Principal's Bulletin

Ross Elementary, September 2, 2022

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Ross Sportswear Fridays!

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Principal Searl's Morning Message to Students

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Team work makes the dream work

Principal's Message

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Dear Ross Roadrunner Families,

Our opening week was filled with joy! We look forward to a fun and productive year ahead.

Thanks to our PTA for hosting morning coffees and sportswear sales. Fridays will now be school sportswear days.

Welcome to our new educational aide, Marney O'Connor. Marney will move into the PK4 educational aide position and Ms. Barber will join Ms. Chafetz in supporting Kindergarten. We are still hiring for another aide.

Thank you for ensuring your children arrive on time. If you arrive late, please escort your child to the lower level and receive a tardy slip from Officer Woodley or Ms. Segovia. Please email your child's teacher and Ms. Segovia for absences.

Enjoy the long weekend and please reach out if you have any questions or needs.

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY!

Warm Regards,

Holly Searl, Principal

holly.searl@k12.dc.gov

PARCC Testing Data📝💯

After a two year hiatus, all DCPS students in Grades 3-8 took the PARCC assessment last Spring.

While DCPS did experience a dip in scores, like the rest of the nation, we know this is one measure and one moment in time following a global pandemic. We have additional academic and social-emotional measures demonstrating our students made great progress last year. We will examine and analyze the PARCC data trends in the next few weeks with staff and move ahead strategically to create enabling conditions for ALL Ross students to meet or exceed the standards. End of year performance data, including PARCC, will be shared at our first LSAT meeting as well. If your child took PARCC last year, you will receive an individualized parent report when they are made available.

Ross PARCC Performance 2022

ELA: 83% proficient/advanced (91% in 2019)

MATH: 65% proficient/advanced (76% in 2019)

Remind APP

We are excited to share that DCPS is rolling out Remind district wide! If you're not already familiar with Remind , it's a classroom communication tool that makes it easy to stay involved with your child's learning. Remind is free to use, and you'll be able to get and send messages on any device—even a simple text message from your phone!

As part of this rollout, official accounts will be created for all the educators, parents, and students at Ross. You may have already received an email or text message from Remind. All you need to do is follow the steps in the message to finish setting up your account. Here is a video demo to see how Remind works. Also, we will set the preferred language for you and your child based on your enrollment so you can receive messages in your home language. As long as the teacher is receiving replies, you can also send messages back in your preferred language, and they’ll automatically be translated into the teacher’s preferred language. Learn more about how to send a translated message here.

We encourage you to check out this parent guide to get tips on how to use Remind. We're excited to use Remind to make connecting with your family more engaging!

No Shots, No School Immunization Updates

Please note that all health and dental forms should be turned into Nurse Gordon and Ms. Segovia. Kindly review the immunizations flier and note that children who are not in compliance with immunizations will not be permitted to remain in school until updated. You will have 20 days from the first day of school to be in compliance. If your child is not current on all immunizations by October 5, they will not be permitted to attend school after that date.

For more information on obtaining immunizations by the first day of school, visit https://dcpsstrong.com/vaccines/

Questions?

Nurse Gordon cdelancygo@childrensnational.org

Ms. Segovia, graciela.segovia@k12.dc.gov

Safety Drills

All DCPS schools participate in emergency practice drills each month. We practice fire drills, evacuation drills, lock down drills, severe weather, and shelter-in-place. Ms. Segovia and Mr. Shegda are the Ross leads on the School Emergency Response Team. Our evacuation site is the EDCJCC.

Related to safety, if there are any custody concerns, please notify Principal Searl and Ms. Segovia along with your child's teacher.

School Meals🍎

Breakfast will continue to be FREE for all DCPS students. Breakfast is served in the classroom each morning after the children enter the building.

Lunch is priced at $3.00 per student this year. You must set up a declining balance lunch account through MySchoolBucks for your child to purchase meals. You will need your child's ID number which you can get from Ms. Segovia. You can also find it on your child's report card, if your child is returning to DCPS.

Please complete the Free/Reduced Meal application for a reduced or free rate, based on family income.

If you need help with the application, please see Ms. Segovia. graciela.segovia@k12.dc.gov

Link to school menus

Link to information about dietary accommodations

School Supplies✏️📓🖍️

Pay for school supplies here.

Ross families are asked to voluntarily contribute $100/student to cover the cost of school supplies. The PTA provides collected funds to Ross teachers to purchase supplies for all students in the class.

This saves you a shopping trip and ensures equity among students in the classroom.

The PTA encourages you to purchase as soon as possible and to consider an extra donation to help support families who are not financially able to contribute.

Fall Athletics👟

Coach Shegda and Ms. Cirillo are coaching Cross Country in Fall for Grades 4-5 on Wednesday afternoons. Details regarding physical exams, etc. can be found here. Your child must have a current physical to participate. Coach Shegda's email is jason.shegda@k12.dc.gov

Kids Ride Free Cards🚇

The Kids Ride Free (KRF) program allows students to ride for free on Metrobus, Metrorail, and the DC Circulator while travelling within the District.

SY22-23 KRF cards will be distributed upon parent request by Ms. Segovia. We use KRF cards for many field trips. If you request a card, please ensure you send it in on field trip days, if asked.
SY21-22 KRF cards will remain valid through September 30th
Always tap the KRF card before rides
Don’t leave home without the KRF card
The DC Student Ride Guide flyer is available in multiple languages
There is no fee for replacement cards
For more information, visit KidsRideFree.dc.gov or call (202) 673-1740.