Dear parents, grandparents and education activists,

Preregistration is now closed for the UFT Brooklyn parent conference on Saturday, Oct. 22, at PS 140 at K258 in Brooklyn. However, you are welcome to come to the conference and register on-site.

If you did preregister, you will receive a confirmation card in the mail and a phone call soon. If you are unhappy with your workshop choices, you will have the chance to change them.

Check out more upcoming events and news you can use below.

Sincerely,

Betty Zohar
UFT Parent-Community Liaison

Upcoming events

• Friday, Oct. 14: The Department of Education invites English language learner middle school students and their families to its College Access for All Conference for middle schools from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St. in downtown Manhattan. There will be workshops about life planning after high school as well as activities and games. Interpretation services and child care are available. RSVP online now »

• Sunday, Oct. 16: Come to City of Science in Brooklyn from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Park Slope Armory YMCA, 361 15th St. City of Science is a free, interactive science exhibition that the whole family can enjoy. For more details, see the flier in English » and in Spanish »

• Wednesday, Oct. 19: Come to a Citywide Education Council for District 75 meeting about the UFT Positive Learning Collaborative from 6 to 9 p.m. at PS 373, the Robert Randall School, 91 Henderson Ave. on Staten Island. Learn about the UFT Positive Learning Collaborative, a program that trains school staff to address student behavioral issues before they escalate. After the meeting, there will be a book bag and school supply giveaway. See the flier »

• Thursday, Oct. 20: United Cerebral Palsy of New York will hold a workshop about preparing your child to use a communication device from 10 a.m. to noon at 160 Lawrence Ave. in Brooklyn. Parents of children with disabilities are invited. This is one of four free workshops that United Cerebral Palsy will hold throughout the city this fall. For more details, see the flier in English and Spanish »

• Saturday, Oct. 22 and Tuesday, Oct. 25: The Department of Education will hold two special education family conferences in Brooklyn this month. These conferences are a chance for families of students with disabilities to meet DOE staff in Brooklyn who support students with disabilities and to attend workshops on topics related to special education. The Oct. 22 conference will run from 9 a.m. to noon at PS 811, 2525 Haring St. The Oct. 25 conference will run from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, 283 Adams St. For more information and to register, visit the DOE website »

• Wednesday, Oct. 26: Come to a free community health seminar about uterine fibroids from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 395 Lenox Road in Brooklyn, classroom 1A. Refreshments will be served. See the flier »

• Sunday, Oct. 30: The Brooklyn Kidney Club for people with kidney disease will host a presentation about dialysis options and living life on dialysis from 2 to 4 p.m. at 395 Lenox Road in Brooklyn, classroom 1A. See the flier »

• Saturday, Dec. 3: The Department of Education invites you to its Mandarin language conference at PS 94 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This conference is a chance for Mandarin-speaking families to learn about English as a second language services and more at workshops presented in Mandarin. See the flier »

News you can use

• Free health services and events in Brooklyn: The State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn offers ongoing health services and free health events all year. Download the October calendar »

• Online citywide resource guide: The Women's City Club has created an interactive online resource guide for finding low- and no-cost services throughout New York City. Use this online tool to search for services by category, language spoken and location. It lists resources for child care, health care, food, transportation and more. Try out the resource guide now »

• Fact sheet for families of students with disabilities: Advocates for Children of New York has published a fact sheet in English and Spanish for families of children with disabilities. The fact sheet answers common questions that families have at the beginning of the year, like how to find an accessible school. To download the fact sheet, visit the Advocates for Children website »

• Donate new coats or winter clothing to homeless students: The UFT Coalition for the Homeless is collecting new winter coats and other winter clothing for our city's homeless students until Nov. 15. You can bring your donations to UFT headquarters at 52 Broadway in Manhattan, the UFT Brooklyn borough office at 335 Adams St. or the UFT chapter leader at your child's school. Download the flier »

• Register to vote by Oct. 14: Friday, Oct. 14, is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election. Find out whether you're registered, where your polling place is, who's on the ballot in New York and more by visiting Voting.NYC »