Monday, January 2, 2017

Week of January 3rd

UAI Staff News

Volume IV
Issue 17
Week of January 3rd, 2017

This Week's Memories

Happy New Year!  Like the rest of the world, 2016 saw enormous challenge for UAI.  As we turned the corner from the end of last year into the rebirth of this school year, we began to build the foundation for a newer, stronger, and healthier UAI.  Now, at the half-way point of our school year, we welcome a new calendar year.  With the outcomes of the election and the changing cultural tide around us, our mission to empower young women through math & science is now more important than ever.  

Reflecting on this fall and looking ahead to the spring, I am inspired by the commitment and bravery that each of you show every day.  Our teenagers continually present challenges - both as teenagers and as students who grapple with the hurdles of poverty and race.  In the face of these challenges, you continue to find new ways to challenge them to thrive in spite of these barriers.  It is my honor to work with each of you as you develop these tasks, and as you hone your craft. 

I know that working at UAI is a choice.  I am thankful that you all chose to work with our students, so many of whom face great challenge.  I am honored to share with you the mission to bring about change for our youn women.  In four years, we will have another election, and every single student in the UAI high school will be eligible voters. What we do and how we do it matters.  I look forward to the work of 2017 with you all.  I am excited about the hope that 2017 brings to us all!

Below is a brief video that I hope inspires you as much as it did me.  Martine & Paula have both stepped up to fill the teaching gap that opened when Kristina S. left earlier this year.  Unfortunately, finding a chemistry teacher mid-year is nearly impossible.  So, both Martine & Paula faced their content fears and rose to the challenge of becoming the lead teachers in their 11th & 12th grade chemistry classes.  Neither have the background, but both pushed the envelope of their learning, and as a result, have inspired our students to do the same.  Below is Fabiana bringing beauty of chemical bonding.  Thank you Martine!  It was definitely one of the most beautiful things to happen in 2016!!



To Do's for this Week

[FRIDAY, 06JAN17] UAI Homecoming Dance. This Friday will be our first official homecoming dance.  This is a semi-formal dance, so students and staff should dress to impress.  Please help us promote the dance by announcing it to students in classes this week.  This dance is open to students in grades 8-12 plus UAI alumni.  Tickets can only be purchased from Ms. Doris or Ms. Jen.   It's a tricky calendar this year.  We had to schedule it right after break because the other Friday's in January ran up against 3-day weekends, Benchmarks, or Regents.  So, please help us get the word out by encouraging students to come! Tickets are $7, and they will not be sold at the door.  Last chance to buy tickets is Thursday 05JAN16.  


[TUESDAY, 10JAN17] UAI @ Brooklyn Nets. Our annual school trip to the Nets at Barclay's Center is coming up next week.  This year, we're charging $35 to cover the ticket price and also a pizza party that will happen before the game at UAI.  In addition to Homecoming, please also announce these ticket sales.  Tickets can be purchased from Ms. Jen in room 401.  Tickets must be purchased by Friday, 06JAN17.


[WEEK of 08JAN17] Prepare for MidYear Reviews. Starting next week, we will be conducting our Midyear reviews.  Please make sure you log into Advance to review your feedback for this year in preparation for the review.  In addition please CLICK HERE to review complete expectations for your review.  You should have already received a calendar invite for your scheduled review.  If you did not receive it, please email Kiri ASAP.


[THIS MONTH] Prepare for end of the semester. There are 14 HS and 19 MS days left in this semester.  High School Benchmarks will be on Thursday and Friday 19JAN and 20JAN.  Middle School Benchmarks will be the following week (26JAN and 27JAN).  HS Regents week begins on Tuesday, 24JAN.  Both MS and HS grades will be due on Friday 27JAN17 at 8:30AM.  As an reminder, please make sure you are adhering to the UAI grading policy:



At UAI, grades are numeric and based on a scale of 50-100.  For all course work and assessments, the lowest grade students can receive is a 50 and the highest grade is 100.  The 50-100 scale is a mathematically aligned scale to the traditional letter grades of A, B, C, D and F.

  • The ONLY failing grade we use on report cards and transcripts is 55. If a student has another actual grade (e.g. 57, 63, 51), only 55 may be entered for failing. There is ONE exceptions to this rule. If the grades being entered are for marking periods two or four, then teachers may elect to use the grade of 60. This grade indicates that the student is currently failing, but will likely pass for the semester. Administratively, we differentiate failing grades of 60 and 55 for Promotion In Doubt letters and Summer School programming.
  • All Passing Grades are integers > 65 but < 99. We do not use the final grade of 100. The minimum passing grade is 65. The maximum passing grade is 99.
  • A student's overall course grade is 50% Performance activities, 30% Progress, and 20% Participation. In the unit arcs, teachers must specify which activities and assessments fall into each category so that students have a clear understanding of how they are being graded. NOTE: Participation includes being on-time to class.
  • All courses are annualized (except for NYU Poly courses). Students officially receive their final grade and credit in June of the school year. Students will receive a progress report for 5 marking periods, and the final (6th) report card will issue the grade for the course. If passing at the 3rd marking period (end of the fall term), at least 1 credit is guaranteed. If passing at the end of the 6th marking period (end of the spring term), then the students will earn both credit.



SEL Updates

No updates this week


Add this calendar to your own!  See that little "+" sign in the bottom right hand corner?  Click on it to have it show up in your personal google calendar!


Per Session Posting

We need chaperones for this week's Homecoming Dance.  I'm looking for a maximum of 10 chaperones for this week's dance.  Hours will be from 5:45-10PM.  Please email Kiri if you are interested.

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