Sunday, September 30, 2018

The Fashionable Times Blog Principal's Message 9.30.18


Greetings Fashion Families from your Principal Daryl Blank.

This Monday marks the first ‘First Monday’ where students will start school later and be dismissed from school early so that our staff can meet in teacher teams for professional development.  Students who begin school 1st period will start at 8:30 am.  Students who begin school 2nd period will start at 9:09 am.  Students who finish school after 8th period will be dismissed at 1:43 pm.  Students who finish school after 9th period will be dismissed at 2:22 pm.  All classes during the day will be shortened.  There will be no First Monday in November.  In December’s First Monday, we will have students involved in activities of their interest instead of shortened classes.

This Monday, October 1, HSFI families are invited to join our Assistant Principal of Family Engagement Danielle Silva for coffee, bagels and muffins from 9:00 am -10:00 am in room 127.  This is another opportunity for HSFI families to share their ideas and express what is on their minds.

It was nice to see HSFI families at our first Parents Association meeting of the school year this past Wednesday.  I want to thank our new Parents Association Executive Board for stepping up to represent our great families.  Thank you to Ms. Tanisha Tabor, our PA President; Ms. Lashawn Clarke, our PA Vice President; Ms. Katiana Kalouf and Ms. Murielle Gousse, our PA Co-Secretaries; and Mr. Eric Schwartzman; our PA Treasurer.

It is critically important that all HSFI students check their HSFI email & Jupiter Grades everyday.  We will be sending important information out through these tools – if students do not check them, they will miss out on some valuable opportunities and not know what is going on in the school.

Thank you!

Sunday, September 23, 2018

The Fashionable Times Blog Principal's Message 9.23.18


Greetings Fashion Families from your Principal Daryl Blank.

As you are planning your schedule for the week I hope you can attend our first Parents Association meeting of the school year, this Wednesday, September 26 at 6:00 pm in Room 829.  I encourage all Fashion families to attend.  We still have a number of open positions in our Parents Association Executive Board, so if you are interested in getting involved in this organization, you have the opportunity to do so.

The school will also be hosting a Safety Town Hall meeting on Thursday, September 27.  This town hall meeting is designed for parents and community members seeking information on safety protocols utilized by the High School of Fashion Industries.  In addition to these security protocols, a number of other topics will be discussed including our approach to bullying and harassment; available counseling services provided to students, as well as personal safety travelling to and from school.  The event will begin at 6:15 pm in room 829. 

In an effort to prepare our students in the event of a true emergency, we will be conducting a Soft Lockdown drill on Friday, September 28 at 9:05 am.  During this drill, students will be directed to remain quiet and out of sight for the duration of the drill.  Students should expect a classroom with the lights off and a classroom door that is covered.  Most importantly, students are reminded that they should carefully listen to their teacher’s instructions until an all clear alert is announced over our public-address system.  We will notify you before the drill and once it has been successfully concluded. 

This week we are continuing our grade level assemblies for the 11th and 12th grades.  Every month, we will be holding an assembly with each of the four grades in the auditorium.  The focus of the grade level assemblies will be on what the High School of Fashion Industries does to reinforce the belief that ‘Emotions Matter’ at the school and helps our students feel:
CONNECTED & SUPPORTED
CONTENT & BALANCED
ENERGIZED & MOTIVATED
HAPPY & EXCITED
INSPIRED & EMPOWERED
PASSIONATE & PURPOSEFUL
RESPECTED & VALUED
SAFE & COMFORTABLE
These 16 emotions are the core of the HSFI student Social-Emotional Learning charter and what students want to feel at the school.  The assemblies will give students information on what we have in place to help students feel these emotions. 

On Thursday and Friday of this week, we will be holding our annual Club Fair where students can learn about all the extracurricular clubs and activities that take place at HSFI.  I encourage all students to attend – we try to have something for everyone to connect with.

Lunch is now free to all students in all of our NYC public schools, regardless of income eligibility. This means that all meals – both breakfast and lunch – served by the Department of Education’s SchoolFood program will be at no cost to families.  Unfortunately, all students and their families still need to submit lunch applications.  Title I funding in New York City is tied to the information that parents/guardians provide on the yearly lunch application.  The High School of Fashion Industries receives nearly $1 million in Title I funding each year.  You can now fill out your lunch application online at https://www.myschoolapps.com/.  You will need the school’s zip code to start the online application which is 10011.  After putting in the zip code, you click on ‘New York City School.’  If you are not receiving this message by email, this online application link will be posted on the school website in the ‘Fashion News’ section at www.fashionhighschool.net. 

On the first day of classes, each student received a parental consent form allowing for the City of New York to take a picture of your child and use it to create a government ID for them.  These free ID cards are available to all students and staff who live in NYC.  Photographs are taken on private servers that promote anonymity, safeguard privacy, and immigration status.  Once received, these ID cards are accepted as legal proof of identity, as well as provide benefits to the city’s cultural events including museums.  This event begins October 2nd and lasts until October 30th. Since this is only occurring for one month, space is limited. Students will be notified of their appointments via their high school email account. Here is the IDNYC website for more information:  https://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/index.page

It is critically important that all HSFI students check their HSFI email & Jupiter Grades everyday.  9th graders and their families have received their Jupiter Grades login information.  We will be sending important information out through these tools – if students do not check them, they will miss out on some valuable opportunities and not know what is going on in the school.

Thank you!





Sunday, September 16, 2018

The Fashionable Times Blog Principal's Message 9.16.18

Greetings Fashion Families from your Principal Daryl Blank.

Just a quick reminder that there is no school on Wednesday due to a religious holiday.

This week we are beginning something new to HSFI – grade level assemblies.  Every month, we will be holding an assembly with each of the four grades in the auditorium.  The focus of the grade level assemblies will be on what the High School of Fashion Industries does to reinforce the belief that ‘Emotions Matter’ at the school and helps our students feel:
CONNECTED & SUPPORTED
CONTENT & BALANCED
ENERGIZED & MOTIVATED
HAPPY & EXCITED
INSPIRED & EMPOWERED
PASSIONATE & PURPOSEFUL
RESPECTED & VALUED
SAFE & COMFORTABLE

These 16 emotions are the core of the HSFI student Social-Emotional Learning charter and what students want to feel at the school.  The assemblies will give students information on what we have in place to help students feel these emotions. 

ASSEMBLY TOPIC
PRESENTER(S)
EMOTIONS OF HSFI STUDENT SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING CHARTER ADDRESSED
HSFI Social Emotional Learning Charter Introduction
D Blank
ALL
Social Emotional Learning Activity
SEL Coordinators - K Molloy, C Stambouly, L Parisse, A Padron
ALL
Student Government / Club & Activities /
Introduction to SOARR Value System
S Rau & Student Govt representatives
Connected  Supported Content  Balanced  Energized  Motivated  Happy Excited
Inspired  Empowered  Respected  Valued
Sports at HSFI
O Sostre
Connected  Energized  Motivated  Happy Excited
SING Musical Performance Intro
C Vega & student performers
Connected  Energized  Motivated  Inspired  Empowered
HSFI Dress Code presentation
M Bailey & Feminist club members
Respected  Valued  Comfortable
Sustainability
K Batts
Passionate  Purposeful
Safety & Security / Discipline Process /
Emergency Readiness
G Raschilla
Content  Content  Respected  Valued  Safe  Comfortable
Race & Equity Plan / Partnership with Harvard University and the RIDES Project
A Rodrigues
Connected  Supported  Content  Inspired  Empowered  Respected  Valued
Safe  Comfortable
College Access
K McKeon, Youth Leaders &
Bridge Coaches
Supported  Passionate  Purposeful
Career & Technical Education (CTE) Opportunities
K Boulamaali, K Collins, V Vaccaro & S Balmir
Connected  Energized  Motivated  Happy Excited  Inspired  Empowered
Passionate  Purposeful
Falcon Health Center services
Falcon Health Center staff
Supported  Safe  Comfortable
Teen Choice services
Teen Choice staff
Supported  Safe  Comfortable
Long Island University ‘Academic Coaches’
LIU (Brooklyn) staff
Supported  Safe  Comfortable
Health Corps services
C Starks
Supported  Safe  Comfortable
Assembly Wrap-up
D Blank
ALL

Lunch is now free to all students in all of our NYC public schools, regardless of income eligibility. This means that all meals – both breakfast and lunch – served by the Department of Education’s SchoolFood program will be at no cost to families.  This is a wonderful thing!  Unfortunately, all students and their families still need to submit lunch applications.  Title I funding in New York City is tied to the information that parents/guardians provide on the yearly lunch application.  The High School of Fashion Industries receives nearly $1 million in Title I funding each year.  You can now fill out your lunch application online at https://www.myschoolapps.com/You will need the school’s zip code to start the online application which is 10011.  After putting in the zip code, you click on ‘New York City School.’  If you are not receiving this message by email, this online application link will be posted on the school website in the ‘Fashion News’ section at www.fashionhighschool.net

All Fashion students are now able to sign up for IDNYC – a free government-issued photo identification card that is available to all City residents age 10 and older.  Permission slips and applications for The IDNYC card are now available from Mr. Raschilla in room 143. Photos are taken during the school day by appointment.  This event is only occurring during the month of October; please have your child reserve their space immediately.
Here is the IDNYC website for more information:  https://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/index.page

It is critically important that all HSFI students check their HSFI email & Jupiter Grades everyday.  9th graders and their families have received their Jupiter Grades login information.  We will be sending important information out through these tools – if students do not check them, they will miss out on some valuable opportunities and not know what is going on in the school.

Thank you!



Tuesday, September 11, 2018

The Fashionable Times Blog Principal's Message 9.11.18



Greetings Fashion Families from your Principal Daryl Blank.  I hope your children had a nice long weekend and are ready to get back to work.

This week we will be running program changes for students who need them on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Please keep in mind that these program changes will only be approved for changes that are needed for meeting graduation requirements.  Changes will not be approved based on teacher preferences.  Returning students will not be allowed to drop honors and Advanced Placement classes that they signed up for last year – we programmed and budgeted for this school year based off these requests.  Students will not be allowed to drop classes that help them meet college and career readiness requirements including their major along with math and science classes.  The expectation is that all HSFI students complete their major program and take 4 years of math and science classes if these classes can fit into their program.  All students must be scheduled for 5 and a half hours of instruction everyday.

Lunch is now free to all students in all of our NYC public schools, regardless of income eligibility. This means that all meals – both breakfast and lunch – served by the Department of Education’s SchoolFood program will be at no cost to families.  This is a wonderful thing!  Unfortunately, all students and their families still need to submit lunch applications.  Title I funding in New York City is tied to the information that parents/guardians provide on the yearly lunch application.  The High School of Fashion Industries receives nearly $1 million in Title I funding each year.  You can now fill out your lunch application online at https://www.myschoolapps.com/.  You will need the school’s zip code to start the online application which is 10011.  After putting in the zip code, you click on ‘New York City School.’  If you are not receiving this message by email, this online application link will be posted on the school website in the ‘Fashion News’ section at www.fashionhighschool.net. 

All Fashion students and staff are now able to sign up for IDNYC – a free government-issued photo identification card that is available to all City residents age 10 and older.  Permission slips and applications for The IDNYC card are now available from Mr. Raschilla in room 143. Photos are taken during the school day by appointment.  This event is only occurring during the month of October; please your child should reserve their space immediately.
Here is the IDNYC website for more information:  https://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/index.page

I had some updates about the safety of the water in our school building.  All operational sources of water, including for drinking or preparing food, were tested for lead. Currently only 7 out of 342 fixtures remain elevated.  All referenced elevated drinking water or food preparation fixtures were immediately taken out of service. I can assure you that all water fountains and sinks that are in service are safe.  Remediation work will continue until all fixtures reach acceptable levels and applicable fixtures can be returned to service.  The custodial staff will also continue to flush water systems on Monday mornings before school starts, in order to eliminate water that has been stagnant in pipes over the weekend and to ensure water is available for students and staff.  Test results are posted on the DOE website at https://www.schools.nyc.gov/schools/M600. Click on “Data and Reports” and look for the “Facilities” heading.

It is critically important that all HSFI students check their HSFI email & Jupiter Grades everyday.  9th graders and their families have received their Jupiter Grades login information.  We will be sending important information out through these tools – if students do not check them, they will miss out on some valuable opportunities and not know what is going on in the school.

Thank you!