Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the second half of summer has been good to you and your loved ones.

I am pleased to report that our entire staff at our middle and high school are “fired up and ready to go” as we prepare to welcome your children back to school!

Our middle school team in Bed-Stuy has been back to work for the past week and half and are excited to welcome our 6th graders on Monday, August 26th, and our 7th and 8th graders back on Tuesday, August 27th.

Our high school team in Williamsburg reunited this week and are now gearing up over the next week to welcome our 9th graders to school on Tuesday, September 3rd, and our 10th, 11th, and 12th graders on Wednesday, September 4th.

As a full team, we look forward to making the absolute most of the 2024-25 school year alongside you in honor of your childrens’ promise and future.  In unity, there is strength – indeed, let’s get off to a strong start together!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we provide a wealth of information, including: upcoming key dates, details on fall athletics and after-school programming, supply lists, and more!

Best weekend wishes!

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of August 23, 2024:

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.  See the schedule below.

Updated – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

Expect a 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!

• HIGH SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH, 6PM
• MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT FOR ALL FAMILIES (IN PERSON)!, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 6PM

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Updated – Summer Assignment Information: Here are the descriptions for summer assignments for students by grade level:

• Grades 6-8 only: Summer assignments for all rising 7th-8th grade middle school students were distributed during Roundtable presentations. Digital copies were also sent via email to all incoming 6th graders.  If you are a new family in need of assignments for this summer, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.  Completed assignments are due on August 29th and are to be turned in to a student’s math and ELA teachers.

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 during the week of September 10th – 12th from 3:30 to 5:15pm:
  • Cross Country
  • Volleyball
  • Flag Football
  • Soccer
  • Step
• Permission slips will be made available on Tuesday, September 3rd.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts are set to begin the week of September 9, 2024 for all fall sports teams.  Details on our teams will be provided next week.  To participate in any sport, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here by September 9th to participate in the fall athletics season.

New – AP scores from the 2023-24 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 2024-25 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

New – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:

• UPMS Supply list:https://drive.google.com/file/d/11X8GiFTpLe_L1o_OjvkLEZ5ildnJrAIf/view?usp=sharing
• UPHS 9th grade supply list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DT3knVtJLmjJPXYrWtRGd9dZh5K5MQ39/view?usp=sharing

New – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

Updated – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 202-25 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 $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

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

Dear Families of Unity,

On behalf of the entire faculty and staff, I hope that the first half of summer has treated you and your loved ones well.

The month of July represents a sacred time each year to spend time with loved ones, engage in meaningful personal adventures, and recharge the mind and body. It provides time for our educators to appreciate and reflect on the past school year, as well as plan forward for the coming year, and all that we want to achieve in collaboration with you.

In addition, July also represents an opportunity to provide invaluable service to our students beyond the regular school year, through customized small-group interventions during Summer Academy.

Our school leaders recently returned to school from a much deserved vacation to resume planning and preparation for the coming school year.  As we near our twelfth year as a school, we are excited to put our best foot forward in building on our prior successes in making the 2024-25 school year our strongest year yet!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, I bring to you a number of updates, initiatives, and resources both at Unity and beyond.  We also highlight our heartfelt graduation ceremonies from June.

The next edition of the Scoop will be disseminated during the week of August 23rd.

Best summer wishes,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of July 31, 2024:

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Updated – Summer Assignment Information: Here are the descriptions for summer assignments for students by grade level:

• Grades 6-8: Summer assignments for all rising 7th-8th grade middle school students were distributed during Roundtable presentations. Digital copies were also sent via email to all incoming 6th graders.  If you are a new family in need of assignments for this summer, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.
• Grades 9-12: Students who are mandated to retake Regents examinations will receive summer prep work directions by August 7th.  Some summer school classes may have homework. There are no full-grade summer assignments.

New – AP scores from the 2023-24 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 2024-25 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

New – 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 1st – August 9th
    • The building is closed due to facility renovations.  Contact help.ms@unityprep.org for all correspondence.
  • August 12th – August 31, 2024
    • 9:00am – 4:00pm, M-F
• 584 Driggs Avenue (grades 9-12): 718-682-3725
  • August 1st – August 9th
    • The building is closed due to facility renovations.  Contact help.hs@unityprep.org for all correspondence.
  • August 12th – August 31st
    • 9:00am – 4:00pm, M-F

New – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies will be provided by the following dates:

• Grades 6-8: August 21st
• Grades 9-12: August 28th

New – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 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: Updates on Unity High’s dress code will be provided in early August.

New – Helping Your Child to Continue their Learning This Summer: The brief presentation, which was developed internally last year, is still relevant this year and provides valuable links to paid internships, volunteer opportunities and other things your child can do over the summer to promote critical thinking and learning during the months of July and August.  Click on the image below to see her presentation slides.

Updated – New Students for Fall 2024 – Unity middle school has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 202-25 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 $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

Recap – Unity Celebrates our Graduates of the Class of 2024!:  We are so proud of our graduates and extremely excited about their college and career pursuits as Unity graduates.  A special congrats to the graduates featured below for their academic achievements.  Again, we are proud of you!

Recap –  Unity Celebrates our 8th Grade Graduates!: Congratulations to the families of our newest 8th grade graduates!  Wednesday’s ceremony was a warm and festive event, and I am so excited for our graduates as they continue their academic pursuits in high school.

Recap – Unity Middle’s End-of-Year Ceremony Honors our Students’ Many Achievements in 2023-24!: An abundance of students were celebrated for their achievements during Monday’s Awards Ceremony.  Congratulations to all recipients, including our Caregiver Award recipient!

Recap – Report Cards for all Unity Students for the Spring Term and Year:

• Grades 6-8: Middle School report cards were distributed during Roundtables.  Report cards that were not picked up will be mailed out by July 1st, in addition to students’ summer assignment packets, and any awards students may have received.
• Grades 9-12: Report card links will be sent out via email to families by June 28th.

Recap – Unity Celebrates the 5th-Year Anniversary for 11 Educators and 10-Year Anniversary for 6 Educators!: This past week, we honored nine Unity staff members who are celebrating their 5th year at Unity, along with two Unity staff members who are celebrating their 10th year at Unity.  As a young school, these teammates have contributed mightily to our programming, our curriculum, and most importantly, the learning experiences of our students.  They are pillars within our community and we thank them wholeheartedly to all that they have brought and continue to bring to our school.  Here they are – feel free to send them a note of congrats!

• Platinum Apple Awards – 10 Years at Unity!
  • Aaron Coleman, Middle School Athletics Director and Physical Education Teacher
  • Brandon Lopez, High School Director of Operations
• Golden Apple Awards – 5 Years at Unity!
  • Calou Beckford, Coordinator of Student Recruitment & Family Engagement
  • Franklin Berkeley, Middle School Art Teacher
  • Amanda Bond, High School English Language Arts Teacher
  • Hillary Bond, Middle School Science Teacher
  • Jamela Gibson, Middle School Mathematics Teacher
  • Zakiyyah Griffin, Middle School Dean of Students
  • Julia McCullough, High Mathematics Teacher
  • Ben Pakter, High School History Teacher
  • Olivia-Ann Richardson, Middle School Director of Support Services

Dear Families of Unity,

It is with immense enthusiasm that I commend our school community on concluding the 2023-24 school year!  It has been an eventful year and there is much for which we, as a community, can be grateful for.

On behalf of Unity’s full faculty and staff, congratulations to the families of our newest graduating class – the Class of 2024!  Yesterday’s ceremony was a wonderfully festive event, and I am so excited for our graduates and their postsecondary plans.  I thank our families for their contributions to the ceremony, including the stunning and heartfelt video clips put forward by family members.

In addition, I would also like to congratulate our 8th graders on their graduation from Unity’s middle school.  Wednesday’s ceremony was warm and festive and we are so excited for our graduating 8th graders as they extend their educational journey to high school this fall!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop we bring to you an abundance of graduation photos, a summary of student end-of-year awards and achievements, and milestones among our staff and team.  We also provide updates on services and resources available to families this summer, and other relevant updates from last week’s edition.

Enjoy your July and expect the next edition of the Scoop to be shared during the week of August 1st!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of June 28, 2024:

New – Unity Celebrates our Graduates of the Class of 2024!:  We are so proud of our graduates and extremely excited about their college and career pursuits as Unity graduates.  A special congrats to the graduates featured below for their academic achievements.  Again, we are proud of you!

 New –  Unity Celebrates our 8th Grade Graduates!: Congratulations to the families of our newest 8th grade graduates!  Wednesday’s ceremony was a warm and festive event, and I am so excited for our graduates as they continue their academic pursuits in high school.

New – Unity Middle’s End-of-Year Ceremony Honors our Students’ Many Achievements in 2023-24!: An abundance of students were celebrated for their achievements during Monday’s Awards Ceremony.  Congratulations to all recipients, including our Caregiver Award recipient!

New – Report Cards for all Unity Students for the Spring Term and Year:

• Grades 6-8: Middle School report cards were distributed during Roundtables.  Report cards that were not picked up will be mailed out by July 1st, in addition to students’ summer assignment packets, and any awards students may have received.
• Grades 9-12: Report card links will be sent out via email to families by June 28th.

New – Summer Assignment Information: Here are the descriptions for summer assignments for students by grade level:

• Grades 6-8: Summer assignments for all rising 7th-8th grade middle school students were distributed during Roundtable presentations. Digital copies were also sent via email to all incoming 6th graders.  If you are a new family in need of assignments for this summer, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.
• Grades 9-12: Students who are mandated to retake Regents examinations will receive summer prep work directions by August 7th.  Some summer school classes may have homework. There are no full-grade summer assignments.

New – July Hours of Operation: Here is information on July office hours by site:

• 432 Monroe Street (grades 6-8): due to renovations to the school building, our middle school will be closed and inaccessible through the month of July.  Summer Academy for students in grades 6-8 will take place at 787 Lafayette Avenue.  Please contact info@unityprep.org with questions.
• 584 Driggs Avenue (grades 9-12): July 8th – July 26th; 8am – 4pm. For questions, please call 718-682-3725, ext. 1.

New – Unity Celebrates the 5th-Year Anniversary for 11 Educators and 10-Year Anniversary for 6 Educators!: This past week, we honored nine Unity staff members who are celebrating their 5th year at Unity, along with two Unity staff members who are celebrating their 10th year at Unity.  As a young school, these teammates have contributed mightily to our programming, our curriculum, and most importantly, the learning experiences of our students.  They are pillars within our community and we thank them wholeheartedly to all that they have brought and continue to bring to our school.  Here they are – feel free to send them a note of congrats!

• Platinum Apple Awards – 10 Years at Unity!
  • Aaron Coleman, Middle School Athletics Director and Physical Education Teacher
  • Brandon Lopez, High School Director of Operations
• Golden Apple Awards – 5 Years at Unity!
  • Calou Beckford, Coordinator of Student Recruitment & Family Engagement
  • Franklin Berkeley, Middle School Art Teacher
  • Amanda Bond, High School English Language Arts Teacher
  • Hillary Bond, Middle School Science Teacher
  • Jamela Gibson, Middle School Mathematics Teacher
  • Zakiyyah Griffin, Middle School Dean of Students
  • Julia McCullough, High Mathematics Teacher
  • Ben Pakter, High School History Teacher
  • Olivia-Ann Richardson, Middle School Director of Support Services

Recap – Unity Students Show Off their New Skills During Roundtables: Congrats to all of our middle school students who completed their Roundtable Presentations this week.  Be proud of this milestone achievement. Family members – we hope you enjoyed the experience – congratulations to you too!

Recap – Unity Athletics – Congrats to our 2023-24 Student-Athletes!: As we conclude the 2023-24 school year, we congratulate all of our student athletes for your achievements and sportsmanship.  We look forward to building on our success in 2024-25, and we encourage all of our student-athletes to practice your skills this summer!

Congratulations to our student-athletes at Unity Middle who enjoyed an end-of-year Athletic Awards banquet last week.  Go Panthers!

Members of Unity’s basketball teams have been working hard to develop their skills in the offseason this spring.  This past week, they had the opportunity to mee with Pasha Cook, a former Division I basketball player who now works with professional athletes and leagues, including the NFL and WNBA, to provide life coaching and branding consultation.  Unity players and Pasha took part in a rich discussion on Leadership and Legacy in which a number of life lessons were shared.  Thank you, Pasha, for taking the time to meet with our student-athletes!

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Dear Families of Unity,

I want to begin by extending a hearty congratulations to our middle school students for completing their Roundtable Presentations.  In addition, I would also like to extend a hearty congratulations to our high school students for completing their Regents exams this week – just two more to go on Monday!!  These events represent major educational milestones at Unity and our entire community should be applauded for our efforts.  Indeed, there is strength in Unity!

The milestones for the 2024-25 school year continue and conclude in the week ahead.  Most prominently, we will celebrate the graduation of our 12th graders and 8th graders on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively.  Our middle school will also engage in an end-of-year academic awards celebration on Monday.  On Tuesday, our middle school students will take part in some serious fun during their end-of-year trips!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we showcase some highlights from our Roundtable presentations, celebrate our Students of the Month for May, and offer recent highlights from our athletics programming!

Have a terrific weekend and, again, we look forward to celebrating our graduates this coming week!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of June 23, 2024:

New – Unity Students Show Off their New Skills During Roundtables: Congrats to all of our middle school students who completed their Roundtable Presentations this week.  Be proud of this milestone achievement. Family members – we hope you enjoyed the experience – congratulations to you too!

New – Congrats to our Middle School’s Students of the Month!:  Kudos to our Students of the Month in May for demonstrating exemplary scholarship and citizenship – we are proud of you!

Updated – Unity Athletics – Congrats to our 2023-24 Student-Athletes!: As we conclude the 2023-24 school year, we congratulate all of our student athletes for your achievements and sportsmanship.  We look forward to building on our success in 2024-25, and we encourage all of our student-athletes to practice your skills this summer!

Congratulations to our student-athletes at Unity Middle who enjoyed an end-of-year Athletic Awards banquet last week.  Go Panthers!

Members of Unity’s basketball teams have been working hard to develop their skills in the offseason this spring.  This past week, they had the opportunity to mee with Pasha Cook, a former Division I basketball player who now works with professional athletes and leagues, including the NFL and WNBA, to provide life coaching and branding consultation.  Unity players and Pasha took part in a rich discussion on Leadership and Legacy in which a number of life lessons were shared.  Thank you, Pasha, for taking the time to meet with our student-athletes!

Updated – June 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of June – 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.

Recap – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Spring Family Perception Survey: Our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we conclude the school year by completing this brief survey.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by June 24th will be eligible for a raffle of a $50 gift card to Amazon.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback!

Recap – Unity’s Young Artists Exhibit their Works at a Local Gallery!: This past Thursday, students, staff, family members, and community members participated in our high school’s Spring Arts Festival at the Art Cave Gallery on Broadway.  Congrats to Ms. Glickman, Ms. Gjakova, and their students for bringing this glorious event to our community!  And thank you to our families who came out to support!

Recap – With June Comes the Fun of End-of-Year Trips with Classmates!: With this being the final month of the school year, grade levels have begun indulging in a number of festive adventures to celebrate the end of the year and have fun together! Below are some action photos of some recent trips as well as some fliers of trips that are upcoming!

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Recap – College Acceptance List for Unity’s Class of 2024!: We are excited to share with our community the full list of colleges to which members of Unity’s Class of 2024 have earned admission.  Congrats to the entire class and their families as they now decide which college they will attend this fall!  Enjoy the photo below of members of Unity’s Class of 2024 visiting SUNY Stony Brook on Thursday and being greeted by members of Unity’s Class of 2023 who now attend Stony Brook. Kudos to our alumni in supporting our seniors as they weigh their options!

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.

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

Dear Families of Unity,

Let me begin this edition of The Unity Scoop with a hearty note of admiration and gratitude to all of the fathers in our community.  Happy Father’s Day to you!

I hope this past week treated you and your loved ones well.  As a community, we experienced a few noteworthy milestones, including the last day of regular classes, a Unity Field Day at our middle school, the completion of Regents exams at Unity High, a student-athletics awards banquet, a dance performance, and a spring arts exhibition.  Kudos to all who contributed to these milestones and their success!

The milestones continue this week in rapid fashion.  While we only have three days of school due to honoring Eid al-Adha on Monday and Juneteenth on Wednesday, our middle school students, after much preparation and anticipation, will engage in their Roundtable presentations on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  In addition, our high school students will conclude Regents testing with five different exams administered over the course of the short week.  See the June calendar below for details.  We are excited to experience these new milestones together as a community this week!

In this edition of The Scoop, we share highlights from Thursday’s art exhibition.  In addition, we share some fun photos on our end-of-year trips.  Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of June 16, 2024:

New – Unity’s Young Artists Exhibit their Works at a Local Gallery!: This past Thursday, students, staff, family members, and community members participated in our high school’s Spring Arts Festival at the Art Cave Gallery on Broadway.  Congrats to Ms. Glickman, Ms. Gjakova, and their students for bringing this glorious event to our community!  And thank you to our families who came out to support!

Updated – June 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of June – 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.

Updated – Middle School Families – RSVP for Your Child’s Roundtable Presentation Now!:  We are excited for our students’ Roundtable presentations, which will take place over three days: June 18th, 20th, and 21st.  An RSVP form for your child’s Roundtable presentation was disseminated last week.  RSVP at your earliest convenience if you haven’t already done so!

New – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Spring Family Perception Survey: Our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we conclude the school year by completing this brief survey.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by June 24th will be eligible for a raffle of a $50 gift card to Amazon.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback!

New – With June Comes the Fun of End-of-Year Trips with Classmates!: With this being the final month of the school year, grade levels have begun indulging in a number of festive adventures to celebrate the end of the year and have fun together! Below are some action photos of some recent trips as well as some fliers of trips that are upcoming!

Recap  – Stellar Attendance in May – 95% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance in May.  Kudos to these students – we love seeing you each and every day!  And, of course, we look forward to celebrating additional students at the end of this month!

Recap – Unity Athletics – The Spring Season is Upon Us!: There have been a number of recent highlights worth sharing with Unity’s athletic teams this spring season.  Here are a few!

Unity Middle’s Girls Track Team qualified for the Finals in three separate leagues this past week – NYRR (New York Road Runners), MSAL (Middle School Athletic Association), and CSAA (Charter School Athletic Association).  Be proud, Panthers!

Congratulations to our student-athletes at Unity High who enjoyed an end-of-year Athletic Awards banquet last night.  Go Panthers!

Unity Middle Student-Athlete, Sariah Wilson, being interviewed by the MSAL league commissioner during yesterday’s meeting.  Click on the image to hear the interview.  Unity’s 4×4 girls’ team won their race!

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Recap – College Acceptance List for Unity’s Class of 2024!: We are excited to share with our community the full list of colleges to which members of Unity’s Class of 2024 have earned admission.  Congrats to the entire class and their families as they now decide which college they will attend this fall!  Enjoy the photo below of members of Unity’s Class of 2024 visiting SUNY Stony Brook on Thursday and being greeted by members of Unity’s Class of 2023 who now attend Stony Brook. Kudos to our alumni in supporting our seniors as they weigh their options!

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.

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

Dear Families of Unity,

Congratulations on rounding out a full and complete week of school.  Congratulations to our Algebra I students who completed their Regents exam on Tuesday!  And congratulations to Unity High’s student-athletes who celebrated their athletic accomplishments this year.  A shout-out to our High School Athletic Director, Coach Egharevba, for orchestrating the special event!

In the coming week, our middle school students will have fun together on Unity Day on Wednesday.  Our middle school student-athletes will celebrate their seasons during their end-of-year athletics banquet.  Finally, many of our high school students will complete their Regents exams in ELA and Living Environment on Friday.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we highlight our students with stellar attendance from the month of May.  In addition, we spotlight our seniors on their recent end-of-year, pre-graduation journey to Orlando for a final hurrah before graduation!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of June 9, 2024:

Updated – June 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of June – 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.  Notable events for this week include:

• Wednesday, June 12th: Unity Day, grades 6-8
• Thursday, June 13th, 5pm: End-of-Year Athletic Awards Banquet, grades 9-12
• Friday, June 14th: Regents exams in ELA and Living Environment, select students in grades 9-12

Updated – Middle School Families – RSVP for Your Child’s Roundtable Presentation Now!:  We are excited for our students’ Roundtable presentations, which will take place over three days: June 18th, 20th, and 21st.  An RSVP form for your child’s Roundtable presentation was disseminated last week.  RSVP at your earliest convenience if you haven’t already done so!

New – Stellar Attendance in May – 95% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance in May.  Kudos to these students – we love seeing you each and every day!  And, of course, we look forward to celebrating additional students at the end of this month!

New – Unity’s 12th Graders Take in Orlando Together!: For their Senior Trip, Unity’s 12th graders traveled to Florida last week to celebrate their accomplishments and to have some fun together before graduating.  We hope that you had an amazing time, Seniors!  We look forward to celebrating your graduation later this month!

New – Unity Middle’s Roundtable Dance Performances – Come See Them Live!: Our dance students will be filming their Roundtable dance performance this coming Thursday, June 13th.  Join us in our middle school auditorium from 2:30pm to 3:30pm to see the performances live.  See the details below and RSVP here!

Updated – Unity Athletics – The Spring Season is Upon Us!: There have been a number of recent highlights worth sharing with Unity’s athletic teams this spring season.  Here are a few!

Unity Middle’s Girls Track Team qualified for the Finals in three separate leagues this past week – NYRR (New York Road Runners), MSAL (Middle School Athletic Association), and CSAA (Charter School Athletic Association).  Be proud, Panthers!

Congratulations to our student-athletes at Unity High who enjoyed an end-of-year Athletic Awards banquet last night.  Go Panthers!

Unity Middle Student-Athlete, Sariah Wilson, being interviewed by the MSAL league commissioner during yesterday’s meeting.  Click on the image to hear the interview.  Unity’s 4×4 girls’ team won their race!

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

Recap – Unity’s 8th Graders and Seniors Celebrate in Style During their Proms!: Our 8th graders and seniors had a great time as they danced the night away during the proms last week.  Thank you to our staff who coordinated the events and thank you to our staff chaperones who, as the photo below shows, took full opportunity to dress up and have fun with our soon-to-be graduates!

8th Grade Prom Photos:

Senior Prom Photos:

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Recap – College Acceptance List for Unity’s Class of 2024!: We are excited to share with our community the full list of colleges to which members of Unity’s Class of 2024 have earned admission.  Congrats to the entire class and their families as they now decide which college they will attend this fall!  Enjoy the photo below of members of Unity’s Class of 2024 visiting SUNY Stony Brook on Thursday and being greeted by members of Unity’s Class of 2023 who now attend Stony Brook. Kudos to our alumni in supporting our seniors as they weigh their options!

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.

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

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that you have been able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather we have had this past week and weekend.

This coming week, we officially enter the last month of the school year.  With the month of June comes a strong and festive finale to the year with Roundtable presentations at our middle school, Regents exams for students in grades 8-12, end-of-year trips, and, of course, graduation ceremonies for our 8th graders and seniors!

A comprehensive June calendar is now available – see the updates below.  In addition to the new month’s calendar, this edition of The Unity Scoop celebrates the college graduation of a number of our founding students, shows off some festive photos from our 8th grade and senior proms, and congratulates our recent Students of the Month at Unity Middle!

Well wishes to all in the week ahead!  In particular, I want to commend our students and staff who have worked extremely hard over the past several weeks and over the course of the year in their Regents courses.  Congratulations on your hard work and preparation for your Regents exams, which kick off this week!

Best regards,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Unity High students getting in some additional practice after school as they prepare for their Regents exams this month!

Updates as of June 2, 2024:

Updated – June 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of June – 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 – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Tyrek Beckles, 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 Tyrek Beckles, who graduated this spring from Ithaca College!  Congratulations, Tyrek, on your college graduation!

We are so thrilled for our founding students and their families who are receiving their undergraduate degrees this month!  These are students and families who began with us in 6th grade in the fall of 2013 – our founding year!  One member of our Great Class of 2020 is Tyrek Beckles who graduated from Ithaca College this past month with a degree in Sports Media.

Tyrek grew up in Bedford Stuyvesant and was an excellent student and community member at Unity.  He was also very active in athletics.  His mother, Ms. Beckles (pictured above), was a terrific partner and resource to our community (and still is!).  Mr. Coleman (also pictured) along with our entire faculty and staff are so proud of Tyrek and his fellow Unity classmates on their college graduation!

New – Middle School Families – RSVP for Your Child’s Roundtable Presentation Now!:  We are excited for our students’ Roundtable presentations, which will take place over three days: June 18th, 20th, and 21st.  An RSVP form for your child’s Roundtable presentation was disseminated last week.  RSVP at your earliest convenience if you haven’t already done so!

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

New – Unity’s 8th Graders and Seniors Celebrate in Style During their Proms!: Our 8th graders and seniors had a great time as they danced the night away during the proms last week.  Thank you to our staff who coordinated the events and thank you to our staff chaperones who, as the photo below shows, took full opportunity to dress up and have fun with our soon-to-be graduates!

8th Grade Prom Photos:

Senior Prom Photos:

New – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now ready to share.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

Recap – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in Last Week’s Family Ambassadors Meeting!: We are grateful to our families who participated in our Family Ambassadors meeting last week.  As always, the meeting was productive, energizing, and, of course, fun!  Here are the slides from the meeting.

Recep – 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.

Full Name: T’Lyssa Connell

Student Name: TriniTee Connell, 6th grade

Grade level: 6

Profession: Office Manager

Favorite Restaurant in Brooklyn: Olive Garden

Why did you choose to send your child to Unity? Unity has so much to offer these kids that other charter schools don’t offer until high school.

What is the best advice you could provide for an incoming caregiver? Once you attend an info session in person, you see the love, care and dedication the staff has for these kids… you will feel it in your gut that you are making the right decision.

What is your favorite aspect of Unity? Community. Unity does so much, not only for their school community, but as well as the community in which the school serves.

What inspired you to ‘give back’ to our community by joining the Unity Family Ambassadors this year? I will always be one of those parents that tries their best to be at every event or try to contribute in any way possible. Once you show up for your kids, and kids in the community; they know that they will always have support. This leads to success in many ways. Not only for my child but any kid I cross paths with.

Recep – Unity Athletics – The Spring Season is Upon Us!!: There have been a number of recent highlights worth sharing with Unity’s athletic teams this spring season.  Here are a few!

Unity Middle Student-Athlete, Sariah Wilson, being interviewed by the MSAL league commissioner during yesterday’s meeting.  Click on the image to hear the interview.  Unity’s 4×4 girls’ team won their race!

Unity High’s volleyball teams recently honored all 12th grade team members during their Senior Farewell Ceremony.  Congrats to the seniors of both teams.  We applaud you for always representing our community with pride – go Panthers!

Members of the middle school volleyball teams before a recent match (clearly with the game faces on!)

Recap – Free Admission to NYC’s Finest Museum through Unity Middle’s Partnership with Urban Advantage: Unity Middle students were given vouchers to attend some of the best museums in NYC free of charge.  See the details below and contact Ms. Diaz, our MS Science Department Chairperson, with any questions.

Recap – College Acceptance List for Unity’s Class of 2024!: We are excited to share with our community the full list of colleges to which members of Unity’s Class of 2024 have earned admission.  Congrats to the entire class and their families as they now decide which college they will attend this fall!  Enjoy the photo below of members of Unity’s Class of 2024 visiting SUNY Stony Brook on Thursday and being greeted by members of Unity’s Class of 2023 who now attend Stony Brook. Kudos to our alumni in supporting our seniors as they weigh their options!

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.

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