9/13
Dear BCS Students/Families,
We hope you are all well this beautiful weekend. We are all gearing up for re-opening!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BCS Staff Hard at Work All Week!
- School staff have been hard at work on Professional Development this week! All staff are receiving additional training related to high quality virtual teaching, new COVID-19 Health and Safety guidelines, trauma responsive educational practices, crew and building community in virtual spaces, the schoolwide welcoming expedition during the first 1.5 weeks, mastery grading and best practices for assessment in blended/remote learning, and the logistics of co-planning and working in this remote/blended environment. Teachers are setting up classrooms to follow social distancing mandates and are reaching out to their crew advisees to help set them up for orientation (all-remote) on Wed 9/16 through Fri 9/18.
Building Ventilation Updates
- The 610 Henry Building experienced three separate walkthroughs:
- City walkthrough with independent mechanical engineer occurred 8/26 – report issued 9/7
- DOE Borough Office walkthrough occurred 8/31 – report issued 9/2
- UFT walkthrough occurred 9/2 – report issued 9/5
- Waiting for updated reports to confirm in writing the following:
- The conclusion from all the walkthroughs and our custodial engineer is that all BCS classrooms have an exhaust vent + at least 50% open windows which means, according to the DOE guidelines, our classrooms are safe to open
- We will continue to update you about building conditions as we know them
Outdoor Learning & Amazon Wish List
- The BNS/BCS application for playstreets on Rapelye Street and Coles Street have been approved by the Department of Education. That gives us even more outdoor space!!
- Please support our BCS Amazon Wish List – we are in need of materials to support with outdoor lunch/class
- If you are able to support, please help us collectively purchase stools, cones, and barriers to support with using our outdoor space often and safely
No school supply lists this year
- We plan to give students all their supplies if they need anything (either providing them digitally, mailing them, or arranging for pick up from the building for all-remote students).
- Students should have a computer/laptop/ipad, internet access, and a good pair of headphones to reduce background noise with a small mic.
- We will not have traditional supply lists this year as the needs in blended/remote learning are much less than a typical year.
- As always, we appreciate donations to the BCS PTA (https://www.bcspta.org/) to help cover the cost of supplies that teachers purchase each year
Crew leader phone call
- Your child’s crew leader will be contacting you to welcome you
- If you have not heard from your child’s crew leader by Tuesday 9/15, please let us know so we can cyberconnect you!
Schedules for Orientation
- School begins on Wed 9/16 with three days of all-remote orientation.
- Your child’s crew leader will email your child the schedule for the all-remote orientation on Wed 9/16 – Fri 9/18. Here’s a sneak peek.
- Please make sure your child has set up their BCS email account and that your child has downloaded Zoom onto their computer.
Just for In-Person Students
- Please review our important health/safety requirements
- Please continue to practice wearing your mask for longer periods of time – reminder that all students need to wear their masks the entire school day and engage in social distancing
Seeking student submissions for our BCS Instagram
- WANT TO BE FEATURED ON OUR: thecollaborativechronicle!?!
- We need your participation in creating short videos encouraging OUR COMMUNITY TO WEAR MASKS & BE SOCIALLY DISTANT during school hours.
- We also need videos reminding US to WAKE UP and BE ON TIME and be FULLY PRESENT during class time.
- Incoming and returning 6-12th grade; ALL are welcome!!!
- Send an email to taron@bcs448.org & imani@bcs448.org.
DOE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Daily screenings at entry for in-person students
- All STUDENTS entering DOE buildings will need to complete the daily health screening. It’s available here: https://healthscreening.schools.nyc/.
- There will be paper versions at the door for those who don’t have phones. It’s the same four questions as in the online version.
- Students who complete the survey on their phone just need to show their phone to the School Safety agent to enter the building. No temperature check.
- Students who do not complete the survey on their phone complete the paper version with School Safety and the nurse at the entry desk AND there will be a contact-less temperature check for the student.
Prepare Your DOE iPad for the First Day of School
- If you have a DOE-loaned iPad, it is essential that you take the actions on this webpage https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/learn-at-home/technical-tools-and-support/getting-started-with-your-ipad to ensure your child’s iPad is ready for use for return to school.
- Below is the link where you can set an appointment to exchange non-working iPads from DOE: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/IpadDistributionCenter1@NYCDOE.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/
Learning Bridges Childcare Support
- The Learning Bridges program aims to provide care for students in grades 3K-8th on days when they are learning remotely, with priority for essential workers’ families. The city recently announced that it will begin with 30,000 seats available in September. Use this link to apply or call 311 for assistance.
CELEBRATIONS
BCS is featured in EL Education’s latest video!
- Here’s a great crew video from EL Education that was just released about the power of crew! Look for great cameos from Brooklyn Collaborative Restorative Practices Coordinator Taron Williams and BCS students Rashamel, Kyah, Jose, Ralph, Elise and others!
OPPORTUNITIES
Virtual Town Hall Event with Chancellor Richard A. Carranza
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- All District 15 parents are encouraged to attend! Join CEC15 next Wednesday evening.
- Wednesday, September 16th from 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
- Please register for this event by clicking here.
- Don’t miss this excellent opportunity. Issues and concerns for District 15 will be addressed.
- You may submit your questions in advance here.
- English Conference Line: Dial 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 835 9700 6395
- Spanish Conference Line: Dial 888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter PIN 735-255-0102
- Mandarin Conference Line: Dial 888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter PIN 933-059-6663
- Bengali Conference Line: Dial 888-475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter PIN 961-789-7416
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Opting into all-remote
- Families can choose all-remote at any time. To do so, please fill out this form: https://www.nycenet.edu/surveys/learningpreference and then confirm with Scill@bcs448.org that your request has been received by the DOE.
- If you choose all-remote now, the first opportunity to opt back into blended learning with some in-person days will be for Nov 2020
School starts with a 3-day all-remote orientation from 9/16-9/18
- The DOE recently announced a delayed opening to school
- Wed 9/16 – Fri 9/18 – students will have a 3-day all-remote orientation – we will send out more information about that shortly, please stay tuned to your email
- Mon 9/21 – this is the first day in-person in the building for Group A – Group B and D are remote on Mon 9/21; the first day in-person in the building for Group B is Thurs 9/24 (unless a student in Group B has an IEP, is a Multi-Language Learner, or a Student in Temporary Housing – those students will start Wed 9/23 from 9am-11:45am)
- During the first 1.5 weeks, we will have a schoolwide expedition where you will be engaged in community building and digital competency. You’ll learn all the digital systems you’ll use this year to be successful and practice using the digital tools.
- And you’ll re/connect with your classmates and teachers (socially distanced and virtually) after having been away for so many months!
- The week of 9/14, your crew leader will email you with more information about what to do on Wed 9/16 to get started with school.
COVID testing for in-person students
- Although the Department of Education is not requiring that all students and staff be tested to start school, we strongly encourage that you are tested anyway.
- Since the coronavirus can be contagious in children and adults without symptoms, frequent testing is one important way to feel more confident that you are not carrying or spreading the infection. Testing is free for all New Yorkers. You can get a COVID test at any of the 34 NYC Health and Hospitals locations, and you can read about testing and find other testing locations HERE.
- Thank you for making this decision to help protect your health and the health of all of our students, staff, and families.
NEW students, please sign up for your BCS student email address!!! VERY IMPORTANT
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- Your teachers will primarily use your BCS student email to contact you
- Go to gmail.com
- Your username is firstname.lastname@bcs448.org (For example, if your name is Jose Brown, your BCS student email address is jose.brown@bcs448.org)
- Your password is bcs+the last five digits of your OSIS number (For example, if your OSIS number is 123456789, then your password is bcs56789)
- Once you’ve entered your password, the system will prompt you to choose another password. Pick a secure password that you will remember.
- Write down your email and password in a secure location. You will need your BCS student email address all the time.
Returning students, please make sure you can access your BCS student email address
- If you need a password re-set, please email Scill@bcs448.org
ALL STUDENTS, please sign in to your DOE student email address
- Go to Student Account Self Service (Open external link)
- Enter your 9-digit Student ID (OSIS) number.
- Enter your birthday.
- Click Continue.
- If the information you enter matches your student record, your username will be displayed.
- Your DOE student email address is your username followed by @nycstudents.net. For example, if your username is JoseB, your student email address is JoseB@nycstudents.net.
- If you haven’t already set up a password, you will be asked to set one up.
- Re-enter your password. Pick a password that only you will know.
- Click Update Password.
- Write down your DOE student email address in a secure location. Your crew leader will ask you about it the week of 9/14. You will need your DOE student email address to sign into some DOE systems this year.
DOE School Year Calendar
DOE Attendance Policy
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- The DOE has issued a new attendance policy for this school year
- A student is marked present only during the synchronous parts of their school day:
- In Person: Student is physically present in the classroom for instruction during the scheduled school day.
- Remote: Student is virtually present in a Zoom class during the scheduled school day.
- Please talk with your child about the requirement to attend virtual Zoom classes
New DOE COVID Testing Protocols
- Beginning October 1st and recurring each month, it will be mandatory for schools to test a random 10-20% sample of their students participating in blended learning and on-site staff population.
- The percentage of staff tested and the frequency of testing will rise significantly in schools in any zip code that reports a percentage of positive tests of 3% or higher using a 7-day rolling average
- Families will be asked to sign a consent form at the start of the year for their child to participate at random, and be notified ahead of time if their child has been selected for the month. Families in blended learning that have not submitted a testing consent form by November will transition to remote only instruction. The full UFT/DOE agreement on testing can be found here.
Parents, sign up for your NYCDOE Student Account
- Parents can sign into their New York City Student Account (NYCSA) to access information from DOE systems about your child. Your NYCSA account can also help you find your child’s grades, test scores, schedules, transportation information, and more— from anywhere, and in all nine standard DOE language translations.
- If you have not previously created an account, you will need an account creation code. Please email Scill@bcs448.org with your child’s full name and grade and your request for a code.