When it Comes to Climate Action, Every Drop Counts!
Opportunities for Students (May 2025)
The final full month of the 2024–25 school year is here—time to lock in your late spring and summer plans! Check out all the learning and earning opportunities available for NYC public school students this month and beyond, including scholarships, free access to cultural institutions, and paid internships, and register/apply for them today!
The Month Ahead (May 2025)
With the last full month of the 2024–25 school year upon us, take a look at what's happening in NYC Public Schools in May 2025! Highlights include our month-long heritage celebrations for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Jewish Americans, as well as Teacher Appreciation Week, parent-teacher conferences, State exams, and Memorial Day.
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Highlight: Eugenie Clarke
May is AAPI Heritage Month! In celebration, we’re highlighting our profile of Eugenie Clarke, a fish scientist from New York City who earned herself the nickname, "Shark Lady," thanks to her trailblazing research on fish and shark species around the world as well as her personal dedication to protecting sharks and their ocean habitats from extinction.
Jewish American Heritage Month Highlight: Judith Heumann
In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in May, we’re highlighting our profile of Judith Heumann, a daughter of Holocaust survivors whose advocacy would earn her the nickname “the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement” for her important role in the fight for equal access for people with disabilities.
What We're Reading
The final Climate Action Day of the school year is this week! On Wednesday, May 21, join with NYC students across all five boroughs in learning about this month’s theme of water by checking out the books below!
These titles tell the stories of real and fictional climate scientists and activists, animals in ocean habitats, and what we can do to help protect and conserve our waterways.
Early Readers (3K–Grade 2)
- The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs, by Kate Messner; illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
- Else B. in the Sea, by Jeanne Walker Harvey; illustrated by Melodie Stacey
- Ocean Soup: A Recipe for You, Me, and a Cleaner Sea, by Meeg Pincus; illustrated by Lucy Semple
- Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean's Biggest Secret, by Jess Keating; illustrated by Katie Hickey
- The Water Lady: How Darlene Arviso Helps a Thirsty Navajo Nation, by Alice B. McGinty; illustrated by Shonto Begay
Elementary (Grades 3–5)
- Frozen in Time: What Ice Cores Can Tell Us About Climate Change, by Carmella Van Vleet
- The Girl Who Tested the Waters: Ellen Swallow, Environmental Scientist, by Patricia Daniele; illustrated by Junyi Wu
- Gracie Under the Waves, by Linda Sue Park
- Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet, by Barbara Dee
- The New Ocean: The Fate of Life in a Changing Sea, by Bryn Barnard
Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- The Line Tender, by Kate Allen
- Oceans of Plastic: Understanding and Solving a Pollution Problem, by Tracey Gray
- Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean, by Patricia Newman; photographs by Annie Crawley
- Safe Harbor, by Padma Venkatraman
- World Without Fish, by Mark Kurlansky; illustrated by Frank Stockton
Upper Grades (Grades 9–12)
- Dry, by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
- Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures Farming the Ocean to Fight Climate Change, by Bren Smith
- Into The Deep: Science Technology, and the Quest to Protect the Ocean, by Christy Peterson
- Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan Fought for their Lives and Warned the Nation, by Candy J. Cooper with Marc Aronson
- Whale Quest: Working Together to Save Endangered Species, by Karen Romano Young
You can find these books and many more great reads on Sora, our Citywide Digital Library, which provides free access to thousands of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students. You can also find even more great recommendations in the Climate Action Day Collection on Sora!
Missed our previous book recommendations?
Check them out in the "What We're Reading" Archive!
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR SCHOOLS
Since 2018, the New York City Public School Film Festival has highlighted student filmmakers' creative and diverse works. Check out how this year’s event, now in its seventh year, celebrated the 2024–25 honorees.
Ready to Read: Literacy Resources for Families
NYC Reads is reshaping the way that we teach our students to read, but the learning doesn't have to stop at the classroom door! Whether it's a family book club or a phonics-based 20 questions game, you can bring the "science of reading" home by using any of our helpful resources that will help your children continue to develop their literacy skills, like:
- Reading Games
- Phonics, Vocabulary, and Storytelling Practice
- And more!
A MySchools.nyc Tutorial: Learn the Basics
Throughout any stage of New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) application processes for 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, middle school, high school, and Gifted and Talented (G&T) for grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, you can use MySchools.nyc—learn how to today!
Stay Informed with a NYC Schools Account (NYCSA)
With a NYCSA, you can:
- Access your child's school information on the go
- See your student’s grades, test scores and more
- Complete important forms
- Take classes in Parent University
- Get technology support through SupportHub
