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May-24-2024

The Unity Scoop – May 24

Dear Families of Unity,

Congratulations on closing out a strong week at Unity!  Shout-out to our high school students who completed their Advanced Placement exams this week!  Shout-out to our middle school students as they transition to preparing for their end-of-year Roundtable presentations in June.  In addition, shout-out to our volleyball and track teams for representing our community with pride in their competitions this last week.  Go Panthers!  Finally, shout-out to our 12th graders who enjoyed their Senior Prom last night at Princess Manor in Williamsburg!

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, we provided our 2024-25 Key Dates and Vacations Calendars for grades 6-8 and grades 9-12.  We also share the slides from last night’s Family Ambassadors Meeting (thank you to those who participated!).  Finally, we also highlight one of our dedicated Family Ambassadors and highlight the recent accomplishments of our student-athletes!

I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy the beautiful weather in the forecast this holiday weekend!

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

 

Updates as of May 24, 2024:

Updated – May 2024 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a complete school-wide calendar of events for the month of May – 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 – 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).

New – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in Last Night’s Family Ambassadors Meeting!: We are grateful to our families who participated in our Family Ambassadors meeting last night.  As always, the meeting was productive, energizing, and, of course, fun!  Here are the slides from the meeting.  Quick fun note: if you are looking for something fun to do tonight or tomorrow evening, there is a new play being performed at the Weeksville Heritage Center (see the slide below for details).  One of the actors in the play is none other than Mr. Williams, our very own Math Teacher at Unity Middle!

 

New – Unity Family Ambassador Spotlight of the Month!: We are thrilled to resume an exciting feature to the Unity Scoop, a monthly profile of our amazing Unity Family Ambassadors. The Unity Family Ambassadors are a group of caregivers who meet monthly and serve as thought partners for many of our school’s initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about or joining the Unity Family Ambassadors, please reach out to Mr. Beckford.

Full Name: T’Lyssa Connell

Student Name: TriniTee Connell, 6th grade

Grade level: 6

Profession: Office Manager

Favorite Restaurant in Brooklyn: Olive Garden

Why did you choose to send your child to Unity? Unity has so much to offer these kids that other charter schools don’t offer until high school.

What is the best advice you could provide for an incoming caregiver? Once you attend an info session in person, you see the love, care and dedication the staff has for these kids… you will feel it in your gut that you are making the right decision.

What is your favorite aspect of Unity? Community. Unity does so much, not only for their school community, but as well as the community in which the school serves.

What inspired you to ‘give back’ to our community by joining the Unity Family Ambassadors this year? I will always be one of those parents that tries their best to be at every event or try to contribute in any way possible. Once you show up for your kids, and kids in the community; they know that they will always have support. This leads to success in many ways. Not only for my child but any kid I cross paths with.

 

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 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!

Unity High’s volleyball teams recently honored all 12th grade team members during their Senior Farewell Ceremony.  Congrats to the seniors of both teams.  We applaud you for always representing our community with pride – go Panthers!

Members of the middle school volleyball teams before a recent match (clearly with the game faces on!)

Recap – Unity High’s Climbing Club Reaches New Heights!: During the April break, Mr. Pakter and eight Unity High students from our Climbing Club ventured to Minnewaska State Park in New Paltz to take part in some high-quality climbing.  Enjoy the beautiful photos of the adventure below.  Very impressive!  And thank you to the New York City Climbing Collective who made the trip possible.

Recap – Kudos to our P.R.I.D.E. Leaders from April!: 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 here were leaders from the month of April 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.

 

Recap – Reading is Power!  Unity Middle Students Make the Most of their Local Library!:  Enjoy the photos below of a number of Unity students who have been recently taking full advantage of our local library to find engaging books and experience the joys of reading.  Thank you, Ms. Ayoub and Ms. Richardson, for your encouragement and support of young readers!

Recap – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – Alicia Griffith, Unity’s Class of 2021: 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 Alicia Griffith, who is now in her third year at SUNY Oneonta!  See Alicia’s note to our entire community below.  Congratulations on your recent successes, Alicia!

Hello fellow Unity Panthers!

After graduating from Unity, I committed to SUNY Oneonta, where I am presently completing my final full year of study.  I am majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Communications.  My plan is to graduate in December 2024. Upon graduating, I look forward to beginning my career as a flight attendant or a paralegal.

As a member of the Queen Steppers at Unity, I immediately gravitated to the Step Team at SUNY Oneonta.  Over the past three years, I am proud of the impact that I have had on the team.  I was recently selected to be the President of the Divine Leaders Step Team for the upcoming semester, in addition to my current role as a Choreographer. I also work as a Library Assistant, Resident Assistant, Dragon Campus Guide, and Building Manager, and do hair for students on campus as a side job.

If there’s any advice I could impart to current Unity students, it is to make sure to find your people on campus and take FULL advantage of ALL of the opportunities afforded to you!  The roles I’ve mentioned above are just a fraction of what I have done while in college. I can surely say that I am proud to be a Red Dragon and proud of  all the experience that I have had.  And I’m proud to be obtaining my degree in 3.5 years!

 

Recap – Free Admission to NYC’s Finest Museum through Unity Middle’s Partnership with Urban Advantage: Unity Middle students were given vouchers to attend some of the best museums in NYC free of charge.  See the details below and contact Ms. Diaz, our MS Science Department Chairperson, with any questions.

 

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:
  • 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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