THE UNITY SCOOP AT 584! WEEK OF FEBRUARY 26TH

Good afternoon, families of Unity High!

I hope that you and your family enjoyed the wonderful break.  I want to begin today’s note by thanking our families that supported their children in keeping their academic skills strong by helping them complete their mid-winter break homework assignments.  Such practice goes a long way in helping students retain and strengthen important skills from which to continue building.

It feels great to be back in school this week to reunite with everyone to resume in our all important work.  With the month of March almost upon us, we are moving into the spring season, which is a busy and exciting time of year.  We look forward to continuing to partner with you to create the best educational experience possible for your child.

In this week’s edition of The 584 Scoop, I bring to you 9 important announcements plus a bonus coming from our faculty and high-school scholar athletes.

This Week’s Top 9:

1. Reminder!  Get Ready!  SAT and PSAT Prep! –  These upcoming tests are critical to each scholars’ college applications. On March 27th, juniors will take the actual SAT for the first time – this is the actual test for which results will be sent to the colleges students hope to attend. Unity sophomores will take the PSAT.   For sophomores, this will be their first round of practice for the SAT.  If your child is a sophomore or junior, please encourage her or him to practice on Khan Academy and to read their independent reading book for at least 30 minutes each night – that is the best practice for the test!

2. Reminder!  Family Movie Night at Unity is this Thursday, February 28th at 5pm! – Come out with the family to enjoy the brilliant and inspiring film, Hidden Figures, in our middle school auditorium at 432 Monroe Street.  Contact Ms. Hefney with questions at fhefney@unityprep.org or (347) 460-7173.

3. Semester I Honor Roll Reception, Tuesday, March 5th at 5:30pm! – We are excited to celebrate students with exceptional Semester 1 academic achievement next week. Additionally, we will recognize students who have consistently demonstrated our PRIDE values of Professionalism, Resilience, Integrity, Dignity, and Empathy. The celebration will include awards, food, and performances.  Invitations will be distributed on Wednesday, February 27, in advisory.  Family members of invited students are encouraged to attend!

4. Reminder!  Our Next Open Houses for Prospective New Middle School Students are on Wednesday, March 20th at 6pm and on Saturday, March 23rd at 10am – We encourage our current families to invite other families whose child is entering middle school next year.  Contact Ms. Hefney with questions at fhefney@unityprep.org or (347) 460-7173.

5. Support our Student Recruitment Efforts! – We kindly ask that all of our families take no more than five minutes to visit GreatSchools.org or our Google page to share with others what you appreciate about Unity and why you are proud to send your child to Unity.  Simply click HERE to access our Google page or HERE to go directly to the site to provide a review.  Thanks in advance – it means a lot to us and goes a long way in ensuring our long-term success in connecting with amazing families like you!

6. Reminder!  Update to Unity High’s Tardy-to-School Policy – In the spirit of better promoting strong habits in punctuality among all of our students, we are updating our tardy-to-school policy.  Moving forward, students who have been excessively tardy to school in semester 1 (ex. more than 10% of the time) will receive a friendly reminder text message in the morning to encourage a timely arrival to school.  In the event that they are late to school, they will serve a lunch detention. Families – we ask for your collaboration in ensuring your children arrive to school by 8:10am each day, and more generally, in cultivating healthy professional habits, which will serve them well in college and in future careers.

7. Photos from Last Week’s College Trips! – All Unity High School students were invited to  visit colleges on the Friday prior to mid-winter break as part of their College and Career Readiness (CCR) course.  Freshmen visited Lehman College or Brooklyn College, sophomores visited St. Joseph’s College, Columbia University, or Barnard College, and juniors visited Trinity College or Manhattanville College.  During each of these visits, students evaluated each school’s academic offerings as well as the student culture and financial accessibility. Thank you to Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Rubinoff, Ms. Sackman, and Ms. Eason for making the experiences possible.  Enjoy the photos below!

8. Reminder!  Career Day at Unity High on April 12th – We’d be Honored to Have you in Attendance! – Unity High will host its Third Annual Career Fair on Friday, April 12th.  During this networking event, students will visit several different adults and inquire about the adults’ work, their professional backgrounds, and ask for tips/advice regarding entering the adults’ career field.  We are now actively recruiting adults from the range of career fields. We hope to have at least fifty adults from a range of career fields including, but not limited to: design (graphic design, animation, architecture), science (biology/marine biology, chemists), visual arts, self-employed entrepreneurs, law enforcement, medicine/healthcare, law, private business, performing arts, and humanities-related careers.  Should you or anyone in your network be interested in participating in the Career Fair, please complete the Unity Prep Career Fair Interest Survey.  Contact Mr. Gonzalez, Unity High’s Director of College & Career Readiness at egonzalez@unityprep.org or (347) 439-2634 with questions.  

9. Reminder!  Support Your Child’s Study Skills at Home – It is never too late to help your child in developing their study skills!  Here is a helpful article that details how you can support your child in studying at home. Simply browse over the article and take part in those recommendations that you feel are most important to you and your child. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s co-advisors and/or teachers directly for course-specific study tips.

Bonus: Students vs. Faculty Hoops Game at the Barclays Center! – Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer on both teams during Sunday’s game.  Congrats to the students for their come-from-behind victory. And thank you Mr. Coleman and Mr. Martinez for organizing the event.  Enjoy the photo!

Resources for Families:

• HS Activities Calendar (updated weekly)
• 2018-19 HS Academic Calendar (official calendar as established at the beginning of the year)
• Student PRIDE Pledge
• Family PRIDE Pledge
• Jupiter (for your child’s grades) – you can also log in by visiting our website and clicking on the Jupiter Ed icon on the top right corner of our homepage.

We look forward to having a strong week before enjoying some time off next week!

Best regards,

Mr. Beauregard