Welcome to P.S. 236

Dear PS 236 Families,

Welcome back, parents and students, to another exciting school year! We are thrilled to see familiar faces and welcome new ones to our community. This year promises to be filled with new learning adventures, growth, and memorable experiences. Let's work together to make this school year the best one yet! 

Regular attendance is crucial for your child’s academic success. Missing school frequently can lead to gaps in learning and make it challenging for students to keep up with their peers. It’s important to note that if your child is absent for more than 10% of the school year, it is considered chronic absenteeism. Let’s work together to encourage consistent attendance and support our children’s education.

A few reminders:

• Early pickups conclude at 1:45 pm. After this time, you'll need to wait until the regular dismissal. For minimal disruption, please collect your child either 15 minutes before or after their lunchtime, and inform the teacher beforehand to ensure readiness and optimal timing. This practice guarantees continuous supervision.

• For any academic inquiries or concerns, please consult your child's teacher initially, as they are most familiar with your child's educational experience.

• Please dress your child appropriately for the weather; sneakers are advisable to prevent injuries.

• Remember to label your child's belongings to avoid mix-ups, as our lost and found is already accumulating items.

• Glass water bottles or containers are not permitted.

School Lunch Times 

• 1st Lunch Period – 10:35 – 11:25 – Grades 2, 3 and 2 / 3 - 118

• 2nd Lunch Period - 11:35 – 12:25 – Grades K, 4, K/1-218 and PreK

• 3rd Lunch Period – 12:35 – 1:25 – Grades 1, 5, and 4/5-332

Parent Square

The platform for communicating with your teacher is ParentSquare, an excellent communication tool. Currently, there are synchronization issues with creating classes, but they are expected to be resolved by next week.  If you have questions regarding Parent Square, please reach out to Ms. LaBella.  alabella@schools.nyc.gov

Wishing everyone a fantastic school year. 

Sincerely,

Mr. Paingankar, Principal

Summer Rising 

The application opened March 18th and closes on March 28th. Families can apply for Summer Rising online using myschools (our online directory and application system).

To apply, log in to myschools.nyc (if you already have a myschools account you do not need to create a new one).  Your myschools account, used for admissions, is different from the NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) that you may use to access your child's health forms and update emergency contact information.

If you have applied to Summer Rising, 3K/PreK programs, or NYCPS schools using myschools before, your child may already be added to your account.  If you do not have a myschools account, you can create one at myschools.nyc using your email address, your child's 9-digit student ID number and a myschools account creation code, which you can get by reaching out to me.

Families can list as many programs as they would like on their application; we recommend that you list as many programs as possible to increase the likelihood of being placed in a program of your choice.

This process is NOT first-come, first-served; all applications received by the deadline will be treated the same.  Families may make changes to their application at any point within the application period.  

For additional support or if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.  You can also visit the Summer Rising website (opens in a new window).

Kindergarten/Kindergarten Gifted and Talented Application Are Open

This year, children born in 2020 are eligible to apply to kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year. The elementary school admissions team is here to support you through the process.  Here are some key dates you should be aware of as you move through the process: 

Tuesday, December 10th, 2024: Kindergarten Application Opened 

Friday, January 24, 2025: Kindergarten Application Closed 

Wednesday, April 2, 2025: Kindergarten Offers Released

These dates are subject to change.  Any changes will be announced and communicated to families.

Set up your MySchools account. No code or ID necessary, just your email address.If you already have a MySchools account, be sure to log in and review your child’s profile information.  If you do not see your child on your dashboard, please create a new profile for them by clicking “Add a child”. Use the MySchools directory to start exploring schools and programs. Visit schools! Check our MySchools events page or contact schools directly to learn if they will be hosting virtual or in-person events. You can also visit a schools’ website to learn more; each school’s website is listed on its MySchools page.  Visiting schools online or in person is a great way to imagine what it’s like to go there.   All NYC families with children born in 2020 are encouraged to apply including students learning English, students with disabilities, and students in temporary housing. Submitting an application will not impact your application to a non-DOE program like charter or parochial school. Every child is guaranteed a kindergarten seat in a NYC Public School. Want to learn more? Visit our kindergarten admissions website and watch our video playlist, featuring several MySchools tutorials. Still have questions? Call us at 718-935-2009 or visit your local Family Welcome Center.

Cafeteria Offerings Survey

We want to hear from you!

Students and families are asked to provide their feedback regarding cafeteria offerings via this survey (opens in a new window) It is available in all 9 DOE languages.

Note that the survey takes approximately five minutes to complete and will be open until December 13.

Learn more about our menus. (opens in a new window)

We follow the Breakfast Express menu for our grab-n-go and the PreK-8 lunch

Introducing the NYC Bus App the city's new way to track your child's bus rides to and from school (opens in a new window)

PEBT Card replenishment/Important information

P-EBT cards from 2020 have been replenished again.

If you still have your card, check it out.  

To get your P-EBT card number you can call the P-EBT center at 844 673-7328 Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm.  

Remember you had to have a child registered in Kindergarten and up during the 2020 school year. 

Health Guidance and Resources for Families — Tips for Staying Healthy (opens in a new window)

1. Stay up to date on all vaccines 

2. Stay Home When Sick 

3. Cover Your Cough 

4. Wash Hands Often 

5. See a Health Care Provider Regularly 

6. Health Insurance 

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

• Take 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

I understand that many of you have given your child a cellphone or a Smart Watch, especially in grades 4 and 5. I understand that many children go to afterschool programs, take public transportation, or walk home and need to have one for safety and communication. 

After consulting with the School Leadership Team, we have come up with the following cellphone/smart watch policy: 

• Students may wear a Smart watch but may not use it to take pictures or call, text or communicate with anyone including parents during the school day. If your child needs to call you they will go to the main office and we will make the call. 

• Students that have a cellphone must keep their phone in their backpacks for the whole day. They may not bring the cellphone to lunch, walk around hallways or the bathrooms. 

• Students are not allowed to take pictures, videos, post on social media sites, make calls, play games and text during the school day. 

• Students are not allowed to pick up the phone during the school day, even from a parent. If you need to tell your child something please call the school or Parent Square the teacher. 

If a student violates the cellphone policy we will follow are consequences according the NYCDOE Discipline code and implement the following depending on the violation. 

• The teacher will take the phone away and return to the student at the end of the day. The teacher will also notify the parent/guardian. • The teacher will take the phone away and a parent/guardian must pick up the phone. 

• The student will have to give their phone to the main office everyday and pick it up at the end of the day. • The student will be banned from bringing in their device for a period of time depending of the violation. 

Please monitor your child’s phone. Check their browsing history and monitor group chats. Please note that we take all threats/bullying on a device very seriously and will call the police. Together we can ensure the safety of your child. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions please contact Ms. LaBella. alabella@schools.nyc.gov 

Sincerely, 

Mr. Paingankar