March 15, 2022
Dear (Parent/Guardian):
This is a reminder that tomorrow will be AMS’s first half day for our students of the school year.
Your child will dismiss from AMS before lunch at 12:30 PM. If he/she/they would like to pick up a lunch to go, he/she/they may do so by going to the cafeteria. Please note the following upcoming half day dates:
April 13th
May 18th
June 15th
If your child is part of our middle school NYJTL program, please note that it will run on an adjusted schedule from 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
If your child needs to be supervised in the building until 3:05 PM, please reach out to our amazing parent coordinator, Ms. Ramirez, at 347-930-2714, or to your child’s advisor so that we can provide support as needed.
Thank you for your continued support,
Miss Chung
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October 12, 2021
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
We understand just how challenging the past 18 months of the pandemic have been for you as parents, families, and caregivers. We are in awe of the work you have done, and continue to do each and every day, to support your child(ren) and we thank you for your continued partnership with us. Our work together is more important than ever as we strive to ensure your child thrives this school year and beyond. To further support you, our teachers, counselors, and social workers as champions of your child(ren)’s academic and social and emotional needs, are excited to let you know about a wonderful opportunity in our school this year!
Research has consistently shown that developing the social and emotional skills of students helps them to succeed academically, gain confidence, and be happier. Social-emotional learning, or SEL, includes developing relationship skills, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, and optimistic thinking.
To identify and support the social-emotional growth of all children in our school, we are excited to be administering a strengths-based SEL screener, known as the Devereaux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). The DESSA asks questions about areas of social-emotional functioning including decision making, relationship building, confidence, and others.This tool will be completed by someone who knows your child really well—in most cases a teacher.
The responses we gather will help us provide targeted, highly responsive support to each individual student. Perhaps most importantly, the tool enables us to build on each student’s strengths while identifying the social-emotional skills they need to further develop. Once our students’ growth areas are identified, we can create highly responsive plans to target and enhance those skills in the most appropriate manner and settings.
The results of this screener will not be included on report cards, will not have any impact on grades, and will not be used to make any diagnostic or evaluation decisions. The results will be stored securely in an online portal that meets the DOE’s strictest privacy and security settings and will only be viewable by your child(ren)’s teachers and select school staff such as the principal or counselor.
The information gathered from the DESSA screening tool will allow us to provide the very best support to your child and will be beneficial to their overall success, both inside and outside of school. Families will have an opportunity to hear about their student’s SEL skills during family conferences.
We are excited to implement the DESSA beginning October 15th. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Miss Chung at 718-466-7800.
If you do not want a staff member to complete the DESSA screener for your student, you must write a letter to me stating that. This letter needs to be received by the school by October 15th..
If you have any questions regarding social-emotional learning or the DESSA, please call/email me.
Sincerely,
Miss Chung
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9/17/2021 8:30 AM
Subject: Confirmed Case of COVID-19: Close Contacts Quarantined
Dear Urban Assembly School for Applied Math and Science, The at 1595 BATHGATE AVENUE Community:
The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the NYC Test + Trace Corps (T2) have determined that a member of our school community has tested positive for COVID-19 and may have exposed others while at school.
Below you will find guidance on next steps that will help keep you, your child, and our school community healthy and safe. The information below reflects the expertise of DOHMH, T2, and the New York City Department of Education (DOE).
What Happens Now?
● All students and staff in the affected room(s) with the individual who tested positive are considered “close contacts,” and have been notified of the need to quarantine for 10 days from their last contact with the person who tested positive. These students and staff will transition to fully remote teaching and learning for this period.
● T2 and DOHMH will complete their investigation to identify and notify any other close contacts in the building, who will also need to quarantine for 10 days.
● Any staff or students who are fully vaccinated OR were recently (within the past three months) diagnosed with COVID-19 and finished isolation in the past 90 days will NOT need to quarantine as long as they have no COVID-19 symptoms. People who are fully vaccinated have received both shots of a two shot regimen or one shot of a single shot regimen and 14 days or more have elapsed since their last shot.
● Unvaccinated middle and high school students who are considered close contacts may test out of quarantine in order to return to their classrooms after the seventh day. In order to do so, students should take a COVID-19 test on their fifth day of quarantine in order to re-enter class after the seventh day. Students must submit proof of a negative test through the DOE’s COVID-19 Vaccination Portal.
● Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test will not return to the school until they are no longer infectious.
● All areas visited by the person with COVID-19 will be deep cleaned, disinfected, and reopened.
● If your child is feeling sick, keep them at home.
How do we stay healthy?
All New Yorkers age 12 or older are eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19. If someone is fully vaccinated, they do not have to miss school, sports or work if there is a case in their classroom. People who are between 12 and 17 years old are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine only; all older ages are eligible for all three vaccines. Find a vaccine site today at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/. There is no cost to be vaccinated.
Please remember to follow these important “Core Four” actions to prevent COVID-19 transmission:
1. Stay home if sick (except to get essential medical care, including COVID-19 testing).
2. Practice social distancing: Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not members of your household.
3. Wear a face covering to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
4. Practice healthy hand hygiene: Wash your hands often or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid touching your face; and cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hands.
How can I stay updated?
We will continue to closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively update you on any measures we are taking. To ensure we can reach you via text and email, please create a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) as soon as possible by visiting schools.nyc.gov/nycsa.
To help New Yorkers quarantine, the NYC Test + Trace Corps partners with community-based organizations to connect individuals to resources like food, medicine, and health care. To connect with resources, you can call 1-212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).
For additional information on COVID-19, visit schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus or call 311.
Sincerely,
Ingrid Chung
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August 23, 2021
Hello AMS Royalty,
As many of you know, the DOE has decided that all students will be in-person & full-time, Monday - Friday, this year. We are very excited to see you all very soon-- you have no idea how much we have missed you (!!)
The first day of school is Monday, September 13th, A-Day. As always, first period will start at 8:32 AM & the school day will end at 3:05 PM. Please join us for breakfast at 7:45 AM.
AMS Updates:
AMS is prioritizing your safety first. As a result, we will continue to monitor your health during entry & throughout the school day. Please look out for more emails from me about this closer to the first day of school.
You MUST wear a mask when in school OVER your mouth & nose for the entire day except for when you are eating or drinking. Because of this, you can now wear any colored sneaker/shoe that you want with your uniform shirt & pants.
We strongly recommend for all AMS students to get vaccinated! Together, we can help stop the spread of Covid-19 & keep our loved ones safe.
We have new AMS crewneck sweatshirts in heather grey that are AMS uniform-approved! & they're super cute with limited availability-- more details on these to come.
We appreciate all of your hard work as you learned & attended school (both virtually & in-person) during a global pandemic. All of us at AMS look forward to starting this year strong together. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, your advisor, or your favorite staff member if you have any specific questions or concerns.
Love you all,
Miss Chung
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November 17, 2020
Dear AMS Parents, Guardians, & Family,
The health and safety of our students and staff and everyone in the DOE family across the city, is our top priority. We are committed to ensuring you have the information you need on COVID-19 as we continue to navigate this public health emergency together.
Today we are writing to inform you that two members on our campus have tested positive for COVID-19. At this time, these are the only confirmed cases at the school. These two positive cases are not AMS staff members or students. We are quickly taking all appropriate action and following rigorous protocols developed by the NYC Test + Trace Corps, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE).
Out of an abundance of caution, here is what will happen next to safeguard the health of our school community:
All students and teachers in the affected class(es) with the individual who tested positive are considered “close contacts,” and have been notified of the need to quarantine for 14 days since the last contact with the person who tested positive. Again, neither of these affected individuals are AMS staff members.
The NYC Test + Trace Corps and NYC Health will complete their investigation to identify and notify any other close contacts in the building, who will also need to quarantine for 14 days.
Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test will not return to the school and will be safely separated, until they are no longer infectious. In order to protect the privacy of the individual who has tested positive, we cannot share additional details about the case.
We will share physical and mental health and wellness resources for you and your child. COVID-19 can be stressful for you and your loved ones. It is natural to feel overwhelmed, sad, anxious and afraid. We want to ensure you can access helpful resources for coping and reducing stress.
While New Yorkers have done an outstanding job fighting the virus, leading to extremely low infection rates citywide, COVID-19 is still active in our city, state and our country. There will be cases of COVID-19 this school year; we know this, and all of our protocols have been in service of fighting this virus. Our job is to swiftly and effectively handle any cases that appear and be transparent every step of the way. That is what we are doing today.
We know a lot more than we did in March about how to protect each other from the virus and it’s critical that we continue to act to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our schools. All of us must remember to follow these important “Core Four” actions to prevent COVID-19 transmission:
Stay home if sick: Monitor your and your child’s health and stay home if you are sick or keep them home if they are sick, except for getting essential medical care (including COVID-19 testing) and other essential needs.
Physical distancing: Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not members of your household.
Wear a face covering: Protect those around you. Wearing a face covering helps reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially if you are sick and don’t have symptoms. For more information about face coverings, visit nyc.gov/health/coronavirus and look for "FAQ About Face Coverings."
Practice healthy hand hygiene: Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available; clean frequently touched surfaces regularly; avoid touching your face with unwashed hands; and cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hands.
We will continue to closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively update you on any measures we are taking.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. For additional information on COVID-19, visit schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus or call 311. Finally, to ensure we can rapidly reach you via text and email, please set up a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) as soon as possible by visiting schools.nyc.gov/nycsa.
Thank you for your cooperation. Health and safety will always come first in New York City public schools, no matter what.
Sincerely,
Miss Chung
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August 26, 2020
Hello AMS's Amazing Parents & Guardians,
As of yesterday evening, we have been officially approved for our exception model for this year's school year! The primary difference between our model & the DOE's Model 3 is that we have four cohorts of students instead of three so that we can better adhere to social distancing & safety rules. For those of you who need a quick reminder of this exception model, please glance at the chart below:
We know that you are eager to find out your child's cohort & schedule. Over the next few days & early next week, we will be working tirelessly to inform you of your child's cohort within the next four business days. Both seventh & eighth grade parents/guardians will be informed today & tomorrow; followed by sixth grade & high school.
If you have opted for your child to be full remote, we will also provide you with a schedule so that you know what to expect.
We appreciate your patience & flexibility. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or Ms. Ramirez so that we can meet both you & your child's needs for this school year.
Thank you so much & stay safe,
Miss Chung
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June 26, 2020
Hello AMS Parents & Guardians,
First off, thank you so much for your incredible hard work, support, & flexibility throughout remote learning. Your partnership during this time has helped ensure that your child was learning every single day & growing up as an independent scholar. We appreciate you always picking up the phone when we call, texting us, & sharing your wonderful children with us every single day. This is why we are an AMS family.
Each of us has a lot of feelings & anxiety when it comes to thinking about reopening schools in September. We are monitoring the news from the NYC Department of Education very closely & will update you the moment we hear of any changes. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Mayor DeBlasio & Chancellor Carranza’s final decision on reopening will occur before late July or early August.
With that said, upon reopening & depending on the mayor & Chancellor’s final decision, AMS will likely have a blended learning model that will include one day of in-person learning (within social distancing rules), one day of synchronous (timed) remote learning, & three days of asynchronous (untimed) learning. Our remote learning model this past year has largely been asynchronous which we know has been challenging in some aspects.
Like you, we are eager to get back to our classrooms & our beautiful building, but the health of your children & your families is the most important to us. We encourage you to prepare yourself for continued remote learning in the event that the virus takes an upwards turn.
Until then, please fill out this parent/guardian survey & return it to us in the provided stamped envelope. This will allow us to collect important data to ensure that we will have the best & safest model for student learning next year. We encourage you to monitor our new & beautiful AMS website very closely as we will be posting real-time updates there (in addition to family mailings).
We miss you dearly & cannot wait to be reunited very soon.
With love & deep gratitude,
Miss Chung
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26 de junio de 2020
Hola, padres y tutores de AMS,
En primer lugar, muchas gracias por su increíble duro trabajo, apoyo y flexibilidad a lo largo del aprendizaje remoto. Su asociación durante este tiempo ha ayudado a garantizar que su hijo aprendiera todos los días y creciera como un académico independiente. Apreciamos que siempre levante el teléfono cuando le llamemos, nos envíe mensajes de texto y comparta a sus maravillosos hijos con nosotros todos los días. Por eso somos una familia de AMS.
Cada uno de nosotros tiene muchos sentimientos y ansiedad cuando se trata de pensar en reabrir las escuelas en septiembre. Estamos monitoreando las noticias del Departamento de Educación de Nueva York muy de cerca y lo actualizaremos en el momento en que escuchemos cualquier cambio. Desafortunadamente, es poco probable que la decisión final del alcalde DeBlasio y el canciller Carranza sobre la reapertura se produzca antes de finales de julio o principios de agosto.
Dicho esto, al reabrir depende de la decisión final del alcalde y el canciller, AMS probablemente tendrá un modelo de aprendizaje combinado que incluirá un día de aprendizaje en persona (dentro de las reglas de distanciamiento social), un día de aprendizaje remoto sincrónico (cronometrado) , y tres días de aprendizaje asincrónico (sin tiempo). Nuestro modelo de aprendizaje remoto del año pasado ha sido en gran parte asíncrono, lo que sabemos que ha sido un desafío en algunos aspectos.
Como usted, estamos ansiosos por volver a nuestras aulas y a nuestro hermoso edificio, pero la salud de sus hijos y sus familias es lo más importante para nosotros. Le recomendamos que se prepare para el aprendizaje remoto continuo en caso de que el virus tome un giro ascendente.
Hasta entonces, complete esta encuesta para padres / tutores y devuélvanosla en el sobre sellado provisto. Esta nos permitirá recoger datos importantes para garantizar que vamos a tener la mejor y más segura modelo de aprendizaje de los estudiantes del próximo año. Lo alentamos a que supervise nuestro nuevo y hermoso sitio web de AMS muy de cerca, ya que publicaremos actualizaciones en tiempo real allí (además de los correos familiares).
Te extrañamos mucho y estamos ansiosos por reunirnos muy pronto.
Con amor y profunda gratitud,
señorita Chung
[Complete la Encuesta En línea]
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June 19th, 2020
Hello AMS Kings & Queens,
I wanted to take some time today to wish you all a very Happy Juneteenth, or Freedom Day. In case you weren't sure, Juneteenth falls on June 19th & marks the actual day of emancipation (or freedom) from slavery. This happens in 1865, almost two years after President Lincoln announced that slavery was illegal in the United States. This date celebrates the day that the final state, Texas, hears the news of freedom. Want to learn more? Check out these videos or read this blog. Happy Juneteenth to the most brilliant students & young leaders that we know. & congratulations on a year of working hard, learning, & persevering during a pandemic. Your AMS family is very, very proud of you & we will see you next week (virtually) for your SPA conferences.
Love,
Miss Chung & your entire AMS Staff
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June 9th, 2020
Hello AMS High Schoolers,
As we round out the almost end of your 2020 school year, we'd like to share a few details about the final days of instruction, Power Hour, as well as resources to continue your learning above & beyond. This last point is especially important because in order for each of you to become the young leaders & activists we know you will be, it is critical for you to keep your brain well-trained, to be constantly learning, & to use the power of your voice & your pen each day.
Power Hour:
Have your teachers & advisors been texting & emailing you furiously? Are you creating lists of things to do with your favorite AMS staff members so that you can #levelup your overall grades & showcase your learning?
Welcome to the AMS Power Hour, a weeklong opportunity for AMS students to make power moves (like with Power Hour Stocks), in collaboration with their teachers & the people who they love, to truly showcase your learning as well as how hard you have been working.
We encourage you to email & text your teachers & to flag to us any issues that may be coming up in your lives that is conflicting with your ability to be the student that we know each of you to be. Power Hour will end on Monday, June 15th.
Summer School:
If you receive an "NX" for any core class as a final grade for the school year, this means that you did not yet complete course expectations & as a result, you will be automatically enrolled in high school summer school which will be remote at Bronx Collegiate Academy. Summer school will start on July 6th & will end August 14th.
Because summer school is at a different site this year, it is likely that you will not be learning from an AMS teacher. In addition to this, you will be engaging in new content while at this new site.
We urge you to take advantage of this Power Hour opportunity & power through the rest of this week.
What Next? How Do I Stay Sharp & Brave?
In addition to Power Hour, I am happy to share our next arts challenge below (many prizes available), as well as two reading lists and a film list. This is a Black Liberation Reading List created by the New York Public Library & here is our Bathgate Campus E-Books List, created by our own Ms. Makler. Most of these texts are available online for FREE.
Finally, here is a list of free films that support Black Lives Matter that you can watch at your leisure as you exercise your right to protest through reading, education, & the creation of art & music.
Love you lots & let's end this year strong together,
Miss Chung
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June 4th, 2020
Good morning AMS Kings & Queens,
Most of you don't know this, but sixteen years ago, AMS's very first sixth graders actually went to a school in a different location. AMS was located in the basement of a school in Riverdale, a wealthy neighborhood in the Northwestern most point of the Bronx. Within the first year for these sixth graders, the citizens of Riverdale protested our students' right to be there & shortly after, AMS moved to its current location on Bathgate Avenue, a beautiful & brand new building.I say this to share a little bit of AMS's history, but also, to say that since then, AMS has evolved significantly; we have now had a total of three different principals with three different leadership cabinets & three different leadership styles, as well as a teaching/support staff that continues to grow over time. Never again will we be moved out of a space that was ours just because people who don't look like us or know us told us to. You belong in every single space-- all of the spaces. We belong. & we will not give up our belonging easily.As protests all across the country increase, inspiring similar protests all around the world, you may be wondering how you can become a change agent (& in case you didn't know, you already are) or what protest can look like during quarantine:
Create art & videos & make music to inspire others to get involved with the movement.
Cheer on protestors from your bedroom with homemade posters & noisemakers.
Educate yourself by reading & viewing recommended resources from your advisors & teachers. Need some? Just ask!
Read. Read. READ.
& don't ever, EVER forget. Your tongues & pens are the loudest & most powerful weapons in the world. & the only thing that can't EVER be taken from you is your unique voice, your incredible brain, & your passionate heart.
We are here for you, your leadership, & your incredible awesome. Never hesitate to reach out; never hesitate to speak. We cannot wait to see y'all rise.
Be brave, be strong, & be safe,
Miss Chung
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May 30th, 2020
Good morning, AMS Family,
The draft of this email has been sitting in my inbox for the past week as all of us continue to process the senseless murders of black bodies across America. The heinous & public lynchings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, & most recently, George Floyd, have left so many of us scared, angry, sad, enraged, & hopeless during a time when emotions are already rising high. On Memorial Day, we watched Amy Cooper use her whiteness to blatantly & maliciously lie about Christian Cooper, a black man in Central Park who was simply asking her to follow park rules & leash her dog. Protests all across the nation, including in Brooklyn yesterday evening, have left many of us unsettled, deeply disturbed, & without the words to describe how we feel.
Even as a I write, I am weeping, as I try to articulate the feelings of loss, of despair, of deja vu, of everything.
We, at AMS, have always believed that an excellent public education is a social justice education, one committed to developing young student leaders who will question the world around them & make the world a better place. We have never & will never condone racial intolerance or hate at any level & instead, continue to work together to break barriers & change systems. At this time, more than ever, we continue to believe in that-- in your ability to become the change makers that this world so desperately needs, to be the voice of reason, & to reshape this nation so that everyone has the dignity of breathing & living the life that they have chosen & created for themselves.
We know that some of you are scared & confused-- I am, too-- & if you need to or want to talk, do not hesitate to reach out to your advisor, your guidance counselor, your favorite AMS staff member, or anyone here at AMS.
From all of us here at AMS, we love you, we miss you, and we are so honored to be able to serve as your teachers, your deans, your coaches, your advisors, & your extended family. If you need anything at all, we are just an email, text, or phone call away.
Be brave, be strong, & be safe,
Miss Chung
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