Week of 21SEP26

 Urban Assembly Institute of Math and                        Science for Young Women

21 September 2026

School Leadership Message

We have a busy and exciting week ahead, including our first opportunity to welcome families into the building. This is an important moment for us as a school community. For many of our families, this will be their first chance to meet their child’s teachers, learn more about what their students will be learning this year, and begin to build relationships with the staff who will be supporting their children throughout the year.

We want families to leave our building feeling welcomed, informed, and connected to our school community. Every interaction matters, from a personal phone call inviting a family to join us, to greeting families at the door, sharing what students are learning, and taking the time to answer questions. These early connections help lay the foundation for strong partnerships between school and home.

As we head into the week, please be intentional about making families feel that they belong here. We have a great opportunity to start the year by showing families who we are, what we value, and how committed we are to their children’s success. Thank you for helping make this week a meaningful and welcoming experience for our students and families.

Upcoming Events. 

See Master Calendar Here.  Trips, assessment days, evening family events, student engagement activities and more. 

September:

• 21SEP - Yom Kippor - no school
• 24SEP - In-person Family Conferences, 5-7:30p. See Kelly's email from 9/15 with details.
• 25SEP - PTA Breakfast with Admin, 9am

Announcements:

• Please continue reaching out (by phone call) to your outreach case load - by end of day Tuesday, Sep 22nd you must...
• Introduce yourself as their main point of contact at the school
• Invite families in on Thursday, September 24th between 5:00-7:30pm.
• Dinner will be served and families will have a chance to meet their child's teachers
• Invite families in for our first PTA meeting on Sep 25th at 9am.
• Bagels and Coffee will be served.
• Log your outreach in the tracker
• If there are no working phone numbers on file please ask the student for their guardian's contact info. 
• If you need support getting working numbers for a family please email Debbie at dnormandia@schools.nyc.gov.

• Curriculum Night is Thursday! Here's an outline of the schedule for the night:
  • 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Families & Staff mingle in the cafeteria. Grab a plate and eat alongside our families as they arrive.
  • 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: Family conferences begin in assigned rooms (dinner will stay open throughout the night for families arriving later). Please have a course syllabus prepared to share with families and send to Kelly by EOD 9/22. You can make your own or use this template.
  • 6/7 Grade Teachers: In your regular classrooms.
  • 8–12 Math: Room 405
  • 8–12 Science: The Farm
  • 8–12 ELA: Room 307
  • 8–12 Social Studies: Room 509
  • Electives & Language: Room 315
  • Physical Education: Room 503
  • 8th Grade Family Resources: Room 303
  • 12th Grade Family Resources: Room 147
  • 8:00 PM: Building closes—we’ll all be packed up and headed out by 8:00 PM!
• Mandatory Training for All Staff - Due by Oct 30.
• New this school year is the OSPP Youth Development Training for All Staff 26-27. This asynchronous training covers mandatory trainings for ALL school staff, including non-instructional staff. It must be completed by October 30. 
• This training is available on WeLearn: ALL STAFF Youth Development Asynchronous Training Link. 

Instruction & Curriculum Updates.

Starting the Year Strong! We’ve been visiting classrooms for the past few days, and it’s been great seeing so much strong, positive work happening across the building. From warm welcomes at the door to active student collaboration and questions like "So tell me what you're thinking" and "Why do you say that?", these moments show a real commitment to student belonging and honoring how our kids think. I encourage you to take a few minutes to step into classrooms both inside and outside your department. It’s a great way to pick up fresh ideas and see the good work happening around our school. As a heads up, IST will be visiting classrooms this week to observe how our focus on productive struggle is taking shape in instruction so reach out to them if you'd like to join too. Thanks for all your hard work!  

Roster & Program Changes: Thank you all for your patience & flexibility and Liza for your outstanding work creating & revising student and staff programs.  All roster & program changes should be complete by Tuesday morning. Students in grades 8-12 will receive new schedules Tuesday to reflect all class and room changes. If any issues persist, please email Kelly & Liza. This includes student schedule issues, errors on the Master Schedule, professional period assignments, roster questions, etc.

Course Syllabi: Please share your course syllabi to Kelly by EOD 9.22 and have printed copies ready for families to take on Curriculum Night. You can make your own or use this template.

NYCPS Language Assistance Tool: All staff have access to Hello!, a NYCPS language assistance tool that provides automated interpretation support between staff and multilingual families. New this year, Hello! is available through the App Store, and/or Google Play, in addition to TeachHub. This resource:

• Provides free and on-demand interpretation in NYCPS' covered languages; and

• Is secure and private; conversations are not saved or stored.

 

For guidance on using Hello!, refer to the Hello! User Guide.

Language Access Services: To support compliance with Chancellor’s Regulation A-663, NYCPS provides the following language access services and resources you may use to communicate with families who prefer to communicate in a language other than English:

• Over-the-Phone Interpretation (OPI) Services: Call 929-552-7103 to access free interpreters in 300+ languages. 

• OLA In-Person and Virtual Interpretation Request Form: Request in-person or virtual interpretation services for scheduled family meetings. 

• OLA General Document Translation Request Form: Free translation of general communications (flyers, handbooks, brochures, newsletters) into NYCPS’ covered languages.

• OLA Individualized Document Translation Request Form: Free translation services for foreign transcripts into English for K–12 student placement within NYCPS and for Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) into any language.  

Operational Updates.

• Please see here for our 2026-27 Staff Directory.
• All purchase requests must be made through this form for this year! We have begun making purchases for items already requested!

School Culture Updates.

• All clubs (lunch and afterschool) must have attendance taken each day in this spreadsheet.
• RPET is looking for team members! Our Restorative Practice and Equity Team's first meeting will be Tuesday, 9/22 in room 403 at 3pm. Please reach out to Sue (srissberger@schools.nyc.gov) if you have questions or can't make it. Persession will be paid. 
• Advisors! Check out the new advisory resources that have been posted on google classroom for you to use if you need some activities for your advisory. 

Family and Community Updates.

• PTA/SLT calendar for the year is here.
• Our first PTA meeting is scheduled for September 25th - 9am breakfast with Admin. 
• Come Cheer on the Adams Street Volleyball Team this Wednesday, Sept. 23rd 4:30 in the gym 🏐

Per session Postings: Please Use this FORM to apply.

• Clubs! Thanks to all who expressed interest in hosting clubs. If you are running a club during lunch or afterschool please fill out the persession interest form. 
• Clubs MUST have at least 10 students enrolled and attending in order for persession or coverage pay to be paid.