Principal's Message

Dear Peabody and Watkins Community,

What a joy to have our students back! Please check out our Instagram for the fun, relationship building, and content happening at Watkins on our first day!

At Peabody, our Kindergarteners spent time getting to know one another in our morning meetings, exploring the classroom, and (re)learning the school routines. Our students were especially excited to play on their BRAND NEW playground!

At Watkins, all staff and students were engaged in learning Panther PRIDE - how we show perseverance, respect, integrity, and dedication to excellence in each place in our school. We practiced key routines such as lining up before and after recess, entering the lunchroom, and using the bathroom. These key routines will help maximize predictability and minimize disruptions throughout the day. Most importantly, students and teachers got to know each other! I saw class scavenger hunts, interviews, and community circles all aimed at developing and deepening relationships.

3rd-5th graders will come together tomorrow (1st and 2nd grade will meet Wednesday) as a grade level to learn about behavior expectations, including kindness and our approach to responding to allegations of bullying. We will also share the fun ways we have planned to celebrate our Panthers on a regular basis. We have a ton of fun planned for this year!

Here are some items to keep in mind:

Watkins

• All students that tested to return have a blue strip on their book bag. Caregivers do NOT need to escort their children to the door tomorrow if they have the blue strip.
• If you child didn't come in today, they will need to be checked at the door.
• Dismissal will only get better. Working out our systems will take another day or two. And more students will go to aftercare as the week progresses. Dismissal is from 3:15 - 3:30.
• Your children received a letter with your child's unique student ID on it. Caregivers can use that number to sign up for school lunch (see directions below.). If you didn't get the letter and number, please email your child's teacher to request it.
• Please do not double park at arrival or dismissal.

Peabody

• ID numbers will be sent home tomorrow so caregivers can sign up for lunch (directions below).
• Be ready for a change in arrival on Thursday when all of our PreK students return.

• August 28: upload your child's negative test to https://dcpsstrong.com/testing/ by 3pm for K-5 students. And bring it or a picture to the first day of school!
• August 29: first day for K-5 students.
• August 31: PK families upload your child's negative test to https://dcpsstrong.com/testing/ by 3pm
• September 1: first day for Pre-K students.
• September 7: first PTA meeting at Watkins, 6pm. Dinner and child care provided. All staff and families are welcome.
• Sept 12, 7pm Anti-Racist, Anti-Bias Curriculum Extension at Peabody for Caregivers (read more below)
• Sept 20 Back to School Night for Watkins, 6pm
• Sept 22 Back to School Night for Peabody, 6pm

Review both Peabody and Watkins arrival procedures before the first day. They are posted on the 22-23 tab of our school website.

Please be patient on the first few days. Watkins families should expect lines and we check for negative covid tests, collect supplies, and confirm homeroom classes. We will have a full team in place to do so. Peabody families should expect the same on Thursday when all 200+ students arrive for the first time.

Also, the drop off lane will be in use on the northbound side (Watkins side) of 12th St.

Before the first day post your child's test results to the portal below AND bring a photo or the actual negative test to the front door. We will check that every child has a negative result before they can enter. Those without results at the front door will be asked to test outside with their caregiver or return home.

• August 28: upload your child's negative test to https://dcpsstrong.com/testing/ by 3pm for K-5 students.
• August 31: PK families upload your child's negative test to https://dcpsstrong.com/testing/ by 3pm

We will have a record of every child's submission. Instead of us checking for your child's name, bring us a picture or the actual negative test will be even faster for your child to enter the building.

So much is posted on our school website, please check it out.

If your question isn't answered there, please email...

• PeabodyESEnroll@k12.dc.gov or WatkinsESEnroll@k12.dc.gov for enrollment questions.
• Tanisha.Montgomery@k12.dc.gov for lunch or Aspen parent portal questions.
• Natalie.Edmonds@k12.dc.gov (Watkins) or Stacy.Taylor2@k12.dc.gov (Peabody) for Special Education questions.
• Your child's teacher for class-specific questions. New hires may not have email addresses yet. In this case, you can contact an AP James (la-tarsha.james@k12.dc.gov) or AP Edmonds.
• Other questions please email your campuses leadership team. That includes me, Ms. Montgomery, and your campus's AP.

Doors open to before-care students at 7am at both campuses.

Lunch will cost $3.00 for all students that do not qualify for free or reduced lunch. Families can apply for free and reduced lunch here. Forms must be returned to your child's school.

Separately, all student receiving school lunch, need to go to the DCPS Meals and Payment Page to establish a My School Bucks account. You will need your child's ID number to establish the account. (I'm hearing some families have it automatically synced per their email address). You can find your child's ID number through the Aspen parent portal. Please use the resources on the website for support accessing each website.

Schools will print out a barcode for each students and work with our kitchen staff to scan it while going through the lunch line. This process won't require any responsibility for students and should keep our lunch line moving. Any student wanting lunch will receive it, even if caregivers are still setting up My School Bucks accounts.

Having issues with the MyBucks process? Call (202) 299-2159 for support.

Please email Coach Drakeford with questions and to sign up! LaTavia.Drakeford-allen@k12.dc.gov

Meet Schedule:

• September 25
• October 2
• October 21

If your child plans to try out for basketball the coaches suggest signing up for Cross Country to get in shape before the start of the season.

The Peabody Equity Committee has been working hard to implement a curriculum extension for our students and staff this year. How will we make anti-racist work accessible to 3, 4, and 5 year olds? We'll show you! Please join our team, featuring Equity Lead, Stacy Barker, for a night of learning. We will explain our team's journey and share details of the first unit on identity by modeling the lesson for caregivers in this online session. We'll also explain how this work extends the Creative Curriculum's first unit on "Beginning the Year" and Kindergarten's English, Language Arts unit, "Being a Good Friend." Our team has been reading and learning from Anti-Biased Education for Young Children and Ourselves and the first lesson features the children's book, All Are Welcome, by Alexandra Penfold.

Click here to join the meeting at 7pm on September 12.

Before care and aftercare with Flex (Peabody and Watkins) and Joe's Den (Peabody) is currently open for enrollment and will start on the first day of school.

Last Friday, DPR shared with the Watkins team that they would not be providing services this school year. Hearing this news two weeks before we expected services to begin was a shock. We know how important affordable, reliable before and aftercare services are to so many of our families.

The Watkins team is approaching the need for affordable options in a number of ways including working with Flex, the DCPS Family Engagement Team, and OSSE via their voucher program to provide a long-term, sustainable solution for this need. I don't have an update yet, but please know that this is a top priority for me and I hope to have more concrete news soon. In any solution, students' Free and Reduced-Price Meals forms will be required. Please submit them to the main office when your child returns to school.

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.