Marcee Smith & Rebecca Sherman
Rising Stars Parent Coordinators
risingstars@laguardiahspa.org 

The LaGuardia High School Parents Association is excited to present Rising Stars '24 - an amazing show with Broadway worthy performances! Rising Stars is an all-school variety show to showcase our amazing students from ALL studios. Whatever show you attend, you will see LaGuardia students showing true joy in their creativity!

We will be offering special ticket discounts for the first two days of sales - $20 on Wednesday and $25 on Thursday!  After that tickets revert to $30!

At midnight on January 10th, you can purchase tickets HERE.

Rising Stars is also a major fundraiser for the LaGuardia Parents Association. Even penny we raise goes back to funding programs and services for our students. Ads range from $25 to $750 and sponsorships are available from $1,000 to $5,000 - each sponsorship comes with publicity benefits frolm the PA, tickets and depending on the level, RS and/or LaG swag. Please email camera-ready ad artwork to risingstars@laguardiahspa.org

To purchase a sponsorship or ad, please click HERE. (Deadline January 10, 2024)

Rising Stars needs parent volunteers!  We need people to sell Rising Stars merch and our concession stand, working backstage and other responsibilities.  
We will be sending out a volunteer form separately.

Alumni & Friends Summer Study Grants for Summer 2024!

Financial aid is available to juniors, sophomores, and freshmen to study in their arts discipline during the summer of 2024. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is Monday, January 22nd. 

Detailed information and instructions can be found HERE.

The online application form can be found HERE.

Click HERE for a listing of some summer programs in art, dance, theater, and music. There are so many more but this will help you get started.

The deadline is approaching quickly, so don't wait to apply. If you have any questions about the process or the online application, please reach out to Karen Kramer at awards@alumniandfriends.org.

We want to express a very heartfelt thank you to Juile Kerwin and Jonathan Lewis for all of their hard work raising money to make the All School Musical a HUGE success. Julie spearheaded efforts to raise money for various production costs that made the show rival a Broadway production. Jonathan coordinated concession sales which is not an easy task. Thank you both for the countless hours you put into these positions. 

We would also like to thank the AWESOME parent volunteers who helped sell concessions and PA merchandise during the shows. We really appreciate you:

Carmen Alarcon, Natasha Augoustopoulos, Gigi Barlowe, Patricia Bawar, Irica Berkowitz, Lori Bloomberg, Neil Blumstein, Diane Bradshaw, Michele Brandt, Jimena Bruguera, Jennifer Chernaik, David Chesky, Kristel Chou, Jeanette Cochrane, Yvonne Cortes, Rene de la Cruz, Jake Daehler, Sasha Domnitz, Pamela Dower, Altynay Dyussembay, Annie Eisenberg-Spence, Vanessa Enriquez, Flo Evans, Christie Falciani, Elaine Finkletaub, Jill Gold, Eva Gold Bovi, Carola Grundmann, Monica Gutierrez, Melissa Haldeman, Mary Hansen, Sarah Hanssen, Heather Harrigan, Noa Hazen, Simone Huelser, John Inwood, Sarah Ireland, Claire James, Halina James, Kim Kefgen, Maria Ladenheim, Carmen Lamar, Jonathan Lewis, Barbette Leonard, Alison Lynn, Abhilasha Mahan, Annie Mascia, Miha Mahr, Crystal McGuckin, Monica Mindt, Jo Moskow, Ania Nakahara, Tiffany Nelson, Nadia Noppamas Surapanpong, Yuko Oiwa, Courtney Potts, Kara Pranikoff, Deanna Raso, Erica Reaves, Wendy Reimer, Griffin Richardson, Karin Roach, Audra Robb, Tanya Ryan, Michele Sachar, Linda Saffire, Pauline Sauvage, Erica Schohn, Rina Schwarz, Christa Scott-Reed, Julia Seltzer, Gabrielle Silver, Mollie Slaton, Heather Smith, Leroy Southwell, Wanda Strauven, Natthanid Suteepakornchai, Max Surla, Veronika Surla, Jack Tsao, Kathy Uggen-Merget, Neeta Vallab, Isabel Vaz Pires, Lara Voss, Stephanie Weiss, Kay Wolf, Donna Zapin

Happy New Year! Thanks to your incredible generosity, as of December 2023, 42 teachers' projects have successfully been funded. Let’s start 2024 off with a bang and fund the remaining projects!

Just before the break two projects were fully funded: 

• Mr. Carbone will now receive a dynamic sound system for the rehearsal room so students can hear the nuances in their performances and experience the full depth of recorded music.
• Ms. Fischer will now receive much needed basic supplies for health and math classes.

Ms. VanScoy's (only $175 needed to complete) and Ms. Kompanal's projects will expire in five days. Together we can help move their projects closer to completion. 

There are currently 10 teachers' projects on our DonorsChoose page. Please review all of the projects and share the links with your networks, family and friends. Anyone can donate, and all donations are tax deductible. Your generosity and support is greatly appreciated.

Please email Erica Blum at eblum2@schools.nyc.gov for more information about college rep visits. College visits are over for the winter. We will resume in the spring. 

Senior Parents/Guardians:
Happy New Year! I hope all is well and everyone had a wonderful break!  I just wanted to quickly let you know about the new HESC webinar I noticed today and also some reminders about where to get help with the new FAFSA which opened on 12/31.

NEW HESC webinar and ONE-ON-ONE help! You have to register for this one in advance! TITLE: FAFSA/TAP COMPLETION EVENT - 1/10 4pm - 7pm. 
Get one-on-one help completing your FAFSA or TAP application to be sure you get all the financial aid you’re entitled to by going to https://startheregetthere.ny.gov/events.
Click on the event name and then click on REGISTER to sign up. I strongly encourage you to sign up!

Also please continue to check out other HESC webinars at this link https://startheregetthere.ny.gov/events and HESC On-Demand Video Library at this link https://startheregetthere.ny.gov/e-Library 

uAspire-January 9th is the next FAFSA walkthrough - registration required! Register at this link.
https://www.uaspire.org/news-events/financial-aid-events

More uAspire resources at this link https://www.uaspire.org/resources/financial-aid-resources
You can also reach out directly Contact Us Federal Student Aid for any questions. https://studentaid.gov/help-center/contact and go to https://www.youtube.com/user/FederalStudentAid for more videos.

ACADEMIC APPROACH SAT PREP CLASS UPDATE:

As you may now know, the LaGuardia date for the SAT test given to Juniors is March 19th. As the SAT Prep Class given by Academic Approach is not set to end until April 7th, they will be rescheduling the final two prep classes to take place before students sit for the official exam. A survey will be sent to students/families to gather information about available dates. The dates with the highest availability will be selected as the new make-up dates.

If your child needs accommodations for the SAT, please be sure to complete the online form at this linkat least two months prior to the test giving your consent for the school to release information about your child's disability to College Board. For the ACT, follow instructions on the site and forward Owen Harkness at LaGuardia (OHarkness@schools.nyc.gov) the confirmation email from them.

Hello freshman parents,

Tuesday, January 23 - Friday, January 26 is Regents week. There will not be regular classes on those days. Your student only needs to arrive at school on those days if:

1. They are taking a Regents exam or a make-up (your child will know if they are included in this group)

2. Your child is part of the Rising Stars performance. They should check their rehearsal schedule to see when they are expected to be at rehearsals.

Also, please come watch our freshman vocalists in their LaGuardia debut, Winter Musicale #1 on January 9th at 6:00 p.m.

We are looking forward to our Winter Dance Ensemble on January 19th and 20th. 

Performance times are:
January 19th @ 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.
January 20th @ 3:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Please click HERE to volunteer to sell merchandise, snacks, and to help with the meal for our seniors. 

Thank you in advance for your participation. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

NEXT PODS MEETING will be Wednesday 1/24 @ 7 p.m.
Zoom link will be sent at a later date.

JUNIOR STRETCH SCENES Ms. Tsantilas's junior drama students will be performing their stretch scenes this Friday, 1/12, for parents, seniors & drama staff. Mr. Stafford's & Mr. Lobenhofer's classes will be performing later this month and in early February. Best of luck to all!

SPRING DRAMA FESTIVAL (SDF) Be on the lookout for more info, including opportunities to volunteer and help! We will need YOU!

A huge thank you to all who have donated time, money, and resources so far. We genuinely appreciate it! 

If you're not receiving emails from the Drama Studio reps, please create an account HERE.

Don't forget our fabulous Drama merch! New items coming soon! Check it out HERE.

Upcoming Events:

LaG Grads College Experiences 
You and your student are invited to join us as recent LaG grads share their college experiences at conservatory schools, and liberal arts colleges and universities.
When: Monday, January 8th at 7:30 p.m.
Where:Join Zoom Meeting, Meeting ID: 816 4362 4999, Passcode: 447965

Winter Musicale #1

When: Tuesday, January 9th at 6:00 p.m.
Featuring:
Concert Orchestra - Mr. Bloomfield
Concert Band - Mr. Carbone
Elementary Chorus - Ms. Jones
Treble Chorus - Ms. Cascio, Dr. Koelzer
Operetta and Pit - Dr. Shohdy, Ms. Swerdfeger, Dr. Koelzer

Winter Musicale #2

When: Thursday, January 11th at 6:00 p.m.
Featuring:
String Orchestra - Mr. Bloomfield
Cambiata - Dr. Jordan
Cantare - Ms. Ballard, Dr. Koelzer

Happy New Year to all POTS.

Please support our Tech Studio in honor of our incredible kids. It can be your first tax deductible donation of 2024! There are MANY projects coming up the Tech pike, and we need to help pay for them.

The Tech teachers need TISSUES for their students to use during class and during work calls. Please send in a box or 2 (or 4) with your child to give to one of the Tech teachers. Many thanks!

Check out our Tech Studio webpage, you'll find SO MUCH useful information for all of our POTS.

We'll see you all at our next  POTS meeting on Zoom on Wednesday, January 31. 

-Cynthia, Rina, Carmen, Rosalie and Annie

If you are a parent/guardian of a student with an IEP or 504 at LaGuardia, please join our WhatsApp chat group. The purpose is to support each other regarding questions/concerns related to our student's IEP or 504 at LaGuardia.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/EmBGFw7VnNZJ98GJZIaQFS**

It is recommended to take the time to regularly review and bookmark the LaGuardia Special Education section of the website HERE. There is updated and pertinent information there from the Special Education Department. 

For general Special Education questions, please carefully review the NYC DOE regulations for Special Education services for 504s and IEPs:

NYC DOE IEP Information
NYC DOE 504 Information

NYU Grad Short Film casting call for a 6-12 years old boy preferably Lebanese or Middle Eastern and speaks Arabic, but can be of any ethnicity. Ramzi is a spirited and imaginative boy raised by his single mother in a conservative Christian household. He confronts the world with lively and mischievous energy, displaying a hint of rebellion, especially when it comes to expressing his suppressed femininity. Filming is 3-4 days between January 12-18. 

Rehearsals two or three sessions, dates TBD.

Unpaid, but travel & meals covered, movie will be submitted to festivals worldwide and footage can be used in your reels.

Please send Oriana (casting) oriana.ng@nyu.edu your full name, where you're based, your availability, a picture, a reel (optional), and a short introduction. Untrained actors welcome. We look forward to hearing from you!

NYO Jazz invites young musicians to audition for its summer 2024 season. Outstanding young musicians from across the US showcase the legacy and bright future of American jazz in a free rigorous training residency with world-class jazz masters. Apply by 1/19/24.

Ocean Awareness Contest invites students to share your personal climate story through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia. Creatively express your personal experiences, insights, or perceptions about our changing climate reality. Apply by 6/10/24.

Believe and Inspire After School Programs offer interactive virtual after-school programs that aim to empower underserved youth to become successful leaders. Participants learn practical life skills to help accomplish their life goals. Ongoing. 

NYU Youth Leadership Councils are a network of youth focused on policy, practice, and advocacy to make real change happen in their school, neighborhood, or community. Students join peers and adult allies to act on issues that matter the most to you. YLCs are in all five boroughs and need students to make NYC a better place.

2025 WhatsApp Chat**

2026 WhatsApp Chat**

2027 WhatsApp Chat**

Yellow Sheet

2023-2024 Bell Schedule

LaG Faculty & Staff Directory

2023-2024 LaGuardia Performance & Exhibition Calendar

School Year 2023-24 Calendar

NYC Schools Account (NYCSA): track your child's progress

DOE Student Accounts: access all student learning platforms

Parent University

Multilingual Learners

Office of Language Access

For questions about, and/or to submit content for consideration in the Sunday Night News, please email: snn@laguardiahspa.org. 

*DISCLAIMER: The LaGuardia High School Parents Association Inc (LAGHSPA) and its officers and elected members do not endorse third-party content shared in our communications, nor do they profit from third-party promotions featured in our communications.

**DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in listed WhatsApp chats and Facebook groups are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Parents Association or school administrators. 

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