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Week of December 17, 2023

Last PA Meeting of the Year Tuesday 12/19

at 8:40 AM

It's a busy time of year, but come catch a breather with your Lab MS community! Our last PA meeting of the year is this Tuesday 12/19 at 8:40 AM — Come in person for a candy cane and a chance at winning some Lab Merch in our giveaway — or tune in via Zoom if you need to multitask!

We'll have a preview of what’s happening in January and a look ahead at what else is in store for 2024: Lunar New Year extravaganza, Special Lab Family Night at the Whitney Museum, Picture Day, grade-specific Sports Days, and more!

Also at this last general meeting of the year, we will take some questions from you! Fill out this form and we will try to get to as many questions as we can, time permitting.

See you there! (Zoom link below)

PA General Meeting

Dec 19 8:40 AM

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 978 7583 5567

Passcode: 225865

LIMITED EDITION LAB MS HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS!

Shiny and one-of-a-kind — and now price slashed to $5 each! Go HERE to buy one today — pick it up at the PA meeting Tuesday, or we can send it home with your child before break!

We have special editions for each grade, so whether you're beginning or ending, or middling your time at Lab, you can "hang" with us!

LAST CHANCE FOR END OF YEAR GIVING

Big thanks if you've sent in a donation already... every dollar counts, but unfortunately, we are still only at 29% of our budget (compared to 70% last year!)

And remember you will want to get your donation in before 12/31 to get your tax benefit for 2023! And if you haven't donated yet, there is still time to influence the outcome of which class wins a pizza party in January — we are keeping tabs and it’s a close contest so far! (remember it's the class with the highest percentage participation of donations 11/28-12/31).

As a reminder, this is our one and only major fundraising campaign — we don’t have auctions or other major fundraisers — our Annual Family Giving is it. And this money allows the school to give our kids important programs, supplies, and enrichment opportunities that make Lab MS the extraordinary experience it is! For example, 6th and 7th grade classes enjoyed an amazing day at Chelsea Piers this month courtesy of the PA.

We need to keep the funding coming in so we don’t lose bonding trips, field trips, workshops, math contests, and parent events (we have some great workshop ideas for parents for the spring — but it all depends on $) — our school is counting on us!

Go HERE to donate online or you could send your child in with a check made out to Lab MS PA to Ms. Marilyn in Room 111.

HELPING LAB FAMILIES IN NEED

A group of parents have organized a gift drive for LAB families in need this holiday season. If you'd like to contribute by donating Holiday/Christmas gifts, your generosity is VERY MUCH appreciated.

This is a grassroots effort, not from the PA or School Office, but from LAB families to Lab families. We have a "wish list " from the families here with instructions on how to be part of this.

THANKS TO DANCE VOLUNTEERS

Last Friday's fun Winter Wonderland Dance would not have been such a success without so many parent volunteers who decorated, checked kids in, served pizza, and even found time to dance themselves. Your children may not have appreciated that last one, but we want to say thank you for it all!

Mark your Calendars

12/19: December PA Meeting 8:40 AM (In person and via Zoom)
12/25-1/1: School closed for Winter Recess
1/2: First day of school after winter break
1/15: Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. Day, School closed

Principal Meg's Weekly Message

Dear Lab Middle School Families,

I had the pleasure of helping to chaperone our annual Winter Wonderland Dance Party this past Friday night. All of us who came of age in the '80’s and early '90’s of course remember this rite of passage. The talk all week with friends about what we’d wear, who we hoped would be there…if anyone was going to dance with someone they liked. In the end, we’d show up and stand awkwardly with our friends, bareley making it on the dance floor — come to think of it, did anyone actually dance!

I’m pleased to say that our children are far more evolved (and so is our Parents’ Association) than dances from our time. The only hint of the early 90’s was when the kids danced The Macarena like it was straight out of a time-warp from 30 years ago (I’ll be honest, I felt pretty old in that moment).

As the kids would say, the DJ was fire and he had them dancing nonstop. There was also a photo booth and quieter space to eat, make art, and hang-out with friends. In designing the night, the Parents’ Association wanted to make sure there was something for everyone, that no one would be standing awkwardly in the corner as no one danced. No doubt they were hugely successful.

I want to take a moment to say thank you to the Parents’ Association Executive Board for planning the dance. From the planning and fundraising, to the decorations and set-up, to the food and entertainment — they did so much to make this event happen for our Labbies. I am grateful for their leadership and commitment to our community. Thank you also to all the parent/guardian chaperones who helped ensure the event was safe and fun for the kids.

The parents went through so many boxes of pizza I think they eventually lost count. I also want to thank Manhattan Youth for their support as chaperones — including leading our art-making space and showing some great moves on the dance floor.

Thank you to everyone for making this night so special for our children.

In Kindness,

Principal Meg

Extended Vacations

We understand that some families will be taking an extended vacation (taking off before the last day of school on December 22^nd and/or returning later than January 2^nd). We are supportive of this as we believe family time is important, but we ask that you please notify the school so we can properly code the absence.

If you are going to be absent due to an extended vacation please email both Ms. Thompson at [email protected] AND Ms. Marilyn at [email protected]. This will save Ms. Marilyn time in having to call when your child is absent on these days.

Also, please note that if you are planning to pick up your child(ren) early from school they must be picked up by someone noted on your child(ren)’s emergency contact.

Emergency Contacts — Check and Update

While you are in your child’s NYC Student Account to review the Trimester 1 grades, please take a moment to also check on some other information.

Who is/are the Emergency Contacts listed? Do you have everyone that needs to be listed on the list (as an example, we have been finding that families are not realizing both parents are not listed). Also, check to see if you have an email address listed. Emails sent by the school that are school-wide (i.e. emails about an emergency, school-based reminders beyond Gator Gab, etc) are taken from the information in this system. If you do not have an email address in the system (or an incorrect email address), then you will not receive school-wide emails. Updates of Emergency Contacts and Emails can be done by the guardian when you log into your child’s account. Here is the login for NYC Schools Account.

Winter Trimester Information

All families were sent an updated schedule confirmation on Friday, December 8^th. Please check your spam folders in case you don’t see it in your inbox.

Our winter trimester schedule will run until March 9th, 2024.

If you have not yet registered you can register with these links:

Pre-registration (Required only 1 time per year)

Registration (Required each trimester)

Please note: classes have been known to fill up a couple of minutes into enrollment. HOWEVER, we guarantee to have a spot for your student on every day of the week that you need. It may just not be your student's first or second choice.

Athletic Program

The winter athletic competition season is underway! All lab families can review our live sports schedule linked here.

If you participated in a fall sport we need you to return your jersey. Please send in jerseys washed and folded in a clear plastic bag noting the student’s name and grade. Students can drop off jerseys in Room 111 in our jersey collection bin.

Spectator Policies:

Home games at Lab (Basketball/Table Tennis): students who are not in after school on the day of a game or on a team roster must be accompanied by their own parent or guardian to attend a home game.
Away games at other schools (Basketball/Table Tennis): Each school will have a different spectator policy. We will communicate these policies with families to the best of our ability.

Food Drive with City Harvest

Manhattan Youth at Lab is running a food drive in partnership with City Harvest. The drive will run until Friday, January 12, 2024.

Please help with food to help feed New Yorkers in need!

Please bring in:

Canned fruit
Canned vegetables
Canned proteins (i.e. tuna or beans)
Canned soups
Peanut butter (plastic jars)
Macaroni and cheese (packaged)
Hot and cold cereal (packaged, family-sized)
Juice packs

Collection boxes are in Room 111 and upstairs on the 4^th floor!

Yearbook Photos

Calling all Lab MS families! We are collecting photos of after-school activities for our annual school yearbook project. If you have taken photos at sporting events or other school-wide activities, please submit them by using the link here. You will be directed to create a login for Link by Entourage Yearbooks. From there, please select the blue button to upload your photos.

Our Theater Program is Looking For Cardboard!

We use cardboard to create lots of our set and prop pieces. Please help us to collect large flattened cardboard boxes for our upcoming production of Spamalot. Cardboard can be dropped off in room 123.

DoE and Community Education Information