Bake-In: Bring your best lemon squares!
by Karen on 3/12/10 | 0 Comment(s)
On February 24, 2010 the Panel for Educational Policy voted on revisions to a regulation banning home-made foods from school fundraisers while permitting Doritos and Pop-Tarts instead. One mother, Elizabeth Puccini, stayed until 11:35pm to voice her opposition to the Regulation. She warned Chancellor Joel Klein and the members of the Panel that should the [...]
Montessori Day School is moving!
by Karen on 3/11/10 | 0 Comment(s)
The Montessori Day School, located in Prospect Heights and Park Slope is moving to a new location this fall. Having visited their former and new locations myself, I can assuredly say that their new digs are a great improvement!
Their new site will be at 237 Park Place (corner of Vanderbilt & Park Place) where the [...]
DOE 2010 – 2011 School Calendar, but you can skip the first day
by Karen on 3/04/10 | 0 Comment(s)
The Department of Education’s school calendar for 2010-2011 is out now.
However, you may just want to skip the first day of school.
School begins on Wednesday, September 8th, BUT there is NO school the next two days because or Rosh Hashanah. Hmmm…..sounds like another week of summer vacation to me.
Click here to download it.
School Deadlines, Tours and Info
by Karen on 2/26/10 | 1 Comment(s)
Joyce Szuflita, our School Expert, keeps us up to date on the DOE deadlines, school tours and any breaking school information. Below is information she sent to us that is also available on her blog. I would strongly suggest signing up for her newsletter AND reading her blog. You do need to check out both. [...]
PS 8 expansion begins
by Karen on 2/03/10 | 0 Comment(s)
Brownstoner sauntered by PS 8 (a very successful elementary public school in Brooklyn Heights) today and saw that the construction for its expansion had begun. As he reported, the new expansion is to add 18,000 square feet and seven new classrooms. That is great news for District 13 students. Parents in that neighborhood crow about [...]
Kindergarten applications are now being accepted
by Karen on 2/02/10 | 0 Comment(s)
Inside Schools and Joyce Szuflita, our School Expert, keep us up to date on the DOE deadlines. This one is for kids who are turning 5 this year— Happy Birthday little ones! Yesterday was the first day to submit a kindergarten application.
More info from Inside Schools is below. To read the whole post by Pamela [...]
19 NY Schools Will Close
by Karen on 1/27/10 | 0 Comment(s)
As most of us were counting sheep this morning at 2:40 a.m, the Panel for Educational Policy was voting to close 19 under-performing schools. According to the NY Times, the panel has been widely criticized as a rubber-stamp to the Bloomberg administration and has largely held an obscure role in education policy. But under new [...]
School Terms You Need to Know
by Karen on 1/25/10 | 0 Comment(s)
I went on a tour of PS 11 in Brooklyn last week (my Zoned school) and will go on a tour of Community Roots this week (a Charter School). On the tour, it occurred to me that I didn’t know what half of the terms meant that were being mentioned. I thought I knew the [...]
School Gossip Alert
by Karen on 1/25/10 | 0 Comment(s)
We have some new school gossip to share with you all. The first review is courtesy of Joyce Szuflita, our School Expert.
Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill: First, If you live in Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill (and even if you don’t) you should check out the new Spanish dual language program at PS 46, Edward Blum School, in district [...]
DOE gives 12 million for playgrounds
by Karen on 1/20/10 | 2 Comment(s)
Do you wish your school was getting a new playground? Well, it just might be! The DOE gave a $12 million grant to the non-profit group Out2Play Inc. to create 70 new playgrounds across New York City’s five boroughs, according to InsideSchools.org. The first 30 playgrounds are slated for completion by the end of [...]
MTA says they won’t cut student fares
by Karen on 1/07/10 | 0 Comment(s)
News flash from Gothamist:
“Assemblyman Richard Brodsky who originally voted in favor of taking away funds for student fares, has had a change of heart. After a committee meeting on the issue, Brodsky told the Post he agrees the MTA shouldn’t be picking up the tab for students’ trips to school and that he is “confident [...]
You can help to restore student metrocards
by Karen on 1/07/10 | 0 Comment(s)
We all know about the MTA’s proposal to eliminate student metrocards, which could cost half a million students nearly $1,000 per year in transportation fees. We can do something about it. Sign the petition addressed to Jay Walder, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“While other jurisdictions rely on a [...]
New School Openings: Clinton Hill, Prospect Lefferts, Carroll Gardens
by Karen on 1/06/10 | 2 Comment(s)
Clinton Hill: I was walking through Clinton Hill this morning and saw that the The Brooklyn Free School has a sidewalk chalkboard (how appropriate!) announcing the location of their new space at 372 Clinton Avenue (between Greene and Lafayette). There were piles of garbage going out and new furniture going in. (This school won our [...]
Dive in and learn the hows and whys of public schools
by Karen on 1/06/10 | 0 Comment(s)
This is something that keeps me up at night: where will my kids go to school? Finding and considering the options are intimidating and nerve-racking but I know I am not alone. However daunting the process is, it doesn’t mean I’m going to bury my head in the sand. Deep breath……exhale…..dive in!
Even if your kids [...]
Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool head gets jail time
by Karen on 12/17/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Do you remember Andy Lewis who cheated parents out of tuition money, kids out of a safe school, teachers out of their salaries at Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool and then had the gall to start a summer camp in Fort Greene, taking more parents’ money? Andy Lewis has finally met his fate. As reported by [...]
Dept of Education fairs for special needs students
by Karen on 12/02/09 | 0 Comment(s)
The NYC Department of Education is holding orientation fairs for parents of children with special needs who will be turning 5 this year and attending kindergarten in 2010-2011. Schedule available at New York City Department of Education. The fairs are available in Spanish and English.
Public PreK Application Process
by Karen on 12/01/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Did You Participate in the Public PreK Lottery in 2008 or 2009?
Do you wish you had known more about the public preK lottery and how to navigate the application process? So do a lot of parents! We want to help them and hope that you will too!
If you filled out an application for the Public [...]
DOE releases new calendars for PreK and K
by Karen on 11/24/09 | 0 Comment(s)
I don’t want to make you panic- but I thought you should know that the new deadlines and dates are up for public prek and kindergarten. Don’t worry, the first deadline isn’t until March 1st! Now is a good time to start visiting the schools. To find out when tours are, you can [...]
Websites for School and Daycare Info
by Karen on 11/01/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Reader Tracy (thanks!) sent in this new school site: (http://www.privateschoolreview.com/). It lists both private schools and daycares in all the states. It seems like a helpful site if you are considering moving out of Brooklyn. Obviously, it also works for Brooklyn, but there are so many Brooklyn listings (446), so you need to know the [...]
Park Slope Schoolhouse- Berkeley Carroll Center has a new home
by Karen on 10/23/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Brownstoner announced that the “Park Slope Schoolhouse, the preschool program formerly known as the Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center. The preschool, which is currently located on 6th Street, plans to move into the building on 5th Avenue between 15th and 16th streets next year.” To see the photo of the building and read more from [...]
School Open Houses
by Karen on 10/13/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Here are a few Open Houses for Schools….if you know of any more, feel free to add them to the comments at the bottom of this post!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 9:30 am- Open House for Williamsburg Northside Preschool
152 N 5th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone: 718-599-7300 |
RSVP: Admissions Coordinator Teresa Smith : tsmith@willnorth.org
We kindly ask that [...]
Gifted and Talented Deadlines
by Karen on 10/06/09 | 0 Comment(s)
This is from Joyce Szuflita, this blog’s School Expert. She sent this around in her blog newsletter (that is a must if you are interested in anything to do with schools).
Gifted & Talented
Children BORN in 2005, 2004, 2003 & 2002,
i.e. for K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd grade placement in the 2010 – 2011 school year
Oct. [...]
Public Schools With Language Immersion
by Karen on 6/05/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Joyce of NYC School Help not only identifies the elementary schools in Brooklyn that offer dual language programs in this post, she finds those schools looking to add language immersion! ….which means you can contact the parent coordinators or go to an upcoming meeting to let them know you want it! (See info at [...]
The K5- a New York Elementary School Site
by Karen on 6/03/09 | 0 Comment(s)
I got an email from a teacher at PS 3 in the West Village. Otis Kriegel has created a website called The K5 that, for the most part, is made up of 1.5-5 minute videos aimed to help parents of elementary school age children (grades K-5).
I chose one of the videos I really like: how [...]
Kindergarten: Where Is The Play?
by Karen on 5/21/09 | 1 Comment(s)
“It’s not irresponsible to infuse play into the lives of our families. It’s just the opposite; it’s the training ground for responsible adulthood….. Play gives you the ability to be more flexible and adaptable and resilient, all of which enables you to handle an unexpected world better.”
This sounds like common sense, right? These quotes are [...]
