
PTA Newsletter
Mid-Summer Updates: July 16, 2024
Summer Greetings!
Dear Ross Community,
Summer greetings from the PTA! My name is Aimee Stoltz, and I am mom to rising first grader Ellis, as well as your new PTA Secretary for the 2024-2025 school year. I hope your summer resembles the vibes in this photo of me and my Roadrunner last week. :)
In today's newsletter, I give you some important registration dates for before- and after-school programming, as well as ask for a few volunteers and your assistance with an early jump on funding our school supplies. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your summer!
-Aimee
Before- and After-school Programming: Registration Dates and Info
Please note that the following list of programs is not exhaustive; the Enrichment Committee has been compiling a more expansive list of before- and after-school activities for Ross students as a resource for Ross families. The current list of activities can be found here. If you have additional activities to add, please do so! Registration information follows for Spanish, iGen STEAM, Keegan Theatre and JCC.
Before-school Programming
Spanish
Isabella & Ferdinand's before-school Spanish program at Ross is open for fall enrollment (grades K-5 only). The 15-week, 30-session program will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Ross from 7:55am-8:40am and you may register here.
After-school Programming/Aftercare
iGen STEAM Club: Registration opens tomorrow, July 17 @ 9:00 am
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 fall session will run from September 3 to December 20 and runs Monday through Friday until 6:00 pm. Sessions will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church on 18th Street, 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.
Keegan Theatre: Registration opens Tuesday, July 23 @ 11:00 am
Keegan Theatre will offer Aftercare this fall on Tuesdays (PK4-K), Thursdays (1st-2nd), and Fridays (3rd-5th). Students will be picked up from Ross and caregivers will pick them up from Keegan. Contact Jared Graham for more information.
JCC: Registration opens Tuesday, July 23 @ 11:00am
The JCC After School program will be offering Traditional After School as well as Enrichments this fall, starting Tuesday, September 3. There will be an open house on Wednesday, August 28 from 3:30-4:30pm for parents and kids to come and meet the staff and see the spaces. Please fill out this form if you are planning to attend. The JCC will close for the major Jewish holidays, however they are only closing for the first day this year (in the past years they have closed the first and second day). The only holiday they are closing for more than one day is Rosh Hashanah. The calendar is attached below.
The JCC recommends creating an account before registration day. Detailed instructions on creating your account and registering are here:
CREATING YOUR ACCOUNT (Only do this if you do not already have an account)
You will all need to create accounts in our new system in order to register for Fall After School. Please follow these steps:
- You will go to https://edcjcc.my.site.com and see the option to “Create Account.” You will then receive an email confirmation prompting you to create a password for your account from noreply@edcjcc.org (check your spam folder if you don’t see it immediately in your inbox). Click on the link in the email and complete sign-up! The link in the welcome email is good for 7 days.
- Once you have created your password and logged into your account, you will likely see information already populated in your Household record. Anyone who had an account in our prior registration systems (like campminder) has been brought over into the new system already. However, please take a few minutes to check and update the information in your account. Use the Create New Contact option to add household members. Make sure that all adults have up-to-date contact information and that all children have accurate birthdates. And please store a valid credit card on file as payment method under “Stored Accounts” prior to the July 23rd date.
REGISTERING FOR FALL AFTERSCHOOL 2024 (starting July 23rd at 11:00am)
Once you have created and updated your account, sign in and then click on “Sign Up for Upcoming Programs.” You’ll see a list of Category options on the left side of the screen – select Youth & Family. Then select “School-Aged Programming” as the program to see all the Fall options.
To register in an individual class, expand the options and select the class option you want. Please note the following:
- It will prompt you to select which of your household members should be registered. Please select the child, not the parent in this option.
- If you want to register more than one child for the same class, select both children. If you are registering more than one child for after school.
- You can register for as many classes as you want at the same time – the system uses a shopping cart model, so you will see the shopping cart in the top right corner with a timer.
ISO Volunteers
Room Parents: 4th and 5th Grade
Teachers and the PTA are still seeking Room Parents for 4th and 5th grades for the 2024-2025 school year. Room Parents serve as a liaison between the classroom and PTA and support parent relationships and bonding in the classrooms. They also help secure chaperones for field trips, communicate about monthly birthday celebrations, and help organize class events such as the Valentine's Party. Much of the role can be done via email. Please reach out to Principal Searl at holly.searl@k12.dc.gov if you would like to volunteer.
Ross LSAT Representatives
The Ross community recently elected two members (Marissa Piropato and Mawadda Gartner) to the Ross LSAT committee, which is a group of parents, teachers and staff at each DCPS school who advise the principal on topics like the school's academic performance, curriculum, budget and more. The Ross LSAT meets monthly for approximately one hour, currently alternating between in-person morning meetings and virtual afternoon meetings. There are two slots remaining on the LSAT committee. Interested or want to learn more? Contact Marissa at marissa.piropato@gmail.com.
School Supply Drive
Ross families are asked to contribute $100/student to cover the cost of school supplies for the coming year. This system saves parents a trip to the store as well as ensuring equity among students. The PTA then provides funds to Ross teachers to purchase what they need for their students and classrooms. Please order your children's school supply packages by August 25th at this link! In your order, you can also donate additional funds to help support families who aren't able to cover the full amount.
Key Dates
DCPS School Year 2024-2025 Calendar
Wednesday, July 17: iGen Aftercare Registration Opens
Tuesday, July 23: JCC and Keegan Theatre Aftercare Registrations Open
Friday, August 23: Sneak a Peek to meet teachers and visit classrooms (2:30-3:30pm) followed by PTA sponsored popsicles on the playground
Monday, August 26: First Day of School for K-5 students
Wednesday, August 28: JCC Open House (3:30-4:30)
Monday-Wednesday, August 26-28: Parent/Teacher Conferences for incoming PK4
Thursday, August 29: First Day of School for PK4
Friday, August 30: August Birthday celebrations (coordinated with Room Parent and teacher)
Monday, September 2: Labor Day Holiday, NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, September 3: First Day of JCC After School programming
Wednesday, September 4: First Day of iGen After School programming
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.