Ashley Farms – “How ‘Bout Them Cheesecakes!”

After last year’s successful and much-praised first time sale of frozen food items from Ashley Farms, the PA is once again sponsoring Ashley Farms product sales this fall and again next spring. Ashley Farms offers a great line of frozen cheesecakes, pizzas, cakes, cookie doughs, and pretzels. Parents who purchased items from Ashley Farms last spring raved about their taste and quality – their cheesecakes, for example, are the equal of those at the Cheesecake Factory but cost significantly less.

All items ordered will arrive frozen at MCSM and will remain frozen for about six hours. They can be refrozen without any loss in quality and can remain frozen for months! All order forms and payments must be turned in to the PA by October 14, the night of our next PA meeting. Checks and money orders should be made out to MCSM PA. The items ordered will then be delivered for our PA meeting on November 18.

If you are unable to make it to the October 14 PA meeting (College Night -- you really don't want to miss it ), our Parent Coordinator, Julia Valentin, has graciously agreed to keep a supply of Ashley Farms' beautiful brochures in her office for anyone, including your child, to pick up and bring home to you.

You can also see the delicious products Ashley Farms has to offer in this sale by clicking on the following text: Ashley Farms Broadway Cafe. Please note that this sale only includes the Ashley Farms items shown on the Broadway Cafe menu. If you would like to order any of these items, please contact Parent Coordinator Julia Valentin (by phone at 347-563-5163, by email at jvalentin2@schools.nyc.gov) or PA Co-Vice President Deirdre Rose at birdrose12000@yahoo.com.

This is a great opportunity to ask family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, your hairdresser, auto mechanic, mail carrier -- anyone and everyone -- to support your child's school by purchasing a product that you won't be embarassed about on the date of delivery! You will be giving them a product they will ask you about in the future, if past fundraisers with this company are any guide. So remember that the holidays are coming up, and that these products freeze and keep very well for an extended period of time. Stock up, and tell others to do the same!

Please do not allow your child to do any door-to-door selling alone, without an adult. We know they seem to be able to take care of themselves, BUT they are still children, and we do not want any of our children put at risk.

This is a great fund raiser for the PA to help benefit our school and our kids. Please participate and sell lots of goodies! You’ll be helping MCSM and enjoying some really great desserts and pizzas, too!

Four Parent Committees Established for 2008/2009

The PA has established four working committees for the 2008/2009 school year:

-- Fund Raising – organizes and conducts fund raising activities and events to earn income that can be used to further PA programs and/or be donated to the school to meet unexpected needs, support new or existing programs or facilities, and enrich the overall learning environment for our children.

-- Membership and Communication – reaches out to MCSM parents to increase their involvement, solicits dues donations, and provides multiple vehicles for communication such as the existing Parent Newsletter and Parents’ Information Center website.

-- School Safety – works with the Principal and school safety personnel to review school safety and security policies, address safety and security-related problems, relay information to parents, and build a working relationship with the local NYPD precinct.

-- Parent Education and Resources – works with the Parent Coordinator and CAS to develop educational programs and purchase educational materials for parents on a wide range of parenting and personal improvement topics.

In addition, parent volunteers will be needed this fall for C-30 committees for Assistant Principal (AP) positions.

Anyone interested in joining any of these committees or participating in an upcoming C-30 (dates to be determined) should contact PA President Steve Koss (mathman180@aol.com), PA Co-Vice President Deirdre Rose (birdrose12000@yahoo.com), or PA Co-Vice President Loisen Harris-Jacobs (loisenj@optonline.net).

Three More Parent Representatives Added to SLT

At the September 9 meeting of the Parents’ Association, Deirdre Rose, Isabella Moreno, and Jimmy Mui were elected as parent representatives to the MCSM School Leadership Team (SLT) for the 2008/2009 school year.

The full complement of parent representatives to the SLT for 2008/2009 consists of the following:

Nevis Almeida
Sherrand Hawker
Steve Koss
Rosalind Lee-Nelson
Isabella Moreno
Jimmy Mui
Deirdre Rose

In addition, Jimmy Mui was elected by show of hands to the position of Title I Parent Alternate. In that capacity, Mr. Mui will work with Title I Parent Representative Lore Barcelona to inform the MCSM parent community about Title I initiatives in our school, especially the planning for and use of the government-mandated 1% minimum set-aside for parent education.

Congratulations to Ms. Rose, Ms. Moreno, and Mr. Mui on their new roles as parent leaders. Many thanks as well to those other parents who offered to serve: Yorda Bermudez, Warnise Holloway, Esperanza Ramirez, Dharma Reyes, Angela Russell, Patricia Smith, and Suzette Williams.

PA Begins New School Year with a Bang

The MCSM Parents’ Association’s 2008/2009 school year began with a bang on Tuesday evening, September 9, as more than 100 parents attended the year’s first PA meeting. Parents filled the Library to overflowing as they listened to speakers while enjoying chicken and rice from La Nueva Caridad, fresh fruits generously donated by parent Yrma Molina (thank you!!), and a sheet cake proclaiming, “Welcome MCSM Parents, 2008/2009.”

Parents were introduced to this year’s PA Executive Board members, after which Principal Jimenez offered his welcoming remarks and introduced Michael Salek (AP, School Safety), Bruce MonteLeon (AP, Instructional Support Services), Karen Bonnick (AP, English and Foreign Languages), Charles Kwan (AP, Math), Ms. Peralta-Garcia (AP, Social Studies), Arleen Milton (Interim AP, Science), and Felicia Bray (Interim AP, Operations). Next came MCSM’s new Director for the Children’s Aid Society, Elizabeth Blanco, followed by a presentation from MCSM Senior Ysmeli Rosa of a new, student-based initiative called Project Greenway.

Steve Koss (PA President) brought parents up to date on Con Edison, the updated review of MCSM on Inside Schools, the current bylaws review process, asbestos tile removal in the basement, a new $200,000 computer lab in our school, and upcoming C-30’s. These items were followed by a brief Treasurer’s report and then elections for three open positions on the SLT and the open position for Title I Alternate (see posting on new parent representatives). Deirdre Rose (PA Co-Vice President) then addressed parents concerning the upcoming Ashley Farms fundraiser and the formation of parent committees for the coming school year (see separate Ashley Farms and PA Committee postings).

Tuesday’s meeting gave parents a chance to hear from school administrators and meet new staff members, and it also gave parents the opportunity to participate and vote for parent leaders to represent them on the SLT and with regard to Title I funds. In addition, the PA received dues donations totaling just under $400 that evening. Many thanks to all those parents who donated to one of the most worthy causes of all – their children’s school!

PA Executive Board Meeting Dates

The Parents’ Association Executive Board holds monthly meetings to discuss association business and plan future activities, events, and PA meeting agendas. These meetings are open for parents to attend and observe. However, attendees may not participate since these sessions are working business meetings of the Executive Board. In addition, the Board produces minutes of its meetings which are available to parents upon request.

For the 2008/2009 school year, the MCSM PA Executive Board will be meeting on the 4th Monday of every month except December (no meeting planned – if a meeting is held, notice will be sent in the preceding Parent Newsletter and also posted on this site) and May (moved to the 3rd Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday). More specifically, these meetings are currently scheduled to be held at 6:00 pm in the school Library on September 22, October 27, November 24, January 26, February 23, March 23, April 27, May 18, and June 22.

CALLING ALL PARENTS - FIRST PA MEETING OF 2008/09 ON SEPTEMBER 9

CALLING ALL PARENTS! Our first Parents' Association meeting of the new school year will take place on Tuesday, September 9 in the school library.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR A POSITION AS A PARENT REPRESENTATIVE ON THE MCSM SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM (SLT), PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND. WE WILL BE TAKING NOMINATIONS AND HOLDING AN ELECTION FOR THREE OPEN SPOTS ON THIS YEAR'S SLT.

We plan to begin the year with a special welcome to our new 9th Grade parents beginning with a casual buffet dinner any time after 5:00 p.m. New 9th grade parents can meet school administrators, teachers, and staff, parent leaders, and even get to know one another. Upper grade parents can help welcome our newest parents and answer their questions.

The regular PA meeting will begin this month at 6:30 instead of the usual 6:00. In addition to the SLT election noted above, we will be electing a Title I Alternate to work with our Title I Representative in developing new parent education programs and resources. You will also have an opportunity to meet our new director of the Children's Aid Society (after-school) program as well as new staff members and teachers, hear about upcoming fund raising programs and initiatives, help us form working committees for the coming year, and learn more about exciting new programs involving our roof-top greenhouse. Time permitting, we hope to have Principal Jimenez lead us on a first-time ever parents' tour of the greenhouse (and perhaps weather station) on our school roof.

Hope to see you there on Tuesday, September 9th!!

New MCSM Report on Inside Schools Website

The most highly respected parent guide to NYC public schools, Inside Schools, recently published an updated review of MCSM based on its consultant's visit to our school last June. The write-up is highly favorable about our school's students, teachers, and programs, noting about the PA that:

"Unlike some selective high schools in Manhattan that are awash in resources funded by hyperactive PTAs, Manhattan Center primarily serves students from low-income families and for many years did not have a lot of parent involvement. Things are changing. Though modest by comparison, the MCSM parent association has raised several thousand dollars for the school and started its own blog, (an impressive source of information on school events.)"

We strongly encourage you to check out the Inside Schools report. You can access it by clicking on the following phrase: MCSM page on Inside Schools. You can also see our Inside Schools page any time by simply clicking on the link to Inside Schools provided on this page, on the lower right side. It's the fifth link item in the list under the heading, "Other Websites of Interest."

As an additional support to our school, we also ask parents and/or students to consider posting a comment about MCSM on Inside Schools. To leave a comment is, unfortunately, rather more complicated than it should be. Once you're on the MCSM page, you can click on "POST YOUR COMMENT." At that point, they ask you to register yourself with a User ID and password and provide some minimal information about yourself. Once you have registered, you have to log yourself in using your User ID and password and re-choose our school (put in a Zip Code of 10029 and choose "High Schools" to get a short list that includes MCSM or, if you want to search by "Name or Number," just enter 435). Select MCSM from the list of schools and, after our page reappears, click again on "POST YOUR COMMENT." This time, you will finally see a text box for you to enter your comments.

Con Edison Commits Up to $20,000 to Fund Independent Environmental Consultants to Represent the MCSM Parent Community

On August 4, Parents' Association Board members Steve Koss and Deirdre Rose attended a meeting at East Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito's office at her invitation. Also in attendance were three representatives of Con Edison -- Laura Mascuch, Fernando Perez, and Yelena Skorobogatov -- and Ms. Elsie Encarnacion from Ms. Viverito's staff (and a 1998 MCSM graduate!).

In short order, Ms. Viverito relayed the very welcomed news that Con Edison had agreed to provide funding of up to $20,000 to the MCSM Parents' Association to engage independent environmental consultants to represent the MCSM community with regard to its MGP brownfield remediation and monitoring issues. This groundbreaking arrangement will help ensure that MCSM parents and students have access over the coming months and years to independent technical expertise, guidance, and representation during the State's 30-day public comment periods as Con Edison and NY State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH) move forward with ongoing air quality testing, release of their Analysis of Alternatives Report (AAR) this fall, and future plans for site maintenance and monitoring. The availability of such consultants makes truly meaningful the notion of public comment on matters where parents do not have nearly sufficient expertise to question such technical data and plans.

Con Edison outlined the nature of the proposed agreement on August 4 and promised to return with a more formal contract document for the Parents' Association after Labor Day. We are delighted to observe that this agreement serves the health and safety interests not just of our children but also MCSM's teachers and staff, the full Isaac Newton Middle School community, and even the nearby East Harlem residential community. In addition, we would be remiss not to take special note of the "behind the scenes" role played by Ms. Viverito and to express our sincere gratitude for her concern and efforts. We have also received strong and often first-hand support from State Senator Jose Serrano, State Senator Bill Perkins, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and their respective staffs, for all of which we are equally grateful.