Dear Families of the MS 104 Community:

I hope this message finds everyone doing well. Yesterday, our nation observed the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King is engrained in our country's history and his efforts to achieve equality for all remain relevant today. While much progress has been made, so much more is possible.

Dr. King was a man of principle and perseverance. He represented hope and inspired change. His impact will never be diminished and his words, actions, and leadership will forever be remembered. I continue to hope that we as a society continue to remember his values and let them inspire us to always strive to do better and be better.

Please some important updates and announcements below.

Sincerely,

Rocco Macri, Principal

Enrollment Update

Over the last two weeks, our school has seen an increase in the enrollment of migrant students. I thank our entire staff for the work they have done to support these new students as they adapt to not only a new school, but a new language, a new place to live, a new culture to learn.

Many of our students have travelled more than a month to arrive here in New York. Many challenges were faced as they made their journey to the United States. Our first step in supporting our new students must be to create the most welcoming environment possible for them, both inside and outside of school. If there is one thing that our school community is good at, it is at taking care of one another and supporting each other.

Our new families are in need of support, and many 104 families have reached out and asked how they can help. With this in mind, an Amazon Wishlist has been created. This list contains the items and supplies most in need, which are winter clothing, backpacks, and toiletries. Any contributions from the wish list would be extremely helpful and support our community members that are in need at this time. We greatly appreciate any donations you can make.

To find the wish list and submit an order, please click here. When checking out, please select "Ms. Fiskio's Gift Registry Address" as the shipping address. We have developed a system here at the school for organizing the materials and distributing them to our students and families.

We are also working on creating a welcome event for our new families. If you are Spanish speaking, can assist with translation, and are interested in supporting this event, please email me at RMacri@schools.nyc.gov.

I thank our entire community in advance for your support and

generosity.

PTA Meeting on Thursday, January 19th

The PTA will be holding its January meeting this Thursday, January 19th at 9:00 AM. You must pre-register to attend this event.

To pre-register for the meeting, please click here.

To submit a question to be addressed by Mr. Macri during the Principal's Report at Thursday's meeting, please click here.

I look forward to seeing some of you on Thursday!

Art Teacher Update

Our art teacher Mr. Tresnan has officially moved on from his position. The administrative team has identified a replacement. We are awaiting the finalization of her application from the DOE to officially announce our new art teacher to the community.

I thank everyone for their patience as I navigate this situation.

Parent Teacher Conferences on February 2nd and 3rd

As a reminder, we will be holding our next round of Parent Teacher conferences on the following dates:

Thursday, February 2nd- 4:30 PM-7:30 PM

Friday, February 3rd- 12:20 PM- 2:30 PM (ALL students have a half day and will be dismissed at 11:30 AM)

As per the DOE labor policy, these conferences will be VIRTUAL. Information on signing up for time slots is forthcoming.