March 22, 2020
Dear Bronx Science Families,
We are in uncharted territory here Bronx Science. But we will get through this together.
With much still unknown, we will continue here, in our weekly eblasts, to focus on what we know:
1) The school was overwhelmed with emails of thanks and encouragement from our parent community to our school custodians. Thank you all for taking a moment to be kind in this time of crisis.
2) This situation changes on a daily, even hourly, basis — the school needs to be able to reach you. If you are concerned that the school does not have your correct email address, please reach out to Cindy Golan, the Bronx Science Parent Coordinator here.
3) While school will be occurring remotely, our administration, teachers and guidance counselors will still be checking their emails regularly.
4) Teachers will be contacting students directly regarding how remote learning will happen for their classrooms. Need to contact a teacher to get more information? You can find all teachers’ email addresses here.
5) The Bronx High School of Science Alumni Foundation is working closely with the school leaders to ensure that all students in need of a computer or WiFi are provided with the equipment they need. In addition to the laptops at school which are being reconfigured for students to use at home, the Alumni Foundation is purchasing equipment for the students who need it. Please email Phoebe Cooper, Andrew Nasser and Cindy Golan if your child did not see the email asking about their technology needs and your child really needs something to help them work remotely.
6) The DOE decided to postpose this week’s Parent Teacher Conferences. Please reach out to individual teachers with questions or concerns about your student. You can find the teachers’ email addresses here.
7) The Guidance Department remains committed to serving our families’ needs within the Bronx Science community. They are available for appointments via phone, email or other online platforms. Counselors will be checking email regularly and responding to any concerns that you may have. You can find all Guidance Department counselors’ emails and the homerooms they cover here. In addition to the guidance counselors, our school social worker, Ms. Heckman, and our SAPIS Counselor, Ms. Rivera-Berger, will be available daily to provide social-emotional support. Mr. Nasser, the AP of Guidance is also available to support and questions. Questions about college decisions can be sent to your child’s guidance counselor or the College Office Co-Directors, Ellen Fisher and Darby McHugh.
8) The timeline for course selection remains the same. Talos will open for submissions on March 20, 2020 and will close on April 3, 2020. Counselors will be reviewing, and approving, your courses and they will email you if they have any concerns.
9) The College Fair, scheduled for April 29th, has been cancelled.
10) For any other questions about how the school will be handling the remote learning or other concerns, please contact our school leaders and parent coordinator, Dr. Donahue, Ms. Cooper,Mr. Nasser and Ms. Golan. We recognize that you may have questions that neither the school nor the PA can answer, and we know that is frustrating. Let us all strive to be our best selves in this difficult time — calm but vigilant, kind and patient. Together, we will get through this Bronx Science!
Stay safe everyone!
Rebecca Barreras and Lisa Brody
PA Co-Presidents, president@bxsciencepa.org
FROM THE DOE ON TECHNOLOGY
“We want to ensure our students continue to learn and receive the key services they need to support remote learning.
If you would like to request a device for a NYC student in your family, please fill out the following online form coronavirus.schools.nyc/RemoteLearningDevices or call (718) 935-5100 (press 5).
We will use the contact information you provide to get in touch with you to discuss when and where you can pick up a device. Priority will be given to students most in need, and all devices are granted on a temporary basis and will later need to be returned. There is a limit of one device per student.
Schools will continue to lend existing technology to students, plus Apple and T-Mobile are working with us to deliver up to 300,000 internet-connected devices in the coming weeks.”
OTHER RESOURCES TO HELP!
This is a stressful time and situation for all of us and especially our children. The loss of our regular routines, be it work or school, and the uncertainty of what will happen next can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions and anxiety. For more information about managing anxiety and stress during this time, click here. For suggestions on how to help teens manage anxiety about the coronavirus, click here.
To receive text alerts from NYC about the coronavirus text the word “covid” to 692-692.
Notify NYC is New York City’s emergency public communications program. You can enroll to receive emails or texts or phone calls in various languages to get updates on the latest emergency announcements.
The NYC Department of Health page on coronavirus can be found here.
The public library is closed but has a wide array of digital offerings, including e-books, research databases and access to many online resources. Click here for the library resources you can access from home.
Even though museums, theaters and concert halls are closed, you can enjoy many cultural experiences online. Click here for a list of virtual cultural experiences.
If you know of resources you think would be useful to other families, please email them to us here with the subject line “resources” and we will try to include them in future eblasts.
