Thursday, December 5, 2013

Matt Zoller Seitz Pens The Wes Anderson Collection

Want a good book recommendation for this weekend’s Barnes & Nobles book fair?  How about a work by one of our own? 


Author Matt Zoller Seitz, dad to 4th grader James Seitz, wrote an amazing new book, The Wes Anderson Collection
This gorgeous scrapbook drills down to the magic artistry of filmmaker Wes Anderson, director of such acclaimed flicks as Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise KingdomBottle RocketThe Royal Tenenbaums, and more. 

The book includes previously unpublished photos, artwork, original essays and interviews that capture the spirit of all things “Andersonian.” Adding to the spirit of creative genius, the introduction is written by bestselling author Michael Chabon (The Mysteries of PittsburghWonder BoysThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay)



You can read some of Matt’s awesome writing for New York magazine here.  In the meantime, see you at the fair! 

By Ronald Sklar

Friday, November 1, 2013

Spooktacular Pictures are Up!

Sean Ross, father of Hannah (5th) and Joaquim (2nd) took (and set up, and ran, and equipped)  the photographs at the Spooktacular.

It's not an exaggeration to say they are fantastic, phenomenal, and all other superlatives.

You can see them here, and download what you want to print or have. 


Below, just a tiny sampling:























PS 39 parent coordinator Karen Herskowitz is your new best friend!




As parent coordinator for the school, Karen acts as a one-woman helpdesk. If parents have a question, need or concern, Karen can give answers (or find the person who can give the answers).

In addition, Karen oversees all the communication vehicles for the school, including the website copy, the all-important Wednesday bulletin, the school emails and even the bulletin boards posted outside!

Karen is often in demand for the following: questions about lunches and PTA events, pre-K and kindergarten registration and admissions, middle school transitions, getting in contact with teachers, and school tours.

Need help navigating the bureaucratic public school system in general? Karen to the rescue.

In addition, Karen can help you with scheduling parent pickups, communicating to your teacher when your child is sick, and even getting homework sent home. 

A PS 39 parent herself, Karen is a former fifth-grade teacher with a masters degree in curriculum and instruction. It’s a great place for her to be while her girls attend the school, and she’s in a great place for you if you have a PS 39-related question.

Contact Karen at kherskowitz@ps39.org.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Spooktacular is this weekend!!

Come out and play!  This year's event promises all the thrills you've come to expect from a premier PS 39 party, and then some.  Raffle baskets, dancing, eating, costume contests, photo booths and some wickedly good secret additions! Fun for the whole family.  Saturday, October 26, at John Jay, 5:30-8:30pm

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Ulla Berg’s Anthropology Homework



PS 39 mom Ulla Berg at last has a bit more time to help Ms. Taylor as a classroom mom, now that she’s on a brief sabbatical from teaching at Rutgers University. 

Ulla’s subject is anthropology and Latino Studies, and her area of specialty is migration from South America to the United States (her book from a major university press is happening too!).  

The Danish native says that the main focus of her research and teaching is the social inequities that come with immigration. The most important (and heart wrenching) of these issues is the need for migrants to stay relevant to their families and children back home while working as nannies to other people’s kids here in the States. 

Ulla says the majority of her students are children of migrant parents or themselves immigrants who were brought to the US as children. They have a quest to learn their family history and fulfill their parents’ wishes of a college education and hopefully a better life in the US. 

Thanks, Ulla, for helping so many deserving people, including our kids in class!

by Ron Sklar, PS 39 Reporter-at-large

Monday, October 14, 2013

Farm Living is the life for PS 39


Frieda Lim’s green thumb (and the rest of her!) is keeping P.S. 39 on the farm, with the continuation of our uber-successful school garden (surviving every obstacle man and nature can throw at us, even the scaffolding).  

You may have already noticed our favorite urban farmer tilling the soil, with the garden’s “nomadic” nature being a big plus in terms of space and light. In addition, Ms. Crane recently led two first grade classes on digging into some starter crops. 

Frieda tells us that the fall harvest, lettuce and spinach, will grow very quickly and barely mind a little October chill in the air. Other seeds that need to be planted this season include fundraisers to help expand the garden, especially after the yard is fixed next summer. 

Want to get involved? The only green thumbers we need for fundraising are people who love to raise green. If interested, contact Frieda here











by Ron Sklar, PS 39 Reporter-at-large

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

PS 39 Raises The Stakes For High-Stakes Testing Battle


The PS 39 PTA mobilizes beautifully when it wants something done – or undone (one word: rezoning). Now on the agenda is the burdensome activity of high-stakes testing. This ritual standardized test is given to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students in the hopes of gaining a comprehensive understanding of how a school is progressing as a whole. The results are not only meant to evaluate students and schools in a very definitive way, but also to evaluate teachers’ performances for test prep and general teaching skills.

Big problem: the testing is excessively time consuming and wholly unreliable (and this is by the admission of the NYC Department of Education itself!).  Its inaccuracy is causing job loss and instability both here and nationwide. As well, prep for the ever-increasing tests are taking precious quality time away from our kids. Instead of learning, they’re prepping. This is not cool.

In a recent, heated PTA meeting on a bitter cold night, our awesome principal, Anita DePaz, clearly gave us the lowdown on the situation. The takeaway: this situation needs to be nipped in the bud, and calls for PTA action (stay tuned and get involved).

During that same meeting, a passionate presentation from the local anti-high-stakes testing advocacy group, called ParentVoicesNY, backed up our principal and provided great detail as to why this whole situation smells like a 60 Minutes segment (at least one for-profit testing company is reaping big profits. Big surprise.).

More on the situation will be posted as we mobilize. In the meantime, educate yourself -- for your child’s sake -- by clicking on this link: http://www.parentvoicesny.org/. And to become involved with our school-based High Stakes Testing Committee, click here.

~ Ronald Sklar, PS 39 reporter-at-large

Monday, February 4, 2013

Exclusive! Sneak-peek pictures of our Dancing With Our Stars rehearsal!


This Friday evening the PS 39 PTA Presents...

Dancing With Our Stars

Friday, February 8, 2013

Camp Friendship

339 8th Street
Doors open at 7 p.m. 

Only at P.S. 39, folks: here is your first look at what tail-feathers you can expect to be shaking this Friday, when the Dancing With Our Stars event shows us – even before Valentine’s Day -- what love is all about.  
  • Mr. Rochford leading kindergartners in a rendition of "Dancing Queen"
  • Ms. Deedrick dancing with 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade girls to the uber-popular “Call Me Maybe.”
  • Ms. Hoffman jiving with 3rd graders to Bette Midler's “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

  

Our PS39 judges are our awesome principal Anita DePaz, parent co-ordinator Karen Herskowitz, and PS 39 mom Stephanie Matthews (who is also a trained dancer/stage manager with The Blue Man Group!). 

In addition to the dance event, DJ Anthony will be taking it off the hook with music – and an awaiting dance floor -- for everyone. We’ll also dig the Valentine crafting booth, and bake sale.

The hottest look for Spring 2013: Debuting that night will be the NEW PS 39 kids silicone bracelets. Don’t be caught without one.

Remember that a party this amazing doesn’t run itself.  Volunteer to help by emailing Jo Goldfarb at jogoldfarb@nyc.rr.com 

~by Ron Sklar, PS 39 reporter-at-large

Thursday, January 17, 2013

What makes The Mighty Fine Drive mighty fine?


Everyone gives. It’s that simple. Named from the school’s song, our fund drive is based on participation, not dollars. As a community, we believe that when every family invests in the PTA, we create a shared interest in making PS 39 the best possible learning environment for our kids. It’s not the amount that makes the difference. It’s the act of showing support. Giving feels good. And, when our kids know that we value their education, they value it more too.

Here, however, is the Mighty Fine truth: the 100% goal can only be achieved if EVERY family contributes to the campaign. That’s right: the 100% goal is not based on a dollar amount, but on the number of families contributing (so that means all of us). Human nature, our propensity to procrastinate, is the biggest obstacle to our success.

But good news: there is no minimum amount that you are required to contribute. If you only can afford a dollar, that’s awesome. Again, the most important thing is if you give something, even if it’s only a few bucks (or less!).  Of course, if you can afford to give much more, well, we can’t stop you! And your gift will benefit 377 kids. 377 futures.
In essence, give what you can afford. Every penny is much appreciated, and it means participation! It all counts toward that 100% goal.

The money raised by this campaign goes directly to to pay for consultants to improve the classroom teaching every single day, chess instruction that is integrated with the math curriculum, dance/music/arts enrichments and more mundane-but-essential supplies like copy paper.

Any class that reaches 100% participation receives a $300 classroom grant for their teacher to use at his/her discretion, PLUS a pizza and popsicle party in Prospect Park in the spring (how sweet is that?).

As well, any class with at least 85% of families participating will get $100 classroom grant for their teacher to spend at his/her discretion, PLUS a pizza party in the classroom.

Teachers are so excited by the prospect of grants to get new larger rugs, National Geographic animal books, and other library expansions. 

Let’s get this party started!  The deadline for pledges is February 14th, and our trusty call-a-thon will start soon.

It’s easy to donate: simply send a check in your child’s folder (make checks payable to PS 39 Parent Association) or, to charge it, go to www.ps39.org.  You can even set monthly automatic payments, so your gift keeps giving throughout the year without a big hit to your wallet. Our school song, which dates back close to a century, starts with the lyrics, “We have come to a Mighty Fine school.” Indeed we have. Let’s keep it that way. Together.