217 PTA - 217 PTA

Free After School Music Program for 3rd-8th Grade

1/29/2015

During the Colombian Ensemble with Turtle Bay Music School, students in grades 3rd through 8th will have the unique opportunity to learn from internationally acclaimed musicians known for their influence in the Colombian music world. Students will learn all aspects of Colombian music, including (but not limited to) dancing, singing, percussion, and performing in a Colombian Ensemble! Through actively experiencing Colombian music and dance, students are exposed to the rich cultural and historical roots of Colombian and other Latin American cultures.

During this one of a kind program, students will have the opportunity to learn complex and exciting Colombian rhythms, including cumbia and vallenato. In their weekly sessions students will build ensemble performance skills and increase their confidence in their musical abilities as they explore unique avenues of creativity. Students who are currently members of the school band may have the opportunity to take their instrumental experience to the next level through participating as a member of the Colombian Ensemble on their current band instrument! Students will also explore the Spanish language through traditional songs, and traditional dance steps will provide the students with an exciting and satisfying challenge to express Colombian rhythms through movement, all while having fun! To maintain the authenticity of Colombian musical culture, Turtle Bay Music School has commissioned artisans in Colombia to craft genuine instruments for your young musicians to use during class time and in performance.

The skills developed during this program are not limited to music and dancing! Students will be given an insider’s look at specific cultural attributes of Colombia, and they will gain a wealth of knowledge about the country and the people who have shaped this beautiful and vibrant culture. This program is a great opportunity for both students who are new to the Colombian music and cultural experience, as well as for those who have previously enjoyed their participation in the Colombian Residencies at PS/IS 217. Students who are currently in PS/IS 217 band classes are encouraged to participate, as they will gain unique instrumental experience as a member of the Colombian Ensemble.

This program will culminate in an incredibly unique performance where students will showcase their new musical knowledge performing alongside NYC’s premier Colombian band, Folklore Urbano!

Sign up here: http://www.tbms.org/colombianensemble/

Reminder: Deadline for Kindergarten Application is Friday, February 13th

1/29/2015

Please remember that the deadline to submit a kindergarten application is Friday, February 13, 2015. If you live in New York City and your child was born in 2010, your child is eligible to attend kindergarten in the fall, so apply now!

You can submit an application online, over the phone by calling 718-935-2400, or in person at a Family Welcome Center. All applications submitted by the February 13 deadline will be treated equally, according to schools' admissions priorities.

To learn more about the schools in your community, see the 2015-2016 Kindergarten Directories on the Elementary School Publications website. You can search for your zoned school here.

For additional information, visit the Kindergarten Admissions website. If you have any questions or concerns as you complete your application, please call718-935-2009 or contact ES_Enrollment@schools.nyc.gov.

Save the Date: Valentine's Party & Movie Night - Fri, Feb 13th

1/28/2015

Save the date - Friday, February 13th at 5:00 pm for our Valentine's Day Party & Movie Night! We’ll have crafts, games, food, music and a favorite classic: "The Princess Bride"! A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, pirates, giants, an evil prince, and a beautiful princess.

Admission - $5 per person at the door (includes 1 water bottle). $1 tickets for food, games and crafts will be available for purchase.

217 Students Study New York Watershed with 3D model science Projects

1/28/2015

217 students studied the New York watershed. The program was founded by a grant from City Councilman Ben Kallos. Check out some of their 3D models of the incredible NYC incredible watershed in the Auditorium.

We Need Your Help To Reopen Our Library

1/28/2015

217's library is getting ready to reopen now that all renovations are complete!

We need your help! Phase 1 is sorting all of the books. We've set aside two days for this task:
Saturdays Jan 31 & Feb 7.

The PTA and administration, under the direction of Ms. Ursula, have set a goal of having our library fully functioning for the start of 2015/2016 school year! A great deal needs to happen if we are to achieve this goal.

Reopening our library for our teachers and kids to enjoy is a huge undertaking. The PTA Executive Board can not do this alone. We need your help to make it happen.

Sign up below. We look forward to seeing you. Thank you!

NYC SNowStorms - A Historical Perspective

1/26/2015

A Historical Perspective

If the snowstorm delivers up to 36 inches that is forecast, it would be one of the largest snowfalls in NYC since we began keeping track of them in 1869.

Notably, half of New York City's top ten snowfall records have occurred in the last twelve years:

Feb. 11-12, 2006 — 26.9 inches

Dec. 26-27, 1947 — 26.4 inches

March 12-14, 1888 — 21.0 inches

Feb. 25-26, 2010 — 20.9 inches

Jan. 7-8, 1996 — 20.2 inches

Dec. 26-27, 2010 — 20.0 inches

Feb. 16-17, 2003 — 19.8 inches

Jan. 26-27, 2011 — 19.0 inches

March 7-8, 1941 — 18.1 inches

Dec. 26, 1872 — 18.0 inches

for more info: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-east-coast-may-be-about-to-get-one-of-the-worst-blizzards-its-ever-seen/

photo: deathandtaxesmagazine

Rescheduled: Family Breakfast & School Tour - Thurs 2/5

1/26/2015

FAMILY BREAKFAST RESCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH AT 7:45AM

SCHOOL TOUR
RESCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH AT 8:40AM

ALERT: School Closed for Tuesday, January 27th

1/26/2015

PS/IS 217 will be closed on Tuesday, January 27.

WEATHER ALERT: AFTER SCHOOL AND FIELD TRIPS CANCELLED FOR MONDAY, JAN 25TH

1/25/2015

After-school activities, PSAL, and evening adult education programs are cancelled Monday, Jan. 26. School field trips are also cancelled. Schools will be open on Monday for the regular school day. Schools will also administer Regents exams as scheduled.

According to Mayor De Blasio, schools likely will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 27. An official announcement will follow.

Continue to check this website
for the latest information.

[Education News] NPR: Would Kids Eat More Veggies If They Had Recess Before Lunch?

1/21/2015

Schools are offering more and more healthy foods for lunch. And schools that participate in the National School Lunch program require students to choose a fruit and a vegetable side. Yet plate waste is a big problem in schools; as The Salt hasreported, kids throw away anywhere from 24 to 35 percent of what's on their trays.

In many schools, kids tend to eat the entrée, like pizza, first, and leave the fruits and vegetables for last. If they aren't hungry after the entrée, they won't eat the healthy foods. But "they definitely don't leave the dessert on the tray," says Joe Price, a professor of economics at Brigham Young University.

Price, along with David Just, a researcher at the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs, wanted to see if perhaps stoking kids hunger by letting them go to recess before lunch might change the equation.

A study they've just published in Preventative Medicine suggests it does. They found that students who have recess before lunch tend to eat more servings of fruits and vegetables than kids who eat lunch first.

The researchers sent assistants to seven elementary schools in Utah, to stand by the trashcans at lunchtime and tally what students ate and what they threw away. The assistants then tallied the contents of more than 22,000 lunch trays for about four days at each school in the spring of 2011 and for about nine days at the same schools in the fall (after three of the schools had changed their schedule to have recess before lunch).

They found students who ate lunch after recess consumed 54 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who ate lunch before recess. In addition, the number of students who ate at least one serving of fruits or vegetables jumped 10 percent when they ate after running around outside.

The researchers also noticed that the students who had recess first didn't seem to feel the same hurry to eat as those who had recess after lunch. "Now that you have a little more time," says Just, "you eat the entrée and think 'OK, I'm still hungry maybe I'll try this broccoli.' "

Yet both researchers acknowledge that there's a big challenge here: Not every school can send kids to recess before lunch. "Scheduling is really difficult at schools," says Just, "particularly if they're overcrowded."

Mary Shaw, spokeswoman for Fairfax County Public Schools, agrees that timing lunch before recess can be difficult. "Often one or two grade levels may have recess together before lunch and one or two may have recess together after lunch," Shaw wrote, "depending on the capacity of the playground, which varies from school to school."

If lunchtime is non-negotiable, Just also maintains a list of suggestions to encourage kids to eat healthier, including lunchroom makeover tactics.

But he also recommends that schools get creative to sell the healthy options, like one school near Cornell that was struggling to sell a bean burrito. "They started advertising it as the big bad bean burrito," he said, "and then they started having to make extra trays."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/01/20/378664121/would-kids-eat-more-veggies-if-they-had-recess-before-lunch?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150120