P.S. 120 Parent Weekly Bulletin - 1/22/2021

P.S. 120

Parent Weekly Bulletin

Week of 1/25/21

Principal’s Memo

Dear P.S. 120 Families,

Yesterday on ParentSquare, you were messaged about the upcoming iReady Diagnostic Assessment #2. All students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 will be taking the Math and ELA iReady assessment Monday and Tuesday, with makeup windows on Wednesday as needed. Giving a second round of the iReady Diagnostic Assessment in these core subjects helps us track each child’s progress since September, and set goals for the remainder of the year. Please note that iReady scores DO NOT affect your child’s grades in any way. After the assessment, your child’s teacher will have individualized data on what your child knows and can do; this information helps the teacher plan targeted lessons to support your child in the coming months. For this reason, it is very important that you help your child access the iReady platform at his/her testing time, but that you DO NOT assist your child in any way with the answers. The best way you can help your child is to ensure he/she gets plenty of rest, eats a healthy breakfast before the assessment, and by sharing encouraging phrases along the way (For example, “This is challenging, but I know you’ll do your best!”). Please see the iReady resources below to help your family prepare for Diagnostic Assessment #2 next week.

Sincerely,
Robert Marino
PrincipalAnnouncements

  • iReady Diagnostic Assessment #2: On Monday 1/25 and Tuesday 1/26, your child will take the iReady ELA and Math assessments remotely, with a makeup window on Wednesday 1/27. Your child's teacher will communicate the specific testing schedule for your child's class, which will allow children to test in proctored small groups with the teacher's assistance. We are asking for your assistance as well to help your child navigate to the iReady Diagnostic Assessment #2. Please see the iReady Family Resource Center for more information about these assessments, as well as these resources:

  • Curriculum Planning/Asynchronous Work: Please note that I have scheduled grade/department teams of teachers to engage in half-day curriculum planning sessions over the next few days. These planning sessions allow teachers to work together to enhance the DOE’s core curriculum and tailor lessons to our students’ needs. Your child’s teacher will engage in two half-day afternoon sessions like this from now until Wednesday, January 27th. While your child’s teacher is meeting with colleagues, your child will have asynchronous assignments to complete, including iReady and Imagine Learning activities.

  • NYC Schools Account (“My Student”): All P.S. 120 parents/guardians are encouraged to sign up for a NYC Schools Account to view important data and documents about your child’s progress, such as report cards. If you have already created your account, you can log in here: https://mystudent.nyc/ To learn more about NYCSA, please visit this website.

    • NYCDOE wants all parents/guardians signed up on NYCSA by February 1st.

    • If you have not yet set up an account, school staff will be contacting you in the coming week to assist you. You can also watch this video for a tutorial. We will make outreach attempts in English, Chinese and Spanish. We hope to get to 100% so that every P.S. 120 parent/guardian has access to their child’s NYCSA account.

  • Save the Date! District 25 CEC Meeting: The District 25 Community Education Council (CEC) is hosting a virtual town hall event with Chancellor Richard Carranza on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. To prepare, the CEC is collecting questions and comments from the community in advance via their website. Families may submit as many questions/comments as they like.

    • If you would like to submit a question/comment for the event, please visit the District 25 CEC's website: www.d25.nyc/cec

    • Details about the virtual town hall event will be coming soon.

SEL Corner

  • Announcements

    • If parents need support from our school counselors, please complete this form.

    • Middle School announcement for 5th grade students:

      • Middle School Application Website is now available.

      • All families should have received Welcome Letters with instructions on how to set up a MySchools account and add their child to it using a unique account creation code. If a parent/student has not received a Welcome Letter, please direct them to email Mr. Woodburn at rwoodburn@schools.nyc.gov or Ms. Zhu at xzhu5@schools.nyc.gov. Families can also contact Ms. Zhu or Mr. Woodburn for any concerns or questions.

  • Resources

    • January bitmoji library - Explore the library for hidden links.

    • Middle School Enrollment One-pager: Click here to access the Middle school enrollment one-pager in different languages. It is a two page document that summarizes the changes to the Middle School enrollment process this year.


  • Brain Power Wellness

    • As you know, we strive to enrich our minds, bodies and hearts each day at P.S.120! We have been using Brain Power Wellness activities to provide virtual “brain breaks” while we engage in in-person and remote learning.

    • To spread Brain Power throughout our P.S. 120 community, please try some individual activities with your children on Mr. Manzione’s YouTube channel! This week, you can look for:

      • Clapping Machine

      • Plates - Levels 2 & 3

      • Whole Body Tapping

    • In addition to Mr. Manzione’s YouTube page, please check out and share the Brain Power YouTube Page and Brain Power I.G. Live pages with your family!

Celebrations

January 29th - School Spirit Day: This month, our theme is “Disney Dress Up Day!” On Friday, January 29th, your child may dress up like his/her favorite Disney character. All students, both in-person and remote, may dress up to celebrate in class.