June 6, 2018

Dear Families,

The end of the school year is now upon us, however, rigorous teaching and learning still continues until the last week of school.

As I mentioned in my May letter to families, teachers have been engaged in end of the year final assessments as we begin to wrap up the 2017-2018 school year. We use multiple measures for promotional criteria, not just State test scores. Multiple criteria include chronic abscence/lateness that impact student performance/progress, State Test results, formative/summative assessments, and students’ authentic work sampling across the year. Students who at this point in the year continue to demonstrate below grade level performance will be administered a DOE Portfolio Assessment in the next two weeks to see if they are ready to move up to the next grade. This assessment is a standard Department of Education assessment which assesses students in grades 3-5 in English Language Arts, Math, or both. When a child is consistently performing below grade level standard we do not promote them as they are already struggling in the current grade and they will not be ready for the academic demands of the next grade. Promoting a child to the next grade when they are performing below their current grade level standard is unfair, frustrating, and unjust to a child. They will not have the foundation to understand material which will be at a higher more complex level and will flounder. Promotional decisions should not come as a surprise to any family as teachers have been engaging all families in consistent one to one data-driven progress meetings throughout the year, keeping you up-to-date on your children’s progress.

I will also remind you to please not request class placements for your child as I do not honor personal requests, rather all of the data we collect at the end of the year is analyzed and considered as we organize students’ class placements for next year. Decisions are made based on where a child will academically thrive.

Report cards will be distributed to your children on the last day of school June 26, 2018 and not sooner. If a child is not here the last day, the report card will be held in the main office and you may call the school over the summer to arrange a day for pick up.

On May 23rd our teachers hosted “Getting to Know the Next Grade” workshops for families during our evening parent teacher conferences. Families who attended found the sessions very helpful and received lite informational packets containing ideas and strategies on how they could prepare their child for the upcoming grade over the summer. On June 1st our Kindergarten Team hosted Kindergarten Orientation sessions for all upcoming Kindergarten families to give them a glimpse of what they can expect and share ideas for how to prepare their children for Kindergarten in September.

To better prepare students for what to expect in the upcoming school year, on June 19 teachers will also visit students in the grade below to welcome students into the upcoming grade, share a little about what the next grade will be like, and what to expect.

In addition to this, in our efforts to prevent summer reading/math loss we would like to encourage all families to continue to have your children use Math Seeds (K-2), Reading Eggs (K-2) and Reflex Math (3-5) over the summer for a minimum of 2 days a week. These are our computer based programs all children know how to use and they will continue to have access over the summer to keep their reading and math muscles strong. Passwords will be included with your child’s report card.

Research shows that 30 minutes a day of reading, writing, and math will enable a child to better transition to a new year of learning. Please have your child read at least every other night and write about their reading once a week. If you are taking a trip...keeping a daily journal of experiences is another way to keep writing muscles strong. Encourage your children to include their points of view, opinions, and explain why.

Another idea is to have them create an informational book or report. We do not want to bombard children with work as children should enjoy their summer, however, we want to keep their reading, writing, and math muscles strong so they can pick up where they left off.

Along with their report cards you will find a list of school supplies needed and a suggested reading list. An hour of practice every other day will not take away from the summer fun they look forward to and will keep children on track.

Many end-of-the-year celebrations and ceremonies will take place in the next few weeks so do check your child’s folder each night for important notices.

* Kids Night Out for Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade students took place on May 31, 2018. Our entertainment was Mr. Magico and many families came to enjoy in the fun and strengthen our family/community ties. Thank you for joining us for this annual event.

* 100% Attendance Initiative: This year all students with 100% attendance were awarded a bowling trip and the children had a well-deserved blast on May 29 bowling with Mrs. Prendergast and Mr. Di Tiberiis!

* Our 5th grade seniors enjoyed an afternoon on Broadway as they watched Aladdin on May 30, 2018. They also enjoyed a senior breakfast in their honor.

* June 14th is our Annual “Donuts with Dad” event. Every child may invite one special man in their lives to celebrate and honor as we approach Father’s Day.

* Our Senior Service Committee will enjoy an end of year Pizza Picnic the week of June18th, weather permitting. (Information will be forth coming)

* 5th Grade Dinner Dance will take place on June 11, 2018 from 5:30- 8:00.

* 5th Grade Graduation will take place on June 22, 2018 at Staten Island Tech HS. Invitations and tickets will be forth coming.

* During the week of June 18th we are hosting many stepping up celebrations and award ceremonies. Teachers have included this information in their June newsletters and reminders will go home.

There will be no school or UAU for children on the following dates:

Thursday June 7- Chancellor’s PD Day for staff

Monday June 11- Clerical Day for staff

Friday June 15- Eid Al Fitr

The last day of school is Tuesday June 26 which will be a ½ day and all children will be dismissed at 11:50.

Your children have worked very hard this year and there are many accomplishments to celebrate. Additionally, I would like to extend a very sincere thank you to our PTA who has done so much to benefit our children this year and has made an incredible difference in strengthening family and community ties….Kudos! Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who give of themselves to be involved and support our school, we appreciate your dedication to the children. And lastly, I want to thank all families for entrusting your children to us. Each and every child that walks through the doors of PS 38 is amazing and unique in their own way…They are the reason we do what we do. Therefore, I will continue to work diligently with my staff to provide all children with access to a standards-based quality education that is both rigorous and memorable. Elementary school experiences set a foundation and shape children’s attitudes for future learning. All of the staff at PS 38 put their heart and soul into what they do and we do this because we believe in children and we want to inspire them to dream big. We look forward to seeing you all in September as we begin another exciting school year.

~Thank you for entrusting your children to us.

Believing In Children...

Inspiring Young Minds,

Nancy Murillo

Principal

My March 2018 Newsletter  3-5-18.docx.doc 

My February 2018 Newsletter February 18.docx.doc 

My January 2018 Newsletter  January 3 2018.docx.doc 

My November 2017 newsletter  November parent letter 17.docx.doc 

My October 2017 newsletter  10-6-17.docx.doc 

 My September 2017 newsletter  sept 11-17.docx.doc