Procedures on Days with Citywide Emergency Conditions or on Major Storm Days

Procedures on Days with Citywide Emergency Conditions or on Major Storm Days

Dear Parent/Guardian:

This letter explains the procedures we follow on a day with citywide emergency conditions or a major storm day. The Chancellor will make an announcement to all public schools in the city on whether to close schools or delay their opening. This announcement is made in consultation with other City officials. All authorized delayed openings will result in the regular starting time being two hours later (Please note that, in addition to this two hour delay, the morning or afternoon extra 37.5 minute session for small group instruction, tutoring or test preparation, will be cancelled, as well as all field trips, all adult and continuing education activities, and all after-school activities – see below.)

By 6:00 a.m., the decision is announced on the 311 Information Line, on the Department of Education website Home Page (which can be accessed at http://schools.nyc.gov) and on the following radio stations in the city: WINS (1010 AM), WCBS (880 AM), WABC (770 AM), WLIB (1190 AM), WADO (1280 AM), WBLS (107.5 FM), WNYE (91.5 FM), as well as the following television stations: WCBS (Channel 2), WNBC (Channel 4), WNYW (Fox Channel 5), WABC (Channel 7), Univision Channel 41, and "NY 1" (Channel 1 on Time Warner Cable television). Major radio news stations, such as WINS (1010 AM) and WCBS (880 AM), should be listened to on portable radios in the event of a major blackout.

The school telephone number is: ¬718-464-5763. The regular school hours (including the extra 37.5 minute sessions for small group instruction, tutoring or test preparation) are: 8:00 AM-2:57.5 PM. Without the extended day session (Thursdays and Fridays), school hours are 8:00 AM-2:20 PM. If there is an authorized delayed school opening, the school hours will be: 10:00 AM – 2:20 PM. Our Parent Coordinator can be reached at pcorley3@schools.nyc.gov or
347-563-4409.

When there is an authorized citywide school closing or delayed school opening, the following will be cancelled unless the Chancellor makes an announcement to the contrary: all field trips, all extra 37.5 minute sessions for small group instruction, tutoring or test preparation at the start or at the end of the regular school day, all after-school programs (including Community-Based Organization after-school programs on public school sites), all after-school program transportation (including transportation to after-school programs at Community-Based Organization sites), all Adult and Continuing Education classes, all Young Adult Borough Centers, and all evening GED programs.

When there is an authorized citywide delayed school opening, school buses will run, but their arrival times will be delayed by two hours. In addition, buses will not be available for any start or end of day extra 37.5 minute sessions for small group instruction, tutoring or test preparation (since these sessions will be cancelled). Morning prekindergarten programs within public schools will also be cancelled.

It is expected that when there is a delayed opening, all end of day extra sessions will be cancelled. As a result, all students will be dismissed at the regular time for students not attending the extra 37.5 minute session for small group instruction, tutoring or test preparation. However, if citywide emergency conditions or a storm worsen, the Chancellor may have to announce an early dismissal. The Chancellor will notify bus services of the earlier dismissal schedule.

You should have plans in place with a relative, friend or neighbor in case your child is released early and you will not be at home to care for him or her. Your child should know of your plans. Please note that you must have listed that relative, friend or neighbor on the school’s “BLUE EMERGENCY CONTACT CARD” because schools are not authorized to release pupils to persons not listed on that card. You may also identify on the card a person or persons who should not have access to your child, as well as indicate the actions you would like the school to take if none of your listed contacts can be reached. The school will follow your recommendations as much as possible. It is important that you make certain that the card is up-to-date. If your child takes a school bus, school staff will remain in school with the bused children until buses arrive for dismissal or until your child is picked up.

If you have a child with a disability, you should use your discretion in deciding whether to send him or her to school when there is a delayed opening. If your child has medical or other health issues requiring nursing or other services during the school day, including services requiring a nurse or paraprofessional to ride on the bus, you should consider not sending your child to school. Please be reminded that your child will not be picked up if a nurse or paraprofessional who is required to ride with him or her is not aboard the school bus.

Again, contact the 311 Information Line, access the NYCDOE website Home Page at http://schools.nyc.gov, and listen to the radio or television stations listed above for information.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Updates

Parent Involvement
• Thank you to all the parents for assisting with picture day re-take.

After School Programs Update
• Gr. 6-8: CHAMPS began on January 9th. We have volleyball (M/W 3:00-4:30 PM – Coach Efthimiades) and Rugby (Tues. 3:00-4:30 & Fridays 2:20-3:20 – Coach Sanchez).
• Debate Team began last Wednesday with Ms. Pipinias. It takes place every Wednesday.
• In lieu of a Saturday ELA Program, we will hold after school programs for preparation in math and ELA, beginning the week of March 5th. This program will be by invitation only.

Events Update
• The spelling bee took place last Thursday. George Stefanakis was our winner, and Andrew Ortiz was our runner up. Both students will proceed to the borough wide competition next week.
• Congratulations to Max Gallagher for winning the Council Member for a Day Essay Contest, sponsored by Council Member Mark Weprin. Max will spend the day with Mr. Weprin at City Hall next week.
• A student council swearing in ceremony took place today for the new student council. Senator Avella was our special guest.
• There will be a MS dance next month (Feb 16th). It’s our annual snowflake dance, sponsored by student council.

Academic Update
• In January, as you know, each student in grades PK-8 will take part in NYCDOE performance tasks. Each of these tasks measure a student’s readiness as part of the Common Core Learning Standards.
• We will no longer hold a staff development day on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. While parents voted positively for this day last month, teachers did not vote. All the grading and identification of learning goals will be done through grade and department conferences instead.

Testing Update
• The dates for the ELA and Math assessment have changed. The grades 3–8 ELA exams will be administered April 17–19 and the math exams will take place April 25–27.

Family Winter Dance

Please join us for our second Family Dance this Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 6:00 PM. Light refreshments and a live DJ will provide an evening of family fun to celebrate the holiday season.

Admission is a ream of paper per person or $5.00 each. Contact Ms. Corley for tickets.

Thank you.

Barnes and Noble Night

Dear Families,

We are very proud to announce that the Holliswood School is sponsoring our annual Barnes and Nobles Fundraiser! The fundraiser will begin on Monday, December 5th and end Saturday, December 10th at the Fresh Meadows store on Union Turnpike. This in-store event was extremely successful last year because so many of you came out to support the school. Your participation was extraordinary and the Fresh Meadows store responded in kind by sharing a generous percentage of the total sales that were made during last year’s event with the school.

To further motivate the students to take part in the excitement, our staff has volunteered their time on Monday night from 4:30-6:30 p.m., to read aloud to the students and interact with the parents in a more social setting. Attached you will find the voucher that must be presented when you are making your final purchase if the school is going to benefit from your generosity. Please come, do some holiday shopping and share in what promises to be a truly enjoyable event.

We look forward to seeing you there!


Sincerely,



Jason Chin
Assistant Principal
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We are proud to announce our annual Barnes & Noble Bookfair will be taking place at the Fresh Meadows location on Monday, December 5, 2011. You will also have an opportunity to support us by shopping online from Monday, December 5, 2011 through Saturday, December 10, 2011. A percentage of your purchase made through www.bn.com/bookfairs will be contributed to our Bookfair. Here’s how:

• Be sure to use the web address above (www.bn.com/bookfairs) to do your online shopping.
• When you’ve finished selecting your purchases, click on your cart and begin the check-out process. On the payment page, there will be a section at the bottom that states Check Here If This Is a Bookfair Order. When you check the box, type in our bookfair ID number 10564912 in the required entry field.
• If you already have a BN.com account with a default payment method, you will only see a Checkout Summary screen. To add the Bookfair ID to the payment page, you will need to click on the Change button on the right-hand side of the Payment Section. This will take you back to the payment page, where you can enter our bookfair ID number 10564912.
• After placing your order, you can log back into your Order Summary Confirmation to check to see if the Bookfair ID number is listed on your order (10564912). If it is, everything was done correctly!
• If you do not see a Bookfair ID number (10564912), or if you realize that you placed your order without using our Bookfair ID number, please call Customer Service at 800-962-6177 as soon as possible. Provide your order number and our Bookfair ID number, and the representative will manually add your order to our Bookfair sales total.
• Please note that the purchase of some items such as gift cards, textbooks, magazines, etc. is excluded from Bookfair sales totals. For more information, check the FAQs on the www.bn.com/bookfairs home page.
Please feel free to forward this letter and our bookfair vouchers to any family and friends who would like to support our Bookfair as well.

Thanks again for supporting our Bookfair!

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Holiday Concert - December 8, 2011

SAVE THE DATE

The Holiday Concert
Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 6:00 PM

Featuring performances by:

The Elementary Chorus (The Young People’s Chorus of NYC @178, Grades 3-5)
The Middle School Chorus (The Young People’s Chorus of NYC @178, Grades 6-8)
conducted by Sheldon Ogbourne of YPC
The Holliswood School Band, conducted by the All-Borough Band Director, Jennifer Schecter

Performance attire: White top, black bottoms (Musicians)

Guests, please enter through Avon Road (tickets: $3.00 each now on sale)
Performers, please enter through Radnor Road

October 25, 2011

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Monday, October 31, 2011 is Halloween. Traditionally, Halloween is a time of fun and excitement. However, we need to take precautions in order to have a safe Halloween experience.

Below, we have listed some helpful guidelines to consider, in the event that your children go out Trick or Treating.

1. Go Trick or Treating in a group with a responsible adult.
2. Wear a costume that is fireproof and can be seen when it is dark.
3. Do not eat any unwrapped candy or fruit.
4. Parents should inspect all treats before permitting children to eat them.
5. Only go Trick or Treating to friends and neighbors. Do not knock on
strangers' doors.
6. Do not go Trick or Treating late in the evening.
7. Do not play any tricks that can hurt anyone or that can damage property.

As a reminder, Halloween costumes are not permitted in school. However, children may wear a costume to the PTA-sponsored Fall Festival on October 27, 2011 at 6:00 PM.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Very truly yours,


Jennifer Ambert
Principal

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Dear Parents/Guardians:

You are cordially invited to our November Parent-Teacher Conferences. Both afternoon and evening conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. Conferences are scheduled for 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the afternoon and 5:30 PM to 8:00PM in the evening. During these times, you will have the opportunity to confer with your child’s teacher about his/her academic and social progress. Please feel free to bring an English Language translator with you to the conference. We will also have translators available.

Elementary Families will receive scheduled appointment times. Please complete the tear-off form, which will be distributed on 10/21, to indicate your availability. The teachers will send you a reply. Middle School Families will meet with individual teachers through a sign-up sheet, which will be posted outside classrooms during conference hours. This will enable you to meet with the various teachers who instruct your child in a timely manner.

Reminder: Due to Parent-Teacher Conference on the afternoon of Tuesday, 11/15, students will be dismissed at 11:30 AM. Please make sure to make arrangements to have your child picked up at 11:30 AM that day. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 11:15 AM. If your child rides a bus home from school, please arrange that there is a responsible adult at the bus stop. Please sign the tear-off and return it to your child’s teacher by October 26, 2011.

All PS/IS 178 After-School Programs will be cancelled on Tuesday, November 15, 2011. The Samuel Field Y and Kuei Luck Programs will also be cancelled.

• Elementary report cards (Grades 1-5 only) will be distributed on November 9, 2011 via backpack.
• Middle School report cards will be distributed on November 7, 2011 via backpack.

Thank you for your cooperation. I look forward to seeing you.