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

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

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