Principal's Message April 17-28
No new message next week!
And while our kids our home, please re-enroll them for school next year! Over 100 students have already re-enrolled at Watkins - the most in Cluster 4!
On behalf of the entire Peabody and Watkins family, we would like to thank you for the honor of educating your child this current school year and look forward to continuing our work together next year!
Our teachers, staff and leadership are already planning for next year, and you can help us prepare by completing re-enrollment for your child by May 1st. Thank you to all of the families who have already completed re-enrollment. If you haven’t, please visit https://enrolldcps.dc.gov to do so. Hard copies of enrollment forms will also be available in the main offices. In addition to the enrollment form, to complete enrollment, you will also need to submit your proof of residency document(s) per the instructions included in the enrollment packet and available at https://enrolldcps.dc.gov.
To support you with re-enrolling by May 1 and checking re-enrollment off your summer to-do list, throughout the month of April we will host several family engagement/ enrollment events:
- April 25, 3-5pm Virtual office hours
- April 29, 9am-12pm Enrollment Saturday: onsite enrollment support for Peabody and Watkins (in person at Watkins only).
- April 29, 2pm-4pm Family Kickball Game: come for the fun! In person at Stuart Hobson's field.
Key Dates for families
ENROLLMENT has officially started! Enroll by May 1st!
Enrollment season has kicked off and you can re-enroll your student for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year!
On behalf of the entire Peabody and Watkins family, we would like to thank you for the honor of educating your child this current school year and look forward to continuing our work together next year!
Our teachers, staff and leadership are already planning for next year, and you can help us prepare by completing re-enrollment for your child by May 1st. Thank you to all of the families who have already completed re-enrollment. If you haven’t, please visit https://enrolldcps.dc.gov to do so. Hard copies of enrollment forms will also be available in the main offices. In addition to the enrollment form, to complete enrollment, you will also need to submit your proof of residency document(s) per the instructions included in the enrollment packet and available at https://enrolldcps.dc.gov.
To support you with re-enrolling by May 1 and checking re-enrollment off your summer to-do list, throughout the month of April we will host several family engagement/ enrollment events:
Test to return following Spring Break
To support a safe return from Spring Break, all students and staff will be expected to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test. On Sunday, April 23, families should test their students and upload their test results to DCPSstrong.com/testing.
To help expedite morning arrival on Monday, April 24, please have your child bring their test or a picture of their test with them.
Allergies or Something else?
Now that Spring is here, your child may be experiencing a cough, sore throat, fatigue, and/or a runny nose caused by seasonal allergies. Remember that allergies, COVID-19, and other illnesses can have similar symptoms. Check out this chart from the CDC to see if their sore throat is just from spring flowers or if you should keep them home and follow up with your doctor.
Equity at the Cluster: Past, present, and future
The equity team is proud to share their progress and plans for advancing equity at the cluster! Join us to hear from our teammates about our experiences in dialogue and what we're working on for the future.
We are also partnering with expert Ayo Magwood on a series examining structural racism in the US. The first of these will highlight the Cluster's equity journey and feature a discussion with Ayo on structural racism.
These hybrid sessions will be hosted in person at Stuart-Hobson and virtually on Teams. SHMS eight graders are encouraged to attend with an adult caregiver. Childcare and dinner will be available for younger children. All sessions at 6-7:30pm. You can register here.
Thurs, May 11 - Equity at the Cluster: Past, Present, and Future - Featuring Ayo Magwood of Uprooting Inequity
Thurs, May 18 - Structural Racism: Historical Roots & Contemporary Impacts
Thurs, May 25 - Remediating Structural Racism
Thurs, June 1 - The Origins of Race and Racism
Thurs, June 8 - Strategies for Remediating Racism -Facilitated by the Cluster Equity Team
Chancellor's Parent Advisory Board
Applications are now open for the DCPS Chancellor Ferebee’s Parent Advisory Board for the 2023 - 2024 school year. Please share the application with parents and caregivers! Applications are available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese and Amharic (see attached flyers). For more information, visit: bit.ly/dcpschancellorparentboard.
Peabody
Late Arrivals - Caregiver walks student to class
PEABODY EARTH DAY CELEBRATION- aPRIL 24TH
The Peabody Specials Team is excited to celebrate EARTH DAY in the park on Monday, April 24th (rain date is Tuesday, April 25th). We will be across the street in Stanton Park during Specials Class time and students should wear clothing and shoes that are suitable for running and outdoor fun.
It’s time to SPRING INTO POET-TREE at Peabody!
April is National Poetry Month and Peabody Panthers are celebrating with an interactive “POET-TREE” display on our First Floor Lobby bulletin board. At the end of this current week a flower page and a leaf page went home in folders. Students and caregivers should have fun thinking up RHYMING WORDS. Write at least two words that rhyme on as many flowers and leaves as you’d like and share the student’s NAME and GRADE too! For them to go on the tree, you can send them back in your child’s folder OR find a stapler in the POET-TREE basket at the front desk and put them up with your child. Feel free to take extras home (in same basket) if your child wants to rhyme some more! Let’s ZING with SPRING! It’s TIME to RHYME!
More Recyclables needed for the Library Maker Space!
We’ve blasted through our supplies so it’s time again to ask for recyclables! Our engineers, designers and builders in our Library Maker Space Center need any of the following items: small boxes (from butter boxes to tissue boxes) and cardboard tubes (TP and paper towel). Many students LOVE to carry their creations to class in a bag, so we’ll take any spare plastic or paper shopping bags you want to pass along. Your students can put any of these items in a marked animal bin in the lobby of their floor or pass them to me during morning arrival. Huge thanks from Ms. Bloom!
Watkins
PARCC is HERE!
Parents - please schedule all appointments to avoid these dates or in the afternoon. Testing will always happen in the morning. Only some make up tests would be administered in the afternoon.
The schedule, which may change, is below.
Please read this letter from the chancellor to learn more.
Please Volunteer to Help Support PARCC
We are looking for caregivers to help organize pre-testing materials and help with day-of tasks, like troubleshooting technology and other critical roles. Please read more here and sign up for one or more shifts soon!
Recurring Reminders
FoodPrints Caregiver VOlunteer Sign Ups
For the Watkins schedule, the 1st-3rd grade classes will go in the afternoon, so look for your child's afternoon teacher, not homeroom teacher on this schedule.
Email issues with Smore? Unsubscribed from Blackboard?
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 trip chaperones- Complete a Clearance application
Exceptions
Exceptions may be granted to the DCPS Clearance process in the following situations:
- 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.
- 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