Compass Family Update
October 12th, 2015
Thanks to all for coming out to support our school!
Upcoming Important Dates
Please mark your calendar with the following information:
Wednesday, 10/14, 8:20-9:00AM: Join us in the gym for Community Gathering
Thursday, 10/15: Second Grade Field Trip to Prospect Park
Thursday, 10/15, 6:30-8:00PM: Parent Workshop: Mindfulness for Parents presented by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan (RSVP required)
Saturday, 10/17, 11:30AM: Family Workshop: Jazz Up Your Compass Shirt (RSVP required) AND Volunteer Day for School Beautification/Organization
Wednesday, 11/11: School WILL be open on Veteran's Day. There will be no school bus service on this day. Please make alternate arrangements to get your child to and from school on this day. This is the only school day this year when no bus service will be available. We apologize for the inconvenience.
FROM THE CO-DIRECTORS
Community Room Information and Updates
Thank you so much to the Compass parents for helping to make our Community Room an inviting space! A first grade parent put together three new couches last Friday and they are available for relaxing and hanging out! Another first grade parent is donating a new kitchen to our Community Room and the plans are being finalized and the installation should take place very soon! We will let everyone know when the installation is happening and the Community Room will be closed for a few days in order to keep everyone safe.
There are still many materials that need to be organized and put away as well as lots of donations for the tag sale for the Fall Arts Festival. We had to hold on to these a little longer than planned due to moving the date for the Fall Arts Festival and the new kitchen not being ready yet. In the meantime, we ask that you please supervise your children when you are in the Community Room. As a staff, we are all in agreement that no children can be alone in the Community Room and we ask that you also respect this community norm. You are welcome to spend some time in the Community Room in the mornings and after school, but please keep an eye on your children to make sure they are safe. We're looking forward to a cleaner and more organized space in the coming weeks.
Volunteers Needed for School Beautification and Organization: Saturday, October 17th 11:30AM-2:00PM
Thanks so much!
What We're Reading
Compass Wish List: Maps and Atlases
Coffee With The Co-Directors
Thank you to the Compass parents who attended this month's Coffee with the Co-Directors. We discussed two big topics: diverse participation at school events and morning arrival. We spent most of the hour discussing ideas for creating and building a school culture that promotes family participation at school events. We then talked through ideas to streamline the arrival process in the morning to allow for a calm transition into school each morning.
We invite you to join us as we continue Coffee with the Co-Directors as a monthly event.
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.
With gratitude,
Brooke, Michelle, and Todd
November Coffee with the Co-Directors
Thursday, Nov 5, 2015, 08:30 AM
Compass Community Room
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
December Coffee with the Co-Directors
Monday, Dec 14, 2015, 08:30 AM
Compass Community Room
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Healthy School Fund/Student Activity Fee for September and October
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!
October Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Here is the link to the breakfast and lunch menus for this October 2015:
http://www.schoolfoodnyc.org/public/PDF_Handler.ashx?t=mv&id=3648&name=K-8+Breakfast+Menu
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)
Parent Workshop: Mindfulness
You're invited to our first parent workshop on the topic of mindfulness, led by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan, Oak Parent and Clinical Psychologist. The workshop will be held on Thursday, October 15 from 6:30-8 PM in the community room. It is a parent-only workshop but childcare will be provided. RSVP here!
What do Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, Kobe Bryant, Hugh Jackman, Ariana Huffington, and Anderson Cooper have in common? They all practice mindfulness! Mindfulness—the sustained process of paying attention—has been shown to reduce stress, help recovery from disease, and improve relationships with others. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to practice mindfulness with particular attention to the issues that arise as a parent. You’ll also explore ways to introduce mindfulness to your family.
Thursday, Oct 15, 2015, 06:30 PM
Compass Community Room
Box Tops for Education
This year, Compass will be participating in the Box Tops for Education™ program. Clipping Box Tops is an easy way for you to help our school buy what it needs. Box Tops are each worth 10¢ and they quickly add up to real cash for our school! To help, just look for the pink Box Tops For Education label on products, clip them, and send them to school with your child. There will be collection envelopes/boxes located in each classroom (look for the box tops logo!). Note that there are expiration dates on them so check them before sending.
You can bring your tops in anytime you like throughout the year! The first deadline for us to send in our tops to the Box Tops For Education organization is November 2nd. But in order for us to collect all of them and get them ready to ship, we will be doing a big push to get them in before Halloween.
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
If you have any questions, please contact the Coordinators:
- KAREN GOODWIN (Sophie in Maple) at KarenEriko@yahoo.com
- ROCIO CALZADILLA (Bruce in Elm) at calzadilla.r@hotmail.com
Fall Arts Festival POSTPONED until October 24th!
Here's the link to sign up for the Bake Sale:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044babab2fa4fc1-fall
Here's the link to sign up to volunteer the day of the Fall Arts Festival:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44a8a922a5ff2-2ndfall
We hope to see you all there! Each Compass child will receive a voucher for one free item from the Tag Sale (toy or book)!
Fall Arts Festival
Here is the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1644256109166644/
If you are a Facebook user, please join the event on Facebook and share it with your networks. We would love to get lots of community members at the event. Thanks!
Saturday, Oct 24, 2015, 12:00 PM
Camel Park
Please bring your tag sale items by Friday, 10/23!
Now that the Fall Arts Festival has been postponed until October 24th, you have a few more weeks to clean out your closets and storage spaces. Please bring all Tag Sale donations to the Community Room drop off area by 10/23. Thank you!!
Your Target Purchases can now Benefit our School!
Now your everyday Target purchases can benefit Compass!
Go to target.com/tcoe to connect your Target REDcard to Compass Charter School through Target's Take Charge of Education program. The easiest way to search for Compass is by its ID: 154188. Once you've signed up, Compass will automatically receive 1% of every purchase you make with your REDcard at Target or target.com.
If you don't have a REDcard, the website will prompt you to apply for one. There are a lot of benefits aside from the 1% donation to Compass, including 5% off everything you buy, plus free shipping and extra time on returns.
It's an easy way for Compass to benefit from the shopping we'd be doing anyway! It's really easy to enroll and you should get a message like the one below once you are all signed up. Thanks!
If you have questions, please contact Oak mom, Lauren Kern (laurenkern1@gmail.com).
Lunch Room Helpers
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Hello wonderful Compass Families!
Welcome back and hope everyone is settling into the school groove. Please sign up to help our little ones through the lunch line if you ever have daytime hours free, and stay through the following half hour recess period too!
- Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 12:50-1:30 pm
- Wednesdays, lunch is served from 10:10-10:45 am
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/G7yNRR
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!
Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
The more parents we have helping the better because it frees up staff to continue important school work. Maybe you can only come now and then, or perhaps you can commit to a specific day per week? Every little bit is so appreciated. Thanks!
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