PS38 Back to School 2026-27

Welcome to the first PS 38 newsletter of the 2026-2027 school year.  There is a lot of really important information here so please read all the way to the end.

• Ms Pascale’s Principal’s Welcome
• School News
• PTA Upcoming Events
• World Explorers After School News
• YMCA After School News
• Community Schools News

I am really excited to get to see both old friends and welcome the new families coming in the door and to have a great school year.  I will see you on Thursday September 10, 2026 at 8AM!

Peace, 

Juan

Ms Pascale’s Principal’s Welcome Letter

Hello PS 38 families!

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year!

I hope you and your children enjoyed a relaxing and joyful summer break.  We are thrilled to open our doors once again and welcome both new and returning students into our school community.   At 38, every school year brings new opportunities to learn, grow, and strengthen our partnership which makes our community so special. 

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who contributed to getting us ready for September.  Thanks to Ms. Renee, our pupil accounting secretary; Ms. Valerie, our assistant principal; Ms. Monica, our enrichment coordinator; and Mr. Juan, our parent coordinator for their dedication and hard work throughout the summer which has put us in a great place to start the school year smoothly and successfully.   If you have not yet received your welcome letter from your new classroom teacher, you will receive it by the end of the day, Tuesday, September 9th, when teachers return to the building. 

Here are some updates for SY 2026-2027:

New teaching staff: 

Please help me welcome our new colleagues to PS 38:

• Michelle Vasquez    (GE)–4th grade ICT

• Briana Wallace        (SE)– 4th grade ICT

• Nicole Whittier        (GE)–2nd grade 

• Veronica Acevedo  (GE)–3K

• Nicole Jean              (GE)– 4th grade

Specialty classes 2026-2027: Your classroom teacher will share your child’s specialty (cluster) classes for the school year during the first couple days of school. 

Here are the specialty classes and teachers: 

• Physical Education– Ms. Vitale and Mr. H

• Music–Ms. Chzaszcz

• Art–Mr. Zeichner

• Dance–Ms. Reynolds

• Science–Ms. Serravalle 

• Library class–Ms. Thayer (1st -5th)  3K-K will have scheduled library visits with the classroom teacher

• Tech Class with Mr. H– (We are ensuring that we align our teaching practices to comply with the new NYCPS AI/Screen time policy for SY 26-27.  More guidance will be shared as AI policies are updated)

School building updates:  As we begin a new school year, I am excited to share and celebrate several important improvements that were completed throughout our building over the summer. These upgrades reflect our ongoing commitment to providing a safe, comfortable, and welcoming learning environment for our students, staff, and families.  One of the most significant accomplishments was the installation of new air conditioning units in classrooms where existing units were no longer functioning. I am pleased to report that  every classroom in our building has a working air conditioner, ensuring a comfortable environment for teaching and learning.

In addition, our building saw several beautification and maintenance projects, including:

• New flooring installed throughout the  third-floor hallways

• Retiling and new flooring in four classrooms

• Fresh paint in several classrooms

• Painting of all door frames and stairwell doors

• Cleanup and painting of the walls surrounding our small  outdoor garden space in front of the school

I would like to extend a very special and heartfelt thank you to  John, our custodian engineer, along with the custodial team: Aldo, Ana, and Gary, whose hard work, dedication, and care made these improvements possible.  Throughout the summer, they worked tirelessly to prepare our building for the new school year.  We are so grateful for everything they do to maintain a beautiful, safe, and welcoming learning environment for our students, teachers, and staff.

Small class size funding 3rd, 4th and 5th ICT:   As you recall, our school was  awarded Reduced Class Size Funding in the 2025-2026 school year for ICT classes in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. We are happy to announce that we will continue to be funded for these small classes for SY 2026-2027.  We will continue to apply for small class size funding every school year with the goal of increasing the number of small class size classrooms in our school.   

Daily “WIN” period: We are committed to ensuring every student receives clear, focused, and explicit teaching every day.  This year, we will continue to implement the daily “WIN” period in grades, K-5.   The WIN period—which stands for  “What I Need” will happen each day for both  ELA and Math .  WIN time is built into the school day and is a powerful way we’re working to help every student succeed and reach their full potential.  Please speak to your classroom teacher for more information about your child’s WIN period.

Grade-Level Talks: Principal, AP and parent coordinator will host grade level “talks” for parents on each grade, 3K to 5th, in September and October.  It’s an opportunity for administration and parents to discuss topics related to their child’s grade, review school policies, scheduling, grade level residencies, etc.  This is also a great time for parents to share questions, comments and concerns with school administration.  

Curriculum Night: Please save the date for  Wednesday, September 30th for a virtual curriculum night meeting. This is an opportunity to hear directly from your child’s classroom teacher and our specialty teachers about the year ahead. Curriculum Night is a wonderful resource and we highly encourage all families to attend. You will receive Zoom links prior to September 30th.

• Classroom Presentations – 4pm-5pm & 6pm-7pm (teachers will repeat the sessions; choose the time that works for you)

• Specialty Teacher Presentation – 5-6pm

Reminder: Cell Phone & Election Device Ban:  Students will not be able to use any personal internet-enabled electronic devices—such as cell phones, smartwatches, and tablets. The updated policy brings us into alignment with a new state law  that prohibits the use of these devices from “bell to bell”—in other words, from the start until the end of the school day. Classroom teachers will collect devices at the beginning of the day and return them at the end.  We encourage all families to read the SY 2026-2027 Electronic Device Policy  letter

Emergency Blue Cards: As we begin the new school year, we want to remind you of the importance of completing your child’s annual blue emergency cards with the most current contact information. This is essential for ensuring we can reach you quickly and efficiently — whether in the case of an emergency or simply for day-to-day communication. Having accurate and up-to-date information helps us keep your child safe and supported throughout the school day.   Every year, families are asked to fill out two emergency cards, one for the classroom teacher and one for the main office.  If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to complete and return both cards as soon as possible. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and truly helps us stay connected.

This year, we will continue to focus on high-quality instruction, meaningful relationships, and creating a joyful learning environment where every child feels valued, challenged, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential. 

We look forward to working alongside our families to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and shine.

Thank you for your continued partnership, trust, and support. 

We look forward to seeing you next week!

Pascale 

Parent Homework

• Blue Cards –  As mentioned above, classroom teachers will send home TWO blue cards on Thursday to students in grades 1-5. We must have a NEW, COMPLETE, ACCURATE set of blue cards for each student. Please return your blue cards to school immediately.

• Income Inquiry Form (Lunch Form) –  Please take a few minutes today and complete the online form. Completion of the form is critical to our funding, and every family must complete the form each year, even if you don’t think you qualify for free or reduced price lunch, or your child doesn’t eat school meals.   Family Income Inquiry Form  

• Parent Square   We’re excited to share that we’ve adopted a new communication platform called ParentSquare to help us keep you better informed and more connected with your school community. 
  With ParentSquare, you’ll receive all school and classroom messages in one place and translated into your preferred language—whether by email, text, app, or web.   All school, grade-level, and classroom communications will now come through ParentSquare. 
  To get the most out of ParentSquare, we encourage you to download the free mobile app, available for iOS and Android. You can also access ParentSquare from your web browser at   www.parentsquare.com .

• Media Consent Form –  Classroom teachers will send home media consent forms on Thursday to students in grades 1-5. We must have a NEW media consent form on file each year; please return it to school immediately.

• Counseling in Schools (CIS) Enrollment Form –  CIS requires that each family who participates fill out the 2026- 2027 Community Schools Enrollment Form.    All families are encouraged to complete the enrollment form to become eligible for any Community School and Counseling in Schools programming. This includes ‘Breakfast Club’/Early Morning Drop Off; funding is dependent on completed enrollment forms.  Please complete one form per child. 

• September 10th & 11th are full days for all students

  • 3K/Pre-K parents will be allowed to escort their children into the classroom on September 10th & 11th.  

  • Kindergarten parents will be allowed to escort their children into the classroom  only on Thursday, September 10th; they will be allowed in the schoolyard on arrival Thursday and Friday. Starting Monday September 14th Kindergarten students will go on their own to the yard and staff will be there to assist.  Parents will stay outside the gates on the Pacific and Dean Street entrances 

  • 1-5 grade parents will be allowed in the schoolyard at arrival only on September 10th

GENERAL ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Arrival Procedures for Families

• 7:30am ARRIVAL: ‘Breakfast Club’

  • 3K/Pre-K  enters through the Pacific St main entrance

  • K-5  enters through the walkway using the Pacific or Dean St. gates  

  • The first day of Breakfast Club is Monday, September 14th

• 8am ARRIVAL: 

  • 3-K/Pre-K  will enter through the Pre-K yard. At 8:10am, the Pre-K doors will close and you will need to walk around the block to the Pacific St main entrance 

  • K-5  students arrive through the walkway using the Dean St. or Pacific St. gates to enter the schoolyard.  

• LATE ARRIVAL: 

  • 8:10am –  All students (3K-5) arriving after 8:10am are considered late and must be signed in by an adult at the Pacific St main entrance.

• INCLEMENT WEATHER ARRIVAL:

  • 3K/Pre-K arrival remains the same

  • K-5 students enter through Pacific St main entrance. 

    • The walkway door will be open from 8-8:10am.

Dismissal Procedures for Families

• All  3-K/Pre-K classes dismiss at 2:10pm in the Pre-K yard

• K-5  classes dismiss at 2:15pm in the main schoolyard in the same spots as arrival.

  • Parents will remain at the sidewalk gates until you are waved into the walkway by school staff. 

  • You will EXIT the schoolyard through the Dean St. gate. Please follow directions of all school staff for the safety of our students.

• Inclement weather (K-5) – Dismissal takes place outside in  all weather. Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather each day.

BACK TO SCHOOL EVENTS

September PTA Meeting: Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 at 7PM via Zoom

September Movie Night:  Friday September 25th at 6pm-10PM in the Big Yard

COMMUNITY SCHOOL/COUNSELING IN SCHOOLS NEWS

Counseling in Schools is the lead organization for Community School programming at PS 38.

An important note: “Breakfast Club” morning programming will be funded by CIS. In order to receive funding for the program, CIS will need each family who participates to fill out the  2026- 2027 Community Schools Enrollment Form for CIS. As you complete this form your child(ren) will be automatically enrolled into our Breakfast Club programming starting 9/10 at 7:30am- 8:00am. We are offering early drop-off for all students. Students during the early morning program will engage in sport related activities in the school yard for K-5 students or art related classroom activities for our Pre-k students. All families are encouraged to complete the enrollment form to become eligible for any Community school and Counseling In Schools programming. Please complete one form per child. 

We provide FREE events, activities & resources to the PS 38 community, including:

• On-site programming taught by PS 38 teachers – Breakfast Club, Lunch Buddies and after school enrichment classes
• Dental and vision FREE screenings 
• Community Events & Workshops 
• Individual and family counseling services during school day hours
• Professional development and parent workshops through our partner Breaking the Cycles Consultant Services

An important note: “Breakfast Club” morning programming will be funded by CIS. In order to receive funding for the program, CIS will need each family who participates to fill out the enrollment form for CIS – this paperwork is critical to our continued ability to meet the needs of the PS 38 community. Community Schools/ Counseling in Schools purpose is to service the entire school – Afterschool is only one small component of the support we bring to PS.38. As of now 9/2 we expect our Afterschool program to begin in November as we wait for funding. More information to come! 

CONTACTS: Community School Director Tracey Lewis – tracey@counselinginschools.org 

Social Work Coordinator: Vanessa Alamo – vanessa@counselinginschools.org

YMCA AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM NEWS

Registration for our 2026–2027 After-School Program is now open! We have a new theme:  T.H.R.I.V.E at the Y and We’re looking forward to another awesome year filled with introducing the new theme for learning, creativity, and fun after the school day ends.

What You Need to Know:

• Registration is the first step in the process. Your child’s spot is NOT Confirmed  until you receive an official Acceptance Letter, which will be sent by September 4th, 2026.

• Once acceptance letters have been sent to all families, you will receive a Second Email with our required Supplemental Forms. These forms are essential to ensure we have accurate, up-to-date information about your child.

  • Please review them carefully and be sure to include your most current contact details, especially your email address, as this will be our primary method of communication.

How to Register:

1. Click the Registration Link HERE!.

2. In the program search bar, type: “P.S. 038 Pacific Street School – 15K038″.

3. Select the listing with the operating dates: September 2026 – June 2027.

4. Be sure to register your child for the grade they will be entering this September. 

5. The fillable application is also attached; you can fill it out and email it back. 

For step-by-step guidance, please see the attached registration instructions.

If you read this all the way to the bottom, please make a point to give me a high five on Thursday and I’ll give you a special shout out on the bull horn.