Welcome to PS 503

Superintendent State of the District Listening Tour, Wed, 9/21, 6pm at PS 503 – Come and share your voice!

Please join District 20 Community Superintendent Dr. David Pretto’s State of the District Listening Tour at PS 503 on Wednesday, September 21st, 2022 at 6pm in the auditorium (enter on 60th St).

Come and share your voice regarding topics of concern for the community!

PS 503 Virtual PTA Meeting, Wednesday, 9/28, 6pm

We would like to invite you to our first PTA meeting of the school year! The meeting will be conducted virtually on September 28,  2022 at 6pm. Please see the Zoom link below to join us. Your support is very much needed and valued. We will also have information on our upcoming events. 

https://nycdoe.zoom.us/j/88419036458?pwd=VUtWMm5SbWdZeVNKV3VqVTQxTE96QT09
Meeting ID: 884 1903 6458
Passcode: 449804

 Please see the PTA invitation for information in all languages. We hope you are able to join us!

2022-2023 PTA Expedited Elections!

September 28, 2022 at 6pm

Whether you are already involved within the PS 503 community, or you want to take a more active role in making our school better, now is the time to run for a position!

We are looking for parents interested in any of the following positions. If you are interested in any of the following positions,  please come to the meeting to express your interest.

PTA: Parent Teacher Association Executive Board

Vice President or Co-Vice Presidents:  shall assist the President or Co-Presidents and shall assume the President’s or Co-President’s duties in his/her or their absence.  VP will also attend monthly Executive Board and General Meetings (2 meetings per month).

Secretary:  Shall record minutes at all association meetings; responsibilities shall also include the preparation of notices, agendas, sign-in sheets and materials for distribution. Secretary will also attend monthly Executive Board and General Meetings (2 meetings per month).

Do you want to run for any of these positions? Elections will take place at our next General  Meeting, Wednesday September 28, 2022 at 6pm.

PS 503 School Leadership Team Meeting: Next Meeting on Monday, October 17

Thank you to staff and families who joined out first SLT meeting of the year in person or virtually! Your ideas and feedback are greatly valued. For any member of the community who would like to know what was discussed, the agenda notes will always be posted here: SLT Meeting 2022-2023  

The next SLT meeting will take place on Monday, October 17 at 6pm. Any family member of students at PS 503 and PS 503 staff are welcome to attend in person or virtually (Zoom link).

PS 503 Curriculum Conferences Update

Thank you to all of the families who joined our Virtual Curriculum Conferences on Thursday, September 15. Please see the link above for the slides that teachers shared with families about curriculum, your child’s daily schedule, and answer questions that you may have about school.

English Classes for Adults at PS 503

We are excited to be partnering with the DOE Adult Ed Program to provide adult education classes to your community.  Here are the details regarding this year’s class:

  • Class: English As A Second Language (E.S.L.)
  • Days: Tuesday and Thursday
  • Times: 5:30PM to 8:30PM
  • Start Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Interested adult learners can register during the days and times of the class at PS 503–please use the 60th Street Entrance.

PS 503 School Forms & Updated COVID Guidelines

We are so excited to welcome your children back to school on Thursday, September 8th at 8am!

As we prepare our students to return to school, we are sharing important information that will help us launch a successful school year 2022-2023. 

School Forms: 

Please complete the following school forms for each of your children.

Supply Lists:Please visit our Supply Lists for Families page for your child’s grade level supply list.  

The Department of Education has shared the new DOE Fall 2022 Covid Guidelines. The most important changes are as follows: 

  • Vaccination Requirements: Vaccination is still required for all school staff, and visitors entering school buildings.
  • Daily Health Screener: No longer required to enter school buildings. 
  • Get tested if exposed to COVID-19: Students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 should get tested.
    • There will be no school random testing 
    • Covid Test  kits will be sent home (4 per month)
    • Families will be notified if there child is exposed
  • Stay home if sick: Students and staff should stay home if they show any symptoms of COVID-19 or other illnesses and get tested for COVID-19. 
  • Isolate if COVID-19 Positive: Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for 5 days and can return to school on day 6 if they have no symptoms or symptoms are improving. They must wear a mask until day 10 after symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is earlier.
    • These cases should be reported to PS 503 so we can report cases to the situation room for exposure notifications.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday, September 8th at 8am in the PS 503 school yard! 

Welcome New Kindergarteners to PS 503!

We are very excited to meet you and your children as they begin their first year in our school. 

We would like to share with you the information that was shared with kindergarten families at our Kindergarten Meet & Greet on August 10th. The slides presentations below provide important details that are supportive to your family as you prepare your child to enter kindergarten. 

We are also looking forward to meeting you in person for kindergarten orientation on Tuesday, September 7, 2022. The orientation times are as follows: 

  • 11:00am- K-240, K-242, K -235
  • 12:00pm- K-241, K-243

You received an email from info@ps503online.org on August 10th with your child’s class.  Please check your inbox and spam folders for this email.  If you can not find it, you can email us at info@ps503online.org or call the main office at 718-439-5962 for the information you need.

The first day of school is Thursday September 8th at 8am.  Kindergarten lines up in the school yard.

Welcome Back to PS 503!

It is our greatest hope that you and your family are having a restful, safe and fun summer. As we prepare for the launch of the 2022-2023 school year we would like to share information that may help you in planning for your child’s school readiness. 

School Schedule

The first day of school for all students will be Thursday, September 8th.  It will be a full day of school. School begins at 8:00a and ends at 2:10p daily. Please note the following important dates in September:

  • September 26 & 27 – Rosh Hashanah, School Closed

School Uniforms

At our last PTA meeting, families voted for students to wear uniforms for the coming school year. The uniform consists of a light blue shirt/ blouse and navy blue pants or skirt.  Uniforms are available at Happy days, Children’s Place, Target, Old Navy and other stores.

School Supplies

You can find school supply lists by grade on our Supply Lists for Families page.

iPads/Technology

During the pandemic we learned that technology is of utmost importance! We were able to work collaboratively with families to provide ipads for every single student in our school. Please inform us if your child is experiencing tech difficulties and needs support to relaunch the school year. We also ask that you email us (info@ps503online.org) and let us know if your child is in need of an iPad at this time in order to complete assignments. Our school is prepared to move to remote instruction at any time if the need arises. 

If your child does not currently have an iPad from the DOE/PS 503, you may complete the iPad Request Form and our school tech team will be in contact with you soon about receiving a device.

Family Forms

Please complete the following school forms for each of your children.

Contact Information

During the week of August 30th the main office staff will be returning to the building along with administration. Please contact us via email at info@ps503online.org if you have any questions or concerns. Feel free to contact us to share how your children and family are doing and how we can be of support. 

We look forward to launching an exciting and fun homecoming for all students and staff. We hope you continue to enjoy the summer and early September before we are all reunited on September 8th! 

PS 503 June PTA Meeting Updates

On Wednesday, June 15th we had our last PTA meeting of the school year. The PTA nominating Committee held PTA Executive Board Elections. The results are as follows: 

  • PTA President- Michelle Martinez Bueno
  • PTA Vice President- Yanely Morillo
  • Secretary- This position is vacant. We will hold elections for this position in the fall.
  • Treasurer- Ana Alzugaray

Congratulations to the newly elected Executive Board! 

Please see the Principal’s Report for the information that was shared at the meeting.

Should My Child Come to School Today? COVID FAQs

In these unprecedented times there are many questions that have come up about students attending school. Please see the Should My Child Come to School Today? document that can serve as a guide for your family when a situation with covid arises and you have questions. 

It is wonderful to see how our school community has partnered with families to navigate these challenging times. It is reassuring and I am grateful for the collaboration and mutual respect.

School Lunch Menu

Want to know what is for lunch at school? Check out the PreK-8 Express Hot Lunch Menu for the most up-to-date information.

Family & Community Resources

Here are some resources that we shared with families at the PTA Meeting on September 29, 2022.

Family Forms

PS 503: Welcome back & Visitor Policy

We are so very excited to welcome you and your beautiful children back to school! 

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.   

The school day is from 8:00a to 2:10p daily. Students are considered late beginning at 8:20a. 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. 

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.

DOE Health Screening Form

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

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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