Dear Fellow Parents & Guardians:
Well … here we are again. When we signed off at the end of December, we hoped 2022 would get off to a smoother start. If this pandemic has taught us nothing else, it’s shown us that the world can turn upside down quickly.
But as we’ve also seen before, things can turn right side up quickly as well.
Our school may not be firing on all cylinders, but it’s open and our students are learning. Our kids’ friends may not all be immediately accessible, but they are still there for them. While we may be feeling under the weather, figuratively, if not literally, the science suggests we can look forward to better days ahead. And so, while the New Year feels much like the last, it’s not.
Most of us are now vaccinated. We know more about defeating this virus and its psychological effects than we did a year ago. And as a school community, we are in a much better place this year than we were at this time last year. Because despite our temporarily depleted ranks, we are back in school!
Until our staff is at full strength and our families are all healthy, the PA will continue to be a voice of optimism and reassurance. Not because of us, but because of you. For over a year and a half, you have shown us what a resilient parent community we represent. We know there are reasonable anxieties and concerns, and we appreciate the way you’re dealing with them: asking questions, sharing information and, for the most part, operating with the understanding that everyone is doing the best that they can. And we will get to the other side of this … again. Until then, let’s look forward!
If you didn’t already get an opportunity to see the critically acclaimed documentary Try Harder — about five gifted students at a predominantly Asian population San Francisco high school negotiating the challenges of the college admissions process — it’s now available on digital. We highly recommend it for your next family movie night. Watch now.
Please join us for our next virtual PA meeting at 7:00pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2022. The topic will be What You Should Know About College Admissions. Adam Ingersoll of Compass Education will present the latest information about college admissions in a rapidly changing environment. Finally, we wanted to share with you our message to staff and an image (see both below) from the PA-funded Teacher Appreciation breakfast before the holiday break. Hang tough!
Hang Tough!
Jerome Kramer & Cliff Stanton
PA Co-Presidents,
president@bxsciencepa.org
Join us again on Sunday, January 16th at the Community Garden
on the Promenade of Riverside Park (enter at W91st and Riverside Drive)
