Oct. 27th, 5-7PM

Children come in costume

Volunteers Needed:

• To decorate their trunks!

• To contribute money for supplies and candy

• For cleanup

Sign up now at http://bit.ly/UNEStrunkortreat

DONATIONS FOR SUPPLIES/CANDY:

Venmo: @UNESPTA or

Zelle: UNESPTA@gmail.com

Please be reminded that we do not dress up for Halloween during the school day in the elementary schools in Nyack. We will have a wonderful Trunk or Treat Event on October 27 which will allow our children to enjoy the festive spirit with their classmates and to show off their costumes.

On Tuesday, October 31, we ask that students DO NOT come with costumes, masks, face paint or accessories. If they do, we will call parents for a change of clothes. Thank you for your cooperation.

The NYS Dept of Education has organized this resource to support parents in handling / discussing the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis - CLICK HERE. Below is a short excerpt with links that you may find helpful:

Parents can help children process their feelings by encouraging questions, offering reassurance, and emphasizing the importance of empathy and understanding. This will help foster a safe space for open dialogue. Creating a routine that includes self-care and limiting exposure to distressing media can also support children in managing their emotions during challenging times.

Conversation Starters

• New York Family: Talking to Kids about the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: Helpful Resources for Parents(link is external)
  
• UNICEF: How to talk to your children about conflict and war(link is external)
  
• Common Sense Media: Explaining the News to Our Kids

This year, we're making a building wide effort to effectively communicate what's going on across grade levels. Please click below to see broad curriculum updates for each grade.

• Kindergarten
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4

• Grade 5

Ms. Semidey created this SMORE Newsletter for art. PLEASE CLICK HERE for her newsletter.

In the month of September, our school counselor Ms. Perez discussed Start with Hello and the power of kindness. Start with Hello raises awareness about social isolation and educates students on the importance of inclusion. Students discussed ways they can spread kindness such as inviting students to play, helping someone out or even just listening to a friend in need. They focused on learning ways to create friendships and they discussed how small acts of kindness such as just saying hello to someone can change their whole day. Our goal is for all students in Nyack to feel a sense of belonging and celebrate spreading kindness to all.

Stay tuned for our October update where Ms. Perez will outline efforts to combat bullying in our school and community.

We are so grateful to all of the parents who threw their hats in the ring to become class parents for this academic school year.

PLEASE CLICK HERE for a list of the class parents for your child's class.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF A GROUP TEXT OR EMAIL DISTRIBUTION, THEN PLEASE CONTACT THE CLASS PARENT(S) TO OPEN THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION.

Also, if you note that there is no class parent for your child's class, please consider joining us.

Please consider joining our PTA! PTA Membership isn't required but,

if you sign up for our state-wide PTA Membership,

UNES will receive a portion of your contribution,

and you will gain access to additional

PTA Resources and discounts!

Please click below to register... Our PTA will deeply appreciate it!

MemberHub

Follow them on

Instagram @UNESPTA

Facebook @UNESPTA

Please mark your calendars for these upcoming meetings of our two parent groups - PTA and IDEA:

THE PTA ZOOM LINK CAN BE ACCESSED AT THIS WEBSITE - CLICK HERE

OCTOBER :

PTA = Monday, October 16 @ 6:30pm in the UNES library

Followed by a VIRTUAL IDEA Event Committee Meeting at 8pm

Here's the link - https://bit.ly/IDEAcommunityevents

IDEA = Monday, October 23 @ 6:00pm in the UNES library

NOVEMBER:

PTA = Monday, November 13 @ 6:30pm in the UNES library

IDEA = Tuesday, November 21 @ 6:00pm

DECEMBER:

PTA = Monday, December 11 @ 6:30pm

IDEA = No meeting this month

Thanks to our 5th grade class from last year, we have a wonderful LITTLE FREE LIBRARY in front of UNES now! It needs our help to stay stocked. A Little Free Library is a free book-sharing box where anyone may take a book or share a book. They function on the honor system. You do not need to share a book in order to take one. If you take a book or two from our little free library, try to bring some to share when you can. Please be sure to keep the books being placed in the library age appropriate for children.

As we work to remember and honor our recently departed Rona Edwards, her family has asked us to remember her and celebrate who she was, a “tiny joy bomb” and “social butterfly”. They have asked that anyone who wishes to honor her memory consider becoming a MARROW DONOR by CLICKING HERE.

Every year, 18,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other blood disorders that could be cured or treated with a blood stem cell transplant. But 70% of them don't have a fully matched donor in their family. They depend on Be The Match® to find an unrelated donor. If you're between the ages of 18 and 40, your healthy blood stem cells may be a patient's best or only hope for a cure.

Research shows that recess and exercise are incredibly important to children's well being. We will be working hard to give our students a taste of fresh air and exercise every day possible. To that end, we will be going outside for recess whenever the REAL FEEL temperature is above 25 degrees.

As the weather gets colder, please send your child with a warm jacket, winter hat and gloves so that they are prepared for the weather. Also, please discuss your expectations that they are properly dressed for the weather. They are only outside for 20-25 minutes but that short time can be incredibly important for their well being.

At the beginning of each year, we stagger the dismissal times of our kindergarten students to keep them better protected from the dismissal movement of our other students. I'm pleased to report that our kindergarten students have transitioned beautifully to the new school experience and are ready for normal dismissal time.

From this point forward, kindergarten students will be dismissed at 3:05pm (rather than 3pm). This will help us to preserve an extra few minutes of instructional time. All other dismissal times remain the same.

If you are not part of the 5TH GRADE COMMITTEE EMAIL DISTRIBUTION, please reach out and share your email or cell so that you can receive important communications:

Valerie Schmidt - vmeleschmidt@gmail.com

Michael Lockett - michael.lockett@gmail.com

Hello 5th grade families! We are preparing for our next 5th grade fundraiser which will be a bake sale at Trunk or Treat in two weeks! In addition to food and beverage donations we will also need adult volunteers to assist with selling the goods at the table. Please take a look at the sign up below and see if you can contribute in some way.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D45AFA929ABF94-45170829-fifth

The 5th Grade yearbook Committee also needs your help as we start to make something all of our kids can cherish forever. Each 5th-grade yearbook has a section of numbered baby pictures where the kids can try and see if they know their friends.

REQUEST ONE: BABY PICTURES:
Please name your submitted picture in the following manner:
LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_TEACHER

You can upload the image directly to this folder:

https://community.lifetouch.com/invite?code=UNES_5THGRADE-24

(you must create a FREE account, but we will ask for other pictures throughout the year, so it’s worth it).

If you prefer to email your picture, they can be sent to me at michael.lockett@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for making the 5th Grade a little more memorable for all our kids.

• Monday, October 16 @ 6:30pm - PTA MEETING

• Monday, October 23 @ 6:30pm - IDEA MEETING
• Friday, October 27 - TRUNK OR TREAT!
• Friday, November 3 - Box Out Bullying Assembly
• Tuesday, November 7 - Superintendent Conference Day
• Wednesday, November 8 - Grade 4 Wolf Conservation Center Trip
• Friday, November 10 - Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL)

• Monday, November 13 @ 6:30pm - PTA MEETING

• Tuesday, November 14 - School Related Professionals Day (SRP DAY)
• Tuesday, November 21 - Redhawk Tribal Council Assembly
• Tuesday, November 21 @ 6:30pm - IDEA MEETING
• Wednesday, November 22 - UNES HERITAGE DAY

There are archives of my community newsletter on the UNES WEBSITE - CLICK HERE, as well as on the UNESPTA Website . If you can't find the old newsletters and are looking for info - you can find that info in these two places.