Compass Family Update
December 7, 2015
Upcoming Important Dates
Please mark your calendar with the following information:
Monday, 12/7: Second Grade (Pine and Elm) Field Trip to Mark Morris Dance Group for a special dance class
Tuesday, 12/8: Oak Class (First Grade) Field Trip to The Whitney Museum
Wednesday, 12/9: Join us in the gym for Community Gathering
Wednesday, 12/9, 7:00-8:00PM: FSC Leadership Board Meeting
FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS
Celebrate Compass Was A Success Thanks to All of You!
A big thanks to all who helped make Celebrate Compass a great success. We were so proud to hear all of the lovely compliments about our caring and dedicated community. We are pleased to share that to-date, the event has raised over $63,000 to support our inquiry-based approach to learning.
On Thursday night, we debuted our new video. Check it out in case you have not yet had a chance to watch. A special thanks to Oak parent, Pere Duignan, for graciously taking the time to produce the piece.
Finally, the event was a success thanks to the support of many people within our community. It would not have gotten off the ground without the leadership of our Co-Chairs, Liza Vadnai (Maple) and Corinne Amato (Beech) and our planning committee. Congratulations and thank you for organizing a great night.
Donate your old newspapers to first grade
What We're Reading
Coffee With The Co-Directors
Please join us next Monday for our December Coffee with the Co-Directors. Bring your own coffee to the Meeting Room (Room 408) for an hour of conversation about our school.
The purpose of these conversations is to provide a space for parents and the Co-Directors to engage in purposeful dialogue surrounding our progressive, inquiry-based approach to education.
We invite you to submit questions and/or topics ahead of time to help guide our conversations. You may email questions directly to Brooke (brooke@brooklyncompass.org) or fill out a question form and drop it in the Inquiry Box outside the Co-Directors' Office.
We hope you will join us as often as your schedule allows. And, as always, please remember that our doors are always open. If you have immediate questions or concerns, please reach out to set up a meeting.
Here are the Coffee with the Co-Directors dates for the remainder of the school year:
Monday, December 14th, 8:30AM
January 12th, 8:30AM
February 24th, 9:00AM
March 18th, 8:30AM
April 21st, 8:30AM
May 24th, 8:30AM
June 23rd, 8:30AM
With gratitude,
Brooke, Michelle, and Todd
December Coffee with the Co-Directors
Monday, Dec 14, 2015, 08:30 AM
Compass Meeting Room (Room 408)
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Healthy School Fund/Student Activity Fee for November/December
Thank you to the families who have already contributed to our Healthy School Fund (formerly called the Student Activity Fee). Please see the info below.
The cost of our snack service along with a laundry service for our reusable rags and towels, and biannual lice checks is approximately $15-$20 a month per child. We kindly ask that you contribute to our Healthy School Fund/Student Activity Fund on a monthly or yearly basis. Please contribute what you can. If you are unable to contribute at this time, please let us know and we will support you. Your child will not be excluded. If you are able to sponsor another child for a month or the entire school year, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
How to Contribute to the Healthy School Fund
Electronic Way to Send Money: Thanks to a recommendation from two parents, we have found a free and easy way to transfer money from one account to another. We want to make it easy for you to make monthly payments for snacks, future t-shirt purchases, and whatever other costs that may come up. The application is similar to Paypal, only free and easier to use. It is called Square Cash (click on the left side of the webpage for a short video on how it works and enter your cell phone on the right to get a text giving you $1 and a link to get started). After you get the text, all you need to do is enter your debit card information, download the app and type your email address. You are now ready to make and receive payments. To send Compass money, press "Send", select an amount and send the money to Todd's email address (todd@brooklyncompass.org). "Cash" also allows you to receive money from others as well. It is an easy for you to pay a babysitter or for a friend to pay you back some money they owe you.
If you would like to know how you can set up a recurring, monthly payment from your Citibank or Chase account, email Todd.
Non-electronic way to contribute to our Healthy School Fund: If you are not able to use Square Cash or are not comfortable using an electronic system, please send cash or a check (Made to Compass Charter School) in an envelope with your child's name and Healthy School Fund on the front.
One last note:
When using Square Cash or a check, please write "Healthy School Fund" in the memo for our record keeping purposes.
Thank you!
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Here is the link to the breakfast and lunch menus:
http://www.schoolfoodnyc.org/schoolfood/menusdailydisplay.aspx
You may choose to send a lunch from home or have your child eat school lunch. School lunch is free for children who qualify for free or reduced price lunch and costs $1.75. You do not need to inform us that your child will be eating school lunch. We charge families on a periodic basis throughout the school year.
Red Rabbit Snack Menu for this Week
Please remember that all children with food allergies receive a special snack each day. It comes separately packaged and labeled and is not listed on the menu.
From the Family School Collaborative (FSC)
No December FSC Meeting
We have cancelled the December FSC meeting to allow us to focus on re-organizing the new leadership board. If you're interested in being a part of the FSC leadership board (we're especially looking for another fundraising co-chair), e-mail us at fsc@brooklyncompass.org
The FSC Leadership Board will have its first meeting on December 9th at 7PM.
Sponsor-A-Family Holiday Gift Drive
Our annual Sponsor-A-Family Holiday Gift Drive is here! This is an initiative where all three schools in our building (MS 113, Compass, PS 372) come together to support families in our school communities who are in need during the holiday season.
You can visit the link HERE to sign up to donate an item or gift card. You can also donate money via cash/check (please place in the FSC mailbox outside Amanda's office in the community room) or Square cash (donate online via Squarecash with 'holidaysponsor' in the notes section).
We are grateful for any donations that you are able to make, no matter how small. Donations (gifts should be unwrapped) can be brought to the Compass Main Office (Room 431) on or before Friday, December 18, 2015.
Thank you for helping us to brighten the holiday season for those in need in our school community.
To support the holiday gift drive, please visit:
FSC Amazon Store
Here is the link to our FSC Amazon store where you can view and purchase the recommended books, toys, and games. The suggestions are a combination of parent suggestions and school administration suggestions. Using our Amazon Store is a great way to take care of your holiday shopping and support the FSC at the same time (the FSC will earn up to 7% of purchased items).
Easy ways to help our school raise money for special initiatives
Amazon
We are participating in Amazon Associates as an easy way to raise money for our Family School Collaborative Programming and Initiatives (such as our arts program and afterschool program). We invite you to use the link on our website when making Amazon purchases. We will receive between 6-8% of all purchases made through our link. Thanks!Here's the link to use when shopping on Amazon:
http://brooklyncompass.org/family-school-collaborative/
Box Tops
Please continue to save Box Tops and our Coordinators will send in another shipment on March 1st. We're hoping our next collection can raise even more money for our Family School Collaborative Programming and Initiatives. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents and they quickly add up to real cash for our school! We have a goal of $50 for the next cycle. Can you help?
For more information on the Box Tops for Education program, including our school’s progress, visit www.BTFE.com. Participating products: http://www.boxtops4education.com/participating-products
Compass Charter School
Follow us on Instagram @brooklyn_compass
Feel free to reach out anytime with questions or to catch up. Our contact info is listed below.
Brooke Peters, Co-Director of Curriculum and Instruction
718-310-3588, extension 503
Michelle Healy, Co-Director of Curriculum and Instruction
718-310-3588, extension 504
Todd Sutler, Co-Director of Strategic Development
718-310-3588, extension 501
Email: info@brooklyncompass.org
Website: brooklyncompass.org
Location: 300 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Phone: (718) 310-3588
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CompassCharterSchool
Twitter: @compasscharter