The Unity Scoop – October 25

Dear Families of Unity,

Happy Friday to all, and congratulations on rounding out a full week of school.  Thank you to all middle school families who participated in last night’s Family Night with Principal Terry and her team.  Moreover, kudos to our entire community for participating in an important day for college exposure and awareness: our middle school students toured three college campuses while our high school hosted a college fair (see the photos below)!

This weekend, Unity’s campuses join forces to support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on Sunday (see details below).  All families are encouraged to take part in this important community service!

This coming week is a big one for our high school students as they complete their first round of interim assessments (IAs).  We kindly ask for your collaboration with this by supporting your child at home in the following ways:

• Ensure that your child eats a healthy breakfast and arrives at school on time with their full set of school supplies and materials.
• Ask your child about how things are going in their classes, and provide encouragement such that they are supported and confident as they complete their IAs this week.
• Help your child prepare for their exams by ensuring that they have a quiet, designated space and time to study each night.  Of course, feel free to pull up a chair and help them study!  Studying together can be a fun experience for all.
• Be proactive in your communication with your child’s teachers about any questions or concerns.

In this edition of the Scoop, we spotlight a number of our community members, including the students and teachers in action this week in our classrooms and our Students of the Month for September in grades 6 to 12!  We also share highlights from our athletic teams and enrichment programming.  Finally, we highlight a number of exciting upcoming school events for you and your family.

Have an excellent weekend and, again, we hope to see you during Sunday’s walk!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard

Executive Director / Co-founder

Updates as of October 25, 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 this past week in science classes!

6th grade students in Ms. Aviles and Ms. Spires ELA class lead their classmates in a discussion about the text they are reading.

Mr. Thabo and two of his students lead a discussion about how actors effectively practice their lines.  This discussion followed two students demonstrating for the class this valuable skill in theatre.

Ms. Gibson and her class waste no time in correcting common math misconceptions identified on last week’s interim assessment.

Mr. Pakter’s Global History students prepare for their interim assessment by providing peer reviews of their short responses with one another.

2. Updated – 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!

3. New – Thank You for Attending Last Night’s Middle School Family Meeting!: Here are the slides from the meeting.

4. Updated – Unity’s Campuses to Join Forces to Support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on Sunday, October 27th: Members of our community from grades 6 through 12 will participate in a 3-mile walk on Saturday, October 27th, 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.  Unity families are encouraged to take part –  sign up here to participate!

Unity’s staff and students go pink in support of breast cancer awareness and research, including Mr. Bryant’s incredible shoes!

5. New – 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 with more to come next week!

6. Updated – 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.

7. Updated – Fall Spirit Week is Just Around the Corner!:  See the fliers below for Unity’s Spirit Week and Annual Hallowsfest Extravaganza during the Week of October 28th!

Grades 6-8

Grades 9-12

8. Recap – October 2024 Schoolwide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is an updated school-wide calendar of events for the month of October – 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 – Two Unity 11th Graders Continue in their Second Year as Fellows at JP Morgan’s Fellowship Initiative!: Kudos to Ibrahima Barry and Evan Ramos who are now in their second year as Fellows in The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) at JP Morgan.  Both students began participating in the fellowship in the summer prior to 10th grade and will continue as fellows through their graduation from Unity.  As Fellows, Ibrahima and Evan are gaining valuable college and career job experience, building their professional network, and learning under the mentorship of current JP Morgan employees.  In addition, both students are also eligible to apply for internships at JP Morgan as well as a $10,000 college scholarship.  Again, congrats to you both – continue to make us proud!

10. New- 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 Friday, 11/1, 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 – Thank you, Families, for Taking Part in Last Week’s Family Ambassadors Meeting!: We are grateful to our families who participated in our Family Ambassadors meeting.  As always, the meeting was productive, energizing, and, of course, fun!  The agenda from the meeting is below.  Here are the slides from the meeting.  We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on November 21st.

12. 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.

13. Recap – Unity Middle School Students to Earn Dress Down and Pizza by Practicing their ELA and Math Skills during Tutoring Class!  Families – see the flier below and please encourage students to develop their ELA and math foundational skills through focused practice during their daily tutoring block.  Through this practice, we look forward to celebrating their growth alongside you in the coming months!

14. 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!

15. Recap – Stellar Attendance in September – 98% and Above!: The following lengthy list of students demonstrated a strong and consistent dedication to their education by showing stellar attendance in May.  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!

16. 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.

17. 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!

18. 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)

19. 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