The Unity Scoop – November 2

Dear Families of Unity,

I hope that the week has been good to you and your loved ones after a full week of learning.  I want to begin by congratulating our high school students on completing their first round of interim assessments this week!  I also want to thank our high school student leaders for helping to host our 8th graders and their families during their visit to our high school campus – thank you for being so accommodating!

Finally, kudos to our 8th graders (the Class of 2029!) for visiting our high school campus yesterday.  Having you in Williamsburg to meet our high school team was thrilling and we are excited to have you contributing fully to our high school community beginning Fall 2025!

In the coming week, we have a four-day week with no school on Tuesday due to elections.  Get out the vote – this election means a lot for our students and how they experience the next several years and beyond!

In this edition of the Scoop, I bring to you an abundance of photos of our students and community experiencing new things and having fun together.  I also share our November school calendar with you.

We turn back the clocks this weekend – I hope you indulge in something fun for you and your family during that extra hour on Sunday!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of November 2, 2024:

1. New – Highlights of Students and Their Teachers in Action This Week!: Enjoy the wonderful photos below of our students and staff in action (and in costume) this past week on Halloween!

2. New – Unity’s 8th Graders and Families Visit Unity High!: Unity High’s team hosted our 8th graders and their families on Friday.  Our 8th graders met with our high school students and staff, learned about our programs and what makes our high school special.  They also toured the neighborhood, enjoyed lunch together, and took in the water views on a beautiful fall day. The experience was informative, fun, and inspiring for all those involved!

3. New – Unity High Students Engage in a Day of Field Trips and Festivities!: In celebration of closing out their first round of IAs, Unity High students engaged in a number of trips on Friday, including visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Intrepid Museum, and roller skating at Brooklyn Bridge Park!

4. Updated – Unity’s Campuses to Join Forces to Support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer!: Members of our community from grades 6 through 12 participated in a 3-mile walk last Sunday in support of The American Cancer Society (ACS).  ACS’s Making Strides initiative raises lifesaving funds that support breast cancer patients, survivors, thrivers, and caregivers through every step of the journey.

5. New – 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.

6. Recap – Congrats to Unity’s Students of the Month – Grades 6-12!:  Kudos to our Students of the Month from September!  We celebrate these students for showing exemplary scholarship, citizenship!

7. Recap – Thank You for Attending Last Week’s Middle School Family Meeting!: Here are the slides from the meeting.

8. Recap – Unity Middle Students Visit College Campuses!: As a grades 6-12 college-preparatory school, our students in grades 6-8 visited three terrific colleges right here in New York City!  Students visited Long Island University, Columbia University, and New York University.  Enjoy the photos below!

9. Recap – The Fall Athletic Season Continues!: See the October calendar below for details on this coming week’s games.  And see photos of student-athletes and teams in action this past week.  And congratulations to our Student-Athlete of the Month at Unity Middle.  Go Panthers!

Caleb White, Grade 6

– Quote from Caleb on learning of his accomplishment: “I am very happy and proud of myself.  I came into this school wanting to get off to a good start and that’s what I am doing.”

– Quote from Caleb’s coach, Coach Tyler: Caleb is a great athlete and an amazing defensive player.  He has kept his grades up this entire season.  Caleb is a great teammate and athlete.

Unity Middle’s fall track team at their final meeting of the season at Van Cortland Park.

Members of Unity’s girls volleyball team present an opposing team member with a Panther PRIDE Award after their match this past week.

10. Updated – Your Feedback Empowers Us – Please Take a Moment to Share Your Experiences With Us By Completing our Fall Family Perception Survey: Our purpose as a school is to best serve you and your child’s educational aspirations.  And we are best positioned to fulfill this purpose when we have honest and direct feedback from you.  With this interest, we request your feedback on how we are doing as we kick off the school year by completing one of the surveys below.  The survey includes questions about family communication, engagement, fit, support, school climate, and safety, among other things.  Your answers are anonymous; we will use your collective feedback over the coming months to drive our decision-making and best position us to best serve you.  As a small gesture of appreciation for your time, the first 300 families to complete the survey by Monday, 11/4, at 4pm will be eligible for a raffle of $100 to Amazon. Simply text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.  We thank you in advance for your invaluable feedback, and, more importantly, we thank you for positioning us to act on your feedback.

• Complete the survey by clicking here
• Note: in the event that you have children attending both our middle school and high school, please complete the high school survey.
• Text the survey complete screenshot to 347-746-1575 to enter the raffle.

11. 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.

12. Recap – Urban Advantage Family Science Days – Free Admission to some of the City’s Premiere Museums and Institutions for Unity Students in Grades 6-8!: Through Unity’s partnership with Urban Advantage (UA), middle school families may visit the following museums for free!  See the instructions below for how to obtain a family voucher.  Visit here for additional information.  Contact your child’s science teacher with questions.

Visit any of these Institutions with your family free of charge!

13. 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.

14. Recap – Unity Students in Grades 6-8 Outperform Their Peers Across New York State in Math, English Language Arts (ELA), and Science!  Our students showed off the impressive skills that they developed over the course of the 2023-24 school year as they performed better in math, reading & writing, and science compared to the average student in key districts of comparison and the state of New York.  Kudos to our team and our families for their impact on student learning!

15. Recap – Unity High Earns Advanced Placement Honor Roll Status with CollegeBoard!  Unity has been recognized by the College Board for delivering results for students while broadening access. Unity’s Honor Roll status reflects a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit and maximizing college readiness.  Congratulations to our high school leaders and our AP teachers!  Indeed, this is an impressive achievement and reflects our commitment as a grades 6-12 school to excellence and access.

• 100% of graduates completed at least one AP course while in grades 9-12 (this reflects high access and exposure to college-ready coursework)
• 26% of graduates earned college credit while in high school (vs. the national average of 21%)
• 21% of graduates completed at least 5 AP courses while in grades 9-12 (this represents ample opportunity for students to thrive academically in college-ready coursework while in high school)

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