whatcha talkin about willis?

This is really breaking news. Mayor Bloomberg got Cathie Black, a Publishing Executive, to Replace Joel I. Klein as New York City Schools Chancellor. What are your thoughts?

November PTA Meeting & Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner

Please join us  on November 18, at 6:30 pm for our November  PTA Meeting & Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner. Student of the Month awards will be presented. There will also be turkey raffle.  

We are counting on everyone to bring a small dish to share with each other – if you can’t cook, then bring some cups and napkins. If you are interested in participating, please drop a message in the comment section of this post.

PS 161 Picture Day

Tuesday, November 16: Grades K through 4 

Wednesday, November 17: Grades 5 through 8

Irvin Simon Photographers will be here again for our annual school picture event.  Please fill the order form and indicate the following: picture package and background.  If you have a child in the 5^th and 8^th grades, do not select a background for them, as they will be taking their graduation pictures in caps and gowns and the background for that will be a pastel color.  You MUST PRE-PAY in order to take a picture – methods of payments accepted are cash, check or money order.  

You can turn in the envelopes up until the day of the school pictures when the photographers are here.  As per usual, there will be a make-up date for the students who were absent or not happy with the quality of their pictures 

PLEASE NOTE, CLASS PICTURES CANNOT BE REDONE – NO EXCEPTIONS. ALSO, STUDENTS MUST BE IN COMPLETE UNIFORMS FOR THE CLASS PICTURE.  

School pictures are one of a PTA’s biggest fundraisers, so we need everyone to participate.

Parent Coordinator's Corner......

From the desk of Ms. Arthur, Parent Coordinator....

'PS 161 will sponsor a ribbon cutting ceremony along with the New York City Department of Parks in celebration of the new PS 161 schoolyard playground.

Our school was selected as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's, Play-NYC Schoolyards to Playgrounds Initiative.  The playground will be open to the community when there are no students and educational staff members in the building, on weekends, and during school breaks.

The ceremony will take place in the schoolyard of PS 161 on Thursday, September 30th at 10:30 am. PS 161 students will be performing.'

Open School House

Welcome back to a brand new and exciting school year! On behalf of the entire Parent Executive Board, we wish you great academic success here at PS 161.  Together we can overcome any obstacles and challenges, thus is it imperative that all groups: parents, teachers and administration partner together to raise our collective ‘village’ of children!

Please join us on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 6:00 pm for the PS 161 Open School House.  You will have an opportunity to meet your parent and teacher executive board members, as well as meet the entire staff and administration. Please mark your calendars!!

We're baaaaack!

We apologize about the dearth of postings, but 'poster' was on vacation too!!! We are back, so stay tuned for new posts!

 We just wanted to remind you on some upcoming year-end activities:

• Saturday, June 19: Montgomery Block/Community Association Meeting - 12:30 pm

• Sunday, June 20: Father's Day!!! There are some great dads out there - don't forget to honor them.

• Monday, June 21:  PTA Year-End Appreciation Dinner - 6:00 pm

• Thursday, June 24: 5th Grade Graduation

• Friday, June 25: 8th Grade Graduation

• Monday, June 28: Last day of school

 
 
Please enjoy the beautiful art of local Brooklyn artist Kristiana Parn - that particular tableau is titled 'It's going to Be a Good Day'.

Perfume Fundraiser

The D'Essence Perfume orders came in and were all delivered on Friday, June 11th.  The PTA was able to raise approximately $450.  As promised, there are some prizes for our top sellers: Top Seller - Ashley Trottman will receive a $100 gift card to Target; 2nd top seller - London Smart will receive a $50 gift card to Target; Top selling class - 7-511 will receive a dessert party.

Congratulations to our prize winners and again we thank you for your support.

Results are in!!!

We had our parent board elections last Monday and the results are as follows:

PTA
President - Tricia Mecklembourg

Vice President - Demetrius Lawrence
Treasurer - Margaret Williams
Secretary - Rachel Wint

PAC
Chairperson - Anthony Best
Secretary - Rachel Wint
Vice Chair - Vacant

SLT
Fred Baptiste
Alisha Lawrence
Carol Wilson
Tricia Mecklembourg

Please congratulate your newly elected parent representatives - their term is from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

On behalf of the PTA executive board, thank you to everyone who came out on Monday to elect our new parent board members - we had an overwhelming number of teachers at our meeting - THANK YOU!!! A special thanks to our volunteers, Mr. Marvin Wheeler, Ms. Angela Stutts and Ms. Carol Wilson.

June Calendar

The June calendar was sent home today and the following are the highlights:

Wednesday, June 2 - Grade 5 Mediaval Times Trip; SLT Meeting, Open Meeting

Friday, June 3 - Grade 3 Circus Workshop, sponsored by the Office of Councilmember Tish James.

Monday, June 7 - NYS Science Exam Grade 4 & 8 (Part I)

Tuesday, June 8 - NYS Science Exam Grade 4 & 8 (Part II); 1/2 Day for students.

Wednesday, June 9 - Parent Nutrition Meeting, 9:30 am; Science Fair Expo - PS 13; Grade 5 trip - China Buffet

Thursday, June 10 - Professional Delevopment Day for Teachers - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS.

Friday, June 11 - Kindergarten Moving Up Assembly, 9:00 am

Monday, June 14 - NYS Social Studies Exam Grade 8 (Part I); PARENT SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS, 6:00 PM

Tuesday, June 15 - NYS Science Exam Grade 8 (Part II)

Wednesday, June 16 - Grade 5 Field Day; CSLJ Awards

Thursday, June 17 - 1/2 Day for Students

Friday, June 18 - African Dance Performance, 9:30 am

Monday, June 21 - PTA Final Meeting and Awards Dinner, 6:00 pm

Tuesday, June 22 - CSLJ Parents Meeting, Grade 6 and 7

Thursday, June 25 - Grade 5 Graduation, 9:00 am

Friday, June 26 - Grade 8 Graduation,  9:00 am

Monday, June 28 - Last day of school, 12:00 pm dismissal

NU CHAPTER LAMDA KAPPA MU SORORITY  and the  PS 161 PTA
Present….

The 2nd Annual Youth Showcase

Saturday, May 22, 2010

11:30 am to 2:00 pm

This event will feature aspiring youth, showcasing their talents and leadership efforts in community service. There will be exciting performances by the following PS 161 groups:

Chorus
Dancers
Steel Pan
Steppers
Special guest performers from local area schools and
Much, much more

Additionally, there will be an awards ceremony for the poetry contest winners.

Please join us for this free family event celebrating our youth. Light refreshments will be served.

Note: Parents MUST accompany their children at all times.

School Elections

GET OUT AND VOTE

Elections for Officers of the PS 161 Parent School Boards Are Open!

Please Run, Vote and Get Involved!

Nominations
Will take place from the floor on election night on Thursday, May 27 at 6:00 pm

Election/Voting
Will take place on Thursday, May 27 at 6:00 pm. You must be present to run or to vote.

Results
Will be announced at the May 27 meeting

Term of office
July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011

Number of positions available
PTA - 4 positions
PAC – 3 positions
SLT - 3 positions

Positions and general duties of PTA positions (see bylaws for specific duties)
1. President - Heads association & presides at ALL meetings
2. Vice President - Assist president & performs duties in absence
3. Secretary - Prepares meeting minutes, maintains all official records, coordinates all correspondence
4. Treasurer - Conducts & responsible for all financial affairs

Goals and objectives of other offices: PAC and SLT
1. PAC – Parent Advisory Council: Ensure effective involvement of all parents of Title I participating children and to support the partnership between other school community stakeholders (school administration and staff, PTA and SLT); To involve parents of Title I participating students in an organized and timely manner with the planning, review, and implementation of Title I programs and the joint development of the school parental involvement policy and the school-parent compact.

2. SLT – School Leadership Team: Comprising of administration, teachers and parents, the SLT is responsible for developing an educational plan, matching budget to needs, and building a sense of community. Parents make up half of membership; rest is teachers, school staff, union and Parent Association representation, and possibly students or community members

Eligibility for Parent Members: Per the bylaws, whether or not you pay the “suggested dues”, you are automatically a member of the Parent Teacher Association if you are a parent, guardian or person in parental relation to a child attending PS 161. A member is entitled to vote and to run for any position. The election process and officer’s duties are outlined in the bylaws – copies will be made available during the election. You can also obtain a copy of the Chancellor’s Guidelines on the DOE website.

Eligibility for Teacher Members: Per the Chancellor’s Regulations, as a Parent Teacher Association (PTA), membership must be open to all teachers in the school. Any staff person who is a member of the association is eligible to vote, unless otherwise restricted by conflicts of interest. Persons employed in the school cannot serve on a nominating committee, or run for positions on the executive board.

D'Essense Perfume Fundraiser

Last Friday you should have received an order form with a handout announcing the PTA’s second participation in the D’Essense perfume fundraiser. The order forms are due on Friday, May 14, 2010. If you need another order form, there will be extras in the main office. Featuring real perfumes and colognes in a wide selection of designer fragrances (Vera Wang, Chanel, Sean Jean and Gucci) at the wonderful price of $10.00 each! Now is the time to stock up for the spring and summer.

This fundraiser is open to EVERYONE in school – students, staff, parents etc. This is a great fundraiser as it allows us to receive 50% of the profits raised.

Successful participation in this fundraiser means we can continue to support:
African Dance lessons
Workshops
Year-end activities for: Kindergarten, 5th grade and 8th grade classes
Teacher and Staff Grants and more
And much much more.

INCENTIVES FOR THIS FUNDRAISER ARE:
Top Seller: $100 Gift Card to Target
Second Top Seller: $50 Gift Card to Target
Top Selling Class: Dessert Party (Full works – ice cream, cake, cookies. etc.)
Also… The teacher of top selling class will receive special gift

WE COUNT ON YOUR SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION!!!!!The forms are due back in two weeks – Friday, May 14, 2010. Your payments of cash or money order will be accepted, NO PERSONAL CHECKS. Please make money orders payable to: PS 161 PTA.

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week

HAPPY TEACHERS AND STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK. This whole week we celebrate all the Teachers and Staff of PS 161.

On behalf of the entire PTA, we thank ALL TEACHERS for their hard work and devotion to our children. We cannot express the sum of our gratitude in just one handout, nor do we feel that our appreciation should be pinned down to one week, but we hope that you know YOU ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED. THANK YOU!!!!

We also want to take the opportunity to thank the entire Main Office staff for all that they do. In particular, I would like to acknowledge, Ms. Arthur, Ms. Chung, Ms. Glenn, Ms. Yaw and Msv for always going above and beyond.

May 2010 Calendar

The May calendar is here and the following are the highlights:

May 5 through 7 - NYS Math Exam; Grades 3 - 8 (GOOD LUCK!!!!)

May 7 - Junior Achievement Day

May 8 - Rockaway Review, 12:00 pm; Young Entrepreneur's Community Project

May 11 - CSLJ Trip to Madison Square Garden

May 12 - SLT Meeting, 5:30 pm

May 22 - Youth Show Case Program, 12:00 - 3:00 pm

May 27 - PTA Meeting: Election, 6 to 7 pm; Meeting, 7 to 8 pm

May 28 - 5th Annual Career Day

May 31 - Memorial Day, School Closed

April PTA Meeting

Please join on us Tuesday, April 20 for the April PTA meeting.  In addition to the normal agenda, we will have a Census and Parent Survey rally.  Bring in your Census form and Parent Survey, complete it with us and join us at the mailbox outside and you automatically be entered in our prize raffle and it's a nice one!!!

Lamda Kappa Mu, Nu Chapter and PS 161 PTA Community Health Fair

Who: Nu Chapter Lamda Kappa Mu Sorority and the PS 161 PTA


What: Community Health Fair


When: Saturday, April 10, 2010 - 10:00 am to 2:00 pm


Where: PS 161


Why: Come out and get valuable information on Asthma, Diabetes, Fitness, Hypertension and More. Have fun while gaining information. Join a fitness class or a Zumba exercise class. Take a stress test challenge.

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

APRIL 2010 CALENDAR

The April 2010 calendar was sent home today and the following are the highlights:


Saturday, April 10, 2010 - Health Fair, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm; CSLJ Saturday Science Program, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm


Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - School Wide Poetry Contest


Thursday, April 15, 2010 - School Leadership Team (SLT) meeting, 5:30 pm


Saturday, April 17, 2010 - CSLJ Saturday Science Program, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm


Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - PTA Meeting, 6:00 pm


Monday, April 26, 2010 - New York State E.L.A Exam, Grades 3 - 8


Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - New York State E.L.A Exam, Grades 3 - 8


Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - New York State E.L.A Exam, Grades 4 and 5