The Unity Scoop – November 11

Dear Families of Unity,

Well wishes to you and your loved ones on this holiday weekend.

I want to congratulate the 14 newest members of Unity High’s National Honor Society (NHS).  Students were inducted yesterday during a lovely ceremony at our high school.  To our NHS members – we are so proud of you and look forward to your leadership skills continuing to positively and meaningfully impact our community.  Thank you to Ms. Gutierrez, Ms. Eason, and others for organizing the affair.  In addition, thank you to Mr. Russo and Unity High’s Culinary Arts club for catering the event and providing a delicious dinner to all inductees and their families.

In this edition of the Scoop, we share highlights of our middle school students experiencing all things science throughout NYC, provide updates from our most recent Family Ambassadors meeting, and offer updates related to upcoming events, including fall conferences.  In addition, we recap a number of recent school festivities and student achievements that are well deserving of acknowledgement and admiration.

Enjoy the long weekend!

In unity,

Josh Beauregard

Head of School / Co-founder

Updates as of November 11, 2022:

1. New – Unity’s Middle School Students Engage in All Things Science!: Unity students in grades 6-8 took advantage of the city’s abundance of educational science offerings by visiting the Staten Island Zoo, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and Brooklyn Aquarium yesterday.  We are so fortunate to have such resources in NYC and are eager to take advantage of them whenever we can.  Enjoy the photos of our 7th graders taking in the exhibits at the AMNH below!

2. New – Voter Registration & Mock Ballets: This past week in classes, Ms. Tartan and Ms. Glickman organized important lessons around elections, including voter registrations and the creation of “Get Out The Vote” posters.  High school students reviewed the impact of the midterm election, including the governor’s race and other ballot initiatives.

3. New – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in our Second Family Ambassadors Meeting of the Year!: We are grateful to our families who participated in last night’s Family Ambassadors meeting on Zoom.  As with our first gathering, the meeting was productive, energizing, and fun!  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, December 8th, at 6pm – all families are encouraged to attend.

One of the many exciting initiatives coming out of our recent meetings is the exclusive Unity Strength in Family hooded sweatshirts, which will be available for sale to all families this month.  Details on how to purchase sweatshirts will be provided in next week’s Scoop!

4. New – Unity High’s 9th Grade Visits St. Francis College!: Our college visit extravaganza continued this week with our 9th grade students visiting St. Francis College in downtown Brooklyn.  We are proud to report that all of our high school students have now had the opportunity to visit a college campus and be exposed to a new college option following their graduation from Unity.  Thank you to Mr. Gonzalez and our high school staff for doing their part to make these visits possible.  We look forward to additional visits this spring!

5. Updated – November 2022 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the month of November – 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.  Two notes of importance this week:

• Conferences are coming!  On 11/21 and 11/22, we are holding our fall family conferences.  Conferences will be held in person on 11/21 from 5-8pm and on  Zoom on 11/22 from 9-2pm.  Families have the option of participating on either day.  Students’ advisors will continue making calls this coming week to schedule conferences with individual families.  Students are expected to take part in conferences alongside their families.
• The Arts Showcase at our middle school will not take place on 11/17 as originally advertised.  The event has been rescheduled for early December with details to follow in the coming two weeks.

6. Recap – Athletic Spotlight: Unity Panthers in Full Action!: Enjoy the photos of Unity’s student-athletes in action, including our: middle school Step team, our high school Volleyball team, and our middle school Cross-country team at a recent meet Also pictured are two of our middle school student-athletes, Jacob Rivera and Jencarlos Hernandez, who were recently named All-Stars in their respective sports this season.  A shout-out to all of our fall teams that made the playoffs in their respective leagues and conferences this season.  Go Panthers!

7. Recap – Kudos to our Core Value Champions for the Full Month of October!: 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 as of the end of October 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.

​​​​​​​8. Recap – Stellar Attendance in October – 95% Above!: The attached list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance to school in the month of October.  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!

9. Recap – A Recap of Unity’s Virtual High School Info Session: On behalf of Unity, Mr. Beckford would like to thank all of the caregivers who were able to join us for last Thursday’s information session.  It was great to see so many caregivers engaging in their 8th grader’s high school admissions process.  In case you missed the event or wish to review the information shared, here is the session on video.  In addition, Mr. Beckford is offering weekly High School Admissions Office Hours for all 8th grade families on Wednesdays from 1-4pm.  Office hours will be offered through December 1st.  Family consultation sessions may also be scheduled at other times during the week by appointment.  Appointments can be made here.

10. Recap – Unity’s Queen Steppers and New Formed Rising Royal Steppers Join Forces!: This year, we are excited to introduce the middle school step team, the Rising Royal Steppers, alongside our nationally ranked high school team, the Unity Queen Steppers. Both teams have begun preparations for their upcoming competition season, which opens in January.  Members of both teams have dedicated themselves to team practices 2-3 days weekly, prioritizing their studies and maintaining high grades, and participating in service projects throughout the year that benefit our local community.

Please support both teams by purchasing a T-shirt for $20 by contacting Coach Alley (Unity Queen Steppers – aolivier@unityprep.org ) and/or Coach H. (Rising Royal Steppers – kherrand@unityprep.org) via email.  All proceeds will go towards paying for registration fees, uniforms and costumes, and transportation.

11. Recap – Important Information Regarding Vaccinations Requested: As we continue monitoring current health safety protocols, one significant factor in our planning is the extent to which our students are vaccinated.  If you are a new Unity family, or have not yet provided your child’s vaccination status, please complete the COVID Vaccination Form at your earliest convenience.  Note that we strongly encourage all of our families to take steps in getting their children vaccinated to best ensure that we are providing the highest level of safety for our community.

12. Recap – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in After-school Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues this year.  St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extracurricular activities for our middle school students.  Programming kicks off on Monday, September 19th.  Contact Luis Rodriguez with questions by email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org or by phone at 646-676-1309.

13. Recap – Unity’s Health Policies and Protocols in 2022-23: Unity will follow guidance provided by the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) as of the start of the 2022-23 school year.  The NYCDOE’s guidance aligns with the CDC’s current guidance, which we have consistently followed over the past 2.5 years.  By adhering to the NYCDOE’s guidance, we believe that we are taking the proper approach to best ensure the health and safety of our community.  Details on our policies are provided on the NYCDOE website.

Per the recommendation of the NYCDOE and CDC, we strongly encourage all of our families to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19.  Vaccinations are now available at select school sites across the city.  Visit www.schools.nyc.gov for information on sites and available dates.

14. 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.