Family Newsletter - 1-20-26

• Our APs and Deans held important assemblies last week with their grades, to emphasize the importance of topics including phone policy, ID and school uniform requirements, hallway and cafeteria etiquette, bathroom usage,  horseplay/fooling around, library procedures, grades and failure policy, trips/events, safety drill protocols and behavior, protecting personal and school property. Please be diligent in doing everything you can to help… it certainly takes a village as you know.
• Congratulations to our Debate Team, who did an incredible job in their first competition for the year. Alexandre won 5th place, Rosie 4th, and Tehreem 3rd!! The group of Tehreem, Rosie and Joanna won a 2nd place medal for having a 3-0 record throughout the tournament. Also, a big shout out to our Dance Team, who showcased their talents last week at the NYC Middle School Dance Showcase at Brooklyn Technical HS along with 30 other middle schools around NYC. They wow’d the crowd so much that the director of the event insisted that they return next year and play a greater role
• Congratulations to our Soccer Team, who finished 3rd in the D21 soccer league, and will be playing in the playoffs this week. Because there are only 4 teams playing, we will be playing our semifinal game at Boody this afternoon. If possible, we would love to have some fans in the stands there cheering our kids on. If you can make it… you won’t be disappointed
• I.A. Superintendent Lynch shared that Amplify Desmos was the District’s Math Curriculum decision, to be implemented by all D21 middle schools in the fall. We were assured that all math teachers would be trained in the spring, as the platform is technology heavy. Planning and preparation will also be in place to ensure that the appropriate level of rigor and test preparation remains in place to support our students in their learning
• I met last week with our SGO Cabinet and advisors to discuss Respect for All Week, which takes place the week of February 9th. More detailed information will follow in next week’s newsletter. A special thank you to Ms. Rogers, who joined us for this month’s meeting. She discussed Civics for All with SGO Cabinet, and the need to create a Civics for All Participatory Budget Committee comprised of Admin, teachers and students, to decide how to spend the $2500 in allocated funding. 
• Wednesday the 21st, TOMORROW is Senior Picture Day. Please remind your 8th graders to bring in their forms and dress in uniform to be included in class pictures for their yearbook.
• This Friday, January 23rd, we will be holding our Principal Honor Roll ceremonies for Grade 6, 7 and 8 during periods 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The students who made Silver, Gold or Platinum honor roll for the 1st marking period will receive a letter, and families will be permitted to attend.
• As noted last week, SS and Science midterm week will be held during the weeks of January 26th and February 2nd consecutively. The ELA and Math i-ready will not be counted towards students' 2nd marking period grades. Those departments will still be administering a unified exam in March, when they administer, grade and analyze mock state tests in preparation for the NYS CBTs. Those exams will be counted towards their marking period 3 average. 

Academic Vocabulary Word of the Week: 

1/20/26 – Validate, Sufficient

Spanish: Validar, suficiente

Chinese: 驗證，足夠

Russian: Подтвердите, достаточно

Urdu: توثیق کرنا، کافی

Validate (v.): demonstrate or support the truth or value of.

Synonyms: prove, justify

Sufficient (adj.): enough; adequate

-          Synonyms: ample, enough, plenty

Morphology Map:

Social Emotional Focus:

6th grade – Compassion: How does compassion influence an individual’s decisions and actions?

7th grade – Identity: What factors influence our identity?

8th grade – Commitment: How will I handle situations where I face unexpected challenges?

• 6:00 pm CEC Meeting

• Pds. 3, 4, 5 Principal Honor Roll Ceremonies

• Pds. 1-3 ELA Midterms