Principal's Message Jan 9 - 13
Dear Peabody and Watkins community,
We are thrilled that our 5th graders are ready to deliver Dr. King's, "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at 1pm on Friday, January 13th! This long-standing Watkins tradition is back creating a sense of pride in our community while honoring Dr. King's life and legacy. Our 5th graders are and have been rehearsing and they are ready!
Details, and the permission slip, are below. Please sign it now!
As much pride and effort that's going into this important event, it's also important to start the year off revisiting our school and home partnership.
The time between now and the spring, when PARCC starts, is an important part of every school year. Students can make great progress during this time and we want that to be the case for every child at Peabody and Watkins. We also want our caregivers to feel empowered to partner with our teachers to support the social-emotional and academic well-being of our students.
Our 2nd term ends Jan 25th and every parent should have a decent picture of their child’s progress before the report card is finalized based on communication from the school.
Caregivers can expect to see student work that is graded and/or has feedback on it sent home at least once every two weeks. Caregivers can expect to see a weekly message from their child’s teacher that includes an update on important dates, what students have learned, and what they are learning about in the coming weeks. If that doesn’t happen, ask your teacher! If that doesn’t work, please loop in me and an Assistant Principal. The staff page of our website is updated (Peabody, Watkins) with current email addresses for your convenience.
We believe caregivers should be aware if their child is behind and it’s our responsibility to develop a plan to catch them up and communicate that plan to the family.
Key Dates for families
Promote Our Open Houses!
Access to Medication
Additionally, medications can only be administered at school if the nurse has the appropriate completed form and unexpired medications which match the medication orders, on file.
More information can be at https://dcps.dc.gov/health . You can also contact the school nurse with any additional questions.
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
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.
Visitor Policy Reminder
All visitors must present an id to security upon arrival.
All in person visits to classrooms or offices within the building, must be pre-scheduled and confirmed with the teacher/ staff member you are meeting with.
Approved classroom visits can be scheduled for a max of 20 minutes. Visits longer than 20 minutes, must be pre-approved by an Administrator.
Items brought to the school must be labeled with the intended recipient's name and dropped off at the security desk. Staff will ensure that the item gets to the location. Visitors will not be allowed to drop off items to classrooms.
Volunteers must complete the DCPS clearance process.
Solicitors (i.e. retirement advisors) can not walk through our buildings.
Peabody
Get ready for Peabody's Winter Zoo-tastic Reading Challenge!
Peabody families and readers, We officially kicked off our "Winter Zoo-tastic Reading Challenge” with our Rock the Red all-school assembly this morning! The first reading log (African Savanna) is going home in folders today and each log represents 10 books (10 minutes of chapter book reading = 1 picture book). In eight weeks we’ll wrap it up with another Rock-the-Red Assembly and Read Across America Celebration on Friday, March 3. Your goal is to see if you can read EVEN MORE than you have normally been reading together! It’s one of the BEST things you can do for your children! Our Peabody School goal is for students to read a total of 8,000 books over 8 weeks. Our 2 African lions (one in lobby and one in the library) will fill with color as we read more books! Our fun theme is an animal journey through the ZOO and we hope to celebrate all the great winter reading with an animal celebration event in the Spring! Want an option for an E-log? Click on this link and fill out the form: https://rb.gy/dwobom
Bedtime Reading Surprise!
Peabody kids (and siblings too!), to make our 8-week Winter Zoo-tastic Reading Challenge even MORE fun, put on your PJ’s, grab your stuffy, and join Ms. Bloom for virtual bedtime stories every two weeks from 7 to 7:30 pm! The dates are Thursdays, January 12 and 26, February 9 and, after February Break, March 2. Let’s go crazy reading together and log even more books for our zoo-tastic reading challenge! Here’s the TEAMS link to join.
Reminder: In-class parent drop off ends at 9am
Watkins
School-Wide MLK Trip: Please Submit Electronic Permission Slip ASAP
On this day, all students and staff will take a bus to the Lincoln Memorial to support this momentous occasion. Family members are also invited to attend, but must find your own transportation to the location.
Action item: please take a couple minutes to review and submit this permission slip by Tuesday, January 10 by either clicking on the following link https://tinyurl.com/Watkins-MLKTrip-2023. or scanning the QR code below.
Please note that this is a school-wide 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.
Event: MLK “I HAVE A DREAM” SPEECH
Date: Friday, January 13
Location: Lincoln Memorial (2 Lincoln Memorial Cir NW, Washington, DC 20002)
Transportation: School Buses
Departure Time: Approximately 12pm (we ask that all attending students arrive to school on time)
Return Time: Approximately 2pm (we will dismiss at our regular time)
Boys and girls basketball schedule
More Clubs!?!?!? Yes!
Our club sponsors will reach out to caregivers with the starting dates.
Comic Club - Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/ts9hcNQPyc
Sponsored by Mr. Harris. Meets Tuesdays after school.
In this club, students will create their own comics, graphic novels and more!
Debate Club - Sign Up here: https://forms.office.com/r/ts9hcNQPyc
Sponsored by Ms. Langley and Ms. Langhorne. Meets Fridays at 8:10
Kids are excited about participating in Debate Club, which is open to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Debate Club members will read “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown, examine its themes, and prepare to participate in a debate. Meetings will be Friday mornings, 8-8:30 a.m. in the Watkins Library. Select members will participate in the Elementary Debaters Cup Tournament on Saturday, May 13.
David King, Debate Club organizer and 5th grader, shares: “The Watkins Debate Club is the perfect place for anyone interested in improving their communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills. So no matter your background or skill level, you can find a place here to grow and learn. Our club provides an open forum for respectful discourse and debate on a book or subject. We offer a safe and welcoming environment for members to hone their arguments and debate strategies, as well as make strong connections. Through debates, you'll learn to think more deeply and learn to express yourself in a meaningful and effective way. With all the benefits of joining the debate club, you won't want to miss out - join today!”
Mindfull Mornings
Coach Latney will also offer a mindful beginning to the day. Sign ups are not required for this extracurricular activity. Ms. Latney will go to the hallway or gym at 8:20 to call students by grade. She'll escort them to the 2nd floor common space to engage in some mindful breathing, conversation, and movement. Questions? Alyssa.Latney@k12.dc.gov
Coming in February: Girls on the Run!
WELcome Nurse Michelle!
Nurse Michelle can be reached directly at 202-698-3353 or by contacting the main office at 202-698-3355.
Library Volunteers Wanted!
The next couple weeks, Ms. Langley could use help around the library and shelving books. Sign up here.
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.