Welcome to P.S. 236K

P.S. 236 Chorus Program

We are excited to offer our annual after school Chorus Program Lottery for 3rd-5th graders.

Students received a letter outlining the program, dates, and times.

The deadline to return the tear-off is January 5, 2023.

If your child is interested in joining the program, make sure to sign and return the tear-off tomorrow.

Program dates/times:

2:25 - 4:10 for each session

January 12,19, 26

February 2, 16,

March 2, 16, 23, 30

April 20, 27,

May 4, 11, 18

Mid-Winter Break/Covid testing protocols to return on January 3, 2023

Dear Families,

To keep our school communities safe following the winter break, we strongly encourage all students to get tested for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status, especially after travelling and/or attending large gatherings. Your child can get tested by a health care provider or use the two COVID-19 at-home tests that your child will bring home from school this week.

When should my child take the tests?

• Take the first test at least 48 hours after a gathering or known exposure to COVID-19.

• Take the second test 24-48 hours after the first test.

• Children can continue attending school unless they have symptoms or a positive test.

• Please note, if your child has recovered from a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the last 90 days, they do not need to take a test and should attend school after Winter Recess if they are feeling well.

• If your child develops symptoms, they should stay home and get tested; have them take an at-home test or talk to your provider about testing.

What should I do if my child tests positive on one of the tests?

• Students who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for at least 5 days following the first day of symptoms (or the day they tested positive, if they had no symptoms). They can return to school on day 6 if they have no symptoms or symptoms are improving, their symptoms do not include shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and they have not had a fever for at least 24 hours.

• They should wear a mask through day 10 after symptom onset or the positive test date if they had no symptoms. Masks may be removed after day 5 if your child has received two negative rapid tests 48 hours apart.

• Inform the school that your child has tested positive so your school community can be appropriately notified of possible exposure.

Where can I find instructions about the test kit?

• The test kits come with printed instructions that you should follow when administering the test. You can also watch videos in multiple languages on how to use your test kit at schools.nyc.gov/HomeRapidTestKits (opens in a new window).

• For more information about at-home tests, including how to interpret results, see nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-testing.page (opens in a new window).

• As a reminder, staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations is still the best tool we have to fight COVID-19 and to keep our schools safe for all our students. Children aged 6 months and older are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19. If your child is eligible but not yet vaccinated against COVID-19, please take the opportunity to make an appointment at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov (opens in a nw window) or call 311 to find a vaccine site near you. COVID-19 vaccination is free to all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration or insurance status. We also encourage everyone aged 5 and older to get the updated COVID-19 booster shot if they received their last vaccine dose at least 2 months ago. Please visit cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html (opens in a new window) for more information on COVID-19 vaccination schedules.

Finally, the fall and winter seasons coincide with an increase in other respiratory viruses such as the flu, (opens in a new window) otherwise known as influenza nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/flu-seasonal.page (opens in a new window) and RSV nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/respiratory-syncytial-virus.page (opens in a new window). As the flu and COVID-19 are both circulating at this time, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever. Vaccination is the best way to protect against the flu, which can be particularly dangerous for young children, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised. The flu vaccine will not prevent COVID-19, but it will help decrease the risk of you and your family suffering from severe flu symptoms that may necessitate medical care. You can safely receive the flu vaccine at the same time as all other vaccines, including the vaccine and booster for COVID-19 nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccines.page (opens in a new window).

To protect against these and other viruses, and in alignment with the recent health department advisory, we strongly recommend that everyone wear a mask when in a crowded, public indoor space, including at school, practice frequent handwashing, and cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

We wish you and your child a healthy and restful break.

Sincerely,

Tracy Agerton

Assistant Commissioner

Office of School Health

Middle School Applications for 5th graders (opens in a new window)

The deadline to submit your application was December 1, 2022.

Virtual Presentation to learn about schools/programs and applying to 3K, PreK and Kindergarten

All NYC families with children born in 2018, 2019, and 2020 please join us at a virtual information session covering 3-K, pre-K, and kindergarten admissions. After the presentation, we will respond to your questions.

During each online event the following will be discuss:

• How to learn about schools and programs.

• How to navigate MySchools.nyc (opens in a new window) the online school directory and application system.

• How to get ready now to apply later.

The content of each event is the same, but different interpretation services will be provided for different events, as follows:

• December 8, 2022, 2pm to 3pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Chinese (Mandarin), French, Urdu

• December 13, 2022, 2pm to 3pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Bangla, Korean, Spanish

• January 12, 2023, 6pm to 7pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian

• January 26, 2023, 6pm to 7pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Chinese (Mandarin), French, Urdu

• February 1, 2023, 2pm to 3pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Arabic, Haitian Creole, Russian

• February 15, 2023, 6pm to 7pm | Event held in English. Interpretation provided in: Bangla, Korean, Spanish

How to join:

· Each event will be hosted live online. Join us on Zoom at the event’s start time here: https://bit.ly/ESEvents2022-2023 (opens in a new window)

· IMPORTANT NOTE: Check your email or visit schools.nyc.gov/ESEvents (opens in a new window) the day before the first event to find the password and any other information you’ll need to join, as well as how to receive interpretation.

P.S. 236 has a FREE after-school program housed in the school

The Community Based Organization (CBO) that runs the program is Millennium Development.

The Director of the program is Ms. Stacey Dunn, PS236 Compass Director

The program hours are:

2:20pm - 5:30pm

Monday - Friday

Proper footwear for recess

All students go outside during the school day either for recess or gym.

It is important to make sure your child has proper footwear on everyday.

Please do not send your child in flipflops, sandals without back straps, crocs without back straps,

shoes with heels or boots. The best footwear is rubber bottom shoes or sneakers.

We want all students to enjoy their time outside safely.

This is the way for you to stay connected to your student’s education and more in the new NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) Portal.

One sign-in will allow you to:

• See your students grades, test scores and more in My Student

• ake classes in Parent University

• Report bullying

• Access forms for your child

• Reset your child's DOE account password

• If you already have an account, simply click "Forgot My Password" to reset