School Wide Morning Meeting Message 12/10/2018

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December 10, 2018

Dear EVCS Students,

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  As you might remember from the last time we were together for SWMM, our school had our Quality Review last week.  I’m happy to report that it went very well!  Over two days the reviewer visited almost all of our classrooms and met with groups of teachers, students and parents.  In every aspect of the review she saw high quality teaching and learning, evidence of our core values, and a strong school community.  Thanks to everyone for making it a success!  A special thanks to all of the students who were called upon to talk about their work and their school experience: Lena Jones, Sylvan Garrelts, Otis Bartlett, Oona McGinty, Soraya Gibbs, Sebastian Askew, Leo Rosenberg,  Declan Resch, Chloe Parsons, Amelia Mirsky, Teo Stabler, Gianna Delgado, Aiman Nurhadiat, Tenzin Phenthok, Emma Waldroop and Jacob Perleman!

We all know that Joy of Learning is a top priority at EVCS.  If you can stick around after today’s SWMM you will see joy of learning on full display, as our 5th graders share work from their Alvin Ailey West African dance residency.  All are welcome to watch.

Finally, make sure you stop by the EVCS holiday craft sale in the lobby today!

Big thanks to our Kindergarten friends for hosting, thanks to all of the parents who came this morning, huge thanks to the SWMM house band, and thank you to everyone who sang loud and proud. Have a great day and great week everyone.

Love,

Bradley

December Updates

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Dear EVCS Families,

As you may know EVCS had a Quality Review the week before last. We worked hard to prepare for it, and the two days of the review were super intense, but I am happy to report that the review went very well. The reviewer did observations in most of our classrooms, met with two groups of students in grades 3-5 to discuss their work and school experiences, met with groups of teachers to understand the professional culture at EVCS, and met with a group of 8 EVCS parents to hear their point of view. And of course Liz and I spent a lot of time with the reviewer describing our systems, processes and protocols and sharing many reams and gigabytes of artifacts and evidence of our work. In all aspects of the review our school vision for high quality teaching and learning, our core values, and our strong community were clear to see. It’s not at all surprising to me that we performed as well as we did, but it is really nice to have our work recognized and validated! Congratulations and THANKS to all of our teachers and students for letting their light shine always, and on these two days in particular.

Is there anything better for bringing a community together than music? I think the answer is no, and one of the ways we like to do this at EVCS is through the Family Band. Not to be confused with it’s sister outfit the illustrious School Wide Morning Meeting House Band, the EVCS Family Band is a super group of parents, teachers and principals who put together a killer set of music every year to be performed at our annual spring gala. Last year we started a new tradition called the District 1 Battle of the Family Bands, where we challenged all of the other schools in the District to put together their own bands for an honest-to-goodness throwdown, involving celebrity judges, a beautiful trophy, and hosted at the world famous Bowery Ballroom. The event was a huge success and so much fun – and we are doing it again! Please mark your calendars for the evening of Sunday March 3, 2019. More information to follow – BUT the EVCS band is just starting to get our act together and we want to put out a call for new members. Any closet horn players out there? Shower singers looking for a bigger audience? Looking to finally put all those years of piano lessons to good use? If you are interested in rocking out with us, please contact me directly.

Finally, you may be aware of the City’s effort since Hurricane Sandy to put a coastal resiliency project in motion. The current proposal would involve shutting down East River Park for at least 3 1/2 years in order to create a sea wall and raise the entire park to an 8 foot elevation. If you are interested in learning more and adding your voice to the discussion, please note that there is a public meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Hunter-Brookdale Rotunda, 425 East 25th Street (between First Avenue and the FDR Drive).

If I don’t see you before we break at the end of next week, happy holidays!

Yours,

Bradley

PA meeting recap and other updates

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Hi EVCS PA Members,

Please make note! This is New!

The Venue for the Festival of Lights this year will be East Side HighSchool! 

Wednesday 12/19,  9-10:30AM

In an attempt to have more seats for everybody, The Festival of Lights – Dec 19th -will be held in the East Side MS/HS Auditorium, 420 E. 12th between Ave A and 1st Ave. Look for more details to come from school.

 

D1 Family resource center is there for us.

We had a guest speaker from the District 1 Family Resource Center,166 Essex, located in PS 20 next to the District Superintendent’s office. Families should feel free to reach out to them for all things education AND more. They can help navigate all kinds of DOE and City services, including public school enrollment questions- PreK through HighSchool, vouchers for after-school and early child- care and even guidance for finding subsidized children’s health/dental services. They might not know the answer to your question right away, but they will help you find it. They are a great asset for our district and, again, they are there for ALL families not matter what your circumstances. Look for a listing of events and workshops in James’ weekly.

 

Water Fountains!

Now don’t go rolling your eyes at us,  but we are one step closer to getting new bottle-filling water fountains installed. We approved buying and have ordered 6 bottle filling/ bubbler units  and have been assured that the DOE’s Dept of facilities will install them once they arrive. There is no clear timetable for installation, but hope springs eternal…

(There are currently 11 bubblers in the building. CWS has received a grant from the city enough for the other 5 units, which will hopefully be installed before or during ’19-20 school year.)

 

Holiday Maker’s Fair This Monday, Dec. 10th, 8am-4pm

All day (8am-4pm) Monday EVCS is hosting a Maker’s Fair. Great gifts for everyone on your holiday list including yourself! Bring friends and family! A share of the proceeds goes to the PA. A few vendor tables are still available- contact Lara:  llevinelipof@gmail.com . Also, items and volunteers needed for the PA bake sale table. Bring items directly to the table… Healthy options in the AM,  sweeter treats for the afternoon. Contact marlajrosenthal@gmail.com with questions.

 

Fundraising Committee next meeting is Friday, 12/14 at Roost 8:40-9:15am

Come join! All welcome! Fundraising has lots going on, there are many ways to help out, both big and small. If you can’t make the meetings, but are interested in joining,  sign up for the committee emails: fundraising@evcsnyc.org

Also Big News- All direct family donations from now until the end of the year will be matched up to $4000 by a generous anonymous donor, that means $50 from you becomes $100 for the kids! Whoot Whoot!

 

L-Train Riders getting organized 

A group is being formed for those in our community- families and staff – who will be affected by the L-train closing. This group will also connect with CWS and District 1 L-train using families. If you would like to join, please reach out to diversity@evcsnyc.org for more information.

Diversity Committee Classroom Book Share Readers and Affinity Groups

The Diversity Committee continues to facilitate two great initiatives. First  parent/ caregivers are invited and encouraged to come read something that reflects their unique culture or perspective to their children’s classes. Help foster insight, understanding, and empathy for all the different people and experiences at EVCS.  Also Affinity Groups of families with a shared experience are forming. Contact diversity@evcsnyc.org with inquiries! Next meeting will be early 2019.

 

PreK mom Trinidad wins our first PA meeting Attendance Raffle!!

This month’s raffle prize was a gift card to the local coffee spot, and friend to EVCS, 9th Street Espresso, congratulations Trinidad and thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting and sharing your voice!

 

Click here for full meeting minutes. And as a reminder  the SLT minutes are posted on the main office bulletin board.

 

Next General meeting, Thursday, Dec. 13th 8:30AM 

With Guest Speaker Liza from our after-school program Green Apple Kids. 

 

See you in the yard!

 

PA Exec.

 

Exciting news…

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Dear All,

We are so close to our goal but we need your help to get all the way there. And from now until the end of the year we have an amazing incentive – a generous anonymous donor has offered to match all donations through Dec 31st up to $4,000. So when you donate $250, our school gets $500. Donate $50 and we get $100. This is the moment – If you haven’t made a donation yet or haven’t passed it on to your family now is the time!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

It is our generous family community that makes it possible to have a marching band lead the way at the Harvest Festival, to have our kids dancing with Alvin Ailey and singing at Carnegie Hall. And there is so much more…. like did you know that it’s the Parent Association that pays for periodic school-wide lice checks? We do and trust us, you want that. So make your donation today!

Thank you,
EVCS Fundraising Committee

EVCS Weekly Dec 3-7

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Dear Parents and Guardians,

It was a busy week again, including our school’s Quality Review! Many thanks to the teachers, students, and parent representatives for your support and participation!

There is still space for a few more vendors to participate in the
Holiday Makers Fair coming up, if you are interested, please contact: Lara Levine Lipof at llevinelipof@gmail.com There will also be a special baked goods table, see more details about how to participate and help out below!

Let’s see what next week has in store and save the dates…

NEXT WEEK

December Menus
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
For those students who eat school lunch, please remind them that there are additional options to the hot lunch for students including: PB&J sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, or hummus with pretzels! For our K-5 students, there is a daily fresh salad bar with local ingredients to add to any school lunch.

Continue reading →

EVCS Holiday Makers Fair • Monday, December 10

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Join us for the EVCS Holiday Makers Fair!

Monday, December 10 • Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Holiday Market Fair V2 18

Calling all makers and creators!

If you are still interested in hosting a table to sell your goods, or certificates for services, secure a table while they last!

Please contact: Lara Levine Lipof, llevinelipof@gmail.com

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HOLIDAY BAKE SALE • CALLING ALL BAKERS!

If you’re a Baker instead of a Maker – or just can’t resist Buying store-made baked goods this time of year – please consider donating some to be sold at the PA HOLIDAY BAKE SALE that will be taking place during the Holiday Makers Fair on Monday, December 10th. *Sign up here to volunteer by Baking, Bringing, Setting-up or Selling on December 10th. For more info reach out to: Marla at marlajrosenthal@gmail.com

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– Brought to you by the Fundraising Committee

EVCS General PA meeting is tomorrow

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Hi EVCS Parents,

Sending you a quick reminder that our Nov. General PA meeting is this Wed. 11/28 at 8:45am in the auditorium.

We will have a special guest representative from the District 1 Family Resource Center at this meeting to talk to us about all the great things they have to offer. Such as.. variety of public services, info on DOE partnering Community Based Organizations, help with MiddleSchool and HighSchool applications, PreK, Kindergarten Applications, G&T test sign-up, workshops, vouchers for after-school and more.

We also need to vote to approve a capital expense: new Water Fountains! (yes again, come and learn how this time it’s different.)

So looking forward to seeing you!

The PA Exec

PS. Coffee and Other Fun Stuff included with Admission**.

* New! Raffle prize given out at this meeting.
** Admission is free.

Please follow last meetings minutes

School Wide Morning Meeting Message 11/26/2018

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November 26, 2018

Dear EVCS Students,

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving.  As I was reflecting this weekend on all of the things I am thankful for, I need to tell you that I am especially thankful to be a part of this school community that values kindness, inclusion and social action.  I’m so proud of the effort that all of you put into making this year’s Harvest Festival the best one yet.  Did you know that we collected around 2000 cans and boxes of food?  That’s more than we have ever collected before!   Thank you to everyone who helped make it a success – and special thanks to the EVCS Marching Band Drumline for leading the procession.

We have another important event coming up this week!  On Wednesday and Thursday our school will have something called a Quality Review.   On those two days a guest from the Department of Education will be coming to visit our school to see firsthand all of the great things at EVCS that she’s heard so much about.  Let’s do what we can to welcome her to our school and show her what we are all about.  I have no doubt that we will shine!

Big thanks to our 1st Grade friends for hosting, thanks to all of the parents who came this morning, huge thanks to the SWMM house band, and thank you to everyone who sang loud and proud. Have a great day and great week everyone.

Love,

Bradley