sketched, built, and collaborated with their peers to create the best possible design. Shout-out to Ms. Victor for fostering inquiry and teamwork with her scholars!

Ms. Pierre’s ELA tutoring group diligently works to read, annotate, and identify key features of their non-fiction text. This culture for learning, grounded in high expectations coupled with high support, created opportunities for students to exemplify progress and respect for all in their learning.

8. Recap – November 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of November – 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.

9. Recap – Attention Unity students in Grades 8-11 – Apply Now for a Paid Internship with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is now recruiting students in grades 8–11 for the 2024 Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. GAP is a great way for teens to get paid to learn about urban agriculture, science, and the environment while working in one of the most exciting public gardens in the world!

More information is available online at bbg.org/gap and at our Info Session on Saturday, October 28th, at 2pm. Reserve your spot here.  Additional details include:

BBG Garden Apprentices:

            •           Earn a monetary award at the end of the apprenticeship (Tier 1: $600, Tier 2: $700, Tier 3: $800).

•           Work their way up the program to become paid staff as a Tier 4.

•           Learn about botany and environmentalism through hands-on lessons.

•           Grow and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the Children’s Garden.

•           Facilitate lessons to teach children about plants.

•           Explore Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s amazing plant collections.

•           Develop job skills, including teamwork, communication, and leadership.

Apprentices make a nine-month commitment to GAP, from March to November, which includes spring training, summer programming, and a weekly commitment after school or on weekends throughout the academic year.

10. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Thank you to the many families who provided feedback this past week!  As mentioned, our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 11/3, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

11. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

12. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that this past week was good to you and your loved ones.  It is hard to believe that we just completed our 6th week of school together and that we are now completing our first round of interim assessments (IAs).

Interim assessments provide an opportunity for students to show off all that they have learned thus far in their classes this year.  They also provide important information to our team regarding the degree to which students are developing new and important skills in their courses. These assessments allow us to position ourselves to best support academic success for all of our students over the course of the school year.

We are excited to support our students in this endeavor over the coming week, and kindly ask for your collaboration with this by supporting your child at home in the following ways:

• Ensure that your child eats a healthy breakfast and arrives at school on time with their full set of school supplies and materials.
• Ask your child about how things are going in their classes, and provide encouragement such that they are supported and confident as they complete their IAs this week.
• Help your child prepare for their exams by ensuring that they have a quiet, designated space and time to study each night.  Of course, feel free to pull up a chair and help them study!  Studying together can be a fun experience for all.
• Be proactive in your communication with your child’s teachers about any questions or concerns.

In this edition of the Scoop, we spotlight a number of our community members, including students, educators, and alumni, and their recent accomplishments and service.  Scroll down to enjoy some fantastic photos and a list of our students who have had stellar attendance through the first six weeks of the school year!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and best wishes in the coming week!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of October 22, 2023:

1. New – Unity’s Campuses Join Forces to Support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer!: Members of our community – grades 6-12 –  raised funding and participated in a 3-mile walk this morning 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.  Kudos to Ms. Terry and Ms. Olivier for leading our community in this important community service!

2. New – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Amir Granderson, Unity’s Class of 2021: We are thrilled to share with our entire community the accomplishments of our alumni whenever we can.  This month, we proudly provide an update on the postsecondary success of Amir Granderson, who is now in his third year at City College of New York (CCNY).  Kudos to Amir in making the most of his college experience!

Amir making his way through campus at SUNY Buffalo this past winter as a second-year college student.

Amir Granderson graduated from Unity in 2021.  He is a proud member of Unity’s second graduating class.

Accomplishments: Amir began his higher education journey at SUNY University of Buffalo, and is now working on his Bachelor’s Degree at CUNY City College. Amir currently has two paid internships, one in architecture with the NYC Housing Authority and another at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Amir is also learning Arabic at City College and is on track to become a well-rounded architect upon graduation in 2025.

Fun fact: Amir is taking 7 classes this semester at City College – that is in addition to two internships!

Advice: Amir believes that being connected to a community is incredibly helpful and motivating. He remains connected to Unity and offers his help whenever he can!

3. New – Congratulations to Unity Middle’s Dance & Health Teacher, Ms. McRae, who was one of five health teachers in Brooklyn to be awarded the Above & Beyond Award!:   The award is awarded to educators who are among the best in the borough in providing high-quality access to, resources on, and information about health education.  Thank you, Ms. McRae, for the tremendous impact you have on our community each and every day!

4. Updated – Unity’s National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society – Encourage Eligible Students to Apply and Join!: The window for applying to become a member of the National and National Junior Honor Societies opens Monday, October 16th.  Eligibility is based on a student’s grade point average (GPA).  Eligible students will be notified via Jupiter this week.  Applications are due on October 30th.  We are excited to expand our membership as well as the impact our Honor Societies have on our community!

5. Updated – Unity’s Volleyball Teams Continue to Roll!: Our MS JV and Varsity Volleyball teams had the opportunity to visit Hofstra University to meet members of the women’s volleyball team and see them prepare for and compete in a match.  Through the experience, members of both teams were able to appreciate the intensity of college athletics and what it takes to be a student athlete in college!

6. New – Unity Middle’s Soccer Team Is Enjoying their Season and Learning New Skills as they Go!: We salute our middle school soccer team and their coach, Coach Okoloji (Coach O.) on their season thus far.  Continue to make us proud, team!

7. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Thank you to the many families who provided feedback this past week!  As mentioned, our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 10/20, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

8. New – Stellar Attendance through Week 6 – 95% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance over the first 6 weeks of school.  Kudos to these students – we love seeing you each and every day!  And, of course, we look forward to celebrating additional students at the end of this month!

9. Recap – October 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide 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.

10. Recap – Urban Advantage Family Science Days – Free Admission to some of the City’s Premiere Museums and Institutions!: Through Unity’s partnership with Urban Advantage (UA), families may take part in UA Family Science Days.  See this flier below for information on all UA events this month.  The flier also serves as an admissions ticket.

11. Recap – Letter to Families of New York City Public Schools from the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE): As mentioned above, we are forwarding a letter from the NYCDOE that offers directions and guidance to families as we all navigate the recent tragedies in the Middle East and the concerning social media and news coverage surrounding them.  We encourage all of our families to read the letter and use the resources provided.

12. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

13. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the weekend has been good to you and your loved ones.

This past week was short but eventful.  Within our schools, students continued to engage in rigorous learning in their courses and beyond.  We also continued to come together as a community in our month of celebrating of Latinx heritage.  Beyond our schools, the world was confronted with the horrific tragedies in the Middle East.  As a school, our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our community.  We are committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all of our students at all times.  In doing so, we ask for your continued partnership by ensuring that your child is with us at school each and every day – this positions us to do our best work in fully supporting your child as they grow and learn based on what they see and experience within and beyond our classrooms.  As you support your child at home through these challenging times, we offer some helpful resources below.

We are back to a full week of school this coming week with a Fall Spirit Week at Unity High, the start of our first round of fall interim assessments at our middle school, as well as a number of games and matches among our athletic teams.  See the calendar below for a detailed schedule.

Enjoy your Sunday,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of October 15, 2023:

1. New – Unity’s National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society Encourage Eligible Students to Apply and Join!: The window for applying to become a member of the National and National Junior Honor Societies opens Monday, October 16th.  Eligibility is based on a student’s grade point average (GPA).  Eligible students will be notified via Jupiter this week.  Applications are due on October 31st.  We are excited to expand our membership as well as the impact our Honor Societies have on our community!

2. New – Letter to Families of New York City Public Schools from the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE): As mentioned above, we are forwarding a letter from the NYCDOE that offers directions and guidance to families as we all navigate the recent tragedies in the Middle East and the concerning social media and news coverage surrounding them.  We encourage all of our families to read the letter and use the resources provided.

3. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Thank you to the many families who provided feedback this past week!  As mentioned, our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 10/20, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

4. Recap – October 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide 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.

5. Updated – Unity’s Volleyball Teams Continue to Roll!: Our volleyball teams continued with their seasons this week, including the middle school team, which played in their first home match.  Thank you to all of the families and staff who came out to support the team. Go Panthers!

6. Recap – Unity 8th Graders Embrace the Role of Influencer with a Focus on Promoting Healthy Behaviors Across their Networks!:  This past week, Ms. McRae’s health class students completed a project in which they deepened their understanding of the 6 components of healthy behavior, including: Social, Mental, Emotional, Environmental, Physical and Spiritual health (SMEEPS).  They did this by assuming the role of social influencer, and making a case for which  component of health and wellness resonates with them most and why.  They then shared their written thoughts with peers in their school network.  Gotta love the positive influence from our 8th grade leaders!

Sariah Wilson proudly stands in front of her Influencer project, in which she makes a strong case for the power of physical health and how it has shaped who she is, how she relates to others, how she thinks and acts, what she believes, and what she sees as her purpose in life.

7. Recap – A Shout-out to our Middle School Student-Athlete of the Month!: Congratulations to our Student-Athlete of the Month, Seneca George, of our talented MS Cross Country team – Congratulations Seneca, and go Panthers!

Seneca George is our Student-Athlete of the Month for September.  Seneca currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.  According to his coach, Coach Nana, “Seneca is an amazing student and has shown that he can excel on the field and in a classroom. He is the perfect representation of how all student athletes should be. He exemplifies intelligence and athleticism.”  In response to being celebrated, Seneca showed both confidence and gratitude: “I very greatly appreciate it.  I thought I might get it later in the year but not this early.  This is great because I worked really hard last year and this year.  So to finally earn it is a blessing to me.”

8. Recap – Kudos to our P.R.I.D.E. Leaders for the Full Month of September!: Our P.R.I.D.E. Core Values of Progress, Respect for All, Integrity, Discovery, and Empathy represent qualities that we covet as a school community.  They also represent qualities that we believe empower our students to lead fulfilling lives and, therefore, qualities that we have a responsibility to actively teach and positively reinforce.

The students listed below were leaders for the month of September in being recognized by their teachers for demonstrating our Core Values.  On behalf of our school community, we are proud of these students, and look forward to continuing to shout out all of our students when they demonstrate P.R.I.D.E. in our community.

9. Recap – Urban Advantage Family Science Days – Free Admission to some of the City’s Premiere Museums and Institutions!: Through Unity’s partnership with Urban Advantage (UA), families may take part in UA Family Science Days.  The first two affairs will take place thisnext weekend, on October 8th and 9th, at the New York Aquarium and Staten Island Zoo.  See this flier below for information on all UA events this month.  The flier also serves as an admissions ticket.

10. Recap – Guidance on Supporting your Child with School at Home: As communicated earlier this month, 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.  And I know that teachers offered similar and expanded guidance during your visits to classrooms on Back-to-School-Night.

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 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.

11. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

12. Recap – Updates on School Supply Guidance: Having all of our students equipped with the supplies they need is essential to getting off to a strong start to the school year.  We offer guidance below on school supplies by grade level:

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

13. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2022-23 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: Unity High’s dress code is outlined below:
  1. Tops:
     1. It is encouraged that an official Unity top is worn in the spirit of school pride and in being united in our collective focus on learning. “Official” is defined as a top (T-Shirt or Polos) purchased from an approved vendor.
     2. In cases where students do not take our recommendation, students can wear tops of their choice so long as the top covers their entire torso and shoulders.
     3. Tops must not bear any offensive and/or inappropriate language and/or images and may not be crop tops, tube tops, halter tops or tank tops.
  2. Bottoms:
     1. Student bottoms must be long enough that the hem hits the top of the knee, shin, or ankle.
     2. Bottoms must properly fit and be worn at the waist.  A belt must be worn if bottoms are unable to fit at the waist without sagging.
     3. Bottoms may have rips or tears.
     4. Bottoms may not be leggings, tights, catsuits/bodysuits, basketball shorts or display undergarments.
  3. Shoes:
     1. All shoes must have backs, be closed-toed, and low heeled.
     2. Sandals, flip-flops, and athletic slides ARE NOT permitted (worn with or without socks).
     3. Crocs ARE permitted so long as the backstrap is raised behind the ankle at all times.
     4. For reasons related to safety, the policy for shoes will apply for all dress down days and spirit days.

14. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the week has been good to you and your loved ones.

As we embark on a long fall weekend, I, on behalf of our entire faculty and staff, want to thank you for your continued active support and collaboration.  As mentioned last week, the school year is off to a strong and promising start and so much of our early success is due to our collaboration with you.  Let’s stay the course!

In this edition of the Scoop, I offer an abundance of academic highlights from our middle school students in action.  In addition, linked below is a feedback survey that all families should complete.  Finally, we celebrate our P.R.I.D.E. leaders as of the end of September across grades 6-12.

Have a rejoiceful three-day weekend, and we look forward to reconvening on Tuesday morning!

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of October 6, 2023:

1. New – Students and Teachers in Action this Week: We love celebrating the hard work of our students as they engage in their learning each and every day.  This week, we spotlight our students and team in action across grades 6-8!

Four Unity 6th graders quiz one another in building their math fluency skills.

Our mathematicians support one another in adding and subtracting integers by creating their own story problems and sharing them with one another.

Unity 8th grade math students engage in tutoring to build their math skills under Ms. St. Louis’ direction.

Unity Middle’s flag football team engages in a mandatory study hall before practice.

2. New – Unity 8th Graders Embrace the Role of Influencer with a Focus on Promoting Healthy Behaviors Across their Networks!:  This past week, Ms. McRae’s health class students completed a project in which they deepened their understanding of the 6 components of healthy behavior, including: Social, Mental, Emotional, Environmental, Physical and Spiritual health (SMEEPS).  They did this by assuming the role of social influencer, and making a case for which  component of health and wellness resonates with them most and why.  They then shared their written thoughts with peers in their school network.  Gotta love the positive influence from our 8th grade leaders!

Sariah Wilson proudly stands in front of her Influencer project, in which she makes a strong case for the power of physical health and how it has shaped who she is, how she relates to others, how she thinks and acts, what she believes, and what she sees as her purpose in life.

3. New – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: As mentioned during our Back-to-School Night sessions, our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 10/20, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

4. New – A Shout-out to our Middle School Student-Athlete of the Month!: Congratulations to our Student-Athlete of the Month, Seneca George, of our talented MS Cross Country team – Congratulations Seneca, and go Panthers!

Seneca George is our Student-Athlete of the Month for September.  Seneca currently has a 4.0 grade-point average.  According to his coach, Coach Nana, “Seneca is an amazing student and has shown that he can excel on the field and in a classroom. He is the perfect representation of how all student athletes should be. He exemplifies intelligence and athleticism.”  In response to being celebrated, Seneca showed both confidence and gratitude: “I very greatly appreciate it.  I thought I might get it later in the year but not this early.  This is great because I worked really hard last year and this year.  So to finally earn it is a blessing to me.”

5. New – Unity High’s Girls Volleyball Team Notches its First Win!: Our girls volleyball team earned their first win of the season by defeating Summit High School 2 sets to 0.  The team is aiming to make another playoff appearance and run this year!  Go Panthers!

6. New – Kudos to our P.R.I.D.E. Leaders for the Full Month of September!: Our P.R.I.D.E. Core Values of Progress, Respect for All, Integrity, Discovery, and Empathy represent qualities that we covet as a school community.  They also represent qualities that we believe empower our students to lead fulfilling lives and, therefore, qualities that we have a responsibility to actively teach and positively reinforce.

The students listed below were leaders for the month of September in being recognized by their teachers for demonstrating our Core Values.  On behalf of our school community, we are proud of these students, and look forward to continuing to shout out all of our students when they demonstrate P.R.I.D.E. in our community.

7. New – October 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide 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.

8. Recap – Urban Advantage Family Science Days – Free Admission to some of the City’s Premiere Museums and Institutions!: Through Unity’s partnership with Urban Advantage (UA), families may take part in UA Family Science Days.  The first two affairs will take place thisnext weekend, on October 8th and 9th, at the New York Aquarium and Staten Island Zoo.  See this flier below for information on all UA events this month.  The flier also serves as an admissions ticket.

9. Recap – Attention 8th Grade Families – Please Join Us for Unity’s Step-Up Night: High School Exploration, Thursday, October 12th, 6-7:30pm: During this in-person session, Unity’s 8th grade families will be supported in the high school planning process.  The agenda for the session includes:

❑ Learn More About What Unity HS has to offer!

❑ An Overview of NYC DOE High School Admissions and Timeline

❑ The Myschools High School Directory and Admissions Guide

❑ Exploring Schools and Programs

❑ Creating an Account Online (Myschools)

❑ Welcome Letters

❑ Next Steps to be Taken

The in-person, informational session will take place at Unity High in Williamsburg. Transportation from our middle school in Bed-Stuy to our high school will be available with a bus departing from our middle school at 5:25pm.  Families may also travel to the high school on their own.  Additional details on travel will be shared in next week’s edition of the Scoop.  Please RSVP for the event here!

10. Recap – Guidance on Supporting your Child with School at Home: As communicated earlier this month, 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.  And I know that teachers offered similar and expanded guidance during your visits to classrooms on Back-to-School-Night.

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 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.

11. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

12. Recap – Updates on School Supply Guidance: Having all of our students equipped with the supplies they need is essential to getting off to a strong start to the school year.  We offer guidance below on school supplies by grade level:

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

13. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2022-23 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: Unity High’s dress code is outlined below:
  1. Tops:
     1. It is encouraged that an official Unity top is worn in the spirit of school pride and in being united in our collective focus on learning. “Official” is defined as a top (T-Shirt or Polos) purchased from an approved vendor.
     2. In cases where students do not take our recommendation, students can wear tops of their choice so long as the top covers their entire torso and shoulders.
     3. Tops must not bear any offensive and/or inappropriate language and/or images and may not be crop tops, tube tops, halter tops or tank tops.
  2. Bottoms:
     1. Student bottoms must be long enough that the hem hits the top of the knee, shin, or ankle.
     2. Bottoms must properly fit and be worn at the waist.  A belt must be worn if bottoms are unable to fit at the waist without sagging.
     3. Bottoms may have rips or tears.
     4. Bottoms may not be leggings, tights, catsuits/bodysuits, basketball shorts or display undergarments.
  3. Shoes:
     1. All shoes must have backs, be closed-toed, and low heeled.
     2. Sandals, flip-flops, and athletic slides ARE NOT permitted (worn with or without socks).
     3. Crocs ARE permitted so long as the backstrap is raised behind the ankle at all times.
     4. For reasons related to safety, the policy for shoes will apply for all dress down days and spirit days.

14. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health

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.

At our Back-to-School-Night sessions, I hope you had a chance to meet your child’s teachers, advisors, and school leaders. Throughout the night, our educators previewed the curriculum for each class and relayed how you can support your child at home.  Again, kudos to you!  If you were unable to attend the virtual sessions, I have included the slides that were presented.

In this edition of the Unity Scoop, we share a number of photos from this week’s festivities.  We also highlight our high school honor roll awardees from this past spring.  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

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of September 22, 2023:

1. New – Photos and Slides from this Week’s Back-to-School-Night Sessions: Thank you again to our families for participating in this week’s Back-to-School-Night sessions.  Below are slides from the high school’s opening session.  And enjoy the photos below!

• High School Back-to-School-Night Opening Slides

2. 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.  And I know that teachers offered similar and expanded guidance during your visits to classrooms on Back-to-School-Night.

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 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.

3. New – Congratulations to our High School Honor Roll Students from the Spring of 2023!  As we kick off the new year, it is important to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our students from this past spring.  During our Back-to-School Night this week, we took a moment to congratulate our current high school students who earned Honor Roll status in last year’s spring term.  Congrats to our honorees!  We look forward to celebrating our Fall Term Honor Roll students for this year in just a few months!

4. Recap – Shout-out to our Students for Completing their Fall STAR Assessments in Reading and Math!: Unity students completed their first round of STAR assessments in both reading and math this past week.  These short, computer adaptive tests will allow us to measure student progress and growth in reading and math skills over the course of the school year. Information on the results of these assessments will be made available to families in the next two weeks.

5. Recap –Shout-out to our Students for Completing their Fall STAR Assessments in Reading and Math!: Unity students completed their first round of STAR assessments in both reading and math this past week.  These short, computer adaptive tests will allow us to measure student progress and growth in reading and math skills over the course of the school year. Information on the results of these assessments will be made available to families in the next two weeks. 

6. 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 student-athletes who began practicing with their teams this week!:  Kudos to our many, many students who tried out for our fall athletic teams.  We look forward to being your biggest fans this fall season!  Contact Mr. Coleman with questions regarding MS athletics.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Congrats to our students who tried out for our fall athletic teams this week!:  Kudos to our 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!
• Tryouts for a number of our high school fall teams continue this week.  Contact Mr. Egharevba with questions

7. Recap – September 2023 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.

8. Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2023-24 school year.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience.

9. Recap – Updates on School Supply Guidance: Having all of our students equipped with the supplies they need is essential to getting off to a strong start to the school year.  We offer guidance below on school supplies by grade level:

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

10. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2022-23 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: Unity High’s dress code is outlined below:
  1. Tops:
     1. It is encouraged that an official Unity top is worn in the spirit of school pride and in being united in our collective focus on learning. “Official” is defined as a top (T-Shirt or Polos) purchased from an approved vendor.
     2. In cases where students do not take our recommendation, students can wear tops of their choice so long as the top covers their entire torso and shoulders.
     3. Tops must not bear any offensive and/or inappropriate language and/or images and may not be crop tops, tube tops, halter tops or tank tops.
  2. Bottoms:
     1. Student bottoms must be long enough that the hem hits the top of the knee, shin, or ankle.
     2. Bottoms must properly fit and be worn at the waist.  A belt must be worn if bottoms are unable to fit at the waist without sagging.
     3. Bottoms may have rips or tears.
     4. Bottoms may not be leggings, tights, catsuits/bodysuits, basketball shorts or display undergarments.
  3. Shoes:
     1. All shoes must have backs, be closed-toed, and low heeled.
     2. Sandals, flip-flops, and athletic slides ARE NOT permitted (worn with or without socks).
     3. Crocs ARE permitted so long as the backstrap is raised behind the ankle at all times.
     4. For reasons related to safety, the policy for shoes will apply for all dress down days and spirit days.

11. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising sixth graders for the 2023-24 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 free uniform shirt.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Free Resources for Unity Families: Unity’s social work team is always looking for resources that may be helpful and of interest to our families.  A host of resources are provided below.  Reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio, Unity’s Director of Social Work, with questions.

• Introducing 988, The New Mental Health Hotline: The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which launched last week, is a new way for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to quickly reach out for help. Anyone in the US can now call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a trained mental health professional at one of more than 200 local crisis call centers around the country. Learn more here.
• INCLUDEnyc Presents: How to Talk to Your Children about Sexuality: This webinar will help parents and guardians of children with disabilities become more comfortable discussing sexuality and relationships, and cover some of the most effective ways to talk about this sensitive topic. Learn more and register here.
• Free Summer Meals for Students – begins Tuesday, June 28th: NYC’s Summer Meals program offers free breakfast and lunch throughout NYC for anyone age 18 and under. No registration, documentation, or ID is required.  Visit here for details on time, locations, menus and other helpful information.
• Free Book Giveaway for Kids and Teens: As part of our largest summer program ever, The New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 books for kids and teens to take home and keep. Drop by one of our neighborhood branches to choose yours—plus, explore free events, our summer writing contest for kids, the opportunity for teens to contribute to a new magazine, and more with Summer at the Library.  Visit here for more information.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents Self-Regulation Techniques: This workshop will provide parents, caregivers and students strategies for reducing stress and improving the ability to self-regulate, with simple routines and activities that reduce anxiety and reactivity and promote calm and happy students and families. Spanish and Mandarin interpretation available. Learn more and register here.
• DOE’s Beyond Access Series Presents How to Access Supports for Students with Behavioral Challenges: This workshop covers the educational rights of students who face behavioral challenges in school, including different kinds of behavioral supports and interventions , along with the opportunity to share advocacy tips. Learn more and register here.
• The Child Mind Institute offers great (free & remote) caregiver workshops on a seasonal basis!  Take a moment to visit their site and appreciate their offerings.
• The recent events in Ukraine may be a source of stress and anxiety for some children.  Below are four resources that may be helpful for families:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• Free Child Nutrition Webinar Series: Register for the “An Alarming Rise in Excess Weight and Diabetes in Children: Strategies and Solutions” webinar on Monday, March 7th.  The webinar is presented by French-American Aid for Children as part of the new Child Nutrition Webinar series. Parents and educators will learn about practical nutrition tips and accessible information to encourage children to adopt good eating habits in school—and at home—through an interactive dialogue between Dr. Juliana Cohen, nutrition epidemiologist and associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dr. Ileana Vargas-Rodriguez, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Children’s Hospital of New York. A Q&A session will follow the webinar.  Check out previous recordings of past webinars, including:
  • Engaging Children in their own Nutritional Journey
  • Smart Summer Shopping and Cooking
  • Nutrition’s Powerful Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health