Dr Natalia Russo, the Principal PS145, the teachers and staff are helping change PS145 for the better

Parents at ‪‎PS87, ‪PS452 who complain about the schools being overcrowding can enroll their kids at ‪PS191, ‪‎PS145, ‪‎PS185 or ‪‎PS165 which have plenty of room. I can attest to the fact that PS145 is a great school, my daughter just completed Pre K there and I think she's at mid kindergarten, if not first grade level now thanks to the great Pre K teachers, Ms. Brador, Ms. Dinkl and Ms. Lee.

Dr Natalia Russo was named Principal of the school in October 2013. She is outstanding, as is Mrs. Loushonda Mack, Assistant Principal, Mr. Carlos Salamanca, Parent Coordinator and President of the Parent Association, Yassiel Nieves as well as the SLT.  Dr. Russo runs the school with on a strict budget because the school doesn't have large donors that PS87, PS452 PS166 or PS333 has mainly because the students enrolled in the school live in the hosing projects nearby.  I feel this is unfair because you cannot expect a school that gets no big donors to compete with schools that have millions in gifts from large donors.  If you want students to be on an even playing field shouldn't all schools receive the same amount of funding no matter where they are located? PS 87, PS452, PS333 get hundreds of thousands if not millions from donations, yet schools like #PS191, #PS145, #PS185 or #PS165 barely get anything from donations. Maybe donations to schools should be put in one account and evenly distributed to every school.

But with the money the school gets from fundraisers, Dr. Russo as been able to improve the school greatly. Before she got there few textbooks were provided for the kids and they as the teacher read the textbooks. Now they have their own textbooks that they can read along with the teachers.

The PTA of PS145 plan great fundraising events, including school shows and this year they organized a street fair and an outdoor graduation.  The refreshments at the graduation and the shows were donated by many of the local great businesses, including, Soul Cycle, D'Agostino and Madison Square Garden (go knicks and Liberty) and others who wish to remain anonymous.  Council Member MarkLevine , Assemblymember Daniel O'Donnell, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Barbara Nikonorow from The City Parks Foundation also made outstanding contributions.

This year each classroom received butterflies which they saw grow from caterpillars to chrysalises and finally to butterflies when they were set free.  The students drew pictures of the butterflies at every stage. This is very similar to the students at PS145 who start out as Pre K little ones and end as children ready to go to middle school thanks to a great school with great teachers, a great principle, assistant principle and staff.  http://www.ps145m.org/

Maybe Muslim nations should actually do something to stop terrorists instead of funding and training them.

This attack is on the Muslim nations for sitting on their hands and crying to us when they get attacked. 100,000 Isis members can't be defeated by millions in the armed forces in the Muslim nations? Not our problem. Remember what happened in the 1980's when Reagan supported Saddam and Bin Laden? The minute we helped them achieve their goals, they took their aggression out on us. We supported bin laden which then led to 9-11, we supported Saddam and then fought two wars to get rid of him. We need to STOP going into these fu-ked up countries and try to bring democracy because even our best friends in the muslim world like Saudi Arabia have the saudi arabia human rights violations. Let the muslim countries get rid of ISIS, the taliban and al qaeda, the groups they created.

I recall walking with my son and daughter and we saw a organized basketball game on Amsterdam and 100th Street. These games are fun to watch and the players have lots of talent, but what happens a fight broke out which usually happens, did I stay and try to break it up like republicans always want America to do, no I grabbed my kids hands and walked across the street. I know from experience that if you try and break up a gang war, you end up being in the middle fighting both sides. Its time America realized that and stopped trying to break up a war between muslims and other muslims that's been happening for thousands of years.

The Supreme Court decides to take guns away wife beaters, but why not terrorists?

At first, when I saw the headline I thought it must be from the Onion.  After all, how can anyone take second amendment away from wife beaters? How can this be?  What will the NRA say?  After all, if terrorists on a no fly list are entitled to a well regulated militia shouldn't wife beaters also be entitled to guns?

But then I was looking at the word regulated and it says , "controlled or supervised." So by Second Amendment's  use of the word regulated I can only assume our founding fathers meant we should look into who buys guns before we should hand them out.  The Supreme Court must now act and take guns away from those on the terror no fly list just like they will take guns away from wife beaters.

This is what Ron Reagan said "I'm a member of the NRA. And my position on the right to bear arms is well known. But, I support the Brady bill (named for James Scott "Jim" Brady who along with Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley.  Years later James Brady died from his injuries) and I urge the Congress to enact it without delay. It's just plain common sense that there be a waiting period [7 days] to allow local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks on those who wish to buy a handgun."

Why can't republicans who love Ronald Reagan and quote him all the time support his most important opinion that waiting period [7 days] to allow local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks on those who wish to buy a handgun and that a ban on assault weapons be enacted.

Again like Reagan I don't want anyone's guns taken away, but I just want what Reagan wanted, a  waiting period [7 days] to allow local law enforcement officials to investigate the person buying a gun and a ban on assault weapons that should only be used by police officers and military personnel.

yoga pants shouldn't be attire for young teen girls

Let me just start this off by saying I'm not conservative at all.  In fact, most of my conservative friends consider me the most liberal person in the country.  But, I've been noticing a trend lately that concerns me.  The trend involves women of all ages wearing yoga pants or tights, not just to work out in but all day.

Now, I don't have a problem if a woman wants to wear yoga pants or tights and put herself on display for everyone to see, and everyone can see them in biblical sense.  I've noticed those woman wearing yoga pants in the subway getting gawked at by everyone who passes them by.  If that's okay with them then its okay with me.

My issue isn't with them, its with parents of kids allowing their daughters to wear yoga like pants or tights to school and around the city.  Some of those girls I see on the city bus couldn't be older than junior high school age.  I really don't understand why a parent would want their daughter wearing tights with nothing covering them up in and around the city.  This is a dangerous city a times.

Recently I was taking my daughter on the bus to school and it was raining so we decided to take the bus instead of her riding her bike and me walking fast or running along side her (this is the method we usually get to school when its nice out).  On the bus there are always kids going to a public school past where my daughter goes to pre k.  They are nice kids, well mannered and clean cut (mostly if not all white, which is an issue I have with public schools being segregated but that I addressed in a previous essay.)

But lets talk about dress, or how parents allow their girls to dress.  I see these girls dressed in these yoga pant like outfits or tights  and I ask myself two things are their parents actually allowing them to wear these clothes? Do they the sneak out without being noticed by their parents?  

My my daughter wants to dress herself for school and she often tries to get away with wearing tights and my wife or I tell her she needs to wear a dress over the tights.  I guess she sees girls wearing tights that are not much older then her and she wants to emulate them.  I am thankful that my daughter will go to a school that doesn't allow tights to be warn as an outfit.  I am not sure why any school public or private would allow such attire.  Why would a parent or a school want their young girls to wear tights or yoga pants which make them look 4 or 5 year older?  I, for one, am not in a great hurry for my daughter to grow up.  I'd like her to be a little kid for as long as its appropriate for her to be a little kid.