No. 6 | October 18, 2021
Dear BNS Families,
Our community continues to connect and engage in new and different ways. Our Farm Stand will be taking orders once again. And we’re continuing to plan for AppleFest. As a reminder, we still need volunteers for this wonderful school-wide event which will take place on November 6. A Konstella link to sign up to volunteer will go out shortly.
Sincerely,
Your BNS PTA
AppleFest is Back on November 6, 11am to 3pm
REMINDER: Join the General PTA Meeting on 10/19 at 7pm on Zoom
The PTA will be meeting on Tuesday, October 19th at 7pm on Zoom (link can be found in Konstella). Join this week’s event to learn more about what is happening at BNS and how you can contribute. Note that at the meeting the school administrative team will also be giving further insight into the current issues surrounding school bussing.
PTA Annual Financial Budget Meeting is on 10/21: Learn how your PTA helps to support BNS!
For those of you interested in learning how your PTA supports our school and all the school programs and activities that take place, please join us on Zoom (link can be found in Konstella) this Thursday, October 21st at 5:30pm, when we will be presenting our draft financial budget for the current school year.
New Air Purifiers Are Coming!
The BNS and BCS PTA have come together to purchase new air filters for the school. The new purifiers will be placed in the following rooms that both schools share: health studio, auditorium, cafeteria, gym, lower gym, dance studio and the library.
Farm Stand at BNS is Back, Order by 10/28
Place your order for a delicious selection of seasonal, local produce, and pick it up at BNS. Orders must be placed by Thursday, October 28th, and picked up on Wednesday, November 3rd, between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. You’ll get 5–8 types of produce per bundle offered on a sliding scale. We’ll also have eggs and honey for sale at the stand. The Farm Stand at BNS is a partnership between the BNS School Food Committee, BNS Green Committee & GrowNYC. Check out the FAQs or contact foodcommittee@bns146.org with questions.
Konstella users place your order here and indicate how much you are paying for produce
Non-Konstella users place your order here
Thank You to Those Who Helped to Clean the Art Studio
Thank you to the eight parents and three kids who came out on Saturday, October 16 to join four retired teachers and one active teacher to clean out and reimagine the Art Studio. It’s going to be a lovely place for some real self expression. We appreciate all of the contributions of our volunteers.
Promote the Fundraiser to Build a BNS Bike Shed
We are reaching out to the community to continue to ask that families share this fundraising page, *Learning To Bike At School. The Learning to Bike at School Project has a goal of teaching students to ride a bike using the balance methods. To accomplish this, we need to protect our bikes from the elements by putting them into a shed. The shed would house the donated bikes and ensure that they remain workable and usable.
If you are able, please promote this fundraiser via your respective networks. The fundraiser can be accessed via the link above and below.
BNS New Families Partnership is Still Welcoming Families
BNS’s New Families Partnership, which connects new-to-BNS parents to experienced BNS parent “buddies,” has made 20 matches so far! That means 40 parents have already signed up for this brand new program! If you’re new to BNS and want to be matched, or if you’re a returning parent and you’re willing to be a resource to a BNS newbie, it’s not too late to sign up: Go to tinyurl.com/BNSnewfamilies to fill out the short form and we’ll match you up in a jiffy! (Spanish-speaking returning buddies are available to new parents who would prefer to communicate in Spanish.)
Health & Safety Information
DAILY HEALTH SCREENER
Please fill out NYC DOE Health Screening ahead of time every day. If you need a printout of the paper screener, please ask your child’s teacher.
WEEKLY COVID TESTING
The DOE now conducts random COVID-19 testing for students in grades 1–12 every week. Only students whose families have provided an updated testing consent form can be tested. You are strongly encouraged to provide this consent for your child. Go to your child’s NYCSA at http://mystudent.nyc/ to give consent for random COVID testing in school. If you gave testing consent last year, you will need to submit again for this school year. You can also fill out a paper consent form—email it to Janine at janine@bns146.org or return it to school in your child’s backpack.
UPDATED QUARANTINE POLICY
The DOE will no longer automatically close an entire classroom when there is a positive case in the classroom. Unvaccinated students who are masked and at least three feet distanced from a student who tests positive are not considered close contacts under CDC guidelines and will not have to quarantine. Any individual who is determined to be a close contact will have to quarantine.
☑️ Reminders
DIANE AND MALIKA’S WEEKLY LETTER
Read last week’s weekly letter from our school leadership team.
SCHOOL FOOD MENUS
Check what’s on the menu this month.
Remember to Register for the Brooklyn PTA Fun Run
Saturday, October 23 @ 10:00am in Prospect Park
Registration is still open for the 13th Annual Brooklyn PTA Fun Run, which will begin at the LeFrak Center (i.e., the skating rink) in Prospect Park. The 3.3-mile (5K) run will start at 10:00am on the main park drive just outside LeFrak. Bib pickup and pre-race activities will begin at 9:00am inside near the skating arena.
You can participate as an individual, a family, or with a school team. You can run to compete for one of the best times, or you can stroll leisurely with friends. Either way you’ll be supporting our public schools in one of their greatest times of need. Register now for the Fun Run here.
Looking Ahead
Bookmark the 2021–2022 DOE school calendar here. BNS events and important dates are also on the Konstella calendar.
October 19: PTA Meeting (7:00pm on Zoom)
October 20: Curriculum Night for Kindergarten (3:00pm)
October 21: PTA Annual Financial Budget Meeting (5:30pm)
October 27: BNS Alumni Night and Evening Middle School Meeting (5:00pm)
October 28: DEI Meeting (7:00pm)
October 28–29: School Picture Day – POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH
November 2: Election Day (remote learning)
November 4: Half Day for Parent Teacher Conferences
November 6: AppleFest
BNS PTA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 2021–2022
Co-Presidents:
Co-Treasurers:
Co-Recording Secretaries:
DEI Co-Chairs:
Fundraising Chair:
Correspondence Secretary:
Communications Chair:
Web Editors:
Social Media Manager:
Food Sales Chair:
Class Parent Coordinator:
Members at Large:
Contact the 2021–2022 BNS PTA at pta2021@bns146.org
Click on “Support a Fundraiser” and select “Brooklyn New School”
Search “FRIENDS OF THE BKLYN NEW SCHOOL- BKLYN SCHOOL FOR COLLAB STUDIES” under Charity.
