Facebook

Please be advised that we will be regularly updating our Facebook Page for the latest information regarding our school. If you have not visited our page, please visit www.facebook.com/178QHolliswood Our Facebook page has been updated to include information about the HS Admissions Process, the upcoming Young People's Chorus of NYC auditions this Wednesday, our new BOKS Before School Elementary Sports Program, upcoming Student Council elections, and the National Junior Honor Society Assembly on Friday.

Back To School Letter

Dear Families, Our Back To School Letter has been posted on our DOE webpage: http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/26/Q178/default.htm We would like you to read the letter carefully as it contains dismissal information, and procedures for the First Day on September 9th.

FACEBOOK PAGE

Please continue to visit our FACEBOOK PAGE TODAY and EVERY DAY: www.facebook.com/178QHolliswood There were many important updates regarding the price of school lunch and the NYS Common Core Test Results posted today. The Facebook Page will be updated more frequently than the School Blog. Thank you.

Supplies Lists

We hope you are enjoying your summer so far. We have posted a list of our required supplies lists on our DOE Official Website: http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/26/Q178/default.htm

ELA and Math Assessments

Dear Parents/Guardians of Students in Grades 3 – 8, As you know, the New York State ELA Assessment will be administered to students in grades 3-8 on April 16-18, 2013 and the New York State Math Assessment will be administered on April 24-26, 2013. With the support of our parents and guardians, our teachers and students have been working tirelessly to prepare for these exams and we know that all of our children will perform brilliantly. We ask that you review the tips below to help your children prepare for the exam: 1. Make sure your children go to bed early and that they have enough rest. Be sure to get them to school on time the next day, as latecomers may not be permitted to take the exam. 2. Please be sure that your children eat a light, healthy breakfast. 3. Dress them for success. Children should wear comfortable clothes. 4. As per NYS and NYC testing regulations, cell phones or any electronic devices will not be permitted during testing. It could invalidate the students’ scores. Please have your children leave their cell phones home. 5. Please make sure the children are prepared. Our students need to show up to school with #2 pencils, erasers, and other materials specified by their teachers. 6. Tell them to be positive: Expect to do well. Reassure them and tell them to relax. Let them know it is okay to take a short break. They can pause briefly when they need to break the tension. 7. Remind them to avoid distractions and to concentrate only on their own exam. As always, thank you for your continued cooperation and support.

ELA & Math After School Programs

Dear Parents/Guardians of Students in Grades 3 – 8, As you are aware, due to the New York State Assessments, afterschool ELA and Math programs were developed in order to prepare for the examinations. These programs will end on the following dates: Grades 6-8 ELA Program: (Mondays) Ends on April 15th; Grades 3-5 ELA/Math Program: (Tuesdays) Ends on April 9th; Grades 6-8 Math Program: (Wednesdays) Ends on April 17th; As always, thank you for your continued cooperation and support.

Upcoming Events

Please join us for the Science Fair today from 3:30-5:45 PM in the gymnasium. If you cannot make it, the Science Fair will also take place tomorrow during Parent Teacher Conferences. As a reminder, Parent Teacher Conferences will take place tomorrow, March 12th from 1-3 PM and 5:30 - 8:00 PM. Simultaneously, the PTA-Sponsored Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place in the library. Tomorrow is a half day of school. Pre-k and K will dismiss at 11:15 AM and Grades 1-8 will dismiss at 11:30 AM. A list of dismissal locations was distributed last week and posted on our main door. Dismissal will take place at the regular locations. All after school programs TOMORROW, MARCH 12TH are canceled due to the half day. In addition, we would like to remind you that our Fifth Annual Arts Benefit Concert will take place this Thursday, March 14th at 7:15 PM. Proceeds will benefit music and performing arts programs at our school. See you today or tomorrow! Thank you.

School is Open

Today is Friday, March 8th and yes, school is open and all after school programs are on. Thank you.

School Lunch Website

Please do not forget to set up your lunch account at https://www.mylunchmoney.com/ Any questions, please ask Ms. Lorber in the office. Thank you.

Respect For All Week

Dear Parents/Guardians: The NYC Department of Education has designated February 11-15 as Respect For All Week in all NYC public schools. During this week, schools will have opportunities to highlight and build upon ongoing diversity programs and curriculum-based instruction. Schools will also have opportunities to embark upon new initiatives that promote respect for diversity and engage students in meaningful lessons and/or other activities that focus on preventing bias-based harassment, intimidation and/or bullying. For the week of February 11th, we have coordinated the following activities: • 2/11 – School Safety Committee – Mid-year Meeting/Reflection; • 2/12 @ 5:30 PM – The Middle School Dance; • 2/13 – Parent Workshop on the Instructional Uses of IPADs for Pre-K to 2 Parents, facilitated by Parent Coordinator Corley and Ms. Cristi; • 2/15 – “Respect For All” Parent Workshop, facilitated by Parent Coordinator Corley and Ms. Paisley, SAPIS Counselor; • Ongoing – Peer Mediation; • All Week – Classroom Lessons focusing on definitions of discrimination, socially appropriate behavior and cultural diversity.; • All Week – Advisory Lessons regarding Diversity and Respect & Public Address Announcements regarding the Virtue of the Week - RESPECT; Additionally, we have the following events scheduled throughout the month around the topics of safety and respect: • 2/7 – AAA New York Safety Assembly on Pedestrian Safety for K-5 Students (Morning); • 2/21 – Student of the Month Assembly (Grades 5-8) at 8:15 AM; • 2/22 – Student of the Month Assembly (Grades Pre-K-4) at 8:15 AM; • 2/25 – The NED Show Assembly (Grades K-5) @ 1:15 PM. The NED show promotes positive attitudes, better behavior and academic achievement in school. The character education assembly is based on the acronym NED - Never give up, Encourage others, Do your best.; • 2/26 – 100TH Day of School Activities (throughout the school building); • 2/26 – Family Basketball Night: MS Students @ 4:30 PM; Adults @ 5:45 PM; We look forward to seeing you at some of the parent events mentioned above. Thank you.

Official Facebook Page

We are pleased to announce the launch of our school's official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/178QHolliswood. Please "like" our page on Facebook to receive alerts and notifications about our school. Thank you.

Grades 1-2 Percussion Residency

Dear Grades 1-2 Parents/Guardians: As you are aware, PS/IS 178Q is committed to ensuring the growth and potential of each student. We are preparing all of our students to be college and career ready with rigorous new learning standards implemented in our classrooms every day. Along with our strong academic program, we also feel that it is vital that students develop confidence and one of the ways this can be accomplished is through performing arts. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that we have extended the partnership with Marquis Studios to provide a percussion residency to grades one and two with the instructor from the Fall program, John Bellia. The program will take place one period every Friday for six weeks, beginning February 1, 2013, for each first and second grade class. During the residency, your child’s teacher remains in the classroom with the teaching artist. The students will perform at the March 14th Arts Benefit Concert (SAVE THE DATE). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you. Sincerely, Jennifer C. Ambert Principal

Common Core Standards

Dear Parents/Guardians: The transition to the Common Core standards represents an opportunity to strengthen instruction. In observing classrooms, we have seen teachers and students participating in rigorous, text-based discussions. Teachers are asking higher-order questions, and engaging with the standards during this transition period. As you know, this spring’s New York State English language arts (ELA) and math tests for grades 3-8 will align with the Common Core standards, and we expect the tests to be significantly more challenging. We have been informed that, at least initially, students’ scores may decline. However, the richer tests we will be seeing over the next few years can help move us toward stronger teaching that emphasizes cognitively demanding tasks and assignments. To support parents’ understanding of these changes, the New York State Education Department recently released ELA and math testing guides on their website: www.engageny.org. These documents describe the content changes at each grade level and provide guidance about how the Common Core standards will be assessed this spring. In ELA, for instance, the tests will include authentic texts that require students to read critically and to write using text-based evidence. In math, the tests will reflect the major work of the grade and the instructional shifts requiring fluency, application, and conceptual understanding. As in other situations that involve significant change, and this combination of new tests and potentially lower scores, I encourage you to make yourself familiar with the Common Core Standards and the newly aligned tests. Therefore, I would like to remind you to attend the parent workshop on January 23, 2013 on the Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Assessments at 8:30 AM. The workshop will be presented by our instructional coaches and our parent coordinator. I encourage you to acknowledge the transition period that we are currently in by participating in our parent workshops and visiting the Common Core Library on the DOE website:http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/ForFamilies/default.htm Thank you. Sincerely, Jennifer C. Ambert, Principal