The Unity Scoop – March 17

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that weekend has been good to you and your loved ones.  Spring is in the air with the first official day of spring on Tuesday, March 19th!

This coming week, our high school students will be preparing for their third round of interim assessments.  There is a special schedule to accommodate the exams; please feel free to reach out to the main office at the school with specific questions.  In addition, tryouts for our middle school athletic teams will be on Tuesday (3/19) and Thursday (3/21); please contact with Mr. Coleman with questions around tryouts.  Finally, we also continue in our celebration of Women’s History with a number of events and festivities to mark the occasion!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we highlight our P.R.I.D.E. leaders from the month of February along with the accomplishments of one of Unity’s alumni and the recent achievements of our current students!

Best wishes in the week ahead!

Best regards,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of March 17, 2024:

Updated – March 2024 Schoolwide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of March – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

New – Kudos to our P.R.I.D.E. Leaders for the Full Month of February!: Our P.R.I.D.E. Core Values of Progress, Respect for All, Integrity, Discovery, and Empathy represent qualities that we covet as a school community.  They also represent qualities that we believe empower our students to lead fulfilling lives and, therefore, qualities that we have a responsibility to actively teach and positively reinforce.  The students listed below were leaders from the month of February in being recognized by their teachers for demonstrating our Core Values.  On behalf of our school community, we are proud of these students, and look forward to continuing to shout out all of our students when they demonstrate P.R.I.D.E. in our community.

New – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Malik Dale, Unity’s Class of 2020: We are thrilled to share with our entire community the accomplishments of our alumni whenever we can.  This month, we proudly provide an update on the postsecondary success of Malik Dale, who is now in his third year at Brooklyn College!

Malik Dale graduated from Unity in 2020. He is currently a full-time student at Brooklyn College, majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing.

Malik is an accomplished student-athlete at Brooklyn College and a member of the Men’s Basketball Team.  Malk scored his 1,000th point in college this past season.  He was also named as a First Team All-Star in his conference.

The Boy’s Varsity Basketball Team at Unity has had the privilege of Malk practicing with the team on a few occasions this season.  We thank Malik for giving back to Unity and for continuing to be an active part of our community.  We are proud of you, Malik!

Updated – Unity’s Student-Athletes Continue to Shine in the Winter Season!: There have been a number of recent highlights worth sharing with Unity’s athletic teams this winter season.  Here are a few!

Middle School Scholar-Athlete of the Month for January: Dylan Phillips

Team: Junior Varsity Boys Basketball

Current GPA: 4.0

Accomplishments: Dylan is appreciated for being a “glue guy” according to his coaches. His positive attitude, kind nature, and charisma makes him a joy to work with and a tremendous teammate. He is a unique leader in the way he is able to navigate different social circles and keep his team together and locked in.  He is  appreciated for encouraging his teammates to excel on the basketball court, in the classroom, and in life.

Quote from Scholar-Athlete:  “I am happy and proud of myself.  I really worked hard for this and I put in a lot of time and effort into it.”

Recap – Congrats to our Middle School’s Students of the Month!:  Kudos to our Students of the Month from January for showing exemplary scholarship, citizenship, and growth – we are proud of you!

• 6th Grade:
  • Scholarship: Nyla Telesford
  • Citizenship: Ariyah Mills
• 7th Grade:
  • Scholarship: Arianna Garcia
  • Citizenship: Melody Bramwell
  • Most Improved: Makayla Vasquez
• 8th Grade:
  • Scholarship: Shirley Longmire
  • Citizenship: Amani Prince

Recap – Help Shape Your Child’s Experience in School by Taking Part in our Next Middle School Family Ambassadors Meeting, Thursday, March 21st, 6pm!: The next Family Ambassadors of Unity meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, March 21st, at 6pm on Zoom.  Contact Mr. Beckford with questions – all families or middle school students are encouraged to attend!

Recap – Unity Family Ambassador Spotlight of the Month!: We are thrilled to resume an exciting feature to the Unity Scoop, a monthly profile of our amazing Unity Family Ambassadors. The Unity Family Ambassadors are a group of caregivers who meet monthly and serve as thought partners for many of our school’s initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Unity Family Ambassadors, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.

Ms. Sawana Lawrence (Mother of Sanah Lawrence, 6th Grader)

Profession:

Eligibility/Hotline Specialist

Favorite Restaurant in Brooklyn?

Atlas Steakhouse

Your favorite self-care activity?

Spa & massage

Why did you choose to send your child to Unity?

Unity was highly recommended by my family.

What is your favorite aspect of Unity?

The staff works hard to keep the students engaged as well as the parents/caregivers.

What inspired you to ‘give back’ to our community by joining the Unity Family Ambassadors this year?

The community has to stick together and it’s another way for me to say thank you.

Recap – New Students for the Fall 2024 – Unity’s lottery for Fall 2024 admissions is coming up soon! . 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).

Recap – Unity Calendar for the 2023-24 School Year: 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.

Recap – New Students for 2023-24 school year – 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:
  • Helping Kids Cope with Frightening News from Child Mind Institute
  • How to Talk to Kids About War from verywellfamily.com
  • How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Children from The Relation Station
  • How to Talk to Children about War: An Age-by-Age Guide from Today.com
• Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • Bronx PDF 
  • Manhattan PDF
  • Queens PDF
  • Brooklyn PDF
  • Staten Island PDF
• 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