Principal's Message Oct 3-7

Dear Peabody and Watkins Community,

September is in the books! And the weather is cooling down and our lost and found is growing! Caregivers: please label your child's lunch boxes, water bottles and sweatshirts with their names! Peabody's lost and found is just inside the C St entrance. Watkins' lost and found is on the stage in the multipurpose room. Caregivers can ask to visit the lost and found to look for misplaced items at arrival and dismissal.

More importantly, most of our beginning of the year assessments are complete! In addition to last year's information about our students, our teachers have the most timely data from which they can tailor instruction to meet your child's needs. This data will be an important part of the parent-teacher conferences that are scheduled for next week, October 6th. We want to partner with you to support your child's learning at home and this information will help us support your child together.

GET READY Peabody, Watkins and Stuart-Hobson Families, Staff and Administration for the start of the 2022 Cluster Cup Scavenger Hunt!

The Cluster PTA is thrilled to host our annual FREE family event to build school spirit and strengthen the Cluster community! We have over 100 missions that your family can do from home, on Capitol Hill, and around Washington, DC. On Friday, September 30th.

WHO: The Cluster Cup is open to all current Cluster families, staff and administration!

WHEN: The Cluster Cup starts at 4:00pm ET on Friday, September 30th and ends at 2:00pm ET on Sunday, October 2nd.

WHAT TO DO: Download the GooseChase app to your Android or iPhone from wherever you get your apps. Only ONE PHONE per family! Find our game in the app by searching “2022 Cluster Cup Scavenger Hunt”. Create a player name and profile. Be creative!
The game will go LIVE at 4:00pm ET on Friday with the first “wave” of missions!

Once in the game, you will receive the list of missions. To complete a mission, select it from the list and follow the instructions to receive the allotted points. Most of the time, you will be asked to submit a photo or video, while other times you will answer a question. Select “Snap Evidence” to complete the mission!

Missions will be released on Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and

Sunday morning. Three different “waves” of missions over the course of the weekend.

NO computer screenshots or submissions of stock photos are allowed.

For our competitive families (and you know who you are), you can see rankings in real time and know exactly how you’re doing. Leaderboard rankings are automatically updated so get ready to refresh!

PRIZES:

FIRST PLACE: $250 Gift Card of Winner’s Choice! SECOND PLACE: $100 Gift Card

THIRD PLACE: $50 Gift Card
OTHER PRIZES FROM LOCAL VENDORS

• Sept 30 - Oct 2: Cluster Cup (see more below)
  
• Oct 6: Parent Teacher Conference Day, no school for students.
  
• Oct 7: PD Day is district led, no school for students.
• Oct 10: Indigenous Peoples Day, no school for students.
• Oct 11-21: Basketball Team tryouts (4th and 5th grade only, more info below.)
• Oct 12: Walk to School Day!
• Oct 14: Peabody Rocks the Red; 5th grade Community PRIDE celebration
• Oct 24-28: Peabody Book Fair
  
• Oct 25: Peabody Pizza Party (read more below)
• Oct 31 - Nov 4: Watkins Book Fair
• Oct 31 - Nov 4: Spirit Week
• Nov 7, Nov 8, Nov 11: No school for students. End of term/records day, Election Day and Veterans Day.
• Nov 21: Peabody Picture Day
• Nov 22: Watkins Picture Day
• Nov 23-25: Thanksgiving Holiday - no school for students.

We’re working with one of our school’s enrichment partners, Music Kids, to survey parents about which musical instruments they’d most like to see offered at Peabody and Watkins for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Please take a brief moment to indicate your interest using the Instrument Preference Poll link below. For Music Kids to properly staff the program, and for us to know whether we’ll have enough enrollment for them to do so, it will really help to hear from as many families as are interested so we can plan accordingly.

Music Kids offers the convenience of on-site classes for students as young as three years old. They offer instruments including Guitar, Piano and Violin, where students get to learn alongside a friend or two from school. Take-home instruments, learning resources for parents, and virtual support are all included. For new families, the link below also includes a short summary of what the program is all about. For returning families who were enrolled in the program last year, you should still fill out the survey as well.

https://form.jotform.com/musickids/instrument-preference-poll

For any additional information about Music Kids including packages, pricing and more please visit their website at www.musickidsprogram.com or contact them at office@musickidsprogram.com

Parent-Teacher conferences are almost here! Some teams will do a group conference based on student data and share strategies to support learning at home while other teams will have individual caregiver-teacher conferences. Our goal is for all caregivers to have dedicated time with their child's teacher. Most conferences will be virtual for safety, scheduling, and both educator and caregiver access. If there is a need for an in-person conference, please contact your child's teacher.

The entire Cluster is registered for Walk and Roll to School Day on Oct 12th. While we are a combination of three schools, lets see a sea of red out there! The short of it is: arrive to Lincoln Park in the morning, find our schools (signs are being prepared, but just look for the red!), and walk to Peabody or Watkins with your child in time for school. More info: https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/

Would you like to join your child's class in our gardens? Up to 4 caregivers can join each class on Wednesdays (Watkins only) and Fridays. Please sign up for your child's class only.

Peabody sign-ups

For the Watkins schedule, the 1st-3rd grade classes will go in the afternoon, so look for your child's afternoon teacher, not homeroom teacher on this schedule.

Waktins sign-ups

As required by DCPS, we will follow the below emergency preparedness drill schedule to ensure all students and staff are prepared in the event of an emergency.

All of the fire drills excluding the 1st one of the school year are unannounced. Dates for alternate drills (alert status, earthquake, lockdown, severe weather, shelter in place, 500 ft evacuation, and reverse evacuation) will be communicated to the school community in advance.

SY 22-23 Drill Schedule

• Sept: (2) fire drills-one announced & Alert Status Drill ​

• Oct: Fire Drill & Earthquake Drill ​

• Nov: Fire Drill & Lockdown Drill​

• Dec: Fire Drill & Alert Status Drill​

• Jan: Fire Drill & Severe Weather Drill​

• Feb: Fire Drill & Shelter in Place​

• March: Fire Drill & 500 ft evacuation/ relocation Drill​

• April: Fire Drill & Reverse Evacuation Drill​

• May: Fire Drill & Lockdown Drill​

• June: Fire Drill & Shelter in Place

September Alert Status Drill

This drill will occur on September 21 at Peabody and September 22 at Watkins and will take approximately 10 minutes. During this drill, indoor classes and activities will resume as normal. However, there will be no outside activities and all visitors and staff must enter and exit the building only through the main entrance (with proper ID).

All Fourth and Fifth graders are invited to join the Watkins Math Team on Wednesday mornings beginning October 12th from 8:10 – 8:40AM in the 3rd Floor common space.

Please join us to solve complex tasks, new learn problem-solving strategies, and engage in healthy competition!

To join click on the sign-up link by October 7th, and have a parent or caregiver fill out the form. Questions? Contact Ms. Goedeke (Watkins’s Math Coach) at janice.goedeke@k12.dc.gov

When: October 11, 2022 – October 21, 2022

• Girls: Oct 11, 12, 13.
• Boys: Oct 18, 19, 20.

Time: 3:30 – 4:30pm

Where: Watkins Gym

***Tryouts are held for 4th & 5th grade boys and girls. Please bring shorts, a t-shirt, and basketball shoes

***ONLY cleared /eligible athletes can try out… Email AD Drakeford for clearance status and/or the link to submit paperwork. If you have any further questions the Athletic Director and Coaches can be reached via contact information below.

AD Drakeford – Email: Latavia.drakeford-allen@k12.dc.gov

Coach Redmon: Email: jerenzo.redmon@k12.dc.gov Phone: 202-465-1504

Coach Hill – Email: Dawayne.hill@k12.dc.gov Phone: 202-276-8883

JOIN US FOR THE FIRST PEABODY PIZZA PARTY OF THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR!

When: Tuesday, Oct 25th (Rain date Wednesday, Oct 26th), 5:30-7:30PM

Where: Peabody Blacktop

What: Peabody Pizza Party! (Pizza, drinks and snacks provided by the Captiol Hill Cluster

PTA)

Who: Peabody students, families and siblings

Please join us for a fun, free, relaxed evening of community, music, pizza and books to kick off the new school year.

Capitol Hill favorite musical duo King Bullfrog will perform, and the Scholastic Book Fair will be open during the party as well.

Bring a blanket and enjoy getting to know Peabody families, teachers and staff.

Don't forget to bring all your PTA questions as well! We will have plenty of information about how to get

involved with Peabody and PTA this school year!

DCPS’ Office of Food and Nutrition Services confirmed that students are not able to only buy milk for lunch. Unfortunately, to get milk, students must purchase a full meal. Breakfast remains free for all students.

Reminder that lunch costs $3.00 for all students who do not qualify for free or reduced lunch. Families can apply for free and reduced lunch by visiting: dcps.dc.gov/farm

Students receiving school lunch must establish a MySchool Bucks account. More info can be found by visiting the DCPS Meals and Payment Page: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/meal-prices-and-payment

Having issues with the MyBucks process? Call (202) 299-2159 for support.

Peabody will kick off its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at our whole-school Rock the Red assembly on Friday, September 16. The Equity Team and Specials Team are working together to provide a wide range of books, resources and ideas to Peabody teachers to enable them to teach, celebrate, and pay tribute to the diverse Hispanic and Latinx cultures, traditions, languages, art, literature, and heroes during this month and throughout the school year. Each grade level will have an opportunity to share their learning at our Rock the Red Assembly on Friday, October 14.

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.