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August-27-2023

The Unity Scoop – August 25

Dear Families of Unity,

The past week has been an exciting and eventful one!

On Monday and Tuesday, we welcomed our full team back from the summer break to plan and prepare for the 2023-24 school year.  Our team will continue in their planning and collaboration this coming week before welcoming our students back to school during the first week of September!

On Thursday, our school leaders hosted virtual Meet & Greet events for our newest middle and high school families.  I want to thank our team for hosting the event and our families who participated.  By attending the session, we hope that new families are fully supported and even more excited about joining our community!

For new families who were unable to attend the event, our Family Engagement Coordinators will be reaching out to you directly.  I am also sharing important information from the sessions below, including video recordings from both sessions and key dates for the first week of school.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we provide a wealth of information to help you get off to a strong start to the school year, including: upcoming key dates, details on fall athletics and after-school programming, supply lists, and more!

Best weekend wishes to you and loved ones!

 

In Unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

 

Updates as of August 25, 2023:

1. New – Thank you to our Newest Families for Participating in Last Night’s Meet & Greet with Unity’s Principals!  In total, we had over 100 new families participate in last night’s sessions.  Participating families were able to meet our dedicated principals – Ms. Williams of our middle school and Ms. Yun of our high school – along with members of their talented leadership teams.  Families learned more about our school’s leadership, our vision for the upcoming school year, and how caregivers can play an active role in supporting their child’s educational journey.  Here are the video recordings from both sessions:

 

2. New – Schedule for the First Week of School: The schedule for the first week of school is designed to best support a positive and strong start to the year.  By having different sessions for our new and returning students, we are able to customize their experiences to best serve their needs as we transition back to school, ensuring a strong start for our community.

 

3. Updated – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: Save-the-Dates for Back-to-School Night!: 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.

Expect a monthly calendar for the month of September in the next edition of The Scoop.  In the meantime, please reserve in your calendar our Back-to-School Nights!

SAVE-THE-DATE!

  • MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 6PM
  • HIGH SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST, 6PM

4. New – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

  • Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place the week of September 11th:
    • Cross Country
    • Volleyball
    • Flag Football
    • Soccer
    • Step
  • Permission slips will be distributed on Wednesday, September 6th – Friday, September 8th.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

  • Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place on the following dates:
    • Girls Varsity Volleyball: 9/18
    • Boys Varsity Volleyball: 9/19
    • Step: 9/21
    • Soccer – to be announced
    • Football – to be announced
    • Note: tryouts for winter sports teams will tentatively take place in late September / early October.
  • Permission slips will be distributed during the first week of September 11th.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

 

5. New – Alumni Spotlight – Sebastian Lobos, Unity’s Class of 2020: Congratulations to Unity graduate, Sebastian Lobos, who recently earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Florida International University.  He achieved this feat in just three years!

Sebastian Lobos is a member of Unity’s inaugural cohort – the class of 2020. He graduated from high school with a weighted cumulative GPA of 4.1 and began his post-secondary journey at the University of Miami, majoring in Engineering Management. In 2022, Sebastian transferred to Florida International University where he recently completed his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. We are so incredibly proud of him for this accomplishment! He decided on Computer Science because he sees it as an evolving field where he can always learn something new. He is currently working in communications and applying for jobs and certifications in the Computer Science industry.

 

6. Updated – 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:

 

7. New – Student Class Schedules:  All students – grades 6-12 – will receive their class schedules on their first day of school.

 

8. Updated – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming kicks off on Monday, September 18th. After-school applications will be distributed to scholars on the first day of school. The first 50 new students who sign up for after-school will get to attend a field trip to Dorney Park!  Please Contact Luis Rodriguez with questions by email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org or phone at 646-676-1309.

St. Nicks

 

9. Recap – August Hours of Operation: Here is information on our hours of operation by site through August.  The main office of both sites will be open based on the following schedules:

  • 432 Monroe Street (grades 6-8): 718-455-5046
    • August 21st – August 31st
      • 8:30am – 3:00pm, M-F
  • 584 Driggs Avenue (grades 9-12): 718-682-3725
    • August 21st – August 31st
      • 8:30am – 4:30pm, M-F

 

10. Recap – Summer Assignment Reminder for Grades 6-8: Here is a note from Ms. Shebroe, Assistant Principal of Teaching & Learning at Unity’s middle school, regarding summer assignments.

With summer comes fun, relaxation, and rejuvenation. While this time off is well deserved, we want to help support our scholars to keep their math and ELA skills sharp and prevent the “summer slide.” With this in mind, we want to remind you to check in with your child about their summer work for their math and ELA classes. These assignments include prerequisite knowledge that will build on what they already know from the prior grade and support their success in the next grade. Additionally, for math, each topic has a recommended tutorial video, which can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/UMPSmathsummer23

Students should spend approximately 30 minutes to one hour each week working on each assignment. It is recommended that students spread out the work over the course of the summer in order to keep their skills sharp and avoid cramming at the last minute.

Assignments are due on the first day of school, Wednesday, September 6th. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Shebroe at lshebroe@unityprep.org.

Math assignments: https://tinyurl.com/UMPSmathsummer23

ELA assignments: 6th, 7th and 8th Grade ELA Assignments

 

11. Recap – AP scores from the 2022-23 school year are now available!: Students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Course selections for the 2023-24 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.

 

12. 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.

 

13. Recap – Interested in Free Bussing Services to and from School for your Middle School Child?  Complete this Middle School Bus Request Form:  Unity offers bussing services to a limited number of students in grades 6-8 (priority will be given to our youngest students).  If you are interested in learning more about this service, complete this request form.  Mr. Beckford will be in contact with interested families by August 29th.

 

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:
  • Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • 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
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