Hello Miner Families,

I hope that everyone is doing well.

I want to start by thanking everyone for their patience and support last week. Following the terrible events last week at the Capitol we did have teachers and staff provide space, in an age appropriate manner, to discuss their thoughts and feelings about what they saw or heard. We know that this was not the rigorous academics typically delivered during the day, however, nothing about this event was typical and the leadership team truly felt like it was essential that time be set aside to acknowledge the range of thoughts and feelings out students had. In addition, I want to commend our teachers and staff for leading these discussions while many of them were still processing the events themselves.

In that light, AP Lee found an article that we wanted to share with families about how to talk to your children about Race and Cultural Diversity. Please find a link to the article (with citations) here:

RAISING KIDS: How to Talk to Kids About Race and Cultural Diversity by Katherine Lee

As many of you know, we shared our return to learning Term 3 plan last week at the PTO meeting and then via Remind the following day. It can also be found on the home page of the Web site for anyone who didn't see it but the below sections will provide updates for families around the term 3 plan and next steps.

Lastly, as a reminder, there will be no school next week on Monday (1/18), Tuesday (1/19) and Wednesday (1/20). We will resume school on Thursday - January 21st at 9am.

Stay safe and let the school know if we can be of any assistance.

Respectfully,

Principal Jackson

We are currently planning to open two Early Childhood classrooms for term 3. Both rooms will work on a part-time basis for the term.

We are currently contacting families that were matched via the DCPS lottery and will share schedule specifics and operations (drop off, pick up, safety expectations) beginning next week directly with those returning.

Currently, Ms. Richardson and Ms. Dorsey will be leading one classroom with support. The second classroom will be led by Ms. Luttmer along with Ms. Keeno. Ms. Moulden will be providing support to the classes as well.

Roster changes will be shared with families as soon as we have filled each classroom.

We are currently planning to open one Kindergarten classroom for In-Person learning.

We are currently contacting families that were matched via the DCPS lottery and will share schedule specifics and operations (drop off, pick up, safety expectations) beginning next week directly with those returning.

Currently, Mr. Yoho and Ms. Douglas will be leading the classroom.

Roster changes will be shared with families as soon as we have filled each classroom.

We are currently planning to open one 1st grade classroom for in-person learning.

We are currently contacting families that were matched via the DCPS lottery and will share schedule specifics and operations (drop off, pick up, safety expectations) beginning next week directly with those returning.

Currently, Mrs. Bradshaw will be returning to teach the in-person learning classroom for 1st Grade.

Roster changes will be shared with families as soon as we have filled each classroom.

We are currently planning to open one 2nd grade classroom for In-person learning during term 3.

We are currently contacting families that were matched via the DCPS lottery and will share schedule specifics and operations (drop off, pick up, safety expectations) beginning next week directly with those returning.

Currently, both Ms. Harris and Mr. Martin will be returning in a part time capacity. Ms. Hoxie will also be returning to support the students in this classroom environment. This means there will be some schedule changes that we will share out beginning next week.

Roster changes will be shared with families as soon as we have filled each classroom.

We are currently scheduled to open one CARE classroom to support our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

We are in the process of offering out seats based on the DCPS Lottery. This classroom will be led by Mr.. Johnson who is currently leading the 2nd/3rd grade CARE Classroom.

We are working to support all 5 of our Self-Contained classes with in person learning. In order to do that, we need to have more than half of the students choose to return for in person learning.

If half of the class or more chooses to remain virtual, we will not be opening the classroom.

These classes would be:

ECE ELS - Mrs. Smith, Ms. Jones, and Mrs. Stamper

ECE CES - Ms. O'neil and Ms. Seabron

K-2 ELS - Ms. Olazo and Ms. Myers

3-5 ILS - Ms. Turingan and Ms. Phillpotts

3-5 SLS - Ms. Halley and Ms. Bland

Once we know if we have the minimum number of students to open a classroom we will communicate the status to all members of the classroom community.

Students are required to attend virtual learning each day, Monday through Friday. Student attendance is tracked by logging into Canvas each day. Please make sure students log in between 6am and 11:59pm to receive credit for attending. The log in must be through CANVAS to ensure the attendance is captured daily.

District attendance requirements still exist. If your student is going to miss school, please let their teacher know and send a note to Ms. Joseph via email at chelsea.joseph@k12.dc.gov.

Universal Health Certificates, Immunization Records, and Dental Forms are due on August 31st, 2020. Families who have not turned them in will continue to receive reminders consistently until we return to in person learning, at which point they will be mandatory and students will need to have them turned in prior to returning to school in person. If you have them completed, please email them to MinerESEnroll@k12.dc.gov.

UPDATE: Families must have updated immunization in order to claim their in person learning classroom space if offered. Those who do not have updated documentation prior to November 9th will risk losing their seat and it will be given to the next family on the waitlist.

As a reminder, Miner Elementary School is a feeding site for the community throughout the summer. Families can come in and pick up meals Mondays-Fridays from 10am-2pm.

UPDATE: While appointments at Miner will need to be scheduled moving forward, the school will remain a feeding site. Families are welcome to come between 10am-2pm for a meal. The cafeteria staff will bring the meal to families at the door.

Email: bruce.jackson@k12.dc.gov
Website: https://www.minerelementary.org
Location: 601 15th St NE, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202-397-3960
Twitter: @MinerElementary