Lend a Helping Hand!

PS 39’s Halloween Party Needs to Scare Up Volunteers

The PS 39 Halloween Party makes the celebration at The Hotel Transylvania look like kids’ stuff. That’s because we have our amazing students dressed to thrill, and our dedicated parents providing a helping hand (much like “Thing” from The Addam’s Family, pictured above).

In addition to an off-the-hook DJ (who will be the first to request “Call Me Maybe”?), we’ll be offering up pizza, hot dogs, meatballs, monster mash and more.  Everyone will make a sugar rush for the bake sale; what’s more, a fortune teller and a cupcake-decorating table will add to the already amazing event.

There will be a raffle with incredible prizes (hear tell – a pizza-making night for a family of four at the new Brooklyn Central Pizza).

In addition, PS 39 dad Jim Seger’s awesome decorations will make the scene like always.

Of course, this party is not run by The Invisible Man. We need live bodies to keep the action going before, during and after the bash. We also need bakers for the bake sale (the more, the merrier).

The volunteer opp is open to all warm-blooded humans, as well as the walking dead and creatures of the night. Please contact Dara at darasf@yahoo.com or Jim at jdseger@gmail.com if you can help out.

We’ll see all you boys and ghouls at John Jay High School on Saturday evening, October 27, from 5:30-9 p.m.

CBE After School Center Starts The Year Off Right

The early returns are in, and let’s just say that the CBE (Congregation Beth Elohim) Kids After School Center at PS 39 is an immediate success. The program, which offers a wide variety of instructional classes and recreational activities (everything from yoga and sewing to swimming and cooking) was expecting maybe 50 signups in its pilot phase this term. However, the response was “healthy,” to say the least, with 85 kids enrolled and surely more to come next term.

Painting class, Tuesdays, first period

PS 39 Dad Gary Raheb leads Friday drumming classes

Advisory committee member Alex Marshall (yes, the same busy man who just published a book, noted in a previous post) says that the program will continue to grow and expand in the coming semesters, with even more cool class choices. He tells us that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from both parents and students, and the committee will continue to keep a close eye on the program to keep it running smoothly.

Sewing class, Fridays, first period

For more information on PS 39’s new afterschool adventure, contact CBE Kids After School Director Bobbie Finkelstein here, or PS 39 Parent Coordinator Karen Herskowitz here.

~Ron Sklar, Reporter at Large

Alex Marshall, Author

 We’re proud to share the news that PS 39 dad Alex Marshall just gave birth – to a book! The Surprising Design of Market Economies, University of Texas Press, details how governments build economies, using laws, roads, education, policing, and other tools they develop (particularly how human nature works into the design of markets).

 

 

Alex argues that there really is no such thing as a free-market economy; as a result, he urges a national conversation about what kind of markets we want. An independent journalist and an engaging professional speaker, Alex was inspired for this ambitious book as he reported on local zoning issues, particularly transportation. His previous books sound fascinating too: How Cities Work and Beneath The Metropolis: The Secret Lives of Cities. In May of this year, he traveled to Seoul, South Korea to speak about transportation, money and fashion at the Korea Transport Institute. We wish we could have been there, but you can easily buy his book on amazon.com, or go to his website: alexmarshall.org.
Congrats, Alex!



~Ron Sklar, PS 39 Reporter at Large

The Brooklyn Rooks: Checkmate in 2012-13!

We can’t wait to see the PS 39 Chess Team’s next move for the new school year. Last year was a hard act to follow; the team participated in the nationals in Nashville, and third grader Jeremy Rodriguez won the title of co-national champion in the under 900 section.  Parent and team coordinator Beth Kleber tells us that the national competition is no picnic: it’s three grueling days of intense competition, yet Jeremy won every game he played. This year, we have several top returning players, plus a great new crop of members for this year’s co-ed team. The Rooks are already off to a great start, taking first place in the under 700 section in this past weekend's Right Move chess tournament at Riverbank State Park.  The chess team and club are great confidence builders for vets and newbies alike, so stay tuned for reports on upcoming tournaments as the Brooklyn Rooks take on the 2012-13 chess challenge.

-Ron Sklar 

PS 39 Reporter-at-large