The Unity Scoop – May 13, 2020

Dear Students and Families of Unity,

I hope that the week is treating you and your loved ones well.

With this edition of The Scoop, we continue to celebrate Unity students and their recent accomplishments.  I am thrilled that so many students had perfect attendance in their remote classes last week.  We also shout-out our high school students who are taking their Advanced Placement exams this week – we are so proud and wish you well!  Finally, we are excited to support our Unity Steppers in their virtual competition this coming week.  Details are below on how you can support their success.

On a final note, congrats to the Unity family member who won last week’s trivia contest and a Seamless gift card!  We encourage all family members to take part in this week’s trivia – you can’t win if you don’t try!

In unity,

Josh Beauregard

Head of School

Updates as of May 13, 2020:

1. Congrats to High School Advanced Placement Students!: Unity would like to offer an emphatic congratulations to our sophomore, junior, and senior Panthers who are taking AP Exams over the next few weeks.  These students have always been trailblazers – when presented with two high school paths, they chose the harder option by taking a college-level class in high school.  Now, they’re blazing a new trail and taking the first-ever remote AP exams from home! Thank YOU, Unity families, for supporting them through these challenging classes and exams during a stressful time in life.  Please give them a comfortable spot to work with as much peace and quiet as possible, along with a lot of love and cheerleading as they test.  We are so proud of their hard work and determination!  If you want to see even more shout-outs, check out this video.

2. More Celebration of Academic Excellence at Unity!: Our students have been working very hard this year, especially over the past month during the transition to remote learning.  We are excited to celebrate their achievements in their coursework and learning.  Today, we highlight four new students across grades 9-12 who are excelling in their coursework.  Congrats again to our middle school Students of the Month for April!

• Middle School Students of the Month for April!
  • 6th Grade:
    • Katelynn R.
    • Francis A.
  • 7th Grade:
    • Jalicia W.
    • Jade B.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Shaniel C.
    • Elizabeth Y.

• High School Student Shout-outs from Teachers for Excellence in Remote Learning!
  • 9th Grade: Joshua W. – you are the king of time and place!  You’re always professional and fun!  You work really hard to stay academically at the top of your class by being consistent with completing your classwork and homework.
  • 10th Grade: Alex C. – You have really stepped up during remote learning!  You’ve gone from not attending your classes to attending all your classes each day. In addition, you help other students in break out rooms and are turning in extra work assignments to stay on track.  We are proud of you!
  • 11th Grade: Corey S. – You have been crushing your classwork across multiple contents and we want to specifically shout you out for how much your depth of insight, questioning, and work ethic has improved! Keep up the amazing transformation!  We are proud of you!
  • 12th Grade: Akameak K. – You’ve taken remote learning by the horns – asking questions, completing all assignments, and proving how resilient our Senior Class is.  We are proud to see you taking feedback and applying it, as well as, showing up to do your best despite the many distractions that plague all of us day-to-day.  Good job!

3. Celebrating Stellar Student Attendance!: In addition to academic excellence, it is also worth highlighting the dedication of so many of our students to their studies through their excellent attendance in our remote classrooms.  This past week, 179 students had 100% attendance in their classes, a large increase over our list of 110 students the week prior!  Be proud, Unity – here is the all-star list!

Middle School Students:

High School Students:

4. Video Conference with Middle School Co-Principals on May 15th: We thank our families who attended yesterday’s virtual lunch meeting with our high school co-principals.  Our middle school co-principals are excited to convene virtually with families this coming Friday morning.  The meeting will be held virtually via Google Meet.  We welcome you to take part in conversation with our co-principals about events and topics that are relevant to our school.  Caregivers are able to attend the meetings by clicking on the links below:

• Virtual Coffee with Middle School Co-Principals: Friday, May 15th at 10:00 AM

5. Clarification on Unity’s Grading Policy in Relation to Attendance for Remote Learning: The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) recently released its Grading Policy Guidance for Remote Learning, which included a statement that it would not use attendance to calculate grades.  A few students and families have since reached out to inquire how this applies to Unity’s grading and attendance policy during remote learning.  In terms of attendance, the expectations for Unity students continues to be the same: student attendance during remote learning is mandatory and essential to successful academic outcomes. We are committed to providing instruction and academic support during our remote learning period to ensure all Unity students are best positioned to begin next school year ready for the next grade level.  In order to accomplish this, students must engage in online remote learning with teachers every day.  Students who are not able to attend classes may fall behind in coursework and may be required to continue classwork during the summer.  Please reach out to your student’s middle school teacher or high school academic counselor if you have any questions about attendance.

6. Support the Unity Queens Steppers’ as Their Season Continues Virtually!:  World of Step has creatively designed a virtual competition that utilizes pre-recorded performance material to allow their hard work to continue to be celebrated in hopes of snatching one last title. The virtual competition will take place during the week of 5/18.  The team asks for your help by voting for their performance online.  Voting will begin 5/18 and end 5/22 – you can cast your vote by visiting the World of Step website: http://www.worldofstep.com.  Additionally, Coach Alley Olivier is being interviewed by the World of Step on Instagram Live on Tuesday, May 19th at 3p.m.  Tune in to hear Coach Olivier discuss her team’s successes,  and inspirations.  Please show support by joining the live by following @WorldofStep and @Unity.Queens_ on Instagram.

7. Information from the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene regarding Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome: Please take a moment to read two resources provided by the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene regarding Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS Letter to Families and PMIS Fact Sheet).  We will continue to forward other informational resources as they become available.

8. Unity’s Weekly Trivia Contest for a Seamless Gift Card: Congratulations to Ms. Beckles last week for winning the trivia contest! Each week, The Scoop will feature Unity Trivia!  Answer each question correctly for an opportunity to win a Seamless gift card. The winner will be selected at random and announced in next week’s Scoop.  Click here to access this week’s trivia contest (due Friday at 5pm) and reach out to cbeckford@unityprep.org with any questions.  Students and caregivers are both eligible to participate.

Relevant Information from Past Editions of The Scoop:

9. Letter Sent Home to the Families of All High School Students Taking Health this Semester – Last week, all students who are currently enrolled in health class were given this letter from the NYC Department of Education to bring home to their parent or guardian.  This letter pertains to the upcoming classes that will focus on sexual health, more specifically HIV/STI prevention.  Please review the letter and reach out to your child’s Health teacher, Mr. Martinez (tmartinez@unityprep.org) or Mr. Coleman (acoleman@unityprep.org).

10. Resources Regarding Unemployment Due to COVID-19: NYC has developed a list of resources for those who may be unemployed due to COVID-19 or are seeking additional assistance. The website will be updated frequently and includes information on employment/unemployment, food assistance, financial assistance, rent arrears, health and medical assistance, and so forth.

11. Free Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner available for Students and Adults: Any New Yorker, child or adult, has access to three free meals a day at more than 400 Meal Hubs across the city (including PS44), between 7:30am – 11:30am for children and families and from 11:30am to 1:30pm for adults. More details, including a search tool, is available by clicking here.

12. Resources for Mental Health and Talking to Young People About COVID-19: The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) has provided this guide for self-care and strategies for talking about COVID-19 honestly and effectively with young people. In addition, here is a link for webinars for “Parenting During COVID-19” through the Weil Cornell Psychiatry Department. 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 (1888-NYC-WELL) or text (text WELL to 65173) or by internet chat via their website: https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/.  In addition, a mental health hotline has been established in New York City that will provide FREE emotional support, consultation, and referral to a provider. The hotline number is: 1-844-863-9314.

13. Mental Health Counseling and Social Work Services Available to Unity Students who Receive Counseling: Social workers will continue to hold remote counseling sessions for all students who receive counseling throughout this week.  Please reach out to Ms. Del Purgatorio via phone or text (347-688-9107) or email (tdelpurgatorio@unityprep.org) if you have any questions about the continuation of counseling services or if you are concerned about your child’s mental health. Unity social workers can also be of assistance in providing information regarding social services (for example: housing, access to food, access to community mental health services, referrals to mental health providers, crisis intervention, etc.).

14. Helpful Guidance on Obtaining the Perfect Book for Your Child: With the Unity Library closed for the time being, our public libraries in Brooklyn offer a vast majority of their books and resources online.  Additionally, many private companies are stepping up and offering their services for free.  Check out this helpful guide to gain access to ebooks or audiobooks from the Brooklyn Public Library.  In addition, see the list of resources below:

• Do you have dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, or other reading barriers? Access Bookshare’s free online ebooks.
• Are you an English Language Learner (ELL) and interested in practicing your English? Are you looking to learn a new language? Rosetta Stone is being offered free for three months to all students.
• Are you finding it difficult to spend all day looking at a computer screen? Download BeeLine reader for free, which uses color gradients to make reading just a little bit easier.
• Worried that by spending so much time alone your vocabulary is growing more and more limited by the day? Dictionary.com has free daily activities such as puzzles, quizzes, and a word of the day to keep your vocabulary skills sharp.
• Want to practice your reading and thinking skills? Scholastic has a remote learning program where you can play games and participate in activities.
• Try using Newsela, which is an online news-as-literacy platform that features high-interest articles on everything from current events to myths and legends and from literature to science. Follow this link to create an account.
• Audible is offering free audio books for students. Click here to access a huge selection of audiobooks.

15. Supplemental Resources to Continue Your Child’s Learning at Home: Between now and the launch of remoting learning, we encourage you to support your child at home in keeping their academic skills fresh.  The NYCDOE’s Learn at Home site provides learning resources to students to complete while they are receiving instruction.  It is important that students continue to read, write, complete social studies and science activities, and work on math problems.  The materials are organized by grade level and include the following:

• Suggested daily study schedules
• Guides and materials for instructional activities
• Recommended educational television shows
• Links to a variety of books, magazines, and websites on a wide range of topics that appeal to children at all ages

16. Free Internet at Home: A variety of internet providers are offering free internet  access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have an internet subscription. Internet access at home will be critical for students to complete their remote learning assignments To enroll, call

• 1-844-579-3743 for Spectrum
• 1-844-488-8395 for Charter Communications
• 1- 866-200-9522 for Optimum

Note that Installation fees will be waived for new households.