NYC Public School Sense of Humor

Some of you may know, but my daughter just started kindergarten yesterday at PS41 in NYC. Now everyone hears about NYC public schools, in fact local politicians have entire platforms around the NYC Public School system (with nearly 1,000,000 students in K-12 this year you can understand why). So I thought I would post an email from our school coordinator, it definitely makes entertaining reading:

Dear K Families:

Here are the results of the first round in our "Q&A" category--special kudos go to the K mom who asked about sicknesses and notes with the sentence "please excuse my son Joey Ramone from being absent on September 8 with strained vocal chords"--I just know this grade is going to be fabulous when I get to my annual "What the H#@*! Does THAT Stand For--the DOE Acronym Contest"!

In no particular order:

Q: What is a Curriculum Conference?

A: Every grade has a Curriculum Conference at the start of the year--during this time, your child's teacher will outline the course of study covered during the year in Literacy (reading and writing), Mathematics and Theme Studies. If you cannot attend, all updated grade curriculums will be accessible on our PS 41 website by the end of this month.


Q: If my child is absent, should I send a note?

A: If your child is absent one day, there is no need to contact us. If it is longer than one day, please send me an e-mail alerting the school to the absence and I will make sure your teacher knows (as well as the nurse, if your child has H1N1 flu or any similar contagious disease). Absences for "vacation" outside the DOE vacation times are not acceptable absences. There may be cases in which you will need clearance from a doctor before you return to school and I will alert you to that. Please note that if your child has any injury that prohibits full range of movement (leg injury, arm injury, etc.) you MUST check in with the nurse before sending your child to class. These situations do require medical clearance before a child can be admitted to class.


Q: If my child has food allergies, what happens during class celebrations?

A: Alert your teacher, the nurse and Valerie, our lunch supervisor immediately to any serious food allergies. If there is going to be a class celebration that involves food, your teacher will let you know--please arrange to send a snack in that day that your child can eat or let the teacher know what item of food (widely available, please!) your child could have in place.


Q: When will the playground be used by the K students?

A: K students will use the K playground during the day according to their class schedules and teacher discretion. Often, K classes have snack outside on the K playground and get to run around.
At dismissal time, after our security guard Doris leaves the gates on Greenwich Village and locks the gate to the inner middle yard, the big playground is then a public playground.


Q: For early drop-off do we need to sign up?

A: Absolutely not--early drop-off is offered every morning to every student. There is no sign-up or registration. However, please remember that early drop-off means "drop-off"--parents are not to stay and socialize with their children.


Q: Do the K kids eat at the same time as the rest of the school?

A: No, there are three lunch periods during the school day. Kindergarten students eat from 11:05--11:55 pm. 1st & 2nd Graders eat from 11:55 am-12:45 pm. 3rd, 4th & 5th Graders eat from 12:50--1:40 pm.


Q: How do I sign my child up for hot lunch?

A: The lunch system is now all computerized so that any child can get hot lunch on any given day. You can send a check in to Valerie (made out to the "PS 41 Lunch Fund") with the amount you would like deposited in your child's account (lunch costs $1.50 per day)--every time your child has hot lunch that amount will be deducted from the total. If you send lunch in with your child, make sure that nothing needs to be refrigerated or microwaved.


Q: Will I have a schedule sent home?

A: No, you will not be provided with a day-to-day schedule of your child's activities. You can find out which specific days your child has things like gym or art. You can ask at your Curriculum Conference about these "cluster classes". Please make sure that when your child has gym, your child comes with his/her sneakers on. Unfortunately (AND PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY), the main office is no longer able to "deliver" things forgotten from home to children/classrooms once the school day has started. Expect a brusque response if you make the attempt--even though we really do love you all to pieces.


Q: After Friday, can we still drop our children at the classroom door?

A: Yes, at the door but if your child is ready to go by himself/herself, MAKE IT SO! If you do drop at the door, send your child in immediately--do not take off jackets, backpacks for your child. We are trying to teach them good, independent habits.


Q: Is my child eligible for a metro card?

A: Eligibility for metrocards is determined by how far you live from the school. Valerie is our transportation supervisor and the one to check this out with.


Q: Where is the school calendar?

A: There is a link on our PS 41 website to the school calendar.


Q: Is the lunch menu posted online?

A: The DOE website should have menus posted (and I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn)


Q: How are birthday celebrations done?

A: We welcome birthday celebrations in class--please send in something that does not need to be cut. We do not allow balloons, gift bags or decorations. Siblings from other grades are not allowed to leave classrooms and attend. A teacher will distribute invitations to a birthday party ONLY if every child in the class is invited.


Q: Is not the PS 41 Parent Coordinator the greatest in the entire world?

A: GOT YOU! Wanted to see if you will still reading...

That's round one, folks....

Your Parent Coordinator

Michele