PTA Newsletter

Dear Ross Community,

I received The Call this morning and have retrieved a sick four year old from school who has no interest in allowing me to look at this screen. As expected, she's shown no signs of illness since returning home and has traversed the apartment at top speed 500 times. So I'm going to get straight to it, and I couldn't be more excited: bidding is live for the auction! The Ross Auction team has outdone themselves as always with a ton of amazing items to bid on, from class experiences like extra recess for a week, to tubing down the Shenandoah, to summer camp gift certificates. You want shiny things? There's even a diamond necklace!! 😮 Start bidding today and throw your hat in the ring! (Oh, and tell your friends!) My next steps include "resuscitating" this child back to health, then bidding on all the shiny things and locating the perfect corsage for auction night!

Please note that DCPS has announced the last day of school as Wednesday, June 18, due to weather-related closures (more details below). Until next week!

Aimee

Ross auction online bidding is live! You can start bidding now on a variety of items, including:

• Tons of theatre, sports and museum tickets
• Gift certificates for Pitango, Floriana, 350, Jeni's, Surfside, Annie's, Call Your Mother, Shake Shack, Jetties, Agora, Duke's, Barcelona - and many more!
• 12-course omakase and a round of cocktails at Sushi by Bou DC for two guests
• Harry Potter, architecture, dinosaur, bonsai LEGO sets
• Shenandoah tubing trip for four

• Yoga and exercise classes, hair salon, nail salon, Botox and other gift certificates
• Lots of summer camp gift certificates

• A gorgeous diamond necklace

Dozens of additional items will be added soon! The adults-only auction will be held at Toolbox Pilates Art Studio on Saturday, March 22 at 7:00pm. Book your babysitter and buy your tickets here.

The auction relies on sponsors to help us meet our fundraising goals. A generous Ross family has offered to match up to $2,500 in sponsorships from Ross families, made between today and the auction (March 22). Can your family or business sponsor the auction through a tax-deductible donation? Every sponsorship comes with at least $120 in auction tickets. Help us meet this challenge and unlock this generous donation!

You can be a sponsor at the following levels:

• Sequin ($250) - includes two tickets to the auction ($120 value)

• Bow tie ($500) - includes two auction tickets and two pre-party tickets

• Past curfew ($1,000) - includes four auction tickets and two pre-party tickets

• Prom kings and queens ($2,500) - includes six auction tickets and two pre-party tickets

DCPS recently announced that the school year for students ends on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 because of snow days. More information and the updated calendar are available here.

iGen’s After School Program provides a safe, secure, and engaging environment for children to enjoy the company of friends while participating in developmentally and age-appropriate STEAM activities. The STEAM Club is open to all grades and is exclusively for Ross students. The spring session will run from March 31 to June 13, 2025 and runs Monday through Friday until 6:00 pm. Sessions will be held at the iGen Dupont Learning Center at 1623 Connecticut Ave NW and iGen will pick up students from school. Closures follow the DCPS calendar. A 10% discount is applied for the second/additional program (days) added and for siblings. For more information and to register, click here.

Missed last week's PTA meeting and Peace of Mind session? Never fear: we have the presentation slides here and the full recording here (passcode V?*0d.44) for your reference.

These are uncertain times – we know many of our friends are worried about their employment, and what they will do if they need to search for a job. Friendship Place wants to help! Please join us on Tuesday, March 11th at noon ET for our latest webinar: How to Find a Job in Difficult Times. This session will be led by our Aim Hire Employment Program Division Director Richard McKey, and Assistant Director Martena Williams, as they share with us information about how to strategically look at job listings, how to tailor your resume, and more hints. You can see some of Martena’s hints in our blog post here: https://friendshipplace.org/job-hunting-in-difficult-times/. We hope you will join us for this informative hour. Please click here to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/BFlrCZFNQ4-9lZwndndiCw

The Connecticut Avenue Streetscape and Deck-Over Project (“Dupont Deckover”) is an upcoming project in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The Dupont Deckover project "will provide intersection and drainage improvements and enhance safety, mobility and sustainability. The streetscape and new plaza will spur economic development and enhance the appeal of this section of Connecticut Avenue for all users – pedestrians, bikers, drivers, Metro riders, residents, and visitors." Construction should start this year and last approximately 27 months, with expected completion in 2027. In the meantime, traffic will be diverted onto 19th Street as shown on the attached satellite-view map. For more information: https://connave-streetscape.ddot.dc.gov/#overview

In this two-hour architectural history tour, we’ll stroll along DC’s Embassy Row to see the city’s most impressive properties, spanning the architectural gamut from Neoclassical to Beaux-Arts to Queen Anne.

Tours cover 1.5 miles over 2 hours and have sights and stops at embassies, the Cosmos Club, the Spanish Steps, and more. More information and tickets here.

In honor of Earth Day (Tuesday, April 22, 2025), Metro's Art in Transit Program is inviting K-6 students from Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia to submit 2-D (two-dimensional) artwork that highlight the vital role Metro plays in promoting clean air while fostering creativity and community engagement.

The selected artworks will be displayed at each one of Metro's three office locations in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. This project will showcase youth talent, inspire environmental consciousness, and highlight Metro's commitment to protecting the planet. You can learn more about the Metro Art in Transit Program here: https://wmata.com/initiatives/art-in-transit

DCPS School Year 2024-2025 Calendar

Sunday, March 9: Daylight savings time, SPRING FORWARD one hour

Monday, March 10: Girls on the Run (Grade 3 girls) begins

Thursday, March 13: Parent/Teacher Conferences, NO SCHOOL

Friday, March 14: WTU Wellness Day, NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, March 19: Freed Photo Class photos (rescheduled)

Saturday, March 22: Ross Auction, Toolbox Pilates Art Studio, 7-10 pm

Friday, April 4: Term 3 Learning Celebrations

Monday, April 7: PD/Records Day for Staff, NO SCHOOL

Monday, April 14-Friday, April 18: Spring Break, NO SCHOOL

April 22-May 12: CAPE TESTING WINDOW (All students in grades 3-5)

*please do not schedule any appointments or trips during the testing window to avoid your child having to complete make-up testing which will interfere with their regularly scheduled school day

About the Ross PTA

The mission of the Ross PTA is to support the education of all Ross students, to support Ross faculty and staff, to foster relationships among parents, staff and community members, and to assist faculty and staff to provide a safe and nurturing environment where all students, families and faculty can thrive and grow.

Email: PTApresident@rosselementary.org
Website: http://rosselementary.org/pta-board/
Location: 1730 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202.673.7200

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Do you have updates or announcements that you think would be of interest to our school community? If so, please email me here.