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family and student update

2/21 – Family/Student Update

Published February 21, 2021 by Scill Chan

Dear BCS Families/Students,

We hope you had a wonderfully restful break.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Upcoming Dates

  • School-wide Expedition – Black Lives Matter – a series of synchronous and asynchronous Crew lessons this spring (one per month, starting Wed Feb 24)
  • Thurs Mar 18 – Virtual Student-Led Evening Conferences
  • Fri Mar 19 – Virtual Student-Led Afternoon Conferences – Half Day for Students (dismissal at 11:45am)

Family/Student Town Hall – Monday 2/22

  • Lower Grades Students and Families – 7:00pm-7:30pm Join Zoom Meeting
  • Upper Grades Students and Families – 7:45pm-8:15pm Join Zoom Meeting
  • Come hear updates from Scill, Imani, and Tracey and ask your questions!

Family Anti-Racist Equity Book Club Events

  • Wed 2/24 at 7pm – we will have the parent panel about Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry – please join!  Tracey will be facilitating, Taron will be a panelist, and we will have several parent panelists!  
  • Please email Imani@bcs to RSVP!

Office Hours for UPPER GRADES (Grades 9-12) will become ONE LINK

  • To simplify access for students, beginning Mon 2/22, all students can access office hours for ALL teachers using just one link (daily at 2:30pm)
  • The link has been posted in all Google Classrooms and is the same link for all classes
  • We hope this will encourage more students to access office hours daily to speak with teachers and to complete work

Semester 1 Final Grades are available in PupilPath

  • Review your Fall 2020 numeric report card grades. You can find these in PupilPath (click on “Grades” → “Report Card” → “2020-2021 Term 1″)
  • If you have an NX, you must continue to submit work to your teachers in order to achieve Beginning Mastery.  You have not yet passed that class.
  • Transcripts have been mailed home as of Fri 2/5.  Please look out for it in your mailbox.
  • The DOE grading policy permits families in Grades 6-12 to convert any numeric grade above 65 to CR (credit) so that the numeric grade does not impact a student’s cumulative average
  • Crew leaders will start informing families of your options and how to submit your request beginning this week – please reach out to your crew leader with questions.

No more Friday Crew at 2:30pm – Crew is now only Wed at 1:35pm

  • Due to the return of blended learning, we will no longer have Friday Crew at 2:30pm
  • All staff will be available for office hours Fri 2:30pm
  • Crew will only be Wed at 1:35pm

More awesome programming with our BCS YWCA Afterschool

  • The YW-NYC Afterschool Program will be providing great STEM classes on Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays afterschool until 5:30pm to Grades 6-8 students.
  • Please sign up your child by emailing Janet@bcs448.org

ANNOUNCEMENTS RELATED TO BLENDED IN-PERSON LEARNING

Blended learning for MIDDLE SCHOOL only re-opens Thurs 2/25 for Cohort B

  • Blended learning is re-opening citywide for middle school
  • Cohort B returns on Thurs 2/25, Cohort A returns on Mon 3/1
  • If you have any questions, please reach out to Scill
  • All students returning to blended learning must have COVID testing permission slips on file for random weekly testing
  • All blended students should review the blended learning guidelines/protocols for the building

Travel restrictions if returning to blended

  • Please note carefully the NYS rules for testing and quarantine
  • Please do not return to blended learning until you have communicated with Scill about your travel/quarantine/testing plans if you traveled recently

Blended learning waitlist for middle school

  • If you are not already in blended in Grades 6-8, and you would like to be added to our waitlist in case any seats open up this spring, please reach out to Scill
  • The DOE has said that there is no further window to opt into blended learning and that families who are not currently in blended learning have committed to all-remote through June 25
  • If we have any available spots, we will let you know

5-day-a-week blended option for Grade 6 only

  • Although we do not have much budget or staff, in partnership with the DOE, we are offering a very limited number of seats for Grade 6 students for a 5-day-a-week in-person option.  The other two days of the week will be a supervised study hall period where students will join their Zooms and get help with their Google Classroom work.
  • Priority goes to Grade 6 students with special needs, Grade 6 students in temporary housing, and Grade 6 students who have experienced struggles in remote learning
  • If you are interested, please reach out to Scill

No update about possible re-opening for HIGH SCHOOL

  • We eagerly await a decision about re-opening blended learning for our high school students.  Fingers crossed that it will happen soon after middle school re-opens.
  • We will update you as soon as we hear anything and we hope to see you soon!

DOE ANNOUNCEMENTS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Community Education Council – please submit an application to be a candidate for the council

  • Each of the 32 geographic school districts has a Community Education Council, and there are four Citywide Councils: High Schools, English Language Learners, Special Education, and District 75. To apply to be a candidate for a council, simply log into your NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) to get started. If you don’t have a NYCSA account, you can sign up for one at mystudent.nyc and then contact your parent coordinator to add your students. You can submit your application through February 28.
  • Later in the year, for the first time ever, parents and guardians with a child in a New York City public school will have the chance to vote for their preferred Community Education Council candidates and have a direct hand in shaping important decisions in our city. You need a NYCSA account to vote, so if you don’t have one, again, please sign up at mystudent.nyc. 

Parent University Resources

  • This is an exciting and important time in our schools, as together we celebrate both Black History Month and Respect for All Week. Our educators and students across the city are engaged in thoughtful exploration of these issues as they connect to our lives and our national experience. Having this conversation deepens our understanding of how we can make progress toward justice and fairness. 
  • You can find some great resources to help with these discussions on the DOE’s official blog The Morning Bell at morningbellnyc.com/2021/commemorate-bhm and at morningbellnyc.com/2021/celebrate-rfa-week. You can also enroll in courses related to Black History Month on Parent University at parentu.schools.nyc

YouthWorkSTREAMS program taking place Spring Break

Published in BCS News