Principal's Message November 6-10

Dear Peabody and Watkins community,

Thank you to our students and families who participated in this week's Spirit Week. If you haven't yet, please check our our adorable pictures on Instagram (link below.). We're celebrating because today marks the end of the 1st term! (DCPS uses the word "term" for quarter). If you can believe it, we are 25% of the way complete with our school year. Today, teachers will begin making report cards so caregivers have a full account of academic and social emotional progress to this point in the school year. Report cards will be published to the Aspen Parent Portal by November 20 and then sent home. If you have questions now or later about your child's progress, please contact their teacher.

Also, we have received so many pictures and accounts of the Veterans out there who are connected to Peabody and Watkins students. Both schools are preparing bulletin boards to honor those veterans. There is still time to send in a picture (hard copies please!) along with a description of the veteran and their connection to our students. For example: "John Smith, WWII grandfather of Judy, 2nd Grade". Please bring those pictures and descriptions into the main office or your homeroom teacher.

Please see below for more information about:

• Picture Days
• New school boundary proposals
• East City Bookshop Book Fair
• Eastern High School Homecoming
• 4th and 5th grade Step Up Day at Stuart Hobson
• Stuart Hobson Open Houses
• Nov 6 Caregiver Chat at Peabody!

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

We are working on creating class directories that include caregivers' names, student names, email addresses, and phone numbers. We plan to furnish this information to Room Parents so it can be shared with all families in the homeroom. Our hope is that this contact information can be used for playdates, birthday parties, and other community building events.

When caregivers enroll their children, opting out of sharing this information is part of the enrollment forms. You can confirm your choice to not be included by completing this form.

Watkins will host author Sean O’Brien on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. to discuss the first book in his new series, White House Clubhouse, which follows the adventures of two First Daughters. O’Brien is a Capitol Hill neighbor who has worn many hats: White House speechwriter, congressional chief of staff, comedy performer, and professor. A former Watkins parent, he conceived of the story while watching his children at the Watkins playground.

Books, which will be signed by the author, must be pre-ordered. East City Bookshop is offering staff and families a 10% discount. Books must be ordered by Friday, Nov. 3 to ensure delivery at the event.

Act now and order online:

1. Go to www.eastcitybookshop.com

2. Create or log into your account

3. Search for White House Clubhouse and add it to cart

4. At check out, type in WATKINSSO1 in the “Promo Code” box and choose the “Pick up in-store” option

(books will be delivered to Watkins for the visit)

5. In the notes section, please type Watkins School Visit + your student’s name, grade, and

homeroom teacher for inscription and delivery

Tell us your thoughts about how equity and inclusion issues impact our school community.

Responses to this survey are anonymous. We are not collecting names or other personal identifying information. The Equity Team, including school leaders, will share a summary of results and use the information to develop and evaluate caregiver-led and school-based equity initiatives. As we undertake this work, it is crucial that we hear a wide variety of voices and viewpoints. For this reason, the survey will be open until November 30, 2023.

The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You can access using the QR code below. We appreciate your time and thank you in advance for your participation.

At the November 14th LSAT meeting (6:30pm, virtual) representatives from the Deputy Mayor for Education's Office will engage our community on some proposed boundary adjustments.

Please see the links below. As the date approaches we will increase our messaging about this very important topic.

This year, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) is conducting a Boundary and Student Assignment study (“Boundary Study”) to review DCPS boundaries and feeder patterns, and District-wide public school student assignment policies. The DME, guided by an advisory committee, is developing recommendations based on analytic findings and community input. These final recommendations will be submitted to the Mayor in March 2024.

Peabody is continuing our Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Curriculum Extension this school year. Much of our learning takes place through read alouds and discussions. For more information, visit our website https://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/equity-inclusion. Every other week we will post the book title along with a discussion question. We invite families to engage in conversations with your child at home as well!

Next week we will read: The Color of Us by Karen Katz

Some discussion questions you could have with your child at home are: What colors might you use to mix your skin tone? What name will you give the color?

Ms. Stacy Taylor (stacy.barker2@k12.dc.gov) leads this work at Peabody. She and I are happy to engaged. We had our first caregiver preview on Parent-Teacher Conference Day and we will continue to do so before the launch of each unit.

What about Watkins? The Watkins team is working on a 1st grade version of this extension. We will have more to share soon, but for now nothing is planned to launch in 2023. We will certainly share updates soon!

Next Thursday, November 9, Stuart-Hobson MS will host their Step Up to Middle School Day from 10am-12pm. The day is designed to give students a taste of the middle school experience and will include a Q&A session, school tour, student performances, and a mini-pep assembly.

Please note important information and action items below:

1. By Monday, November 6—please complete and submit this electronic permission slip: 4th and 5th Grade Step Up Day.
2. This is a grade level field trip. We hope that you will consent for smoother school-wide operations. If you choose for your student not to attend, they will stay in the building with adult supervision.
3. Money will not be needed for this trip. Staff will not be responsible for any money sent with your child.

Trip Details:

Destination: Stuart Hobson Middle School (410 E St NE)

Transportation: Students, staff, and chaperones will walk to and from Stuart Hobson Middle School

Departure Time: Approximately 9:15am (we ask that all attending students arrive to school on time)

Return Time: Approximately 12pm (students will arrive back at Watkins in time for lunch)

Parents are welcome to attend as guests (not just chaperones.) Parents interested in attending as guest can simply arrive at SHMS at 10am and join the team and students.

The library is hosting three after-school clubs:

• Harry Potter Club (2nd, 3rd and 4th graders)
• Dog Man Club (2nd and 3rd graders), and
• Library Club (4th and 5th graders).

Membership lists have been posted at school and on ClassDojo. Ms. Langley will communicate about clubs on ClassDojo. Ms. Langley can be reached by text at 202-200-2492 and email cory.langley@k12.dc.gov.

Back by popular demand, we are restarting the Watkins WatchDOGS (Dads [& Others] of Great Students) Volunteer program!!

What is WATCH D.O.G.S.?
WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads [& Others] Of Great Students) is a family and community engagement educational initiative.

What is the goal of a WATCH D.O.G.S. program?
To provide positive caregiver role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.


Who are WatchDOGS and how does WATCH D.O.G.S. work?
WatchDOGS are fathers, mothers, grandparents, and uncles/aunts who volunteer for at least one day each year at an official WATCH D.O.G.S. school. WATCH D.O.G.S., a K-12 program, invites caregivers to volunteer at least one day at their child’s/student’s school for part or all of the day during the school year. Identification will be checked upon entrance.

Is this program only for Dads?

Absolutely not!! We welcome all caregivers to volunteer.

What do WatchDOGS do (while they are at school)?
During the day, WatchDOGS may read and work on flash cards with students, play at recess, eat lunch with students, patrol the school entrances and hallways, assist with traffic flow and any other assigned activities where they actively engage with not only their own students, but other students as well. Many school principals have reported that the mere presence of a WatchDOGS volunteer dramatically reduces reports of bullying. On the day of their participation, WatchDOGS participants are given a brief review of their involvement and they wear an official WATCH D.O.G.S. name tag identifying them as a WatchDOG.

What days can I volunteer and how do I sign up?

WatchDOGS participant days will be every Wednesday. Please sign up at least a week in advance so we can notify school administration and teachers of your visit using this link to the WatchDOGS sign-up list: https://signup.com/go/xxkWcuc

Make sure you are checking class dojo for sports updates from Athletic Director, Coach Drakeford. Please send sports questions her way on dojo or latavia.drakefod-allen@k12.dc.gov.

Peabody and Watkins teachers have some big plans and big wishes for your kids and their classrooms this year. Please consider fulling some of those wishes from their wish lists.

Hello parents and guardians! We're back again for another year of FoodPrints at Peabody and Watkins Elementary and we are looking for parents to volunteer in our classroom and garden!

We'll have a maximum number of four (4) slots available for parent volunteers for each class. We'll be adding more dates in the coming weeks so be sure to check back frequently if you don't see your child's class as yet. Please reach out if you have any questions to ms. Natasha natasha@ffm.org at Watkins and Ms. Aubryn aubryn@ffm.org at Peabody.

The sign up genius also has the schedule for classes.

Thanks again for your support of FoodPrints!

Peabody caregiver sign up

Watkins caregiver sign up

Email addresses are often entered into our systems with mistakes. If someone you know (partner, friend, neighbor) isn't getting school communication please have them email their names, their child's name, email addresses and phone numbers and any other information to either PeabodyESEnroll@k12.dc.gov or WatkinsESEnroll@k12.dc.gov. Our team will correct the errors asap.

If you somehow are unsubscribed from Blackboard, please email your appropriate school inbox above and Adia.Howard-Stroud@k12.dc.gov who will fix the issue on Blackboard.

Field Trips have resumed and we welcome parents to join as chaperones. Parents who would to volunteer/ chaperone on an ongoing basis, must complete the DCPS Clearance process beforehand. Upon receipt, clearance letters should be emailed to tanisha.montgomery@k12.dc.gov.

Exceptions

Exceptions may be granted to the DCPS Clearance process in the following situations:

1. You are volunteering for a one-time, on-campus event, like Career Day or Field Day. Please email the Clearance Team at dcps.clearance@k12.dc.gov to confirm whether you qualify for a clearance exception.
2. You are a potential volunteer with an active secret or top-secret federal security clearance. Individuals in this group should complete the Federal Security Clearance Verification letter in lieu of being fingerprinted with DCPS. The original signed verification form and a copy of a state issued photo ID to dcps.clearance@k12.dc.gov