Happy New Year! We hope everyone enjoyed the break, reconnecting with family, resting and thinking about what is to come in the New Year.

Happy Holidays! We know this is always a busy time of year: full of fun, festivities and a little bit of fatigue.

We’re almost to the final month of 2022. Kudos to you all! Thank you to everyone who volunteered their baking skills for the pie fundraiser and the bake sale.

There are so many ways to get involved this month, from bake sales to chorus to mindfulness!

Election Day – a day that reminds us all to reflect on our democratic country, to act upon our civic duty, and in schools - the site of ballot-casting for many, staff report to work while students are home with their families and caretakers.

The narrative and perception of safety is an important one for all of us, as we reflect with a bit of space and time having passed since last week. It can be the difference between a positive or negative shift in the way we interact with our community.

The narrative and perception of safety is an important one for all of us, as we reflect with a bit of space and time having passed since last week.

Our city school system has layered supports and strategies in place to support school communities when something goes wrong. There were hiccups, surely, as every system and every protocol has at its center humans who are all doing their best, but the responses were swift and helpful when we connected with each person along the chain.

The third week of October is bringing us gorgeous weather and another PTA meeting. Plus, BNS just had its first Community Sing of the year in the auditorium!

Today we write to share about some moments in our school lives these last few weeks, the big and the small, the local and the worldly.

We start with a short narrative from kindergarten teacher Jenn, whose class lives in room 201, with Kori, Kodjo and Swimmy.

BNS classrooms are full of activity and the building is buzzing with energy! From fun games to learning the names of their classmates and getting to know each other, to finding their way to the bathroom and exploring the library and the Big Yard, students are growing more comfortable in their school.

BNS/BCS library will be hosting our first author visit of the school year! On October 18,

Saturday, October 1st from 11am-3pm
Games and Entertainment in the gym
Food, Merch, Clothing Swap and Arts & Crafts in the cafeteria

Welcome to the 2022–2023 school year at BNS! We hope you and your family have had an enjoyable summer and are ready to come together for an amazing year of learning and community.

Welcome to the 22-23 school year! This is our first of many letters from leadership that we will write this year, in the tradition of Anna Allanbrook’s “weekly letter.”

Visit the BNS / BCS Library virtually this summer for book recommendations and more. Your homework: get a library card at your local library!

We started the draft of this letter in mid-May, when some of us were wondering, “How did that happen?”, while others were thinking about how the summer feels close and far at the same time.

The end of the year is approaching. We're grateful for our families, caregivers, teachers and staff. Thank you to everyone for all of your hard work. We value your partnership. Together we have created vibrant and strong community.

Our hearts are broken, and our spirits are tired. We are, many of us, not even yet processing the April subway shooting here in Brooklyn, and the racist killings in Buffalo, when the awful news of a senseless and disgusting school shooting in Texas …

It has been a rough few years and we have made it through. That is something to celebrate! Please join us on June 11 for a Potluck BBQ Dance Party …