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School Leadership Team Updates




March 2014 SLT Meeting Highlights
  • Students were treated to a musical performance courtesy of the NYPD Jazz Band.  This special assembly was brought to our school courtesy of the NYPD.  Teachers and students alike all had a blast!
  • FDNY firefighters visited PS 166 to teach kids about Fire Safety.  Children were given workbooks to bring home, and were encouraged to develop a Fire Safety plan for their families.  We are hoping to have the team visit a PA Meeting to share information with parents too!
  • The science fair is on display through Parent Teacher Conferences. 
  • Come support the Scholastic Book Fair either in person or online - purchases help support our school.
  • Our school has had a record number of applications for the Dual Language (Spanish/English) and regular kindergarten classes.
  • Title 1 Funds will be used to help pay for the cost of school agendas for each child.  Agendas have important information about our school, and help to keep the children organized and accountable for their work.
  • We collected 5,843 Box Tops during the last round of counting - the top classes in each grade will be given a period of extra recess as a reward.

April 2013 SLT Meeting Highlights



  • Little Kids Rock provided acoustic guitars, drums, curriculum and a sound system for Ms. Iannacone through grant funding.  Children will learn keyboarding as well as how to play the guitar.
  • Gilgamesh Theater Group performed African Dances at an open assembly.  Families are invited to a second performance at IS 126 5/9/13 @ 2:30 pm
  • Standardized Testing starts in April.  K-2 students will be with their teachers or with a substitute in their classrooms.  There will no longer be an array of students in the auditorium.
  • Reso-A Councilmember Grants written to update technology in the school, including SmartBoards in every classroom and new computers.
  • School Wellness Council is planning a Sports Night to include activities by the Phys Ed teachers, the LIC YMCA, and a silent auction hosted by the PA.
  • Field Day for the upperclassmen will take place 5/14 - 5/16 at Astoria Park.
  • Multicultural Shows will be performed on 5/21 and 5/22
  • Cool Culture Cards have not been fully distributed to the school.
  • School Survey is due April 12th.  About 30% of parents have returned their surveys already.

  • March 2013 SLT Meeting Highlights

    • Curriculum: Go Math was approved, ELA program is still under selection
    • Reso-A Councilmember Grants: Last year's grant will be utilized to place rubberized flooring on the outdoor play space
    • School Website: Up and running, will include links to parent information re: Garden, etc.
    • Wellness Council: Grant funding was allocated to funding the Tai Chi Program (50 CD players, CDs), PE Department (scooters, visual aids to teach health topics), Garden (large tool shed, garden supplies).
    • Garden: Classrooms will start planting.  Grow to Learn Grant was approved, which will enable the school to receive lumber, compost, soil, and other materials.
    • Box Tops: Collected 8150 tops this year.  Classes with the highest participation will have a celebration.
    • Stop-n-Shop: $80 in proceeds for the year
    February SLT Meeting Highlights

    • Studio in a School: PS166 kindergarten classrooms will be visited by 2 artists in residence by the Studio in a School program for 12 sessions this spring. http://www.studioinaschool.org/
    • Don't Box Us In: A program designed to expose children to the world of cameras and film visited classrooms at PS 166 - work from the children will be displayed at Starbucks. http://regoparkgreenalliance.org/dont_box_us_in_initiative
    • Folk Music Artist Performances: On Fridays, children are enticed to sing and dance with a sing-a-long artist/guitarist in the auditorium.
    • Our school is now staffed by two security guards
    December SLT Meeting Highlights

    • Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Principal Geller announced that PS166 would participate in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a program initiated during the Bill Clinton’s administration that involves a 2 minute music event to be broadcast schoolwide.  All people in the building, including staff, teachers, parents, and students, would dance for 2 minutes using the dance move of the week.  Ms Geller viewed this program at another school and loved how fun and simple it was, so she signed PS166 up.  No costs are involved. Will do for month of December and see what feedback is. http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx
    • Cool Culture Cards –All pre-K and kindergarten kids will receive.  Starts in January.  Forms to go home in December.  Good for 1 year. School will pay for half (School Fund) and PA will pay for other half.  http://www.coolculture.org/programs/cool-culture-family-pass
    • School Wellness Council: PS 166 was given a grant to start a school wellness council by the Department of Education.  The school reps are Mr. Forman and Mr. Shannon.  http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/cdp/pan_council.shtml

    October SLT Meeting Highlights
    • Busing continues to be an issue for some families.  Principal Geller has been in regular contact with the Office of Pupil Transportation, and is committed to working hard to resolve parent concerns.  Parent members agreed to collect anecdotes via e-mail about existing grievances from parents to share with the administration.  Unresolved problems will be addressed with the Office of Pupil Transportation.
    • School Progress Report: PS 166 was given a Grade "A" with noticeable improvement in all categories!
    • The next meeting of the Community District Education Council 30 will be on 10/18 @ 6:30 pm at PS 166.  Mrs. Geller will be officially introduced to our community as our new principal.
    • Enrollment is at an all time high.  Kindergarten and 3rd grade are most heavily enrolled.  No classes are over the "limit" of 25 students for Kindergarten or 32 students for Grades 1-5.
    • SLT members are in support of developing a school wellness committee - to be successful, involvement from faculty members, parents, and ancillary school services will be necessary.
    • Every class has gym with one of the two full time gym teachers, as well as a session of recess each week.  PS 166 is interested in obtaining training with the Move to Improve Program to integrate movement into daily classroom activities.
    • Disaster Preparedness: Unannounced "evacuation" and "lock down" drills will be practiced while the weather is good.

    June SLT Meeting Highlights
    • The G&T program has expanded to include 2 kindergarten, 2 first grade, 1 second grade and 1 third grade class.
    • Graduation is right around the corner - students will be receiving caps and gowns, and the 5th grade dance will take place in the cafeteria.
    • The 5th grade trip to see the Mets was rerouted to the big screen in the auditorium due to inclement weather.
    • A parent handbook for PS 166 is in the works, with information about schedules, dress code (white shirts, blue bottoms), etc.
    • Many ideas were shared about the first day of school, including suggestions to stagger the first day's start time for kindergarteners, and to create grade based entries to the building.
    • The school garden is rolling along - tires and paint were contributed, parents have been cleaning and weeding - planting day is coming up.

    May SLT Meeting Highlights
    • Congrats to our new principal, Jessica Geller!
    • PS 166 is one of 30 schools to be selected to showcase parent and community involvement in the school - lessons learned will be highlighted in "best practices" to be shared throughout the NYC DOE
    • School Gardening Project is being kicked off with ideas to expand and improve on the current green space surrounding the school.  Please contact us if you are interested in participating!
    • PS 166 will be participating in the Fuel Up To Play 60 Program to improve physical fitness and nutrition for our students and families.  Stay tuned for ways to get involved!
    • The SLT will explore having a Kindergarten Open House for incoming students, and ways to make the first day of school even friendlier for students and their families.  Let us know if you have any suggestions.

    April SLT Meeting Highlights

      • Council Member VanBramer assisted with upgrading the computer lab and bringing it up to date with new desktops and a "classroom" of laptops to be "borrowed" by different classrooms. The school also had a grant to help fund this.
      • Parents Association is having a plant sale May 10/11th
      • Scholastic Book Fair went well - they sold about $8000 at the fair, and earned $4000 of scholastic bucks to spend on books - this means that every class received 4-6 new books
      • 86 parents attended the science fair
      • Multicultural Show is planned for 5/14 with a parent performance on 5/15
      • The Gallery Walk of artwork throughout the school will likely be 5/15-5/16
      • "Go Math" program is the math curriculum
      • Parent volunteers are WELCOMED by the PA in any capacity folks are willing to help out, during the day and after school hours

       


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