PS101Q MISSION
The mission of P.S.101Q, The School in the
Gardens, is to provide a rigorous, well-rounded educational program that
will foster the development of literate, creative, culturally aware, and
technologically competent learners. We will create an environment that
promotes excellence in achievement, in which students strive to meet or
exceed the New York State Standards. We will encourage a love of learning
through innovative and challenging programs. Parents and staff will work
together to ensure that all children reach their academic potential in a
safe and nurturing environment. All members of our school community will
celebrate individual differences and promote good citizenship.
Important Names to Know
Role |
Name |
| Principal |
Valerie Capitulo-Saide |
| Assistant Principal |
Irtis Gonzalez |
| Assistant Principal |
Laura Fahey |
| Parent Coordinator |
Randy St. Germain |
| Pupil Personnel Secretary |
Francine Geier |
| Parent Association President |
Deb Dillingham |
| District 28 Superintendent |
Dr. Beverly Ffolkes-Bryant |
Contact Information
Classroom
Concerns If questions arise concerning any aspect of the school or class program, send a note or email your child’s teacher requesting a conference. All teachers have email addresses and will respond to you within two days. If you do not hear back from them, please reach out again. He/she will make an appointment with you either before school begins or during a scheduled preparation period. If you come to the school without an appointment, the teacher may not be able to accommodate. Additionally, parents may not request to go to the classroom while the teacher is teaching.
After you have communicated with the teacher and you feel that the issue has not been resolved, please contact the supervisor who is responsible for your child’s grade. If the matter is still unresolved please contact the principal for further assistance.
Supervision
Each supervisor is responsible for supervising a group of teachers/service providers.
Supervisor |
Supervises |
| Ms. Capitulo |
Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grade 2 |
| Ms. Gonzalez |
Grade 1, all especial education teachers, ESL, music, art, social studies. |
| Ms. Fahey |
Grades 3-6, physucal education, technology, science |
Official School Hours
The official school hours are Monday – Friday from 8:40 am – 3:00 pm.
Extended Day Mandated Morning Tutoring Program for Students in Grades 1-6
Morning extended day will begin on Monday, September 12, 2011. If your child is to be included in our mandated morning tutoring program, you have already received a separate letter informing you about the schedule and mandates for this program in June. A reminder letter was also mailed home in August.
Extended Day Enrichment Programs
The following enrichment courses will be offered this school year:
♣ Constitution Works – led by Mr. Moss and Mr. Parlini
♣ Chorus and Violin Ensemble – led by Mr. Sansaricq
♣ Mighty Milers – led by Mrs. Schnabel
All students will be selected by the enrichment teachers. Selected student will receive more information by the end of September.
Breakfast
The New York City Department of Education provides a free breakfast program for all students. Breakfast is served at 7:40 am for morning tutoring and enrichment students Monday through Wednesday and at 8:00 am for all other students.
Lateness
Children in grades K-6 who arrive at school after 8:40 am are considered late and will be issued a late pass. That pass will be brought home for your signature so you are aware of this lateness. The signed pass must be sent to your child’s teacher the following day. Please cooperate by having your child arrive on time. A major factor in determining your child’s success in school is attendance. Work begins promptly after arrival, so lateness means your child misses critical instruction and also disrupts the teacher and other students as work begins.
Grade |
Time |
Location |
| Pre-K |
2:10 |
Exit 3 Front Door |
| K |
2:50 |
Exit 6 |
| 1 |
3:00 |
Exit 4 Schoolyard |
| 2, 3 |
3:00 |
Exit 3 Schoolyard |
| 4, 5 |
3:00 |
Exit 2 |
| 6 |
3:00 |
Exit 5 |
Students in Grades K-3 who have not been picked up will be brought to the auditorium. Those students attending our after school program or going to an outside after school program will gather in the rotunda or auditorium for pick up.
Emergency Procedures
If you need to pick up your child early due to illness, doctor’s appointment, etc. bring a picture I.D. to be presented to the Security Agent. Your child will be released only to individuals whose names appear on the blue EMERGENCY CONTACT CARD. This is for your child’s safety. Please complete the front and back of both of the cards attached to this letter. One will be kept in our Main Office and one is for the classroom teacher. Include the name of relatives/friends who are responsible and dependable. Also provide at least one working cell phone number and email address so that you can be reached immediately in the event of an emergency. If a phone number or other contact information changes, please write a note to your child’s teacher requesting that the EMERGENCY CONTACT CARD be updated. Also note that if you need to change dismissal arrangements on a particular day, we must have a written note, in advance, from you.
Absences
After an absence and on the first day back to school, a note signed by a parent, detailing the reason for the absence, MUST be given to the child’s teacher. If an absence is three days or longer, a doctor’s note is required. If your child contracts a serious illness or sustains an injury necessitating a cast, boot, sling, crutches, etc., we must have a doctor’s note. If necessary, we will contact you to discuss alternative arrangements to accommodate your child. When your child is able to return to school and/or no longer needs crutches, etc., a doctor’s note including a phrase “can return to school” and detailing and restrictions (e.g. “no gym” or “resume full activity”) should be included.
Extended Absences
Pupil lateness and absence directly affect the quality of class work and homework. Please consider this when planning family vacations. An extended absence before or after a school break is considered illegal, unless your child is ill and you have medical documentation. Your child’s permanent record reflects all absences. Depending on the length of the absence, it may become necessary to discharge your child from the school. You will have to re-register upon return.
Moving
Please notify Ms. Geier in our Main Office, if you are moving or your child will be attending another school. We will need your new address and telephone number as well as the name and number of the new school. We are required to send records directly to the new school. Official school records cannot be given to parents.
Attire
There is no school uniform policy. Students are encouraged to wear comfortable, appropriate clothing. To prevent trips or falls, we request that students not wear baggy pants, flip flops or open-toed shoes. Halter tops, spaghetti straps or other high cut shirts or low cut pants are strongly discouraged.
For pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, please avoid complicated clothing, such as overalls or clothing with intricate ties or closures. Daily activities may include arts and crafts and painting. As a result, it is to be expected that clothing may get stained or dirty.
Supplies
It is imperative that students report to class ready to work every day. Supply lists were provided in June, and are also available on our school website: www.ps101q.org.
Each day, your child should come to school prepared with the following:
• At least two writing implements
• Appropriate notebooks and school supplies
• Required textbooks, covered
• Completed homework
Electronic Devices and Cell Phones
Students are not permitted to use cell phones or any other electronic devices (game boy, MP3 players, ipods, etc.) on school grounds. Students who are observed using a cell phone or other electronic device will have that device confiscated. Parents will be contacted to pick up the device.
Medications
Teachers may never administer medication to a student nor can a student self-medicate. This includes aspirin and/or any other over the counter medication. If your child needs to take medication during the school day, you may come to school to administer the medication. If your child requires medication on a regular basis, your doctor must complete a 504 form, which is available from our Parent Coordinator. Once the nurse receives the completed form, she can then administer the medication to your child as directed. All medications must come to school in a labeled container from the pharmacy. Medications will be stored in the nurse’s office.
Homework Policy
Homework is your child’s responsibility and should be completed each night. It is a factor in evaluating and rating a pupil’s overall performance. Your child’s teacher will provide specific information regarding grade and class homework guidelines. In general, parents are expected to monitor and assist, as appropriate. If there is a problem, encourage your child to request help from the teacher. It is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure all students understand and can complete the homework. If homework becomes an issue with your child, please discuss this with the teacher.
ARIS Parent Link
ARIS Parent Link provides parents online access to their child’s learning-related data. ARIS Parent Link gives parents the same information that educators have about their individual children – including attendance, course grades, scores on state test and in-class assessments. For information regarding logging into ARIS Parent Link, please contact Randy St. Germain – our Parent Coordinator.
Student Resources
Our school provides mandated and non-mandated services in a variety of areas that support a variety of student needs. Our services include – Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech, Guidance, SETSS (resource room), English as a Second Language, Academic Intervention Services (AIS). Additionally, we have a school psychologist, social worker and a nurse. Services can be requested by parents and/or teachers. After an evaluation by the school-based IEP team, a determination about appropriate services is made and implemented. Requests for AIS or at-risk services do not require an evaluation.
Lunch Program
Children who are eligible to receive reduced lunch or free lunch last year will continue to do so until the new application is submitted. We encourage kindergarten parents to send their child to school with cold lunch for the entire month of September, if at all possible. The children are learning new routines and procedures, and this will make their adjustment to eating in the large cafeteria much easier. Lunch/Milk money will be collected on Monday, September 12th and if you pay for school lunch, your child will begin to receive it on September 12th. Beginning with the first collection, monthly collections will be made.
Every child must submit a lunch form. If your child will not be having school lunch and you are not interested in applying for free or reduced lunch, you do not need to provide financial information but you must sign and return the form. New York State closely monitors the return of these forms and expects us to collect a signed form from every single student who attends our school.
Lunch Schedule
| Kindergarten & Grade 1 |
11:00 am – 11:50 am |
| Grades 2 & 3 |
11:50 am – 12: 40 pm |
| Grades 4 – 6 |
12:40 pm – 1:30 pm |
Snacks
Please refer to your child’s teacher regarding snack time. We encourage all parents to pack a healthy snack (cheese and crackers, raisins, fruit cups, etc).
Celebrations/Birthdays
Small healthy treats (cheese and crackers, raisins, fruit cups, etc) may be brought in from home on your child’s birthday. Please do not bring goody bags for your child’s class. Instead, please consider donating a book to your child’s classroom library in honor of his/her birthday. A special book plate will be created and affixed to the inside front cover, acknowledging your donation.
Visitors to the School
Visitors to the school may not go directly to classrooms, offices or any other area of the building. All visitors must show photo ID and sign in at the security desk. Visitors will be given a pass that must be carried with them at all times while in the building.
Meet the Teacher
Our “Meet the Teacher” will take place in the classrooms on the following days. All visits are scheduled from 8:00-8:40 AM.
♣ Monday, September 19th – Kindergarten & Grade 1
♣ Tuesday, September 20th – Grades 2 & 3
♣ Wednesday, September 21st – Grades 4, 5 & 6
Meet the Clusters – Tuesday, September 20th – 8:45-9:15
Open School Week
Parents and families will be permitted to visit classrooms and observe instruction but are not permitted to ask questions of the teachers, interrupt the lesson or interact with their child(ren). This is not the time for individual parent/teacher conferences.
♣ Monday, November 14, 2011:
? 9:00-10:30 – Kindergarten & Grade 1
? 9:30-11:00 – Prekindergarten
♣ Wednesday, November 16, 2011:
? 9:00-10:30 – Grades 2 & 3
♣ Thursday, November 17, 2011:
? 9:00-10:30 – Grades 4-6
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Our conferences are scheduled for:
♣ Tuesday, November 15, 2011 – Afternoon and Evening
♣ Tuesday, March 13, 2012 – Afternoon and Evening
Health and Fitness Policy
We will continue to foster an environment that is health promoting and provides students with the knowledge and skills to create lifelong healthy habits. Children who eat well and are physically active are more likely to learn and become healthy, successful adults who contribute to our community.
Therefore, it is the policy of PS 101Q to:
♣ create a health-promoting environment in our school
♣ provide students access to nutritious food
♣ provide opportunities for physical activity
♣ provide developmentally appropriate physical education
♣ provide accurate information related to these topics through a comprehensive health education program
Swim for Life NYC
As a new addition to our Health and Fitness Policy, we are proud to introduce the Swim for Life NYC program to PS 101Q this year. Swim for Life is a unique pilot program that teaches second graders to swim through a standardized curriculum based on low student-to-instructor ratio for maximum individualized instruction, using a 10-session over 10 weeks model. All second grade students will be invited to participate in the swimming program during the regular school day free of charge. Our teachers will chaperone their students to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park indoor pool for a total of ten sessions. Swim instructors will be provided by the facility.
