Public workshop #1 Sunset Park High School- Tuesday, February 13 6:30 - 8:30 PM
A DOE-led community planning process, as part of the Equity and Excellence for All initiative, aimed at increasing diversity in District 15’s middle schools. The Workshop will introduce community members to this exciting initiative while providing a forum to share insights on school diversity and the middle school admissions process – from Sunset Park to Park Slope to Red Hook and neighborhoods in between! Visit d15diversityplan.com for more information. ​Please RSVP if you plan to attend at d15plan.eventbrite.com

Check out this month's D&I team January newsletter.  Highlights include in a teacher spotlight on Stephanie Reyes, information about our family book club and parent book club, and more.

Hunger by Roxane Gay - Monday, February 12 @ 7pm
We will kick-off our monthly reading group on Monday, February 12th @ 7pm at The Monro . This month's book selection is Roxane Gay's HUNGER, a memoir exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health - and intersections with race, gender and sexuality. RSVP to diversity@ps39.org.

If you can't join us in -person, visit our webpage, ps39.org/diversity--inclusion.html, for book links, discussion questions and related content. 

Our reading group will met every 2nd Monday of the month at The Monro. If you are interested in suggesting a future months' reading selection and/or facilitating a discussion, please email us at diversity@ps39.org.

Our Diversity & Inclusion committee is committed to helping our school community promote a culture of respect, social justice, equity and openness.
 
To help our families on this journey, our team of parents and teachers have created a  Book of the Month club for both families and adults.  We hope this program will spark robust conversations around inclusion and diversity while bringing us together as a community with shared ideals.  
 
In an effort to make these books as accessible as possible, books can be purchased off of our Amazon Wish List for your child's classroom, and will be available to "check out" for at home reading. 
 
January's theme is Socioeconomic Diversity

Kindergarten & Grade 1: Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
This book is about Jeremy, a young boy who really wants these cool shoes that many of his other classmates have.  His family cannot afford to buy them.  He learns an important lesson about balancing needs and wants.  More importantly he learns about kindness and generosity.

Grades 2 & 3: As Fast as Words Could Fly  by Pamela M. Tuck
A thirteen- year- old African American boy in 1960's Greenville, North Carolina, uses his typing skills to make a statement as part of the Civil Rights Movement.  Based on true events.

Grades 4 & 5 (two selections):
Serafina's Promise  by Ann Burg
Serafina made a secret promise to go to school and learn to read so she could become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie.  But following her dream isn't easy- endless chores, little money and stomach-rumbling hunger all test her resolve.  When an earthquake hits and separates Serafina from her friends and family, she encounters her biggest test of all.  Serafina made a secret promise.  Will she survive to keep it?

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Hundred Dresses won a Newberry Honor in 1945 and has never been out of print since.  At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day.  Wanda claims that she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn't and bullies her mercilessly.  The class feels terrible when she is pulled out of school, but by that time it's too late for apologies.  Maddie, one of Wanda's classmates, ultimately decides that she is "never going to stand by and say nothing again."

February 4th- 12:00 pm game
Buy tickets  here and earn money for our school!  Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks Game.

 Family Fitness Friday (7:30 - 8: 10 am at Camp Friendship)-  This week's theme is SOCCER!
Starting this Friday, join us for fun and games with Mr. Bacovic and our Wellness Council. THIS IS A FAMILY EVENT.  Everyone should come ready to move and dressed to participate.  Students must be accompanied by an adult.

Team Spirit Day!
January's Spirit Day is all about the TEAM!  Wear your favorite sports gear (shirts, hats, jerseys etc).

Family Friday for Grades K - 2
Families in K, 1 and 2 are invited to visit their child's classroom this Friday, January 5 from 8:35- 9:00 am.  Please join our Parent Coordinator & Parent Association at Camp Friendship starting at 8:15 am for special announcements before the classroom visit.

Join us for this year's biggest event, our Spring Auction at the Bell House (149 - 7th st) on Saturday, March 17 from 7- 11 pm.   Get your babysitter booked and get ready for some amazing auction items.  Procurement is happening now!  

AUCTION ITEMS WANTED
Do you have connections that can bring in items for the PS 39 school auction? We are looking for:

• Vacation homes for a week or weekend
  
• Entertainment and sporting event tickets (theater, concerts, movies)
  
• Gift certificates for hotels, restaurants, or connections to chefs  
  
• Special experiences in the art, fashion, sports, travel, or culinary worlds  
  
• Electronic, computer, or tech items  Summer camps, children’s or adult classes
  
• Gift certificates or items from home decoration, clothing, or children’s interest retailers
  

Help us build our best catalog of items yet for our online & Gala auctions! E-mail donation ideas to: Jennifer Norman jennifersnorman@gmail.com and  Julie Baron jdbaron@gmail.com 

​This meeting will have a “Town Hall” feeling to it! Come socialize with your fellow parents and we’ll talk about our upcoming events, hear a financial update, and discuss topics you’d like to cover. Feel free to send in your topics ahead of the meeting using the submission form on our PA page.  Meeting location: Room 103/  Childcare: Cafeteria