
Welcome Back!
Back to School Letter Academic Year 2022-2023
Published and mailed to families for September 2, 2022
Greetings Students and Families,
Welcome back to school! It is my great pleasure and honor to begin this year with a fresh start, fresh perspective, and resilient hope. We are dedicated to your student’s health, happiness, and success as we gear up for an incredible year ahead. Our vision for learning, which guides our work, is Inspire, Empower and Care. Our theme this year is Restorative Education, as we continue the work of restoring our learning community in school year four of the pandemic.
School starts Thursday, September 8, and we can’t wait to get started. Please read through the information in this mailing. You’ll find documents and links for essential information here. Please reach out this week if you have additional questions.
What’s New This Year?
Early Release Wednesdays
Starting this year students will be released at 1:30 pm on Wednesdays. Students who are in the after-school program will transition into afterschool at that time. All others will be dismissed. Students who take the yellow bus home will be escorted to their respective buses at that time.
Parent Supports
As we begin the new school year, our Parent Coordinator Mr. Erskine will be taking time away from the QC community for a few months. In the interim, Mr. Ralph Alexis will be the point of contact for family outreach and parent inquiries until he returns. Mr. Alexis can be reached at 929-214-9259 or mralexis@queenscollegiate.org.
DOE Grades/Attendance/Messages
DOE has introduced a proprietary grade book for teachers. Families and students will need to access their NYC Student Accounts (NYCSA) in order to find documents and track students’ progress in their classes. Parents/guardians can access their student’s information online at www.schoolsaccount.nyc. We are encouraging every family to enroll if you haven’t already.
QC Adventures in Reading (AIR)
This year, every student in grades 6 - 8 will have a class devoted to reading. We aim to improve students’ literacy through an interest-based approach to reading texts of different genres and types. Our goal this year: every student will read 2,500 pages over the course of the year. We are asking families to support their students to meet this goal.
Updated COVID Protocols
Recently the NYCDOE released its COVID-safety policies for the coming school year. You can find all of the details online clicking here (opens in new window) or here https://tinyurl.com/4kadh6kf.
Here are the main points:
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All students and staff are strongly encouraged to wear high-quality masks while indoors.
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The school will NOT be testing routinely in the building as we have the last two years. Students will NOT be required to complete the daily health screening to enter the building.
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Community members who are COVID-positive must isolate for five days and may return on the sixth day if they are asymptomatic. COVID-positive students/staff will be required to wear masks for five days upon returning.
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Community members will not be required to isolate if they are exposed. Students or staff who are exposed to someone who is COVID-positive will receive take-home tests to use and may continue to come to the school as long as they asymptomatic.
What do I need to start the year?
Below, you will find information and forms to complete before the first day of school. We have included some paper items in this mailing, and you will also find links here on our website.
In closing, the stellar staff at Queens Collegiate and I feel privileged to be a part of your student’s journey. We look forward to seeing you all on the first day of school. We thank you for being a part of our QC family, and we’re excited to partner with you this year.
Sincerely,
James Harrell
Principal
