Barnes & Noble Book Fair, April 3 - 6

MCSM’s second annual Barnes & Noble Book Fair will take place from Thursday, April 3 through Sunday, April 6.

This is a great opportunity for you to buy books, cards, and other items you need or want and support the MCSM PTA at the same time!

Just go to the Barnes & Noble Book Store on East 86th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, between April 3 and April 6 (you must go to that store location only). Take the book fair coupon with you that you will be receiving from MCSM in the next week or so. Turn in the coupon to the cashier as you make your purchases, and MCSM will get credit for whatever you’ve bought.

Depending on our total purchases, the PTA will receive a cash rebate of 10 – 15% from Barnes & Noble that we can use to support our school programs.

Next PTA Meeting: College Financial Planning

At our next PTA meeting on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00 pm, we will welcome guest speakers from Citibank and AXA Financial Advisers to address several topics related to college financial planning. Among other things, our speakers will talk about family financial planning options for college, financing alternatives, and how to help your college-aged child deal with his or her own money management problems, such as credit cards.

This meeting promises to be highly informative for parents, regardless whether your child is a freshman or a senior. It's never too soon to start planning, and never too late to learn more.

During the meeting, we will be voting as a PTA membership on whether to remain a Title I Targeted Assistance school or convert to the Schoolwide Program option. In addition, we will be electing a new Title I Representative and Alternate for the 2008/2009 school year.

We look forward to seeing you at the next PTA meeting on April 8. Please come out to support your PTA and your son's or daughter's school.

Parent Teacher Conferences April 3-4

Don't forget!

This spring's Parent Teacher Conferences take place on Thursday, April 3 from 5:30 - 8:00 pm and Friday, April 4 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.

While you're there, please stop and chat with us at the PTA table! We'll have lots of information for you there.

Con Edison to Present Latest Findings at MCSM on April 16

IMPORTANT MEETING -- APRIL 16, 6:30 P.M.

Representatives from Con Edison, the NY State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation, and the NYC Department of Education will present preliminary findings from their February indoor air and soil sample testing and preview their plans for removal of the contaminants buried beneath the school building at the Isaac Newton Middle School PTA meeting on Wednesday, April 16, at 6:30 pm in the school library. All parents of MCSM students are invited to attend and have their questions answered.

As you know from previous reports, Mr. Bernard Orlan of the DOE conducted preliminary air quality tests on December 22. The purpose of these and Con Edison's February tests has been to assess the school building's indoor air quality during the heating season when windows are not open and the heating system creates negative pressure which draws air inward from outside or upward from beneath the ground. Mr. Orlan’s presented results of his December tests at our January PTA meeting. They showed no toxic chemicals in our school building’s air and no cause for health concern. Two independent environmental consultants have since reviewed the air sampling data at the request of NY Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), the legal services organization that is helping the PTA work with Con Edison on this issue. They reached the same conclusion – no apparent cause for concern at this time.

Con Edison's tests, performed while the students were on break from February 18-22, were more extensive and included soil samples drilled through the basement floor of the school building. While the final written report may not be ready by April 16, representatives from Con Edison and NYS Department of Health (DOH) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) will discuss the data and findings expected to be included in the report when it becomes available. In addition, Mr. William Ottaway from NYS DEC will present an overview of the process by which they and Con Edison have been evaluating site remediation alternatives (that is, removing the coal tars and any other toxic materials from beneath the ground).

Mr. Ottaway's discussion will essentially preview the more formal Site Remediation Plan that Con Edison will publish later this spring or summer. That document will be available to the public (including all MCSM and Isaac Newton parents), and its release will be followed by a period of public comment and at least one planned meeting at MCSM where Con Edison, DOH, and DEC will present the plan and address community questions and concerns. The dates for these events have not yet been established but are likely to take place in September or October 2008 when school resumes after the summer break.

Stay tuned to this site for more information and watch for announcements from the school and in the Parent Newsletter.

LADY RAMS VIE FOR CITY BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Sunday morning, March 16, marked the return of the Manhattan Center Lady Rams basketball team to the PSAL Class AA City Championship game at Madison Square Garden against perennial NYC powerhouse Murry Bergtraum. Despite being forced to sit behind a basket at the end of the court rather than in the middle, MCSM students, parents, and teachers arrived in force and cheered on their favorite high school hoopsters enthusiastically.

Coach Jaywana Bradley’s Lady Rams looked ready for the challenge of stopping a Bergtraum team that was seeking its tenth consecutive PSAL championship. The Lady Ram starting five – Aziza Patterson, China Crosby, Shantale Bramble Donalds, Jessica Gatling, and Sindy Ismael -- charged hard out of the gate, taking their game right at the Lady Blazers with aggressive defense and an attacking style against Bergtraum’s full court pressure. Their fast start slowed a bit, plagued by missed layups and free throws. Meanwhile, Bertraum forged ahead with its scoring machine in high gear, led by strong guard play, good shooting from their forwards, and the presence of a center who could only be described as “Lady Shaq.”

By the end of the first quarter, the Lady Rams already sat at the short end of a 19 – 9 score. The deficit grew to twenty by halftime as Bergtraum’s steamroller basketball team was on its way to its tenth consecutive PSAL championship by a final score of 85 - 47. Shantale Bramble Donalds led the scoring effort with 17 points, while China Crosby added 11 points and a half-dozen floor burns.

The Lady Rams made their fans proud, never giving an inch and leaving everything they had out on the basketball floor. Special recognition to Seniors Shantale Bramble Donalds, Jessica Gatling, and Chidima Uchendu who were each playing their last game for MCSM, and to China Crosby (winner of the game’s Sportsmanship Award) and Aziza Patterson for their incredible effort. China spent as much time diving and sprawling on the floor as Allen Iverson does for the Denver Nuggets and bounced right back after being badly shaken up on one play under the basket.

With China and Aziza returning to next year’s team along with six other players from this year’s team -- and a Girls JV Team that went 11-0 this season -- Coach Bradley and Lady Rams fans have good things to look forward to. Meanwhile, rumor has it that Murry Bergtraum is moving up to a higher league next year, although DOE officials have not yet revealed whether that will be the NCAA or the WNBA.

Congratulations to Coach Bradley and to all the Lady Rams players for their hard work and sacrifices this year and for their success as a team. Most important, many thanks to each and every player for representing Manhattan Center with dignity, pride, and sportsmanship. You are the best of what scholastic sports is all about, and you are each winners in our book, regardless of the final score. This year’s PSAL Championship Team roster:

Seniors - Shantale Bramble Donalds, Jessica Gatling, Chidima Uchendu
Juniors - Allana Beddoe, China Crosby, Astrid Cruz, Nylisha Gilbert
Sophomores - Sindy Ismael, Nijah Lacourt, Aziza Patterson
Freshmen - Kiarah Dunlap, Sonata Mallory

Title I Vote at April 8 PTA Meeting: Targeted Assistance VS. Schoolwide Program

For the third consecutive year, parents will be asked at the April 8 PTA meeting to vote whether to continue with the Title I Targeted Assistance program or convert to the Schoolwide Program option.

Under Title I, MCSM receives federal government funds to assist students at risk of failure. These funds are provided in addition to the school’s regular budget from the DOE, and MCSM qualifies because over 60% of our students’ families fall below a family income level designated by the U.S. government. This year, MCSM received approximately $850,000 in Title I funds.

When a school first qualifies for Title I moneys, it must operate for the first year of that funding under what is called Targeted Assistance. Under this option, the school can expend its Title I funds on programs, activities, and resources that must be limited to students who satisfy targeted assistance criteria established by NY State and NYC. Currently, students only qualify for targeted assistance if they scored a 1 or 2 on their 8th grade Math or ELA State exams, or if they have failed a Regents exam. Roughly 200 students (about 14-15%) at MCSM qualify for targeted assistance. With so few eligible students, MCSM has in the last three years returned about $400,000 in unused funds to the government. The figure promises to be another $300,000 - $400,000 for just this school year alone.

Every year after the first year, parents can vote through the PTA to convert their Title I program from Targeted Assistance to the Schoolwide Program. This second option allows the school administration to use Title I money on programs, activities, and resources directed toward ANY student the school deems to be at risk of failing, even if they have not yet failed a Regents exam. Teachers and school staff vote separately for this conversion, but it only takes place if both groups vote to make the change.

In the past two years, parents have voted unanimously at PTA meetings to move from Targeted Assistance to the Schoolwide Program option. However, teachers have either elected not to vote or the majority have voted against the change. We are cautiously optimistic that this year’s vote will lead to MCSM finally adopting the Schoolwide Program option.
Please come to the April 8 PTA meeting and register your vote in favor of the Schoolwide Program option of Title I.

Title I Vote at April 8 PTA Meeting: Title I Parent Representatives

A second vote at the April 8 PTA meeting will be conducted to select a Parent Title I Representative and a Parent Title I Alternate. These two individuals will represent the MCSM parent community’s interests during school discussions about Title I, help plan and oversee the expenditure of parent education funds (about $8,000) that are mandated to be set aside for that purpose by the Title I legislation, represent MCSM parents at district or regional Title I meetings and information sessions, and report to parents at PTA meetings any news or information about the Title I program in general or specific to MCSM.

During the last year, Mr. Donald Redish served as MCSM’s Title I representative, with Ms. Rajinder Singh as his Alternate. Nominations will be taken at the March 11 and April 8 meetings, with the vote itself planned for April 8.

DOE Reports Building Air Quality Is Safe

At our last PTA meeting on February 12, Mr. Bernie Orlan reported to parents from MCSM and Isaac Newton Middle School that this winter’s first round of indoor air quality tests, conducted on December 22, showed no evidence of harmful chemicals in the building air.

Mr. Orlan is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety for the DOE’s Division of School Facilities. Back in November, it was determined that the time it would take for Con Edison to secure the necessary permits from the DOE central office for indoor air and soil sampling would probably not allow those tests to be conducted until the mid-winter recess. In response, Mr. Orlan committed the DOE to overseeing the performance of preliminary air quality tests during the first days of the winter recess that began on December 22. He coordinated his efforts with those of Con Edison and the NY State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH) to ensure that his tests would be performed in the same locations Con Edison would do their later tests, thereby allowing successive test results to be compared to one another.

Mr. Orlan described the results of these tests to parents at the February 12 PTA meeting as “truly, truly excellent.” All the test results came back without any indicators for the chemicals associated with manufactured gas plant (MGP) contamination. One chemical indicator did show up that is not normally associated with MGP sites, so NYSDOH recommended taking a second reading in the area of the building where that reading was found. Mr. Orlan indicated that the air in this area (the Print Shop) was resampled and nothing was found. NYSDOH and NYSDEC had no issues or concerns with these test results.

Mr. Orlan’s test results were also reviewed in brief by independent consultants at the request of David Palmer of NY Lawyers for the Public Interest. NYLPI, as they are known, have been acting as advisors to the MCSM PTA on the issues related to the toxic contaminants under our school building and the plans for their removal by Con Edison. After reviewing the test data, Mr. Palmer’s consultants also indicated that they saw no evidence that the school’s indoor air quality represents a health hazard.

Con Edison has since conducted another round of indoor air quality tests as well as taking soil samples from beneath the school building (by drilling through the basement floor in selected locations). These tests were performed during the midwinter break (from February 18-22) and were completed early the following week. We are awaiting the results and report of these tests and will report on them here once they are available.

City Council Representative Viverito Speaks to Parents

The MCSM PTA welcomed Melissa Mark Viverito, City Council representative from East Harlem, as a special guest speaker at our February 12 meeting. Ms. Viverito expressed her concern regarding the toxic contaminants remediation project at our school, noting that she has visited the school several times in the past. She indicated that she will be sending a letter to Con Edison from her office in support of the PTA’s request for funding to assist the parent community in engaging independent environmental consultants.

Ms. Viverito discussed her concerns over the impact of the DOE’s recent budget cuts on the schools in her district. She and others on the City Council and State Assembly are pushing back on the Mayor and Chancellor to reduce or reverse these cuts. Ms. Viverito also addressed the issue of school closings in East Harlem/District 4; her district has had more closings this year than any other in the City. Her office is working closely with the community to ensure that no children are in fact left behind as new schools are opened. She also indicated the possibility of organizing a community forum on such school issues as closings and Mayoral control.

ASR Program Requests Parents’ Help

Ms. Charlene Chan-Lee, Program Advisor for MCSM’s Advanced Science Research program, spoke to parents at the February 12 PTA meeting. She described ASR as a three-year science research program for which students must apply at the end of their 9th grade year. Students who are accepted choose a topic for research in their first ASR year, and they must find a mentoring scientist to guide their research for the next two years.

Three students from MCSM’s ASR program received awards this year from the American Chemical Society competition. In addition, both MCSM students who participated in this year’s New York City Science and Engineering Fair have been named finalists, and all 24 students who are participating in 13 separate projects in the Young Science Achievers Program (sponsored by Alcatel/Lucent, formerly known as Bell Labs) have been fully funded and will receive mentoring from Alcatel/Lucent.

Ms. Chan-Lee presented a list of supply items and other needs that ASR faces this year, along with their estimated costs. Some of these items include foam poster boards, assorted color papers, copy paper, GBC Velo Bind System, laser printer ink cartridges, and assistance in funding transportation to Liberty Science Center, field research and observatory sites, and Alcatel/Lucent in New Jersey.

She appealed to the parents of the PTA for assistance either by donating some of the needed items (perhaps through their employers) or providing contacts and other sources for funding. She hopes to develop a fund-raising collaboration with the MCSM parent community this year and beyond. Parents who can help are encouraged to contact Ms. Chan-Lee at MCSM or anyone from the PTA Executive Board.