At Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, students will be accepted, appreciated, nurtured, and challenged according to their individual needs. Through their education at school, students will gain the skills, strategies, and desire necessary for continued learning. They will also develop a strong sense of responsibility for themselves and toward each other, their community, and the Earth's resources.

At Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, staff will use various sources of data to drive instruction and promote individual growth. We will foster collaboration among adults in service of our students. We will align resources to support our students and their needs; foster their unique identities, and create and sustain a responsive, inclusive, diverse, safe, and welcoming school community.

Hello Families!

We are thrilled to have students back after some snow days. We hope families enjoyed their extra long weekend. January has a number of non-student days coming up so please make sure that you are checking the calendar. An up-to-date copy is located on our webpage (amidonbowen.org) and the official DCPS calendar is linked at the bottom of the newsletter.

We are excited that our 3rd graders are going to be starting their swimming unit. 3rd grade families, please check for the permission slips that went home this week and be sure to sign and return them as soon as possible!

As the weather is getting colder, we want to remind families that our doors do not open until 8:15am for student arrival (that is when we have staff on site to monitor students). Please be careful when bringing students to school on cold or rainy/snowy days to minimize your wait time outside.

Unless students are in aftercare programming, please be sure they are picked up daily between 3:15pm and 3:30pm.

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns, or feedback at bruce.jackson2@k12.dc.gov.

Respectfully,

Leadership Team

Please provide some feedback on suggested budget priorities for next school year using the below form:

Budget Input - Parents/guardians

In addition, come and talk with Principal Jackson at the Principal's Coffee on January 14th, 2025 at 8:30am.

DCPS Afterschool Family Survey (1/24)

The DCPS Afterschool Family Survey is now live! DCPS is collecting feedback from families to better understand how we can best serve our community during the critical hours after the traditional school day ends. We appreciate your help distributing this survey to families to ensure we hear from your school community. The DCPS Afterschool Survey will close on Friday, January 24.

Do you have a child who will be of age for Pre-K 3 or Pre-K 4 next year that doesn't already go to Amidon-Bowen ES? If so, it's time to apply for a Pre-K seat via the MySchoolsDC lottery!

The lottery application is now open and must be completed by March 3rd, 2025! Even if you live in boundary, all NEW pre-K families must apply via the lottery.

Visit the MySchoolsDC Website here.

Indoor Dismissal Policy (Kindergarten - 5th Grade) - Whenever rain, snow, or temperature dictates it, we will shift our indoor dismissal location to the gym instead of the cafeteria. Parents will still enter the playground through the side gate but will report to the gym entrance doors. At 3:15pm, the gym doors will open and parents will pick their students up from their grade level lines and exit back out to the playground. This will allow for a more orderly cafeteria for our aftercare students. Pre-K dismissal will remain the same.

Family/Student Handbook - Check the handbook for reminders on expectations and policy.

Volunteering/Field Trip Chaperone - In order to volunteer on campus at events or to chaperone a field trip, all individuals need to be cleared by DCPS. Please consider getting cleared now because the process does take some time, and we are not allowed to send chaperones on trips without completed clearances (there are no exceptions here). Directions on the process can be found here. If you have an active clearance, please email the clearance letter to Ms. Green (kirstin.green@k12.dc.gov) and Principal Jackson (bruce.jackson2@k12.dc.gov) so we can ensure our records are up-to-date.

Breakfast/Lunch Menu - Interested in what's for Breakfast or Lunch? Here is a link to the menu for the month!

January 14th - Principal's Coffee (Topic: Budget Priorities for SY 25-26) @ 8:30am

January 15th - LSAT Meeting @ 5:30pm

January 17th - No School for Students

January 20th - School Closed

January 23rd - 5pm - ECE Parent Discovery Night (for incoming Pre-K families)

January 27th - No School for Students

January 28th - 7pm [Virtual Only] - ECE Parent Discovery Night (for incoming Pre-K families)

Website: amidonbowen.org
Location: 401 I Street, SW Washington, DC 20024
Phone: 202-724-4867