A note from the YCS Community

Dear Families, Over the past few months, we’ve been processing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in our school, the NYC community, the country, and the world. Today, we reach out to you about something else; the recent heartache that has shed light on the long standing inequalities in our country. We are hurting over the senseless and horrific deaths of Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, not to mention the countless others that preceded, which have brought confusion, anger, and sadness to us all.  At times, it can feel like it’s too much to process. As a school, we ground our work in the YCS core values: kindness, honesty, respect and responsibility. This is a time for us to recognize our responsibility to stand-up and speak out against inequity, racism and violence when we see it . It’s …

Update from Ms. Samantha – April 24, 2020

Dear YCS Families, I hope that you enjoyed participating in the “adventures” our teachers shared over the “Spring Break” week. I took a few tours of museums around the world, popped into a few national parks and tried to make sure the music was playing in my house, as often as possible. Week five of remote learning has brought some new practices into our Google Classrooms, as well as continuing on established routines. Our main goal has been and will continue to be to support healthy home environments and stay connected. We understand that you are doing your best to teach your child(ren) when you may not be familiar with pedagogy and how to obtain learning objectives, and this can be extremely challenging. While Remote Learning cannot fully replicate a typical 6-hour day of school, the good news is that …

Update from Ms. Samantha – April 13, 2020

Dear YCS Families, Yesterday morning, Mayor de Blasio announced that remote learning will continue until the end of the school year.  Shortly afterwards, Governor Cuomo indicated that no final decision has been made regarding statewide school closures.  Between these two statements, one thing we can confidently infer is that remote learning will continue into the foreseeable future.  While I am incredibly disappointed about the news  about not returning to our school building, this decision allows us to move forward with our remote learning plans. We will continue our Spring Break activities as planned, starting tomorrow April 13th. During this upcoming week, school staff and administration will be developing plans for sustainable long term remote learning.  Our goal continues to be to provide our students with meaningful instruction that is engaging, relevant and encourages skill development. There are many questions we need to …

Update from Ms. Samantha – April 9, 2020

Dear Families, As we shared Sunday evening, once we were able to receive more information from the Department of Education about plans for April 9-17 we would share that information with you. (Click here for the most recent update from the Chancellor.) We know this information is important to you as many of us prepare to celebrate upcoming holidays. Our intention is to provide choices for students that offer a balance of structure and more creative, interest-based learning. Here are our plans for April 9-17: We will pause our live interactive classes from Thursday, April 9th to Friday, April 10th.  The DOE has expressed a willingness to reconsider Zoom in the future if they can resolve safety and  privacy concerns. Now that we will continue with remote learning after April 20th, it is our hope to continue with the system …

Update from Ms. Samantha – April 6, 2020

Dear YCS Families, Late Friday night, I received several updates from the Chancellor, which included Spring Break and Video Conferencing. Not only did this information come to me after the work week ended, but it included a lot of new information that impacts the daily practices our teachers and support staff have worked so hard to provide to your children/our students.  This news included using an entirely new platform for video conferencing, one that differs from what many schools in our District have been using the past few weeks. This news also included the DOE’s plans regarding Spring Break. Regarding the news about video conferencing.  The DOE received requests to “credential” Zoom.  Based on their review of documented concerns, schools are to stop using Zoom “as soon as possible” . They are permitting us to use Zoom for now, to …

Remote Learning Resources

Hello YCS Community- As the school is closed, we have been communicating any resources through email but also wanted to make them available here. Below you will find some basic instructions with the school plan for these weeks. Please click here for a page dedicated to more instructions and resources while your children continue their learning at home. We look forward to seeing all of you again when we can return to YCS! Remote Learning Plan Attendance Students will be asked a daily question, “Are you here today?”, (or something similar). Students are asked to respond “Yes” or with their name, in the comments below the question. Daily Schedule Suggested Schedules will be provided to help families/students organize their days and work. You DO NOT have to stick to this schedule, as we know that everyone’s home/work from home/school life …

YCS Spring Auction – March 21, 2020

  Join us Saturday, March 21st from 7-11pm for the annual YCS Spring Auction Gala! Not only is this the biggest fundraising event of the year, it’s also the biggest party! Join other members of the YCS community, enjoy food and drink from local restaurants and bid on some fantastic items and experiences. Buy Tickets and other items for the auction on our new YCS online store!  Buy your tickets today!