Owl Blog Post for April 9th, 2021

Dear AmPark Families,

Some Good News:

• WITS has new April offerings for our students that are shared in the google classroom. The lessons are as follows:
  
  • Herb and Spice ID (suitable for Grades 1-5)
    
  • Stretch and Move Guided Activity Break (suitable for all ages)
    
  • Ethnobotany/Connecting with Herbs (suitable for Grades 3-5)
• We have received a Cultural Arts Grant for the second consecutive year!  This grant will provide 5 groups of students an art class with a resident artist focusing on collage!
• Audubon's Feathered Friends After School Program was visited by ornithologists throughout the country this week!​ 

ELA State Tests for Grades 3 - 5: Please be sure to complete the google form by April 15th if you WOULD LIKE for your child TO take the test.
AmPark Testing Schedule:

• Cohort B students will test in person on April 20th, with a make-up date of April 22nd. 
• Cohort A students will test in person on April 21st with a make-up date of April 23rd.  
• Students that have opted out will engage in learning during the testing time. 
• Remote students that wish to test should attend on either of the make-up dates or April 22nd or 23rd.  
• Remote families, please communicate with your child’s teacher the date that your child will attend by April 19th.  
• If there is a classroom closure, the students will test on their return to school if it is within the window.  If the closure lasts through the window, the students will not test.  ​

Deadline Today (April 9th) for Blended Learning Opt-in!  Families have a final opportunity to request in-person/blended learning for the 2020–21 school year during the March 24–April 9 extended opt-in window. Families can indicate their learning preference as either blended or remote via the Learning Preference Survey during this window.  
As of March 31, a new functionality was added to the Learning Preference Survey, whereby families that opt-in will be required to consent to the weekly COVID-19 testing mandate (if the student is in grades 1–12); alternatively, families must indicate that they have a DOE-approved medical or disability-based exemption from COVID-19 testing on file, in order to request blended learning.

---

We are reaching out to share that the Pre-K application deadline has been extended to Monday, April 19. All NYC children born in 2017 can apply - please share this new deadline with your families and staff. 
Please encourage families to sign up for our newsletter so they receive notifications about the application, including when new program options are available. Families can sign up here: schools.nyc.gov/sign-up. ​

---