Welcome to New Ventures Charter School! This page serves as a place for everything that you need to know about your child coming to New Ventures for the 2022-2023 school year. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions that are not answered here.
Location
1441 South Avenue, 5th Floor Staten Island, NY 10311 (back entrance)
Arrival and Dismissal
- Students are expected to travel to their assigned fieldwork location independently (via bus, car, drop-off)
- All students will be transported back to Corporate Commons 3 grounds via coach bus from each fieldwork location between 2 and 2:45pm
- Students are dismissed from school at 7:08 pm. Students have access to the s46 located just outside of Corporate Commons 1. Parents can pick up their child at the school entrance.
- Any student who needs to leave school early (due to an emergency):
- All students (even those over the age of 18) will need to have a New Ventures staff member speak with a parent/guardian listed on their PowerSchool account.
- Students over the age of 18, will be allowed to sign themselves out of the school building and leave.
- Students under the age of 18 are not allowed to leave unless a parent/guardian listed on their PowerSchool account comes up to the 5th floor of Corporate Commons 3 to sign them out.
Schedule
- Monday -Thursday
- Fieldwork (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)
- Evening Classes (3:00 pm – 7:08 pm)
- Fridays
- Times may vary based on internship location assignment (6 hour commitment)
Subjects
- Interdisciplinary Teaching
- All fieldwork courses integrate multiple subject areas to allow flexibility for credit accumulation and to allow students to understand topics and concepts in a deeper and more connected manner.
- PBL
- Is the backbone of all our fieldwork courses. Project-Based Learning (PBL) allows students to apply what they are learning to a community -based project, which gives back to one of our community partners.
- Regents-Based Courses
- NYS aligned Regents courses are offered to prepare students to sit for the required NYS Regents exams. Knowledgeable content certified and Special Education certified teachers oversee the structure, organization, pacing, and differentiation of curriculum and materials to support students’ learning.
- Electives
- A wide range of arts and elective courses are offered at New Ventures to not only provide courses which offer students a more therapeutic hands-on approach, but to also encourage students to have FUN while they learn!
- Electives offered include: Steps-A, Seminar, Visual Arts, Art History, American Sign Language, Civil Rights, Financial Math, Creative Writing, Forensics, and Geography.
Food
Students are encouraged to bring food to school or buy food from the local businesses located on the Corporate Commons’ grounds (Commons Café). However, New Ventures offers a twenty minute “dinner” Monday through Thursday from 5:18 pm – 5:38 pm.
Dress Code
- All students are encouraged to dress appropriately for school:
- Stingray gear
- Any collared shirt
- Jeans, leggings, jeggings, joggers, cargo pants, cargo shorts, jean shorts, sweatpant shorts
- Shoes with a back to them
- Items NOT acceptable:
- Belly shirts/crop tops
- Pajamas
- Baggy sweatpants
- Ripped jeans
- Basketball shorts
- Hats
- Open-back shoes
Materials
Students are provided with a Chromebook upon enrollment into New Ventures. They are expected to bring their computer to school every day. Chromebooks should be charged or a charger should be present with students if the battery is low.
Internships
- In order to be eligible for an internship placement, students must have successfully completed the introductory Boot Camp course, which prepares students with soft skills to take on an entry level internship position.
- All students (who have successfully passed Boot Camp) are assigned an internship position on Fridays. Students attend their internship placement weekly for approximately six hours to potentially earn 2 credits for each semester. Internship assignments are based on: (1) student interest, (2) transcript need (3) availability/location.
Grading Policy
- Each New Ventures course follows the provided outline:
- Assessments – 65% of students’ overall grade
- Classwork – 35% of students overall grade
- Teachers may break down their work differently within these two categories.
Calendar
Our 2022-2023 academic calendar can be found here.
Communication
Here at New Ventures, we value communication. We are challenging our students to become advocates for themselves which means teaching them how to communicate properly and proactively. In our introductory course, Boot Camp, students work on a unit of communication to encourage positive relationships among staff, peers, and our community partners. All New Ventures staff will be consistently communicating with parents regarding their child’s course progress, academic abilities, and attendance.
Resources
- Principal: Ryan Melis
- Assistant Principal: Amelia DePompo
- Principal’s Assistant: Valerie Wittlin
- Special Education Coordinator: Nicholas Sayegh
- Instructional Coaches: Florence Strzebala and Amelia DePompo
- Counseling Team: Arthur Larsen, Stefanie Velonis, and Mark Simeone
- Academic Advisement: Michelle Lagana, Alvin Hillary, and Amelia DePompo
- Testing Coordinator: Charles Moser
- Internship Coordinator: Nicholas Sayegh
- College and Career Counselor: Michale Santiago
- Multi-Language Learner Coordinator: Brittany Warshefskie
- Directors of Student Activities: Dana Affatigato and Gianna Mangiacapre