Principal's Message October 9-13

Dear Peabody and Watkins community,

**Hay un mensaje especial para las familias latinas. Ver mas abajo!**

October is National Bullying Prevention month and we are standing up to bullying at the Cluster. At Watkins, our monthly theme for morning meeting is anit-bullying. Each day, students will discuss the different ways that they can be an "upstander" - someone who stands up for what is right and kind. Discussion prompts include "What does kindness look like? Sound like? Feel like?" and "What adults do you trust at school to get help with bullying?" We ask families to have similar conversations at home about how to give and show respect (last months' theme) and what do to when someone is being unkind. As adults, it's all of our responsibilities to teach model and teach kindness! Families can watch this video with their children to support our message at school.

I also want to recognize our PTA for organizing and incredible, 3rd Annual Cluster Cup! Over 100 families had fun last weekend at home and in the community learning more about our schools and each other. Thank you!

Last but not least, we are preparing to honor Veteran's Day in November. We're asking all families that can spare or print a picture of their service/family member, their service, and the relationship to the Peabody or Watkins student (for example: "John Smith, WWII grandfather of Judy, 2nd Grade"), we are working on something to share in the future. Please bring those pictures and descriptions into the main office or your homeroom teacher.

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Naujae Cooper! Peabody's newest staff member will be the office clerk starting Tuesday, October 10th. Ms. Cooper will be the voice and face of Peabody's front line of customer service. Her email is not set up yet - we'll send an update when that's ready. The office will continue to be supported by Ms. Montgomery and Ms. Roy until Ms. Cooper is fully onboarded. For now, this is great news and we are excited to have Ms. Cooper as part of our Peabody family!

Fun Facts about Ms. Cooper: she loves to write poems and is a self proclaimed comedian.

Nurse Tuitt has moved on to another assignment and we have welcomed Nurse Alexis to Watkins as of last week. Nurse Alexis will serve daily at Watkins and can help both staff and caregivers to meet the medical needs of students at school. Nurse Alexis can be reached at awright3@childrensnational.org.

October 13

3rd grade 9:15am

2nd grade 10am

October 18

5th grade 10am

4th grade 9:15am

October 27

1st grade 9:15am

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

Back by popular demand, we are restarting the Watkins WatchDOGS (Dads [& Others] of Great Students) Volunteer program!!

What is WATCH D.O.G.S.?
WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads [& Others] Of Great Students) is a family and community engagement educational initiative.

What is the goal of a WATCH D.O.G.S. program?
To provide positive caregiver role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.


Who are WatchDOGS and how does WATCH D.O.G.S. work?
WatchDOGS are fathers, mothers, grandparents, and uncles/aunts who volunteer for at least one day each year at an official WATCH D.O.G.S. school. WATCH D.O.G.S., a K-12 program, invites caregivers to volunteer at least one day at their child’s/student’s school for part or all of the day during the school year. Identification will be checked upon entrance.

Is this program only for Dads?

Absolutely not!! We welcome all caregivers to volunteer.

What do WatchDOGS do (while they are at school)?
During the day, WatchDOGS may read and work on flash cards with students, play at recess, eat lunch with students, patrol the school entrances and hallways, assist with traffic flow and any other assigned activities where they actively engage with not only their own students, but other students as well. Many school principals have reported that the mere presence of a WatchDOGS volunteer dramatically reduces reports of bullying. On the day of their participation, WatchDOGS participants are given a brief review of their involvement and they wear an official WATCH D.O.G.S. name tag identifying them as a WatchDOG.

What days can I volunteer and how do I sign up?

WatchDOGS participant days will be every Wednesday. Please sign up at least a week in advance so we can notify school administration and teachers of your visit using this link to the WatchDOGS sign-up list: https://signup.com/go/xxkWcuc

Make sure you are checking class dojo for sports updates from Athletic Director, Coach Drakeford. Please send sports questions her way on dojo or latavia.drakefod-allen@k12.dc.gov.

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.

Hello parents and guardians! We're back again for another year of FoodPrints at Peabody and Watkins Elementary and we 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. 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 ms. Natasha natasha@ffm.org at Watkins and Ms. Aubryn aubryn@ffm.org at Peabody.

The sign up genius also has the schedule for classes.

Thanks again for your support of FoodPrints!

Peabody caregiver sign up

Watkins caregiver sign up

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