|
Spotlight On......Black Lives Matter Practicum trip to NOLA
|
Teachers Emily O. and Pierre, social worker Ali and alumna Chelsea Reid led a group of 10 students on a trip to New Orleans, LA the week before spring recess. Some objectives were to follow-up on the rebuilding of the city after Hurricane Katrina, as well as to gain first-hand knowledge of the experience of African Americans throughout history in New Orleans. They also had a chance to experience the rich culture of the city today, including music, art and, or course, food! It was a real learning experience, with time set aside daily for homework, as well as reflections on what they saw and did everyday. Please read HERE to hear about all the wonderful details of their trip and what they learned in the four days spent in New Orleans!
| Students who attended the trip were:
9th grade:Marissa and Karina 10th Grade:Andres, Marcus, Matthew, Geeta and Ngawang 11th Grade: Adrian 12th Grade:Troy and Aidan |
|
|
|
|
2nd Grade learned all about trees on a visit to the Queens Botanical Gardens. Guide Robin walked them through the gardens and talked about Cherry Trees, Evergreen trees, bee hives, and more. They attended a workshop and got to touch an old wasp nests, a piece of trunk from a tree, and a variety of leaves. The second grade was able to plant tangerine seeds, so be sure to water the plants at home! They ended the trip with a lovely picnic in the park. 2nd grade is also working on math, using candy!. The children truly understand the value of dividing items into equal groups when the reward is a cup of Swedish Fish.
8th Grade Art Students displayed their paintings and drawings, as well as performing musical numbers, for both families and classmates. One evening families and friends had a chance to visit the school and see what their talented children have been up to. Then during the school day, students were able to enjoy a musical performance and art show. If you have not seen some of the wonderful art that adorns our walls, next time you are in the building you should take a walk along the first floor corridor, as well as the basement corridor, where there is a lot of art on display. Thanks to Robert and Jonathan for the doing such a great job with our budding artists.
9th Grade Theatre Students performed in the NYC Student Shakespeare Festival at the renowned off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theatre for the 2nd year in a row. The students worked for three months with Rebekah to craft an original story told with dialogue from Shakespeare's plays; this year the students culled the script from "Twelfth Night." The students chose to tell a story about kidnapping and hostages, in the midst of which there is a love story and characters rising above their own fears to save themselves. In addition to Shakespeare's words, students used rudimentary costumes, movement, vocal sound effects, and two chairs to tell their story. PreK held a 'surprise' Mother's Day celebration on May 11th. Grandmothers and aunts were invited as well. The children sang to their moms and enjoyed sharing a treat with them. Since January, 1st graders have been working every week with teaching artists from CMA to create stop motion animated movies. On May 4th they premiered their film for their families and the TRCS community. Students incorporated their penguin unit into the film to create animated penguins, as well as clay to animate their names and different art materials to create self portraits. Students also created animal masks and stared in one part of the film! Here's a link to the film! The Red Carpet | Animal Masks | Fun with Friends |
|
| |
|
3rd Annual "Wrap" Contest
|
Our food service providers, Geoff & Debbie Ramsey, hosted the 3rd annual wrap sandwich contest on April 19th. Nine students competed with original sandwich recipes with ingredients such as yogurt, guacamole, olives and beans.
|
|
The following students were the top picks, winning $25 Fandango Movie gift cards:
1st place: Morgan Tunstull
2nd Place Thomas Leahy
3rd Place: Ben Gargan & Julia
Francione tied with Joeshin Septh Bullock. Congratulations to all who participated. They each received a free cookie at lunch!
|
All of our 2016 contestants!
| Our 2016 Winners! Their sandwiches will appear on the lunch line in this month!
|
|
|
|
|
There's lots going on in the Renaissance garden, besides the veggies are that starting to grow! We recently received a grant from Grow to Learn to purchase an aeroponic growing system. This will allow students to experiment with growing crops without soil! We also received two grants which will allow us to offer our summer gardening program again (thanks to Assemblyman Moya and The Laura B. Vogler Foundation). This year we will be working with Beyond Organic Design to introduce permaculture to our gardeners. The program will once again feature many great field trips to gardens and farms around the city.
This year our garden will once again be featured as part of the Jackson Heights Historic Garden Tour. Community residents have enjoyed seeing our 'secret garden' up on the roof. If you have not had a chance to see the garden, come on June 11th. You might enjoy touring the neighborhood, as well as seeing the many historical artifacts and photos on display at the Community Church. The day is organized by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group and tickets for the tours and activities can be bought through them.
|
|
|
|
On Friday, May 6th, twenty-one Renaissance students were inducted into the National Honor Society (NHS). In order to be a member of the NHS, students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA (out of a 4.0 rating), as well as demonstrate good leadership and citizenship qualities.
There were 15 inductees from the 10th grade: Andres Aguirre, Mohammed Alam, Nicholas Alvarez, Stephanie Apolaya, Genesis Garcia, Ana Llorens, Yui Maehara, Melanie Mata, Milena Naranjo, Kayla Palin, Tara Pemba, Sabrina Testi, Louis Torres, Alice Yoshida and Karina Zepda. From the 11th and 12th grades there were six inductees: Vivian Batista, Antonella Cordero, Ben Gargan, Giselle Ibanez, Tenzing Palmo and Arian Rojas.
Teachers Nicole Jollon and Lisa Burns helped to organize the event and 12th grader Nia Daniels, a member of the NHS, was the student speaker. The ceremony was overseen by the Renaissance chapter of the NHS Officers: Alexander Paucar, Julia Francione, Nusrat Uddin and Makeda Lewis.
After the ceremony, the students and their families were invited to a celebration in the cafeteria, and enjoyed a lovely banquet provided by Chef Mo and Geoff & Debbie Ramsey. Congratulations to all the students and their families!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Urban Advantage Family Field Trip
|
A group of 20 students and parents attended a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History, courtesy of the Urban Advantage Middle School Science Initiative. Bus transportation was provided to and from the museum, as well as entry into the museum and the special Butterfly Pavilion. For families who have not taken advantage of these trips (last year we went to the Hall of Science), they are a great way to spend the day with your child and other TRCS families, exploring some of the great educational institutes of New York City. At the beginning of next year, we will once again pass out special passes for Family Days. These are days when you can go on your own and be allowed to take part in special workshops. This is a Middle School program and all students in 6th-8th have been part of this program for the last two years. This school also received some funding for special projects, such as the BioBus. We hope you can join the next group trip or take a visit on your own. Each Family Day voucher is good for 4 people, so make it a family affair.
|
|
|
|
Our Leadership Programs have given a number of our high school students wonderful opportunities to explore various educational programs and summer learning. 10th Grader Andres Aguirre is the latest student to take advantage of a wonderful extra-curricular activity. He was selected to attend a 4 day, 3 night trip to North Carolina with 9 other students representing various NYC High Schools. For his leadership class, Andres is participating in Global Kids, an organization of in-school and after-school programs where middle school and high school students examine global issues, make local connections, and create change through peer education, social action, digital media, and service-learning. Over Spring recess Andres took part in a college and career readiness trip, visiting three schools in the Raleigh/Durham area in North Carolina from Monday April 25-Thursday April 28, 2016. All expenses were covered by Global Kids. The students toured Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State. The goal of this trip was for students to explore different types of college environments to better understand their needs as a student. Students also visited local cultural institutions and attractions to get a better sense of the surrounding communities. Congratulations Andres!
|
|
|
|
Friday, April 22nd was a signature Renaissance Junior Class event, Social Justice Day. 11th Grade students hosted a series of presentations on timely topics, suggested by the students themselves. They presented material in a number of ways, including music, videos and recreating the popular television show Jeopardy! After a full morning of presentations, students were able to part-take of a luncheon prepared by the 11th grade class. Congratulations on a job well done.
|
|
|
|
7th grader Tiffany Videla was accepted into the Summer Institute at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts for voice. She auditioned and was chosen from 800 applicants!
Marlen gave a Shout Out to 6th grader Darvin Almonza for showing his appreciation when Marlen fixed his backpack.
This month we will blow our own horn and give a shout out to Renaissance! Renaissance was featured in the NYC Special Education Collaborative Newsletter. A special focus for the newsletter was Featured Schools Week, a celebration and sharing of innovative special populations' supports in NYC Charter Schools. On Monday, the 9th, we received visitors from other schools who toured Renaissance.
Renaissance has had a long-standing partnership with PS 244Q (a District 75 program) to provide an inclusion model for cohorts of high needs special education students. This partnership entails general education faculty from Renaissance working collaboratively with special education faculty from PS 255Q to provide a high-quality inclusion setting for the students being served. This program has been very successful, with several of the PS244Q students who have gone to our high school being accepted into college!
Check out other Shout Outs here!
|
|
|
|
| |
|
We will be voting for the new PTA Executive Board at the next meeting, so please join us on Wednesday, May 18th at 6:30.
Remember, we are holding auditions for our Cabaret Night. All 5th-12th grade students are invited to try out, and we would love to have families perform as well. It is still not too late, so contact Everett at [email protected] to set up a day & time.
|
|
|
|
Alumni Corner....and other visitors!
|
|
|
|
|
Friday, May 13- Music and Art Exhibition for students Advisory Community Service Fair Monday-Friday, May 16-20 - Nature's Classroom Wednesday, May 18 - PTA Meeting 6:30PM Wednesday-Friday, May 18-20 - Middle School Trip Thursday, May 19 - 10th Grade Advisory Community Service Fair Spanish Honors Society Inductions, 6:30 PM Tuesday , May 24 - HS Art Discipline Exhibits Daytime Thursday, May 26 - HS Arts Exhibition 6-8PM PreK-5 Family Game Night 5-8PM Monday, May 30 - Memorial Day, NO SCHOOL Wednesday, June 1 - Common Core Regents, Algebra 2 BOT Meeting, 6:45PM Monday, June 5 - Grade 4 & 8 Science Exam Wednesday, June 8 - K-8 Clerical Half-day, 11:40AM dismissal Thursday, June 9 - Brooklyn-Queens Day, NO SCHOOL Monday, June 13th - Staff Appreciation Luncheon Tuesday, June 14 - K-8 Clerical Half-day, 11:40 dismissal Wednesday, June 15 - PTA Rooftop Garden Party, 6:30PM
|
|
|
|
HELPFUL HINTS AND COOL LINKS
|
Check out the new link on the Parents page of our website called "Supporting Your Child."
This page includes many helpful documents and resources to support your child both academically and emotionally, from experts in the field and our own staff. Currently, there are several documents that will help you help your child, by understanding our discipline code, our commitment to an anti-bullying culture, and by understanding what our communication protocols and our philosophy of student counseling. Here are some additional resources:
Select your child's grade, then select the subject. You can print out copies of past tests for practice.
For information about on-line safety, teen eating disorders, age specific issues and more visit:
Read the following document for tips on internet safety:
Elementary Math:
|
| |
Make an investment in children, education and the future of our world. Safer, better-educated communities are great for business; they improve the quality of life for everyone. Renaissance's hard-working, high-achieving students strive to make that happen and with your help that goal is closer to being a reality: Please visit our website for more information, and lick on the red DONATE button on the bottom of each page: http://www.renaissancecharter.org/. Thank you!
Sincerely,
The Renaissance Charter School
|
|