The Unity Scoop – January 12

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the week was good to you and your loved ones.  On behalf of our entire faculty and staff, I wish you a safe and joyous long weekend in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his lasting legacy.  See the updates below for two events this week in which we encourage our families to take part – Unity High’s step team competition on Saturday and The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s MLK Jr. celebration on Monday morning.

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of January 12, 2024:

1. New – Attention: Families of Unity Middle – Trimester 2 Family Virtual Meeting is Next Thursday, January 18th, at 6pm: All families are strongly encouraged to participate in next Thursday’s meeting so that you are fully informed on current events and initiatives.  Details are provided in the flier below.

2. New – Unity High Hosts a “Send-off” Alumni Event in Honor of our Alumni as they Return to College for Semester 2!: Unity proudly welcomed its alumni back to our building this past week to reconnect, network, celebrate, and support one another as they gear up to return to their respective college campus for the second semester of their academic year.  Alumni from all four of our graduating classes were represented.  A shout-out to Ms. Hack, Unity’s Alumni Success Manager, for organizing the event!

3. New – Unity’s Queen Steppers are in Action this Weekend (Saturday) and Welcome your Support!: Unity High’s nationally ranked Step Team is competing at YouthStep’s 17th Annual Brooklyn Borough Championship tomorrow (Saturday, 1/12) at Prospect Heights High School (883 Classon Ave). Doors open at 2pm with the competition starting at 3pm. The competition is free to supporters as the kickoff for the Unity Queen Steppers season.

Note that the Unity’s middle school step team, The Unity Royals, will join their sister team at Xplosive’s 2nd annual Go Hard or Go Home competition in Brentwood, NY next Saturday Jan. 20th.

4. New – Attention Families – We Need Your Help in Upgrading our Library!: Our middle school is looking for family volunteers to upgrade our library on Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings from 10am -12pm.  See the details below and contact Ms. Terry via email if you are able to help out.  Many thanks in advance!

5. New – College & Career Readiness in Full Force at Unity High!: It continues to be an exciting and busy time in the world of college & career readiness for Unity High students and staff.  Recent events include:

• Unity Students Begin Studying for the SAT!: Kudos to Unity High’s 10th and 11th grade students who begin preparing for the SAT this week.  Students are preparing under the guidance of Testive, an organization that specializes in supporting students prepare for major exams like the SAT.  Participating students will be meeting weekly after school on Wednesdays until the test this spring

• Attention all 12th Grade Families – Support with Financial Aid!: All senior families are invited to attend our FAFSA workshop on Saturday, January 20th at UPHS.  We will be hosting support office hours from 9:30am-12:30pm on that day and students should attend with their caregiver.  Please plan to bring a copy of your 2022 tax returns (your 1040) and any additional benefit letters you have.  Members of Unity’s College and Career Readiness team will be on hand to support you with completing your FAFSA and TAP, which are both necessary to get money for college!  Contact Ms. Behan (ebehan@unityprep.org) with questions.

6. 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!

Congratulations to our Student-Athlete of the Month from December, Liliana Diaz-Garcia, of our talented MS Dance team.  According to Coach McCrae, “Liliana is a scholar-athlete that has been showing up and giving 120% of herself with learning new material and executing it. She demonstrates high energy and focus in practice and a willingness to help others or herself improve. Liliana works hard in her academics and takes pride in being a scholar athlete. She demonstrates her love and passion for hard work and dedication in how she carries herself and how she motivates others.”  In response to being celebrated, Lilana showed both gratitude and pride: “It feels really good to be awarded the Scholar Athlete of the Month for December. I am proud of myself.”  Congratulations Liliana, and go Panthers!

Unity Middle’s 2023-24 Boys Varsity Basketball Team

Unity Middle’s 2023-24 Girls Basketball Team

7. Recap – Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Event: Students are Encouraged to Take Part in New York’s Largest Public Celebration in Honor of Dr. King, Monday, January 15th, 10:30am: See the details for this celebration below.  To promote participation in this event either in person or virtually:

• Any Unity student who attends the event in person will earn 10 Unity Pride Points for demonstrating our Core Value, Discovery.
• Any student who participates in the event virtually will earn 3 Pride Points for Discovery.
• To claim your Points, simply take a selfie of you engaging in the event either at BAM or via livestream and upload it here.  Finally, the students submitting the best selfie from the event will win a $25 gift card to Amazon!

Sing Harlem Choir performs onstage during the 2023 Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Photo: Elena Olivo

• This year’s keynote speaker is poet, lawyer, and Freedom Reads founder Reginald Dwayne Betts.
• There will also be musical performances by singer-songwriter Madison McFerrin and the award-winning choir Sing Harlem, led by Amaya Knoelle Higginson.
• Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso will serve as the master of ceremonies.
• The event will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, January 15 in the Howard Gilman Opera House (Peter Jay Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Ave.).
• It’s free with tickets distributed on a first-come, first-seated basis starting at 8 a.m. in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby.
• Those who can’t make it in-person can watch a live stream via BAM.org.

Tickets for the in-person event are free, and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8am on Monday, January 15th in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby.  Please note that an RSVP does not guarantee entry.  The link to the livestream will be made available on BAM.org on Monday, January 16th.  The livestream will not be made available after the program.

8. Recap – More Photos and Video Footage of our Annual Love Your Neighbor Community Service Day!: In the spirit of giving, our entire middle school community engaged in a morning of community service.  Students and staff volunteered their time and talents to over a dozen different service projects.  Such projects included partnering with a number of local nonprofit organizations, including The Campaign Against Hunger, Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Center, CHiPS Soup Kitchen & Women’s Shelter, and Hope Gardens Senior Center.  Enjoy the new photos below!

9. Updated – Revised January 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide calendar of events for the month of January – 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.

10. Recap – Stellar Attendance in December – 95% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance in December.  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!

11. 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.

12. 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:
  • 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