Click here to read New Dawn Charter High School's proposals for usage of ESSER funds and the proposed 2021-2022 New Dawn Charter High School Safety Plan. Please submit all comments to pubcomment@ndchsbrooklyn.org.
Congratulations Seniors!
Good morning,
I hope you all had a good weekend.
Here we are at the end of marking period 3, time is flying. All work needs to be submitted by Thursday 12:30 pm so that grades can be entered. If you are missing assignments, you can e-mail your teachers to get, you have a few days left and can still get this done!
As of today, the June Regents are scheduled to be given with no waivers given. If you are enrolled in a Regents class, you are expected to take them. If this information changes, I will let you know.
As a reminder that all students will be dismissed every Wednesday after 6th period. This is big change in our daily schedule but an important one. This will begin on Beginning on Wednesday April 13th, all students will be dismissed at the close of 6th period at 2:12pm and follow the same way each Wednesday going forward. This will happen with A, B and C week students regardless of if it is their academic or internship week. 6th period classes on Wednesdays will rotate on a weekly basis so that students continue to see their afternoon teachers on a regular basis on these days. This change will allow us vital time for professional development, administrative duties and curriculum/lesson planning which we are hoping will allow us to elevate instruction in every class throughout the week. We hope that this will also allow additional time for our students to complete classwork and internship research papers at home on their own time. We are excited for this change and believe it will be a positive change for both our students and staff going forward.
Thank you to all of you that have been calling the school ahead of time to let us know of students needing to leave early for appointments, this really does help us.
Congratulations to our students that have continued to complete their internship papers, we know this is a great deal of work and effort and it is paying off. Well done!
Dates to be mindful of:
4/14- End of marking period 3
4/15-4/22-Spring Break- School is closed
4/25-School back in session
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out- Have a GREAT week.
Donna Lobato
Principal
Good Afternoon,
I hope you all had a good weekend.
Ramadan Mubarak to those that observe Ramadan.
We are nearing the end of marking period 3, on the 14th. Do make up and hand in any missing assignments soon so that they can be put in Jupiter. As of today, Regents are being given and have not been canceled. If you are scheduled for a Regents class, you will need to take it to fulfill that requirement with waivers not being given. If this information changes, I will let you know.
We are excited that student internships are opening up and students are now starting to be placed. To all new students and families, before COVID students were placed in various business and community settings where they learn and practice valuable workplace skills such as communication, time management, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, etc... Students in the program will be expected to be placed as we gain more sites. Instead of coming to the school, they will report to their site, this will be approximately 20 hours per week. You will be notified once a placement has opened until then you are to report to school during internship week. This is only for A/B week students. If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. Wigfall, Ms. Aska, or me.
Ms. Felder will continue to send out information regarding senior activities so be on the watch for this, some of this is time-sensitive. The senior committee has a lot of fun activities planned.
If you need to leave early please notify the school in the morning so that we are aware and security is properly informed. We do appreciate your help in keeping appointments for times when school is not in session.
· Dates to be mindful of:
· MP3 Ends on 4/14
· 4/15-First day of spring break-school reopens on 4/25
Have a great week,
Donna Lobato
Principal
Please see attached flyer for details!
Mr. Obregon and Dr. DiGuadio
Ms. B, Mr. Flory, and Mr. Suel
Ms. Eddy, Mr. Thappa, and Ms. H.
The Curriculum for English Language Arts is adapted from the Next Generation Standards. In a traditional school system, students who have accrued six credits in ELA would potentially be a “junior”, so our course progression is predicated on the belief that students who have accrued six credits of English Language Arts instruction would be eligible to take the New York State English Language Arts Regents examination.
New Dawn has designed and implemented curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Standards. Students take a placement exam using the Scantron series to determine where in our course offerings to begin their instruction. Currently, students work to pass the New York State Algebra I Regents examination.
Students take a full run of Global History and Geography, United States History and Government, Civics, and Economics. The curriculum is aligned to the New York City Department of Education’s Scope and Sequence and aligned to the New York State Social Studies Framework.
Students take courses in Living Environment, Chemistry, and other offerings that include electives like Forensics, Anatomy, and Horticulture. Depending on a student’s transcript history, they may take the Living Environment Regents, or the Chemistry Regents per New York State Regents Diploma requirements.
Advisories were developed to prepare students for college, career, and civic readiness. These advisories focus on mindfulness and the New Dawn 3 R’s of responsibility, respect, and resilience.
New Dawn currently offers Spanish and American Sign Language.
Students use several trade texts for support and have access to varied mediums for expression, ranging from computer-based methods to charcoal and paint.
New Dawn students are expected to meet NYC graduation standards in health and physical education. Students who do not have all necessary credits in these subject areas will earn them with us. Our health curriculum includes discussion of sexual education, substance abuse, and mental illness awareness. Students learn and practice the rules and strategy of both team and individual sports, as well as styles of dance, in physical education classes.
The internship program is available to students who have earned more than 10 credits towards their diploma. Internships are offered throughout the local community and beyond. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for the 2020-2021 school year New Dawn has been been offering online CTE courses through the Edgenuity platform in lieu of community internships; students who work at a part time job (20 hours per week) outside of school have also been able to make arrangements to get internship credit for their employment. The placements are aligned to our Advisory courses, in that career development and training in “soft skills” is built through learning about role models (Leadership and Character Development) and practicing those soft skills through the interview process (Road Trip Nation). Students develop a portfolio of their work throughout the internship experience and attend sessions to prepare them for placement which is aligned to CDOS and other content area courses. The scope of the work is reviewed annually with the Director of School Partnerships and College Readiness, the Special Education Coordinator, Advisory Teachers, Internship Coordinators, and the Principal.
The Internship Seminar promotes critical thinking and research skills through reflecting on the internship placement. Students develop research questions and develop an extensive research paper that includes a reflection of their placement and its relationship to the question they developed, along with annotating research articles from outside sources to support their assertions. Students attend community meetings through their internship placement, interview their supervisor and also attend one special event, if offered, to further connect the importance of the internship to their advisory and content area question. The seminar prepares students for college-level writing and further develops the “soft skills” required in the workplace. These projects are reviewed and supported on a semester basis by the Special Education Coordinator, supporting content teachers, the Director of School Partnerships and College Readiness, and the Principal.
At New Dawn, the Workshop Model of Instruction is used. The workshop model is consistent with a balanced approach described above and builds capacity in teachers to differentiate instruction, as well as impacting classroom management. The workshop model facilitates differentiated and individualized instruction and is highly effective with at-risk populations as well as with academically gifted students. To achieve the highest levels of thinking, teachers must forgo standing in front of a classroom and lecturing, moving towards using more authentic involvement of students. By changing the paradigm of teacher-centered instruction to a model whereby students proactively participate in the instruction through discussion and collaboration, the workshop model allows students to engage more fully in higher-order skills. It also allows students who are struggling with proficiency to participate with at- and above-grade level peers.
Teachers work with each group as needed in guided instruction addressing their needs. Key to the success of the workshop model is the use of assessment. Teachers use data to inform both individual conferencing with students as well as in the groupings of students for guided instruction. This process promotes individualized instruction, as well as the development of positive classroom culture. When students have issues, or come to class late, or have trouble understanding the content, the workshop model allows students to discreetly address these issues with their teacher without being in the spotlight of their peers. The workshop model allows teachers and students to work together to get at the core of their deficiencies and overcome negative connotations they may harbor with not understanding the content. Using the workshop model aids in breaking down these walls and gives students the opportunity to build their skills and trust their instructors in getting them to mastery level.
