Thanks to the joint efforts of many, Renaissance once again has a permanent crossing guard at our corner!  Angela Kostalos has been working at the corner of 37th Avenue & 81st Street for about a month now.  She received her training at the Police Academy in College Point.

Many parents and staff signed the paper petition, which parent (and former NYPD lieutenant) Chester Hicks delivered to the 115 Precinct.  We also had over 300 signatures from school families, as well as community members, on an online petition posted by the school.  This action led to television coverage and that is when the police posted an officer to direct traffic and help with street crossings.

We would like to thank everyone who pitched in, signed letters and made phone calls.  We also want to thank our elected officials, including Assemblyman DenDekker, Assemblyman Moya, Senator Peralta and Council Member Dromm.  This was a great example of a community working together for the good of all!

Rensizzle ended on Halloween, which was also the start of Spirit Week.  So we had trick or treating going on while our middle and high school students were busy preparing a great program of share-outs about their experiences during Rensizzle Week.

This year groups participated in activities such as classes in flamenco, jazz and African dance; visiting caverns to see the wide variety of New York State's geology; studying the Asian culture including languages and history; studying culinary arts; and learning how to build and program a robot.  Almost all the groups shared out with the rest of the school, whether through power point presentations, live performance, poetry reading and an original piece of choreography.  Check out the Rensizzle wiki to read all about the different groups, what they learned and see more great pictures.
https://rensizzle.wikispaces.com/


       Rock Wall Climbing                  Freedom Tower & 9/11 Memorial

       Howe's Cavern- Upstate NY                          Brooklyn Bridge

                Culinary Arts                                       Dance NYC

Another unique part of Renaissance is Spirit Week.  This year it started on Halloween, just as Rensizzle Week was wrapping up.  Our PreK and elementary school students, the majority of whom were dressed in costumes, went trick or treating in the office and were treated to some special snacks in the cafeteria with Captain America (Miguel!).


 

A visit from Captain America (Miguel)           1st Grade with Snow White (Flo)

Heritage Day - many students dressed in the colors or costumes of their family's heritage:


Twin Day is for those who want to dress like a friend.......or a few friends!


For those kids who already have a career picked out, they can Dress for Success!



And everyone's favorite.....pajama day!

  And the winner was........ the 4th grade!  

 With more and more students using computers, many schools are spending less time on handwriting, especially cursive.  Some principals and teachers would rather spend writing time concentrating on content than what it looks like.  But many proponents point out the positives of cursive writing:

• Cursive is shown to improve brain development in the areas of thinking, language and working memory.
• Cursive handwriting stimulates brain synapses and synchronicity between the left and right hemispheres, something absent from printing and typing.
• The College Board found that students who wrote in cursive for the essay portion of the SAT scored slightly higher than those who printed which experts believe is because the speed and efficiency of writing in cursive allowed the students to focus on the content of their essays.
• Writers can take faster, and therefore more, notes in class or meetings.
• Someone who writes cursive will be able to read cursive! 

Renaissance realizes the importance of teaching writing and is stepping up their game with the Handwriting Without Tears program. Now in its second year at TRCS, the program is currently being used in kindergarten through 3rd grade. They work from writing readiness to printing and cursive. The scope and sequence of lessons is based on research about how children learn best, research which states that children learn more effectively by actively doing, and by using the different senses.  Their unique physical approach addresses posture, grip, and paper positioning.

 

Added benefits will be the ability to read historical documents....and the note you write to walk the dog! 

  The Bubble Foundation has been working with our 1st & 2nd graders, teaching them about healthy food and how to prepare it.  The dinner gave families a chance to see their little chefs in action, as the kids helped to prepare the fruit platter.  Our families also swapped recipes.  In the spring, Bubble will work with our Pre-K and kindergarten students, as it's never too soon to learn about healthy eating!

We have so many awesome students, and staff, that our shout out list is too long for the newsletter!  Follow this link to see who has been acting like a Renaissance Leader!

On Saturday, November 8, 11th and 12th grade ELA teacher, Sandra Fritz, participated in the "Somos el Futuro" conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The conference serves as a platform for legislators, scholars, business, and labor leaders to address issues that impact the Hispanic community. Sandra spoke as part of a session on charter schools and the common core, sitting on a panel with  legislators, school principals, representatives from the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and a speaker from the New York City Charter School Center.

Sandra discussed TRCS's unique model as a small, independent charter school, as well as the school's close ties with both the community and the UFT. She also highlighted the writing workshop program and the importance of small class sizes in fostering learning.  The response to TRCS's innovative programming was very positive, and the conference, on the whole, was a success!


                 (Sandra, 2nd from left)