Wellness Corner

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There is a new group beginning through NYU Langone called:  Social Anxiety Group for Transgender and Gender Expansive Teens. Details can be found here.  Contact for more information:  Samantha Busa, PsyD by email or phone 646-754-5071.

The Emotion Regulation Lab at Hunter college is recruiting for two different opportunities. The following information was shared by 12th grade ICE student who is interning in the lab this spring!  The first opportunity is connected to teens and technology. The flyer can be found here. The second opportunity is about teenage anxiety and attention. The flyer can be found here. If you'd like more information on either, you can reach out to the lab coordinator:
Elizabeth Davis (212) 650-3878. Website: (erlab.hunter.edu) is down, but they hope to have it repaired soon.

Both studies include compensation.

ICE PTA Meeting

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR A VERY SPECIAL PTA MEETING
ICE PAC is hosting the Feb 12 PTA Meeting (6 PM, RM 518). If you attended the January PTA meeting, you heard Pete mention that ICE is part of a network of schools known as the "Consortium." We are pleased to announce that Ann Cook, one of the founders of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, will be our special guest at this meeting. Ann is whip smart, a font of knowledge, and very engaging; you'll definitely want to hear her speak and ask her questions. In addition, we will have a couple of ICE teachers on hand and maybe even a student or two to talk about how teaching and learning in a Consortium school helps to cultivate the individual's interest and passion and is a natural way to institute "culturally responsive education." All parents welcome, but middle school parents especially encouraged to attend.

Foods of the World Community Lunch

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The next Community Lunch will be Monday, February 3rd. Once again, the Community Service Club and I.C.E. parents will come together to organize a bountiful and nutritious lunch for as many I.C.E. students as possible. Please help us by sending in your favorite International dish. We want to take advantage of our multi-cultural community and teach our kids that the world is bursting with flavor! The last Community Lunch was extremely popular. We served close to 300 kids! If we are going to repeat this successfully, we will need you to send in food. Please click HERE to sign up. As always, we will provide a salad bar as well as hot dishes. If you have any suggestions or would like to volunteer please email.

Running & College Scholarship Opportunity for 11th Grade Girls

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Young women are encouraged to apply for NYRR Run for the Future if they live in New York City; are in 11th grade at a public, publicly funded, or parochial high school in New York City during the 2019–2020 school year OR are working toward their New York State High School Equivalency Diploma; plan on attending an accredited two- or four-year college or university in fall 2021; are under 20 years of age; and have had little to no experience participating in running or physical activities.

NYRR Run for the Future offers a spring training season and a summer training season. Applicants may apply to both seasons but, if accepted, will only be selected to participate in one season.

ICE PAC (Parent Action/Education Advocacy Committee

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Mark your calendars for these upcoming education policy events!

DIANE RAVITCH BOOK TOUR. Tuesday January 21, Park Slope. Carol Burris, the director of the Network for Public Education, will be conversing with noted education historian Ravitch about her latest, Slaying Goliath: the Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools. Come learn and see for yourself why a historian has over 100,000 followers onTwitter! Details here.

OPT OUT FORUM. Thursday January 30, Harlem. State Senator Robert Jackson, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, and candidate for City Council Johanna Garcia are hosting this event, along with grassroots parent and educator groups (which include some ICE parents). We speak openly about test refusal rights at ICE, but that is not the case in many, many schools. Let your networks know about this event, open to parents and students with Spanish interpretation available. Details here.

WHAT SHOULD NY DO ABOUT REGENTS EXAMS? Wednesday Feb 12, Bronx. (Go to the AM session bc our PTA meeting conflicts with the PM session.) At this past Wednesday's PTA meeting, a question was asked about whether there is pushback against the Regents exams (like there is for state 3rd-8th grade tests). ICE is one of a handful of schools statewide that has a waiver from (most) of these exams, but for other students they are unavoidable graduation requirements. HOWEVER, the Board of Regents (the state's governing body for all things education) is doing a "review" of the Regents exams which includes a statewide tour to hear what people think of these tests. The NYC event is on Feb 12 in the Bronx. Details are in this link. You might want to encourage families of children in non-Consortium high schools to attend this meeting and speak up. Among other things, exit exams like the Regents correlate with higher rates of incarceration. Although they have been around for a long time in NY state, they are an anomaly; our state is one of only about 12 that requires them. 

Last but not least: ICE PAC is hosting the Feb 12 PTA Meeting. We will have at least one special guest: Ann Cook of the New York Performance Standards Consortium. Ann is whip smart, a font of knowledge, and very engaging. Don't miss it! More details (including possible other guests) to come. If you would like to help plan this meeting or participate in ICE PAC generally, please get in touch with 10th grade parent Kemala Karmen. 

Two ICE MS Students Qualify to Run in the Prestigious NYRR Millrose Games

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Congratulations to Fiona Waters and Stella Addinsten, ICE middle schoolers on ICE's Rising New York Road Runners team on qualifying earlier in January to run in the NYRR Millrose Games. Held at the armory in Washington Heights, the Millrose Games in the country's oldest and most prestigious indoor track event. Fiona and Stella were among 15 girls selected to run in the 800M event that will be held on February 8th. You can read more about the event here.

ICE 2020 Spring Fling Needs Your Donations!

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This week you received a solicitation letter email asking for donations for the Spring Fling. We hope that you will give some thought to ways you could help us with this year's auction, the biggest fundraiser of our school. Whether you are a jewelry or clothing designer who can donate something fabulous; work in the theater or music industry and can offer us house seats; are an architect, interior designer, gardener, estate planner, or a closet organizer who can offer professional services, we need you!  Are you a loyal customer at a restaurant, cafe, camp, after school program, gym, yoga studio, pilates, boot camp? Ask for a gift certificate! It takes everyone thinking about who they can ask that makes this event so successful each year. If you have an idea and want to ask us some questions, feel free to email us.

ICE Thrift Shop

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~ Save the Date! ~

ICE Thrift Shop Friday January 29th - 2:30-5pm

In the Small Gym

Ready to clean up from the holidays? Have clothing that you're not excited about anymore, but someone else might be? Donate it for the ICE Thrift Shop! 

We will be collecting clothing in good condition starting on Friday January 24th and for the rest of the week. 
Directions: Please wash and heat dry all clothing, and drop off bundles firmly plastic wrapped together in Kristen's office. 

ICE students and families are welcome to come shop on Friday afternoon 1/29, each item will be $1! 

Questions: Please email Danya. 

Have extra hangers to donate? We'll take them! 
Have a portable coat rack you'd like to lend us for the day? We'll take that too! Please contact Danya! 

Parent Help Needed for 8th Grade Living Environment

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The 8th grade Living Environment classes are hard at work designing self-sustaining ecosystems and science lesson plans for our partner elementary schools as part of Project Ecobuild! We are looking for some parent help with the following:

1) We will be visiting partner classrooms the week of 1/28. If you would be willing to take a small group of students (+ their ecosystem) to a partner school the week of 1/28, please let me know your day/time availabilities.

2) We need community evaluators for student projects on 1/21 and 1/22. You would be responsible for scoring 3-4 student projects after viewing a 15 minute presentation from each group. Time of presentations is TBD, until Regents-week schedule has been finalized. 

3) We are in search of some resources to obtain critters for our ecosystems, such as salamanders or other small reptiles, and large insects such as ladybugs/crickets/ants. If you know anyone/resources that may be able to provide these for free/cheap, please let us know!

Contact Chelsea for any of the following. The students and I would super appreciate the help!! Thanks in advance for the support. 
 

Save the Date: Spring Fling on May 8th!

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It’s January and one of the biggest fundraisers for our school is coming up on May 8th, and we need your help! We have 4 months to get wonderful auction item donations from all of you! As soon as you have something in mind, please fill out this donation form. 

Here are some examples of previous donations: 

  • A gift certificate from your favorite restaurant

  • Tickets to a broadway show

  • A week at your holiday house

  • Free tutors or lessons

  • Or please be creative!

Also, if you are interested in joining the planning committee, please email us! We have some spots to fill and can always use the help!

If you have any questions, please email us at icespringfling@gmail.com

Thank you so much!

Spring Fling Committee