Bears Bulletin
September 25th, 2020
A Message from Principal Jackson
Hello Miner Families,
I hope everyone is doing well and that you are settling in to virtual learning. I wanted to provide a few updates and announcements this week!
Thank you to all of the families who joined us for LSAT or the Admin town hall meeting this week. The feedback and support is greatly appreciated as we navigate this new way of learning.
Tomorrow the Mutual Aid Network will be hosting their September Community table event. The details are attached to the bottom of this newsletter. The event is from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday. Social distancing and masks are required. The PTO is hosting other activities tomorrow beginning at 11am.
Our 5th grade was accepted into the Embassy Adoption Program again this year! We have been paired with Sweden and cannot wait for the students to get to participate in events and learning opportunities.
After engaging with the staff and a number of families this week we are looking at some possible adjustments to the schedule. We will be sure to communicate those out before anything takes effect.
Next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we will be distributing Math Workbooks, ELA texts, and more school supplies to all of our K-5 Students. We will be here between 10am-2pm for distribution. We are still waiting to receive the ECE devices from DCPS. As soon as we have them we wll let families know right away.
If you need anything from the school, here are the best contacts to use:
Enrollment: MinerESEnroll@k12.dc.gov
Principal Jackson - bruce.jackson@k12.dc.gov
Ms. Offor - uchenna.offor@k12.dc.gov
Stay safe and let the school know if we can be of any assistance.
Respectfully,
Principal Jackson
Virtual Learning Attendance
Students are required to attend virtual learning each day, Monday through Friday. Student attendance is tracked by logging into Canvas each day. Please make sure students log in between 6am and 11:59pm to receive credit for attending. The log in must be through CANVAS to ensure the attendance is captured daily.
District attendance requirements still exist. If your student is going to miss school, please let their teacher know and send a note to Ms. Joseph via email at chelsea.joseph@k12.dc.gov.
Medical and Dental Forms
Universal Health Certificates, Immunization Records, and Dental Forms are due on August 31st, 2020. Families who have not turned them in will continue to receive reminders consistently until we return to in person learning, at which point they will be mandatory and students will need to have them turned in prior to returning to school in person. If you have them completed, please email them to
MinerESEnroll@k12.dc.gov.
School Supplies
General school supplies were distributed but the we have more in the main office. Please feel free to stop by and pick them up Monday through Friday between 9am and 2pm.
Math resource books and ELA texts will be available for pick up in the next week along with headphones for student use during learning. Once they arrive we will let families know they are ready for pick up via the Remind App.
Student Assessments
Throughout the school tear, we will meet with students individually and in a group to do a brief progress check on their reading and math skills. These are informal, low-stakes assessments to see what each student has learned so far and what will still need to be taught. This information is invaluable to the teachers as they plan for future instruction. Students will be assessed during live sessions and possibly during independent times on Wednesdays. Testing sessions will be led by both the Instructional Coaches and homeroom teachers and require 20 to 60 minutes to complete. While cameras are allowed to be off during distance learning, they are required during testing.
Beginning of the Year (BOY) Assessments for all students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade will start this coming week. Students will participate in the following assessments, virtually between, September 14th - October 7th.
Grade Level
Assessment
Kindergarten - DIBELS/TRC/i-Ready
First Grade - DIBLES/TRC/i-Ready
Second Grade - DIBELS/RI/i-Ready
Third - RI/i-Ready
Fourth - RI/i-Ready
Fifth - RI/i-Ready
How can you help?
As with daily virtual instruction, please try to find a quiet space in front of a desktop, laptop, or tablet for your child. Earbuds or headphones are helpful but not required. In keeping the integrity of the assessments, we need you to complete the below Honor Pledge. With this pledge, you promise to assist us in ensuring your student is ready for their assessment and that you, the authority figure, will not assist your student with answering questions on the assessment. However, it is ok to assist your student with any tech issues.
Honor Pledge
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Hayes at
kyra.hayes@k12.dc.gov or Ms. Coles at
shamayne.coles@k12.dc.gov Feeding Site
As a reminder, Miner Elementary School is a feeding site for the community throughout the summer. Families can come in and pick up meals Mondays-Fridays from 10am-2pm.
Miner Gear - Back on Sale
Interested in a Miner T-shirt or lawn sign from the PTO? Please email
minerpto@gmail.com for more detials! And remember, Miner gear counts as the daily uniform!
Pay online and pick up/delivery is contactless!
School Playground Access
Per the Mayors orders, the Miner ES K-5 Playground is accessible during the hours the school is open. Custodians open the playground by 8:30am and close it at 4:00pm. Entry is only available through the door on the parking lot side of the building. Please ensure you adhere to social distancing and safe play while using the facility.
DCPS Calendar for Next Year
DCPS has released a revised calendar for next year. It is attached at the bottom of the newsletter under Files and Documents as a PDF.
