Dear Families, 

At one of my recent family meetings, there was a general sense of anxiety about going outside with kids in the city and for good reason!  I asked Emily to share some activities you can do to engage kids outdoors while staying safe.  

The Importance of Sun

It’s important that we all get sun on our skin. We’ve been indoors so much and the vitamin D that we make in response to sunlight strengthens the immune system. So please try to sit in the sun (with sunblock). 

Wildlife Spotting

Look for wildlife.  How many birds can you spot? What do they look like? 

Sketch them, write down their color and appearance so later at home you can look them up and try to find out what kind they are.

What are they doing?  How about squirrels?

Look up at the trees. Can you spot any nests? There may be chicks (baby birds) in nests. Can you find any parents that are flying to the nest to feed the chicks?

There are also fledglings at this time of year. Fledglings are baby birds that are just learning to fly. They can hop and fly around outside the nest, but they are smaller than their parents and still have some of their fluffy baby feathers. Their parents still feed them. Can you spot any fledglings hopping around? 

If near flowers, can you spot any pollinators? Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds?

Senses

Close your eyes and listen: see how many different sounds you can hear, and try to identify what they are.  Which one is coming from furthest away?  Which one is closest?  Then open your eyes and see if you can find where they came from.

Do the same thing with smell.

Here’s a game you can play with touch: close your eyes and have someone hold something soft close to your skin. Then they either touch you or don’t, with the soft thing. You have to guess whether they are touching you or not. You may notice that different parts of your skin are more sensitive than others. Your elbow, for example, is less sensitive than your face.

Does your family have an activity to do outside that avoids touching surfaces and is mindful of other people who might get too close?  Please email me and I’ll share them with other families.  

I hope to see you at our PTA Meeting on Thursday at 5:30 PM on Zoom.  Follow the link below:   

https://gc-cuny.zoom.us/j/92225860445?pwd=YmFWYXJTSWprVWs4dVBRY1JoRXE3QT09

Meeting ID: 922 2586 0445

Password: 386369

With Love,

Dyanthe

Dear Families,

Many of you have reached out to ask about plans for school next fall.  At this time, we don’t yet know what the start of the year will look like for our school.  While this makes preparing for next year very complicated, we are beginning to think about class configurations.  This is a thoughtful process and we carefully consider the makeup of each class at the school. We strive to have well-balanced classes and consider gender, ethnicity, friendships, academics, and the social and emotional dynamics of the group. Whenever possible, we uphold one of the school’s founding principles that children remain with the same teacher(s) and the same grade cohort for two years.  Our goal to have children and families be known well to their teachers and each other remains an important standard.  

We are sending home a form later this week to invite you to let me or your current teacher know if there is anything you’d like us to consider in making your child’s placement for next year.   Please know that we do not accept requests for specific teachers.  Our goal is to make well-balanced classes all around.  We carefully consider your input along with information from teachers and other school staff, but please understand that we may not be able to honor every request.  As we plan the classes and spaces for September, we also need to know who will or might be leaving.  Please complete this survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlvGqZA5pLlrQfVzYlavpchBNX-ajhUDmxJX6aRB3-Zt53zQ/viewform if your child is not returning to TNS next year.

I am attaching a link with updated information about Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)— formerly Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS): https://infohub.nyced.org/in-our-schools/translations/letters/coronavirus-letters.  Please reach out to me or Noemi if you have questions.

The PTA meeting has been moved to Thursday, May 28 at 5:30 PM.  More details are forthcoming.

With Love,

Dyanthe

Dear Families,

During this unprecedented time, our community has remained true to working and learning together.  I know that as families move forward with us, we will continue supporting one another.  Of course, there are also families that for whatever reason are leaving TNS and we wish them well!  Around this time each year, we send a letter to families asking about their plans for the following year.  We do so for many reasons.  This information helps when we make the next year’s classes.  It helps us figure out if we can accept new students.  It also helps us forecast our budget.  This is because funding from student enrollment is what enables us to run our school.

The Mayor released the budget for 2021 detailing over $500 million in education cuts, including a $100 million reduction in direct funding to city schools.  While we don’t yet know what the budget will look like for TNS, we need to anticipate and plan for cuts.  

I know that so much feels uncertain right now.  However, I am writing to ask that you let us know your plans if you are certain your child is not returning to TNS in the fall.  Please complete this survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdlvGqZA5pLlrQfVzYlavpchBNX-ajhUDmxJX6aRB3-Zt53zQ/viewform and let us know what school your child will be attending next year.  Thank you.

With Love,

Dyanthe

Dear Families,

Over these past weeks, I have received emails from different families across the school expressing appreciation and gratitude for their child’s teacher.   Every parent email reminds me of how wonderful TNS teachers are.  They are the best part of our school and what makes TNS so special.  I cannot imagine doing this job with any other group of people.  Please will take a few minutes this week to let your teacher know how much they mean to you.

Last week, the DOE came out with a Remote Learning Grading Policy for schools.  This policy decision doesn’t affect our school as we don’t give grades like most schools, but I want to reiterate that no child will be held over or coded as “needs improvement” based on their level of participation or work in this distance learning situation.  

Noemi and I are continuing our meetings with families through Google Hangouts.  Alice Auth and Barbara DiGangi will also continue to participate.  I will post the meeting code and directions on your child’s classroom stream the morning of:

• Pre-K Families:  Monday, May 11 at 4 PM

• K/1 Families:  Tuesday, May 12 at 4 PM

• ⅔ Families:  Monday, May 18 at 4 PM

• ⅘ Families:  Tuesday, May 19 at 4 PM

We are having a special meeting for 5th-grade families Tuesday at 4 PM to share the questions, feelings, and concerns that are arising during this time - both for your children and you.  I will email you the meeting code and directions tomorrow.

The School Leadership Team (SLT) will meet this Thursday from 2:30 - 4 PM on Google Meets.  This meeting is open to all.  

Teddy, Mara, Emily, and Cheryl will begin to offer live times for students this week.  Mara and Teddy will have office hours Monday - Thursday from 1 - 1:30 PM and Emily will have science meetings with her classes.  Cheryl will have “Open Checkout with Cheryl” on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 2:00 - 2:45 PM.  Please check your child’s classroom for details!

With Love,

Dyanthe

Dear Families,

It was so wonderful to see the parents who were able to join us last week for our informal family check-ins.  While each meeting was unique, with different challenges and themes emerging, it is clear is that families’ experiences during this time and with remote learning are vastly different.  We agreed to continue to host regular family meetings so that we can stay connected.

The families who participated in my meetings represent only a percentage of our community.  We want to hear from all our families about how they are doing.  We have decided that the best way to gather this information is for teachers to send surveys to families about their child’s online learning experience so far.  In soliciting feedback, please keep in mind that what is ideal for your family may not work for the whole class.  Each family’s situation is unique and as professional educators, teachers will consider families’ responses and make decisions about what will work for their class.  

Some of the sweetest moments during last week’s meetings were when families expressed deep-felt gratitude and appreciation for their teachers.  Please remember that while teachers are doing their best to support children and families, they, too, are living through this crisis.  They, too, worry about the health of parents, children, and other loved ones, about getting groceries or refilling a prescription or whether it’s safe to take a trip to the store.  Recognizing our shared humanity and coming together in solidarity is the way we will get through this time and emerge stronger.  

With Love,

Dyanthe