Welcome to 2023-2024 School Year from Ms. Ponella

Dear Louis Armstrong Middle School (LAMS) Parents and Guardians:

Welcome to school year 2023 - 2024. I am genuinely excited to welcome back all our students and staff as we enter the new school year together. Careful planning thought and consideration has gone into welcoming our students for the new school year on September 7, 2023. I would encourage all new families to view our website. It is a wonderful medium to keep up to date with our latest news and happenings. The website is: www.armstrong227com

Our first day of school will be on Thursday, September 7, 2023. Our official school hours are 8:20AM – 2:40PM. Doors will open for students to arrive at 7:50AM to have breakfast.

I’d like to share some of the procedures and protocols for this school year. I have echoed the information and guidelines taken from the NYC DOE website (www.schools.nyc.gov) below. In addition, please see the attached handouts.

Breakfast and Lunch

All students are entitled to free breakfast and lunch. Breakfast will be available from 7:500AM – 8:15AM. Below is our lunch schedule:

Time: Grade and/or House

Period 3 – 10:00AM – 10:45AM Grade 5, Grade 6 House 2

Period 4 – 10:45AM – 11:30AM House 3

Period 5 – 11:30AM – 12:15PM House 4

Period 6 – 12:15PM– 1:00PM House 2

Arrival

If your child takes the yellow bus, please be patient the first couple of weeks until the drivers become familiar with the route. During this time, it is common for your child to arrive late at their bus stop going home. If you have any questions on bussing, please contact our Parent Coordinator, Deborah Cataldo. You will need to let Ms. Cataldo know your child’s Full Name, ID number and bus assignment.

Bus Riders

Please make sure your child writes down their PM bus route number in their notebook and if it is Grandpa, Logan, and/or private bus line. All Routes Numbers will be clearly displayed in the first window of the school bus. The AM Routes begin with the number “30” and the PM Routes begin with “90”. To retrieve your child’s bus information, log into your NYC Student Account (NYCSA) at: mystudent.nyc.

Arrival Procedures:

All Door-to-Door students will arrive at the front of the building and be escorted into the building.

Arrival Entrance Indicator of Entrance Upon entry into the building, students will be directed to the below and escorted to their homeroom.

Grade 5 Flagpole – Exit 7 Orange Balloons Gymnasium

Grade 6 Flagpole – Exit 7 Orange Balloons Schoolyard

Grade 7 Flagpole – Exit 7 Orange Balloons Schoolyard

Grade 8 Exits 5/6 Blue Balloons Cafeteria

Doors will be closed at 8:15AM. If your child arrives after 8:15AM, they must enter through the

main entrance.

Dismissal Procedures:

Dismissal is a staggered procedure. This ensures all students exit quickly and safely from the school building. Grade 5 exits first, followed by house 4, then house 3, then house 2.

Grandpa Bus Riders will report to the gym at dismissal where they will be dismissed from the flagpole exit.

Due to safety concerns, if you are dropping off or picking up your child, please DO NOT stand on the perimeter of the building. If you are picking up your child at dismissal, please arrange for a meeting place with your child. DO NOT park on Junction Blvd. or 32nd Ave in front of the school building. These areas are reserved for our school buses.

Exit for Walkers & LOGAN Bus Rider Indicator of Exit

Grade 5 Main Entrance – Exit 3, Junction Blvd. Building Mural

Grade 6 Exit 5/6 on Junction Blvd. Blue Balloons

Grade 7 House 4 – Exit 7 Houses 2 & 3 – main entrance Green Balloons Building Mural

Grade 8 Exit 1 on 93rd and 32nd Side of building

All Grandpa

Bus Riders Flagpole - Exit 7 Orange Balloons

Door To Door

Busing Main Entrance Exit 2 -Junction Blvd. and 32nd. Escorted to buses

Cell Phone Policy: Complete policy is on our website under Parent Handbook www.armstrong227q.com

Students may have personal, laptops, iPads, cell phones and other similar computing devices. The decision to possess such devices is best left to each family to determine. However, they will be required to turn them in to their homeroom teacher at 8:20AM. All teachers will collect and lock up cellphones until afternoon homeroom, at which time, they will be returned to students. Please note, personal laptops are not needed at school. The school provides laptops/iPads.

Please be aware that school staff cannot investigate the loss, theft or damage of such devices, so parents/guardians are asked to use good judgment to make this decision.

School Uniforms: Complete policy is on our website at www.armstrong227q.com

The purpose of the school uniform is to provide a means of identification for safety and belonging to Louis Armstrong Middle School, foster school unity and pride, improve student performance, foster self-esteem, eliminate label competition, simplify dressing, and minimize costs to parents. All students must wear their uniform each day of school.

The official uniform consists of:

· Plain collared polo style shirt (main color: grey, with additional options of white or navy blue – no graphics on shirts, other than LAMS logo)

· Plain navy pants or sweats. No leggings are permitted. Students may wear navy skirts to knees, or navy shorts to knees. Official school gym uniform may be worn.

· Plain Hoodies/Sweatshirt – Grey only. No graphics other than LAMS logo.

If you wish to order LAMS logo uniforms or gym uniforms, you may go to: www.smoothusa.com/IS227.

Miscellaneous:

Metro cards

Will be distributed to all eligible students during the first week of school.

Supplies

Many families ask about supply lists. Supply lists are located on our school website at: www.armstrong227q.com.

Lockers

All locks must be purchased from the school.

Grade 5 – Last week in September

Grade 6 – First week in October

Grade 7 – Second week in October

Grade 8 – Third week in October

Communication

Here at Louis Armstrong, we are environmentally green strong. We use minimal paper correspondences. The main forms of communication are:

· GAMA (Grades, Attendance, Messaging Application) – Your Child’s Grades, Attendance, Messages, and texts from the school, and other Applications at www.schoolsaccount.nyc

o To receive the above, you MUST have a NYCSA Account. If you do not have a NYCSA account, please reach out to our Parent Coordinator, Deborah Cataldo at: DVigorit[email protected] o School Website: www.armstrong227q.com

o Coffee With the Cabinet

o Weekly messages for news, updates, and reminders

All families will be receiving a school calendar that includes our school polices, contact numbers and other school information. When they are delivered, your child will be given one to bring home. It is also posted on our website at: www.armstrong227q.com

Here at LAMS, we partner with our parents. We need you. Please know your voice and concerns are important to us. The first Wednesday of each month, we host a virtual Coffee with the Cabinet at 9:00AM, where you will learn about important news, happenings, updates, visit random classrooms, and have Q & A time. For families unable to attend, each month we post a link to ask your questions, read and answered during the meeting and posted on our website afterwards. If you would like to reach out to a teacher, administrator, parent coordinator please check our website at: www.armstrong227com Please know that the teachers, staff, and administration of Louis Armstrong are committed to providing strong rigorous and relevant learning experiences for your child that are safe and supports their social and emotional growth. We adhere to our school mission that states: Our mission is to bring together a group of culturally diverse students to help them grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. We nurture the whole child. We genuinely believe what happens here at LAMS will change the world. Our students ARE World Changers!

Sincerely,

Helen Ponella

Principal

Enclosed/Attached:

https://www.armstrong227q.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2050341&type=d&pREC_ID=2118809

Emergency Contact Blue Card

GRP Summary Sheet

Flyer for Lunch Form

Uniform Order Form

Bus Transportation Form

Acronyms