Monday, January 2, 2023

Week of 03JAN23

UAI Staff News

Volume X
Issue 16
January 3rd, 2023


Happy New Year! Welcome back everyone and Happy, Happy New Year.  I do hope you all had an amazing holiday with friends and/or families and that you were also able to catch up on some much needed rest and recharging!  

The pivot to a new calendar year is traditionally a time for reflection and goal setting.  The closing out of the fall term is also another great opportunity to reflect on our goals (what went well...what didn't) and our ideas (what were the good ones that we should adjust and grown...which ones were the not-so successful ones that we need to leave behind in 2022).

Often, in these moments of reflection, we beeline it for the things that just aren't working out.  That's why folks make all sorts of resolutions around vices (food, alcohol, sugar, toxic relationships...etc). 

I want to encourage you to find the light.

Use these next few weeks to take stock of your work with our students & families thus far.  Focus on finding the spots and events that brought you the most joy and satisfaction.  Likely, those were the same places where you worked hard and felt the thrill of a big win - with the folks who mean the most to you.  

It will be in this experience where you might also find the confluence of values that are the bedrock to UAI - joy, power, equity, and rigor.  Dig into your experiences to find the confluence of 2 or more of these core values over the course of the fall.  Think about which students were at the center of the experience.  In the midst of this reflection, you will also see another pillar in the bedrock of UAI's core values - relationships.

So, step into 2023 at UAI with the strength of your relationships and the power of your success at the front of mind.  Find ways to make your relationships broaden and deepen, and look for ways to leverage your strengths into even more successes as we close out the Fall term and roll out the Spring semester.


Important dates. 

  • Wednesday, 04JAN23. Lady Eagles Home Game @4:30PM
  • Monday, 09JAN23. Lady Eagles Home Game @4:30PM
  • Tuesday, 10JAN23.  Final MP2 Progress Report Update during Tuesday Outreach Time
  • Wednesday, 11JAN23. Lady Eagles Home Game @4:30PM
  • Monday, 16JAN23.  MLK Jr Day, No School
  • Tuesday, 17JAN23.  January Benchmark week Begins
  • Wednesday, 18JAN23. Lady Eagles Home Game @4:30PM
  • Monday, 23JAN23.  January Benchmark week  Ends
  • Tuesday, 24JAN23.  HS Regents Week Begins (See Announcements below)
  • Monday, 30JAN23.  Chancellors's PD day - no students in school
  • Tuesday, 31JAN23.  First day of the Spring Term
Announcements & To Dos

Tech Inventory Part II.  Tuesday & Wednesday this week, our tech folk will still be on site inventorying our equipment.  Please make sure that students understand that this is not a punishment or annoyance.  This is simply part of the city's push to move us all to a new system.  Should students fail to bring in their equipment for cataloging, they may run the risk of no longer having functioning or serviceable equipment.  It will literally take 10 seconds.  Please tell them to bring whatever they have in for scanning.


Student Perception Survey.  The official student perception survey must be given by Friday, 20JAN23.   We will be administering this survey in partners.  So, everyone will have a partner, and you will be giving the perception survey to the students of your partner.  Staff are not allowed to give their own survey to their students.  Please CLICK HERE to see who your partner is and the directions for administering the survey.  You and your partner will work together to iron out the logistics.  You will each be able to choose which sections and which day(s) you want to administer the survey.  The only rules are 
  • You cannot administer your own survey (so you have to open your partner's access codes and use those codes with your partner's students).
  • You need to use up all of your survey codes (can all be in 1-2 sections, or 3 if need be.  You can choose the sections).
  • You will need to complete the survey no later than 20JAN23.
Hopefully, in reflecting on the data from our internal survey, you were able to take in some feedback from our students.  The importance of centering their voice, even when what they say is sometimes hard to hear, is core to the mission of UAI, and it is exactly how we help our students develop their power and sense of belonging with our school.  Please make sure they understand that we have heard them, and that we will use this data to continue to hear and listen and improve our work with them at UAI. 


Benchmarks.  Our first school-wide benchmark assessment will be taking place during the week of January 23.  In addition, we will be giving the NYCDOE Tripod Survey during that week for students (stay tuned for schedule).  For the benchmarks...
  • All Regents ending classes will be provided with a regents-based exam designed by your ILT lead, based on the regent exam and the units that your classes have completed thus far.  
  • All other 8-12th grade classes (breadth classes and AP classes) will need to develop their own class assessment and give it on the assigned day, during regular class time.

  • All exams will take place during your regular class time on the assigned days below.  Please note the DATE CHANGES.  These were made because I realized I hadn't considered that you might not see your classes on the day I picked!  I changed some things around to accommodate for that as much as possible.

    • Tuesday, 17JAN23.  All Science Classes give the Science Benchmark
    • Wednesday, 18JAN23.  All Social Studies classes
           (except sections PUZ - they don't meet on Wednesdays)
    • Thursday, 19JAN23.  PUZ Social Studies & All Math classes
    • Friday, 20JAN23. All ELA classes
    • Monday, 23JAN23.  All breadth classes.  If you don't meet with a section on Monday, please choose any day from the prior week to give your benchmark.
    • Tuesday, 24JAN23.  NYS Middle School Math Benchmark
    • Wednesday, 25JAN23.  NYS Middle School ELA Benchmark
  • All make-ups should be completed during learning labs or teachers should use prep/professional time to pull students from learning labs to complete make ups. 

Progress Reports.   The final progress reporting for MP2 will be next week.  Please make sure you are up-to-date with your grading and can input grades that will be largely reflecting of what student can expect to see on their final MP2 report card.  We'll meet in circle rooms next Tuesday to update the Progress Report document, and this will count as family outreach for the week.

Regents Exam Sign Up.   For the January Regents administration, students will have to opt in to taking the exams.  In June, all students in regents-ending classes will be automatically signed up for the exam.  Students who are ready to retake the Regents exams need complete THIS Form.  For this January testing period, only students who have been studying and are prepared to retake an exam should sign up.  For students who are looking for just practice, this is where they can find practice exams and answer keys



Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application For

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