P.S. 242- The Young Diplomats Magnet Academy

Dear YDMA families,

I hope this message finds you healthy and well. We are heading into the home stretch of the school year, and we’re looking to finish strong while balancing hard work with celebrating our successes. The changes this year have been challenging, but the students have shown their resilience and have lifted us up throughout the year. Their positivity and excitement for learning brightens our days, and we’re grateful we’re able to spend the time together.  

Although this year's experience was unique, we are asking to hear from you in the form of our annual survey through the link that was recently emailed to families by Ms. Celeste. The survey results are used as a form of data to help us improve various aspects of the YDMA community. If you haven’t yet had a chance to take the survey, we ask that you take a moment to complete it by Friday, June 11th. 

As the break gets closer, I want to remind you about the importance of children reading over the summer. Unfortunately, their reading level will drop, if they stop reading over the summer break. This is commonly known as the “summer slide”. It will take them a few months to regain the skills and knowledge. Therefore, please have them read and talk about the book in between their summer activities. 

This year, we will be hosting a Summer Rising program in collaboration with Catholic Charities at our building. The program is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am and end at 5:30 pm with breakfast from 8:00am - 8:30am and lunch from 12:00pm -1:00pm. The morning session will consist of an enrichment component that will introduce students to the content in their first unit next fall. Thereafter, students will have lunch and Catholic Charities will provide recreational activities. Together we are planning a productive and fun-filled program for our students! We strongly encourage our families to register their child, since it will not only support with academics, but also help students who may have been fully remote and hybrid with transition back to the building in the fall.

Registration for our Summer Rising program will take place on Wednesday, June 2nd and Friday June 4th, if you wish to apply in person with the after school personnel, or you can follow these steps:  

1. Visit the City’s Summer Rising website(Open external link). 
2. Create an account on the NYC.gov website (Open external link) . 
3. Search for your school’s program using discoverDYCD's search tool(Open external link). 
4. Make sure the Summer Rising box is checked. 
5. Find where your school’s program is located this summer by entering your school’s name or DBN (03M242), your address, or zip code in the appropriate search fields. 
6. You can view search results in a list or on a map. To view on a map, click the “Use map location” box. 
7. Select your school’s program. Click expand to see more information about the program, such as grade level requirements and supported languages. Note: Not all schools are able to stay in their home building this summer. Be sure to look at the program’s address before applying. 

To apply, click “Add to list.” 

Below are some important dates that should be marked in your calendar for this month: 

• June 2nd- P.S. 242 Town Hall with Mrs. D
• June 3rd- No School Chancellor's Day  
• June 8th- No School- Clerical Day  
• June 21st- 5th Grade Exhibition 1-2 PM  
• June 23rd- Pre-K Moving up Ceremony 8:30 AM & Kindergarten Graduation 9AM  
• June 24th- 5th Grade Graduation 10:00AM  
• June 25th- Last Day of School  

Lastly, I’d like to express my profound gratitude to our students, families, and staff for taking a seemingly insurmountable task and making it seem effortless. While there have been bumps along the way, we have learned that there is no mountain too high for us to climb. What has most impressed me are the ways in which we communicated with each other, asking the right questions, being patient for the answers, and problem solving together. This was a year like no other, but we made it! All the best to our fifth-grade students and families that are on their way to Middle School! 

Have a great summer everyone!