PS 503

September PTA Meeting, 9/29 at 6pm – PTA Elections

We would like to inform you that on Wednesday, September 29th at 6pm there will be a PTA meeting via Zoom. Expedited elections will take place for the PTA Executive board, School Leadership Team, and Title 1 PAC! If you are interested in joining the PTA, SLT or Title 1 PAC please join us at the meeting to express your interest. Please see the attached notice of elections for a more detailed description of the roles. PTA 2021 Election letter Please join us at the meeting and let your voice count! We hope to see you all there!

PTA Meeting Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84346311390?pwd=RUgzOTY4cEdkQ2NEQkdYa1hXQlNOdz09
Meeting ID: 843 4631 1390
Passcode: 6kkeGE

Letter from the Chancellor September 2021

Please see the Welcome Letter: September 10, 2021 from Chancellor Porter regarding returning to school for the 2021-2022 school year.

PS 503: Welcome back & Visitor Policy

We are so very excited to welcome you and your beautiful children back to school on Monday, September 13th!

The Department of Education has shared their visitor policy with schools and families. In order to be granted access to the school building, visitors will be expected to:

provide ID
show their proof of vaccination that matched ID
complete a DOE health screening and
wear a face mask at all times on school grounds.

School begins at 8:00a and dismissal is at 2:10p. All students must show their Daily Health Screening to their teachers prior to entering the building. We urge all families to please access the Health Screening digitally, but if unable to, we will provide paper copies of the health screening.

We are all looking forward to welcoming everyone back to our PS 503 school building!

Preparing for School: School Supply Lists and First Week Information

In order to be prepared for the upcoming school year, here is some information and next steps in order to be prepared!

First Day of School Schedule: 8am – 2:10pm for ALL students Kindergarten – 5th grade

Arrival at 8am:

Kindergarten, Grades 1 & 2 in the yard
Grade 3 – Parking lot door near the playground
Grade 4 & 5 – 59th street door

Dismissal at 2:10p in the school yard for all students.

Please refer to the menu to know what will be served each day for lunch.

Supply Lists:

Uniforms:

At our last PTA meeting, families voted for students K-5 to wear uniforms for the coming school year. The uniform consists of a light blue shirt/ blouse and navy blue pants or skirt. Jeans are acceptable.

Uniforms are worn Monday – Thursday every week. On Fridays, all students can wear clothing of their choice.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you in school!

PS 503 School Forms

If you have not yet completed school forms for your child, please complete the following forms below:

Emergency Contact Card – Please complete this form (the Blue Card) for all students in grades 1-5. Incoming Kindergarten families completed this form at registration.
Emergency Pick up Form – All students
Photo Consent Form – All students
Walk Home Alone Permission Form – OPTIONAL – only if you want your child to have permission to walk home alone from school)
COVID Testing Consent Form – Optional for students in grades 1-5 who would like to participate in regular COVID testing in schools

PS 503 Family Meeting Update

Thank you to all of the families and staff who attended our PS 503 Family Meeting on Tuesday, August 31st. To review what was discussed, please see our slides presentation below:

The New York City Department of Education has released a Family Health & Safety Guide. Please feel free to read this guide for more information. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions.

PS 503 After School Program: Center for Family Life (CFL)

PS 503/506 share a free after-school program in our building–Center for Family Life (CFL). CFL prioritizes students who have been enrolled in previous years and during the summer. CFL is currently at capacity and notified all families who received a seat on 8/19 & 8/20.

If you are still interested in the afterschool program for your child, you can still apply for CFL to be added to the waiting list. You can still apply for CFL to be added to the waiting list. You can do this by going to https://discoverdycd.dycdconnect.nyc/program-public and searching in the Program Search “PS 503.” You can then create an application for your child and add this program to your application. Please make sure that you complete the entire application and click “Submit.”

DOE Health Screening Form

As we discussed at the family meeting, each family whose children are in Blended Learning must complete the DOE Health Screening for their children prior to coming into the school building EVERY TIME. Children will not be permitted to enter the building without a completed Health Screening.

PTA Meeting Updates: Elections

At our June PTA Meeting on June 16 at 6pm, we had PTA, SLT and Title I PAC Elections. Here are the results:

PTA Elections:

A grievance was filed against the PTA election at PS 503 held on 6/16/2021. Upon review by District 20 Superintendent and FACE, the grievance filed against the PS 503 election is upheld.

An expedited election will be held in September. Chancellor’s Regulation A-660 will be followed for this election.

SLT Elections: Abel Garcia, Tracy Lin

Title I PAC Representatives: Yesenia Placencia

Thank you to staff and families who attended our PTA meeting on Wednesday, May 19 at 6pm. Here are the slides from the Principals Report.

NYS Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) will provide significant economic relief to help low and moderate-income households at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability by providing rental arrears, temporary rental assistance and utility arrears assistance.

For more information and to apply, go to this link:
https://otda.ny.gov/programs/emergency-rental-assistance/

PS 503 Community Painting Project

We have exciting news! Under the direction of Ms. Izzo, our school has created an outdoor museum!

Some students have begun sharing places they love, places they miss, causes they care about, public service announcements, Pikachu, and lots of Spring flowers and gardens. They are sharing images of Sunset Park and things and people they love! Come to the PS 503/506 yard to check it out!

Create your New York City Student Account (NYCSA)!

Need support creating your NYCSA? We can help you in-person at arrival or you can email info@ps503online.org. Here is a video that can support you!

Anti-Asian Anti-bias Resources

I know that we are all troubled by recent events and the rise of bias and discrimination against all marginalized groups, and most recently against Asian Americans. Special recognition to PS 503 teachers for acknowledging this disturbing trend and responding with community and action. Teachers have put together resources for learning about teaching about Anti-Asian bias.

We encourage and support teachers in discussing these topics in their classrooms with students. Families can email info@ps503online.org with any questions or suggestions.

We are here as a community to support all of our students and families. Please know that as always we are thinking of you.

COVID Testing In Schools

In school COVID-19 testing will be happening again this year 2021-2022. The DOE will test 10% of grades 1-5 students with testing consent every other week.

You can log in to your New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) to provide COVID testing consent. Please watch this in-school COVID-19 testing video below if you would like to see exactly how the testing procedure will go. You will be notified on the day of testing if your child has been selected for random testing. Your child will not be tested without parental consent. Testing is recommended but not required.

Please email info@ps503online.org if you have any questions or concerns and we will respond within 2 business days.

Requesting a Learning Device

PS 503 has devices available for students who are in need. If you need a device or your device is not working, please email info@ps503online.org for support.

For more information visit: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus

PS 503: The School of Discovery and Exploration is safe place where all members of our diverse community learn side by side with one another. Habits of mind are taught, practiced, valued, and infused into our culture. It is our mission to welcome and celebrate all peoples and to nurture them to be more reflective, cooperative, and kindhearted.
It is our expectation that all P.S. 503 members: staff, families, and students, will grow academically and gain the skills to help solve social, environmental, economic, and political world problems.

Statement on Accessibility: We are working to make this website easier to access for people with disabilities, and will follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. If you need assistance with a particular page or document on our current site, please contact amartelli@ps503online.org to request assistance.

Respect for All (RFA) Liaison: Yesen Jimenez