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The New Voices Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team aims to create a school culture that promotes an inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning environment where all students feel that they belong and that their experiences and perspectives matter.
We aim to cultivate and integrate our students’ diverse identities into every area of our school culture, providing them with opportunity for creative expression and student voice.
“Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.”
Jason Collins (born 1978)
Important Dates:
| June 3, 2022 | New Voices School Pride Day* |
| June 8, 2022 | DEI Team Meeting |
| June 10, 2022 | Student DEI Team Meeting |
| June 20, 2022 | Juneteenth |
| June 27, 2022 | Last Day of School for Students |
Summer Meals
Free summer meals will be available starting June 28th.
Breakfast and lunch will continue beyond the instructional school year. Our Summer Meals Program is available throughout New York City to anyone ages 18 years old and under. Designated public schools, community pool centers, parks, and food trucks will be open for service. No registration, documentation, or ID is necessary to receive a free breakfast or lunch meal.
Check out https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/summer-meals for the most current summer meal information.
Student Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Team
Students have the opportunity to participate in furthering the equity work being done at our school by participating in conversations about current events related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as help plan community-wide diversity events.
Ms. Gonzales, a 7th grade humanities teacher, is the group advisor.
Our Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team began meeting in January and meets twice per month.
The team is currently developing a DEI calendar that features diverse holidays and cultural events. Each month will focus on highlighting marginalized groups with a focus on how to respect, support, and celebrate these individuals.
This month, the Student DEI team is celebrating pride month with a bake sale fundraiser:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Team Updates
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Team is a collaboration between parents, teachers and administrators. We meet monthly to discuss, identify and implement change within our school community as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As we close out the year, we reflect on the work we have done. We began this year with a collaboratively developed needs assessment where we identified community building as the focus for the year. Throughout the year, we have worked to build school pride, a sense of belonging, and opportunities for celebrating our schools diversity. The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team has a created a calendar of focus for next school year, and is building a collection of resources for families, staff and students.
Family Paint Night
The DEI Team will held our first in-person event on May 18th. New Voices Family Paint Night featured alumni and current students teaching painting to participants. We saw some amazing art from our families!
New Voices Celebrates Diversity T-Shirt Contest for Students
All students were invited to submit a t-shirt design (a digital file or hand-made work) to celebrate New Voices’ diversity. The submissions were so great, we had to pick two! And we selected a third submission as our new DEI logo (featured above)!
The winning designs will be featured on our next New Voices T-shirts.
Winners: Kheilaun Depeza Ralph 805 & Olive Vogel 606
GSA News
The New Voices Gender and Sexuality Alliance has over 25 members across all three grades this year! GSA is a safe space for students to meet, support each other, and talk about school, life, and current events as well as participate in service-learning projects.
The New Voices GSA has been working on developing resources to increase awareness around gender and sexuality. Student created presentations with the school community. Links to the presentations are below:
The GSA continues to be an integral part of our community, allowing students to socialize across grades, make new friends, and discover new interests in a safe space for all students.
Get Ready for Summer!
Free Hours at Cultural Venues Around the City!
Here’s a compiled list of free hours at museums, gardens, zoos, and other cultural venues around the city. Spend some time exploring this summer!
Free Hours at Cultural Venues
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden | www.bbg.org Free admission on Saturdays from 10 AM–Noon, all day Tuesdays, winter weekdays (Nov-Feb), and Fridays for seniors.
• Asia Society and Museum | www.asiasociety.org Free admission on Fridays from 6-9 PM (does not apply from July 1 through Labor Day).
• Brooklyn Children’s Museum | www.brooklynkids.org Free admission every Thursday 3-5 PM, every third Thursday extended free hours from 3–7 PM
• Bronx Zoo | www.bronxzoo.com Every Wednesday is free.
• Children’s Museum of the Arts | www.cmany.org Pay as you wish Thursdays 4-6 PM
• Guggenheim Museum | www.guggenheim.org Pay what you wish on Saturdays, 5:45-7:45 PM.
• Historic Richmond Town | www.historicrichmondtown.org Free on Fridays, 1 PM–5 PM.
• International Center of Photography | www.icp.org Voluntary contribution every Friday, 5 – 8 PM
• Jewish Museum | www.thejewishmuseum.org Free admission on Saturdays, Thursday 5-8 pay what you wish.
• Lincoln Center David Rubenstein Atrium | www.atrium.lincolncenter.org Free performances every Thursday at 7:30 PM.
• Morgan Library and Museum | www.themorgan.org Free on Fridays, 7–9 PM. Admission to the McKim rooms only is free on: Tuesdays 3-5 PM, Fridays 7-9 PM, and Sundays 4-6 PM
• Museum of Arts and Design | www.madmuseum.org Pay what you wish Thursdays 6–9 PM. Pay what you wish Fridays 6-9PM.
• Museum of Chinese in America | www.mocanyc.org Free every Thursday, 11 AM–9 PM.
• Museum of Jewish Heritage | www.mjhnyc.org Free every Wednesday 4–8 PM.
• Museum of Modern Art | www.moma.org Free Friday Nights, 4–8 PM.
• Museum of the Moving Image | www.movingimage.us Free Friday Nights, 4–8 PM.
• New Museum | www.newmuseum.org Free Thursday Evenings, 7–9 PM.
• New York Aquarium | www.nyaquarium.com Suggested donation Fridays after 3 PM, in the Summer after 4pm
• New York Botanical Garden | www.nybg.org Free all day Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 9 AM–10 AM.
• New York Hall of Science | www.nysci.org Free Fridays 2–5 PM and Sundays 10–11 AM.
• New York Historical Society | www.nyhistory.org Pay what you wish on Fridays, 6–8 PM.
• Noguchi Museum | www.noguchi.org Pay what you wish the first Friday of every month.
• Old Stone House | www.theoldstonehouse.org Suggested donation on weekends.
• Queens Botanical Garden | www.queensbotanical.org From April 1 through October 31, QBG has free hours on Wednesdays 3-6 pm and Sundays 4-6 pm. From November 1 through March 31, QBG is open from Tuesday to Sunday with free admission.
• Staten Island Children’s Museum | www.statenislandkids.org Grandparents Free Wednesdays 5-8 PM.
• Staten Island Zoo | www.statenislandzoo.org Free Wednesdays 2–4:45 PM.
• Van Cortlandt House Museum | www.historichousetrust.org Free Wednesdays.
• Wave Hill Cultural Center | www.wavehill.org Free Saturdays and Tuesdays, 9 AM–Noon. • Whitney Museum | www.whitney.org Pay what you wish Fridays 6–9 PM.
Free Bike Helmets!
Free Bike Helmets and helmet fittings are available throughout the city in the coming months. Enjoy the city by bike and be safe! See https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/events/index.page for more information
NEW VOICES | MS 443 