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Student-Family Update

9/19 – BCS Student/Family Update

Published September 19, 2021 by Scill Chan

Dear BCS Students/Families,

We hope you had a great week in crew and that you’re ready to start academic classes!  You will still have crew daily during Pd 5.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pronoun Share Form

  • All students did a pronoun intro activity in crew and were shared the pronoun share form
  • Please complete it so that teachers know your pronouns

All families, please fill out the lunch form online

  • All families must complete the online Family Income Inquiry Form even if your child does not eat school lunch
  • The lunch status of your child provides valuable funding to our school and can make your child eligible for fee waivers and scholarship opportunities 
  • Our school zip code is 11231
  • Our school name is listed as 15K448 – Brooklyn Sch for Collaborative Studies

Morning recess for Grades 6-8 every day – 8:15am-8:45am Mon-Fri

  • Come play with your friends and meet new peers!  
  • Every morning in the yard, Grades 6-8 students can come play
  • Jose will be in the yard to provide any sports equipment needed

YWCA Afterschool starts Mon 9/20

  • For the first day of afterschool (Mon 9/20 at 2:20pm), students go to these rooms if they are enrolled in afterschool:
    • Grade 6 – Rm 407
    • Grade 7+8 – Rm 408

Lunch is available

  • Hot lunch is available in the cafeteria for all students
    • During Pd 5 for Grades 6-8 with their crew
    • At 12:30pm for Grades 9-12
    • At 2:20pm for all students Grades 6-12
  • Snacks are available all day in Offices 416 and 516

Operoo forms system

  • Our system for collecting forms is now active – families will be receiving emails and texts to log into Operoo to fill out the required DOE forms (blue card, media consent, etc.)
  • If you have questions about Operoo, please contact Parent Coordinator Tracey@bcs448.org

Please join our Thurs 9/23 Zoom Family/Student Town Hall to ask any questions!

  • Please join us for our Family/Student Town Hall in Zoom to ask any questions.
    • Lower Grades (Grades 6-8) – Thurs 9/23 at 6:30pm
    • Upper Grades (Grades 9-12) – Thurs 9/23 at 7:15pm
    • Join Zoom Meeting, ID: 85682633731, Passcode: 506635
    • Dial in +1 929-436-2866

BCS Curriculum Night – Thurs 9/30 – 5:45-7:30pm in Zoom

  • Please save the date/time – Virtual Curriculum Night Thurs 9/30 – 5:45-7:30pm
  • Due to the DOE’s recent policy change that all visitors to the school must be vaccinated, Curriculum Night will be virtual
  • Stay tuned for Zoom links to follow

Student BCS and DOE Email Addresses 

  • All students have access to their BCS student email addressed (e.g. firstname.lastname@bcs448.org) – you will use this email for all school purposes, including Google Classroom
  • Check your email – we sent you your DOE student email address if you’re not sure what it is!
  • Your default password for both your BCS and DOE email are 610Henry (capital H) – any login issues?  Please email password@bcs448.org and specify if it’s BCS or DOE email

Log into Pupilpath

  • Please check your BCS student email account – we emailed you student and parent access information to PupilPath, please share with your parents.  (Note: parent access information was emailed to the student in the same email – if you did not receive, you can also email Scill@bcs448.org for a registration code)
  • Middle school students (Grades 6-8) will be in temporary schedules for the first 2 weeks while academic teachers make more permanent groupings (this is not your final cohort/final schedule yet) – this helps us to know students more before we make class groupings.  What you see in PupilPath is NOT the final schedule.
  • Students/parents cannot request to be in a cohort with friends
  • There is no choice in PE/specials (students are assigned what is available).  Students are required to take PE every semester, even if you have met the grad requirements in PE.
  • All students have a full course load (there are no free periods or early dismissal).

KN95 masks available for free for all students

  • Due to the generosity of parents, we have KN95 masks available for all students – this is a higher quality mask than cloth masks and better prevents droplets from coming in or out
  • Students should come to Office 416 to pick up their masks if they want one
  • This mask is strongly recommended if you are not vaccinated

Flu Awareness

  • The flu spreads easily. You can spread it to others before you know you’re sick. It can cause serious illness. Getting the flu vaccine is the best way to prevent flu and its complications. The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older every year. 
  • Fight Flu at School and Home – see poster here

Amazon Wish List

  • Please help purchase items off our Amazon Wish List
  • Please choose Friends of Brooklyn Collaborative Studies as your charity on Amazon Smile and donate to BCS while you shop at Amazon at no cost to you!

Consent to COVID testing in the school

  • We had our first day of COVID testing on Fri 9/17 – this will occur every 2 weeks and students are chosen randomly by the DOE if you have consented
  • Dept of Health professionals come to the school to test students, this is not done by school staff
  • Please consent to your child being tested via your NYC Schools Account – this keeps our whole community safer if everyone consents
  • Need an account creation code for your NYC Schools Account?  Please contact Parent Coordinator Tracey@bcs448.org

DOE Health Screening – fill out daily

  • Students can use their DOE Student Email Address to log into the DOE Daily Health Screening (https://healthscreening.schools.nyc/) to expedite entry.  Bookmark this site on your phone.  Click the yellow Sign In button.  Show your completed screener every day at entry (we have paper copies at entry).

DOE Vaccination Portal – upload proof of vaccination

  • Students can use their DOE Student Email Address for the DOE Vaccination Portal (https://vaccine.schools.nyc/) to upload proof of their vaccination. 
  • **Our latest report for BCS is that 314 students are vaccinated – that’s excellent!  Please continue to upload proof of your vaccination into the portal – we will require proof of vaccination in the event of a positive case of COVID in the school.  Students who are vaccinated and asymptomatic do not have to be quarantined for 10 days, which lessens disruptions to your education.

DOE COVID Protocols – who is a close contact

  • If there is a positive COVID case in the school, all families will be notified via email from BCS and you will also receive an email from the DOE
  • We follow established DOE protocols for determining close contacts by looking at classes/spaces the person was present in
  • We do our best to inform the family of any student with close contact (defined as within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 for at least 10 minutes over a 24-hour period) with a positive case. If families are NOT informed that their children have had close contact, it’s because we did not observe such contact, not that such contact did not potentially occur.  That’s why all families are notified of a positive within the school community so that you are aware and can be mindful.
  • Students who are in close contact who are vaccinated and asymptomatic can resume school.  Please get vaccinated to lessen the disruption to your education! (Students who are vaccinated but experiencing symptoms must stay home while symptomatic and take a COVID test.)
  • Students who are in close contact and who are NOT vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days.  On the 5th day, the student can take a COVID test.  If the test is negative, the student can return to school on the 7th day.  Students under quarantine will have assignments posted in Google Classroom and can have access to teachers during Zoom Office Hours (times posted in Google Classroom)

DOE COVID Protocol – notification to school

  • If any BCS student tests positive, you must notify Principal Scill@bcs448.org or text/call 646-483-8644
  • If any BCS student has a family member who tests positive or person outside of BCS they have been in close contact who tests positive, they should monitor symptoms and get tested within 3-5 days of the exposure to see if they are COVID positive

DOE Message to Families – “What’s Happening in NYC Public Schools” 

  • The DOE provides regular information about important forms to complete,  COVID-19 vaccination and testing, quarantine protocols and remote instruction,  and resources to receive help. Please click the below link to view the informational flyer.  Translated versions are available in several languages.  Haga clic en el enlace abajo para ver el folleto informativo.  Las versiones traducidas están disponibles en varios idiomas. https://schools.nyc.gov/messagesforfamilies.

Published in BCS News