PTO Update

Wow! It's been a busy couple of weeks at Ludlow and, like you, I'm exhausted. At least there isn't anything else going on in the broader community right now...

Instead of trying to come up with something funny in these not-so-funny times, I'm going to opt for sharing some Instagram reels that should put a smile on your faces.

Lion Dancer Assembly - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGCaroxxK7E/

Valentine's Day Dance - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGDi_Hnxvg9/

5th Grade Ski Trip - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGYAsGSOGdq/

Pancakes & Literacy - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGmISaVSD9Z/

Black History Wax Museum - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGnNCWzRj3Y/

As always, please reach out to either Angelle (pto@ludlowtaylor.org) or Chris (ptopresident@ludlowtaylor.org) with any questions, comments, or concerns. Copying both of us on any email will enhance our ability to respond promptly.

- Angelle Baugh & Chris Hanley (PTO Co-Presidents)

• Warriors' Night Out: Buy your tickets here by 3/7 for a chance at $250 of auction bid credit.
• Coffee Talk: 3/7 at 8:30am at the 7th Street entrance. Submit questions here.
• 2/20 LSAT Meeting: Slides are here and notes are here.
• Ludlow Budget Allocation: Find Ludlow's initial budget allocation for 2025 / 2026 here.
• Future Stars Session 3: Info on enrichments here and info on tutoring here.
• No School 3/13 & 3/14: Info on Future Stars day camp here.
• New LT LinkedIn Group: Join here.
• Grounds Committee Work Day: 3/2 at 10:00am on the playground.
• ECE Committee Meeting: 3/5 at 7:30pm on Zoom.
• Auction Committee Meeting: 3/11 at 7:00pm at Fresca.
• March PTO Calendar: Find it at the end of this newsletter.

We are rapidly approaching the end of the school year (hard to believe - I know) which means that we're getting close to Warriors' Night Out!

For those new to Ludlow, this event (aka the Auction) is our annual year-end celebration and fundraiser. The Auction Committee, led by Brad & Liza Reed, has been hard at work getting everything prepped for the big night and we are happy to announce the following details:

Where: Ivy City Smokehouse (1356 Okie Street NE)

What: A party for the whole Ludlow community with open bar, tasty food & great auction items

When: Saturday, May 3rd from 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Who: Ludlow families, friends, teachers & staff (but no kids!)

Why: To celebrate the end of the school year and raise money for the PTO

You can buy your tickets here. Options for tickets are as follows:

Single Ticket for Personal Use or to Donate to a Teacher / Staff Member - $90

Family Sponsorship (Includes 2 Personal Use Tickets & 2 Teacher / Staff Donated Tickets) - $350

As an added incentive, everyone who purchases their ticket on or before 3/7 will be entered into a drawing for $250 of auction bid credit. If you purchase a Family Sponsorship you get 4 entries into the drawing!

And finally - if anyone is experiencing FOMO regarding helping out with the auction just know you are always welcome to jump in and lend a hand! The next meeting of the Auction Committee is 3/11 at 7:00pm at Fresca. Swing by for a free margarita and let us talk you into joining the team!

Thanks to everyone who came out this past week for our Pancakes & Literacy event. It was a huge success that we never could have pulled off without the tremendous leadership provided by Lea Laman & Laurie Burkitt, as well as all the volunteer hours provided by teachers, staff & community members.

A huge thank you to all of you from the PTO!

Also a huge congratulations to all of the students who took time to enter the poetry competition. Be sure to take a few minutes to read the selection of entries that are on display alongside the stairs up to the multipurpose room!

And finally - we still have lots of books left over from the Used Book Sale! They are on a table inside the ECE entrance and are free for the taking until Thursday (3/6) when they will be donated to the NE public library. If you are able to help get books to the library next week, please let Hannah know (ptosecretary@ludlowtaylor.org)!

Our next Coffee Talk with Principal Miller is scheduled for Friday, 3/7 at 8:30am. Join us at the 7th Street entrance to caffeinate and ask Principal Miller any questions that you have. If you can't attend the event in person you can submit questions here that will be provided to Principal Miller after the event for written responses.

At present, we continue to wait for responses from Principal Miller to the questions submitted following the December & February Coffee Talk events. To the extent we receive written responses, we will share them with the community.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our most recent LSAT meeting on 2/20. If you missed the meeting you can find the slides that were presented here and the notes from the meeting here.

The LSAT is also deep in the weeds on budgeting for the 2025 - 2026 school year. DCPS officially released Ludlow's initial budget allocation yesterday. You can find a copy of the initial allocation here.

The TL;DR is that Ludlow's budget has increased $680,000 year-over-year but costs have risen significantly as well.

A LSAT meeting was held last night to discuss the initial allocation and a follow-up meeting to discuss Principal Miller's proposed budget will be held this coming Tuesday (3/4).

Future Stars has released information on Session 3 enrichments, Reading with Friends & Math with Friends.

Enrichments:

• Registration opens 3/7 at 5:00pm
• Registration closes 3/28 at 5:00pm
• New clubs include Vocal Masterclass, Key Notes, Voces en Espanol, Tech Explorers & ASL for Beginners

Reading & Math with Friends:

• Complete this Google Form to register your interest in RWF and / or MWF.

You can find all the details on RWF & MWF here.

Reminder - no school on 3/13 or 3/14. Need an option for your kids? Consider sending them to camp with the Future Stars. Info here.

We are excited to introduce a new LT Community LinkedIn Group. You can join here. For those who are interested, this new group is an opportunity to network professionally with other parents and caregivers from our school community.

We're biased, but one of the great things about LT is our schoolwide community events. For planning purpose, below are the anticipated dates for these events throughout the remainder of the school-year.

• International Night -- Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 6:00pm at LT.
• Warriors Night Out (aka The Auction) -- Saturday, May 3, 2025
• Beauty & The Beast Play Weekend -- May 30 & 31, 2025 at LT.
• Spring Into Summer -- Saturday, June 14, 2025 at LT.

The monthly calendar on the LT website has all of these dates--and more--and is updated regularly by Hannah Zlotnick and Heather Martin. You can subscribe to the calendar here on the LT website.