The Unity Scoop – December 7

Dear Unity Families,

We hope you and your loved ones enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that the start of December has treated you kindly. With just two weeks until winter break, this is always a joyful and busy stretch of the year — a time when our students are fully engaged in their classes and activities while also taking part in the many celebrations that bring our community together.

Among these celebrations were today’s basketball games at the Barclays Center (here’s one teaser photo, with more to come on social media this week — follow us @unityprepcharterschool).

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we highlight our students with perfect attendance for the month of November. We also feature our students on recent college visits to NYU and Lehman College.  Finally, we share an updated December calendar and provide details events, activities, and festivities taking place over the next two weeks.

In the spirit of the season, enjoy the photos below featuring the beautiful greeting cards created by members of our National Honor Society for elderly residents at a nearby senior center. You’ll also see highlights from our 8th graders’ visit to Unity High, where they explored the campus and toured the Williamsburg neighborhood.

Wishing you and your family a warm and fulfilling week ahead — and we hope to see you at this Wednesday’s Family Ambassador Meeting (details below)!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard
Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of December 7, 2025:

1. New – December 2025 Schoolwide 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.

2. New – UnityConnect Referral Program is Here!: Help our small and mighty Unity family grow — and earn rewards while you do!  When you refer a new family who applies for the 2026–27 school year, you’ll earn Unity Connector Rewards like Unity swag, gift cards, and special recognition at Unity events.

Your voice matters — share your Unity experience with friends, neighbors, and families from your child’s former school community. Together, we’ll help more students belong, believe, and become!

Learn more about the program with our UnityConnect one-pager here and submit your referrals here.

3. New – Unity High Students Visit Lehman College & NYU!: This past week, our high school scholars explored two exciting campuses — Lehman College and New York University. Students toured facilities, learned about academic programs, and got a firsthand look at college life on two campuses. They asked thoughtful questions, engaged with campus staff and student guides, and left feeling inspired about the many pathways available to them. Experiences like these help our scholars envision their futures — and we’re excited for more visits to come!

4. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child. To do that well, we rely on honest feedback from our families. Please take a few minutes to complete one of the surveys below as we kick off the school year. The survey includes questions about communication, engagement, support, school climate, and safety. Responses are anonymous, and your collective feedback will guide our decisions in the months ahead.

As a small thank-you, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Friday, 12/12 at 4pm will be entered into a raffle for a $100 Amazon gift card.

Thank you in advance for your valuable feedback and for helping us continue to improve.

• 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.
• If you need help finding your survey code, please text 347-746-1575.

5. New – Perfect Attendance in November!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance this past month.  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!

6. New – Take the December i-Ready Challenge!; All month long, Unity Middle students will be logging minutes on i-Ready Math and ELA to build strong learning habits and keep growing their skills. December’s challenge features fun incentives for top performers — including giftcards and Pride Points!

This month’s challenge continues the momentum from our fall kickoff and encourages students to stay focused as we head into the winter break. Let’s cheer on our scholars as they learn, grow, and finish 2025 strong!

6. New – Join Us for Our Next Family Ambassadors Meeting on Wednesday, December 10th!: We invite all Unity families to join us for our upcoming Family Ambassadors Meeting on Wednesday, December 10th at 6pm on Zoom. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow families, share ideas, and help strengthen our school community. We look forward to seeing you there!

7. New – Unity’s Middle School Second Annual Fall Art Exhibition, Tuesday, December 16th, 5–6:30pm: Under the guidance of their Art & Design Teacher, Mr. Moorman, Unity’s middle school art students will proudly exhibit their latest artwork on Tuesday evening, December 16th. All art students are required to participate, and we welcome all of our students and families to attend and celebrate our young artists and their latest creations!

8 New – Free Glasses for Students!: Unity Middle students who received vision screenings got their free glasses this week! If your child was part of the program, please check in with them to ensure their new glasses fit comfortably and are being used during learning time.

A huge thank-you to Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Patrick, Mr. George, and Ms. Lawrence for helping launch this initiative at Unity.

If you believe your child may need glasses, please let us know — the eye doctor will return later this year.

9. New – Rugby 4 All Visits Unity!: This week, our students had an exciting opportunity to learn a new sport as members of Rugby 4 All led hands-on clinics in every PE class. These coaches introduced the fundamentals of rugby, taught skills through fun activities, and even encouraged our students to consider starting a Unity rugby team in the future.

10. Recap – Thank You for a Successful Fall Family Conference!: Thank you to all of our families who participated in our first round of Fall Family Conferences! Your engagement and partnership meant so much to us. These meetings were a powerful opportunity to come together, celebrate student progress, and chart next steps.

Thank you for showing up for your children and for continuing to lift up their growth alongside us.

11. Recap – Unity’s Winter Coat Drive: December 1–18!; We’re collecting new and gently used coats to support students and families in our community as the weather turns colder. If you’re able, please consider donating — every contribution helps keep someone warm this winter. See the flier below for additional details, and thank you in advance for your generosity!

12. Recap – Unity High’ NHS Practical Care Drive!: Unity High’s National Honor Society is leading a Practical Care Drive to support the Bowery Mission. All donated items will be used to assemble practical care kits for neighbors in need. See details below on how you can contribute and make a meaningful impact.

13. Recap – Unity’s In-School Food Pantry Is Here for You!: Our in-school food pantry is open and available to all Unity families—across every grade level. Families are welcome to stop by to pick up groceries, snacks, and essential items—no questions asked.  Together, we’re making sure every member of our Unity community has what they need.

• Location: Unity Middle School, 432 Monroe Street
• Hours: See details below
• Contact: Mr. Beckford with any questions

14. Recap – Unity High Gets Ready for a Festive December!: The holiday spirit is in the air at Unity High! Here’s a sneak peek at some of the exciting festivities and celebrations we have planned for our community this December. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks ahead — it’s going to be a joyful finish to the year!

15. Recap – Unity’s School Safety Plan — We Welcome Your Feedback!: Unity’s draft District-Wide School Safety Plan for the 2025–26 school year is now available for review. We invite all Unity families to take a look and share feedback on this important document, which helps guide how we keep our community safe and prepared.  You can view the plan here. If you have any comments or suggestions, please email Chris Doscher at cdoscher@unityprep.org by December 14, 2025.

16. Recap – Unity’s 2025-26 Student & Family Handbook is Available Here!:

17. Recap – 2025-26 School Year Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2025-26 school year are available below. Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 2025-26 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 2025-26 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

18. Recap – Help Us Welcome New Panthers to Unity Prep!: Unity has a few limited seats available for the 2025–26 school year – and we’re looking to fill them with amazing families like yours!

Finding the right school can be a big decision, and our current families are our best ambassadors. If you know a family who would thrive in our small, caring, college-prep community, please connect them with Mr. Beckford via email or (862) 294-0219.

As a thank-you, both your family and the new family will receive a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies when they enroll. Let’s keep building our small and mighty community—one Panther at a time!

19. Recap – Join our New Unity Prep Instagram (IG) Account Today!: We recently launched our new grades 6-12 IG account to bring our entire community together – @unityprepcharterschool.  Don’t miss out – follow us now!