YS 9.22.23

No School on Monday, September 25, due to Yom Kippur.  The building is closed on this day, and school will resume on Tuesday, September 26.

We know that you want to get an answer from a teacher, administrator, or another staff person as soon as possible.  Please remember that we prioritize staff well-being, and there is no expectation that staff responds to emails or questions during after-school hours.  Appreciate teachers who choose to do this.  Here is some helpful information to help students acquire appropriate email etiquette:

• Do not expect someone to answer emails after hours.  Sometimes you may receive a response but this should not be the expectation.
• Emailing a person multiple times in one night is not appropriate.  While you may think this conveys urgency, it does not make a good impression.
• People generally answer emails in the order they were received.  If you email a teacher at 2:00 AM, it is unreasonable to think the person can respond to you first thing in the morning.  Staff members have meetings, obligations, etc., and may not receive your email until later in the day.
• In non-busy times of the year, 48 hours is an appropriate time to expect an email response.  48 minutes is not -- please allow people an opportunity to respond.
• In busy times of the year, staff work incredibly hard to keep up with their communications.  It may take a little longer to receive a response because the volume of emails and phone calls has drastically increased.  The opening of school would be a good example of this.  
• Do not send the same email to multiple people in hopes of getting a response.  Send one email with everybody on it, and the people responsible for certain areas will respond to specific parts of your email.  Or the one person who is responsible can answer.  
• Emails are not like texting.  Texting can seem like a conversation with multiple responses in a short period of time.  Emails are not like that. Many people will only respond to an email chain once or twice per day.  If you need a conversation/discussion, ask for a time to meet in person or by Zoom.
• Writing an effective email takes work.  

Here is a modified, but great, list of things to consider when writing an effective email:

Employ the following 12 tips to craft an effective email.

SUBJECT LINES ARE IMPORTANT

It drives me crazy when I get an email from someone and the subject line is a tease or does not relate to the content of the email. Again, this will add time to my day, when I’m trying to search through my emails for specific content, but the subject line doesn’t match that content.

USE BULLET POINTS AND HIGHLIGHT CALL TO ACTION

Bullet points make it much easier for the recipient to read the email quickly and effectively. It also helps the reader identify the main points of the email. If the recipient is expected to do something after receiving the email, highlight the call to action.

KEEP IT SHORT

No one has the time to read a 10-paragraph email, so don’t sent it. If you have 10-paragraphs, or even four-paragraphs, then you’re likely including unrelated content.

DON’T MUDDLE CONTENT

Stick to one content area per email. If you are sending a follow-up email to a colleague after a meeting, then it is unnecessary to add in something about a different client or information about the company picnic, etc. When you muddle content, it makes it much harder for the recipient to find the email in a search because the content they are looking for won’t match the subject line.

BE COLLEGIAL

Always open your email with a pleasantry. I often craft my email, then go back and add in the “I hope you had a great vacation” or “Have a great weekend – enjoy the Fall weather.”

WATCH YOUR TONE

The tone of an email is difficult to assess, but more often than not, the reader will assign a tone, even when one was not intended, so be careful not to craft the email with tone by watching the use of exclamation marks, using inflammatory words, etc.

AVOID TOO MANY EXCLAMATION MARKS AND NO EMOJIS

I find I use too many exclamation marks in my emails, usually to sound excited, but one could also read the exclamation marks as being angry, frustrated, etc. And NEVER use emojis in a work email, to anyone other than a close friend.

AVOID QUOTES THAT COULD BE OFFENSIVE TO OTHERS

More and more you see quotes at the bottom of emails. Some are benign inspirational quotes, such as “Be the best you can be every day,” these are fine; however, avoid quotes with religious meaning, quotes that could be viewed as excluding others, etc. could offend a co-worker, a client, or a vendor, which could result in the loss of productivity and business.

ALWAYS PROOFREAD YOUR EMAILS

Sending out an email with typos, misspelled words, etc., makes you look bad. Take the extra minute to proofread the email.

NEVER SEND AN EMAIL WHEN ANGRY OR FRUSTRATED

If you need to write the email, do so in a Word document, where it is impossible to hit the send button by accident.

EMAIL CHAINS

Email chains can be effective, but sometimes it is more effective to pick up the telephone and have a conversation in five minutes versus four hours of back-and-forth emails. Also, be careful not to change content areas without changing the subject line.

drexel.edu

Please welcome Social Studies Teacher Ms. Berger into her new role as Coordinator of Student Activities (COSA.)  Ms. Berger will be working with our SGO on improving LaG-Life and our school climate.  Ms. Berger will be working with Dr. Stricklin, Assistant Principal, Engagement.

Currently, we are working on securing a date for graduation.  This will allow us to announce the cost of Senior Dues in October.   Last year, paying for dues using an online platform was not possible because of NYC Public Schools (formerly the DOE) regulations, but we know this is a priority for our families.

Senior Dues cover the cost of Graduation and Yearbook.  More information will be made available soon.

BigSib Picnic RSVP

To have a safe and smooth Morning Entry of students, staff, and guests entering the building, we have been providing a near-daily Update during Morning Announcements.  We wanted to share some highlights and common themes.

Students may enter the building at 7:35 AM.  We always open the building 30 minutes prior to the first class so that teachers and staff may be on the floors prior to students.

Morning Entry is almost where we need it.  Everyone is doing a great job holding the door for the person behind them.  Please focus on using the first two doors, especially if you need to open one of the doors to scan in.  Also, since you know you need to scan, please have your ID out of your wallet before you even enter the building.  We are all about speed and efficiency.  If you know you do not have your ID, please use the last door on the right.

Our Morning Entry Update.  Everyone did much better having their IDs out before they reach the scanners.  Those who arrived before 7:50 AM were LESS likely to open and use the two doors.  Those arriving AFTER 7:50 AM were MORE likely to open the and use the two doors.  But there is still room for improvement.  If this was a 6 Flags ride, you’d have no trouble using both lanes and getting through the line as quickly as you can.  LaGuardia can be your 6 Flags.

Fun Morning Scanning Fact:  the ding you hear after scanning is the computer processing your information and your picture pops up on the screen.  There is actually a softer, “ding” coming from the scanner when it reads your card.  Try tuning out the louder sound to know if your card was processed by listening to the quieter one.  This allows you to become one with the morning entry process.

The deadline to submit the Club Application Google Form has been extended and is now due on Wednesday.  

Submit Club Application

We understand that students are still needing to secure an advisor, but you still need to submit the form by Wednesday.  If you do not have an advisor, you can submit the form with "NEED ADVISOR".  This way the SGO can begin approving clubs.  Your club won't be able to meet without an advisor, but at least we are aware of the situation and can try to help.