This is the month of overnight trips for TNS students!  4/5 classes left this morning for Camp Ashokan and in two weeks, our 2/3 classes will take turns going on the amazing Farm Trip!  What better time to show your support AND win tickets to see the Broadway smash hit, Hamilton!

Starting tomorrow, you can buy raffle tickets in the school lobby.  1 ticket is $5 and 5 tickets will be $20.  There will be TWO drawings; each drawing wins 2 prime seats.  Buy two raffle tickets for the chance to win 4 Hamilton seats!!  Drawing will be Friday, March 8 at 3:00 in the school garden.  

Anyone can buy tickets, even people outside of the TNS community, so spread the word!  

Come find us in the lobby during drop-off on Wednesday, February 27 through Friday, March 1st, as well as at dismissal on Monday, March 4 through Friday, March 8th. 

We will accept cash or checks made out to “The Neighborhood School PTA .”

Don’t throw away your shot!!  

- 2/3 Grade Teachers

Our next TNS Restaurant Night is coming soon! Wednesday, Feb 27, 4-11pm at Boticarios. Hope you can make it.

Thanks to everyone’s hard work, beautiful Valentine-themed baked goods, and lovely messages to teachers, kids, and parents, our Farm Trip fundraiser was a big success! We raised over $1000 to help offset the cost of the farm trip for our 2nd and 3rd graders.  Most importantly, it was heartwarming to see everyone come together and to see all of the sweet messages lining our lobby wall. Thank you!

Thanks to our talented and generous community, we have once again had great success with our HANDMADE FOR PR event!  This year we raised $851!  We will be using this funds to send supplies to the Rescue My School program in Puerto Rico.  Great News out of PR is that the Secretary of Education of Puerto Rico has been charged with corruption and there is a warrant out for her arrest.  We are hopeful that a new Secretary will lead with more integrity putting children, families, and educators first!!

The Public Education Crisis in Puerto Rico

And How We Can Help

Less than a year after devastating Hurricanes ripped through Puerto Rico and only a few days before the start of the 2018-2019 school year, the Department of Education followed through on plans to close almost a quarter of all public schools in PR.  Our partner school was one of those schools. Public schools in PR, especially in more rural areas, are often the heart of a community. Now these buildings sit abandoned. Most reports are that students have been re-assigned to schools that are far away from their homes and were already overcrowded without any additional funding for staff or materials.  

La Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR) is actively fighting against school closures. The FMPR has “rescued” a few of the closed public schools by opening them as community centers for the local families and children.  One of these centers is Lorencita Ramirez school in Tao Baja. On Saturdays, free breakfast and lunch is served and children can participate in sports and arts clinics (activities no longer provided in the public schools) and on Wednesdays, students can receive tutoring.  All of the staff are unpaid volunteers. These “rescued schools” are providing much needed community support for families and children who have been through multiple traumas. They provide a safe and happy place for the community to come together and support each other.

(CONTINUED ON BACK)

The Neighborhood School to Puerto Rico with Love Association will be using funds raised to provide art and school supplies, books, and snacks for the program at Lorencita Ramirez.  There are lots of ways YOU can help make a difference in the lives of families in Puerto Rico:

• Make a handmade item for our Handmade for PR event (Feb 4-8)

• Shop at our Handmade for PR event (Feb 4-8)

• Make a cash donation in our donation box

• Purchase a TNS2PR mug (some are still available!)

• Purchase a TNS2PR t-shirt (we will be selling again in the Spring)      

• Join our group!!

• Follow these Facebook pages:

Al Rescaté de Mi Escuela

Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico

Please email TNS2PR@gmail.com or dianne@tnsny.org

For more information!  

Puerto Rico School Closings Hit Families, Communities Hard

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/puerto-rico-crisis/puerto-rico-school-closings-hit-families-communities-hard-n863461

Puerto Rico’s Schools Are in Tumult, and Not Just Because of Hurricane Maria

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/us/puerto-rico-school-closings.html