The Unity Scoop – June 9

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