Some Local News of Interest

Some bad news (Wilbur Cross graffiti, article includes a letter from Superintendent Dr. Mayo) and some good news (ESUMS high school students interviewed).

Girls Day Out! November 9th at UNH -- a Message from Ms. Coleman

Hello, my name is Alice S. Coleman and I am the new Magnet Resource Teacher here at ESUMS.  Please see the attached announcement regarding a "Girls Day Out" field trip to UNH for our high school girls on November 9th to view the Nora Poggi movie "She Started It".  Please note that we are in need of chaperones for that day, as well as signed permission forms from the students.

Thank you for your help in this!

Alice S. Coleman, MBA
Magnet Resource Teacher
Engineering Science University Magnet School (ESUMS)

Permission Form.

Invitation to Family & Community Evening At Quinnipiac School of Education -- Tomorrrow

Hope you will join us tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Quinnipiac School of Education in North Haven for a presentation by Richard Moore from Ireland. This event will be the first of our six part education series hosted by the SOE. Open to all educators, parents, facilitators, and interested community members!

Saturday is a Science Saturday

Click on image for a closer view or go to
ONHSA for details on all upcoming events.

PTO Meeting 10/18, followed by Future of NHPS Town Hall

The PTO Meeting for October 18 (at 5 pm in the art room) will be a short but important one.

We will vote on funding requests from teachers.  This is how we decide how to spend the money raised at the Walkathon, and we want you to be involved!  Immediately after the meeting, we will travel to Career High School to participate in a Town Hall meeting about choosing the next superintendent as well as an interim superintendent for this year.  Register here.

If you would like to have a say in these important matters, make sure you are there!

Participate in a Focus Group on the NHPS Strategic Operating Plan

There will be a public focus group for Saturday October 22, 2016 from 9:30-11:30 AM at Metropolitan Business School.  Please sign up through the link below if you are available to participate.  You will receive a confirmation email with more details once you are officially registered.

http://52.6.225.109/survey/participant/

ESUMS Parents, We All Should Go to This Event

Oh no, it conflicts with our next PTO meeting!!

Hello,  You are invited to the following event: NEW HAVEN TOWN HALL: FUTURE OF NHPS Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT) Hill Regional Career High School 140 Legion Avenue New Haven, CT 06519 View Map Attend Event Share this event: The goal of this New Haven Town Hall Meeting is to engage the community in the future development of New Haven Public Schools. As the district prepares for Superintendent Garth Harries' exit in November, who will lead our children's education and future in the interim?  What are the legal requirements for the placement of the Interim?  And what are the responsibilities of the Interim Superintendent versus the permanent Superintendent?  To learn the answers to these questions - and many more! - we are bringing the community together.

Tonight: College Application Event for Seniors

College Application Night
UCONN at Gateway Community College
Thursday, October 6, 2016  

Important News for NHPS Families -- Superintendent Resigns, Replacement Sought

articles:
Garth Harries Resigns
Mayor Harp Appoints Search Committee
Board of Education Controversy

ESUMS Parents, Have Your Say!

The New Haven Public School System is >ahem< "refining and deepening" its Strategic Operating Plan, and they want to hear from you.

They will be holding focus groups this fall to collect community opinions on how to improve the schools.

If you would like to participate, send an email to Michele.Bonanno@nhboe.net or call her at 475-220-1392.

<-- Click on the flyer image for a closer view.

Mentorship Program at Yale for Latino/Latina students

Conexiones is a program that aims to pair a Latinx New Haven High School student with a Latinx Yale student. The mentor-mentee partners will meet twice a month on Saturday's from 10 am to 1 pm for various activities, such as campus tours and community service projects. In addition, the mentees will attend a group session twice a month, in which they will set goals for themselves, learn about their place within the New Haven community and the larger national community, learn how to apply to colleges, and learn about what it means to be a Latinx in a changing world. Conexiones will be a program that requires a significant time commitment from its mentees. Mentees must be willing to attend weekly sessions either with their mentors or with the group. Our hope is that both the mentors and mentees will finish the program feeling as if it has enriched their lives and helped them learn more about their place within the community.
This application will close October 3rd and you will be informed about your status by October 7th.
The first session for the program is Saturday, October 15th.
If you have any questions or would like to know more information about the program, please send an email to mechadeyale@gmail.com. Click for Application.

Short Notice: Event Today at Career

A message from the Superintendent:
Dear Parents,

As we all know, starting strong this school year is incredibly important. That’s why we’re inviting students, staff, and community members out for the Stronger Together Symposium this today , September 1, at Career High School at 6:00pm.

The symposium will give students an outlet to discuss their social justice concerns, parents and opportunity to learn about our security policies and procedures, and teachers the space to delve into cultural competency and invest in their own health and well-being. The goal of the symposium is to give an opportunity for our community to share perspective and enter the school year with a commitment to cultural inclusion, and well-being and resilience.

This is a joint project with ConnCAT, Junta for Progressive Action, Citywide Youth Coalition, Integrated Wellness, Clifford Beers and our own Security Team. Each workshop is specifically designed to engage and inform our entire district community.

Looking forward to seeing many members of our district community in attendance – Students, Teachers, parents, and you this evening 

Please share this information with your networks and encourage your students to attend.

Flyer attached.
Best,
Superintendent Harries,

Pokemon Players ALERT

This Saturday, August 27, 2016,  The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History once again has Pokemon GO pokestops and gym.   ESUMS senior ISAAC FAUSTINO (aka Professor Oak)  designed the POKEMON GO pokestops and gym of the Peabody Museum.  There will be a battle and a special 30 minute tour with the Professor.  You might even see creatures that may have inspired your favorite pokemon!

Free admission this Saturday at Summer's Last Roar Event.  

New Haven Board of Education Calendar Dates for 2016-17 School Year

Click to view the Calendar.

Stay informed and stay involved!  All of these meetings are open to the public.  Please note, meetings of the full Board of Education are listed in the third column.  The location, Beecher School, is at 100 Jewel Street, not James Street.

STEM Career Fair at Wilbur Cross May 19th

Click for all the Details.

NHPS Meetings in May

CPLT Monthly Meeting May 5, 2016 at 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm James Hillhouse High School, 480 Sherman Parkway.  Monthly meeting of parents from all NHPS schools to network, discuss topics of interest to all NHPS parents, and collaborate to improve education citywide. Free childcare is provided, along with dinner and Spanish translation. All are welcome.

Board of Education May 9th and May 23rd, 5:30 pm, Beecher School

Finance & Operations Committee May 2nd and May 16th, 4 pm, 54 Meadow Street room 5B

Milton Fisher Scholarship

The Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity is accepting applications for this unusual college scholarship, until April 30, 2016.
A $20,000 college scholarship (up to $5000 per year for four years ), is open to high school juniors, seniors, and freshmen in college, who have created “outside the box “ projects, often not related to school. One does not have to be an A student to submit an application. Originality is a key factor, and multiple scholarships are awarded each year, based on the quality of the projects submitted.

Apply for this scholarship if you are . . .
-- a student who has solved an artistic, scientific, or technical problem in a new or unusual way
-- a student who has come up with a distinctive solution to problems faced by your school, community or family
-- a student who has created a new group, organization, or institution that serves an important need.

Several New Haven area students have been awarded this scholarship for a range of projects. One student led the team that developed the Mobile Food Market, and partnered with City Seed to implement it.  Another developed a micro-pottery class at Eli Whitney Museum. A full list of awardees is on our site.  While we often receive applications that are scientific, we are very interested in projects with a personal, artistic, or community focus.
The application deadline is April 30, 2016.
Please visit our website www.rbffoundation.org,  for further details,  and read it closely, including the FAQ.  For questions and additional information, please contact Denise Canning (dcanning@cfgnh.org) at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, which administers this scholarship. (203-777-2386). (NHI)

We Need Some Parent Activism.

(1) High School Boys' Bathroom

The ESUMS high school boys' bathroom is locked and unusable because it is damaged to the point of being hazardous.  The repair is major, and a work order has been submitted to the school district.  While we wait for the repair, the high school boys have to waste class time to use the middle school bathroom across the building, which overuses that bathroom and degrades its condition.  Since we are moving in a year and a work order can be ignored for a year, it's unlikely we will see a repair unless we take some action.

Please help us instigate some action on this work order by sending a polite but urgent email requesting a prompt repair to the the Director of Facilities and the Chief Operating Officer.

(2)  School-wide Wifi

The new wifi installed by the district is still badly unreliable.  The school's laptops can rarely connect to it with frequent drops and outages, an unreasonable situation in a school whose mission is STEM!  This is especially important as we approach testing season; the SBACs will be given in May, and those are all online.

Please consider sending a polite but urgent email to the Manager of IT and our Director of Instruction requesting immediate attention to this problem.

(3)  Board of Education Meeting Monday

The PTO has been paying close attention to the issue of New Haven charging (new) magnet tuition to the sending suburban districts.  In particular, this discussion at the Finance Committee raises some alarms:

In the worst-case scenario, districts would refuse to pay the tuition, De La Paz said Monday at the finance committee meeting. “The only recourse for us is to dis-enroll the student.”

During the school year? Goldson asked. Harries shook his head no.

“That would be your choice,” De La Paz said. He advised sending districts the number of students accepted into New Haven magnet schools in the lottery process this spring and talking with them further. (NHI)

If this worries you or if you want to learn more about it, magnet tuition should be discussed at Monday's Board if Education meeting, Monday, April 11th, at 5:30 at Beecher School, 100 Jewel Street.  There will be opportunity for public comment.

Thank you so much for your active work on behalf of our students!

Sabor Latino Culinary Festival, Saturday May 21,1- 5 pm, Roberto Clemente 360 Columbus Ave.

Sabor Latino Culinary Fest es un evento familiar que da comienzo al verano 2016, presentado por Telemundo Hartford -Springfield. Reunirá distintos servicios para interactuar con las marcas, aprender sobre sus productos y servicios y disfrutar de las diferentes especialidades culinarias y culturales de todo el mundo.

Upcoming NHPS Board of Education Meeting Dates

April 4 & April 18, 4 pm, 54 Meadow St. Room 5B -- Finance & Operations Committee (will be discussing expensive additions to ESUMS new building budget)

April 11 & April 25, 5:30 pm, Beecher School Auditorium -- Board of Education (may discuss next year's school budgets and the possibility of charging magnet tuition to the suburbs)