Latest News
The Studio MS54 Online Auction is OPEN!
The online portion of the Studio MS54 Auction is now open through March 7, with the live auction event taking place on March 3, 2012.
To enter the site, go to: onlineauction.ms54.org
Proceeds go to MS 54 Booker T. Washington in order to support our children, PTA programs, funding for vital part-time staff positions, afterschool sports & clubs, school supplies, teacher grants and much more.
Auction items range from popular local restaurants to local theatre tickets, health club memberships, tutoring classes and much more. Check back often, as exciting new items will be added in the coming days.
Tell your friends, family, community – let the bidding begin!
The Online Auction is a fun and easy way for everyone to help support our great school!.
LIVE & SILENT AUCTION: MARCH 3
AUCTION TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!
Purchase advance auction tickets online here.
For all Auction Solicitation and Donation forms and a list of donors, go to the Auction Page.
DONATIONS: We Will Survive! with the support of our Booker T. Families – but we need your help and we need it now so we can all Celebrate on March 3! MS 54 is counting on each family to Hustle out and bring in at least one donation!
We have some great offerings – a celebrity chef meal and wine tasting by Pour to serve in your home; a Booker T. dinner party prepared by Dr. Elster and Anne Pejovich with faculty to wait on you and your guests; a beautiful yacht to set sail on a Manhattan sunset cruise; an overnight stay at the Mercer Hotel; a house for a week in southern Maine and much more...including the most spectacular menu, starting with a full hour of passed hors d'oeuvres donated by Creative Concepts Catering!
We have less than 2 weeks to go! If you can make a last minute donation please contact the Auction Co-Chairs.
VOLUNTEERS: Can you spare an hour now? Or on March 3? Contact Robin Klueber to volunteer your time and talents!
Parent Teacher Conferences - February 28
Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Tuesday, February 28 from 12:30-2:30pm and 5:30-8:00pm. Students will be dismissed at 11:30am that day.
Bake Sale and School Store on February 28: Volunteers and donations of sweet and savory treats are needed for the Bake Sale held during conferences. Contact Michele Abrash if you can help. The PTA School Store will also be open with a new item: a "Land's End" style canvas bag. Bring your checkbook or cash.
PTA Nominating Committee Volunteers Needed
Chancellor's Regulations require MS 54 to have a small committee of parents to help identify new PTA Board candidates, prepare candidate bios and run the elections at the June PTA meeting. It is not a lot of work, but a very important responsibility. The committee of 2-3 volunteers will work with the Parent Coordinator and current PTA and must not be seeking a board seat themselves. If you're interested, please contact our Parent Coordinator, Anne Pejovich
PTA Executive Board Members Needed for 2012-2013
Volunteers are needed to serve on the 2012-2013 PTA Executive Board. Serving on the board is a great way to get involved at the school, and you will have the opportunity to work closely with the school's administration. Think about teaming up with another MS 54 parent to serve together! Open positions on the 2012-2013 PTA Executive Board are: co-Presidents (2 open), VPs of Fundraising (2 open), Assistant Treasurer, co-Recording Secretary. If you have any questions about any of the positions, please contact Anne Pejovich.
New York International Children's Film Festival
The New York International Children's Film Festival's winter schedule is jam-packed with great films!
Better yet, NYICFF will donate $4 to MS 54 for every ticket purchased through the link below:
- Go to www.gkids.com
- Click on "Tickets"
- IMPORTANT: Scroll down to select MS 54 Booker T Washington Middle from the "Select My School" menu.
- Purchase tickets -- and earn $2 per ticket for MS 54!
NYICFF is also offering discounted rates on Winter Break Workshops
For more information and to register, follow the instructions below:
- Go to www.gkids.com/workshop
- Choose a workshop and click the “register” button
- On the Ticketweb purchase page, apply access code SCH2012 (Important!)
- Proceed to checkout and finalize purchase
Register by February 3rd and receive $50 off!
STUDY ISLAND
This year MS 54 has begun using an online reading and math program called Study Island.
The program has several dimensions. There is test preparation, class work review and remediation. Some teachers will be assigning specific students review topics to work on either at home or at school during Early Academy. Other teachers will be using it in class.
For more information on this program, click here.
Free ESL Afterschool class at MS 54
Our Afterschool program is now offering a free ESL Class to students and family members of Booker T. The class will focus on learning to read and speak English. It will meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-5:00pm in Room 326. Contact Anne Pejovich to register or with any questions.
THE FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE NEEDS YOUR HELP
Exciting events await and there is a lot to be planned! The PTA can use whatever time you can spare to help us raise much-needed funds for MS 54.
Come join a committee to work on our MS 54 Student-Teacher Basketball Tournament (early April), MS 54 Spring Walk-A-Thon (May 6), student-led clean up of Morningside Park (April), and MS 54 'Ride for Your Hide' at Soul Cycle (early April).
If you have questions, or can give some help to the ongoing Grants Committee, please e-mail: Liz Bruder-Frydman.
For more information, go to the Fundraising page.
Free Flu Shots Now Available for Students
The William F. Ryan Community Health Center's School Based Health Program is offering the seasonal influenza (flu) vaccine - at no cost - to any student who is registered with the School Based Health Center. The vaccine is recommended for all people over 6 months old. If you are interested in having your child receive the flu vaccine at school, please download and complete the screening & consent form, and have your child return it to his or her teacher now. Additional details and Ryan Center contact information are here.
High School Application Process and Information
8th GRADE FAMILIES: As of Tuesday February 7th, the Department of Education has indicated that the high school matches will not be distributed until late February (after the mid-winter break). We will keep you posted as we hear more information. The official letters will be mailed home as soon as we receive them.
For information regarding promotional requirments, graduation and senior activities and upcoming important dates, Please read Dr. Elster's letter.
Yearbook: Students or parents wishing to contribute pictures for the yearbook should email them to ms54yearbook@gmail.com. Parents who wish to purchase ads in honor of their children should return the order form which was recently sent home with students.
Letters to 7th and 8th Grade Parents: Download the letter from Dr. Elster to 7th Grade parents discussing important criteria reviewed by high schools in the application process.
School Lunch Information and Fee Schedule
All students need a lunch pass to get lunch from the cafeteria. Lunch passes are on sale during homeroom.
Students who would like to purchase food or milk from the cafeteria have several options outlined in the School Lunch Information Form
For SchoolFood lunch and other menus and information, click here.
Parent Contact Information
All current MS 54 Parents are requested to complete the online contact form so that we have an electronic version of your contact information. Please do this NOW, so that our information is as complete as possible! Click here to access the form.
Sign Up for Email Notifications & News from the Department of Education
You can get DOE school updates delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for one of their email newsletters at schools.nyc.gov/Subscribe.
Get greaking News (snow alerts and other important notifications) sent to you as soon as they're issued, or sign up for weekly or monthly newsletters with the latest DOE news, programs, and events.
You can also sign up to receive important infomation by text, Twitter, email and more at www.nyc.gov/notifynyc
Connect with District 3
Want to be connected to what is going on in District 3? Join the District 3 Yahoo Group for updates and important info. To subscribe to this group, send a blank email to district3parents-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Community Education Council (CEC): You can also stay current on education issues by attending District 3 CEC meetings. This body of elected parent representatives holds public monthly meetings at rotating D3 locations. Their calendar, duties and news are online at www.cec3.org. The CEC actively encourages community participation on its Multilingual, Middle School and Overcrowding/Charter committees.
District 3 DOE web page: csd3.nycdoe.org.
View your child's 2011 ELA and Math test results via ARIS parent link or NYC DOE website
On August 8, the NY State Dept. of Education officially released the 2011 NYS math and ELA test results. You can review District and Borough test results by all students, English Language Learners, special education status, ethnicity and gender by going to: http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/data/TestResults/ELAandMathTestResults