BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Assemblyman William Colton. Source: assembly.state.ny.us

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your child received an official commendation from the New York State Assembly honoring them just for reading books all summer? Well, Assemblyman William Colton is reminding parents and encouraging children of all ages to participate in the upcoming annual Summer Reading Challenge, according to a press release.

The annual Summer Reading Challenge isn’t hard to beat. All a child or a teenager has to do is read for 15 minutes a day, across a span of 40 days throughout July and August. Participants can mark off their progress using a calendar provided by Assemblyman Colton. Those meet the challenge will be awarded with a New York State Assembly Excellence in Reading Certificate via the mail.

“As a former educator, I know how important it is for students to read throughout the year,” Assemblyman Colton said in a release. “The Summer Reading Challenge offers a fun and exciting way for children of all ages to read, expand their imaginations and learn new things all year round.”

• Eligibility: All children who turn five years old in 2013 and who live in New York City are eligible to attend kindergarten in September 2013.
• Applications: You must submit an application in order for your child to attend kindergarten. If you would like to apply to multiple schools, you must submit an application to each school. You must bring two proof of residence documents.
• Choice Districts: District 1 (Lower East Side), District 7 (South Bronx), and District 23 (Brownsville) are “choice districts.” This means there are no zoned schools in these districts. You can apply to schools in District 1, District 7, and District 23 online, by phone (at 718-935-2009), or in person at an Enrollment Office. For more information about these districts, visit the Kindergarten Admissions website.

Elementary School Directories
Don’t forget to take a look at the 2013-2014 Elementary School Directories to get a better understanding of your options. Available online, each borough’s directory contains information about the kindergarten admissions process, schools located in that borough, district maps, a list of charter schools, and a summary of all public kindergarten programs in New York City. 

Source: nycprivateschoolsblog.com

The New York Daily News this week featured the story of Carmela and Pasquale Sciannantena, a Bensonhurst couple working like dogs to find the money to send their 17-year-old quadruplets to college after they graduate from Bishop Kearney High School (2202 60th Street) this year, illustrating how even New York’s public higher education system can cost a pretty penny.

The girls - Mariagrazia, Michela, Elisa and Sabrina – were born in 1995 at Brooklyn Hospital, after mom Carmela turned to fertility shots when she had trouble conceiving.

Since then, Carmela and Pasquale have cared for their four girls – and, later, a fifth, Gabriella – with mom working at the school full time in the finance department and a second job as a cashier at night, while dad repairs commercial dishwashers.

The Daily News reports:

The Sciannantenas shell out $200 a week for food, $130 on cell phone service a month and thousands more a year on tuition at Bishop Kearney on 60th St. – a figure expected to rise considerably once the girls go to college.

To keep costs low, the Sciannantena girls will commute from home and apply to the same City University of New York school in the fall – where tuition would total about $21,720 for the four at a four-year college.

The family is also considering CUNY’s two-year colleges, which would cost $3,900 for each girl.

The parents are also busy filling out financial aid forms, loan applications and encouraging the girls to find scholarship money.

“I have no idea what I’m going to do,” said Carmela Sciannantena. “One way or another I’ll have to sacrifice. I might even have to get a third job, but I’ll find a way.”

Even at the two-year colleges, the total annual bill for tuition alone racks up $15,600 – highlighting just how expensive even public higher education can be.

But mom’s making sure the girls keep a good head on their shoulders, even if they’d rather go their separate ways.

“Sometimes when they do ask for things it’s hard,” she said. “But they have clothes on their backs, food on their table, a roof over their heads and two parents who are willing to do whatever they can for them. That counts more than anything else.”

Did you struggle to send you kids to college? What did you do to cope?

Source: NJLA: New Jersey Library Association via Flickr

The Community Education Council District 21 posted a resource for parents who are unable to get their children to school because of the bus strike..

On their Facebook page, they write:

In the event that your child is not able to travel to school because of the bus strike, the DOE encourages you to support your child’s learning at home using the suggested study schedules and instructional activities posted below. These materials do not replace what your child is learning at school, but it is important that students continue to read, write, do science activities, and work on math problems during time out of school.

Here is the link to the Department of Education’s “Learn at Home” initiative. If you happen to be curious about the kinds of topics that a may appear on a classroom curriculum, this is a great place to brush up on your high school English skills.

A sample 11th grade student task in the English section is to create an advertisement campaign using rhetorical appeals as taught by Aristotle (logos, pathos, ethos and mythos). 

It’s my hope that if students in a classroom are asked to write these, the DOE doesn’t sell them to a marketing consultant.

Last year’s finalists. Source: www.nysenate.gov

Senator Marty Golden’s “Senator for a Day” essay contest is kicking off its 11th year. He’s inviting every middle school student enrolled in a 22nd Senate District middle school to participate by writing an essay on what they would do if they were a senator. 

According to Golden’s Facebook page:

The essay must be no more than 250-words and begin with the phrase, “If I Were A State Senator For a Day”. Throughout the essay, students should write about the issues they see facing the community. The winning essays will be judged on content and creativity.

Last year’s winners hailed from schools in Midwood and Bay Ridge. This year, I have a feeling that Bensonhurst will take it home.

“There is great talent in the classrooms of my district, and I invite the students to write an essay and tell me what they would seek to accomplish as a State Senator,” writes Golden. “As our middle school students are being educated in school, they also travel, shop and frequent our parks. They see some of the issues I do, and some different, but through this contest, they can be assured that I will continue to work to improve the quality of life of our neighborhood. I look forward to reading the essays and this contest.”

Contest finalists will be invited to attend a ceremony where they will read their essays to a panel of judges. Then, the winner of the contest will be invited  to spend the day in the in Albany.

Teachers interested in submitting student essays must do so by Monday, March 18. Submissions may be mailed to: Senator Marty Golden c/o Senator For A Day Contest, 7408-5th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11209.

Good luck teachers and students. If you happen to win and visit the State Capital, I’m sure I can help you think of some great legislation to pass while you’re there.

Source: District 21 via Facebook

Every year schools across New York receive report card grades, much like the ones they send schoolkids home with.

According to the Schools.nyc.gov website, which releases the reports, here’s how the schools’ grading system is broken down:

Progress Reports help parents, teachers, principals, and school communities understand schools’ strengths and weaknesses. Progress Reports grade each school with an A, B, C, D, or F and are based student progress (60%), student performance (25%), and school environment (15%). Scores are based on comparing results from one school to a peer group of up to 40 schools with the most similar student population and to all schools citywide.

Here are the District 21 high school progress grades for some of the schools in our area:

• 21K337 International High School at Lafayette (2630 Benson Avenue): B
• 21K348 High School of Sports Management (2630 Benson Avenue)
• C21K468 Kingsborough Early College School (2630 Benson Avenue) B
• 21K540 John Dewey High School (50 Avenue X) B
• 21K559 Life Academy High School for Film and Music (2630 Benson Avenue) B
• 21K572 Expeditionary Learning School for Community Leaders (2630 Benson Avenue) B
• 21K690 Brooklyn Studio Secondary School (8310 21st Avenue) B

No “A” grades in the area, unfortunately, but it does seem that Dewey is maintaining their good grades, which is great news for Dewy supporters and staff.

Ms. Accardi’s classroom. Source: DonorsChoose.org

“Our local teachers face two kinds of challenges in the aftermath of Sandy: Dealing with classrooms that have been damaged beyond repair, and helping their vulnerable students make sense of this shocking disaster.

Luckily, teachers have been able post their needs on DonorsChoose, a website that helps educators ask for funding for projects that will eventually help them rebuild their classrooms and serve the students, according to Gotham Schools.

The website created a special page that allows teachers that were directly impacted by Sandy to post their needs. Thus far, teachers in need received over $50,000 from individual donors.

Local staff at Brooklyn Studio Secondary School at  8310 21st Avenue were the beneficiaries of the websites efficient setup. Ms. Accardi wrote an impassioned plea asking donors to help the teachers help their students. She said:

Hurricane Sandy destroyed the homes of many students at our school. As teachers, we’ve joined forces to help make things a little bit easier during this time of tragedy and loss. Won’t you please contribute to our efforts to provide our students with basic necessities as they begin to rebuild?

Our students are a diverse population, but they have one thing in common – many lived right on the beaches of NYC, where Hurricane Sandy did the most damage. They’ve been without power for a while and many are staying in temporary housing, as their buildings are unsafe and without heat and hot water. Our students need healthy, non-perishable food items like soups, cereal bars and trail mix to help get them through the next few weeks and months as their families begin to rebuild. Many we’re left with nothing and have no kitchen, so even a simple task, like cooking a meal is difficult and their families need foods that are quick and easy to prepare.

My Project: Your generous donation will make life a little bit easier for a teenager during the struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Perhaps a hungry student will be able to focus in class and stay on target thanks to the breakfast bar provided through your donation. One less young person will have to worry about where their next meal will come from. Please- help us help them. Thank you.

Within days, her requests were fulfilled. She was able to collect the amoutn she had asked for from generous donors all over the country. Her thank you note read:

I can’t fully express my thanks in how generous your donations are. Thanks to your kindness, many of our students will have food to eat while they patiently wait for their heat and electricity to be restored, or for their homes to be rebuilt. You’ve given struggling kids one less thing to worry about during this stressful time. You’ve helped ensure that kids can concentrate on what matters – education, because their bellies will now be full. In reading your comments, I’m reminded that empathy for fellow man is alive and well. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.

With gratitude,
Ms. Accardi

We are glad to report on this bit of good news and we thank our educators for going above and beyond their jobs in the classroom.

There are many other classrooms in Long Island and New Jersey affected, check out the DonorsChoose page to help a teacher in need.

The Junior High students of PS 201 the Dyker Heights School put on quite a show as they marched down 18th Avenue for the annual Columbus Day Parade.

According to the video announcer, Madeleine Brennan the principal of PS 201, located at 8010 12th Avenue, is the longest serving principal of any school in the United States.

Take a look at these kids in action, they are a talented bunch.

A little about the program from Program Administrator at the Ulmer Park branch, Sean Fodera:

The program is called “Ready, Set, Kindergarten”, for children 3 to 5 years with their parents.  We meet for one hour every Saturday (Sundays in some branches), and the first session is this weekend.  The program was previously known as “Weekend Stories for Pre-Schoolers”, but has been revamped with a more academic focus to teach early learning skills to both the children and the parents.

We spend the hour reading picture books, doing fingerplays, rhymes and songs, and an arts-and-craft activity.  While all of this entertains the children, and gives them some familiarity with a classroom-type environment, we are also giving the parents tips on how to find time and materials to read and play with their children, and how to incorporate things like reading, writing, drawing, math and science into daily activities.  For example, write the names of common supermarket items on a card, and have your child do a scavenger hunt for the words as you walk the aisles.

According to Fedora, interest at the Bensonhurst libraries has been strong in previous years. This year, they’re looking to work with new students as the kids in their program have been moving on to Pre-K and Kindergarten.

Hope this helps the moms and dads looking to do a fun and educational activity with their kids.

Source: schools.nyc.gov

The situation at John Dewey High School continues to spiral out of control, to the detriment of longtime staff and of course, the students.

The New York Post ran an article that highlights some of the frustrations students are facing since the failure of the proposed “turnaround” program.

High-achieving senior T’kari Fisher, who earned a coveted spot in Advanced Placement English last year, returned to school only to realize that the class was cancelled, along with other invaluable AP courses like psychology and calculus.

Gone also are Italian, Russian and French language classes, with only Spanish and Chinese as the remaining options.

“Now I’m just here for the credits. I’m not getting much out of it,” Fisher said to The Post.

“I asked for science — marine or space. They put me in stagecraft and dance,” said another senior Babken Mkrtchyan.

Resource rooms stand empty, musical equipment collects dust and the true victims of this screw-up are the students who are losing valuable education time and confidence that things will ever really get back to normal.

Mayor Bloomberg plans to appeal this summer’s legal decision that blocked the school’s name change and the rest of the turnaround program from taking root, but that didn’t stop teacher’s from receiving pink slips and parents taking their kids elsewhere.

In fact, Dewey’s 2012 enrollment dropped by 400-500 students, most likely due to the uncertain standing of the school. Then, their budget was cut, 13 teachers were let go and 10 retired. For sure, this makes for an unstable and confusing learning environment.

“It feels like a junior-high experience,” said senior Patricia Ansah. “It’s pretty mediocre.”