PTA Newsletter No. 1 - 10/4/2024
Dear BNS Families,
The school year is off to an amazing (and very busy) start. We look forward to seeing you at Unityfest on Saturday, October 19! Please join us at school (rain or shine) to celebrate Fall with the BNS/BCS community with fun activities led by BCS students.
The next PTA meeting is Friday, October 11 at 8:20 am and the focus will be the PTA budget. Come learn more about what the PTA spends money on and ask our co-Treasurers all of your burning questions. All are welcome!
See below for more upcoming back-to-school events and snapshots from the first month of school.
Sincerely,
Your BNS PTA
WELCOMING THIS YEAR’S EMERGING TEACHERS
At BNS, we provide both students and teachers with unique opportunities to explore their passions and seek answers to their questions. Learning and teaching are dynamic practices here, and we have a long history of being a hub for emerging educators and interns. Our integrated curriculum, rich in project-based work, draws student teachers from institutions like NYU, Bank Street College, Brooklyn College, Syracuse University, and Hunter College. Many of our high school and college interns—some of whom are BNS alumni—join us from local schools such as City As School, BCS, ICE, and Brooklyn Prospect Charter. In January, we also welcome interns from colleges like Oberlin, Smith, Williams, and Bennington.
These aspiring educators, including young people and career changers, are here to explore the field of education. Their time at BNS helps shape their future as teachers, volunteers, and community-minded individuals. In return, they become valued members of our school community, contributing their energy, fresh perspectives, and a helping hand to enrich the learning environment for both BNS students and staff.
VISIT FROM THE NETS & LIBERTY
On Sept 25, we had the great joy of welcoming in coaches and trainers from the Brooklyn Nets and NY Liberty! They ran a thrilling basketball clinic for our third and fourth graders in the gymnasium that allowed students to practice drills done by professional players. Students walked away from that experience being reminded of the importance and fun of living a healthy life, and with some Nets gear. Thanks to PE teacher Brandon for organizing!
UnityFest 2024 at 610 Henry!
As we prepare for this event, we have some gathering to do! To start, we are seeking sealed packages of hot dogs and cases of canned seltzer to serve at our event. If you can pick up any of these items while grocery shopping between now and early October to donate, please bring them to room 128, where BCS Parent Coordinator Tracey will keep the hot dogs cold in the fridge and the seltzer stored until this event. These early contributions will help us so much as we prepare for this big day!
Also, check out our Amazon wish list for event supplies. All of these items will be delivered right to school if you buy them with this link, and we will all be so grateful!
We also have an annual clothing swap at this event, and we are seeking a local organization/location that will take drop-off donations after the event on Sunday afternoon/evening of any clothing that's not scooped up by 610 Henry Families. Do you know of anywhere local where this could happen? If so - please email diane@bns146.org.
And - if you have a waffle maker we can borrow, please keep us in mind. We can prepare many more waffles if we have more waffle makers -- to the greatest extent our outlets can handle! We'll send out a request to bring in loaner-waffle-makers closer to the event date.
Thank you and we can't wait to celebrate fall and 610 Henry Unity with you!
🔦 SPOTLIGHT ON FOURTH GRADE 🔦
Fourth grade families recently gathered to discuss the exciting year ahead. Here are some of the key highlights:
MUSICAL
The fourth grade musical isn’t until February 12-13, 2025 (mark your calendars!) but preparation is already underway. Fourth graders will be working hard during their music and BAX periods to bring this beloved tradition to life. Read on for more information about BNS’s longstanding partnership with BAX!
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF NEW YORK
Our fourth graders will approach this theme from different angles throughout the year. In the fall, they’ll work with Nancye Good and team to study ancestral skills like flint knapping, friction fire, acorn harvesting, wigwam making, and more!
WATER & STEWARDSHIP
Science and social studies will intertwine as classes learn about Mannahatta habitats, visit Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Marine Park Salt Marsh, and discuss what it means to be a steward of the land and water. Each class will also be responsible for creating and maintaining a healthy pond habitat in a tank in their classroom!
CAMP ASHOKAN
Another exciting annual tradition for fourth graders is an overnight trip to the Ashokan Center in the Catskills. This year the trip will take place March 19-21, 2025. Between now and then we'll be doing a lot of fundraising to make the trip possible!
BAX RESIDENCY AT BNS
The arts partnership between BAX and BNS is over 20 years old. Theater artist Jose Joaquin Garcia and dancer and choreographer Donna Costello are the two long-standing BAX teaching artists-in-residence. Together, Jose and Donna offer theater and dance programming to all kindergarten through 5th grade students, building voice, body and performance skills as well as creativity through improvisation and performance experiences.
📸 SNAPSHOTS FROM AROUND THE SCHOOL 📸
✋ VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! ✋
We urgently need to fill two positions. If you’re able to help out with either of these, please let us know at BNSPTA2024@bns146.org.
🦺 Dismissal support on Rapeleye: Help out once a week from 2-2:40 pm (until a new parent coordinator is hired). You’ll wear a yellow vest and direct parent traffic to ensure a safe dismissal for our families!
📅 Konstella manager: Help put events on the Konstella calendar and send out communications to families. This is an opportunity to make a big impact at BNS and can be done remotely in just 30-60 minutes per week.
💳 AFTERCARE BILLING ANNOUNCEMENT 💳
Dear Families,
We kindly ask that you complete the form linked here regarding our Aftercare program.
We’re in the process of reorganizing our billing system to ensure invoices are accurate and delivered on time. Please disregard any recent invoices you may have received. We appreciate your patience as we work on these improvements, and you will receive the corrected invoice once the update is complete. Any outstanding balances will be added to your account, and we ask that you settle them before the new invoice is issued.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Afterschool program, please contact us at aftercare@bns146.org. Rest assured, all inquiries will be addressed.
Thank you for your time and understanding as we enhance our billing process.
Best regards,
The Aftercare Team
📓 NOTES FROM THE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM 📓
The SLT had its first monthly meeting of the school year and outlined priorities for the year. Parents are always welcome to join SLT meetings – the next is Tuesday Oct. 15 at 3:30.
📅 UPCOMING EVENTS & MEETINGS 📅
Thursday, 10/10: Arts Committee meeting (8:20 am)
Friday, 10/11: PTA Meeting (8:20 am, Health Studio across from the cafeteria).
Monday, 10/14: SCHOOL CLOSED for Italian Heritage/Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Tuesday, 10/15: SLT Meeting (3:30 pm)
Wednesday, 10/16: DEI Committee meeting (7:30 pm, see Konstella for zoom link)
Saturday, 10/19: BCS/BNS Unity Fest (10 am - 3 pm, indoors or out depending on weather)
Monday, 10/21: Friends of BNS Fundraising meeting (8:30 am)
Wednesday, 10/23: BNS Farmstand (2 - 4:30 pm)
Friday, 10/25: Third Grade Family meeting (8:20 am, Room 124)
Saturday, 10/26: BNSFest, a Concert to Benefit BNS (5 - 10 pm, Mama Tried, Sunset Park)
Friday, 11/1: SCHOOL CLOSED for Diwali
Tuesday, 11/5: SCHOOL CLOSED for Election Day
Thursday, 11/7: EARLY DISMISSAL at 11:30 am for parent-teacher conferences
🔗 HELPFUL LINKS 🔗
Get four free COVID tests sent to you by mail
Fourth graders: Get a free pass to our national parks for a year!
See what’s on the menu at the cafeteria this week (note BNS serves the “high school hot lunch” menu). Remember, FREE breakfast and lunch are available for all students!
