uccs news - urban choice charter school – urban choice ...€¦ · urban choice charter school...
TRANSCRIPT
UCCS NEWS
In This Issue
CEO/Principal Updates
Celebrating Student Progress
Students Learn CPR
NYS Test Pep Rally
Silent Disco
Minute to Win It
Basketball Banquet
Volunteer Appreciation
Students of the Month
Honor Roll Students
Health Office News
Counselor Corner
PTA Updates
Urban Choice Charter School Newsletter MARCH/APRIL 2019
Words from Ms. McCarthy, UCCS CEO
It seems unbelievable that the end of the school year is in sight.
Although we are always busy, we are especially busy at this time of
year. We still have our Grade 4 and 8 New York State Science Tests
coming up, along with many end of the year activities. I am extremely
thankful that you have shared your children with me. As I reflect back
on my interactions
with your children a
smile comes to my
face as I remember all
of their comments and
hugs. Let’s remember
that we still need to
focus on a strong
finish to the year.
Mr. Beaumont’s Principal Updates I am so proud of our students for working extremely hard on the ELA
and Math state tests. Your support and dedication to our school helped
our students feel calm and confident. We appreciate everyone who
wrote notes of encouragement; they meant a lot to your children as
evidenced by the smiles and comments as they read them before the
tests. We have seen our students grow exponentially this year with
their academics. I truly believe this is a result of the support our
students receive at home, along with the relationships our students and
families have with the school and our incredible staff. We have several
field trips/events coming up to celebrate the hard work and success our
students have achieved this year. With the end of the school year
approaching, I want to take this time to thank all of our families for their
dedication to UCCS.
Important dates:
May 20-23: Book Fair
May 22: Honor Roll Field Trip
May 22: Family Night
May 24-27: No School, Memorial
Day Weekend
May 29: Grade 4 Science
Performance Test
May 30: Grade 8 Science
Performance Test
June 3: Grade 4 & 8 Science
Written Test
June 5: Celebration of the Arts
June 11: Red Wings Family Night
June 13: BOT meeting
June 14: Flag Day Performance
June 20: Grade 8 Graduation
June 24: K-7 Moving Up
Ceremonies
June 25: Last Day of School
Urban Choice
Charter School
545 Humboldt St.
Rochester, NY 14610
585-288-5702
Fax : 585-654-9882
Celebrating Student Progress
Students, families and staff have been working really hard
this year to increase the reading levels of all students.
Expanding the Success for All reading program to the 6th-
8th grade for the 2018-2019 school year has helped to
ensure each student receives the individualized support
they need to further develop their literacy skills. The goal
for the school year was to have
53% of our K-5th graders read-
ing at or above grade level by
the end of the year, and 46% of
our 6th-8th grade students. At
the end of third quarter, we are at 57% and 50%, respectively. To celebrate,
K-5 students participated in an egg hunt with fun prizes for all students and
the 6-8 students were treated to ice cream sundaes. We will be working very
hard to maintain these great gains during the 4th quarter. One way to help at
home is making sure your student reads every night for 20 minutes in order
to practice the reading skills learned in SFA. Thank you to all of our
teachers, students, and parents for your hard work and support!
Middle School Students Learn CPR
Did you know that you can save a life to the beat of “Stayin’
Alive?” In the last week of April, three firefighters from the
Rochester Fire Department trained all middle school students
in hands-only CPR. After explaining when to use CPR, Fire
Fighter William Davidson said there are only two steps: call
911 and start pressing hard and fast in the middle of the chest.
The rate of compressions should be about 100 per minute, but
it’s easier to do if you think of a song with that rhythm. Since
the Beegees are more than a little out of date for today’s youth,
middle schoolers practiced CPR on mannequins while listening
to “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé. Sixth grade student Tarron
Mixon said what helped him learn CPR was listening to the
beat of the music. “The CPR training was very important
and cool because I learned many things about how to
save many lives, how to do it, and what is important to
make it work, like the beats and how to put your arms.”,
said Brianna Santiago, eighth grade student.
After the success of bringing CPR training to our school,
the Rochester Fire Department may expand to training
students at other area schools. Great job Ms. Flake, RFD,
and all of our middle school students for making this a
positive and successful experience for everyone!
NYS Test Pep Rally
To build excitement for the NYS ELA and Math tests, UCCS held two pep rallies, one for our 3rd-5th
grade students and one for our 6th-8th grade students on April 2, the day before the first day of testing.
With Mr. Jones as the MC, students watched
inspirational videos, heard encouraging words from Mrs.
McCarthy and Mr. Parris, and cheered as staff
members competed in the masked singer. Shout out to
Mr. Parris and Mr. Clark for participating in the Masked
Singer and a huge congratulations to Mrs. Allen, the
winner of this
intense competi-
tion!
The goal of the pep rallies was to remind students that the tests
are an opportunity for them to show what they know and that it is
important for them to do their best. We wanted to make sure that
students know that we believe in them and that they have the
intelligence, skills and ability to do well on these tests. We are so
proud of how hard our students worked on both the ELA and
Math tests this year.
Silent Disco
On March 23, Urban Choice held its first annual Silent Disco Fundraiser at
the Penthouse in partnership with Muse Co., Wild Byrd Productions, In
Your Ear Events and Twist This food truck. We want to thank all of our
sponsors, partners, and everyone who came out to support Urban Choice.
The event would not have been such a great experience without all of this
support. People had a great time dancing the night away to the beats of
three different DJ channels, snacking on food donated by Wegmans and Get Caked when they
needed an energy boost, and learning more about Urban Choice. The silent auction was also a
huge success with donations from: Stokoe Farms, Seabreeze, Comedy@ the Carlson, Dave and
Buster’s, Salvatore’s Pizzeria, Delmonico’s Steakhouse, Rochester Americans, Delta Sonic, Good-
luck Restaurant, Black and Blue, Walmart, and the Urban Choice PTA. Some people who had
never been to a silent disco before were not quite sure what to expect, but said they will definitely
come back next year and invite all of their friends. We can’t wait to do this again!
Minute to Win It Family Night
Do you think you have what it takes to complete Minute to Win It
activities in 60 seconds or less? Students, family members and
staff had a great time on March 28 trying to beat the buzzer in a
variety of fun competitions to win raffle
tickets- and bragging rights. Activities
included: Face the Cookie, where
participants tried to move a cookie from
their forehead into their mouth, without
using their hands, Ponginator, bounce ping pong balls into cups, Suck it
Up, using only a straw to transfer skittles from one plate to another, Junk
in the Trunk, shake and jump around to get all of the ping pong balls out
of the tissue box tied around your waist, Elephant
March, use a tennis ball in pantyhose (your trunk) to
knock over cups, Stack Attack, stacking cups into a
pyramid and then back down into a single stack, Hexstacker, using a chopstick
to pick up and stack 5 hex nuts, Hoop de Loop, ring soda bottles with a hula
hoop, Chocolate Unicorn, stack Oreo cookies on your forehead and Chopstick
Challenge, using chopsticks to move marshmallows from one bowl to another.
Thank you to all of the families, students and staff who made this event so
much fun and definitely a night to remember.
Basketball Banquet
On April 24, we held our basketball banquet to celebrate our
incredible basketball program, recognize our talented players and
thank our dedicated coaches, Mr. Obieke, Mr. Jones and Mr. Parris,
and athletic director, Mrs. Morreall. Families, players and staff
enjoyed pizza and wings while they watched a slideshow of pictures
and videos from the very exciting and successful girls’ and boys’
seasons. Mrs. Morreall got things started with some inspiring and
encouraging words for our student athletes; then the coaches had a chance to share their thoughts
and speak directly to their players before handing out certificates, team pictures and awards.
Jay’niyah Rosario-Jones was recognized for her coachability, skill, and improvement throughout
the season as well as being a true team player, earning her the MIP award. Coach’s choice award
went to Demario Barber for his positive attitude, willingness to support other players and effort to
improve his game. And the MVP awards went
to Jahonni Frost and Manny Kelly for their
exceptional leadership, both on and off the
court, athleticism, and willingness to step up
when the team needed them, everything a
coach hopes for when they look for a team
leader. Congratulations to everyone for a great
basketball year.
Volunteer Appreciation
National Volunteer Appreciation week is a great time to recognize and
appreciate all of the amazing volunteers we have at UCCS, many of whom
have volunteered with us for many years and have made a huge difference
in the lives of countless students. Ms. Bertucci and Ms. Creighton work with
teachers to identify needs in their classrooms and do their best to match
them with the interests of our volunteers. Our students get so excited when
they see their volunteers open the door to their classrooms, knowing they
will get some extra love and attention, as well as help with their work. We
asked students to help make a short video thanking volunteers for all that they do, and although
we know the impact our volunteers have, it was incredibly touching to hear our students tell them
in their own words..
We invited all of our volunteers to a luncheon
on April 24 where they could enjoy some
yummy food with a special student hostess or
host, meet some of our other volunteers, watch
the thank you video, and receive a small token
of our appreciation for all that they do. We love
all of our volunteers and hope they know how
much we appreciate them!
*You can see the video on our Facebook page
March Students of the Month
Trustworthiness Kindergarten: Jarelz Sanchez and Samoya Davis
First Grade: Trinity Rogers and Jordynn Rodgers
Second Grade: Jaeda Arroyo and Bryce Weaver
Third Grade: Malachi Maher and Zavionne Lowry
Fourth Grade: Jay’Vion Trammell and Sadie Weldon
Fifth Grade: Isaiah Collins and Ja’Marion Jones
Sixth Grade: Orlando Torres, Tani’Jah Watson-Hill and Tamaia Walker
Seventh Grade: Nyela Leonard, Jaela Moore Wimes and Tyler Robinson
Eighth Grade: Deavon Barley-Wright, Brianna Santiago, Jalen Hill
April Students of the Month
Citizenship Kindergarten: Ja’Vier Johnson & Toni Cole
First Grade: Sofia Rizvanovic & London Windom
Second Grade: Dewayne Rutledge & Jah’Sani Smith
Third Grade: Jay’Viion Fluitt & Shawndell Pitts
Fourth Grade: Promyse McInnis & Aidalynn Hidalgo
Fifth Grade: Ahnasti Tate & Heavynne Jefferson
Sixth Grade: Talia Hooks, Tani’Jah Watson-Hill & Ariyanna Watkins-Nelson
Seventh Grade: Shamell Smith, Jermaine Gibbs, Mattias Shaw
Eighth Grade: Jah’niyah Rosario-Jones, Bryah Harrell, & Rahmeir Westbrooks
Honor Roll Students for Third Quarter
Third Grade: Tsion Assefa, Jeremiah June, Jah ’kahi Love, Malachi Maher, Aiyanna
Massey, Chantz Adams, Sterling Alexander, Skylar Bashnick, Jhelani Blake, Mya
Gonzalez, Azarie Madden-Jackson, Jamell
Montgomery, Nassier Nichols, Shawndell Pitts,
Manuel Quinones, Isabella Ramirez, Damari Swift,
Johnathen Watkins-Nelson
Fourth Grade: Brandon Fagan, Ethan Nolan,
Jesiah Troutman, Collin Vilaysak, Talynn Blanding,
Yamiliz Colon, SaHarr Curry, Yardean Henry,
Ahmarie Singletary, Sadie Weldon
Fifth Grade: Dwayne Greer, Sheta Mekonnen
Sixth Grade: Sophia Bashnick, Wayne June, Isaiah Maher, India Tisdale, Orlando
Torres, Miracle Williams-Blanding, Kam’ron Banks,
Christian Beason, Quanayzia Carter, Leannah
Cummings, Arthur Love Jr., Jaylyn Melton, Aminah
Reaves, Maraesia Tillman, Alannah Brooks, Janai
McNair, Jeremiah Morales-Garcia, Javier Ortiz,
Tamaia Walker
Seventh Grade: Styhles McKenzie-Baker, Liat
Mekonnen, Kailani Prince, Adrian Santiago, Talliah
Santiago, Shamell Smith, Savion Meeks, Francisco
Torres Otero, Arianna Scott
Eighth Grade: Demario Barber, Jahonni Frost, Cassius Jones, Joelle Boland, Cobe
Jones, Harmuni McInnis, Brianna Santiago, Quintasya Clayton, Jalen Hill, Kanye Snow-
Dixon, Rahmeir Westbrooks
Health News
The Health Office would like to wish EVERYONE a SAFE, FUN, ACTIVE Spring!! Get outdoors, spend time together, have fun, and stay safe!
Remember to wear that sunblock, bug repellent, and/or those helmets when needed! Parents, please remember to get your child's’ yearly physicals completed, and ensure that their immunizations are up-to-date.
The Smile Mobile will be here on June 16th and 19th. Applications are available in the front office. As always, please call the nurses’s office with any questions or concerns. We are here to help!
Counselor Corner
As the cold and snow finally begin to thaw, it’s fun to plan activities for kids and their families to enjoy both indoors and out. Our spring bucket list for kids has some ideas to get started!
1.) Visit a maple sugar shack
2.) Jump in puddles
3.) Plant a spring flower
4.) Join a neighborhood trash cleanup
5.) Hunt for daffodils
6.) Blow and catch bubbles
7.) Make art with sidewalk chalk
8.) Spring clean the outdoor toys
9.) Paint a Birdhouse
10.) Visit the baby farm animals
11.) Play ball in the park
12.) Start Tomato Seeds
13.) Chase butterflies
14.) Go for a nature walk
15.) Spot a rainbow
16.) Dance in the rain
17.) Feed the ducks
18.) Fly a kite
19.) Paint outdoors
20.) Go for a bike ride
Ideas retrieved from https://seasidesundays.com/toddlers-spring-bucket-list/
PTA Updates
Thank you to everyone who joined us to paint flower pots at our April meeting. We had a great time. We hope the sun will
come out soon and that we will see some May flowers after all of our April showers. As always, please let us know if you
have any ideas or suggestions for the PTA. Kisha Stubbs, PTA president can be reached at uccspta2018@ gmail.com.