The Cardinal Connection

Aug. 27th: New and Returning Families Open House, Staff Meet & Greet, and Student Ice Cream Social @2PM-4PM more details to be provided.

Aug. 27th: Class placements will be provided to parents. Please call the main office at 202 698-4733 to see who your student's teacher will be this year.

Aug. 28th: Back to School Playdate 10 AM-12 PM

Aug. 28th: Serve Your City, Ward 6 Mutal Aid Back to School Bash... 11:30 AM-4:30PM

Aug. 30th: First Day of School for students in grades Kindergarten-5th Grade

Sept. 2nd: First Day of School for students in PK3-PK4

Sept. 5th: Labor Day Holiday (No School for Staff or Students)

Sept. 7th: First Day of After School Programming for Students

Sept. 17th: J.O. Wilson Family Movie Night

Sept. 30th: Back to School Night 6 PM-8 PM(More details forthcoming)

As we approach the new school year, many families have inquired about class placements. Class placements will be provided to families this Friday, August 27th. The reason we push the date back so late is to better ensure that all staff are officially on board and also to ensure that we have the best appropriate demographic makeup in each class. The placement of students each year is a task that our staff takes very seriously. It is a lengthy, complicated and thorough process, which we believe is essential to create well-balanced classes. It is important that each class at a grade level is similarly composed. We strive to balance boys, girls, academic abilities, health concerns, behavior issues, languages spoken, and students with special needs. Because of the many variables that go into the careful consideration of the make-up of each class, we can't guarantee or honor a request for a specific teacher.

Please call the main office on Friday, and Ms. Stephenson or Ms. Bishop will be able to provide you with the name of your student's teacher.

Cardinal Families,

This year the after-school program at J.O. Wilson will begin on September 7, 2021. This is the Tuesday after the Labor Holiday. In previous years, the after-school program would normally start on the first day of school. The reason we are making this change this year is that we are going to need more time to ensure that we have adequate staff and also ensure that our various after-school partner organizations can all start on the exact same date as well.

While we understand that this may be an inconvenience for families, we want to bring to your attention that this change is being made to better ensure the utmost safety of our students. Please feel free to contact the school directly at 202 698-4733 or email mitchell.brunson@k12.dc.gov if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mitchell V. Brunson

Principal

The JO Wilson PTA will be hosting several playdates/uniform sales of gently used uniforms over the next few weeks!

Shirts are $1 each/ Bottoms and Dresses are $2 each

Uniform Sales Dates

• Cardinal Family Meet and Greet - Friday, Aug. 27 from 2:00-4:00 pm
• Back to School playdate - Saturday, Aug. 28, from 10:00am-12:00pm
• Uniform sale (in front of school) - week of Aug. 31, 3:00-4:30

Have uniforms your kids have outgrown? Please consider donating them to the PTA sale! You can drop off clean and gently worn uniforms during any of the uniform sale times.

**Masks will be required for all playdates**

Cardinal Families,

As a school and as a district we are taking a strong, layered approach to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Please click https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/chancellor/back-to-school-health-safety-guidelines/ to see the many measures we are taking to keep our students safe.

At 20 DCPS sites across the District, public charter schools, and community health centers, any student ages 3-18 can get the required immunizations to attend school in-person. Pop-up clinics are open Monday to Saturday through the end of September. You can see a list of all DCPS clinics and their operating hours at dcpsreopenstrong.com/vaccines.

If you already have an appointment scheduled with your pediatrician before the start of school, we encourage you to continue with that annual wellness visit. School clinics offer additional options for families who have had difficulties making an appointment with their child’s doctor for required immunizations.

As we return to school in an in-person posture, we have to strictly limit the number of visitors that we can have in the building. With this in mind, we have made a few changes to our arrival and dismissal process.

Arrival

The arrival time for students is from 8:15 AM-8:45 AM. Our doors will open at 8:15 to welcome our students each morning. Breakfast will be provided for students from 8:15 to 8:45 as well. Students in grades Pre-K 3 to 1st will report to their assigned classes for breakfast. Grades 2nd-5th will have breakfast in the cafeteria and commons area. The commons area will be utilized as an annex space for breakfast and lunch to help us reduce the number of students we have in an open space at any given time. As a reminder, PK3 and PK 4 will utilize the front entrance closest to 6th Street, and Kindergarten -5th will use the main entrance closest to 7th and K Street.

Dismissal

This year we will dismiss students from the playground, field, and blacktop areas of the school starting at 3:15 PM. Teachers will escort students down to their designated area each day for dismissal. We will unlock and use both the 6th street gate by the field and the main playground gate at 3:15. Students who are independent walkers can only exit using the playground gate. Students will not be permitted to exit using 6th street without an adult. We ask that parents and families please wear a mask during dismissal and remain socially distant by maintaining 6 feet apart.

Both gates to the playground will be locked each day at 3:35 PM SHARP. All remaining students (late pick-ups) will then be taken to the cafeteria, commons area, or parent center. If you are late picking up your student you would need to report to the main entrance of the school and from there we will call your student down for dismissal. Please be mindful that parents will not be permitted to enter the building and the dismissal process may take a little longer than normal if you are late.

**In the event of inclement weather students will be dismissed from their classes. We will notify families as soon as possible if we are having inclement weather dismissal**

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends offering coronavirus (COVID-19) testing in schools. COVID-19 testing helps schools identify cases of COVID-19 quickly and reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections at school. For the 2021-22 school year, city schools will be participating in a citywide COVID-19 school-based testing program available to DC public and public charter schools. To opt-in for your student (or you, if you are a student 18 years of age or older) to participate in school-based COVID-19 testing, you must fill out and return this consent form to your school. Though this is optional we are strongly encouraging all families to please participate as this is a safety precaution being utilized to better ensure the safety of our school community. The link to the form is located below and we will also be sending consent forms to all families during the first few weeks of school.

https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/page_content/attachments/COVID_Testing_ConsentForm_FINAL.pdf

ServeYourCityDC/#Ward6MutualAid’s Back to School Bash is SATURDAY, 8-28 at Eastern Market Metro Plaza! Food, music, activities & more! For more details, see attached flyer below & visit

https://www.serveyourcitydc.org/b2sb