WELCOME TO THE PS 24 PTA PAGE

PTA Announcements

  • Valentine's Day Sale - Feb 13 & 14 2023

    Parent Association
  • School Leadership Team (SLT)

    We are looking for parents to serve on the School Leadership Team (SLT).

    SLT meets once a month and is a crucial function for the school (mission statement below).

    Please contact ps24pta.president@gmail.com if you are interested or have questions.

    The mission of the P.S. 24 School Leadership Team is to effectively participate in consensus-based dialogue and decisions in collaboration with the parents, staff, and students. The goal is to ensure opportunities that will guarantee that every child achieves their personal best as well as to promote/maintain transparency, accountability and strong community ties.

    Parent Association
  • The State of New York has released updated COVID-19 guidelines for 2022-2023 school year

    The State of New York has released updated COVID-19 guidelines for this school year and as a result PS 24 will be following the protocol below:
    • Masks are optional, not required
    • If an individual tests positive for COVID-19, they must remain out of school for five days. They may return to school after five days and wear a mask for five more days.
    • Anyone exposed to COVID-19 does not need to quarantine
    • PS 24 will no longer conduct screen testing
    • Schools are not required to report daily test results to the NY Department of Health
    • PS 24 will not be sending weekly COVID-19 case updates to families
    If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please contact the school nurse for guidance on when they may return to school.
    Parent Association
  • Missed an eblast??

    Saw something interesting in an eblast, but don't want to search your emails?

    Click here for the most recent eblasts.

    Parent Association
  • We hope you are enjoying what is left of summer! School Tool Box - Ship to Home program

    PS24 - Spuyten Duyvil School runs our Ship to Home program.

    • School supplies shipped directly to your home or business
    • Customizable boxes – change quantities or remove items you don’t need
    • Free shipping on orders over $75
    • Expedited processing options are available at checkout

    If you are looking to get a head start on the next school year, school supply lists are now available on School Tool Box. Order school supplies while sitting by the pool!  https://schooltoolbox.com/school-supplies/school/list-boxes/?schoolId=68250 

    Parent Association
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A Message from the PTA Executive Board (9/1/22)

  

School Updates (8/30/22)

Dear PS 24 Families,

On behalf of the staff at PS 24, I am happy to welcome you to the 2022-2023 school year. We are looking forward to a fun and productive school year! Below are a few updates to the Parent Handbook I want to share regarding arrival and dismissal.

Arrivals for Thursday, September 8, 2022 & Friday, September 9, 2022 ONLY

Kindergarten- Upper Yard (ONLY K Parents will be able to escort their child to class on these two days. Parents will be asked to exit the building no later than 9:15 am)

1st Grade- Upper Yard 

2nd Grade- Lower Yard 

3rd Grade- Kindergarten Playground (corner of 235th Street)

4th Grade- Lower Yard

5th Grade- Lower Yard

Arrivals beginning Monday, September 12, 2022

Students will be dropped off at their designated arrival entrance. Parents will not be permitted to enter the building. Staff members will assist students with getting to their assigned arrival location, where they will be picked up by their teacher at 8:00am.

Kindergarten- Main Entrance and proceed to the outside of their classroom

1st Grade- Exit 1 (235th Street across from public library) and proceed to the auditorium

2nd Grade- Exit 1 (235th Street across from public library) - and proceed to the auditorium

3rd Grade- Exit 1 (235th Street across from public library) - and proceed to the auditorium

4th Grade- Main Entrance and proceed to the cold lunchroom

5th Grade- Main Entrance and proceed to the cold lunchroom

Our Breakfast Program and early drop-off begins at 7:35am for all students in Grades K-5. Please drop students off at their designated arrival entrance listed above.

Dismissal

Kindergarten- Upper Yard

1st Grade- Upper Yard

2nd Grade- Upper Yard

3rd Grade- Kindergarten Playground (corner of 235th Street)

4th Grade- Lower Yard

5th Grade- Lower Yard

Late pick-up

Any student not picked up by 2:20pm will be taken to the auditorium. Parents can pick their child up by entering Exit 1 located on 235th Street across from the public library.

Again, welcome back! We look forward to seeing you beginning Thursday, September 8, 2022. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

School Supplies

Please note that students should not bring all of their school supplies in at one time. Please bring in supplies only a little at a time (the general rule is no more than what can comfortably fit in your child’s backpack). Families should not bring the entire School Tool Box as we will not have sufficient staff to bring them into the rooms. For the first week, the only thing that is needed is a notebook, writing utensil and a smile. If any other additional supplies are needed, your child’s teacher will inform you of such.

School Snack

Please refer to the parent handbook regarding bringing snack to school. If you have any other questions about school snack, please reach out to your child’s teacher who will inform you of any restrictions based on allergies in your classroom. You can expect all teachers to reach out to their families by early next week.

Sincerely,

Amanda Paredes
Assistant Principal

School Updates (8/18/22)

Class / Teacher Assignments for 2022-23

On your child's June report card, you should have been given a tentative class assignment. Using that assignment, you may now see who your child's tentative teacher assignment is for the 2022-23 school year.

If your child's teacher is highlighted in a color, it means that your child is part of our departmental classroom setting. For example, your child may be assigned Ms. Maher (section 302). However, they will only have Math and Science with Ms. Maher and also receive ELA / SS instruction from Ms. Davino.

It is possible that these assignments may change based on budget restraints or increase / decrease in registers. However, we hope to proceed with this plan. In the event that there are any changes, a member of the PS 24 administration will contact you immediately.

Please note the PS 24 staff is an amazing one and we are truly fortunate to be supported by our group of professionals. I have the utmost faith that each educator will perform the best instruction and create the best environment imaginable for your child. Therefore, under no circumstance will the PS 24 administration accept request for a change of class. Please respect and honor this policy.

  

New School Health Guidance

Unit 06 Health | WebEnglish

In order to keep students and staff safe as schools open in September for 2022–23 school year, please review new guidance on School Health Policy, which covers the following:

  • Vaccination information;
  • Procedures to be followed if a student or staff member shows signs of COVID-19 while in school;
  • Procedures to be followed if there is a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 for a student or staff member; and
  • COVID-19-testing for staff and students.

NYS ELA / Math Test Scores Available

The results of the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics tests for students in grades 3-8 administered this past spring are now available. Given the impact of Covid-19 resulted in the 2020 tests being cancelled and optional participation in spring 2021, this may be the first time for many of you to receive state test results for your child(ren). These tests are designed to provide a snapshot of how your child is performing against NYS learning standards and expectations for their grade level.  It is important to remember that these tests are just one of several measures we use to assess student progress: grades, report cards, writing samples, projects, assignments, and other performance-based student work are equally important.

You can access the results through the NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) portal. You can view the results in the “My Student” page. Your account must be linked to your child in order to view this information. If you need support accessing the portal or would like to create an account, you can check out the resources here or contact Ms. Byrne (Fbyrne@schools.nyc.gov). We will be glad to help you.

Our staff is in the process of reviewing the results to help inform our planning for the upcoming school year. We will share more details on what this means in the fall.

If you need any support accessing the scores, please let us know.

Community Schools Update

2022-23 will be the first year of our 5-year grant as a Community School. We are fortunate enough to have partnered up with Westhab who will be serving as our Community Based Organization (CBO). Although, there are many details still being ironed out, here is what we know so far:

After-School Program

- Will be a 2 semester program that will support roughly 100 different students each semester

- The program will take place Monday - Friday between the hours of 2:30 - 5:30 that includes:

- An hour of daily academic (Homework, digital curriculum) support

- Two hours of various engaging activities including but not limited to:

- Coding

- Robotics

- Sports

- Healthy Living

- Enhancing leadership skills

- SEL activities

- Each class will consists of 1-2 adults and will not exceed a 10:1 ratio of students to adults.

We are currently creating a registration process that will be fair and equitable. We anticipate to have this information ready and communicated to our community by the 2nd week of September so that they program may begin in Early - Mid October.

Please note that this program will not interfere with those that are interested in the Riverdale Y program which will still be housed at PS 24.

Retrieving NYS ELA / Math Scores

Dear PS 24 Families and Friends:

The results of the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics tests for students in grades 3-5 administered this past spring are now available. Given the impact of Covid-19 resulted in the 2020 tests being cancelled and optional participation in spring 2021, this may be the first time for many of you to receive state test results for your child(ren). These tests are designed to provide a snapshot of how your child is performing against NYS learning standards and expectations for their grade level.  It is important to remember that these tests are just one of several measures we use to assess student progress: grades, report cards, writing samples, projects, assignments, and other performance-based student work are equally important.  

You can access the results through the NYC Schools Account (NYCSA) portal. You can view the results in the “My Student” page. Your account must be linked to your child in order to view this information. If you need support accessing the portal or would like to create an account, you can check out the resources here or contact Ms. Byrne (fbyrne@schools.nyc.gov). We will be glad to help you.  

For now, the school-wide data is embargoed and cannot be shared with the community at this time. However, when it is available for public view, we will have lots to celebrate, including a historic growth made by our students. We will also celebrate the hard work from our teachers and the devotion and partnership from our families. We will share more details on what this means in the fall and what our next steps will be. For now, please review your child's results and look forward to celebrating together in the near future.

If you need any support accessing the scores, please let us know.  

Sincerely, 

Steven Schwartz (your very proud Principal)

Family Income Inquiry Form

All families are required to fill out the form whether the are receiving free or reduced price lunch.

We must have a completed form. Our school budget depends on it.

Thank you!!

https://www.myschoolapps.com/ 

School Updates - August Edition (Principal Schwartz)

NYC Department of Education - School Year Calendar 2022–2023

Please see the following 2022-23 School Year Calendar.

NYC Department of EducationSchool Year Calendar

Please note the following updates on the 2022-23 DOE school year calendar:

  • Thursday, September 8, 2022, is the first day of school.
  • November 8, 2022, Election Day, will be a non-attendance day. No in- person or remote instruction will be provided.
  • Severe Weather Closures: You should plan to shift all students and teachers to remote instruction and take attendance in lieu of cancelling school when severe weather conditions make in-person services impracticable or unsafe. The Chancellor will communicate when this policy is activated.

Gifted and Talented Updates

Yesterday, families with children in grades K-3 were informed if they received a Gifted and Talented offer for the 2022-23 school year. Congrats to all families who have been offered a seat.

Thank you to those of you who have already accepted the offer in your MYSCHOOLS account. If you have already accepted the offer in the MYSCHOOLS system, no additional action is required. If you have not accepted this offer, it is highly recommended that you accept it at your earliest convenience in your MYSCHOOLS account or send me an e-mail and I will manually accept the offer for you in our system.

To those that did not receive an offer, I feel and hear your frustration. That is why I have advocated for PS 24 to begin opening up additional sections of Gifted and Talented based on the current demand and eligible candidates. For those that wish to advocate for this expansion, please contact Principal Schwartz.

Guidance Counselor Position

Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Career and School ...

It is bittersweet to report that our beloved Guidance Counselor, Ms. Grapatin has decided to move closer to her family and take another position down South. On behalf of the PS 24 community, I want to thank Ms. Grapatin for her dedication and care that she showed to our students. The position of a Guidance Counselor is one of the most important ones in a school community, and this importance was magnified as we transitioned out of a global pandemic. Her kindness, patience and knowledge within her practice was appreciated by all; most notably by the children she built great relationships with.

Fortunately, PS 24 is glad to announce that we have transitioned our very own Ms. Hage into the position of Guidance Counselor. Those that know Ms. Hage know how lucky we are to have an internal candidate that will be able to fill these very big shoes. Ms. Hage will build off her great relationships she already has with many students through the work she has done as a teacher and as our Intervention teacher.

We wish Ms. Grapatin all the best with the next part of her journey and welcome Ms. Hage into her new position.

School Supplies

If you are looking to get a head start on the next school year, school supply lists are now available on School Toolbox. Order school supplies while sitting by the pool! https://schooltoolbox.com/school-supplies/school/list- boxes/?schoolId=68250

Parent Handbook Reminders (Feb. 7th, 2022)

Dear P.S. 24 Families & Friends,

Please note the following reminders that come right from the Parent Handbook:

Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices

Per The Chancellor’s regulations A-413 each school must create their own school based policy regarding cell phones and all other electronic devices.

Schools should use the Chancellor’s guidelines and the NYC Doe resource guide to develop their schools policy.

The policy at P.S. 24 regarding the above is as follows:

  • If a student brings a cell phone or any other electronic device to school (including but not limited to laptops, tablets, ipads, portable music players, Nintendo DS, PSP , camera etc. ) upon entering the school building it must be turned off and remain in the student’s backpack. All electronic equipment must remain turned off and in the student’s backpack until the student exits the school building at the end of the school day.
  • Students who use their cell phones or any other electronic equipment during the school day for any reason will have the item collected by a staff member. The staff will then hand over the device to the administration. The parent or guardian will be contacted by the administration or a designee and an appointment will be set up to meet with the administration to retrieve the item.
  • If a student violates the school policy regarding electronics more than once, the incident must be entered into the OORS (NYC DOE Online Occurrence Reporting System), investigated and appropriate guidance interventions and disciplinary actions will be taken according to the NYC DOE Discipline Code.

Toys

Conflicts often occur resulting from students bringing assorted toys into the school. Please keep in mind that toys, electronic games, stuffed animals and Pokemon cards are not permitted in the school building. This has been a long standing rule at the school. School is a learning environment and toys are a distraction. During lunch and recess these toys and cards become a source of unnecessary conflict. The school cannot be responsible for toys, electronic games, stuffed animals and Pokemon cards that are lost, taken, or broken. Valuable instructional time is being spent looking for missing items and resolving conflicts that result from having these items at school. There have also been some instances where children have put themselves in an unsafe situation because their focus was on these items .We are asking for your cooperation in ensuring that children do not bring any toys, electronic games, or Pokemon cards to school. If your child needs to bring in a non-school related item into the school (ex. sporting equipment for an after school program) please have your child keep the item(s) in their book bag.

Birthday Celebrations -   N/A for 2021-22 due to COVID concerns

Thank you ahead of time for respecting these important school policies. 

Thank you

Steven Schwartz

Quick Links for PS 24

Emergency Contact Card 

Emergency Contact Card

PS 24 Parent Teacher Association Back to School Guide 

Back to School Guide

PS 24 Parent Handbook 2022-2023

Parent Handbook 2021-2022