Preparing for Middle School: 1

I always waited for the first day of school to get the teacher's list of supplies. Then I would go to Target or Staples and wait in an endless line for the last of the stray, wrinkled, stepped on notebooks that nobody else wanted. I wanted to go in mid summer when the pretty notebooks were out, but NYC starts school so much later than any other district that when I was on vacation in other states, the shelves were clear by mid July. I just went to Staples yesterday and got my gross of $.19 pocket folders and you can too, before they are all gone.

Here is a shopping strategy for the parents of rising 6th graders ready for their first year of Middle School. It is a tough call because your tween will want to wait to see what everyone else has. They may also want the giant binder with pockets and subject dividers for the first time. These will not go to waste even if their teachers don't require them. They will use them all sometime unless they become plastered with Jonas Brothers stickers which will render them "gross" and outdated in 6 months.
This is what you should get:

• the tried and true marble composition books one for each subject (and lots of extras)
  
• pocket folders for each subject
• spiral notebooks with perforations so that the pages can be torn out without the fringe

If you go shopping now you can find colorful (actually attractive) composition notebooks. Get them in different colors for each subject, red for ELA, blue for math, green for science etc. Then get the corresponding colored pocket folders and spiral notebooks for those subjects too. That way when the books are strewn all over the living room at 7am and your child only needs science and ELA that day, he can easily see what needs to go into the backpack. If they are all the same color or random designs imagine the horror (and notes home that he doesn't have his work in class).

• pads of graph paper for math (some have 4 sq. per in. on one side and 5 on the other so that you have all bases covered)
• lots of #2 pencils, a sharpener, and some mechanical lead pencils for math
• colored construction paper, glue sticks, markers of all kinds (you thought the projects would stop?!)
• extra poster board (white and in color) and a spare tri-fold card board display (thanks Felicity)
  
• lots of extra printer paper and many extra ink cartridges
  

Middle school is when the computer becomes a part of your child's body. I have a couple things to say about this. ALWAYS HAVE AN EXTRA INK CARTRIDGE IN THE HOUSE. Oh yes, you will use the last one and think, I will reorder that in a couple of weeks like I normally do, but a week later at midnight when the giant social studies project is due, suddenly there will be no ink, because your child spent the last week printing out multiple copies of different size pictures of civil war uniforms that they didn't use. Hear me now or suffer the consequences. Always have at least one extra cartridge and ream of paper in the house. Always.

Happy shopping!

Intro to Nursery School Talk

I will be talking about
* nursery school philosophies
* what to look for on a tour
* what you need to know to keep the search under control and in perspective
* Lots of Q&A.

I won't be discussing individual schools at this event
$20. for an individual /$30. for a family
RSVP to joyce@nycschoolhelp.com

Tuesday, August 11 at 7pm - 8:30pm
at NYC Explorers 388 Atlantic Ave. (between Hoyt and Bond)

Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10am - 11:30am
at Hootenanny Art House 15th St. (@ 8th Ave. Brooklyn)

Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7pm - 8:30pm
at Still Hip 283 Grand (between Lafayette and Clinton Pl.)

My Dad; living green

I just need to brag on my dad who turned 80 this year. He and my mother moved to a "community for active seniors" a couple of years ago and he joined the model sailboat club.

My father was an art teacher, librarian and school audio/visual supervisor, but mostly he has been a lifelong user of recycled materials in an effort to have more fun. He made kites out of the Sunday funnies. He once attended a costume party wrapped in bubble wrap with a hidden tape recorder that played heavy breathing sounds. His office and library were decorated with objects that he found or created and we couldn't wait to visit to just hang out in the environments that he made. Give him an afternoon, some toilet paper tubes and a solar battery and stand back. I joked when they moved to Greenspring that there would be a pile of "hall walkers" who had coronaries in front of their door when his motion sensitive, kinetic sculpture jumped out and said "HELLO!" (My mother, a minimalist, decided on a less stressful option)

His sailboat club, located a few miles from the Pentagon, is full of former Navy guys. When my father joined, he began experimenting with different sail materials, and winning races. Imagine the uproar when he showed up with the non-regulation red nylon (which helps him actually see his boat from across the pond). The ultimate triumph occurred the other day when he showed up with a sail made from the wrapper of a Costco bushel of paper towels. Needless to say, he cleaned up in his races that day.

High School Short List Workshops

Bring the big DOE High School Directory and come away with a folder containing a short list of schools so you can face the fall with confidence. Joyce Szuflita leads you through the directory with a pair of scissors, information, strategies and tips on keeping it organized, helping your child engage in the process and keeping your wits about you while finding a good fit school for your child. Reservations required.

Saturday, August 1, 10am-noon at Brooklyn Creative League 540 President St. 3rd Floor (between Third and Fourth Ave.) near M,R train

Saturday, Sept. 12, 10am-noon at Brooklyn Creative League 540 President St. 3rd Floor (between Third and Fourth Ave.) near M,R train

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 7-9pm at Hootenanny Art House 428 15th St. Brooklyn at (8th Ave.) near the Prospect Park stop on the F train

$40. for parents, $10. for students
Bring your Directory and I will supply everything else.
for reservations: joyce@nycschoolhelp.com

New Interim Acting Principal for PS 20

I just got word that a new interim acting principal has been assigned to PS 20 and by all accounts she is AMAZING. Lena Barbera has been an AP at the lovely PS 261. She had been at 261 since 1996 as a teacher and Math Coach. It sounds like the teachers working with her will have a lot of support because she worked at 261 implementing new curriculum and modeling instructional practices for new teachers. She has been an AP for 5 years. She is a graduate of of Hunter College and Brooklyn College.
For a little more information and a lovely picture (so you can say hi when you see her on the street) you can check out her bio on the PS 261 website

Update: A few people have written to ask what "interim acting" means. "Before a principal or assistant principal is permanently appointed, the DoE often appoints an Interim Acting (IA) principal or assistant principal." this is from the blog jd2718 which explains the appointment process from a UFT teacher's point of view. The interim acting principal goes through the C30 hiring process to be permanently appointed to a school. I was on a C30 committee as a parent a few years ago. A committee is collected of "parent, teacher, school staff, administrator union, and Department of Education (through Region, District etc) personnel." The job is advertised and candidates including the "interim acting principal" are interviewed and their qualifications reviewed. In my situation there was never any doubt that we wanted the interim acting principal to have the job as the best possible candidate. The jd2718 describes it as merely a rubber stamp process. I can't speak to that. I do hope that a new candidate from a strong and well respected program who has considerable skills and experience can bring the school community together.

Teen Treks

My teens are all over the map this summer.
They got back from a great Teen Treks bike trip across Mass. from Albany to Provincetown on the Cape. This is the second trip for one of them and it didn't disappoint. The rain and the Berkshires didn't deter them (although now when we are sitting in a car and they see a slight incline they exclaim "oh no, a hill!") It was a fantastic small group this year and they did everything from Tanglewood to Great Adventure, lots of beaches and two days in Boston. I highly recommend this trip for giving them a real sense of accomplishment and adventure.

We hardly had time to scrape the bike grease off before we headed to the family reunion in Chicago. Chicago is a great town for kids with amazing free summer concerts and programs all over the city (and a great bike path along the lake and its own beaches). It is a little early, but we decided to tour Northwestern as long as we were in the neighborhood. There is plenty to love there and I highly recommend their tour which was "awesome!" We had a very excited tour guide who also happened to be extremely knowledgeable (good job Northwestern, my kids are now looking further west than they were a week ago).

I have to give a shout out to Daniel, junior at Stuy, who I happen to know, follows this blog religiously. He is doing a summer debate program at Northwestern that sounds interesting. It seems that I have a few fans at Stuy, Hi J.! which keeps me from writing anything really interesting about my kids.

Intro to Public School: PreK and Kindergarten Talks

I am doing this popular talk again at a couple different venues in July.
I will discuss the big picture with the "big map".

• what you need to know
• when you need to know it
• what to do when things go wrong
• strategies and common practices, including "the 5 things to do to keep from turning prematurely grey"
  If you are confused about the difference between Charter, Magnet and Dual Language or Unzoned programs and what is up with district-wide vs. citywide Gifted and Talented, this may be the talk for you. I don't discuss individual schools, but you will come away armed with lots of information to begin your school search with confidence. Lots of Q&A.

Thursday, July 9, 7pm-8:30pm at Hootenanny Art House 428 15th St. at 8th Ave.
(Park Slope stop on the F train)
Wednesday, July 29, 7pm-8:30pm at New York City Explorers 388 Atlantic Ave.

$25. per person/$40. for families
for reservations: joyce@nycschoolhelp.com
This talk is always available to Preschool Programs or private groups. Contact me for information.