April 3rd, 2020

Welcome!

Dear PS101 Parents and Families,

Happy Spring! Thanks to you, our school community is thriving – even given the challenges of this pandemic. We have brought back a robust and successful after school program, hosted several in-person community-building events, completed a successful Holiday Giving campaign and have planned an event packed Spring!

We are also very proud of our Diversity Initiative which we kicked off this past fall. Please see our Diversity Statement below. As part of the Diversity Initiative, we are excited to launch our Flavors of 101 book, which will collect recipes, stories and art celebrating all the different cultures here at PS101. If you are interested in submitting a recipe or story to the book, there is still time.

As always, if you are interested in getting more involved in the PA executive board or volunteering to help out at an event please reach out to Tamara or Lisa. We are looking forward to a healthy and safe remainder of the school year. Thank you to all of the PS101 families for making our community such a special one – we are so glad to be able to support it.

Best,
Lisa Suzuki & Tamara Siddiqi
[email protected]
PS 101 PA Co-Presidents

Diversity Statement

At PS101 we celebrate and are grateful for our rich diversity. This diversity includes race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, religion, socioeconomic status, language and abilities. Diversity of all types benefits everyone in our community and is especially essential to a productive and inclusive educational environment.

In our school community, we strive for a culture where the administration, faculty, staff, students and parents/families share in the collective responsibility to address, prevent and eliminate actions, decisions and outcomes that result from, and perpetuate, racism and bias.

COVID Resources

Supporting Children’s Emotional Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Child Trends

How to Talk to Your Child about the Coronavirus, Kids Health

Multilingual Coronavirus Resources, Colorín Colorado

Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource, National Association of School Psychologists

Promoting Positive Mental Health for Teens Feeling Isolated, Erika’s Lighthouse

Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), National Child Traumatic Stress Network

Racism and Activism

CNN/Sesame Street town hall to learn about racism. (best for lower grades)

embracerace.org lists 31 children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance.

Bounceback parenting blog has a curated list of resources including books, activities, and media for talking to kids of all ages about race and racism.

The Brown Bookshelf promotes awareness of children’s books (picture, middle grade, and young adult) written and illustrated by people of color.

New York Family recently compiled a list called Resources and Books to Help Parents Educate Themselves on Racism.

A free e-book from Teaching Tolerance, Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice has stories and conversation starters for ages 2-5, 6-12, and 13 and up.

A New Jersey teacher started this viral list of children's books about race on the popular website ScaryMommy.com.

Articles or blog posts

Commonsense Media’s “Explaining the News to Our Kids” breaks down how to have difficult conversations with kids of different ages.

The American Academy of Pediatrics shares advice for families on how to talk to their children about racism.

embracerace.org has articles, topic pages, and webinars to help parents talk about race with young children (best for elementary).

The Anti-Defamation League has tips for a table talk about racism for kids 11 and older (best for middle or high school).

Healthychildren.org offers advice for parents talking to children about racial bias.

“Talking to Kids About George Floyd” from Child Mind Institute takes a commonsense approach to a difficult topic.

The American Psychological Association initiative on Defining Race and Ethnic Socialization has parent resources on having discussions about race with children of all ages.