The Unity Scoop – November 15

Dear Families of Unity,

Congratulations to you on rounding out a short but bustling work week.

We are excited to put forward a full five days of school next week before meeting with you all during fall conferences and embarking on a joyful holiday break.  A friendly reminder to all Unity families: please schedule a conference with your child’s teachers if you haven’t done so already.  Conferences are an opportunity to share insights and partner with teachers to best support your child’s educational success at school and at home.  We look forward to making the most of this opportunity with you!

In this edition of the Scoop, we continue spotlighting our students and teachers in action this past week.  We also highlight students with stellar attendance from the month of October and extend our congratulations to our new National Honor Society inductees.  Finally, we bring a range of events, initiatives, and opportunities to our families and students, both on our campuses and beyond!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of November 15, 2024:

1. New – Highlights of Students and Their Teachers in Action This Week!: Enjoy the wonderful photos of our 8th grade students immersed in their analysis of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

2. New – Fall Family Conferences to Take Place in Two Weeks, November 25-26th: We are excited to hold our first round of family conferences on:

• Monday, 11/25 (in-person evening hours, 5pm-8pm)
• Tuesday, 11/26 (daytime virtual hours on Zoom, 9am-2pm)

School staff and advisors have begun making outreach to families to schedule appointments. Our goal is that 100% of our students have an adult family representative at conferences.

3. New – Perfect Attendance in October – 100%!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance in 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!

4. New – First Unity Family Ambassadors Meeting of the Year, Thursday, November 21st, 6pm!: All Unity families are welcome to participate in our second Family Ambassadors Meeting of the school year (via Zoom).  Ambassadors help play an active leadership role in providing the best possible educational experience to our students!  Ambassadors meet monthly to plan new events and initiatives and play a significant role in accentuating school community experiences.  The Zoom meeting link is here.  See you Thursday on Zoom!

5. New – Members of Unity High’s National Honor Society (NHS) Volunteer at this Year’s New York City Marathon!: Kudos to Unity High’s Academic Counselor and NHS Co-Coordinator, Mr. Peters, and members of NHS for their service in support in this year’s New York City Marathon!

6. Updated – The Fall Athletic Season Continues!: We are excited to kick off our winter athletic season over the coming few weeks!  Congratulations to our Student-Athletes of the Month.  Go Panthers!

Komar Perry, 8th grade

– Quote from Komar on learning of his accomplishment: “I am proud of myself because I am being recognized for doing my work inside of the classroom and outside of school when I am running Cross Country.”

– Quote from Komar’s coach, Coach Nana: “Komar Perry has shown to be a prime example of what a Unity Scholar-Athlete is. He has a 3.8 GPA and takes full advantage of tutoring.  He comes to practice every day and always looks for ways to improve his abilities and puts in the extra work without anyone telling him. Shout out to Komar for being a role model for his peers!”

7. New – Unity High Partners with the Health Information Project (HIP) to Train Student Leaders in Health Education: Unity High is excited to partner with HIP to train Unity High 11th and 12th grade students to teach health education to 9th grade students. The program covers topics like depression, anxiety, drugs, and obesity. HIP also connects students to health resources at their school and in their communities.  Our trained student leaders recently assisted Mr. Clotter in his health classes. Congratulations to these students on the skills they are developing!

8. Recap – November 2024 Schoolwide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide 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.

9. Recap – Congratulations to Unity’s Newest National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) and National Honor Society (NHS) Members!: Unity’s NJHS and NHS chapters expanded their membership during our annual induction ceremony held last week. Congratulations to more than 30 new inductees listed below!

Returning Members

10. Recap – Alumni Spotlight of the Month – RJ Mark, Unity’s Class of 2024: 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 RJ Mark, who is enrolled at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.

A proud graduate of Unity Prep High School’s Class of 2024, RJ Mark has transitioned smoothly into his first semester at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He’s currently taking 15 credits across five courses. Reflecting on his high school experience, RJ credits Unity Prep’s focus on college preparation for helping him adapt seamlessly to university life and stay focused on his goals. “Unity Prep prepared me not just for college admission but for life in college,” he shared, noting that the skills he gained in high school enabled him to dive into his studies and campus life.

Starting college has brought many exciting changes for RJ, particularly in building new connections. While he once found socializing challenging in high school, he has now embraced the opportunity to meet new people and quickly formed a close-knit friend group in his first few days on campus. Alongside making meaningful memories, RJ is focused on personal goals such as staying fit and actively participating in university clubs. Academically, he is committed to maintaining strong grades while staying engaged on campus, embodying the determined and ambitious spirit nurtured by Unity Prep.

11. Recap – Congratulations to our iReady Challenge Winners from the Month of October!  Unity Middle School Students Earn Dress Down and Pizza by Practicing their ELA and Math Skills during Tutoring Class!  We are excited to announce the winners of our October iReady Challenge! Throughout the month, students have shown #progress and #integrity strengthening their academic skills, and we’re happy to recognize those who went above and beyond.  Congrats to the students highlighted below, as we look forward to celebrating our winners for November in just a few weeks!

12. Recap – Unity Continues in its Community Service with a Canned Food Drive this Month!: Coming off our schoolwide Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk and fundraiser with the American Cancer Society, we are now engaged in a Can Drive in partnership with City Harvest.  Between now and November 22nd, we encourage all Unity families to donate non-perishable food items.  All donations will go directly toward providing nourishment to community members in greatest need. Unity students who participate in the drive will earn Panther Pride Points for demonstrating our Pride Value of Empathy.

13. Recap – Attention Unity Students in Grades 8-11 – Apply Now for a Paid Internship with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is now recruiting students in grades 8–11 for the 2024 Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. GAP is a great way for teens to get paid to learn about urban agriculture, science, and the environment while working in one of the most exciting public gardens in the world!

More information is available online at bbg.org/gap.  Additional details include:

BBG Garden Apprentices:

            •           Earn a monetary award after apprenticeship (Tier 1: $600, Tier 2: $700, Tier 3: $800).

•           Work their way up the program to become paid staff as a Tier 4.

•           Learn about botany and environmentalism through hands-on lessons.

•           Grow and harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the Children’s Garden.

•           Facilitate lessons to teach children about plants.

•           Explore Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s amazing plant collections.

•           Develop job skills, including teamwork, communication, and leadership.

Apprentices make a nine-month commitment to GAP, from March to November, which includes spring training, summer programming, and a weekly commitment after school or on weekends throughout the academic year.

Visit bbg.org/gap for applications, photos, a detailed program calendar, and answers to frequently asked questions. Applications are due December 8th.

14. Recap – Refer a New Student to Unity Today!: Unity has a few seats available in grades 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for the 2024-25 school year. 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 referring and enrolling families will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

15. Recap – Guidance on Supporting your Child with School at Home: As communicated last week, there are four things that you are encouraged to engage in at home and over the course of this month in getting off to a strong start to the school year.  Congratulations on completing #4 below this week.

1. Ask your child about their school day and, more generally, how things are going.  If our team can be helpful to your child in ensuring that they are enjoying their school experience, please reach out to help.ms@unityprep.org or help.hs@unityprep.org or your child’s advisor.
2. Take a moment to check Jupiter for the latest information regarding your child’s progress.  If you are unfamiliar with how to log into Jupiter, here is a brief video tutorial.  And if you have questions about your child’s specific information in Jupiter, email your child’s advisor for support.
3. Establish a designated space and routine at home for your child to complete any homework or practice the skills they are learning in school.  Establishing routines early will reap dividends over the school year and cultivate sound study habits that will benefit your child at Unity and beyond.
4. ☑ Attend your child’s Back-to-School Night Session.  These in-person events are an extremely valuable part of our collaboration, as families learn about curricula, academic programming, and what your child will be learning this year.  Details on dates and times are featured below; you should have also received details  of the event via email and text.  The expectation is that 100% of families participate.

16. Recap – 2024-25 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2024-25 school year can be accessed using the links below.  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).

• Grades 6-8 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families