Dear Families of the MS 104 Community,

I hope this message finds everyone doing well. February 1st marks the official midway point of the school year. It is amazing how quickly the months go by! The midyear point of a school year provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the work that we have been doing thus and consider the adjustments that may be needed to ensure we have a successful second half of the school year. Over the last few weeks, I have been working with teams made up of teachers, counselors, and administrators to develop systems that allow us to better monitor student attendance and academic progress sources of data to ensure all students are successful. 

We also continue our work to constantly monitor the climate and environment of our school, and identify areas that need greater attention. In a world that seems to feel as divided as ever in so many ways, it is crucial that schools work to combat divisiveness and all forms of prejudice. None of this is lost on me as I realize the importance of building a strong sense of community that fosters respect, care, and compassion. This work is as important as any work that we do with our students. I thank our families for their continued support and partnership in reinforcing this message.

I look forward to a strong and successful second half of the school year. 

Please see some announcements and updates below.  

Sincerely,

Rocco Macri, Principal

Parent Teacher Conferences Start Tonight!

As previously communicated, Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on the following dates:

Thursday, February 1st- 4:30-7:30 PM

Friday, February 2nd- 12:20 PM to 2:40 PM (*this is a HALF DAY for students. All students will be dismissed at 11:30 AM)

Please be reminded that Parent Teacher Conferences will be VIRTUAL as per the DOE labor agreement with the UFT.

Families are able to register for parent teacher conferences and locate the Zoom links for their conferences HERE. On the left hand side of the form, you will find the links needed to register for the conferences. House teams are listed as one link, while math and elective teachers have individual links. Please be sure that you are aware of your child's teachers names when registering and searching for the appropriate Zoom links.On the right hand side, you will find the Zoom links for the conferences to be used at the time of your meetings. 

If you have been unable to sign up for a time slot, please reach out directly to your child’s teacher/s to arrange for an alternate time to meet. Teachers have 55 minutes per week available for parent engagement time.

Valentine's Day Dance Next Friday, February 9th

For the first time since the pandemic hit, we will be holding a Valentine’s Day Dance for our students! The dance is scheduled for next Friday, February 9th from 4:00 PM- 6:00 PM. Thanks to the generosity of our families, the PTA will be funding the event which allows all students to attend for FREE. We will have a DJ spinning tunes, a photo booth, selfie station, and snack tables available for our students to enjoy.

As always, events like these require planning and preparation. The PTA will be sending out a volunteer link and I encourage parents to consider providing some support to ensure that we have a fun and safe event.

A special thanks to Mike Jones and the Manhattan Youth team for collaborating with the PTA and I on this.

We look forward to a fun event!

STEM Grading Policy for the Remainder of the Year

All students taking the STEM course will be graded on a PASS/FAIL scale for the remainder of the school year. I thank you for your patience as I worked to address this with our team.