Summer Communications

Dear New & Returning Clinton Hill Students and Families, 

We’ve made it once again to the end of the school year.  As a student, I thought the summer would never come.  As a teacher, I realized that there are people who look forward to summers more than students.  And now as a parent, this time in June that ends one school year and starts another has some bitter-sweetness, as we see our kids grow up so quickly!  I wish you and your families all the best as you head into whatever adventures, work, or laziness awaits you this summer.  

For those of you new to Clinton Hill, welcome!   We are a school where we believe that all students can achieve at high levels, where students do the bulk of the thinking in class and where relationships are the foundation to student success and positive classroom culture.  We are excited to welcome you to our community and I look forward to meeting you in the upcoming months, if we have not met already.   

Today we are sharing a lot of detailed and important information to guide you this summer and help you prepare for the start of the 2023-24 school year. We cannot wait to welcome you all back to school in September for another full, rich, and busy school year.   See below for an overview of what is in this email: 

• CHMS Classroom Pages

• Summer Reading 

• Calendar of Important Dates

• Uniforms

• Schedule Overview 

• Living Environment Updates

• Supply Lists

• Required Start of Year Forms

• For new CHMS students only: 

  • New Family Picnic

  • Infinite Campus 

  • Information on our Math Curriculum

Please take some time to read through this information and reach-out with any questions. You can contact us at chmscoordinator@brooklynprospect.org or 718-783-1570. Our middle school office is open Monday through Thursday, 9AM-2PM, starting on July 21st, as our office will also be closed from July 3 - July 21. 

Have a wonderful summer vacation! 

Sincerely, 

Matt Ellis

Middle School Principal &

Middle School Program Office

CHMS Classroom Pages

Visit CHMS Classroom Pages for whole school communications, useful links, homework and more!  We will be consolidating important information both in this update and all year to this on the site. 

Summer Reading 

We are excited to share these Summer Reading resources for all rising 7th and 8th graders here at CHMS. Each summer, we ask students to read a total of at least three texts during the months of July and August in order to maintain their strong literacy skills they have worked to build upon all year. Students should complete the activities in the packet and contribute to the 'CHMS Reads!' Flipgrid Wall in order to share about what they read! ELA teachers will collect Summer Reading packets in the fall, and students will be rewarded for completing this summer assignment. 

Calendar of Important Dates

We are pleased to share our 2023-24 School Year Calendar! 

In general, we seek to align our calendar to the New York City Department of Education in most places, and deviations are primarily due to us observing federal holidays that fall over a weekend or professional development days that do not align with our assessment calendar. Please note that on January 29, 2024, and June 8, 2024, Prospect Schools will be open while the DOE is closed—Families must arrange transportation for their child on these two days. Please contact your child's school if you have any questions or concerns. 

We are excited about the upcoming school year and look forward to working together to create a nurturing and inspiring learning environment for your child. 

Date

Event Details 

Thursday, August 10th 

Summer Picnic at Prospect Park from 3-5pm

Tuesday, September 5th

*Note, there will be opportunities to sign up for conferences earlier than this as well*

Advisory Welcome Conferences (more information and signup coming later this summer)

Wednesday, September 6th

Student Orientation

Start and end time will be shared out in the summer

Thursday, September 7th

First Day of Classes for All Students

Uniforms

Our uniform policy strives to reduce a common source of adolescent stress and anxiety about what to wear to school or how their clothes might stack up against others' while offering flexibility and choice to ensure that each student is comfortable.   All CHMS middle school students are required to wear their school uniform daily, except on noted school-wide and grade-wide dress down days.   Below is a high-level summary.  Students may wear any solid, non-logoed blue, black, or khaki bottoms including sweats, joggers, unripped jeans, shorts, skirts, and or leggings. 

• Students must wear a BPCS top each day. They have the option of wearing the official uniform polo with Brooklyn Prospect logo (available for purchase directly from Land’s End via this link).   We strongly encourage families to purchase their uniforms early in the summer to ensure students are prepared for the first day of school. Students also have the option of wearing a variety of school-issued CHMS or Prospect Schools branded t-shirts that are issued over the course of their time at CHMS.  

• We will also be selling iron-on BPCS logo patches if you would like to buy your solid colored shirts elsewhere.  We will be sharing more information about sales of patches later this summer. 

• Students can wear any solid colored sweater or sweatshirt over their CHMS tops if they will be cold.  These items cannot have visible logos or insignias. We encourage families to add iron patches to add to these shirts. Patches cannot be added to items with logos, writing, or images.

Schedule Overview

Below is a draft visual of what you can expect your student’s schedule will look like.