Field of Lighthttps://www.fieldoflightnyc.com/ Wander across 6 acres, through an installation of almost 19,000 spheres of light, and enjoy the beautiful shifting colors. With the skyline on one side, and the East River on the other – this will be a walk you’ll remember! (Now through the end of 2024.)
For some outdoor cinema fun, Movies Under the Stars – Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Friday, October 18th 7:00 – 9:00 pm
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters.
In Kissena Corridor Park, Queens (at entrance – Colden Street and Elder Avenue)
We come together to consider foods that signify moments of togetherness. This fire feast is to give energies back, to consider our togetherness and how we strive for freedom of others.
Oasis – n., something or some place that provides refreshing relief
Wander – v., to move about with no plan
Stillness – n., quiet, absence of sound
Burial ground – n., a place where people are buried when they die
Lush – adj., growing thick and healthy
Enchant – v., to charm and delight, to put under a magic spell
Contemplate – v., to look at something for a long time, to think about deeply
Dazzling – adj., amazing, impressive
Perennials – n., plants that bloom every year
Abundantly – adv., large in amount or number; more than enough.
Neglected – adj., not taken proper care of
Decline – v., to go downward
Guerillas – n., a group of soldiers who do not work as part of an official army.
Rubble-strewn – adj., covered with rocks and debris, messy
Din – n., loud noise
Wonder – v., to feel admiration, surprise, or amazement
In these last few weeks of summer, what better way to spend an hour (or two!) than discovering a green oasis in the middle of New York City? If you need a break from concrete and steel, we recommend a visit to one of these special and precious places… to wander in or just to sit and savor the stillness of the late-season beauty.
M’finda Kalunga Garden
The name of this garden means “Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World” in the Kikongo language.¹ It is named in memory of the African American burial ground that was located on nearby Chrystie Street between Rivington and Stanton Streets. There is dense and lush growth everywhere, with little paths winding through the trees and shrubs. Flowers bloom, chickens roam, and the fish pond will enchant you as you take a bench and contemplate the peacefulness.
Relax under the trees in the M’finda Kalunga Garden.
LaGuardia Corner Garden
LaGuardia Corner Garden is an award-winning community garden in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. It is a place of natural beauty, where the visitor can find an oasis of calm in urban surroundings. During the growing season visitors can enjoy a dazzling display of daffodils, tulips, irises, peonies, roses, and other perennials, as well as shrubs and fruit trees.
The gates may be open at other times when the weather is fair. You can go in whenever you see the garden open!
Lilac blooms abundantly in the LaGuardia Corner Garden.
Liz Christy Bowery-Houston Garden
This was the first Community Garden in New York City, founded in 1973; it is located on the northeast corner of Bowery and Houston Streets in Manhattan.
In the 17th century, this site was part of a large farm owned by Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam. Hundreds of years later, in the 1970s, this “bouwerie” (the Dutch word for ‘farm’) was neglected and filled with abandoned buildings; a neighborhood in complete decline.
In 1973 a local resident named Liz Christy and a group of gardening activists known as the Green Guerillas were planting window boxes and vacant lots with ‘seed bombs.² They saw the large rubble-strewn lot as a potential garden and in December went to the City to find a way to gain official use of the land. Volunteers hauled the garbage and rubble out, spread donated topsoil, installed a fence and began planting.
In 2002, it became one of the protected community gardens by law. The garden feels like a private place despite the din of traffic. Two ponds are home to fish and turtles, there is a perennial lotus, a native plant habitat, vegetables, herbs, and many flowering plants. The tallest Dawn Redwood tree in the city is located in the garden.
Perfect for a bit of wonder, a little relaxing meditation, a moment of peace…bring a snack, a sun hat, and yourself to a garden before the warm weather ends!
¹ Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola.
Seed bombs are little clay-covered mounds of seeds and growing soil. They’re often used to help reseed natural plants to wild areas, and they were first made popular by guerilla gardeners, people who use public space to grow things.
Disorderly conduct – n., behavior that is not peaceful
Trespass – v., to go onto private property without permission
Fondly – adv., with warm feelings
Close – n., the enclosed part of a cathedral
High-wire artist Philippe Petit will walk a tightrope across the nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in New York City, on Wednesday, August 7th, and again on the 8th. Grammy Award-winning musician Sting, a friend of Petit, will perform original music for the event. The performance is called “Towering” and will raise funds for the Cathedral’s ongoing programs.
Petit, well-known for his daring high-wire walks around the world, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Even though Petit was arrested for what came to be known as “the art crime of the century,” he has never stopped walking on wires. “If I see two towers, I have to walk,” he told The New York Times. Later he added, “Anything that is giant and man-made strikes me in an awesome way and calls me.”
The illicit walk took 45 minutes and Petit, who turns 75 next week, was arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, but today his act is remembered fondly, including as part of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
He has walked high wires all over the world, from the Sydney Harbor bridge in Australia, to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and now, at 75 years old, he will celebrate the anniversary of this daring stunt in a place that holds great meaning for him – and is his spiritual home in New York. It was the Reverend James Parks Morton, at the Cathedral in 1974, who requested Petit’s release from his arrest. His daughter’s ashes are also at the Cathedral. When Morton retired at the end of 1996, Petit performed “Crescendo,” an aerial tribute on the cathedral’s close.
The Summer Rising portal will open after 3PM on March 4 and close on March 25! Applications will be submitted using your NYC MySchoolsaccount . You can find your NYC MySchools account information by contacting your child’s school or visiting a Family Welcome Center (Family Welcome Centers (nyc.gov).
Program Overview
Summer Rising 2024 is a partnership between New York City Public Schools and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD). Summer Rising is free and available to all NYC students in grades K-8, pending seat availability.
Students in Summer Rising will have access to both academic and enrichment programming over the course of the day, including field trips, arts activities, and outdoor recreation. Programs will planned and operated collaboratively by school principals and community-based organizations (CBOs). The environment will be safe and supportive with staff prepared to respond to children’s social and emotional needs. Breakfast, lunch, and snack will be served.
A typical day for students in grades K–8 will include a mix of academic support, social emotional learning, and enrichment activities. Academics will be provided by licensed teachers in the morning. Enrichment activities (such as art, sports, and play) will be led by CBO staff in the afternoons and on Fridays. CBOs will also facilitate enrichment in the morning, alongside academics, for K-5 programs. Students with disabilities who may require additional supports to participate in programming, such as a paraprofessional, will receive those supports as needed.
Multilingual learners/English language learners (MLs/ELLs) in grades K-8 participating in Summer Rising will engage in culturally responsive and student-centered academic opportunities in the morning and participate in afternoon enrichment sessions facilitated by trusted community-based organizations. Additionally, in the morning, MLs/ELLs will receive instruction targeting language and literacy development to support them with grade-level content. English as a New Language (ENL) teachers can provide MLs/ELLs with support through various instructional models, including small-group instruction or one-to-one support for MLs/ELLs.
So many things are happening for parents or guardians this time of year, as per the DOE Calendar below: School Enrollment Periods (October – December) & Parent Teacher Conferences (1st set in November).
Also, please click the links below to find the information about ORIENTATIONS for MS / HS enrollment seminars (in English / Chinese / Spanish).
Did you know that there is something you can do to make you feel immediately more connected to your new home in New York City?
Did you know that this can also help you learn knew American English phrases and vocabulary- and it’s as simple as riding the train?
One more question:
How often do you look around at the billboards and advertisements in while you commute (1) around the city?
Learning to understand the way Americans speak and think is just as easy as looking at an advertisement (ad).
For example, the ad below for a food delivery service says, “New Yorkers aren’t angry, we’re just hangry“.
Hangry is a new casual English word that describes the feeling of being angry because you’re hungry!
Just by looking at this ad you’ve learned a word that you would not learn from school.
Look below!
Do you recognize the train ad?
It is a popular slogan (2) in NYC that says, “If you see something, say something!”
This phrase simply means, that if you see something strange or dangerous on the train or anywhere in the city, you can call the number 888-NYC-safe to tell someone who can help you.
In the above example, we can learn new words, new ways of speech, and new information that can keep us safe!
Not only can you learn, popular words and phrases, but you can also learn valuable information about NYC and the resources it offers!
In the picture below, you’ll see an ad for NYC’s public college system- CUNY!
If you’ve ever dreamed of going to college, you can learn more information about how to go to college without spending a lot of money from this ad.
And if you didn’t already know the vocabulary, you’ll learn the words, apply, degrees, and debt.
How can you use ads to study on-the-go?
Go to the Google Translate app on your phone.
Choose your language.
Use the camera in the app to scan the ad- it will translate into whatever language you chose.
Translate the words and read the ad!
It’s as simple as that!
Next time you’re walking around your neighborhood or traveling between work and home, look at the ads around you!
You will learn new words, find things that can help you, and most importantly, you’ll feel a part of New York!
Vocabulary:
Commute– (v) to travel regularly by bus, train, car, etc. between your place of work and your home
Slogan– (n) a word or phrase used by a party, a group, or a business to attract attention.
From actors like Rami Malek and Tony Shalhoub, musicians such as French Montana and Shakira, to politicians such as George Kaseem and James Abourezk, Arabic Americans have contributed to the fabric (1) of American history and culture.
Arab America and the Arab America Foundation launched the National Arab American Heritage Month initiative in 2017, with just a handful (2) of states participating.
In 2022, Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and 45 state governors issued proclamations commemorating the initiative.
Check out the video below to learn more about Arab American Heritage Month, why it’s so important, and how we can all be better Americans by learning about each other’s heritage!
Phrases:
1. The fabric of (something) – the basic structure of (something)
