The Cardinal Connection

At J.O. Wilson Elementary School, we are SOARing to success every day in every way by creating an environment in which joy, pride, positive interactions, and growth mindsets lead students to comfort in taking risks, self-advocating, and facing adversity.

October 24th: Fall Festival and Outdoor Movie Night 4:30 to 8 p.m.

October 24th: Unity Day at J.O. Wilson...Be a Buddy, Not a Bully! Wear your ORANGE shirts.

October 28th: Virtual Principal Chat 6PM

October 29th: Dine Out at Old City Market and Oven...4PM to 7:30PM

October 29th: Step Team Try Outs...3:45-4:45 in room 109

October 30th: Step Team Try Outs...3:45-4:45 in room 109

October 30th: JOW Building Modernization Community Meeting @6PM

October 31st: Book-O-Ween (see below)

November 2nd: Upper grades plat date at Anacostia Park 2PM-4PM

November 4th: Records and PD Day....No School for Students

November 5th: Election Day...No School for Students and Staf

November 11th: Veteran's Day Holiday...No School for Students and Staff

Join us on Thursday, October 24th for Unity Day! Wear your orange T-shirt to represent unity against bullying and show your support for kindness and inclusion. Let's remind everyone that Kindness Counts — Be a Buddy, NOT a Bully!

Grab dinner from Old City Market, our friendly, neighborhood corner store, and help support the PTA! A portion of each sale will benefit J.O. Wilson students.

📅 Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024
🕒 Time: 6:00 PM
📍 Location: J.O. Wilson Elementary School, 660 K Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

Come learn about our upcoming building modernization, the transition to the swing space, and the logistics involved. We look forward to seeing you there! DCPS will hold a community-wide meeting about J.O. Wilson’s swing space move this winter, at on Wednesday Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. Save the date, and stay tuned for more details. For ongoing updates on the school modernization, visit the school website.

Parents and scholars in our 1st and 2nd grader afterschool program enjoyed an afternoon of healthy eating and cooking during our LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL program. Parents and scholars enjoyed this event, giving them an opportunity to laugh and have a little cooking fun! DCPS and the JO family are working diligently to find collaborative ways to unite families at school and beyond. Thanks, DCPS for the opportunity!

We now have a new stock of long-sleeved J.O. Wilson shirts (red, sizes 3T–YXL, $18 each) and hooded sweatshirts (black & gray, sizes YXS–YL, $28 each) available for sale. The PTA will be selling them at the fall festival on Thursday, as well as other upcoming events. If you’re looking for uniform items and won’t be at the festival this week, reach out to the PTA at info@jowilsonpta.org to arrange.

Join the Cardinal Community for:

• Pumpkin decorating

• Game Night with Labyrinth Games and Puzzles (4:30-6 p.m.)

• Swag sale - Stock up on your cool-weather gear, including long-sleeved t-shirts and hoodies for kids!

• Refreshments (pizza, popcorn, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase)

• Outdoor screening of Hotel Transylvania starts at sundown. Closed captions will be provided.

If you pre-ordered a pumpkin, you can pick it up anytime between 4:30 and 8 p.m. Limited quantities of pumpkins will also be available for purchase ($12 for large, $5 for small). All proceeds benefit students and staff.

This event is open to all; please help spread the word to friends and neighbors.

Volunteers needed! Can you work a shift during the afternoon/evening of Thursday, Oct. 24? Please sign-up to assist with set-up, activities/games, concessions and/or clean-up.

If you would like to be involved with planning events like this and haven’t already let us know, please reach out to info@jowilsonpta.org so we can add you to the Events and Fundraising Committee email list.

The J.O. Step Team is looking for talented steppers from grades 3rd to 5th! Come shine like the star you are and show your skills at the Step Team Tryouts.

Tryout Dates:

• October 29th & 30th
• Time: 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM
• Location: Room 109

Don't miss this chance to be part of something exciting!

Join us for Book-O-Ween on Thursday, October 31st! Dress up as your favorite character from a book and bring the book to school to show off your character. We can’t wait to see everyone’s creative costumes and celebrate our love for reading!

Cardinal Families in 2nd through 5th grade are invited to a meet-up organized by the PTA at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Nov. 2., from 2 to 4 p.m. More details to come. If you’d like to get involved in helping to plan this event or other upper grades activities, reach out to info@jowilsonpta.org.

Let's feed the hungry voting masses on Election Day and raise some money for the J.O. Wilson PTA. We need volunteers to donate baked goods and also to help sell them to neighbors in front of school during the day.

I'd like to contribute items for the bake sale!

I can work an hour at the bake sale on Tuesday, Nov. 5

We are currently looking to fill the following vacancies:

• PTA Assistant Secretary (2-year term) — Duties include helping the Secretary with recording the minutes of PTA general body and board meetings; conducting general communication and outreach efforts; supporting the PTA’s use of social media; and assisting with general administrative duties.

• LSAT Parent Representative (1-year term) — The Local School Advisory Team (LSAT) is a group of elected and appointed members that exists for every DCPS school. The team consists of parents, teachers, non-instructional school staff, a community member, and, in some cases, students, for the purposes of making recommendations to the principal on matters that promote high expectations and high achievement for all students.
  NOTE: These seats are independent from the PTA and are open to any J.O Wilson parent or guardian.

Know someone who would be a great candidate? Please submit your nomination(s) here!

Want to learn more? Please reach out to the PTA info@jowilsonpta.org to learn more about the positions.

We will hold the special election to fill these vacancies during the Nov. 12 PTA General Body Meeting.

Shop at Harris Teeter? Link your VIC card to J.O. WIlson, and Harris Teeter will donate a portion of your purchases to J.O. Note that cards needs to be re-linked every year, so please double-check that you’ve successfully linked your card for the ‘24-25 school year.

Buy General Mills products? Download the Box Tops for Education app to scan receipts when you buy participating products (including Annie’s, Betty Croker, Cascadian Farm, Immaculate Baking, Larabar, Lysol, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Paper Mate, Pillsbury, Progresso, Totino’s, Yoplait, and others) and J.O. will receive a portion of each purchase.