January 29, 2016

Dear Parents & Families,

We have come along way since early September when your children came to the first day of school. For some of you, it was your first experience with our wonderful school. For others, you were returning to our PS164 family. The first half of our school year was marked by significant change and with that change, excitement and opportunity.

The year kicked off with our Parent Curriculum night in which parents were given the opportunity to meet their children’s teachers and explore classrooms. This was a highly successful event as it provided our parents with a view into the classroom and into our school.

October was marked by our tremendously successful Hispanic Heritage Celebration. Our parents showed amazing support for this event by sharing their unique cultures with the entire PS164 community. We also hosted our Annual Halloween Pumpkin Patch and Character Day. Student and faculty participation in this event was at an all time high. Students participated in a character parade and every student was provided with their own pumpkin to take home with them.

In November we hosted a movie night for our children and their families as well as our Parent Teacher Conferences. Additionally, as a PS164 Community, we once again showed support to our families with our annual Family Turkey Raffle. We also ran a workshop for parents on the Middle School application process. We had an amazing turnout for this workshop, with parents reporting that they found the information and guidance very helpful.

December was yet another exciting month for us as we hosted our hugely successful Holiday Show, which, as always, received amazing support from our entire PS164 Community. This event was a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their talents in front of their teachers and families. We also hosted a very successful holiday toy and coat drive in which we helped to make the holiday season a little warmer and happier for those in our community. Additionally, we hosted a workshop titled “Lead Free – Kids for a Healthy Future”, which informed families on how best to identify and eliminate lead from their homes. Finally, we hosted our annual Kindergarten Open House.

January has gotten off to an amazing start. We launched 27 different after school programs ranging from Yoga to Cooking. We are very excited to launch some new workshops during the month of February.

As we look forward, we are filled with excitement for what lies ahead for Parents/Families in 2016:

  • Tuesday, February 2nd- PS 164 Bake Sale (to support after school enrichment classes)
  • Wednesday, February 3rd- Public Library Workshop
  • Thursday, February 4th- Lunar New Year Family Celebration
  • Tuesday, February 9th- 7 week Nutrition Health Workshops offered by Cornell University
  • Thursday, February 11th- Black History Month Family Celebration
  • Wednesday, February 24th- Cooking Class with French Chef Cyril Renaud
  • The official launch of our Cool Culture Program initiative sometime in March.
  • Thursday, March 3rd- Parent Teacher Conferences
  • Thursday, March 17th- Open Parent Safety Committee Meeting
  • Our 2nd Annual Talent Show (late May)
  • Our Spring Concert (late May)
  • Thursday, June 2nd- Grade 5 Senior Trip
  • Tuesday, June 7th- Field Day
  • Thursday, June 16th- Grade 4 Philadelphia Trip
  • Thursday, June 3rd- Grade 5 Graduation

We will continue to plan for and update you in our monthly newsletters with important family events and workshop. Please look out for those in the Monthly Newsletters. We thank you for your continued time and cooperation in supporting your children. You are always welcome to stop in and see us at any time, our doors are always open!

Best Regards,

Erica Steinberg & Solange Cisneros Steinert

PrincipalParent Coordinator