Principal's Message May 12 - May 16

Thank you, thank you, thank you - to our teachers and staff AND our students and families. To our staff that serves our students with such care and kindness and for our community for showing their appreciation this week. The meals, treats, notes, flowers and more made our schools even more joyful this week. I also want to specifically acknowledge our PTA volunteers that woke up early, stayed late, to set up and clean up all of the festive spaces they created for our staff. It was much appreciated!

The Capitol Hill Classic - Big Fun and Fundraiser!

The Capitol Hill Classic is not only our biggest community event of the year, it's also our PTA's biggest fundraiser. All Panther students can help the cause by asking friends and family to "Fund My Run." (Even if they're not running in the race, they can still participate!) Participating students who earn donations from more than 10 people are eligible for great prizes! Visit capitolhillclusterschool.org/classic for all the information. And be sure to register to run on May 19!

NOTE: We want all Cluster students to have the opportunity to run in the Classic. The registration fee is NOT a barrier to participation. If you need financial assistance with registration, please contact Ms. Montgomery (tanisha.montgomery@k12.dc.gov) and Shelia Roy (shelia.roy@k12.dc.gov).

To help promote the event, students and staff can wear their Classic t-shirts from past races on Wednesday, May 8.

Please see below for more information about:

• 3rd-5th Graders DC CAPE - prepare at home
• Aftercare for school year 24-25 is open NOW!
• End of Year Event Flier
  
• Summer Reading Extravaganza
• FoodPrints Spring Flier
• James and the Giant Peach at SHMS
• Classic Palooza (Peabody Pizza Party May 16)
• Playground Updates for both schools!
• Recurring Reminders
  
• Peabody Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Curriculum Extension read aloud and reflection
  
• FoodPrints
• Watchdogs - come visit for the day!

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

The Capitol Hill Classic, coming up on May 19, is the biggest Cluster community event and fundraiser of the year—which means it's time for the Classic Fund My Run campaign (formerly known as the Classic Pledge Drive). Fund My Run engages all Cluster students in fundraising for our school by asking friends, family, neighbors, or complete strangers to support them as they run in the Capitol Hill Classic—ergo Fund My Run. Every dollar earned through Fund My Run goes to helping our kids, classrooms, and community.

You may have questions. Hopefully, I have answers:

Who participates in Fund My Run?

All Cluster students at Peabody, Watkins, and Stuart-Hobson can participate. Even if they're not running in the Classic itself, they can still help raise funds for our Cluster community.

Ok, what do I do?

1. Register to run the Classic at www.capitolhillclassic.com.
2. Tomorrow morning, look for an email with a link to your child's/children's customizable Fund My Run page. If you cannot wait, go to https://chc.fundmy.run/ and find your child/children's page/pages.
3. Customize the page with a pic and a personal message.
4. Share the link via email, social media, WhatsApp, Slack, carrier pigeon, sidewalk chalk...whatever floats your boat. Ask people to "Fund My Run!"

What's in it for the kids?
PRIZES! The Washington Capitals have generously donated some goodies for our top fundraisers.

• The first 30 Cluster students to earn donations from 10 people will win a bobblehead of Caps goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
• Students who earn donations from 20 people or more will be entered into a raffle to win tickets to a future Caps game!

We also have gift certificates to Dick's Sporting Goods and Della Barba Pizza! Students can also earn a social media spotlight, their picture in the Hill Rag, and more! But you gotta be in it to win it!

What does the money we raise go to?
The Classic - including Fund My Run - is the biggest Cluster PTA fundraiser of the year. The money we raise goes toward academic and classroom support and supplies at Watkins, free community events like Family Fun Night this Friday, Food Prints, specials (Art, Library, Music, PE, Science), garden maintenance, Flex enrichment scholarships, teacher appreciation and so much more. And with potential DCPS budget cuts looming, our support is as important as ever!

If you have questions about ANY of this, please email me. Otherwise, get out there and have your kiddos ask folks to FUND MY RUN!

All Cluster families are invited to join us May 29, 6-7:30pm for a celebration of music and outdoor learning. Enjoy dinner and explore our gardens in bloom while listening to the soothing sounds of the Stuart Hobson Jazz ensemble. To help us plan, please RSVP by Friday, May 24 using this link

Greetings DCPS Families! As we prepare for the launch of online enrollment, the District will be centrally resetting the passwords for all users who have not accessed the ASPEN Parent Portal on March 25. The email will be titled "Welcome to the ASPEN Parent Portal". Please test and save these credentials, as families will use the same log in ID email and password to access the online enrollment platform starting March 29. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Montgomery or Mr. Roy.

Flex and Joe's Den are ready to accept applications for next year! Please head to our website for all of the information. Joe's Den (Peabody only) will fill up, so you may need to act fast. Flex has unlimited enrollment, but please act soon so they can plan appropriately over the summer.

Who: Students and families

What: DCPL Summer Reading Kickoff, Scholastic Book Fair, and Free Book Fair

Where: Watkins Library

When: June 10-14, during school (students to attend on the library schedule) and after school (families are welcome 3:30-5 p.m.)

• Learn about Discover Summer, DCPL’s summer reading program!
• Shop the Scholastic Book Fair!
• Select at least two free books!
• Make bookmarks!

Every student can select at least two FREE books!

• Brand-new books provided by Scholastic
• Brand-new books donated to DCPS
• Used books in good to excellent condition

How to help

• Volunteer to work the Scholastic registers, assist students with finding books, and monitor the event. Signup link coming soon.
• Donate used books of interest to 1st-5th graders in good to excellent condition (no damaged covers, torn pages, marked up pages, broken spines, stains, or water damage). Minor signs of use are OK. Drop off book donations in the library.
• Donate money to support library improvements. Donation boxes will be set up at the event.

Both schools are getting new playgrounds!

Watkins' rec center (all of the outdoor space) is also moving forward with an upgrade, finally! I've communicated that our playground space is a a priority and that input from staff, families and students should be part of the process. I'm working on a Watkins process to provide input.

Peabody's Outdoor Learning Committee has been engaged with the team working on the project and the plans are almost final. The older playground equipment will change, there will be a physical barrier (fence) between the playground and parking, more parking spaces are being added, and a dedicated pathway from the school to the playground. That's a high-level description. I have this drawing from DGS to share with staff (see below), but I'm not too fluent with the details yet.

The picture below will give some insights to the design. The fence is feature in a green line (albeit faint), but perhaps the most important safety feature of this plan.

Peabody is implementing an Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias curriculum extension this school year. For more information, visit our website https://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/equity-inclusion

Next week we will read: “More Than Peach” by Bellen Woodard

Some discussion questions you could have with your child at home are: What did Bellen do for herself and others and what did she do in the larger community and society?

DC CAPE (formerly PARCC) is starting soon! As usual, 3rd-5th grade students will take the DC Science assessment (5th grade only) and DC CAPE for ELA and Math.

The science test includes 4 units that will be completed in three testing days. The ELA and Math tests include 3 units each that will be tested one day at a time. We have been preparing at school and caregivers can help students prepare at home by

• Re-emphasizing the importance of doing their best on the test
• Be aware of the testing dates and ensure a good night's sleep
• Come to school on time and eat breakfast
• Practice at home

Below is our testing schedule:

April 30 - May 2 - ELA for 3rd and 5th graders

May 7 - 9 - Math for 4th graders

May 14 - 16 - Math for 3rd and 5th graders

Make up testing with be ongoing on Mondays and Fridays and other non-testing days through May 22.

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.

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

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