Week of Sept 24th

UAI Staff News

Volume VI

Issue 6

September 18th, 2018

[164 School Days Remaining]

Announcements

Fall Recruitment Kicks Off! Thanks to the hard work of Lauren, Jen, and the recruitment committee, we are off and running for our annual student recruitment season.   For the next several months, we will be reaching out to schools, families, and students to share all the wonderful opportunities UAI has to offer.  Please help us get the word out to anyone in your communities who also may be in the midst of hunting for a middle or high school.  In particular, we are looking to increase our 8th-grade matriculation into high school from 67% to 90%.  So, if you are working with our 8th graders, please take a moment to help them understand all the wonderful things UAI has.  As our own students, UAI 8th graders have first dibs on 9th-grade seats!  At UAI, our students are:

• College Bound! 91% of our entering HS students graduate in 4 yrs and 100% of those graduated are matched with a college with a generous financial aid package.  
• Computer Savvy!  Computer Science is a new HS program available to students this year.  Ms. Nadine & Mr. Matthew can share more!
• College Ready! We offer many AP and College Level courses (AP English Language, Bio, Env. Science, Spanish, and @ NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Intro to Engineering) with more on the way (AP World History, and AP Eng Lit)
• Well Known! We are a small and nurturing community aimed at making sure all of our students excel in college and beyond.  All students engage in a sequence of Social-Emotional Learning Instruction. In addition, our team of advisors, counselors, and teachers actively connect with families and students to make sure each of our students receives individualized attention and support.
• Stong, Smart, and Bold!  Our Partners like Girls Inc provide daily enrichment opportunities (both in-day and after school) that provide our young women with a range of experiences that build their access to careers, understanding of female health & nutrition and foster their creative and athletic interests.  By participating in a wide variety of Girls Inc Activities, our young women are empowered to become Strong, Smart, and Bold!

To Dos

First Fire Drill at 9:35AM.  On Thursday, 27SEP18, we will be having our first real fire drill at 9:35AM.  We will review specific procedures during Monday PD, but make sure that your rooms have updated rosters and status cards (red/green/health) in your evacuation folders.

Curriculum Night is Wednesday, Sept. 26th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM

Monday PD will be dedicated to preparing for Curriculum Night, so you'll have more time to ask questions then.  For now, here's some info on the evening:

This year, we will begin the night by connecting as a larger community in our cafeteria.  Grades 6-11 families will begin the night with a dinner and PTA meeting in the cafeteria.  Senior families will eat in the basement with Ms. Doris, Ms. Danielle I and Ms. Danielle R to receive important college information and senior activities.   

Parents will visit three classrooms:  (1) Tech Set Up:  Access to PupilPath and Google Classrooms, (2) Humanities Room:  Language, English, and Social Studies Teachers, (3) Math Science Room:  Math and Science Teachers

Here the full agenda for the evening:

• 5:00PM - UAI Staff Prepares for Curriculum Night
• 5:30PM - UAI Community Dinner in Cafeteria (All Staff Report except Danielle, Danielle, and Doris)
• 6:00PM - Elana & Tracy Present to Community 
• 6:15PM - Girls Inc Presents to Community
• 6:15PM -  All Other Staff Return to Classrooms to Prepare to Receive Families
• 6:30-8:00 - Classroom Rotations (30 minutes each)
• Rotation Rooms
• 6th Grade:  309 Math/Science, 311 Humanities, 305 Tech Set Up
• 7th Grade:  303 Math/Science, 307 Humanities, 315 Tech Set Up
• 8th Grade:  205L - High School Applications & 8th Grade Activities
• 9th Grade:  405 Math/Science; 409 Humanities, 407 Tech Set Up
• 10th Grade: 511 Math/Science; 509 Humanities, 515 Tech Set Up
• 11th Grade:  B45 Math/Science; B43 Humanities, B49 Tech Set Up
• 12th Grade : B53 - College Applications & 12th Grade Activities

Teachers will move to their assigned rooms at 6:30 and will be with parents from 6:30 to 8:00. The objective of Curriculum Night is to share with parents what their child will be learning about for the year, answer any questions that parents may have and encourage family participation throughout the school year. Parents will also be tasked to sign-up for PupilPath during this time.

8th Grade parents will be meeting with Ms. Lauren and Ms. Jen around the high school application process and making smart, informed choices around the high school selection.

Please remember to make those final calls home to invite families and remind students about Curriculum Night. In addition, a Newsletter went home to the middle school, reminders have been sent via email and posted on social media and robocalls have been going out for the past two weeks. We are expecting a great turnout and want our first event of the 2018-19 school year to be a huge success!

SEL Update

Last week in SEL, 9th grade worked on building connections with our peers and strengthening our collaboration/communication skills. We used fun and engaging learning stations to practice and reflect on two collaboration techniques: Equal Opportunities to Speak and Assuming Your Group Members Mean Well.

How We Did It:
• We participated in daily turn and talks to share our ideas and listen to different perspectives.

• We led group discussions on how to incorporate two SEL skills, social awareness and relationship building, in our everyday lives   and in our core classes.

• We read and discussed personal stories from teens in NYC to gain a better perspective on how to effectively communicate with our teachers, peers and the world around us.

Per Session Opportunities

None This Week