The Unity Scoop – March 17

Dear Families of Unity,

I want to thank our middle school families who participated in conferences last night and today.  It was valuable to connect with family members and students to discuss both progress this year and our collaboration moving forward. Our shared goal is for students to get the most out of their experiences at Unity.  Conferences with our high school families will take place on April 19th and 20th.

This coming week, our high school students will engage in their third quarter interim assessments.  I am thankful for our teachers and administration, as they have worked diligently to prepare our students for these exams.  And congrats in advance to our students for putting forth their best effort on these assessments in showing off all that they have learned this year.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, I highlight our Students of the Month for February and spotlight a Unity senior and the impressive year she is having!  We also celebrate our students with stellar attendance for February as well as honor Core Value leaders for the month.  Finally, I share with you a letter in support of Unity from our local Assemblymember, Stefani Zinerman.

Best of luck to our step teams in their competition this weekend – go Panthers!

Best regards,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of March 17, 2023:

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

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

2. New – Senior Spotlight of the Month – Aniya Hayes!: We are immensely proud of Unity seniors and are excited – as all of their hard work in middle school and high school pay off – as they apply to colleges that best align with their postsecondary pursuits.  This month, we salute Aniya Hayes by sharing her story and recent accomplishments with the entire Unity community.  We are proud of you, Aniya!

Some Background:

One of her teachers describes Aniya Hayes (AKA, “Ms. Cashout”) as “perhaps the most ambitious student in the senior class at Unity Prep.” Given her exemplary attendance, near-perfect Grade Point Average (GPA), successful business pursuit, and her approach to managing her staff, it is easy to understand how Aniya has earned this reputation.  While several seniors’ achievements are impressive, Aniya stands out for her ability to demonstrate excellence in all of these areas at the same time.  Aniya courageously challenges herself by taking on even the most difficult tasks.  Her teachers note that she is organized, diligent, and dedicated to everything she sets her mind to; with that approach, it is easy to envision her success in college, and in life.

Recent Accomplishments:

Aniya’’s recent accomplishments include:

• Currently earning a GPA of 4.22 for the entire year!
• Earned admission to five colleges!
• Earned over $115,000 in scholarships!
• Aniya’s business Cashout Apparel has been the most popular enterprise at Unity’s annual “Pop-Up Shop” series for the past two years!  At this year’s sale, her entire inventory sold out in less than two hours!

Advice for Unity Underclassmen (middle and high school):

“Don’t procrastinate!  Always keep on top of all the work you have.  Give yourself time to enjoy your high school years (responsibly), and start focusing on college and college decisions now because it is right around the corner.”

Expressions of Gratitude:

“I want to give thanks to my family for being supportive and always pushing me to do better, and to my counselors and teachers for always supporting my decisions and helping me along the college process.”

3. Update – March 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of March – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

• A note on Grades 9-12 Interim Assessments: student exam schedules were emailed to students and their families earlier this week.  Questions can be directed to students’ academic counselors or advisors.
• Support our Step Teams in their competitions this Saturday (tomorrow)!  The event takes place at 883 Classon Avenue.  Doors open at 1pm – see the flier below for details!

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

5. New – Volunteer to Participate in Unity High’s Student Career Fair!: Unity High will host its Seventh Annual Career Fair on Wednesday April 5th, from 12:00pm to 2:05pm.  During the Fair, students will have the opportunity to speak with adults about the work the adults do.  Students will visit several different professionals and inquire about their work, their professional backgrounds, and ask for tips to enter their career field.  Should you or anyone in your network be interested in participating in the Career Fair, please complete the Unity Prep Career Fair RSVP Survey.  Our goal is to have at least forty (40) adults from a range of career fields including, but not limited to:

• Technology (programmers/coders, engineers),
• Trades (HVAC, carpentry, electrical, plumbing)
• Design (graphic design, animation, architecture),
• Science (biology/marine biology, chemists, researchers),
• Arts (music, visual, performing arts)
• Entrepreneurs
• Medicine (OB/GYN, veterinarian),
• Law, and
• Humanities-related careers.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Gonzalez via email (egonzalez@unityprep.org) should you have questions.

6. New – State Assemblymember Zinerman Offers Formal Support to Unity and Our Expansion!: Our local Assemblymember, Stephani Zinerman, recently provided her formal support for our school and its expansion to serve students in the elementary grades (see her letter of support here).  The Assemblymember’s education representative recently visited our middle school to meet with stakeholders and take in our students’ winter theatre performance.  We thank Assemblymember Zinerman for her support and look forward to collaborating with her office on initiatives that benefit and empower our students, families, and local community!

7. New – Stellar Attendance in February – 95% and Above!: This lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance to school in the month of February.  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!

8. Recap – Congratulations to our High School Honor Roll Students for the Fall Semester!  As a part of Unity High’s recent award ceremony, the community celebrated our students who earned Honor Roll status from the fall term.  Congrats to the honorees – we look forward to celebrating your achievements again at the conclusion of the spring semester!

9. Recap -Seven Unity High Students Accepted to Summer Search!:  Congratulations to Aleia Brooks, Daniella Horsford, Janaya James, Johan Munoz, Sahfya Daniel, Sariyah Gordon, and Yoshua Foster.  By participating in this program, these students will be empowered to discover their purpose through mentoring and summer experiential learning during the critical transition from high school to post-secondary education, through to the launch of a fulfilling career.

10. Recap – Unity High’s Mathletes Club Competes in International Math Competition!: Four members of Unity High’s Mathletes Club – Jonathan Vega, Roland Durseau, Antonio Espinal, and Ashley Estevez – completed their first-ever math competition.  As a part of the competition, which includes hundreds of teams from across the globe, students were given 14 hours to complete an applied mathematics problem, which included data analysis, research on the topic, and writing a paper to present their findings.  Each student displayed intense reflection on the subject and utilized their math knowledge seamlessly to represent the data given in unique ways. Congratulations to our Mathletes –  for their critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration throughout the challenge!  And thank you to Ms. West for making the experience possible!

11. Recap – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in this Week’s Family Ambassadors Meeting!: We are grateful to our families who participated in Thursday evening’s Family Ambassadors meeting on Zoom.  Here are the slides from the meeting.  Contact Mr. Beckford (grades 6-8) or Ms. Young (grades 9-12) with questions.  Unity’s Family Ambassadors will meet again on Thursday, April 27th, at 6pm – all families are encouraged to attend.

12. Recap – – Unity High’s Dance Team Advances to Semifinals of Citywide Competition!: The Unity Blue Diamonds, Unity High’s up and coming dance team, advanced to the semifinals of the citywide Step It Up NYC Dance Team Competition.  Congrats to you, team – continue to make us proud!

13. Recap -Show Your Support for Unity to Open an Elementary School by Signing this Letter of Support: As we proceed in our aim of expanding our school to serve students in grades K-5, we kindly request that family members of our current students in grades 6-12 show your support for our expansion by taking a moment to sign a formal letter of support from Unity families.  The letter is here.  Simply enter your full name in the available space below the letter to actively show your support by March 16th.  This letter will be shared with the New York State Board of Regents before they vote on our proposed expansion this spring.  We thank you in advance for showing your support!

14. Recap -Students May Now Apply to NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYED): The SYEP application is now live, and applications are due by March 31st. SYEP provides young people aged 14-24 with paid summer jobs in a variety of fields, from retail to government agencies to nonprofits. Any young person who resides in the 5 boroughs is eligible to apply. Apply online or by calling DYCD Community Connect at (800) 246-4646.

​​​​​​​15. Recap – 2022-23 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations: The table below reflects our key events and vacations calendar for the 2022-23 school year, including key events we ask for your collaboration with caregiver involvement.  In addition, here is the updated PDF version of the table for your convenience. We look forward to meeting our newest families and reconnecting with our returning families at Family Kick-off-the-Year Festival & Family Orientation on August 31st!

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

Our Community Pledge as a school outlines the actions our staff, families, and students are committed to taking.  By following through on our commitments, we will undoubtedly have an enormously successful school year!

Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2022-23 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: Unity High’s dress code is outlined below:
  1. Tops:
     1. It is strongly encouraged that an official Unity top is worn in the spirit of school pride and in being united in our collective focus on learning. “Official” is defined as a top (T-Shirt or Polos) purchased from an approved vendor.
     2. In cases where students do not take our recommendation, students can wear tops of their choice so long as the top covers their entire torso and shoulders.
     3. Tops must not bear any offensive and/or inappropriate language and/or images and may not be crop tops, tube tops, halter tops or tank tops.
  2. Bottoms:
     1. Student bottoms must be long enough that the hem hits the top of the knee, shin, or ankle.
     2. Bottoms must properly fit and be worn at the waist.  A belt must be worn if bottoms are unable to fit at the waist without sagging.
     3. Bottoms may have rips or tears.
     4. Bottoms may not be leggings, tights, catsuits/bodysuits, basketball shorts or display undergarments.
  3. Shoes:
     1. All shoes must have backs, be closed-toed, and low heeled.
     2. Sandals, flip-flops, and athletic slides ARE NOT permitted (worn with or without socks).
     3. Crocs ARE permitted so long as the backstrap is raised behind the ankle at all times.
     4. For reasons related to safety, the policy for shoes will apply for all dress down days and spirit days.

School Supply Guidance: Having all of our students equipped with the supplies they need is essential to getting off to a strong start to the school year.  We offer guidance below on school supplies by grade level:

• Grades 6-8
• Grades 9-12

COVID-19 Vaccines: Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines: the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines. The vaccine can prevent COVID-19 symptoms and severe COVID-19 illness. People 5 and older are eligible for the vaccine. Those who are fully vaccinated can more safely gather with friends and enjoy other benefits of vaccination. Many vaccination sites in the city no longer require appointments.

• See a list of sites where you can get a walk-up vaccination today. To find a vaccination site near you, including those that take appointments, use the City’s Vaccine Finder.
• Note, people who are 12 to 17 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Mental Health Counseling and Social Work Services at Unity: If you would like to speak to a social worker about your child’s mental health or if you would like your child to receive support from a social worker in school, please reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio via phone or text (347-688-9107) or email (tdelpurgatorio@unityprep.org).

Unity social workers can also be of assistance in providing information regarding social services (for example: housing, immigration, access to community mental health services & referrals to mental health providers, food security / access to food, public assistance, crisis intervention, etc.).

If your child or family member is experiencing a mental health crisis, NYC Well is available 24 hours a day and can be accessed by phone (1-888-NYC-WELL) or text (text WELL to 65173) or by internet chat via their website: https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/.

Discounts on Home Internet Services Available: If your household is struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible for a monthly service discount through the Emergency Broadband Benefit. Please visit this information page or call 833-511-0311 for more information.