Principal's Message September 11-15

Dear Peabody and Watkins community,

We are in it! Our classes our refining their procedures and we are building relationships each and every day. The first six weeks of school are a time for just that - setting the foundation for community and learning for the rest of the school year. In K-5 classrooms, we also started the beginning of year assessments that help our teachers differentiate instruction to make sure each student is challenged at the appropriate level. School is underway!

Join Principal Fraser (Stuart Hobson Middle School), our PTA, and me this Wednesday night, September, 13. Bring the whole family - dinner is on the PTA! (More info below.)

We are also preparing for Back to School Night! Back to School Nights are for the whole family! The format is student-led in the classroom so your child can show you the highlights of their year and classroom space. Caregivers can engage teachers is short conversations but should not expect a in-person presentation from them. Caregivers can expect their teachers to send a presentation ahead of time, so you can review it before coming to school and prepare your questions. The leadership team will also host an information session (presentation style) for both schools. We'll see you soon!

Watkins September 19

Peabody September 21

6pm - 7:30pm

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

Peabody and Watkins teachers have some big plans and big wishes for your kids and their classrooms this year. Please consider fulling some of those wishes from their wish lists.

No family updates specific to Peabody today.

The issue impacting the front door operations is being addressed. We have heard from our city partners that some work has been done to secure the issue, but we have not been given the all-clear to continue use of the front door. We are committed to seeing this work through and communicating with families about the progress. Stay tuned for more.

All are welcome!

Math Team is back this year for students in all grades. We hope to include as many Watkins Mathematicians as possible, so ask that you indicate your interest and answer a few short questions to help with our planning.

Please reach out to Ms. Goedeke, janice.goedeke@k12.dc.gov if you have any questions.

Join us once a month, to celebrate our students commitment to Panther PRIDE - Perseverance, Integrity, Respect, and Dedication to Excellence. We sing, dance, and recognize our students in a grade-level community meeting once a month. New this year: students will lead much of the meetings!

Our second meetings of the year (we had one on the first week) start Wednesday, Sept 20 with 5th and 4th grade. Caregivers can access all the meetings using this link.

September 20

5th grade 10am

4th grade 9:15am

September 22

3rd grade 9:15am

2nd grade 10am

September 29

1st grade 9:15am

Click here to join the meeting - we will use the same link to access ALL of the grade level meetings.

We are excited to begin another year of student-athlete excellence, under the leadership of our Athletic Director, Ms. Drakeford.

Ms. Drakeford has been communicating directly with caregivers on Class Dojo. Make sure you are enrolled in your child's class to keep up with the latest.

Sports offered at Watkins 2023-2024:

Boys Cross Country (Fall)

Girls Cross Country (Fall)

Boys Basketball (Winter)

Girls Basketball (Winter)

Boys Track and Field (Spring)

Girls Track and Field (Spring)

Coed Soccer (Spring)

In order to tryout for any sports team you must submit forms using the link below. UHC/Physicals are only good for 1 year so please upload an updated form completed by your child doctor when submitting forms. Please complete the forms as soon as possible to ensure your child has a chance to showcase their athletic abilities for the sport they are interested in playing.

https://www.thedciaa.com/participation-forms

If you have additional questions regarding athletics, please contact Coach Drakeford via email at latavia.drakeford-allen@k12.dc.gov

Hello parents and guardians! We're back again for another year of FoodPrints at Watkins Elementary and, again, are looking for parents to volunteer in our classroom and garden!

We'll have a maximum number of four (4) slots available for parent volunteers for each class. Please review the available slots in the Sign Up Genius and click on the button to sign up. We'll be adding more dates in the coming weeks so be sure to check back frequently if you don't see your child's class as yet. Please reach out if you have any questions to natasha@ffm.org.

The sign up genius also has the schedule for Watkins.

Thanks again for your support of FoodPrints!

Peabody's FoodPrints programming will start the following week, including caregiver sign ups.

Email addresses are often entered into our systems with mistakes. If someone you know (partner, friend, neighbor) isn't getting school communication please have them email their names, their child's name, email addresses and phone numbers and any other information to either PeabodyESEnroll@k12.dc.gov or WatkinsESEnroll@k12.dc.gov. Our team will correct the errors asap.

If you somehow are unsubscribed from Blackboard, please email your appropriate school inbox above and Adia.Howard-Stroud@k12.dc.gov who will fix the issue on Blackboard.

Field Trips have resumed and we welcome parents to join as chaperones. Parents who would to volunteer/ chaperone on an ongoing basis, must complete the DCPS Clearance process beforehand. Upon receipt, clearance letters should be emailed to tanisha.montgomery@k12.dc.gov.

Exceptions

Exceptions may be granted to the DCPS Clearance process in the following situations:

1. You are volunteering for a one-time, on-campus event, like Career Day or Field Day. Please email the Clearance Team at dcps.clearance@k12.dc.gov to confirm whether you qualify for a clearance exception.
2. You are a potential volunteer with an active secret or top-secret federal security clearance. Individuals in this group should complete the Federal Security Clearance Verification letter in lieu of being fingerprinted with DCPS. The original signed verification form and a copy of a state issued photo ID to dcps.clearance@k12.dc.gov