The Unity Scoop – May 6

Dear Families of Unity,

It has been a busy few weeks with middle school state exams and high school Advanced Placement (AP) exams.  Congratulations to our middle school students for completing their state math exams this week!  And congrats to our high school students who completed their AP exams, including those in Government, Environmental Science, Literature, Seminar, US History, and Art!  On behalf of our entire community, we are extremely proud of our students for their hard work in preparing for these exams over the past few months.  And we look forward to celebrating the efforts of our high school students who will be completing our remaining AP exams next week.  Again, we are proud of you!

I also want to thank everyone in our school community who contributed to Educator Appreciation Week at Unity.  Our team definitely felt the love and appreciation coming their way.  Here is a video clip that was shared with our high school team yesterday of students sharing honest, heartfelt messages of appreciation with individual educators.  Do take a moment to appreciate our amazing students showing appreciation for our team in the realest of ways!

In this edition of the Unity Scoop, I re-share with you our May calendar for your convenience.  In addition, I highlight a few exciting events happening in the coming weeks.  I also share our newest list of Core Value leaders and students with stellar attendance from April.

In unity,

Josh

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of May 6, 2023:

1. Updated- May 2023 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of April – 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.

2. New – Unity Celebrates College Signing Day this Thursday, May 11th!: Our community is excited to experience one of our ritual annual events – College Signing Day – in which our graduating seniors announce their post-secondary intentions for the coming year.  So that you have a sense of how special this event is for our community and seniors, here is a short highlight clip from last year’s festivities!

3. New – Unity High Art Exhibit to Showcase our Student’s Artistic Talents, Friday, May 19th at 4:30pm!:  All Unity families are cordially invited to support our young and talented artists during an exhibition two weeks from now.  Student artwork will be exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Cave, at 897 Broadway in Brooklyn.  See the flier below for details!

4. New – Kudos to our Core Value Champions for the Full Month of 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 below were leaders for 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.

5. Recap – Senior Spotlight of the Month – Miguel Castillo!: 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 Miguel Castillo by sharing his story and recent accomplishments with the entire Unity community.  We are proud of you, Miguel!

Some Background:

Miguel Castillo made this year truly exciting.  For some unknown set of reasons, he waited until the winter to begin preparing his college application materials.  But, when he started working, he created a powerful personal statement, a perfectly matched college list, and coordinated his letters of recommendation from teachers like a pro.  He was also one of the first seniors this year to apply for financial aid by submitting his FAFSA and TAP applications.  The speed at which he completed all of these tasks made everything seem easy!  Clearly, the materials he submitted with his applications were convincing – he has earned admission to every college he applied to, including the Education Opportunity Program (EOP)!  Moreover, he has received incredibly supportive financial aid packages from each college, complete with scholarship money.  These impressive accomplishments might make someone think Miguel has it easy – in fact, he works hard in every area of his life: in the classroom, when coding to create computer applications, and when advocating for himself with colleges (he’s truly impressive when speaking with admissions and financial aid staff).  As his results demonstrate this year, hard work pays off!  We can’t wait to see which college Miguel decides to attend; he is set to announce his decision on College Signing Day (Friday May 12th)!

Recent Accomplishments:

Miquel’’s recent accomplishments include:

• Earning a 3.48 GPA for the year so far!
• Earned admission to all seven (7) colleges he applied to (100% success rate!)!
• Received $100,000 in scholarships.

Advice for Unity Underclassmen (middle and high school):

Miguel strongly advises other high school students to not “slack off” – he suggests getting everything done on time (personal statement, financial aid, assignments for class, college applications, and scholarship applications).

Expressions of Gratitude:

Miguel thanks his mom, his dad, Ms. Young, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Russo and Mr. Lazar (“thanks for the letters of recommendation!”).  And, perhaps most importantly, he wants to give gratitude to himself; he spent weeks in Unity’s Counseling Office working on essays, financial aid, and college applications (not to mention keeping his grades up).

6. Recap – New Students for Fall 2023 – 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).

7. Recap – Juniors of Unity High Complete Training with Elevate Education: Over the past month, Unity students in grade 11 participated in a series of workshops to boost their study skills in areas such as time management best practices and tips on exam taking strategies.  The training, which totalled 8 hours, was free of charge and made possible through Unity’s affiliation as an AP for All school within the New York City Department of Education.  We are excited to see our juniors put these best practices and tips into practice as they finish out the school year and prepare for 12th grade!

8. Updated – Spring Athletics and Festivities are in the Air!: The spring athletic season at Unity is now in full swing.  Today, we highlight two exciting elements of our spring programming.  First, our high school volleyball teams are hard at work and getting better every day!  See the photos of both teams in action below.  And congrats to our boys team on their recent win against Capital Prep this week!  Second – save the date!  Our spring dance recital is happening on May 20th with our middle and high school dance performers joining forces.  See the details on the flier below.  Finally, don’t miss tomorrow’s step team competition – go Unity Queens and Royal Risers!

9. New – Stellar Attendance in April – 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 April.  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!

10. 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.