Welcome Back
Dear BSI Families,
On behalf of the entire BSI staff, I welcome you to another exciting school year! I hope that you are enjoying this marvelous summer. A special hello goes out to our new families! I look forward to building relationships with you and watching your children grow and develop during their years at BSI. Within this letter are some important updates about the school year and upcoming key dates to keep in mind, but first, I want to say thank you to everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts last school year. Your financial contributions will allow for exciting programming and other much needed support during the upcoming school year. We will continue to work with BEAM, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Ready Set Chess, Agape, Child’s Play NY and other community partners that bring engaging enrichment experiences to our classrooms. Our new STEM partnerships include Consortium for Research and Robotics and FaceLab. Finally, I am excited that we will be able to offer an after-school band program later in the school year!
As I mentioned last year, we will be launching a developmentally-appropriate health/sex ed/social-emotional curriculum that we are creating collaboratively with staff, parents, students and a consultant. Topics include friendships, puberty, relationships, bullying among many others that are crucial to the development of the whole student as she/he grows over the years at BSI. Lessons will be weaved into the day, delivered by classroom and science teachers and advisors. The consultant that we are working with will be offering ongoing professional development for teachers and will be available for a Q&A session at a future PTO meeting. I look forward to this work being the foundation for our students as they navigate their way through childhood and adolescence with the great support of the adults around them.
Construction on the long-awaited rooftop STEM lab is scheduled to begin this fall! When completed, the lab will be 2100 square feet and will include two classrooms and a greenhouse space. Note that all work on the lab will take place after school hours and on weekends. I will provide monthly updates on the progress of the lab at PTO meetings during the school year.
This year, we welcome four new full-time teachers to the BSI staff!
Sonya Mooney is joining our third grade teaching team. Ms. Mooney has nine years of teaching experience, serving as a G&T teacher at P.S. 32K for the last three years. At P.S. 32K, Ms. Mooney served on the School Leadership Team, attended STEM education professional development trainings and studied the Reggio Emilia approach to education.
Jennifer Flanagan is teaching 8th grade Humanities. Ms. Flanagan has taught both middle and high school English. She served as a curriculum author for the Poughkeepsie school district, and has recently focused on incorporating mindful wellness practices throughout the school day for faculty and students at Genesis at Xaverian.
Matthew Dennis will teach elementary science classes. Mr. Dennis joins us from P.S. 309K. At P.S. 309K, Mr. Dennis was a science and classroom teacher and curriculum developer. He implemented a Lego Robotics Program and successfully secured a grant that brought hydroponics growing systems to classrooms throughout his school. Mr. Dennis also worked for two years as an early childhood specialist at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey.
Teresa Tito is joining BSI as our new Spanish teacher. Ms. Tito is transferring from I.S. 24, where she co-planned a project-based Spanish curriculum while teaching Spanish at a high-performing middle school. Ms. Tito is passionate about Spanish cuisine and culture, and I Iook forward to supporting her as she integrates these areas into her instruction.
Mark your calendar, as the first day of school is Wednesday, September 5, 2018. It is a half day for kindergarten students. Dismissal on all half days will be at 11:40 A.M. The instructional day is from 8:30 A.M. to 2:50 P.M. Breakfast is served in our cafeteria every day from 8:00 A.M. – 8:20 A.M. Throughout the year, dedicated weekly time for parents to conference with teachers is Tuesday from 2:50 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. I encourage you to reach out to your teacher/s directly if you are interested in scheduling a meeting or phone conversations during this time.
As in previous years, every school day we will have staff assisting families with the arrival process and greeting students as they get off of the busses. On most days, I greet students as they arrive. Kindergarten through third grade students report to the cafeteria and fourth through eighth grade students gather in the schoolyard. On inclement weather days, fourth through eighth grade students report to the auditorium. We will have staff members stationed throughout the building to ensure that students are clear as to where they are to report in the morning. Dismissal for all students not riding the busses will be in the schoolyard. For new students, we will share busing information by the 31st. OPT has not updated the information for the upcoming year; they typically do it during the last week of August (after most if not all summer schools have ended). However, feel free to review last year’s routes/stops listed here, as we do not expect major changes, but rather minor tweaks.
If you have any questions or concerns during the school year, I can be reached at ehavlik@bsi686.org. I will be on vacation from August 20-24. If you have any questions or concerns in my absence, feel free to reach out to Anna or Chris.
Below is a snippet of some important dates. For the most up-to-date information about what is happening at BSI, and to see our school calendar, visit our website at http://www.bsi686.org.
- September 6 – first full day for kindergarten students
- September 10 and 11 – school closed for Rosh Hashanah
- September 13 – Curriculum Night
- September 19 – school closed for Yom Kippur
- October 1-3 – Sixth grade overnight trip to the Pocono Environmental Education Center (permission slips will go home during the second week of school)
- October 26 – Family Friday
Enjoy your last couple of weeks of summer!
Very truly yours,
Eric Havlik
Principal