I hope this letter finds you and your family well. I pray that you had a peaceful and enjoyable Thanksgiving weekend. As you may have seen in the news, the Mayor and the Chancellor have stated that NYCDOE Junior High and High Schools will not reopen until sometime in 2021. Knowing that we will not be back before the winter break, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and blessed holiday season. I know in this time of uncertainty we are being tested and tried, please know we are always here to help and support you through it all. 

 

We will begin after school clubs the week of December 7th. An email will be going out to the students identifying all the clubs and asking them to ‘sign-up’ if they would like to join. The clubs will run Wednesday through Friday from 3pm to 4pm. There is a wide array of clubs to choose from and I hope the students are able to join and enjoy!! We will also be offering ‘SHSAT’ test prep as well as a Saturday Academy. Please look for the email with your child and reach out with any questions that you may have. 

 

The Chancellor and Mayor have decreed that ALL in-person students (Hybrid Cohort, A, B and C) MUST have a consent to test for COVID form filled out and on file at the school. Please click on the hyperlink and complete if you have not done so already. (updated consent form)  No student will be allowed to attend in-person learning if this form is not completed and will be automatically switched to a remote class if it is not filled out by the first day back for hybrid instruction.

 

 As a reminder, if you are traveling outside of NYC (including another country), you MUST quarantine for 14 days upon returning. The students will continue to learn remotely until they are able to return to in-person instruction. If I had to guess, I would assume the earliest we would return to in-person instruction would be around January 18, 2021 due to quarantine restrictions being imposed after New Year’s Eve and Day.

 

 Due to the uncertainty of when our school will reopen, we are working on rescheduling the 8th grade senior pictures and will notify you as soon as we have confirmation from the photographer. Over the next 3 weeks, each Friday is dedicated to a different and fun School Spirit activity. This Friday is ‘Senior Spirit Day’, we are asking our seniors to wear either Gold or Green to represent their school pride. We are asking the students to take selfies in their ‘Gold or Green’ and upload them to the school website. Friday, December 11th is ‘Ugly Holiday Sweater Day’ and Friday, December 18th is ‘Crazy Sock Day’. We hope that these school spirit days get everyone in the holiday spirit. Please be reminded, for the school to post any pictures of the students, we must have the signed media consent form.

 

 The January calendar will be posted to the school website shortly. Please make sure that you are checking the calendar and the school website often for the latest updates. The 6th, 7th and 8th grade will be hosting their own school spirit day(s) and week(s) in January to highlight each grade. If you are not already on Ms. Guttenplan’s email distribution list, please make sure to contact Ms. Guttenplan at Mguttenplan@schools.nyc.gov or MGuttenplan@IS234.org to add your email to the distribution list. Communication is coming fast and furious these days, please make sure to read all emails that are sent to you as well as to the students to ensure that you have all the information that we are sending. 

 

Please feel free to reach out to the administrative team if you have any questions or concerns. As always, we are here to support you and your family. From my family to yours, I wish you a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season. 

 

Tami Flynn