Dear P.S. 120 Families,

This week, all eligible students in Grades 3-5 took the New York State ELA exam. I’m very proud of our students for working their hardest on both testing days, to show what they have learned this year!

During Friday’s Parent-Teacher Association meeting, attendees voted in new PTA Executive Board officers for the 2025-2026 school year. You may review the meeting minutes here. Please join me in congratulating our new officer teams!

Co-Presidents: Ching Fang (Eva) Hung & Jin Qiu (Tracey) Xie
Co-Treasurers: Dan Lin & Maggie Zhu
Co-Secretaries: Jianfang Liang + Huali Zeng

Our current PTA Executive Board is assisting us this coming week as we celebrate Staff Appreciation Week, May 5-May 9. While other districts and schools celebrate “Teacher Appreciation Week,” at P.S. 120Q, we want to highlight ALL of the adults who serve our school community each and every day, working diligently to provide the best education and social-emotional experience for your child. Be sure to thank our employees when you see them next week!

Sincerely,

Robert Marino

Principal

P.S. 120’s Mission

At P.S. 120, we are committed to preparing our different types of learners to compete in the ever-changing 21st Century workforce by guiding them to recognize the importance of finding the balance between doing what they love, and what the world will need them to do. The faculty at PS 120 will:

Commit to the use of data-driven instruction and decision-making to provide equity-based instruction in all classrooms.
Provide opportunities for students to take responsibility for their own learning by participating in classroom discussion and be able to predict how they can use what they are learning in their everyday lives and goals
Engage students in problem-solving and critical thinking activities
Foster leadership opportunities for students in and out of the classroom
Expose and engage students in the cultural arts
Enable digital literacy by teaching students to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills
Empower students to apply their talents to the service of others

As a result, students at P.S. 120:

State Exams: Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Dragons took the ELA State Exam this week. We are so proud of our students as they applied all their learning to their reading and writing on the exam.
Inside Broadway: This week we launched our in-school musical theater residency with Inside Broadway. Our Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students are participating in this exciting program, in which professional teaching artists introduce them to the world of theater and performance. Through engaging, hands-on workshops, students explore storytelling, music, movement, and self-expression, building confidence and creativity along the way. Our Inside Broadway after school program also began this week with select 3rd and 4th grade students!

Announcements

Summer Rising: Families interested in participating in Summer Rising programming should check this page frequently for resources. Important Dates:
- April 24, 2025: Offer releases were released in MySchools.
- July 2, 2025: Summer Rising stars for K-8 students.
- July 4, 2025: Summer Rising will be closed in observance of Independence Day.
- August 15, 2025: Summer Rising ends for elementary school students.
Community Event Sharing - Cinco De Mayo celebration: The Kupferberg Center is hosting a Cinco de May celebration for interested families on Sunday, May 4 at 3 PM, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Mexico through live music, dance, and colorful traditions. Take advantage of special community pricing for *$5 TICKETS* (regularly $20) for the school community. Here is the special link: 🔗Ticket Link ➡ Click *Community Limited Offer* and enter the passcode: CINCO5
National Teacher Appreciation Week: May 5-9, 2025
- Thank you to the PTA for providing staff lunch on May 5 and staff dessert on May 9!
PTA Mother's Day Sale: May 5 - May 9, 2025 (Many parent volunteers are needed! Sign up)
Parent Workshop: Summer Rising offers/wait list + “Backup” Resources for Summer Childcare
- Time: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
- Location: P.S.120Q Library
Multicultural Celebration: Thursday, May 15 *Be sure to return your request for tickets!*
- Parent Volunteers Needed!
- Daytime assemblies for students
- Evening celebration begins at 4:30 PM for families
District 25 Workshop: Rich Math Tasks ALL ARE WELCOME! *REGISTRATION REQUIRED* Wednesday, May 28, 2025 @ 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM *VIRTUAL via Zoom*
- Topic: Implementing a shared curriculum.
- Register here
- Event Flyers
School Meals/Menus: Click the links below to access daily/monthly cafeteria menus:

SEL Corner

Announcements
- Middle school offers were released on 4/9, and summer rising results were out on 4/24. Please log onto My Schools to accept the offer or check your waitlist status. Parents have until May 8th to accept both offers.
- May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. May 11th is also Mothers Day. Show your appreciation!
- Summer Opportunity: Fordham School of Professional and Continuing Studies is offering Summer Reading skills programs for all kids from ages 4-18. If you are interested, please see Ms. Yuqi for a program flyer or call 1-800-499-8557 directly.
- Free Museums and Free Museum Days in NYC
Reservations are strongly encouraged and sometimes required!
The Bronx Zoo – General admission is free on Wednesdays, but reservations are required. The Wednesday Ticket Store opens at 5pm on Mondays. Total Experience activities cost extra.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden – Winter weekdays (December through February) are pay-what-you-can. Children 11 and under are always free.
Brooklyn Children's Museum – Free hours are held on Thursday afternoons from 2-5pm. Reservations should be booked in advance.
The Jewish Museum – Saturday admission is free. Timed-entry reservations are recommended.
Museum of the Moving Image – Free admission is offered on Thursdays from 2pm-6pm. Timed-entry tickets are recommended.
New York Aquarium – Pay-what-you-wish Wednesday afternoons from 3pm to last entry, which varies by season. Reservations are required and the Wednesday Ticket Store opens at 3pm Monday.
New York Botanical Garden – Free grounds admission for NYC residents all day Wednesdays. Non-NYC residents can enter for free from 10-11am on Wednesdays.
New-York Historical Society – Pay-what-you-wish Fridays from 5-8pm. Admission to the on-site DiMenna Children's History Museum is included. Timed-entry tickets are recommended.
NYSCI – Free admission on Fridays from 2-5pm. Reserve tickets online in advance beginning Thursday mornings at 9am.
Queens Botanical Garden – Free admission daily from mid-December through March. Admission is free on Wednesdays from 3-6pm and Sundays from 9-11am the rest of the year.
Respect For All (RFA) Student-to-Student Discrimination, Sexual and Other Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying FAQ:
Code of Conduct Letter:
Local Events for this week:
- NYC Parks Events Calendar click here
- Summerstage Family Programs click here
- Queens Public Library Events Calendar click here
NY Family Queens To Do Events Calendar click here
If you would like to recommend students for Student Success counseling groups (formerly known as At Risk Counseling), please click here. This is not a special education evaluation form.

SEL Resources
- This month, we are celebrating a lot of amazing cultures and events, here is a virtual library for your child to enjoy:

MindUp/Brain Power Wellness: Ten Tips for Your Child's Success in School
- Enforce Healthy Habits: You can’t perform well when you don’t feel good. To help your child have the best chance at doing well in school, make sure she follows healthy habits at home. Choose a bedtime that will give your child plenty of sleep, and provide a healthy breakfast each morning. Encourage exercise, and limit the amount of time she spends watching TV, playing video games, listening to music, or using the computer.
- Stick to a Routine: Most kids thrive on structure and will respond well to routines that help them organize their days. In our house, for example, my son gets dressed, makes his bed, and eats breakfast while I make his lunch and pack his school bag with completed homework and forms. When he gets home in the afternoon, I serve him a snack and he does his homework while I prepare dinner. Your routines may differ, but the key is to make it the same every day so your child knows what to expect.
- Create a “Launch Pad”: Veteran parents know it’s important to have a single place to put backpacks, jackets, shoes, lunchboxes, and school projects each day. Some call it a “launch pad,” while others call it a “staging area.” Our area is a hook by the back door.
  - Whatever you call it, find a place where your child can keep the items he needs for school each day and keep him organized. Then you’ll know right where to find everything during the morning rush.
- Designate a Space: At school your child has a desk or table where she works. There is plenty of light, lots of supplies, and enough room to work. Why not provide her with the same type of environment for homework? A designated homework space often makes it easier and more fun for children to complete assignments at home. A desk is great, but a basket of supplies and a stretch of kitchen counter work just as well.
- Read, Again and Again: It is often said that children spend the first several years learning to read, and the rest of the lives reading to learn. The written word is a gateway to all kinds of learning, and the more you read to your child, the better chance he has of becoming a proficient and eager reader.
  - Try to sit down with your child to read a little bit every day, give him plenty of opportunities to read out loud to you, as well, and above all have fun. While the importance of reading with your child cannot be stressed enough, it should not be the cause of stress.
- Learn Always: Your child may be past the preschool years, but home education is still a critical part of his overall learning experience. “Some of the attitude recently is that it’s up to the schools and teachers to figure it all out, to make sure children are learning and healthy and safe,” says Barbara Frankowski, M.D., MPH, FAAP, and member of the AAP Council on School Health. “There’s only so much teachers can do. Parents have to fill in with good support at home.”
  - Look for ways to teach your child throughout the day. For example, cooking combines elements of math and science. Use the time when you make dinner as an opportunity to read and follow directions, to discuss fractions, to make hypotheses (“What will happen when I beat the egg whites?”), and to examine results.
- Take the Lead: Children learn by example. Let your kids “catch” you reading. Take time to learn a new skill and discuss the experience with them. Sit down and pay bills or do other “homework” while your kids do their schoolwork.
  - If you display a strong work ethic and continually seek out learning opportunities for yourself, your kids will begin to model that same behavior in their own lives.
- Talk Often: Do you know how your child feels about her classroom, her teacher, and her classmates? If not, ask her. Talk with her about what she likes and doesn’t like at school. Give her a chance to express her anxieties, excitements, or disappointments about each day, and continue to support and encourage her by praising her achievements and efforts.
- Show Interest: Don’t limit your support to your child; extend it to her teachers as well. Meet the teachers and stay in regular contact by phone or e-mail so that you can discuss any concerns as they arise. Not only will it pave the way for you to ask questions, but it will also make the teachers more comfortable with calling you if they have concerns about your child.
- Expect Success: Perhaps the most important way you can support your child’s efforts at school is to expect him to succeed. That doesn’t mean that you demand he be the best student or the best athlete or the best artist. Rather, let him know that you expect him to do “his best” so that he’ll be proud of what he can accomplish.
  - If you make that expectation clear and provide a home environment that promotes learning, then your child will have a greater chance of becoming the best student he can be.

Celebrations

New York City Public Schools Calendar 2024-2025: Please bookmark this year’s school calendar, which includes information on school events and vacations throughout the year! Scroll down to view and/or print translations in your preferred language.