The Unity Scoop – October 15

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