Week of October 15th

UAI Staff News

Volume XII

Issue 7

October 15th,  2024

Looking Back.  In 2006, we launched our recruitment efforts to recruit students to the very first class of UAI (the class of 2013 - they were in 6th grade). One of the very first students and parent that we met was Rema Bryce.  I remember her like it was yesterday.  She came to our table and immediately jumped into playing a game of Set with me.  Her smile was HUUUUGE and she immediately responded to the game and to logic and patterns inherent in that game.  Her curiosity and excitement was infectious, and before we knew it, we had an entire groups of kids gathering around us all to see what all the fun was about.

Fast forward to Friday - she popped into my office door as if no time had passed.  In truth, it had been 11 years since she walked across that stage and I handed her her high school diploma a few seconds before wrapping her in the biggest of hugs.  

In that moment, I deeply experienced what makes and has always made UAI special - it's our students. 

Rema told me she was turning 30 in a few weeks (and yes, I screamed out loud - because that just reflected how old I really am), but then she went on to tell me about all of the kids with whom she is still close - all of our alumni who have started families and are doing great things on their own.  For Rema, she's currently a flight steward with United, and living in Las Angeles (she was visiting town to see mom).  She's also currently training to become an airline pilot and will soon step up to be at the helm of those 747s!!  An African American FEMALE pilot - Rema is smashing down those barriers and claiming her place in worlds that have historically tried to keep her (and so many like her) out!

Tanae (Douglas -Class of 2024) and Ace (Nguyen - Class of 2024) also stopped by to say hi!  They are at the start of their journey to full grown up like Rema, but they are both starting strong.  Tanae is killing it at York - spending all of her days in classes and working hard to achieve.  Ace says Bard is wonderful and is already talking about studying abroad next year. 

What was true about all three of them was that they each had their own challenges and hurdles in school, but each of them all expressed how much they appreciated the support, love, and belief of the staff in them.

We are special because we nurture and grow the power and joy inherent in each of our young people.  We are special because we create mindsets in our young people of equity and rigor.

We are special because we develop student love and capacity in STEM

Our students graduate knowing that they belong in  spaces historically closed to them and fully capable of excelling in those spaces once there!

Test scores, attendance, etc - they only tell part of the story - listening to our alumni it is more than apparent that our love, joy, and support was an equally important part of their success equations!

 

Important Upcoming Dates

• MON 28OCT-MON 04OCT - 1st Benchmark (in Subject Classes - no special schedule)
• MON - 28OCT - ELA Benchmarks in ELA Classes
• TUE - 29OCT - SOC Benchmarks in SOC Classes
• WED - 30OCT - SCI Benchmarks in SCI Classes
• THU - 31OCT - Halloween (regular classes, no tests)
• FRI - 01NOV - Diwali - NO SCHOOL
• MON - 04NOV - MAT Benchmarks in MAT Classes
  
  
• THU 24OCT - First UAI Instructional Rounds (Details to come)
  
  
• FRI 01NOV - Diwali - NO SCHOOL
• MON 04NOV - End of Marking Period 1
• TUE 05NOV - Remote PD Day (Election Day) - No Classes
• WED 06NOV - Marking Period 2 Begins
• THU 07NOV - Grades due at 3PM
• FRI 08NOV - MP1 Report Cards Distributed in 7th Period
• MON 11NOV - Veteran's Day - NO SCHOOL

Announcements & To Dos

Staff Shout Outs.  Fridays are current events science in MS Science classes!  Freida and Sarah are working to not only nurture our students' natural curiosity about the scientific curiosities in the world, but also to hold "adult" conversations about these ideas - learning how to apply growing SEL skills to step up and step back, engaging in productive dialog that enriches the learning experience for all.  

This past Friday, students learned about Fat Bear Week.  In this week's adult talk, students learned about each of the bear candidates in stations and worked in small, random groups to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate bears.  At the same time, they stories of the bears were filled with both science and compelling narratives, leading to a very engaging adult talk at the end of class!

Nicely done Freida & Sarah!! Thank you for working so hard to create wonderful learning opportunities for our students like this one!

Outreach.  Lots of folks have forgotten to log their outreach for last week.  Please do so by midnight tonight.  As a reminder, as per contract, there is 55 minutes of outreach and parent engagement that must be completed each week.  This work can be completed remotely, however, if you do not fulfill the expectations of logging the work, then there has to be consequences for not fulfilling contractual requirements. 

Ultimately, habitually forgetting to completely log your 55minutes will result in you reverting to the traditional outreach schedule.  This means you'll need to stay at school to complete the outreach on Tuesdays for 55 minutes (the default outreach time) and clock out.   You will receive 3 reminders to log your outreach this year.  The first will be an email, the 2nd will be a in-person meeting with me, the 3rd will be a counseling memo.  If you forget to completely log your 55min of outreach for a 4th time this year, you will revert to the original outreach structure (staying in school on Tuesdays to complete the outreach).  

Bottom line - set yourself a weekly reminder to log all of your outreach each week!  For this week, the emphasis was on connecting with families of students who are meeting goals (>80) in your class.  This is to celebrate their achievements and build strong relationships with families.

 Please record all activities for remote outreach  in the outreach log. FYI, these activities include:

• Meetings (individual or group) with parents or guardians (this can also be IEP meetings)
• Telephone conversations with parents/guardians
• Written correspondence with parents or guardians (emails, texts, newsletters)
• Creating Newsletters
• Creating content for school/class websites (e.g. google classrooms)
• Preparing student report cards
• Preparing student progress reports
• Meetings with parents of English language learners
• Preparing for parent engagement activities (e.g. curriculum night, conferences, etc)
• Other mutually agreed-upon items  

[REPOST] Support Brooklyn PTAs.  This is a special post from Mike (6/7th Grade ELA) - 

Want to support Brooklyn public school PTAs? Want to enjoy the beautiful fall weather with a fun run / walk around Prospect Park? Sign up for this year's Brooklyn PTA Fun Run for Schools, and join team UAI when you do! The race will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 10 AM. Bib pickup and pre-race activities will begin at 9:00 AM. The race is a ~5k (3.3 mile) lap of Prospect Park, and is very family friendly, with lots of kids participating. Use this link to join UAI's team, and check out the race page for more info. I'll be running, and hope I can see lots of you there! - Mike

Keep Promoting UAI Clubs.  UAI Clubs launched officially on Monday, 07OCT24.   Announce them in class, push kids to get involved - emphasize the importance of extracurriculars and activities OUTSIDE of the classroom.  Colleges & jobs look to see what activities kids are in to evaluate them as potential candidates for their university or business.  Yes, they get this info from the counselors AND yes, we all need to put this on repeat so that it sinks in to their brains!  Here's what you can do

• Print this out and hang it on your classroom door:   UAI Clubs 
• Please let Jen know if your club is missing
• Make an announcement at the start of each class this week to promote the launch of clubs.
• Clubs are great resume builders for jobs and college - remind kids of that!
• Highlight how awesome the club teachers are and that this is a great chance to learn more about them in a new way!
  
  

[REPOST]  Club Attendance & Per Session.  Please remember to clock out for clubs that end after school, and to clock in for clubs that begin before school.   Lunch clubs are prep-period coverage (not per session).  Please remember to take attendance on the Club Attendance Form.  You need this completed prior to having your per session approved.  We are aiming for all clubs to have at least 10 kids, so please try actively to recruit.  If there is fewer than 10, don't stress for now, but clubs that end up having fewer than 3 students will likely not be continued for the spring.

Save the Dates to Celebrate.  Celebrating our students and our staff is core to the health of our school!  Our central mission at UAI is the success and achievement of our students.  One pathway to that goal is through building the efficacy, sense of belonging, and pride that our staff has in your work at UAI.  That sense of worth and value is built both through achieving targeted student outcomes and in recognition of those achievements and efforts! 

Everyone at our school has a hand in the organization that is built to launch our students into bright futures.  Highlighting their work and achievements is central to celebrating our folks and their efforts in pushing our entire school and our students to achieving our goals. 

I was chitchatting with Paula the other day, and she was sharing some ideas she & Judy had had about raising up our colleagues.  At the same time, I had already been thinking about creating our UAI calendar of the days to celebrate our people!!   And since there really are no original ideas anymore - I googled and found this handy calendar!  I've plucked the days celebrating people out of this calendar to create our own for the 24-25 school year.

Here are the special days in which we plan to pause to celebrate those special folks who do their best in their role to push forward our collective goals!  

• September 2024
• 17SEP24 - National IT Professional's Day (we missed this - so moved to October 17th!).  This is the day to celebrate JASON's Amazing work with our school!!
  
  
• October 2024
• 02OCT24 - National Custodian Day (we missed this too - so moved to October 22nd for this year).  Let's celebrate Carlos, Harry, Junior, & Mr. O!
  
  
• November 2024
• 21NOV24 - National Substitute Teacher Day.  Let's celebrate Jermaine, Mahjabeen, and Sean!
  
  
• February 2025
• 03FEB-07FEB - National School Counselor's Week.  WOOHOO to JJR, Tiffany, Jen, AND our Deans (who do a lot of our counseling) Jean, Alaisha and Nicole... AND to our interns, Lara, Carlene, and Emily
  
  
• April 2025
• 03APR - Paraprofessional Appreciation Day - Time to appreciate Juelle, Bryanna, Aurora, Adelle, Nora, Ebony, Janiya, and Brenda!
• 07APR-11APR - National Assistant Principal's Week - Give it up to ANNIE!!!
• 20APR-26APR - Administrative Professionals Week - Many Thanks to Paula, Damaris, and Tracey!
• 21APR-25APR - Aterschool Professionals Week - Whooping it up for GIRLS INC!!
  
  
• May 2025
• 02MAY - School Lunch Hero Day - Give thanks for our amazing cafeteria staff
• 05MAY-09MAY - Teacher Appreciation Week - Big Ups to ALL of our amazing teachers!
• 07MAR - School Nurse Day - YAY for Nurse Cole
  
  

We're still working on the logistics of how we will celebrate folks.  To start, a face-to-face thank you or note of appreciation or a short written note via email or dropped in a mailbox will be enough!  For those who want to give more (for gifts like lunch or a special gift), standby for suggestion donation and collection plan!!  I'm going to circle back to Judy & Paula for ideas on that one!

Fundamentally, when we all make it a point to lift each other up, our spirits are enriched, and our students benefit!  When our cups are filled, we have much more to give, and our kids need our best selves in order to rise up to smash down barriers and obstacles that stand in the way of them becoming their best versions of themselves!  

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form

Classroom SetUp and Planning.  12 hours total.  All Classroom Staff (Teachers & Paras) are eligible.  Tue 27-29Aug . 

Week of October 7th

UAI Staff News

Volume XII

Issue 6

October 7th,  2024

Settling into STEM.  Curiosity, Problem Solving, and Innovation - these are the key mindsets that we need to settle into as we dig deeper into October.  First, let's celebrate what HAS been going well!

From my observations & classroom visits thus far, I can easily see that each of you are working hard to establish a strong emotionally supportive learning environment.

• Across classrooms, I see and hear students smiling and laughing, and actively asking questions and helping peers.  Many thanks to all of our teachers & paraprofessionals for setting the tone with strong Positive Climates in our classrooms. 
  
  
• Classroom staff are also working hard to cultivate their skills around Teacher Sensitivity andB checking in with students to pick up on cues as their needs & interests throughout the classroom period.  I seen multiple teachers and paras move intention to help specific students get into tasks and check in frequently to support their progress as they worked through activities.
  
  
• Particularly impressive is the consistency with which all classroom staff create opportunities for students to meaningfully discuss their learnings and questions.  Discourse is a crucial strategy for girls to build their confidence and deepen understanding, particularly in STEM.  Providing these opportunities and being responsive to student voices shows an amazing strides in our collective efforts to cultivate Regard for Adolescent Perspectives.
  
  

And still, there are still kids with struggles.  There are still those students who persist in struggling through the activities and lessons.  They are kids who are new English learners, kids who learn differently and have individualized education plans, and kids who may be struggling with attendance due to issues outside of the classroom.  There may be kids who struggle in your class who don't fit any of these!  

Now is the time to dive into your own STEM thinking.  

• Be curious about the kids who puzzle you the most.  Talk with them, look at their work.  Make sure you are getting the entire picture.  Along side the list of the things they are not currently doing well, make sure you are illustrating an equally long list of the things in which they are showing competency.  None of us are only a list of failures.  Be disciplined and curious to push your perspective and uncover an equally robust list of your students' successes.  Curiosity leads to JOY!
  
  
• From there, dive into problem solving.  Use the tools, knowledge and skills you have.  You have many!!  Think about the hurdles that are getting in the way for your students, and lean into your experience, skills, and pedagogical education to come up with some ideas to try.  Cultivate these ideas with your planning partners and teams, and develop an array of strategies and approaches to try with your students to lower/remove those hurdles and to grow their independence and access to lessons and activities.  Be rigorous in your thinking.  Remember that you're not removing the challenge.  You want students to productively struggle.  
  
  
• Then, try it!  Innovation & application are the key pieces of STEM thinking.  You need to try out your ideas in classes.  Include the students in your efforts.  Talk with them about your observations and what you're thinking about trying to help them be successful.  Including them as collaborators is powerful and equitable.
  
  

The greatest thing about STEM thinking is that every success is a party and every failure is simply an invitation to try again.  You may not come up with strategies or approaches that succeed right away.  However, that's simply a sign that you haven't found the right strategy YET.  

So, this month - step into the shoes of the kids who struggle the most in your classes, and look back at your lessons & activities through their eyes.  Reach into your rich toolbox and dray on your experience to find ideas that can increase access to the challenge and help them overcome the hurdles that are in the way of learning. 

Remember - the only way our students with the biggest challenges can reach the goal of >80 in your class is if we find and use interventions that help them succeed, and ultimately succeed on their own!

Important Upcoming Dates

• MON- 07OCT - 1st PTA Dinner at UAI 6PM - Farm
  
• TUE - 08OCT - UA Visit from Centerbridge
• WED- 09OCT - Suffs Musical on Broadway
• WED- 09OCT - Bridge The Gap Event @3PM - Tillary Park
• THU- 10OCT - Latin Dance Party @3PM - Cafeteria
  
  
• MON - 14OCT - Indigenous Peoples/Italian American Heritage Day
• MON 28OCT-MON 04OCT - 1st Benchmark (in Subject Classes - no special schedule)
• FRI 01NOV - Diwali - NO SCHOOL
• MON 04NOV - End of Marking Period 1
• TUE 05NOV - Remote PD Day (Election Day) - No Classes

Announcements & To Dos

Staff Shout Outs.  If you haven't yet taken a good look at the Behavior Log, you need to do so now!  In the last 20 days of school, the students support team (our Deans and Counselors) have conducted over 225 counseling and behavior interventions with our students.  As a result of their proactive and responsive efforts in combination with the work of our classroom staff, we've had one of the smoothest starts to the year, ever AND their team has decreased by two this year.  Many, many thanks to Tiffany, Jennifer, Jen, Jean, and Nicole (and Alaisha for the couple of days she was here before her bambino appeared!).  Your work often occurs in long talks with kids and families in offices, and the nature is just less public.  However, it doesn't mean that the work doesn't have equally big impact for our students and families.  THANK YOU!!!

Also a special shout out to Tom W & Jordan (AMNH Resident).  I had the lovely opportunity to watch them working together in Earth Science last week.  Most impressive was their circulation around the classroom as students engaged in a computer-simulation of how elements are created with the gravity present in stars.   Their circulation was intentional - moving to kids who needed the most help first, and specific - asking enough questions to assess student thinking but not giving away too much so students had to work out what was happening on their own.  Nicely done!

Monday PD.  Monday staff PD will be aimed at supporting our work in finding ways to intervene and support our learners with the biggest learning hurdles.  Judy & Phillan will be leading us in launching our case study work around Students with IEPs and finding ways to move them from stuck to productively struggling!

Support Brooklyn PTAs.  This is a special post from Mike (6/7th Grade ELA) - 

Want to support Brooklyn public school PTAs? Want to enjoy the beautiful fall weather with a fun run / walk around Prospect Park? Sign up for this year's Brooklyn PTA Fun Run for Schools, and join team UAI when you do! The race will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 10 AM. Bib pickup and pre-race activities will begin at 9:00 AM. The race is a ~5k (3.3 mile) lap of Prospect Park, and is very family friendly, with lots of kids participating. Use this link to join UAI's team, and check out the race page for more info. I'll be running, and hope I can see lots of you there! - Mike

Bridging the Gap 2.   This is a post from Kelly

The Adams Street Youth Leadership Council (YLC) started a Bridging the Gap Initiative last spring to build relationships between youth and police in order to decreased biased-based violence in downtown Brooklyn. They noted a 54% increase in student feelings of safety around law enforcement after the event last year so are hosting it again.

PLEASE promote this in your classes - there will be free bbq food, a DJ, field day games, and prizes for participation. The students have worked SO HARD on this initiative and spent all of their prize money to host it again. PLEASE help us get a strong student turnout by encouraging your students to attend.  Bring your Wednesday CLUBS to the event!

If you have connects at other schools in downtown BK - feel free to share this or send me their contact info. The more the merrier! I attached the flyer AND a promotional video the kids made last year.The Youth Leadership Council is holding their second Bridging the Gap event in Tillary Park this Wednesday.  

Clubs Launch.  UAI Clubs launch officially on Monday, 07OCT24.  Some may have already started an that's OK!   Please take a look at the UAI Clubs and please help us promote them with your students.  Announce them in class, push kids to get involved - emphasize the importance of extracurriculars and activities OUTSIDE of the classroom.  Colleges & jobs look to see what activities kids are in to evaluate them as potential candidates for their university or business.  Yes, they get this info from the counselors AND yes, we all need to put this on repeat so that it sinks in to their brains!  Here's what you can do

• Print this out and hang it on your classroom door:   UAI Clubs 
• Please let Jen know if your club is missing
• Make an announcement at the start of each class this week to promote the launch of clubs.
• Clubs are great resume builders for jobs and college - remind kids of that!
• Highlight how awesome the club teachers are and that this is a great chance to learn more about them in a new way!
  
  

Club Attendance & Per Session.  Please remember to clock out for clubs that end after school, and to clock in for clubs that begin before school.   Lunch clubs are prep-period coverage (not per session).  Please remember to take attendance on the Club Attendance Form.  You need this completed prior to having your per session approved.  We are aiming for all clubs to have at least 10 kids, so please try actively to recruit.  If there is fewer than 10, don't stress for now, but clubs that end up having fewer than 3 students will likely not be continued for the spring.

Outreach.   This week, please make sure you are fulfilling your contractual obligation around the weekly 55min of family engagements.  All activities for remote outreach must be recorded in the outreach log, and these activities include:

• Meetings (individual or group) with parents or guardians (this can also be IEP meetings)
• Telephone conversations with parents/guardians
• Written correspondence with parents or guardians (emails, texts, newsletters)
• Creating Newsletters
• Creating content for school/class websites (e.g. google classrooms)
• Preparing student report cards
• Preparing student progress reports
• Meetings with parents of English language learners
• Preparing for parent engagement activities (e.g. curriculum night, conferences, etc)
• Other mutually agreed-upon items  

THIS WEEK - Please outreach to homes of kids who are meeting or exceeding the goal!  For kids who have >80 in your class thus far, call, email, or text home a note of congratulations.  Make sure to include 1-2 concrete things that the kids are doing well (e.g. their understanding of the content, ability to freely ask questions, actively seeks support, helps peers - which deepens their understanding, etc).  Families love to be proud of their kids and kids love making their families proud.  Sharing the good news spreads joy for both you and the families AND signals to the kids that it is WORTH it to work hard and keep trying!

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form

Classroom SetUp and Planning.  12 hours total.  All Classroom Staff (Teachers & Paras) are eligible.  Tue 27-29Aug .