ICE PAC (ICE Parent Action/Education Advocacy Committee)

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Middle school families: This is the last newsletter before spring break, which means it is the last newsletter before the state English Language Arts test, which takes place the day after the students return. Although the school must administer the test, your child does not have to take it. If you plan to refuse the ELA on behalf of your child, please do so as soon as possible so that administration can plan how many teachers are needed for proctoring, how many testing rooms are needed, etc. If you weren't able to hand in a letter at conferences, you can use these online links in English and Spanish to indicate that you want to opt out.  

If you are still on the fence, please read this letter from the principal of the Brooklyn New School. While BNS is an elementary school, there are several similarities with ICE that she mentions, among them that neither school does test prep and that both schools instead use performance-based assessments. The pressure on schools from the NYC Department of Education and the State Education department to have students sit for the state tests is tremendous; a voice like the one in this letter is exceedingly rare. You might also read this op ed from an upstate parent and educator, summarizing what opt out has achieved to date and why there is still more to be done. 

If you have further questions, check out this or email ICE PAC chair Kemala.

 

 

STEM Matters--NYC 

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Apply Now for Exciting Science and STEM Programs for Summer!

Programs for students entering kindergarten through grade 12 at the NYC Department of Education's Genovesi Environmental Study Center and NYC Center for Aerospace and Applied Mathematics, the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Museum of the City of New York, New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Botanical Garden, Queens County Farm Museum, Queens Zoo, Staten Island Museum, Staten Island Zoo, and SUNY Old Westbury.

Programs run during July and August 2018 and feature 1-week camps, high school internships, and a 4-week college credit-bearing course. Application deadline is Friday, April 6, 2018
 
To learn more go to the website.
To apply, access the application form here.

 

ICE Website 

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The ICE Website is home to lots of important information for the ICE Community – About ICE (home to Announcements & Anuncios), Giving to ICE, Events, Trips, Alumni (student information), College Corner, and much more including the new Student Life tab which is a home for After School information, Sports and now Summer Opportunities. Take a look! and keep looking to keep informed.

 

Two More Free Summer Camp Options

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Two More Free Summer Camp Options

Kode with Klossy FREE Summer Camp for Girls

  • Summer Day Camp in NYC for GIRLS ages 13-18
  • August 6-17  Monday to Friday 9-5

Application includes a short essay, a brief video response and a reference. Deadline to apply is April 15 11:59 pm. Learn more here.

Science of Smart Cities  FREE Summer Camp through NYU

  • For rising 6, 7, and 8th graders.
  • July 2-27

Application includes two short essay questions.
Deadline to apply is April 20. For more information or to apply.

Needed: VR Gaming System

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Are you a gamer?  Have someone in your family or know a neighbor who is?  Work for a design company with a powerful computer that is becoming outdated?  The ICE Science Department is seeking use of a VR (virtual reality) compatible Windows based gaming system!  An 11th grade ICE student, in collaboration with the Brownsville Community Center, has designed a neuroscience experiment that utilizes VR based interventions (Wow, right?!).  We purchased a VR unit for her but the available computers are unfortunately not powerful enough for it to run smoothly.

Need a forced break from gaming? Loan us your system for a month!  The student is exceptionally responsible and will be under the supervision of JD.  Have an old system you rarely use anymore? Donate it!  We'll give it a happy new life in the science department.  Work for Best Buy and can get us a wicked discount?  That could work too!  Email  or contact JD in the ICE Science Department at 212-475-7972. 

 

ICE PAC

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Middle School Parents, state tests are coming up:

  • ELA exam is 4/8-4/9
  • Math exam is 5/1-5/2

Federal law mandates that states give annual tests, but it also gives parents the right to refuse them on behalf of their children. Parents from ICE PAC have traditionally distributed and collected opt out letters and answered questions about opt out at parent teacher conferences--and we will be at next week's rescheduled Wednesday evening conference.

However, with the cancellation and re-scheduling of conferences this year, we want to point out that you can use our online opt out/test refusal form instead. Please do so as soon as possible so the school can plan accordingly for testing days. Here are the links in English and Spanish. 

Some ICE-specific testing/opt out questions we've been asked (and answers):

How does ICE use state test scores? At ICE, scores are not used to inform instruction, nor do they count in student evaluation. 

Does ICE do test prep? No. There is no explicit test prep in the ICE curriculum.

With 80% or more students refusing the tests, what do testing days look like? Students who are taking the tests are called from their classrooms to testing rooms. Non-testing students remain in their classrooms engaged in school activities like reading or writing. Teachers do not introduce new concepts so that testing students don't miss out.

For more about test refusal in general (why, statistics, impacts on admissions, etc), visit here.  

ICE Drama Club's Dramapalooza: 3 songs, 2 scenes, 1 show!

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Come out and support ICE Drama Club as they perform a workshop performance of musical numbers from Shrek the Musical, Fun Home, and Finding Neverland and scenes from Eye of The Stormand The Search for Odysseus. Featuring the work of 11th grade directors: Amina Morgan, Julia Majesky, and Siena Froment. 

DRAMAPALOOZA will take place on Monday, March 26th from 4:30 - 5:30pm in the Auditorium where we have  Town Meeting (1st floor)

Cost: FREE for ICE students & $5 suggested donation for family and friends

We promise you music, singing, dancing, drama.. umbrellas! tempests! goddesses! office supplies! banjos! overalls! Show your support for ICE Drama and come to the AUD Monday after-school. Tell your friends, your family, your cycle project group - all are welcome. 



 

ICE PAC (Parent Action/Education Advocacy Committee)

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Middle school families:

As our children showed us on Wednesday, sometimes the most powerful tactic is walking out. When you (and your actions) say, "Stop! I refuse to accept the norm--things can and should be different," it can force the powers that be to stop ignoring you and sit up and take notice. 

For years concerned parents wrote letters, signed petitions, called elected officials, even boarded buses to Albany in an effort to push the state to change its high-stakes testing policies. Nothing changed. But when families initiated a mass boycott of the NY state math and ELA tests, the state finally started to tweak its testing program and has made some important changes, including forbidding holding children back solely or primarily for poor test performance. But there is still a long way to go. These tests are still used to close schools against community wishes (mostly in under-resourced communities of color). Pressure to do well on them warps instruction in too many schools (again, mostly in under-resourced communities of color). Think about this when you decide whether or not your child should participate in this system. If you decide you're out, complete this simple form on our website. (En Español) After you fill out the form and hit SUBMIT, you'll see a screen confirming that your wish to opt out has been recorded and that notification of your refusal has been emailed to administration.

This 2-minute video features a mom from Washington Heights talking about how the tests perpetuate and exacerbate the class divide. ("What separated my kids from others? Wealth and access.") Also in Spanish.

STEM Summer in the City 2018

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STEM Summer in the City, a free, five week for current 2nd - 10th graders that is engaging and a fun summer program designed around STEM - science, technology, engineering and math.  

In addition to weekly STEM challenges, involving coding & game design, developing engineering solutions and inventing with robotics, the program also includes enrichment opportunities in the Arts, Physical Education and includes trips to NYC cultural institutions.   

  • Students are accepted into this program via a lottery   
  • Program runs from July 5, 2018 to August 09, 2018 
  • Monday through Thursdays from 8:30AM - 2: 30PM  
  • Breakfast and lunch are included  
  • Free transportation is provided, depending on students’ grade level and the distance between their residence and school. Learn more about student transportation services. 

STEM Summer in the City takes place in 11 locations across the city. To learn more about these locations, click on the school names below.

Middle and High School Sites
Bronx: M.S. 390 
Brooklyn: I.S. 096 Seth Low 
Manhattan: Art and Design High School
Queens: Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School 
Queens/Far Rockaway: P.S./M.S. 183 Dr. Richard R Green (6-8) 
Staten Island: Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School

Application will open on March 16, 2018.  Please select your application from the options below.  If you have only one child that you are applying for, select the application that matches your child’s current grade (e.g. if a student is in 5th grade, choose the Elementary School application; if your child is currently in 8th grade, select the Middle School application). If you have more than one child applying for STEM Summer in the City, use the link Sibling Application. 

When completing the application, you will need your child’s OSIS number and you must select the school your child attends from the list of options presented.  Only students from these schools are able to apply at this time. 

STEM Summer in the City 2018 Applications

Applying for One ChildApplying for More than one child

My child is currently in Elementary school- Click Here
Students Currently in Grades 2-5

Sibling Application - Click Here

My child is currently in Middle or High school- Click Here
Students Currently in Grades 6-10

Applications will close on April 27, 2018

More about the applications

  • Selection will be done via a lottery.  Besides being in the specific grades for this program, students should have at least 90% attendance during the school year and not be required to attend summer school.  It is expected that if you apply to this program, you and your child are committing to attending the full five weeks over the summer. 
  • Parents will be notified of acceptance into STEM Summer in the City via email during the week of May 21, 2018 and be asked to accept the seat and to provide additional information.  If a child is accepted into this program and is then required to attend summer school, they will not be able to attend this Summer Academy program.  Parents will be notified by their child's school if they are required to attend summer school and we will also notify you in early June if we need to retract the seat.  Any seat not accepted will move to the next student on the wait list.  Parents will be provided with a wait list number if they are not initially accepted in the lottery process.   
  • Support for the online application process can be available by contacting your parent coordinator. 
  • Please note, we are not accepting paper applications for this program.  

There are a number of enrichment programs for your children this summer. Learn about more these programs by clicking on Summer Academy programs.

Sign up for Summer in the City email alerts. 

All questions about this program should be directed to SummerSTEM@schools.nyc.gov. 

ICE Students Advance to NYCSEF Finals Round

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Earlier this month, four projects were presented by ICE students at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) Preliminary Round.  ALL FOUR projects scored within the top 25% of their categories, permitting their advancement to NYCSEF Finals! 

This coming Tuesday, March 20th, ICE seniors Eva Schulz, Isa Yehya, Phoebe Yates and Zander Donowitz will be presenting their projects under the great blue whale of the American Museum of Natural History.  Public viewing (10:00 am - 12:00pm) precedes judging, so come by and give them some encouragement if you're available!  11th grade students interested in submitting their original research to NYCSEF are also invited to the attend public viewing and should contact JD at jdahlstrom@iceeducate.org for more information.

ICE PAC Updates

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Middle school families: Opt out? Opt in?

ICE, like all public schools, is required to offer the state English Language Arts test (beginning April 11) and the math test (this year in May) to its 6th-8th graders. But students are not required to take them. In fact, for the last several years, well over 80% of students at our school have refused ("opted out" of) the exams. 

If you are wondering why so many ICE families have made the decision to refuse in the past, check out the informative email an ICE PAC parent in your grade sent recently. (You should have received this by the time you get this newsletter.) Already decided that you want your kid to refuse? We now have a super easy way for you to make that happen: a simple form on our website. (En Español) After you fill out the form and hit SUBMIT, you'll  see a screen confirming that your wish to opt out has been recorded and that notification of your refusal has been emailed to administration.

All families: Poor Substitute for Justice video clips now consolidated

In the last newsletter we shared some links to the video coverage of our Feb 7 event, A Standardized Test is a Poor Substitute for Justice. We've now got most of the links up together on one page of the ICE website, which should make viewing easier. Watch to get an idea of what lies behind test-focused education (hint: it's not good) and what harms it continues to inflict. Parts 4a and 4b feature an ICE teacher and student respectively and provide great insight into our school's educational philosophy. Here's some feedback from one parent who saw the video, "This is so great!!...I shared the link to my family and friends via snap chat  because it was really inspiring." 

Contact ICE PAC.