1st Community Lunch of 2019-2000

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Tues. 11/12 - Room 518

All are welcome - FREE 

For anyone new to ICE, the community service club helps to plan and serve a meal about once a month - free for all students. In the past, parents and staff have contributed cooked food, and many kids have spent the period together in 518 - music, food, laughter, full-bellies, etc. 

Students are also welcome to bring their own lunch and eat together in community on 11/12. 


Looking for Parent Volunteers

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To volunteer visit the ICE Community Volunteers page on the school website located under the Parent Life tab then sign-up using the ICE Community Volunteers Form.

Here are a few projects/events for you to consider:
 
PICTURE DAY FUNDRAISER (Grade 12 & Retakes for Grades 6-11) – Friday, November 22nd, 2019, 8:00am - 12:00pm
We will need approximately 10 volunteers on the day of the event.

  • All Day (8:00am - 12:00pm) shift

PT CONFERENCE APPOINTMENT VOLUNTEERS

Help before or after your appointment.

  • Wednesday, November 20

    • 4:30pm - 6:00pm shift

    • 6:00pm - 7:30pm shift

  • Friday, November 22

    • 1:00pm - 2:30pm shift

    • 2:30pm - 4:00pm shift

WINE TASTING GALA – Friday, December 6, 2019 at 6:00pm

  • 4 Volunteers to Set-Up

  • 4 Volunteers to Clean-Up

  • Food donations (cheese, crackers, bread, hummus, and veggie platters, chartreuse board).

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION COORDINATOR
Organize December’s holiday celebration for the ICE Community. Date TBD

TOWN MEETING SCRIBE — Wednesdays at 10:05am - 11:39am

Attend Town Meeting, take notes, then input the notes into a MailChimp template — not hard, I’ll show them how.

SPRING FLING AUCTION – Friday, May 8th, 2020

  • Planning Committee

    • Donation Team

    • 50/50 Raffle Salespeople

    • Balloon Pop Organizer

    • Wine Pull Organizer

Request from ICE Senior Lisle Jamieson

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Dear ICE family,

ICE senior Lisle Jamieson has a survey--An Investigation of Partisan Activity-- that he needs to be completed by as many adults residing in the United States as possible. He asks that you please complete his survey, but more importantly, please spread this to friends and family and your social media network (and encourage them to do the same). Let's make this thing viral!

You can find the survey here.

Lisle and I thank you!

-JD


Wellness Corner from the Counseling Department

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There are so many events, resources, and institutions offering thoughts and support to young people--and to their families. We will begin sharing a few in our weekly newsletter that may be of interest to you.

The Child Study Center is offering a free workshop called "The Struggling Learner: Understanding the Signs and How to Help" from 6:30-7:30p next Thursday November 7th:
Educational Workshop at The Child Study Center

The Child Mind Institute recently shared this piece on how families can help young people build self-regulation skills:
The Child Mind Institute's piece on helping kids with self-regulation

NYU Langone is offering a group:
For shy and socially anxious teens
(Feel free to inquire about sliding scale fees and upcoming start dates)

Looking for Parent Volunteers

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Here are a couple of projects/events for you to consider:

TOWN MEETING SCRIBE — Wednesdays at 10:05am - 11:39am (4 volunteers)

  • Several parents take turn attending Town Meeting.

It’s fun and gives you insight into the life of the school, not just your own kid’s class, which means it’s particularly nice if you have an uncommunicative kid. (Which is, y’know, MOST kids.) You can see musical performance, acting, guest speakers. The job involves attending Town Meeting and taking notes, then inputting them into a MailChimp template — not hard, I’ll show them how.  
 
PICTURE DAY FUNDRAISER (Grades 6-11) – Friday, October 25th, 2019 8:00am - 3:00pm

Choose the shift that best fits your schedule:

  • Afternoon Shift (3 volunteers) - 12:30pm - 3:00pm

  • All Day Shift — 8:00am - 3:00pm

To volunteer visit the ICE Community Volunteers page on the school website located under the Parent Life tab then sign-up using the ICE Community Volunteers Form.

ICE Drama Department Save the Date

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The ICE Drama 7th & 8th grade elective will be performing their second annual site-specific show show in Stuyvesant Square Park on Thursday, October 24th @4PM & Friday, October 25th @3PM. This time, the ensemble will be activating the poetry of Mary Oliver at various points around the park...get your walking shoes ready! Please stay tuned for more details in the days ahead & feel free to reach out to Natalie Mack with any questions.

Register for Master Studio Programs at Groundswell

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Groundswell is now accepting applications for our Fall-Spring Studio Programs. Apply now for free after school programs: Introductory Portfolio, Advanced Portfolio, Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA), or Print Power.

Studio Programs are a highly diverse series of youth development opportunities hosted at our Gowanus studio. We offer a suite of opportunities for youth to develop the skills necessary for a creative practice, engage in a dynamic community of like-minded people, and explore social justice issues relevant today.

There is a mandatory orientation session on October 25th, and program is held afterschool weekly beginning in either late October or November. For more information on each program check out our website, call 718-254-9782, or e-mail.


ICE PTA Meeting & Presentation

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Wednesday, October 16th at 6pm, Room 518

Financial Planning for College and Day One presentation to middle school families

This meeting is for all I.C.E. families, not only high school families - early planning is the key to reducing college costs and maximizing aid opportunities.

The I.C.E. PTA is delighted to have Kalman ("Kal") A. Chany, nationally recognized expert on educational financing, back at I.C.E. Kal will discuss Financial Planning for College, what we can do to prepare for college costs as early as middle school.

It’s not too early or late so join us for this don't-miss event.

PLUS a special presentation from a Day One facilitator to middle school families at 6:15pm

Day One will give an overview of the programming that students will receive this year.

Program: Early Relationship Abuse Prevention Program - Youth Workshops

Workshops for 6th grade cover foundational terms and concepts regarding healthy friendships and relationships.

Workshops for 7th and 8th grade delve deeper into these topics, dedicating more time to scenario-based activities and real life reflective exercises.

Note from Pete

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Dear ICE Families –

With school well underway I wanted to review a few policies that are important to our staff. We try to limit the use of policies and approach people and situations as unique however we have all found it helpful to implement the following:

Vaping: Vaping and carrying a vaping device at school are both prohibited. If a student is carrying a device and it is visible it will be confiscated. We will inform a family member and that person can retrieve the device at a later date. Anyone caught vaping on school premises will first lose the privilege to go out during lunch, and subsequent violations will result in detentions and escalate from there. Given the pervasiveness of vaping among young people and the danger we now know it to pose I believe it is necessary to be clear and inflexible.

Cell Phones: Cell phones may be used in between classes and during lunch. During class time phones must be invisible and silent whether in the hallway or in a classroom. If a teacher feels it is necessary to confiscate a phone it will be returned to the student at the end of the school day. If the student refuses to hand over the phone parents will be notified and either Pete or Kristen will ask to collect the phone. We may create individual cell phone use plans if it becomes too challenging for a student to manage their phone use.

Plagiarism and Intellectual Dishonesty: Any time a student submits the work of another person and aims to receive academic credit it is plagiarism. Failure to give credit to the author of any quote or idea is also plagiarism. No forms of plagiarism are acceptable and will result in the student receiving an incomplete for the entire assignment. In addition parents will be notified and disciplinary meetings may occur. Any student who gives their work to a peer will be penalized for this form of intellectual dishonesty.

These policies have been discussed, some of them at length over years, and were not arrived at casually. I present these to you so that you can discuss them with your kids and be aware that there are certain values, and certain rules that we will uphold in ways that do not fit with our laid back school culture. I assure that we will not ever apply these policies randomly or with any goal other than keeping ICE a safe and pleasant place to come to school each day.

Thank you guys – see you all soon.

Pete

Looking for Parent Volunteers

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Here are a few projects/events for you to consider:
 
TOWN MEETING SCRIBE — Wednesdays at 10:05am - 11:39am (4 volunteers)
Several parents take turn attending Town Meeting.

  • It’s fun and gives you insight into the life of the school, not just your own kid’s class, which means it’s particularly nice if you have an uncommunicative kid. (Which is, y’know, MOST kids.) You can see musical performance, acting, guest speakers. The job involves attending Town Meeting and taking notes, then inputting them into a MailChimp template — not hard, I’ll show them how.

ICE 5K RUN WALK FUNDRAISER – October 12th, 2019, 10:00am
The ICE 5K is moving to Brooklyn! at Shore Parkway along the Hudson just beneath the Verrazano Bridge.Volunteers arrive at 9:00 am for set-up.

  • Registration & Signage placement, etc. (3 volunteers)

  • Course Marshall (3 volunteers)

  • Prepare & Distribute Goodie Bags (2 volunteer)

Snack Donations for runners/walkers:

  • Water (2 case – 24 or 48 bottles per case)

  • Healthy Snacks (health bars, bananas, apples, tangerines, etc.)

PICTURE DAY FUNDRAISER (Grades 6-11) – Friday, October 25th, 2019 8:00am - 3:00pm
Choose the shift that best fits your schedule:

  • Afternoon Shift (3 volunteers) - 12:30pm - 3:00pm

  • All Day Shift — 8:00am - 3:00pm

To volunteer visit the ICE Community Volunteers page on the school website located under the Parent Life tab then sign-up using the ICE Community Volunteers Form.

ICE PAC (Parent Action/Education Advocacy Committee

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On Tuesday, the City Council's education committee held a hearing on "Breaking Testing Culture." It prominently featured representatives (students, principals, the executive director) of the New York Performance Assessment Consortium ("the Consortium"), of which ICE is a member school. Consortium schools are the only schools in NY state that have a waiver from (most of) the Regents exams. (These are the "exit exams" that most NY state students are required to take for high school graduation.) The hearing began with testimony from actor/musician Anthony Ramos, who starred in the original cast of Hamilton, along with the high school teacher who championed him--even though he failed Regents exam after Regents exam, resulting in this clearly bright young man being labeled as "underperforming." The second part of the hearing, however, took quite a different turn, as representatives of the DOE confirmed that rather than trying to lessen the testing burden that had hobbled Ramos, they would be adding an additional test for our children...to be administered FOUR TIMES A YEAR. If you are concerned about this development, please consider joining ICE PAC so we can learn more, strategize, and fight back. You can reach us via 10th grade parent Kemala Karmen.

Here's a Daily News article about the hearing--the title pretty much sums it up.