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March-09-2024

The Unity Scoop – March 9

Dear Families of Unity,

I want to thank our middle school families who participated in conferences last night and today.  We greatly value connecting with family members and students to discuss both progress this year and our collaboration moving forward. Ultimately, our goal is for all students to get the most out of their experiences at Unity.  To this end, family conferences play an important role.  Note that 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 administrators, 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 and Core Value leaders for the month.  Finally, I share with you a letter in support of Unity from our local Assemblymember, Stefani Zinerman.

Enjoy your weekend!
Best regards,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

 

Updates as of March 9, 2024:

New – Congrats to our Middle School’s Students of the Month!:  Kudos to our Students of the Month from January 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

 

 

 

New – March 2024 Schoolwide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of February – 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 – Help Shape Your Child’s Experience in School by Taking Part in our Next Middle School Family Ambassadors Meeting, Thursday, March 21st, 6pm!: The next Family Ambassadors of Unity meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, March 21st, at 6pm on Zoom.  Contact Mr. Beckford with questions – all families or middle school students are encouraged to attend!

 

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!

Our middle school basketball teams and faculty together this past week during our Annual Student vs. Faculty Basketball Game.

For the third year in a row, Unity Middle’s Girls Basketball Team won the PINK Classic Basketball Tournament.  Kylee Alexander was named the Tournament’s MVP.

Middle School Scholar-Athlete of the Month for January: Kamau Hutchinson

Team: Junior Varsity Boys Basketball

Current GPA: 3.5

Description: Kamau has been a core piece to Junior Varsity’s success. He is averaging a double-double with over 10 points and rebounds per game. He has maintained great grades throughout the season, and never misses practice. He is one of the leaders of the team, and an exemplary scholar athlete.  In response to earning Scholar-Athlete of the Month, Kamau offered a very honest response: It feels good!  I have been working my butt off for the last three months!”

 

Recap – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Sanjae Chin, 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 Sanjae Chin, who is now in his fourth year at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and preparing to graduate this May!

Accomplishments: Sanjae Chin graduated from Unity in 2020. He is currently a full-time student at Vassar College, majoring in Computer Science.  Sanjae was introduced to computer science at Unity when he took AP Computer Science as a 10th grader.  Sanjae was the Valedictorian of his graduating class at Unity.

Fun Facts: Sanjae has recently taken up weight training and fitness while at Vassar.  Sanjae can now be found in the gym 6-7 days a week when he is not in the computer science lab preparing his work portfolio for job interviews this spring!

 

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.

Recap – New Students for 2023-24 school year – 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:
  • Below are flyers for lists of low-cost dental providers in each borough:
  • 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
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