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Student-Family Update

9/6 – Student/Family Update

Published September 6, 2021 by Scill Chan

9/6 – Dear BCS Students/Families,

We’re excited to start school next week!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Adjusted school schedule to accommodate changes in lunch – new end time 

  • The school day is 8:45am-2:20pm, Mon-Fri.

Important Changes to Student Lunch Period

  • Middle school students will have lunch during crew with their crew leader (12:01pm-12:41pm) daily – with crews eating outdoors as much as possible. Students will engage in regular crew activities during lunch.
  • High school students will have a Grab & Go Lunch – students can pick up a (cold) lunch when they are dismissed at 2:20pm.  Crew is a regular period (there is no lunch period within the day).
    • Limited snacks will be available in Office 416 for students in case they are hungry during the school day.
    • If a student would like a hot school lunch, please speak with Scill and we will accommodate
  • All students are dismissed at 2:20pm.
  • This was the safest way to run lunch so that students would not be unmasked/eating in large groups while in school.

610 Henry will be a Pop Up Vaccination site for Students and Families on Sept 13-17

  • To make vaccines as accessible as possible, pop-up vaccination sites will be at every DOE building serving students 12 years of age and older during the first week of school. Vaccine vendors assigned by the NYC Vaccine Command Center will be available to administer the COVID vaccine to eligible students and families on the following dates from 7am-11am:  
    • Monday, 9/13 
    • Tuesday, 9/14 
    • Wednesday, 9/15 
    • Friday, 9/17 
    • Sites will not operate on Thursday, 9/16 in observance of Yom Kippur.  
  • All students under age 18 need a consent form.  Paper copies will be available if parents come with their children.  Adults over age 18 can walk-in to get vaccinated – come to 610 Henry St and you will be directed to the pop-up vaccination site.
  • If you want your child to be vaccinated but cannot print the consent form, please email Scill@bcs448.org or text 646-483-8644 and we can help arrange

First Week of Crew

  • We will have all-crew the first week of school (9/13, 9/14, 9/15, 9/17).  Crew allows students to orient to school and to build a stronger community with teachers and peers.
    • During all-crew days, due to space limitations, students are in their full crew rooms (two crews together in one classroom).
  • There is no school on Thurs 9/16 for Yom Kippur, crew resumes on Fri 9/17.
  • Academic classes will start Mon 9/20.  Students will get their schedules at the end of the crew week.

New Students will be emailed their crew assignments (Grades 6, 9)

  • All new families will be emailed their child’s crew assignment by Tues 9/7
  • If you have not received your child’s crew assignment, please email Scill@bcs448.org

Returning Students in Grades 7, 8, 10, 11, 12

  • Your crew is the same from last year
  • On the first day of school, please go to your full crew room listed here

Crew Community Building by NYC Outward Bound Schools

  • Students in Grades 6, 7, 9, 10 will have a 2.5 hours community building session with their crew on one of the first three days of crew – crew leaders will tell their advisees which days
  • Students should dress comfortably and bring a water bottle – the program will take place in our field outdoors behind the school
  • More details are available here about the program – the program is led by our partner NYC Outward Bound Schools

Important Policies to Review

Varsity Volleyball Tryouts – Grades 9-12

PLEASE SUPPORT BCS


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!

Please help fully fund our Donors Choose projects!  Help teachers directly with their requests!

  • News Flash at BCS – Help me give my students more learning opportunities in the classroom with a subscription to Scholastic News! (Teacher Atiya – Grade 7 SS)

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/news-flash-at-bcs/5785791/

The subscription to Scholastic News helps foster student learning in and outside of the classroom. The world in which we live is very important to learn about as well as the past historical events that we learn about in the classroom. Scholastic News gives students the opportunity to learn creatively. The magazines help foster reading skills and the activities are aligned with the common core standards. Also, students learn critically and analyze differences and similarities within history. Scholastic magazines bring out rich learning in the classroom and beyond. I am looking to provide current events into my social studies curriculum.  Donations are currently being doubled for this project.

  • Know The World to Change The World – Help me give my students all that they need to be global citizens (Teacher Candice – Grade 6 SS)

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/know-the-world-to-change-the-world/5794061

Donations to this project will enable my students to get to know and understand the world around them. My goal is for my students to be global citizens who understand what’s going on in the world and understand what it takes to make the world a better place.

  • Chromebooks to Help Implement Exciting New Desmos Math Curriculum (Teacher Liz – Grade 6 Math)

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/chomebooks-to-help-implement-exciting-ne/5790423/

Our school uses the innovative Desmos Middle School curriculum and students will be using the laptops on a daily basis to access this online curriculum. This curriculum was designed with the belief that all students are great mathematical thinkers, but that not all students feel they are great mathematical thinkers in math classrooms. (www.desmos.com/curriculum) This curriculum invites students to play with the mathematics, to test out their ideas and draw their own conclusions. It invites students to be wrong and build on their wrong answers. It invites students to think about solving problems in different ways. Put simply, it invites students to show their intriguing and truly amazing mathematical thinking. These laptops will make accessing this curriculum possible!

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED – FIRST DAY, SUPPLIES, SCHEDULES, ETC.

DOE School Year Calendar

First Day of School – Monday 9/13

  • The first day of school is Monday 9/13 – our school day begins 8:45AM.
  • Grade 6 students enter through the cafeteria doors where Crew leaders will pick the students up at 8:45AM from the cafeteria.  After the first day of school, Grade 6 students enter through the Coles Street yard at 8:45AM and go up to crew rooms. 
  • Grades 7 & 8 students enter through the Coles Street yard at 8:45AM and go up to their regular Crew classrooms
  • Grades 9-12 students enter on Henry Street at 8:45AM at the doors farthest to the left when facing the building (by Coles Street, by the gym) and go directly upstairs to the 5th floor to their Crew rooms
  • Every day, school begins at 8:45AM and ends at 2:20PM.
  • Lower grades (grades 6-8) are dismissed on the Rapelye Street side of the building.
  • Upper grades (grades 9-12) are dismissed on the Coles Street side of the building.

Crew Assignments and Crew Rooms, Student Schedules

  • New students to BCS (Grades 6 and 9 and transfers into other grades) will receive their crew assignment with room number by email by Tues 9/7.  Students may not request a crew or to be in the same crew with their friends.
  • All students (new and returning) will receive a phone call from their crew leader on Thurs 9/9 telling them what room to go to.  
  • The first week of of school (Mon 9/13, Tues 9/14, Wed 9/15, Fri 9/17) are full crew days for orientation and students will be in their crew room.
  • Students will receive their schedules during the full crew days.
  • There is no school on Thurs 9/16 for Yom Kippur.
  • Academic classes begin Mon 9/20.

Summer Reading

School Supplies

  • There are no specific supply lists beyond a book bag and writing utensils (pens and pencils) and masks.
  • We aim to minimize the stress for all families by providing the majority of supplies to all students.
  • We ask for a small donation from families who are able to offset the cost of supplies – more information will be distributed to families when school begins.

Before the first day of school, we strongly recommend:

  • Please get vaccinated if you are eligible
  • Please get a COVID test

Early Arrival & Breakfast

  • Breakfast begins at 8:15am in the cafeteria.  Students can get breakfast in the cafeteria and eat there or eat in the yard.  
  • The yard opens at 8:15am for early arrival for students.  The school day begins at 8:45am.

All school forms will be filled out in Operoo 

  • We use the Operoo online system for submitting DOE forms, no paper forms.
  • When school begins, parents will receive an email from Operoo.com that includes information for filling out blue cards and other required DOE forms.  Stay tuned.

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

Apply for afterschool program Grades 6-8

  • BCS offers a free in-person afterschool program for all students in Grades 6-8 in partnership with the YWCA (Mon-Fri 2:20pm-5:20pm).
  • Parents who are interested in registering their child for afterschool must complete the application online here: https://discoverdycd.dycdconnect.nyc/program-public (search: Brooklyn Collaborative Studies) – Families must create an account in order to apply.
  • Any questions, please contact the BCS Afterschool Staff:
    • Director Ashley Armand <aarmand@ywcanyc.org>
    • Associate Director Olivia Doggett <odoggett@ywcanyc.org>

Orientation for New Students/Families to BCS (Grade 6 and 9)

  • We will be holding two in-person orientations for families Thursday 9/9 from 4:00pm-5:00pm and Monday 9/13 from 9:00-10:00am). We look forward to you attending ONE of the orientations – they are optional but recommended for students/families who are new to BCS. Please RSVP for either session to Imani@bcs448.org.  
  • All students will receive orientation in Crew during the first week of school.

Please save these important dates: 

  • Thurs 9/30 at 5:15pm-7:30pm – Curriculum Night
  • Wed 11/10 evening and Fri 11/12 afternoon – Student-Led Conferences

Resources from our Counseling Team

DOE Homecoming Health and Safety Guide

  • Families can read it carefully for the Health and Safety protocols for this school year. Here are some notable highlights below:
  • Social distancing guideline is now clearly aligned to CDC and NYSED recommendations of “3ft, where possible.” Schools are not required to maintain 3ft between students if limited by classroom dimensions though we will endeavor to do this as often as possible given available staff and space.  Schools are not required to maintain 3ft in halls or during passing.  Schools can return to previous capacity limits for classrooms, cafeteria, etc. in order to accommodate a full in-person return to school.
  • DOE Daily health screening is still required.
  • Masks will be required indoors and outdoors by all staff and students, including those vaccinated.  Schools can designate “mask breaks” where students can remove masks while they maintain 6ft physical distance from each other. 
  • Vaccinated students will not participate in the random in-school COVID testing. The testing will only apply to unvaccinated students who’ve consented.  All unvaccinated students should consent for COVID testing via their NYC Schools account.  
  • All students who participate in PSAL sports must be vaccinated.
  • COVID testing will occur every two weeks and will be 10% of the students that have consented.
  • There’s no set number of cases that will cause a school building to close. A case-by-case review will occur if there are 4+ COVID cases in different classrooms within seven days. 
  • After exposure to a positive COVID case, vaccinated staff and students who are asymptomatic do not have to quarantine; they can continue coming back to school. 
  • Students with qualifying medical conditions can apply for home instruction. Conditions are listed in the families guide. It is not clear if you remain with your home school if you are approved for home instruction.  
  • We still don’t have details about what remote learning will look like when students need to quarantine.  Unvaccinated students who are exposed must quarantine for 7-10 days.  (The details are pending negotiation with the UFT and labor relations. Latest Chalkbeat article) – Note: all BCS classes will continue to use Google Classroom. 
  • The ventilation system in all rooms must be operational including supply and exhaust fans – rooms can still be used if they do not have windows if there is an operational supply and exhaust ventilation system.  You can see the report for any school online.  The BCS report is here: https://www.nycenet.edu/roomassessment?page=1&code=K142. 
  • The DOE has sent replacement filters for all the purifiers sent to schools last year so that we will change the filters for this new school year.  Every classroom has two filters.
  • All schools will have plentiful masks, sanitizer, and wipes on-site, with orders by custodial staff being made to ensure we have consistent supply.

Published in BCS News