Dear Unqua Parents, New York State Law requires that each school conduct an emergency Preparedness Drill at least once a year. The purpose of this drill is to provide practice in evacuating the school in case of an emergency such as loss of heat, water or electricity. This year we will hold our drill on Tuesday, November 25. On November 25, students will be dismissed at 3:05 p.m. Please be available at 3:05 p.m. to meet your child(ren) at their regularly dismissed exits. Busses are also scheduled for a 3:05 p.m dismissal. Students who attend the After-School YMCA Program will be dismissed to the YMCA at 3:05 whereby counselors will be present to supervise students. Please be assured that in the event of an actual emergency, students would not be dismissed without parent contact. If it were safe to remain in the building, our students would stay at Unqua. If we had to evacuate the school, our students would be relocated to an alternate site. Parents would be contacted by phone and made aware of the situation.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/108PpcK_FCkG1iYu_U_1drggW6QK_EqEz/view?usp=drive_link
Unqua Weekly Wrap Up 11/10 - 11/13
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zjoq10QKPabiRA6C3Sv4GNaHGbM1yJf2/view?usp=drive_link
Reminder - NO SCHOOL TOMORROW for Parent Teacher Conferences. Please remember your ID to get into the building.
World Kindness Day - Random Acts of Kindness
The following letter was sent home in backpacks today:
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to share our focus for November and December: Kindness and Community! As the
days get cooler, we want to warm up our school environment with intentional acts of goodness,
starting right in our classrooms and extending into your homes.
Celebrate World Kindness Day: November 13th
We are dedicating ourselves to spreading Random Acts of Kindness throughout our community in
honor of World Kindness Day on November 13th. Our goal is to create a chain reaction of positive
actions, showing our students that kindness, no matter how small, always matters.
To help guide our discussions, our book of the month is "The Jelly Donut Difference - Sharing
Kindness with the World." This story perfectly illustrates how simple, thoughtful gestures can make
a huge impact on others.
We are asking every student to bring the spirit of kindness home! On the letter that was sent home , you will
find our Kindness Choice Board. We encourage your child to choose and complete at least one
Random Act of Kindness this month. The choices that are listed are for both at school and at home.
Whether students are completing their act of kindness at school or at home, please fill out the
template attached at home and send them back to school. While we are asking for a minimum of one,
we are sending home multiple response sheets if you would like to complete more acts of kindness!
All responses will be posted in the building.
Please have your child write the Random Act of Kindness on the slip and describe what
you did and how it made you or the other person feel. Please cut it out and return to your child's
teacher by Tuesday, November 25th.
Sincerely,
Unqua Elementary School Shared Decision Making Team
Unqua Families,
Please help Student Council with our annual Food Drive to support YES Community Counseling Center. Items listed are grade specific - thank you for your support.
Thursday, November 13th
Wear a shirt with a message of positivity and kindness or wear YELLOW!
Unqua Families,
Please help Student Council with our annual Food Drive to support YES Community Counseling Center. Items listed are grade specific - thank you for your support.
This is a reminder that all confidential health documents (i.e., physicals, doctor’s notes, etc.) must be submitted using the Student Document Upload Ecollect Form available in the Parent Portal. If you already have an Ecollect account, you can sign in using your email address and the password you created. If you are creating an account for the first time, it will be set up when you submit your first document. To begin, click Sign In, enter your email and Parent Portal password, then click Register, agree to the terms, and click Register again. Once registered, you will be able to upload documents for all children linked to your account.
If you already have an account and are unable to sign in using your username and password, please select Forgot Password. Please note that passwords do not sync between the Parent Portal and the Student Document Upload Ecollect Form. We recommend using the same password for both accounts to simplify access.
We kindly ask that you do not email these documents. If you have any questions about uploading documents, please contact your school’s health office.
Sincerely,
The Massapequa School District Health Offices
Just a reminder - Family Connect Night is tonight!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rFIH7ElK9HfGMndwJXQPYjlaFxiwkrH6/view?usp=drive_link
In honor of Veterans Day, we are excited to extend an invitation to our students’ family members, friends, and loved ones who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. We would be deeply honored if veterans in our community could join us to share their experiences, stories, and insights with our students.
This event is a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with veterans, understand the importance of service, and express gratitude for the sacrifices made for our country. We believe that hearing directly from veterans will create a lasting impact on our students, helping them appreciate the dedication and courage involved in military service.
If you, a family member, or someone you know is a veteran and would like to participate, please contact your child's classroom teacher. We welcome all veterans, and no prior speaking experience is needed—just a willingness to share with our students. As we know schedules are very busy, and to include as many guests as possible, we are inviting veterans to visit from 11/5-11/13; the specific date and time will be scheduled with the classroom teacher.
Thank you for helping us honor and learn from those who have served. We look forward to making this day a memorable experience for our students and our valued veterans.
With appreciation,
Unqua Administration
We look forward to celebrating Halloween with the following activities on Friday, October 31. Classroom teachers will provide you with more details if needed for classroom activities, but here is an overview:
Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 will have a parade after the last lunch period, beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. The parade route will be out the back door and around the playground equipment, and back into the building. Students in grades 3-5 will be invited outside to watch the parade. Parents are welcome to attend the parade, and are to enter through the south side gates. The gates will be open at 1:50 p.m., after we have cleared the last recess for the afternoon parade.
In case of rain, we will plan an indoor parade route through the building ONLY for students due to space within the building. Information through an email blast will be sent out if the parade is moved to indoors.
Students in grades 3-5 may come dressed for Halloween but, PLEASE, be considerate of our younger students in kindergarten through grade 2. It would be inappropriate to have violent, gory or very scary costumes or masks in school. Although these things may be part of Halloween, they do not belong in an elementary school setting. I know that all parents will cooperate on this issue and I will ask upper grade teachers to reinforce this with their classes. Children wearing inappropriate costumes or masks will be asked to remove them and may be excluded from some activities.
Classroom parties are optional and different teachers may plan different kinds of activities. Ideally, parties will take place after the parade – a nice way to end the day. If this is not possible, the party should take place just before the parade. Naturally, we are trying to preserve the morning for instruction. We are continuing in only distributing pre-packaged factory wrapped snacks to students where the ingredients and nutritional information are clearly labeled. In addition, please Do NOT send in Treat Bags for the class. They will be returned with your child if they are sent in. This is for health and allergy purposes.
I look forward to a great Halloween and encourage all trick-or-treaters to follow their parents’ directions for a safe and healthy Halloween. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Deanna Catapano, Principal
Laura Hulsaver, Assistant Principal
In honor of Veterans Day, we are excited to extend an invitation to our students’ family members, friends, and loved ones who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. We would be deeply honored if veterans in our community could join us to share their experiences, stories, and insights with our students.
This event is a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with veterans, understand the importance of service, and express gratitude for the sacrifices made for our country. We believe that hearing directly from veterans will create a lasting impact on our students, helping them appreciate the dedication and courage involved in military service.
If you, a family member, or someone you know is a veteran and would like to participate, please contact your child's classroom teacher. We welcome all veterans, and no prior speaking experience is needed—just a willingness to share with our students. As we know schedules are very busy, and to include as many guests as possible, we are inviting veterans to visit from 11/5-11/13; the specific date and time will be scheduled with the classroom teacher.
Thank you for helping us honor and learn from those who have served. We look forward to making this day a memorable experience for our students and our valued veterans.
With appreciation,
Unqua Administration
Unqua Weekly Wrap Up 10/20 - 10/24
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MrpSJoQ3JKRoYHxnTSgHKwTQ_dFz8oDv/view?usp=drive_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RG4sqnqMCFu2CompQNJIuQI9iyZSIlDx/view?usp=drive_link
In honor of Veterans Day, we are excited to extend an invitation to our students’ family members, friends, and loved ones who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. We would be deeply honored if veterans in our community could join us to share their experiences, stories, and insights with our students.
This event is a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with veterans, understand the importance of service, and express gratitude for the sacrifices made for our country. We believe that hearing directly from veterans will create a lasting impact on our students, helping them appreciate the dedication and courage involved in military service.
If you, a family member, or someone you know is a veteran and would like to participate, please contact your child's classroom teacher. We welcome all veterans, and no prior speaking experience is needed—just a willingness to share with our students. As we know schedules are very busy, and to include as many guests as possible, we are inviting veterans to visit from 11/5-11/13; the specific date and time will be scheduled with the classroom teacher.
Thank you for helping us honor and learn from those who have served. We look forward to making this day a memorable experience for our students and our valued veterans.
With appreciation,
Unqua Administration
We look forward to celebrating Halloween with the following activities on Friday, October 31. Classroom teachers will provide you with more details if needed for classroom activities, but here is an overview:
Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 will have a parade after the last lunch period, beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. The parade route will be out the back door and around the playground equipment, and back into the building. Students in grades 3-5 will be invited outside to watch the parade. Parents are welcome to attend the parade, and are to enter through the south side gates. The gates will be open at 1:50 p.m., after we have cleared the last recess for the afternoon parade.
In case of rain, we will plan an indoor parade route through the building ONLY for students due to space within the building. Information through an email blast will be sent out if the parade is moved to indoors.
Students in grades 3-5 may come dressed for Halloween but, PLEASE, be considerate of our younger students in kindergarten through grade 2. It would be inappropriate to have violent, gory or very scary costumes or masks in school. Although these things may be part of Halloween, they do not belong in an elementary school setting. I know that all parents will cooperate on this issue and I will ask upper grade teachers to reinforce this with their classes. Children wearing inappropriate costumes or masks will be asked to remove them and may be excluded from some activities.
Classroom parties are optional and different teachers may plan different kinds of activities. Ideally, parties will take place after the parade – a nice way to end the day. If this is not possible, the party should take place just before the parade. Naturally, we are trying to preserve the morning for instruction. We are continuing in only distributing pre-packaged factory wrapped snacks to students where the ingredients and nutritional information are clearly labeled. In addition, please Do NOT send in Treat Bags for the class. They will be returned with your child if they are sent in. This is for health and allergy purposes.
I look forward to a great Halloween and encourage all trick-or-treaters to follow their parents’ directions for a safe and healthy Halloween. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Deanna Catapano, Principal
Laura Hulsaver, Assistant Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians of K-8 Students,
We invite you to read our iReady Parent Letter that includes important information on how to access iReady resources and parent reports. Additionally, please view our Massapequa School District video - Understanding grade level learning expectations and your child’s performance.
Please note that your child’s i-Ready Parent Report will be available on the Parent Portal under the Student Portfolio tab beginning Friday, October 24, 2025, at 3:00 PM.
Sincerely,
The Massapequa School District
Hello Unqua Families!
Please note the following reminders for communicating with your child's teacher(s):
Please be sure you are signed up to use Rooms to communicate with your child's teachers. And in return they can communicate with you!
We recommend you use this platform to send messages to your child's teacher that is not a time sensitive manner, such as a change in dismissal.
Dismissal changes should be communicated through a note, the Parent Portal before 10:00 am, or a phone call to the Main Office before 1:30 pm (516-308-5601) in case a teacher is absent or does not have the opportunity to read their messages during the day.
Staff members will get back to you as soon as they are available. If you reach out to a teacher after school hours or on the weekend, please note their reply may not be until the next school day or Monday morning.
We appreciate your cooperation with this as we look to ensure positive communication for all.