Reflection and Thanks
April 4, 2011
Dear Holliswood School Community:
As we move forward into Spring, we would like to take this opportunity to pause, reflect and thank you for an outstanding school year so far. We would like to thank our supportive parents, our exceptional and committed staff, and all of the students’ hard work.
We would like to congratulate our entire Holliswood School Family on the following accomplishments this year:
• Tremendous Work by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), including outstanding service during the Fall Festival, our Fall and Winter Middle School Dances, Fall Vision Screening, Fall and Spring Book Fairs, Picture Day and ongoing meetings.
• Numerous Fundraisers: Tsunami and Earthquake Relief Snack Sale, which raised $500 to the American Red Cross; Girls’ Basketball Snack Sale, raising $911; Fifth Grade Fundraiser, raising $1,565; Talent Show, raising $1,355. Other fundraisers included Daffodil Days for the American Cancer Society, raising $562 and our Third Annual Arts Benefit, raising $645.
• Remarkable attendance at Family Events, such as Family Basketball Night; PTA Fall Festival; Title I Family Math Night; Talent Show; Barnes and Noble Night; Winter Concert; Arts Benefit; Student of the Month Assemblies, writing celebrations, and other assemblies and concerts.
• Our School Leadership Team and School Safety Committee work extremely hard to bring forward suggestions and next steps for resolutions.
• Our Art Department won numerous awards during the annual Arlene Thomas Bird Contest at Alley Pond Park, including Best in Show.
• Author Visits including the visit of Holliswood Graduate, Doreen Rappaport, author of Martin’s Big Words; The wonderful visit of Ruby Bridges, who taught a diversity lesson to students in grades 2-5.
• An amazing middle school Career Day with guest speakers, including some of our Holliswood parents.
• The continued Respect For All Campaign by practicing our Holliswood virtues and acknowledging each other when exhibiting those virtues.
• The launch of our Peer Mediation Program, sponsored by the NYC Commission on Human Rights.
• The launch of our Student Advisory Program, where students are able to brainstorm ideas for encouraging Respect for All and work on service learning projects.
• The ongoing work of our Student Council, who have continued to collect suggestions from their peers and have developed a Student Council website.
• Achievements by our middle school CHAMPS sports teams, such as Volleyball and Rugby
• The formation of our new Girl’s Basketball Team
• Outstanding extracurricular academic programs, such as Middle School Math Team, Elementary Math Team, Math Success Program, ELA Saturday Program, Debate Team and Title III ESL Program.
• Ongoing enrichment programs, such as ThinkQuest and Robotics, as well as differentiation in the classroom.
• The continuation of our fabulous Arts Residencies, such as Young People’s Chorus of NYC, 144 Music and Arts, Early Stages (funded by Mr. Mark Weprin) and the Dancing Classrooms Ballroom Dance Program for Grade 5
• The success of our music, technology and visual arts department.
• Ongoing Monthly Parent Workshops
• Ladies Night and Parent Coordinator Book Club Events
• Day programs including Student Council, Safety Patrol, Recycling Club, Junior Honor Society, Penny Harvest Club, Drama Club, Kids for Coltrane, Fashion Design, Yearbook Club, Data Thieves
• Ongoing partnership with the Samuel Field Y Program and Kuei Luck Enrichment Center for our After School Programs
• End of Year Events, including the Senior Trip to Club Getaway, 7th Grade Philadelphia Trip, 6th Grade Medieval Times Trip.
• Ongoing Partnership with the New York Knicks
Since our school year is far from over, we would like to remind you to please join us for the following upcoming events (more information will follow):
• Barnes and Noble Middle School Poetry Night on April 5th at 5:00 PM (Barnes and Noble Fresh Meadows)
• Science Fair on April 6th from 4:00-5:45 PM
• Multicultural Night on May 17th at 6:00 PM, where we will celebrate the wonderful diversity in our school.
We want to thank you all for contributing your best efforts to a successful school year thus far. There are successes to report about every day in our school and we thank everyone for participating in maximizing the school’s potential. Please remember to continually visit our School Blog: http://holliswoodschool.blogspot.com for the latest information and school news.
