Compass Family Update
April 12th, 2016
Upcoming Important Dates
Please mark your calendar with the following information:
Monday, April 11th, 2016
- Studio in a School Visual Arts Sessions for kindergarten and second grade
- Mark Morris Dance Sessions for first grade
- Ginkgo Class (kindergarten) field trip to Brooklyn Grange
- Voting for Compass Spirit Week at lunch!
- 6:30PM-8:00PM: Parent Workshop: Making Space as a Parent and Person (There is space for 5 more parents to join. Click the link to sign up.)
Tuesday, April 12th, 2016
- Oak Class (first grade) field trip to Clinton Hill Library
Wednesday, April 13th, 2016
- 8:20AM: Please join us in the gym for Community Gathering
- 5:30PM-7:00PM: A group of Compass staff attends the April Teaching Beyond the Square Symposium
Thursday, April 14th, 2016
- Oak Class (first grade) field trip to Battery Urban Farm
Friday, April 15th, 2016
- Vision Screenings for kindergarten and first grade children
Monday, April 18th - Friday, April 22nd, 2016
- Compass Spirit Week (Details coming soon! Voting for each day's theme is taking place at lunch today.)
Monday, April 25th - Friday, April 29th, 2016
- Spring Break
Saturday, May 7th, 2016
- 6:00PM-10:00PM: Compass Spring Fling and Silent Auction
FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS
Welcome to our newly admitted Compass children and families!
Our new families will be coming in to complete the enrollment process in the coming weeks. Please welcome them if you see them around.
If you have any questions about our lottery and enrollment process, please reach out to the Co-Directors.
Another staff change for the 2016-2017 school year
We are happy to announce that Anna (Pine Teacher) will return to Compass in the fall! She is currently taking a parental leave after the birth of her first child. She will return to Compass part time beginning in September and will be with us three days a week. Her new title is Learning Specialist and she will work primarily with 2nd and 3rd grades both inside the classrooms and in the Learning Supports Room. We are still working out some of the details (days she will be in, her schedule, etc.) and we will share more info at our end of the year reflection meeting in June. If you have any questions about this new role, please feel free to reach out to the Co-Directors.
Sign-Up for Urgent All-School and Bussing Text Messages
As we work to find easy ways to quickly and efficiently communicate important information to you, we have signed up with the free instant messaging platform, Remind. Remind makes it easy for us to text you short updates. However, we cannot sign you up for you. Federal law requires that you initiate the registration process.
All school texts will be sent infrequently. We will send urgent information (e. g. School closing) and important updates (Family Conference sign-up lists are ready).
Signing up is easy. To sign up to receive text messages from Compass
- Text "@compassfam" to the number 81010
- The Remind system will respond asking you to text your name back so that we know who has signed up.
We will use Remind to send bussing updates as well. To sign up to receive bussing updates regarding your child's afternoon bus, please follow the following directions:
- Route K9704 - Jose's bus
- Text "@k9704" to the number 81010
- The Remind system may respond asking you to text your name back so that we know who has signed up.
- Route K9306 - Jean's bus (Bed Stuy)
- Text "@k9306" to the number 81010
- The Remind system may respond asking you to text your name back so that we know who has signed up.
- Route K9724 - Jean's bus (Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Prospect/Lefferts Garden)
- Text "@k9724" to the number 81010
- The Remind system may respond asking you to text your name back so that we know who has signed up.
TONIGHT! Parent Workshop: The Magic of Making Space as a Parent and Person
Please join us for our next FSC parent workshop "The Magic of Making Space as a Parent and Person," led by Compass parent Dr. Meg Poe!
What:
The art of making space for ourselves can feel impossible, and yet it feeds directly into our creative life and our family's.Please join Dr. Meg Poe at Art Cafe + Bar for a talk & discussion over drinks on how to make space and why it is important.
Meg Poe is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice, and is professor of a class on love and connection at NYU.
When:
Monday, April 11 from 6:30-8:00 PMWhere:
Art Cafe + Bar (884 Pacific St, Brooklyn, NY 11238). Due to this workshop being held off-site, the FSC will not be able to provide childcare for this event.
Space is limited, so please sign up soon! Food and drink will be available for purchase. We hope to see you there!
Sign up for the workshop here: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0C4BA5AE2EA1FD0-parent2
School Uniforms and Footwear Reminder
Compass Shirts
Please remember to send your child to school each day in a Compass t-shirt. This is part of our school uniform. If you need to purchase more shirts, please contact the main office at gearshop@brooklyncompass.org. If you need assistance purchasing shirts for your child, please let us know and we will help you out.Footwear
Spring weather has arrived and our children are outside a lot! We go on many field trips, play outside daily, and spend a lot of time exploring the neighborhood. In order to keep our children's feet as safe (and comfy) as possible, please send your child to school in sneakers each day. We do not permit sandals or other open-toed shoes due to safety concerns. If you need help securing sneakers for your child, please reach out and we will open up our Community Closet for you.
Please send in your coffee cans, oatmeal containers, or any other cylindrical containers!
Tickets are available for the Compass Spring Fling! Please see the info below!
Join us for a fun night of live music and dinner to support the Compass Family-School Collaborative (FSC) at the first-ever Compass Charter School Spring Fling and Silent Auction!
Saturday, May 7th, 2016
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Littlefield (622 Degraw Street, Brooklyn NY 11217)
Entertainment will include live jazz, soul, and country music from the talented Compass community, plus a great DJ!
Auction and Raffle items include:
- gift certificates to local camps, restaurants, arts, and sports programs
- outings with Compass teachers and staff
- museum memberships
- handmade items from members of our own Compass community
- a getaway weekend to the Catskills
- much much MORE!
Tickets can be purchased HERE for $40 per person. (Or $50 at the door, so buy now and save!)
Each ticket includes dinner (provided by the Solber Pupusas Food Truck) and one drink.
~~~All proceeds support Compass arts programming and after-school program scholarships.~~~
To learn more about this event or to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.littlefieldnyc.com/event/1138563
We are hoping for 100% family participation for this event---if this cost is prohibitive, please contact Todd for a discounted or complimentary ticket.
This event is for adults only.
Coffee With The Co-Directors
Bring your own coffee to the Meeting Room (Room 408) for an hour of conversation about our school. 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.
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 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:
April 21st, 8:30AM
May 24th, 8:30AM
June 23rd, 8:30AM
Interesting Events and Articles
Healthy School Fund/Student Activity Fee for April
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!
This Week's Snack Menu
This week's snack menu is below.
Children with food allergies receive a different snack that is packaged separately from other foods. We do not serve food with nuts, but some of our snacks have gluten and/or dairy and alternatives are offered to children with allergies and sensitivities.
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.
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