Pajama Drive Update - We Did It!

Thank you to all the families of P.S./I.S. 217 who contributed to Pajama Drive this year!  We have met and exceeded our goal of 300 pajamas!  Thank you for supporting our kids' wonderful effort to help others in need - this annual drive is so special to them and they worked hard to make it happen!

Family Workshop at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Workshop for families of Pre-K children and all interested families: "Effective Consequences for Dealing with Misbehavior".  It is helpful to know a few different strategies because a strategy that works for one child might not work for another and no one strategy will work all the time.  Join Don Duerr, Early Childhood Social Worker, on Monday, December 16 at 8:36 am in P.S./I.S. 217 Cafeteria.

5th Graders Ballroom Dancing Performance at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

5th grade students at P.S./I.S. 217 for the third year had a Ballroom Dancing residency with Main Street Theater & Dance Alliance.  Students performed Merenge, Bachata, Foxtrot, Twist, and Che Chere Reche.

Roosevelt Island Annual Christmas Tree Sale

Pajama Drive at P.S./I.S. 217 Update

It's time for the annual Scholastic Reading Club Pajama Drive, benefiting the Pajama Project, a nonprofit that provides new pajamas and books to children in need, especially those living in group homes, shelters, foster care and orphanages.  For every pair that we give, Scholastic will donate an age-appropriate book to go with the pajamas to make bedtime better for the kids who receive them.

If you are able to participate, please have you child bring in a brand new pair of pajamas to school by this Friday, December 6.  All sizes are needed, from newborn to adult.  Thank you!

Grades K-2 Winter Concert At P.S./I.S. 217

Grades K, 1 and 2 Winter Concert is at 5:00 pm this Thursday, December 12th. Students will line up next to the auditorium (2nd floor) by 4:45 pm.

Please come and help the PTA support the Music Program at P.S./I.S. 217!  Suggested donation is $5 per person at the door.

Buy raffle tickets and win one of the prizes!  Additional tickets will be available for purchase before and after the concert $2 a ticket. Drawing will take place on December 12th at the concert; you don’t have to be present to win.

Donate baked goods / healthy snacks to be sold at the Concert Bake Sale. 

Help set up starting 4:00 pm; come to the PTA room. Help is also needed during the event. 

Please email Safia smorsly@gmail.com or Olga olga217pta@gmail.com if you have questions.

We hope to see you at the concert!

Winter Concerts At P.S./I.S. 217

Dear Families of 217, Grades 4-5 and Middle School Band Winter Concert is at 5:30 pm this Wednesday, December 4th. (lower school grades K-2 chorus will perform next week, Thursday, December 12th at 5 pm). Students will line up next to the auditorium (2nd floor) by 5:15 pm. Please come and help the PTA support the Music Program at P.S./I.S. 217!  Admission (suggested donation) is $5 per person at the door. Buy raffle tickets and win one of 3 prizes – 2 gift baskets and a wind-up cord for your Phone or tablet! Additional tickets will be available for purchase before and after the concert $2 a ticket. Drawing will take place on December 12th at Grades K-2 concert; you don’t have to be present to win. Donate baked goods to be sold at the Concert Bake Sale. Olga (PTA VP) will be available to collect food items outside in front of school on Wednesday at 8:30 am (drop off) and 2:45 pm(pick up), or you can bring them at 5 pm directly to the concert. You can donate juice boxes or fruit as well. Help set up starting 4:45 pm; come to the PTA room. Help is also needed during the event. Please email Safia smorsly@gmail.com or Olga olga217pta@gmail.com if you have questions.

"Kids Can Help" Food Drive at P.S./I.S. 217

The food drive is held citywide from October to January, with a special week in December (December 9-13) highlighting the impact our city's kids can have. Help us reach our goal of 1 million pounds to help feed hungry New Yorkers this holiday season!  Please bring non-perishable canned goods to Ms. Lauraine in the main office. Cans will be donated to City Harvest.

Most-needed foods:
- canned fruit
- canned vegetables
- peanut butter (plustic jurs)
- mac and cheese (packaged)
- hot and cold cereal (packaged, family-sized)

Pajama Drive at P.S./I.S. 217

Dear Teachers and Parents, The Pajama Drive has received 90 pairs of pajamas and they keep coming! Support throughout the school has been really heart warming. Thank you all so much for helping the children! Please help us to reach our goal of 300 pajamas. The end date for the drive is December 6. Here are some simple guidelines for the pajamas: Brand-new flame-retardant pajamas in all sizes from newborn to adult. Pajamas should be a complete set—a top and bottom or an appropriate nightgown. Pajamas for all seasons, but especially for the winter months. Thank you. If you want to know more about Scholastic Pajama Drive, please read below: The PJ Drive is one of the philanthropic classroom programs that aims to teach kids the value of giving and the gift of reading. Scholastic will match a book with every pair of pajamas collected, and new pajamas and new books will be distributed to children in need, infants through age 17. These children live in various situations including group homes, shelters, and temporary housing facilities and are shuffled often from one place to another. Many of them have been abandoned, abused, or neglected. Most of these children have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a mother or father tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story. Homeless and shelter children have so many needs. Soft pajamas and a new book would let them know someone cares. It is also a great way to create teamwork and camaraderie in the class with kids helping kids. It will make you feel good too! Many companies (e.g. Target, Children's Place) are also willing and able to match individual donations. Please inquire and help to bring more pajamas and book to kids.

Winter Concerts At P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Movie Night At P.S./I.S. 217

Please join us tomorrow at 5:30pm for the Family Movie Night Our movie this week will be My Neighbor Totoro, a lovely and imaginative story by the Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into a new home in the countryside. To their delight, they discover that their new neighbor is Totoro, a mysterious forest spirit who can only be seen by children. Totoro introduces them to extradordinary characters -- including a cat that doubles as a bus! -- and takes them on an incredible journey. . All students who turn in their Cherrydale forms on Friday (and those who have made online sales to family and friends) will get in free! Admission is $5 per person and we will have pizza, snacks and drinks for sale. Come at 5:30 for food before the movie; the show starts at 6pm.

Cherrydale Sale at P.S./I.S. 217

Last week for the Fall Cherrydale Sale

This is the final week for our Fall Cherrydale family fundraiser sale! Completed order forms are due on Friday - take another look at your catalogs and choose some chocolates or wrapping paper to make the holidays bright! Remember to take your sale online! Visit www.cherrydale.com and click on "Seller Login" at the top of the page to set up your student's account. From there, you can send emails to friends and family to alert them about the fundraiser; they'll be given a special link to use so that your child will receive credit for each sale made. This is a great way to let grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other friends who live outside of our area help support the enrichment programs that our kids enjoy. We have some great incentives in store for the individual students and classes who become our top sellers: movie nights, ice cream parties, gift certificates...and of course, the MONEY MACHINE!

Ballroom Dancing at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

5th graders practicing twist and foxtrot during their Ballroom residency at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School).

Thanksgiving Pie Sale at P.S./I.S. 217

Thanksgiving Pie Sale
Place your order now!

We have partnered with Lety's Bakery (a Queens favorite!) to offer a great selection of pies, cakes, and cookies for this annual fundraiser.  All are perfect for the holiday meal, and every order benefits the PTA and the programs we support.

We will take orders until Friday, Nov. 15th and orders will be ready for pickup at school on Tuesday, Nov. 26th.  

Congratulations to Change for Books Drive Winners!

Thank you to everyone who supported our Autumn Oasis Book Fair! We had a super turnout of families to shop the sale - your purchases of over $10,000 will net the school around $5000 to cover the costs of Scholastic magazine subscriptions and educational tools that our teachers use in the classrooms. The kids had great fun with our pharaoh-themed photo booth and so did the teachers! Very big thanks to all of our volunteers for working tirelessly to make the Book Fair such a fun event.

Our Change for Books drive was a huge success - we brought in over $500, which went to purchases of books for all the class wishlists. The Lower School winner is Class 123 and the Middle School winner is Class 678. These classes had the most contributions for Change for Books Drive and they had great fun mummifying our coach Mr. Luce! Congratulations to classes 123 and 678!

 

Autumn Reading Oasis Book Fair Arrives to P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

We are excited to welcome the Reading Oasis Book Fair to P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School).  Hope to see you there Monday-Friday (October 7-11), 8:30 am-2:30 pm.

Email olga217pta@gmail.com to volunteer at our Fair!

Schoolyard at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

With the scaffolding finally gone, children at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) get to enjoy full access to their schoolyard again.  Pre-K students running around happily with the hula-hoops this morning.

 

Autumn Reading Oasis Book Fair at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Welcome to the Autumn Reading Oasis Book Fair! The PS/IS 217 Fall Book Fair starts online today and in school next week. Please participate in this event, either at school or online, and support our school - we are very excited to see as many of you as possible! Please visit our Fall Book Fair next week October 7-11 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm in the school auditorium on the 2nd floor. A number of new and fascinating books will be available for families to purchase. By purchasing books at the fair, you help the school earn credit with Scholastic that can be used for more books and educational materials for our classrooms, This week, we will be sending home a catalog of all the books that will be available at the fair. Please look through the catalog with your child to preview the selections and make choices. If your child will be buying books at the fair, please send in their money with them in a clearly labeled envelope or plastic baggie, with their name and the total amount enclosed. Remember to add 10% for tax that will be added at the register. Many of the teachers have created wishlists of books in the fair that they would like to have for their classrooms. If you wish to contribute to your child's classroom library, please mark your contributions towards your teacher’s wish list as “class gift”. Parents, please join us for Book Fair fun! If you are joining your children during their class visit, please come directly to the auditorium. Please also consider coming earlier and staying later to help PTA volunteers at the Fair - it's a fun way to meet other parents and give time to help out our school! We will be holding a coffee hour on Wednesday October 9th from 8:30-9:30am - this will be a great opportunity to browse the sale and meet with other PTA members. You can start shopping online today! Starting today, October 2nd, you can shop the fair online! Find the links to the online sales and more Book Fair info HERE. Let's Mummify Coach Luce! and more oasis fun... In addition to the book sale, we are also excited to introduce our “CHANGE FOR BOOKS” fundraising drive. We'll have a collection jar where you can drop loose change or coins that you have collected for the event. Drop your change in the jar every morning before Drop-off or at the Fair to be counted towards your class total. THE CLASS WITH THE MOST CONTRIBUTIONS WILL GET TO “MUMMIFY” OUR PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER MR. LUCE! We also have some kid-sized Egyptian-themed cutouts for fun photos - We'll collect your photos from the event and will put them on the PTA Website (www.217pta.com)! When is My Child's Class visiting the book fair? Here is the schedule for class visits! Pre-K AM Lindman Tuesday, October 8th, 9:16-10:02 am Pre-K PM Lindman Wednesday, October 9th, 2:04-2:50 pm K001 Kaplan Friday, October 11th, 1:18-2:04 pm K002 Mermel Friday, October 11th, 11:38-12:28 pm K003 Consiglio Thursday, October 10th, 10:02-10:48 am K004 Alvarez Friday, October 11th, 10:02-10:48 am 101 Gold Tuesday, October 8th, 12:28-1:18 pm 102 Christian Monday, October 7th, 10:02-10:48 am 122 Zuchnovich Monday, October 7th, 9:16-10:02 am 123 Shuster Wednesday, October 9th, 12:28-1:18 pm 124 Rubenstein Tuesday, October 8th, 2:04-2:50 pm 201 Ditaranto Tuesday, October 8th, 1:18-2:04 pm 234 Afodorcei Wednesday, October 9th, 9:16-10:02 am 301 Zappala Thursday, October 10th, 1:18-2:04 pm 303 Gresh Wednesday, October 9th, 1:18-2:04 pm 401 Ciravolo Wednesday, October 9th, 10:02-10:48 am 403 Ho Friday, October 11th, 12:28-1:18 pm 501 Mosher Tuesday, October 8th, 10:02-10:48 am 601 Schwartz Wednesday, October 9th, 10:48-11:38 am 678 Harrison Monday, October 7th, 10:48-11:38 am 701 Adoniz Tuesday, October 8th, 10:48-11:38 am 801 Adoniz Thursday, October 10th, 10:48-11:38 am

Movie Night at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Curriculum Night at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) Thursday, September 19th at 5:30 pm

Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 19th is your opportunity to visit your child's classroom and hear 
from the teachers about what, and how, your child will be learning this year. 
Connect with other parents and start thinking about how you can volunteer at 
school; it's the right time to consider becoming Class Parent! When you arrive 
at school, please go directly to your child's classroom. Presentations will 
begin promptly at 5:30pm.

Immediately following the classroom presentations, everyone will gather in 
the Auditorium for remarks by Principal Mandana Beckman, and an 
information-packed  PTA meeting!

The General Membership (that's our whole parent body)  PTA Meeting 
Agenda will include:

• Budget and Treasurer's Report
• Bridge Class and Aide Information
• Formation of Middle School Committee
• New After School Clubs Initiative
• Upcoming Fundraisers and Committee Meeting Information
• Cornell Update 

Come for Curriculum, Stay for the PTA, and Get Involved!

Back to School Picnic at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

It was wonderful to see such a great turnout for the P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) Back to School Picnic – what a fantastic way to start the school year!

End of Season for Roosevelt Island Marlins Swim Team

Many of P.S./I.S. 217 students are also members of Roosevelt Marlins Swim Team.  Congratulations on another great season!  Go Marlins!

iDig2Learn Program at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Check out exciting work that P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) students do for iDig2Learn science and gardening program. Click here for most recent information.
iDig2Learn - Exploring the origin of food through plant life from iDig2Learn on Vimeo.

New Parent Meet and Greet at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

Congratulations to families whose children were recently accepted to 217. We are so happy you will be joining us.  Have questions about 217 or just want to meet some families? Come to the new parent meet and greet at our school on Saturday, June 29th at 1 p.m. The PTA welcomes you to the Roosevelt Island School!!

We are hosting another meet and greet at the school July 20th at 3 p.m.

Join us for coffee and cookies, tours of the school and Q&A with the PTA and current school families. We'll have crafts and quiet activities for the kids as well as some time in the school yard for outside play.

Please get in touch through our contact page. We look forward to welcoming you and your children to 217.

Field Days at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

First graders getting ready for "Under-Over" relay.

 First graders' parents during Egg and Spoon race.

  

 Third graders ready to race!

 Third graders' playing "Steal the Bacon".

P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) PTA Weekly Newsletter

Dear PS/IS 217 Families and Teachers, Congratulations to Michelle Davies! Congratulations and thank you to Michelle Davies, class 701, who represented PS/IS 217 at the National Young Leaders State Conference (NYLSC), where America's most highly acclaimed students are recognized and honored and given the opportunity to further develop their leadership skills. Michelle was the MC at the closing ceremony and also performed the song "I Believe the Children are the Future" which brought all to tears, thanks to Mr. Solow's hard work. Thank you! The school year is almost over and PS/IS 217 PTA wants to thank all PS/IS217 students & their families for a wonderful year. We appreciate all the support that you've been showing for the school and all your efforts to make PS/IS 217 the best place for the kids. We are thankful to the school teachers and staff for their hard work, energy, and time they've put into teaching and helping PS/IS 217 students. We love you! Thank you! PS/IS 217 PTA

News from the Gym

Corey Luce/Coach working with 3rd graders at the gym.  Students did many activities during the school year - soccer, step aerobics, etc. but he focused their work on circuit training and general fitness as many children are already athletes, doing some sports after school. Circuit training works well for developing children's strength, endurance (both aerobic and anaerobic), flexibility and coordination.

Roosevelt Island School (P.S./I.S. 217) Living Library and Think Park

Enjoy these pictures and report that show some of the amazing work that has been accomplished in NYC at our Roosevelt Island School (P.S./I.S. 217) Living Library & Think Park over the last year!

For more information about Living Library gardening at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) click here.

African Dance Performance by 3rd Graders at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

3rd Grade Students from the Roosevelt Island School (P.S./I.S. 217) perform on June 12, 2013 concluding their programming with Main Street Theater and Dance Alliance on African music, dancing, and culture.

International Dinner 2013 at P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School)

 Polynesian Cooking Team

 Japanese Cooking Team

German Cooking Team

Children's Parade