AmPark Owl Blog Post for October 1st

AmPark's School-Wide Identity Units are off and running with some truly magical portraits and student biographies to share!  Take a look:

Dear AmPark Families,
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Congratulations to our newly elected co-presidents Odaliz Vasquez and Janine Faso!  Odaliz and Janine have been lifelines for the community throughout their children’s time at AmPark and are organizers and uniters by nature.  We would also like to send our congratulations and appreciation to our newly elected SLT members Bhashanti Narine and Tancy Rodriguez.  Bhashanti joins us for the first time this year and her new perspective and desire to be involved is so welcomed.  Tancy has been another staple in our community for many years and we look forward to her leadership alongside our team.

Families, there is absolutely nothing more important to us than your child's safety.  With that in mind, if you have not done so, please complete a digital BLUE EMERGENCY CARD by clicking the link here.

AmPark, we are soooo close to receiving Title 1 funding.  This would be a monumental shift in our annual funding and would allow for increased intervention,  partnerships, staffing, and brings the opportunity for free after school programming.  We need every member of our community to please complete the annual lunch survey in order to qualify for these services next year.  We can do this!

What's for lunch? Click to check out the K-8 Express Hot Lunch Menu

Please be advised that the new Department of Education vaccination guidance goes into effect on Monday.  All visitors, even those heading only to the office, must show proof of the first dose of vaccination.  If you cannot show proof of vaccination and you are coming to pick up your child, please call the office and we will escort them outside when you arrive.  This is not an AmPark policy.  This is a Department of Education policy that we have been directed to comply with.
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We are happy to continue our work with The Leader in Me.  Please see this family letter sharing more about the approach:

Introducing the AmPark SEL Team!  

October 1, 2021
 
To The AmPark Community:
 
The Social Emotional Learning Team is growing fast and we are all excited about partnering with the school community.  We wanted to share with you about the role of each member:
 
Bilingual School Counselor Ana Veras will be providing individual and group counseling to  mandated (IEP) students in grades PK through 5th. She will be supporting 5th grade students and families with the Middle School Admissions and assisting our 5th graders in their transition to Middle School.  She is looking forward to working with the administration, families, students, teachers, and the community. 
 
School Counselor Intern Ronald Ovalles has joined the AmPark Community under the supervision of Bilingual School Counselor Ana Veras.  He has experience working with children as a teacher assistant  at P.S. 168X HCC, and will be applying his knowledge to support the work of the SEL team.
 
School Social Worker Josie Ilarraza will be providing individual counseling to students in grades K-2nd grade as well as facilitating groups across various grades. She is excited to work in collaboration with staff, parents, students and a Social Work Intern, Natalize Carrasco to offer a multi-tiered system of support.  
 
School Counselor Melissa Valerio will be providing individual and group counseling to students in grades 3 through 5. She will be helping 5th grade students and families with the Middle School Admissions process, as well as supporting our 5th graders with their transition to Middle School. Melissa is excited to join the AmPark team and looking forward to building relationships and partnering with all in the AmPark community to provide support to students and families.

In collaboration, 
Ana Veras
Melissa Valerio
Josie Ilarraza
The AmPark SEL Team

Finding out COVID Testing Results Following Random Testing

​From SOMOS Community Care:

• All parents/guardians will receive a text (if a mobile phone number was provided) and/or email (if an email address was provided) communicating when their child’s results are available.
• To easily access test results, download the free miSOMOS application onto your mobile phone from Google Play or the Apple Store. Once you download miSOMOS, you must create a profile using the same personal and contact information on file with the NYCDOE.
• If you provided a landline number, SOMOS Community Care will call you between 8:00am - 8:00pm on weekdays, or between 9:00am - 5:00pm on weekends to inform you of the COVID-19 test result.
• If you cannot access results through the miSOMOS app, please call (833) 357-6267 between 8 a.m.– 8 p.m. Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on weekends, or visit misomos.com anytime. When contacting SOMOS, please have the following information available: Patient name, patient date of birth, date testing occurred.​

The DOE’s Parent University invites families to attend a one-hour virtual course entitled, “COVID-19 Vaccines: What You Need to Know,” which will be held at 10:00 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m. on September 29. The course is being taught by experts from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and includes updates about COVID-19 vaccines, as well as a live question-and-answer session. Please share the information with families as soon as possible, by backpacking home this flyer with students in your school. 
As previously shared, the DOE’s Parent University seeks to educate and empower all families from early childhood through adulthood, with free courses, resources, events, and activities. Please continue to make families in your school community aware of this resource by emailing these flyers; translated versions are available in all DOE-supported languages on the Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) family-facing webpage. 
For questions, email ParentU@schools.nyc.gov.