Paw Prints – December 6

School Site Council (SSC): Our next SSC meeting will be on Tuesday, December 8, 5:30 – 7:00 P.M. All families are welcome to attend. Please register here. 

Curley School Parent Council Fundraiser: The year 2020 has been a challenging year for all of us, and especially for many of our Curley families. The Curley School Parent Council (SPC) is working with Principal Grassa to raise $25,000 by the end of 2020 to support our families. Our goal is to ensure that all Curley students and their families have the resources they need to thrive. You can support  by donating online using PayPal.me/CurleyK8 or mail a check payable to Friends of the Curley to 40 Pershing Road JP, MA 02130 Attn: Curley SPC. The money will be raised to buy families Stop & Shop gift cards that they can use towards food. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to Friends of the Curley K-8 in support of this important initiative. If your company has a matching gifts program, our tax ID is 46-3480428.

Curley Gift Drive: Please consider taking part in this year’s Gift Drive to support our students and families. Use this link to sign up to purchase a gift.  You may deliver or have gifts shipped to Waverly Kidd, 13 Rosa St, Hyde Park MA 02136 by Friday 12/18.  Gifts may also be hand-delivered to the Curley Upper School on 12/17 between 8am and 3pm. (Please DO NOT have gifts delivered to the Curley.) Gifts may be wrapped or unwrapped, but please include the description and gift number with each item. Looking for other ways to help?  You can also donate to help offset the cost of gifts. Send your donation via Venmo to @Jessica-Burque and include “gift drive donation” for the reason.

Parent Book Club:  The Curley community is starting its first parent book club. We will be reading We Want to do More Than Just Survive. If you would like to join us on Wednesdays at 7-8PM starting January 6, 2021 please register here.  

End of Semester Surveys: On December 1, emails went out to families to complete an end of semester survey to collect feedback. If you need help accessing the survey please contact Manny Hernandez. 

Social Dance for Social Change: Camille A. Brown, an Emerson Collective Fellow, and modern dancer/choreographer has created a “Social Dance for Social Change” online school. It will offer three free programs: Every Body Move program, which promotes social change by serving BIPOC youth and communities; an online Social Dance for Social Distance series, offering lectures and courses in movement and dance; and a mentorship program for students and emerging artists.  As part of that initiative, the program is offering free online Zoom classes in December on Mondays and Wednesdays.  For more information click here.

Staples Gift Cards: BPS partnered with Staples in order to get students $50 gift cards that they could use towards buying school supplies. The deadline has been extended! Families have until December 31, 2020 to use their gift cards. Please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if you are yet to receive your student’s gift card. Let’s get shopping! For more information and staples locations please visit BPS+Staples page.

School Choice Info Night: The School Guidance Department would like to extend an invitation to all parents/guardians of 8th grade students to our Virtual School Choice Info Night. At these sessions, members of the guidance team will share valuable information about the process, timeline, and factors influencing high school choice. We strongly encourage parent/guardian attendance. Contact Sugeily Santos or Kayla Prewitt with any questions. 

 Join us on zoom: Wednesday, December 16th, 9-10 A.M, 

or Wednesday December 16th  6-7 P.M.

Meal Distribution Update: As we approach the holiday season, the Food and Nutrition Services Department will be making a slight change in our meal distribution days at all Super Sites. During the week of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years; there will be No Service on Thursdays. Meals will be distributed on Monday and Tuesday only.

Meal distribution will be on the dates listed below from 10:00am – 6:00pm

• Christmas week: December 21 & 22 
• New Years week: December 28 & 29

School Preview: It’s that time of the year again when we begin to plan our school preview days. Our Family Liaison is recruiting parents who would be interested in talking about their experiences at the Curley with the hopes of inspiring some new families to join our community. Current Curley families are welcomed to attend. It’s a great way to get to know more about the school if your child is moving to a new grade level. Please reach out to Manny if you have any questions or would like to get involved. The school preview dates and zoom links are below.

December 18, 2020 9-10am

January 20, 2021  9-10am

Internet Supports: Comcast Internet Essentials –We have free vouchers for families who do not have access to stable internet:

• Households are eligible for this program if they:
  • Qualify for programs like the National School Lunch Program, housing assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, and others.
  • Live in an area where Comcast Internet service is available
  • Have not had Comcast Internet in the last 90 days
  • Households who owe money to Comcast may still qualify if approved by 12/31/20
• Be sure to call the correct phone number (see below). DO NOT call the regular service line. 
  • English: 1-855-846-8376 or InternetEssentials.com 
  •  Spanish: 1-855-765-6995 or es.InternetEssentials.com 
• The language of the application can be changed. There is a link to change the language on the top right side of the application.
• Amnesty for bad debt/past debt forgiveness is in place through 12/31.
• Families should elect to get the self-install kit first. If they ask for a technician to come and install, they will be charged an installation fee. However, if they call after they’ve received the self-install kit, they will send a technician at no charge.
• If you feel as if, you may qualify for a free voucher please reach out to Manny Hernandez for further assistance.

Updated Contact Information: It is imperative that the school has your correct and up to date contact information. 

• The BPS Family Guide including media release can be found at https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/familyguide
• The parent & student agreement form including media can be filled out online at BPS Emergency Contact. You can also update your emergency contact information here.  Again correct contact information will be essential during this time. 

Who should I contact: If you have questions and you are not sure who to contact please use the chart below to support you.

Classroom related questions	Classroom teachers: (Contact information can be found at www.curleyk8.com)
K-2 Support	Dawn Durant ddurant2@bostonpublicschools.org or Cristina Silva csilva4@bostonpublicschools.org
Grades 3-5 Support	David Diaz ddiaz@bostonpublicschools.org or Justina Levey jlevey@bostonpublicschools.org
Grades 6-8 Support	Adrian Ward-Jackson Awardjackson@bostonpublicschools.org  or Sugeily Santos ssantos2@bostonpublicschools.org
Health Questions	Keilah Santana ksantana@bostonpublicschools.orgApril Pumphret apumphret@bostonpublicschools.org
Curley K-8 School Parent Council & Family Liaison	Manny Hernandez ehernandez@bostonpublicschools.org spc@curleyk8.com
Technology Related Questions	BPS Helpline 617-635-8873 – Please have families call the BPS Family helpline Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm for questions about technology and other resources available to BPS families.Help is available in Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Urgent Priority Questions	Principal  Katie Grassa kgrassa@bostonpublicschools.org

Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.