The Unity Scoop – September 29
Dear Families of Unity,
I hope that this note finds you and your loved ones enjoying the weekend and in good spirits despite the rain.
There is much to share in this edition of the Unity Scoop, including our students and teachers in action within the classroom, a number of photos from Friday’s field trips, some upcoming service opportunities, and our school calendar for the month of October!
Enjoy your Sunday evening and best wishes in the week ahead!
In unity,
Josh
Josh Beauregard
Executive Director / Co-founder
Updates as of September 29, 2024:
1. New – Highlights of Students and Their Teachers in Action This Week!: Enjoy the beautiful photos below of our students and staff in action this past week! We have a mix of pictures across both middle school and high school, including those captured by a professional photographer at the middle school site on Wednesday. Stay tuned for more amazing photos of our high school in action this month!
Two Unity High students partner up in Ms. Abreu’s Spanish class to practice speaking about what they do in their daily lives using reflexive verbs.
9th grade students in Ms. Aponte’s Biology class work together to hone their graphing skills by charting and determining the relationship between one’s heart rate and body temperature.
2. New – 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.
3. New – Unity Middle Students Celebrate the Completion of Month 1 of School with Field Trips!: Our middle school students ventured out for some enrichment together on Friday. Sixth graders visited LeFrak Skate Park in Prospect Park. Seventh graders visited the New York City Science Museum and our 8th graders spent some quality time together at Bowl 360. Enjoy the photos below!
4. Updated – 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.
5. New – Members of the Unity Community to Participate in Walk to End Lupus on Saturday, October 5th: Unity Middle’s Dance & Health Teacher, Ms. McRae, is organizing an opportunity for Unity community members to participate in The Lupus Foundation of America’s Walk to End Lupus Now next Saturday. See the flier below for details on participating and donating to the cause!
6. New – Save the Date! Unity’s Campuses to Join Forces to Support The American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer on Saturday, 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!
7. New – Unity Middle School Students to Earn Dress Down and Pizza by Practicing their ELA and Math Skills during Tutoring Class! Families – see the flier 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!
8. New – 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!
9. Updated – The Fall Athletic Season is Now Upon Us!: See the calendar above for this coming week’s games. Come out to support our student-athletes in action. Go Panthers!
10. 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- ☑ 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.
11. 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
12. Recap – Attention Middle School Families Who Are Interested in Afterschool Programming!: The partnership with our middle school and St. Nick’s Alliance continues strongly this year. St. Nick’s offers a rich array of afterschool programming in academic enrichment, leadership development, and extra-curricular activities for our middle school students. Programming began on Monday, September 16th. Afterschool applications have been distributed to students and additional copies are available in the main office. Through St. Nick’s programming, 17 students from each grade have access to a free field trip to Dorney Park Halloween Haunt!
Details on St. Nick’s Alliance afterschool program and the upcoming field trip will be shared with families after submitting their application. Please contact Program Director, Luis Rodriguez, with questions via email at lrodriguez@stnickallliance.org
13. Recap – Guidance on School Supplies: Guidance on school supplies are below:
- UPMS 6th-8th grade
- UPHS 9th grade
- UPHS 10th-12th grade: supplies for students in grades 10th-12th are based on each student’s unique schedule. Thus, there is no general supply list for all students of these grades. Students in grades 10-12 were informed of the supplies they need by their course teachers on the first day of school.
14. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts. You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code. We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!
15. Recap – AP scores from the 2023-24 school year are now available!: Unity High students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores. In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here. Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores! More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!
16. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2024-25 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.