Compass Back to School Update
August 25, 2016
FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS
We're looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Welcome to Year 3 at Compass! Our staff is back to work and we are in the midst of our Staff Summer Institute where we're preparing for the school year ahead. We're setting our intentions for the school year, building community amongst our staff, and planning curriculum. Later this week and next week, our staff will spend a lot of time preparing the classrooms and spaces in our school. We're working to create a welcoming, inclusive, and calming school environment. We'll try to post some updates on Instagram and Facebook to give you all a sneak peek.
We will officially launch Compass Year Three at our Back to School Party in Fort Greene Park from 5-7PM on Wednesday, August 31st. We hope to see you and your family there!
Sincerely,
Brooke, Michelle, and Todd
Co-Directors
Upcoming Important Dates and Events
- 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Back to School Party in Fort Greene Park
Tuesday, September 6th
- First Day of School (12:00PM Dismissal)
Wednesday, September 7th
- Half Day for all students (12:00PM Dismissal)
Thursday, September 8th
- Half Day for all students (12:00PM Dismissal)
Friday, September 9th
- Half Day for all students (12:00PM Dismissal)
Monday, September 12th
- Eid-al-Adha: School Closed
Save the Date: Back to School Party in Fort Greene Park
It's time for our annual Back to School Party and Pot Luck Dinner in Fort Greene Park! Bring your whole family to meet new Compass staff, talk to your child's teachers, and get to know other Compass families.
We will meet at Fort Greene Park. Please follow these directions to find us. We will meet in the same place we had our End of Year Celebration and Summer Family Gathering.
If you are coming from Dekalb, enter the park at Fort Greene Place and walk up the hill. You will eventually see us to your right. If you are entering from the Myrtle side, walk down St. Edwards (bordering the west side of the park) until it ends at Willoughby. Enter the park by walking up the stairs and go up the hill. You should eventually see us to your left.
If you can't find us, please call one of the Co-Directors:
Brooke's cell: 347-677-2294
Michelle's cell: 347-677-3400
Todd's cell: 917-747-8075
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2016, 05:00 PM
Fort Greene Park, Washington Park, NY, United States
Please sign up to bring something to the Back to School Party and Pot Luck Dinner
Class Placement
All children entering first grade will loop. This means that they will be in the same class and with the same teachers. The class names remain the same (Beech and Ginkgo). We did not send an email to returning first grade families as there are no changes to class placement. We have a few new first graders joining us and class placement information was sent to these families.
Class placement information was emailed to all families with children in kindergarten, second grade, and third grade. If you did not receive an email with your child's class placement, please let us know.
Here is a list of the names of the classes and the teachers in each class:
Kindergarten Classes
Maple Class: Brian and Sara Scott
Oak Class: Hannah and Julian
First Grade Classes
Beech Class: Madeleine and Rasha
Ginkgo Class: Marissa and Rosie
Second Grade Classes
Pine Class: Paul and Jessica
Elm Class: Teressa and Shawn
Third Grade Classes
Tulip Class: Katie and Chiara
Chestnut Class: Drew and Lorna
LAST Kindergarten Orientation
Thursday, Sep 8, 2016, 04:00 PM
Compass Charter School Community Room
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Food Services
Every year, the DoE asks us to ask our families to fill out the Food Services application even if you have no intention of using Food Services. Please take five minutes to fill out this form, as this information about our community's demographics could help us with raising money for the school.
T-Shirts and other Compass Gear
If you would like to pick up some Compass t-shirts before the beginning of the school year, email Todd (Todd@brooklyncompass.org) and Chelsea (chelsea@brooklyncompass.org) to tell them the number of shirts you want (color and size). They will prepare your order so that you can pick it up from Room 431 by 4pm on the following day. We have shirts in a variety of colors (pink, red, forest green, light blue, navy blue, maroon, white, black, yellow, orange, light charcoal gray, green, and others) but cannot promise that your child’s preferred colors are available in their size. Short sleeve shirts sell for $8. Long sleeve are $10. Hoodies are $25. We will bring a small amount of shirts to the picnic next week.
We recently made our first big order of t-shirts in size child-large. How time flies.
Compass Uniform Policy
Children are expected to wear a Compass t-shirt each day along with comfortable bottoms (shorts, skirts, leggings, sweat pants, jeans). Please dress your child in comfortable clothing that allows for movement and that can get dirty. We spend a lot of time outside and do a lot of messy projects.
Children should wear sneakers or other closed toe supportive shoes to school each day. Please do not send your child to school in sandals. If you have specific questions about our uniform policy, please let us know.
If you need assistance with school uniforms, please let us know.
Administering Medication at School - Original Documentation Required
Important Reminder that medication of any kind can only be administered once an ORIGINAL COPY OF the DOE's Medical Administration Form (MAF) has been completed and accepted by the school nurse each year. Until that document is accepted by the nurse, Compass, nor the nurse will not administer medication. You can get a copy of the appropriate form (options 1, 2, or, 3 depending on the need) here.
Bussing
If you plan to or are thinking about using DoE-provided bussing this year, please read the following. Every year, we let you know that the DoE will be sending us bus routes and times at the very end of August. Unfortunately, we do not think this year will be any different. We hope to send you pick-up and drop-off times by the middle of next week. They should certainly get it to us by the end of the week at the latest.
No DoE-Bussing on Columbus and Veterans Day
Looking ahead to October and November, please mark your calendars and plan for the fact that there are no DoE yellow busses provided on Monday, October 10 and Friday, November 11.
Unfortunately, you will be expected to get your child to school through other means. We apologize for this inconvenience.
For Returning Families: Read this if you want to OPT OUT of receiving Instant Messaging for Important School Reminders
We signed up for Remind last year in order to make it easier for us to communicate urgent, important, and time-sensitive updates. Those families who used it, appreciated it. Our new families have all opted in to using Remind. We are adding all returning families to Remind this year. If you do not want to be added, click here. Please note that we do not intend to text families frequently - only with important updates and reminders that we think you will need to receive.
Kids Orbit After School Program: Sign Up and Financial Aid Application
Our wonderful after school program from last year, Kids Orbit, is returning this year. It is conveniently located right at school and very competitively priced. Each day, kids engage in activities including art and crafts, story time, supervised reading time, outdoor play (weather permitting), and board games. A light snack is provided. The counselors are warm, attentive, and wonderful.
Enrichment classes are included for all students enrolled! Classes last year included chess, soccer, yoga, karate, drama, dance, and science!
Care is provided five days a week, from the end of the school day until6:00pm! (Please note that Kids Orbit does not operate the first or last weeks of the school year.)
They also provide care for all the half days during the year, for an extra fee.
Additional information and enrollment forms are here: http://www.kidsorbit.org/
Also see the FSC page: https://brooklyncompass.org/family-school-collaborative/after-school/
Financial Aid is available. Our Family School Collaborative's After School Committee has put together its first Financial Aid Application for families in need of financial support. Please read and complete it here by Tuesday, August 30.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions at fsc@brooklyncompass.org or erin.hayes@gmail.com, or contact Todd Sutler at todd@brooklyncompass.org.
All the best, Erin (mom to Zadie, 2nd grader)
Please Return Adopted Plants to Compass
Thanks to all of you for fostering Compass plants this summer. The building is open from 8AM-6PM and you are welcome to drop the plants off anytime. We are collecting all of the plants in the Sustainability Studio. We plan to repot all plants before the start of the school year, so we kindly ask that you bring the plants back as soon as possible. Thank you!
School Supplies for 2016-2017
2016-2017 School Year Calendar
Click HERE to access our public Compass calendar.
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