Reminder: Pick up Books/Learning Materials for Remote Learning

Good morning, P.S. 120 Families,

We want to remind you of the books/learning materials available for remote learning. If you have not already picked them up, please come to school at your earliest convenience to get these materials for your child:

  • Remote Learning Books (Kindergarten-5th Grade) - These were distributed at the beginning of the year; however, if your child is new to the school or has recently switched to fully remote learning, you should pick these books up at school.

  • Math Manipulatives (Kindergarten-5th Grade)

  • Fundations (Kindergarten-2nd Grade)

Pick up times are Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Please come to the main entrance (58-01 136th Street). You must wear a mask and observe social distance (6 feet) at all times.

Blended Learning parents - Blended Learning students will bring the materials home with them!

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. We want every P.S. 120 student to have these important materials at home.

Reminder: P.S. 120Q PTA Meeting Today - 3:30 PM on Google Meet

PTA Meeting - 12/9: Please join our December virtual PTA meeting on Wednesday, December 9th at 3:30 PM. This meeting will include the PTA Election for Recording Secretary, a mandatory PTA executive board officer. To join, simply click on this link - you do not need to log in and there is no password needed. meet.google.com/aks-ktvt-qoq

PTA会议-12/9：请参加12月9日（星期三）下午3:30的12月虚拟PTA会议。 该会议将包括PTA记录秘书选举，PTA执行董事会官员。 要加入，只需单击此链接-您无需登录，也不需要密码。 meet.google.com/aks-ktvt-qoq

Reunión de la PTA - 12/9: Únase a nuestra reunión virtual de la PTA de diciembre el miércoles 9 de diciembre a las 3:30 PM. Esta reunión incluirá la Elección de la PTA para Secretario de Actas, un oficial obligatorio de la junta ejecutiva de la PTA. Para unirse, simplemente haga clic en este enlace; no necesita iniciar sesión y no se necesita contraseña. meet.google.com/aks-ktvt-qoq

#NYCOfficeHours Virtual Town Hall en Espanol (NYC DOE Event) Wednesday, 12/9 at 6:30 PM

#NYCOfficeHours Virtual Town Hall en Espanol
Join us on Wednesday, December 9 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., for our Spanish language #NYCOfficeHours telephone town hall, all about health and safety in our schools! Dr. Aaron Miller, Executive Director, Family Health Program, New York City Health + Hospitals, and DOE Chancellor Richard A. Carranza will be taking questions from families.

Whether you have questions about COVID-19 testing in schools, ventilation, PPE and cleaning, or more, dial 1-800-280-9461 on Wednesday, December 9 at 6:30 p.m. to ask and listen.

#NYCOfficeHours Virtual Town Hall en Espanol
Los edificios de las escuelas de la Ciudad de Nueva York reabrirán la próxima semana para los alumnos de 3-K, prekínder y de kínder a 5.ᵒ grado y para todos los alumnos del Distrito 75. ¿Tiene preguntas sobre los protocolos que seguimos para mantener los edificios seguros? Use #NYCOfficeHours en Twitter durante nuestro evento en español con el Canciller del Departamento de Educación de la Ciudad de Nueva York, Richard Carranza, y el Dr. Aaron Miller, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de NYC Health + Hospitals.
· Miércoles, 9 de diciembre
· 6:30-7:30pm
· Llame al 1-800-280-9461
· Para obtener más información visite nuestro sitio web.

P.S. 120 Parent Weekly Bulletin - 12/4/20

P.S. 120
Parent Weekly Bulletin
Week of 12/7/20

Principal’s Memo

Dear P.S. 120 Families,

Thank you to all of the P.S. 120 parents who attended last night’s Parent Town Hall meeting. We had an excellent turnout and were able to share our plans for reopening the building on Monday, as well as address your questions. If you were unable to attend the meeting and/or would like to review the content, please see the presentation slides here.

On Monday, the P.S. 120 school building will reopen, and our Blended Learning families will return for in-person learning according to the A/B day schedule. (Note: Monday 12/7 is a B day, Tuesday 12/8 is an A day) While the mayor is recommending 5-day instruction when possible for blended learning students, this shift will take some time and we will communicate to families if/when we can accomplish this with available staff and funding.

Remote learning will continue for our fully remote cohort, and for our Blended Learning families on the days when they are not in school. We are constantly reviewing our digital curriculum to ensure that it is shared, inclusive, and supports all students’ academic understanding. I would like to bring your attention to two current initiatives:

1.) Virtual Classroom: As a way to increase access, all P.S. 120 teachers have a Virtual Classroom platform that should be highlighted in each day’s Google Classroom Stream. Please look for this valuable resource- in addition to being a visually attractive and personalized reflection of your child’s class, it includes clickable links to the tools your child uses each day. For example: Mood Meter, Zoom/Google Meet schedule, learning charts, links to digital curriculum, etc. If you have any questions about how to use the Virtual Classroom, please message your child’s teacher. Please see a few examples below:
2.) Curriculum Planning Half Days: During the month of December, I have scheduled one half-day a week for each grade team to plan curriculum together. You may notice that on these days, your child will have asynchronous time to work on assignments in Google Classroom from 12:30-2:00 PM. Having this valuable planning time allows our remote and in-person teachers the opportunity to pace and modify lessons so that all students on the grade receive the same high quality instruction.

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about your child’s curriculum or academic progress. Have a restful weekend with your family.

Sincerely,
Robert Marino
Principal

Announcements

  • ParentSquare Update: All parents who had not yet registered for ParentSquare, or whose accounts were previously wiped by the nightly data sync, should have received updated ParentSquare invitations yesterday. If you need assistance with your ParentSquare account, please email Ms. Momoh: jmomoh@schools.nyc.gov

  • Updated December Calendar: Please see our updated December 2020 Calendar, which has been revised to reflect school reopening for Blended Learning students on Monday, December 7th. Please note: Monday 12/7 is an in-person day for the “B” (Blue) group, and Tuesday 12/8 is an in-person day for the “A” (Orange) group.

  • PTA Meeting - 12/9: Please join our December virtual PTA meeting on Wednesday, December 9th at 3:30 PM. This meeting will include the PTA Election for Recording Secretary, a mandatory PTA executive board officer. To join, simply click on this link - you do not need to log in and there is no password needed. meet.google.com/aks-ktvt-qoq

  • We Speak NYC: We Speak NYC is the City’s English Language Learning program for adults. We Speak NYC provides civic-focused instruction for adults through videos, website and print materials, and free community classes.

    • Join an online We Speak class to meet new people, learn about New York City services and resources, and practice speaking English!

      • During these three sessions, parents/guardians will practice their English-language conversational skills, learn about the free city services available to all New Yorkers, and connect with other families across the city. This course will focus on how families can access NYC services concerning career support, education, and workers’ rights.

      • Current sessions will take place from 5:30–7:30 p.m., on December 2, 9, and 16 via Zoom. Please see this flyer and sign up using this form.

    • Watching We Speak NYC videos helps English language learners improve their language skills, learn about their rights, and access City services. After watching each video, you can practice what you learned.

  • Learning Bridges Program Update: As we work to program 5-day instruction for as many Blended Learning families as possible, please note that Learning Bridges programs will continue to serve families enrolled in blended learning by providing free childcare. If you are interested in applying for Learning Bridges, please see these translated flyers. If you have any questions about Learning Bridges, see this website, call 311, or email: LearningBridges@schools.nyc.gov

  • Saturday Enrichment Classes: UFT (United Federation of Teachers) staff members are offering free Saturday enrichment classes for students of all grades this month. These 90-minute classes are designed to be a creative and fun way to reinforce your child’s learning. Here are the details:

    • The three-part program runs December 5th, 12th and 19th

    • Sessions are offered at 9:30 and 11:15 (Please register for one time)

    • Register here - this website also offers an “Ask a Question” tab to learn more.

SEL Corner

  • Announcements:

    • Child Mind Institute Parent Workshops: Please see below a workshop series presented by the Child Mind Institute, titled “Coping During COVID-19.” Families can learn more about the workshops and register here.

  • Anxiety and COVID-19 Wednesday, 12/9 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST

  • Fostering Resilience Within Your Family Thursday, 12/10 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST

  • Managing Grief and Loss Monday, 12/14 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST

  • Mindful Parenting Monday, 12/14 5:00pm – 6:00pm EST

  • Is My Child Going to Be Okay? Wednesday, 12/16 4:00pm – 5:00pm EST

  • Managing Intense Emotions Wednesday, 12/16 5:00pm – 6:00pm EST

For additional resources, please visit: https://childmind.org/coping-during-covid-19-resources-for-parents/.

  • Middle School Admissions

    • JHS189Q open house is on Monday December 7th, 2020. Click here for more information and RSVP.

    • Middle School announcement for 5th grade students:

The middle school application is not yet open, and it no longer closes on December 4, 2020. You will have additional time to apply.

  • SEL Resources:

    • Click here for a mindfulness choice board

  • 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 view this page and engage in partner/group Brain Power activities with your children! This week, you can look for:

      • Sky, Earth, Friend

      • Partner Squats

    • 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

  • Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights begins at sundown on December 10th and continues through sundown on December 18th. Best wishes to all who celebrate!

Math Moves at P.S. 120

  • Number Talks: 10-15 minute daily routine taking place during the beginning of lessons that focuses on the development of mental math. Number talks include student-student and student-educator discussions about solving a math problem mentally. These “talks” allow students to engage in discourse with each other, improve mental math strategies and fluency skills, and share with each other more than one strategy of solving a problem.

  • 3-Act Tasks: Whole group student-centered mathematics activity consisting of three distinct parts: an engaging and perplexing Act One, an information and solution seeking Act Two, and a solution discussion and solution revealing Act Three. In order to complete a 3-Act Task, students must question, persevere, problem solve, and reason mathematically. 3-Act Tasks allow students to make sense of a problem in a variety of ways - Act 1 gives students an opportunity to generate questions and think critically about the picture or video they see, Act 2 adds to their thinking by providing a piece of information after they begin to ask for it through their noticings and wonderings, and Act 3 provides students with the solution.

  • Math Sketches: Intended to support students in learning abstract mathematical concepts, math sketches are visual representations of how to determine the solution to a problem. This “move” provides students with an alternate entry point in tackling a math problem through the use of diagrams, drawings, charts, number lines, etc.

  • Exploration: Student exploration in math gives young scholars the opportunity to make connections to concepts they already know, making way for critical thinking, questioning, and investigating. Teachers may encourage the use of different tools, such as manipulatives and technology, to solve problems. Rather than direct instruction, teachers serve as facilitators of discussion. After exploring concepts, students may come together as a whole or in small groups to discuss their findings.

  • Productive Discourse: Discourse in the classroom not only allows students to concentrate on sense-making, reasoning of math concepts, and critiquing ideas of others, it also gives teachers the opportunity to reflect on student understanding.

  • Math Talk Moves: Strategic discussion moves intended for teachers to facilitate classroom discussion that include

  • Prompt - prompting students to answer a question

  • Wait Time - providing adequate time for students to respond to a question

  • Revoice - repeating a student’s answer to emphasize and clarify what the student said

  • Restate - asking a student to restate what another student has said to ensure that students listen closely to each other

  • Apply Reasoning - asking students to evaluate, critique, and use each other’s responses and strategies

Here is a site that can be helpful guide for parents to understand the changes in mathematics and suggestions of ways to support their child's learning in math.

https://illuminations.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Activities_Home/FamilyGuide_FullText.pdf

family - NCTM Illuminations

illuminations.nctm.org

Acknowledgements The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics wishes to acknowledge the extensive efforts of staff member Amy Mirra in gathering the information for and editing this guide.