Upper Nyack Elementary School SCOOP

Fifth Grade Fundraiser

The fifth grade class is holding a Valentine's Day fundraiser to raise funds for all of the great things they do in fifth grade. TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY to support this great cause. You can buy a chance to win an amazing Self-Care Prize Package valued at over $450!

Upper Nyack Elementary School 5th Grade Class is nearing the end of its elementary school experience. We hope to be able to gather and celebrate their successes and achievements in June of 2023. Please join us in fundraising for the class by buying some raffle tickets! Proceeds will fund 5th grade yearbooks for each student, Bridges T-shirts for each student, and end of year celebrations.

This fabulous prize package includes:

Two Rivers Acupuncture- $100

Wholeness Center - $50

Lucky Chick products - $67

DPNB dinner for 2! - $50

Boxer Donut - $25

Gina Lina -$25

Grace Hot City Nail - $15

Teagevity - $20

Tree of Chocolate -$10

Lomar Farms Beeswax Candle - $35

Beautiful Handmade Cosmetic Bag by PrivaSol Crafts

Necklace by local jewelry designer Lucky 7 Southpaw Craft

Super soft, cozy socks!

All of the items in this amazing basket have been generously donated by 5th grade families and local businesses supporting our kids. The raffle drawing will take place on Valentine's Day, February 14th, at around 5:00 p.m. The winner will be pulled at random, and will be notified by email/phone. So please join us in cheering on our 5th graders by buying as many raffle tickets as you can!

Once you fill out the form please submit your donation via Venmo @Caroline-Scimone or Zelle (we will contact you with info). If you'd prefer to pay by cash or check, please send cash or a check payable to Kelly Schunk to UNES in an envelope labeled "5th Grade Committee Raffle" with your name and contact info.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FUNDRAISER LINK

Spirit Week - February 13-17

Thanks to our building PBIS committee and our 5th grade Spirit Committee, we have developed a Spirit Week schedule for February 13-17.

During this week, we're looking to highlight Unity / Culture, Black History Month and Valentine's Day.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SPIRIT WEEK SCHEDULE

Rockland Read In - February 17

The Rockland Read In is scheduled for Friday, February 17.

The Rockland Read In is a one-day reading competition in which schools compete for the most minutes read in a single day. Schools with the most minutes read are awarded first, second and third place in the contest. Certificates will be sent to participating schools. CLICK HERE FOR THE ROCKLAND READ IN flyer.

If we win first, second or third place in this competition, Principal Dreves will allow 2 class representatives from each class to PIE HIM IN THE FACE. We'll then broadcast it for the entire school to watch!

Community Engagement Parent Meetings

It's clear to me that effective communication and parent engagement efforts are key to a strong school community, and there is always room for improvement. To this end, I'm working to set up some parent engagement meetings for the various grade levels. There will be no set agenda, except to talk, hear your voice, share key information and engage. I have hope and faith that if we work together in partnership, we can create the strong schools that we so strongly need and deserve.

Please consider joining me on the following dates in the Global Learning Commons at 5pm. I will also open the meetings for virtual attendance at this link - CLICK HERE to attend virtually.

Grades 4/5 - Tuesday, February 28 @ 5pm

Grades 2/3 - Tuesday, March 7 @ 5pm

Grades K/1 - Tuesday, March 14 @ 5pm

Please know that I work hard to have an open door policy and want to work together with you about any concerns you may have. I try to respond to emails within 24 hours and will often just pick up the phone and call. You can also call me at 845-353-7260 and Ms. Contreras will either pass on a message or connect you directly if I'm free. Additionally, I hold monthly virtual parent coffees - CLICK HERE FOR THE PARENT COFFEE SCHEDULE. Finally, I also believe that there are times when we need to come around a table and meet face to face. If you feel that you'd like to meet with me in person, please call Ms. Contreras and she'll find a time.

PTA BINGO NIGHT - Friday, March 3

Please join us on Friday, March 3 for our UNES PTA BINGO NIGHT!! Doors open at 6pm and the first game is called at 6:30pm. Our very own STREAM teacher and parent extraordinaire, Dean Gianakouros, will be the Bingo host!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE BINGO NIGHT FLYER

Scholastic Book Fair - March 13-17

Get ready! This year's Book Fair is going to be epic! UNES is joining Nyack Middle School, Liberty, and Valley Cottage in hosting a Scholastic book fair March 13-17, 2023.

Book Fair Homepage: https://bookfairs.scholastic. com/bf/uppernyackelementaryschool

We're looking for parent/guardian volunteers to help us to run the bookfair. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP for a slot.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE OF CLASS VISITS. You'll note that there are two short visits to the book fair scheduled for each class. On Monday and Tuesday, students will browse and shop for books that they're interested in and will compile a wish list to bring home. On Wednesday and Thursday, classes will make a return visit for students to purchase books.

Parents/guardians can also create an EWALLET (CLICK HERE FOR EWALLET INSTRUCTIONS) Any parents/guardians who would like to visit the fair is welcomed to do so any day at dismissal time or all day Friday, March 17. Your child can be called down to join you on Friday if you notify the teacher.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A FLYER FROM OUR IDEA COMMITTEE REGARDING BOOKS THAT CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY

CAREER DAY - PLEASE HELP

We're still seeking participants in our career day at UNES...

During the month of March, each of the elementary schools will be hosting virtual Career presentations. Students will have the opportunity to learn about different careers by viewing videos created by parents, community members and local businesses. We will be collecting videos from members of our community who are interested in showcasing their profession. These videos can be recorded on iMovie or screencast. Videos can be however long or short you wish and however creative you would like. Once collected they will be uploaded to a platform for student viewing.

We are reaching out to you, the members of our community and would love for you to participate! Do you have an exciting career or job that you would like to share with our students? Are you an entrepreneur? Did you start your own business? No career or job is too small or too large - the goal of this program is to expose our students to the wide variety of ways that they can be productive and self-sufficient.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE LETTER REGARDING CAREER DAY

Virtual Parent Coffee with Principal Dreves

Please be reminded that I hold a virtual parent coffee for any interested parents to join me from 9:30-10:00 on the third Friday of each month. Our next Virtual Coffee is this FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2023.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE AND THE LINK

PTA / IDEA NEXT MEETING - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2023

The next meeting is of the PTA will be next Wednesday, March 8 at 6:30 pm in the Global Learning Commons at UNES. The IDEA committee will meet immediately after that meeting in the same space.

I will be attending this meeting as part of my listen and learn efforts, while also inviting our new Family Resource Coordinator - Yessi Santana. We'd like to discuss better ways to engage our parent and guardian community. Please consider joining!

Youth Equity Strategists - YES

Youth Equity Strategists from fourth and fifth grade have been invited to join a meeting with Dr. Connally and Principal Dreves on Monday, February 27.

There are a total of 37 students who will be participating in this meeting. All students who returned a permission slip were accepted to participate in this important opportunity. I'm hopeful that this can be the beginning of something that occurs more often as we look to gather STUDENT VOICE in our efforts for more equitable outcomes!

Penguin Plunge - Sunday, March 5

Principal Dreves, Mrs. Maddalena (speech and language teacher) and Ms. Nikocevic (UNES Social Worker) will all be participating in the NYACK PENGUIN PLUNGE on Sunday, March 5. The Penguin Plunge is scheduled between 12 & 2pm at Memorial Park in Nyack. This fundraiser raises money for local children (including a Nyack MS student) who are facing difficult health challenges.

We invite anyone interested to support this incredible cause and/or come out to watch (or join) the fun! Principal Dreves will be plunging in full principal gear! Guaranteed for some laughs!

CLICK HERE FOR THE WEBSITE AND MORE INFORMATION.

ARCHIVES ON OUR WEBSITE

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

KINDERGARTEN SCREENING DATES

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE KINDERGARTEN SCREENING DATES for the Nyack Public Schools. If you have a child who will be starting to attend the Nyack Public Schools as a kindergarten student, please plan ahead for registration to happen at UNES from June 12-15. We expect Kindergarten Orientation to occur during August.

Applications for free/reduced lunch will be inserted in the 2023-2024 school calendar that will be mailed to you in late August. Bus information will be sent electronically via email and available through the Parent Portal after enrollment.

FOR YOUR FUTURE PLANNING

Please note that the following dates have been set for two big events at the end of the year. We know that many people have to plan very far in advance so please mark your calendars:

5th Grade Graduation / Moving Up Ceremony - Friday, June 16 (@ 9:30am)

Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony - Wednesday, June 14 (@ 9:30am)

Mark Your Calendars!

Friday, February 17 - Rockland Read In Competition
Friday, February 17 - Virtual Parent Coffee with Principal Dreves
February 13-17 - Spirit Week
February 20-24 - WINTER RECESS (No School)
Sunday, March 5 - Penguin Plunge @ Memorial Park in Nyack.