The Unity Scoop – February 18

Dear Families of Unity,

Congratulations to our newest inductees of our middle school’s National Junior Honor Society!  And thank you to the many families who attended last night’s wonderful ceremony.

In addition, thank you to the families that attended our Black History celebration on Wednesday.  It was a magnificent event that showcased the talents and voices of our students, staff, and community members. Kudos to our incredible team of educators for organizing such a rich and festive set of experiences for our students and community.

In this edition of the Scoop, I bring: highlights of students in action in their classes and clubs this week, our March calendar, our new Core Value leaders, photos and video clips from our festivities in celebration of Black History, athletics spotlights from the week, and our students with stellar attendance in January.

I wish you a healthy and restful February break!  We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Monday, February 27th.

Warmest wishes,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of February 18, 2023:

1. New – Students and Teachers in Action this Week: We are thrilled to continue in honoring the hard work of our students as they engage in their learning each and every day of school.  This week, we feature our middle school writers celebrating the culmination of their latest units of study with a publishing party!   In addition, we highlight our 8th grade Earth Science students as they engage in identifying different types of rocks based on their observable characteristics.

2. New – March 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of March – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

3. New – Kudos to our Core Value Champions for the Full Month of January!: 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 January 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.

4. Updated – Show Your Support for Unity to Open an Elementary School by Signing this Letter of Support: As we proceed in our aim of expanding our school to serve students in grades K-5, we kindly request that family members of our current students in grades 6-12 show your support for our expansion by taking a moment to sign a formal letter of support from Unity families.  The letter is here.  Simply enter your full name in the available space below the letter to actively show your support by March 1st.  This letter will be shared with the New York State Board of Regents before they vote on our proposed expansion this spring.  We thank you in advance for showing your support!

5. Updated – Unity Celebrates Black History this Month through a Host of Festivities!: Our school community continued in our celebration of Black History this past week.  The photos and videos below feature a number of the impressive performances by our students and guest presenters.  On behalf of our entire community, thank you to all students and staff for your contributions to our festivities and celebration!

6. New – Stellar Attendance in January – 95% Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance to school in the month of January.  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!

7. New – Unity High’s Culinary Arts Club Learn to Make Valentine’s Day Chocolates: Members of Unity High’s Culinary Arts Club celebrated the Valentine’s Day holiday this week by learning to make chocolates and giving them out to their friends and family members.  Enjoy the photos below!

8. Updated – Athletic Spotlight: Unity Panthers in Full Action!: Our athletic teams represented Unity with full force this week.  Panthers, we are proud of you!

Unity High’s Junior Varsity Basketball Team played solid team defense during their final home game of the season.

The team poses with their families and coaches following the game.  Thank you, families, for coming out to support our team!

Unity’s Step Teams joined forces to take home 1st and 2nd place titles in a competition last weekend at Brooklyn Tech.

9. Recap – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Grace Ojatunwase, 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 Grace Ojatunwase, who is now in her 2nd year of college at SUNY Fredonia.  Kudos to Grace in making the most of her college experience thus far!

Grace was named Ms. ASU (African Student Union) at Fredonia in 2022!

Some Background:

Grace Ojatunwase graduated from Unity in 2021 with a cumulative GPA of 3.73 and earned a Presidential Scholarship to SUNY. She is currently in her 3rd year at SUNY Fredonia majoring in medical technology. She is currently excited to master college Chemistry this semester as she embraces being an upperclassmen at Fredonia.

Accomplishments:

• College Acceptances after Unity: Ithaca College, Manhattanville College, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Geneseo, Wheaton College, Spelman College, CUNY BMCC, SUNY Albany, CUNY Medgar Evers, CUNY City Tech, SUNY University at Buffalo, SUNY Fredonia, Penn State University

• Grace has completed all of the SUNY general education requirements and is now focusing on her major classwork.
• Grace has maintained good academic standing through 4 semesters of college, earning 49 credits so far!

Advice for Unity Underclassmen (middle and high school):

Grace would advise new college students to get involved with student life and activities. She has found joy in participating in Fredonia’s dance team and that it enables her to feel connected on campus.

Expressions of Gratitude:

Grace is grateful to stay connected to her Unity community and appreciates the support she receives from her Alumni Success Counselor.

10. Recap – Unity’s 10th Graders Visit the Intrepid Museum!: As a part of their study of World War II, Unity’s 10th graders took the opportunity today to visit the Intrepid Museum on the west side of Manhattan. Students were able to examine original artifacts, view historic video footage, and explore interactive exhibits.  Enjoy the photos below!

11. Recap – Unity’s Speech & Debate Team to Compete at the University of Pennsylvania this Weekend!: Members of Unity High’s Speech & Debate will compete in a major competition this weekend at the University of Pennsylvania.  We are so proud of our team’s efforts this year – go Panthers!

12. Recap – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in this Week’s Family Ambassadors Meeting!: We are grateful to our families who participated in Thursday evening’s Family Ambassadors meeting on Zoom.  Here are the slides from the meeting.  Contact Mr. Beckford (grades 6-8) or Ms. Young (grades 9-12) with questions.  Unity’s Family Ambassadors will meet again on Thursday, March 9th, at 6pm – all families are encouraged to attend.

13. Recap – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in After-school Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extracurricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming kicks off on Monday, September 19th.  Contact Luis Rodriguez with questions by email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org or by phone at 646-676-1309.

14. Recap – 2022-23 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2022-23 school year, including key events we ask for your collaboration with caregiver involvement.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience. We look forward to meeting our newest families and reconnecting with our returning families at Family Kick-off-the-Year Festival & Family Orientation on August 31st!

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Our Community Pledge as a school outlines the actions our staff, families, and students are committed to taking.  By following through on our commitments, we will undoubtedly have an enormously successful school year!

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 strongly 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.

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

COVID-19 Vaccines: Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines: the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines. The vaccine can prevent COVID-19 symptoms and severe COVID-19 illness. People 5 and older are eligible for the vaccine. Those who are fully vaccinated can more safely gather with friends and enjoy other benefits of vaccination. Many vaccination sites in the city no longer require appointments.

• See a list of sites where you can get a walk-up vaccination today. To find a vaccination site near you, including those that take appointments, use the City’s Vaccine Finder.
• Note, people who are 12 to 17 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Mental Health Counseling and Social Work Services at Unity: If you would like to speak to a social worker about your child’s mental health or if you would like your child to receive support from a social worker in school, please reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio via phone or text (347-688-9107) or email (tdelpurgatorio@unityprep.org).

Unity social workers can also be of assistance in providing information regarding social services (for example: housing, immigration, access to community mental health services & referrals to mental health providers, food security / access to food, public assistance, crisis intervention, etc.).

If your child or family member is experiencing a mental health crisis, NYC Well is available 24 hours a day and can be accessed by phone (1-888-NYC-WELL) or text (text WELL to 65173) or by internet chat via their website: https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/.

Discounts on Home Internet Services Available: If your household is struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible for a monthly service discount through the Emergency Broadband Benefit. Please visit this information page or call 833-511-0311 for more information.