PS 39 Silent Auction Makes Some Noise!

Our jazz-club theme jazzes up our annual fundraiser on April 5 at Beth Elohim.

Just like the art form of jazz itself, it takes a lot of talented people to make beautiful music.

Our 2014 PTA fundraiser is going hip, with a jazz-club look that is going hit all the right notes. The party space will be enhanced with an amazing jazz trio: Nat Jannoff, Taymur Phell and Chris Carroll, who were lined up by co-chair Natalia Orlova-Silbfarb.

Natalia has also created our online auction website. Dig:www.biddingforgood.com/ps39/auction2014

Jody Matthews Schwartz created the “club look” of our event, including our attractive invitation and poster, with sweeping music notes and awesome colors.

New PS 39 mom Christiana Cobean has jumped right in to help. She has event planning experience, but has never helped plan an auction (“it’s an animal all its own!” she tells us).

Auction bidding closed as of March 30, and it was the first time in auction history that all items were posted online (a select few will be available for bidding during the event).

Item highlights include the Pawn Stars Cuss Jar and Disney’s Frozen plush snowballs. As well, there are gift certificates to local businesses, gourmet gift packs, and a selection of classes, camps and after-school programs.

All along, Natalia and her team have been tirelessly receiving, logging, photographing and posting the numerous donations coming in.

PTA prez Jo Goldbarb, along with her procurement team, have done an outstanding job of working with parents and local businesses to produce an outstanding selection of items for bid.

Luckily for us, treats will be donated by Vera and TJ Obias, a husband-and-wife team who own the Du Jour Bakery at 365 Fifth Avenue. (tempations include assorted flavors of French macaroons and the Obias’ signature almond bread pudding with maple butterscotch sauce). The cafe specializes in French classics and American comfort and has been a welcome part of the nabe since August 2012.

Last but certainly not least, our Jeremy Dubroff, an expert mixologist, will grace us with a signature drink created especially for this party.

This year’s event promises some real jazz fusion. See ya there. Bring your beret.

You can still bid on the online items, and buy tickets for the live event here.

Valentine's Day Dance Catered by Award-Winning Charles Sally Charles Catering

 As if our annual Valentines Day dance didn’t bring enough delights, we have one more to add to this year’s event: Charles Sally Charles Catering will be donating some of their legendary food!  Dinner will be served, and PS 39 will benefit 100% from the sales. Suh-weet!

The dance takes place on Friday, February 7^th at Camp Friendship (mark your calendars with a little heart).

On the menu: savory tarts, pasta salads and greens for adults.  Specifically for picky little eaters, PS39 mom Annie Gallo will be making her amazing Mac and Cheese if we say please. 

The catering connection is local: Co-owner Sally Krause is a PS 39 alum herself, and great aunt to Samantha and Alexa Goldfarb (yep, Jo’s kids). She’s also a soon-to-be grandma to a future 39er, due in March.

Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz recognized Sally’s catering company with the prestigious Brooklyn Bridge Award, being that the company has been the exclusive caterer to The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens since the 1980s (have you ever eaten at the Terrace Café at the Gardens? That belongs to Charles Sally Charles!).

Sadly, Sally kept the business going strong while her husband and partner, Charles, fought a long-term battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Charles Sally Charles Catering received a Zagat rating of 25. All restaurant fanatics know that this is pretty awesome.

At PS 39 last year, Sally spoke at our Grandparents/VIP Day (see the photos). She shared her experiences of growing up in Brooklyn (which included listening to the radio coverage of the Brooklyn Dodgers playing the final game of The World Series in class, with her teacher!).  

Be sure to send your love to Sally at our upcoming Valentines Day dance (and at the Botanical Gardens), and check out her website here.

http://www.palmhouse.com/

Fitness Fridays Score Big

The early bird not only catches the worm, but catches the ball.  Our very first Fitness Friday took place on 1/17/14 (this week featuring a friendly but fierce volleyball workout, with other activities to come). First serve was at a nice-and-early 7:30, and Camp Friendship sure was getting everyone’s blood pumping.

Councilman Brad Lander, Colorado Rockies pitcher Adam Ottavino,  PS 39 teacher Eve Ottavino

PS 39’s Wellness Council believes in the benefits of moderate exercise before school, which contributes to the young brain’s ability to focus and process information (many studies show a relationship between morning exercise and brain power). That goes for moms and dads as well as kids.

Our own PE teacher, Ms. Deedrick

Also, Fitness Fridays are in response to our budget’s lack of physical education funding (our kids only get part-time gym class). As part of our steadfast commitment to fitness, we received a grant from the Department of Education for this ten-week mini-Olympics.

Principal De Paz, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, students

If over 100 families attending weren’t awesome enough, our event also had a special guest:  Colorado Rockies pitcher Adam Ottavino, who happens to be a Park Slope native and PS 39 alum, as well as the son of 
PS 39 4^th grade teacher Ms. Eve Ottavino. 

The media was on hand as well: thanks to BK News12 and DNAinfo for their interest in the story. This is a slam-dunk for our Lisa Hoffman, PTA leader of PS 39’s Wellness Council and for our awesome principal, Anita De Paz. As well, big thanks go to NY State Assemblyman Jim Brennan and City Councilman Brad Lander for their support and willingness to jump in and play volleyball with our families.


Be there for the remaining Fitness Fridays at Camp Friendship, 339 8^th Street (between 5^th and 6^th Streets).  Please remember to RSVP each week so we can manage attendance and make the events worthwhile for all who come out bright and early to participate!

As Nike says, “Just do it!”

by Ron Sklar, reporter at large

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 Kingdom, Bottle Rocket, The 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 Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys, The 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

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. 

http://seanross.smugmug.com/Spooktakular39/

password is ps39

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.

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

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 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th 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