Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS

Dear MMBDA Learning Community,

In the month of February, we celebrate Black History Month and honor all the contributions made by African-Americans that have enriched our American History. Our students this month are learning important daily facts during the morning announcements, participating in a school-wide scavenger hunt, and participating in classroom discussions and activities that showcase the many contributions of African-Americans to our country. Our students will be culminating these activities with a school-wide assembly scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. for grades Pk-3 through 2 and at 2:00 p.m. for grades 3 through 8.

In keeping with our school’s vision of service and international mindedness, our school is once again resuming its annual international service trip for our graduating grade eight students. This June, our students will be traveling to Costa Rica, where they will be meeting with disadvantaged communities, planting trees to enhance the environment and prevent soil erosion, while also interacting with Spanish speakers. Students who attend these trips are forever transformed as they develop cultural sensitivity, broaden their world view, and experience the importance of an interconnected world. Please consider supporting our students by making a donation on our GoFundMe Page at: https://gofund.me/0bd160e4

On Thursday, February 9, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. please join us for our monthly food distribution program sponsored by the Capital Area Food Bank. Fresh vegetables, fruits and food will be available for free to our community. The food will be distributed from the lower level of the building with the entrance on 14th Street NE. Please share this information with others.

Educationally yours,

Dr. Acevedo

Principal - Brookland Campus

Our Purple Diamonds and Drumline students were the toast of the town by performing at the annual Washington, DC, MLK Jr. Parade on January 16, 2023. The crowds throughly enjoyed the music and the cheers performed by the Purple Diamonds. Thank you to Ms. Bynum, Ms. Butler and Ms. Little for leading these two very important student clubs. A special thank you to Ms. Little for organizing this annual event and to Ms. Hopkins, Mrs. Otunba, Mr. Otunba, Mr. Caleb, and Mr. Rico for their creativity in making this event possible for our students.

We were joined by Ward Council Member Zachary Parker and MMBDA Executive Director, Dr. McKay, and our very own "Mary McLeod Bethune" (Mrs. Otunba) who led the parade along with our Eagle school mascots (Mr. Otunba and Sylvia Gutierrez). The team also were able to meet our DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser. Great fun was had by all!

We look forward to celebrating our scholars who will be inducted to the National Junior Honor Society based on their excellent academic performance and their willingness to give back to the community. The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy is a prestigious organization that recognizes middle school students who exemplify service, scholarship, character, and leadership. The NHS requires all interested candidates to undergo an application process. Then, if selected, they are invited to attend an induction ceremony in March.

Once inducted, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5. Members will also commit to serving their school and the local community. More information will be forthcoming as we celebrate our amazing scholars!

We love our MMBDA families and encourage all of our students to return next year. If you plan to have your child attend our school next year and/or intend to add other siblings to our school, please complete the Intent to Reenroll document attached by March 15, 2023. We need to know who will be returning in order to know how many students to accept for next school year. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

January was a busy month for our learning community here at MMBDA! We have been working hard to improve the quality of, and engagement with, our teaching and learning programs. We have been revising our Primary Years Programme (PYP) of Inquiry to incorporate more dynamic Units of Inquiry, and we kicked off Semester 2 with a new timetable that allows our scholars to enjoy a greater variety of their Specialists’ classes! In the PYP, teachers are using more inquiry pedagogy which allows our students greater agency, or voice, choice, and ownership, over their learning. We’ve also welcomed some new PYP teachers to MMBDA! Exciting things are afoot! Stay tuned for more updates!

At the conclusion of each month our teachers and staff recognize and nominate teachers/staff for their hard work and dedication to our students based on the International Baccalaureate Learning Profile. The recent nomination focused on the "communicators" trait. For the month of January, please join us in congratulating our teachers of the month featured below as follows:

Featured from left to right are Ms. Morris (Environmental Science), Ms. Guerrero (2nd grade) and Mr. Otunba (1st Grade)

Thank you to our staff/teachers of the month for their hard work!

Grade two students learn about the life cycle of a butterfly during their Unit of Inquiry. Students have been nurturing their caterpillars which will eventually transform through the chrysalis stage prior to becoming a butterfly. Below are some pictures from students in Ms. Bynum' and Ms. Guerrero's class.

Our school has welcomed and embraced recently arrived students and families from Venezuela and Central America. Many of these families have traveled by foot to seek a better life in our country and are in need of basic necessities such as clothing. Our school is seeking to assist these families and is seeking generous donations. We are gladly accepting donations of any gently used clothing or uniform items for our families. Please send your donations to Mr. Tolliver or Mrs. Otunba and mark it as “clothing donation.” If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Acevedo at (202)459-4710.

We have reached the halfway point in the school year and would like to remind you of the importance of good attendance for all students. Every day a student is absent is a lost opportunity for learning. Too many absences not only can affect achievement for the absent student but also can disrupt learning for the entire class.

Most children miss a few days of school each year without long-term consequences. However, when they miss many days, the effects are almost always negative. The District of Columbia Law classifies a student as being “chronically absent” when they miss 10 percent of school days, and it is different from truancy, which counts only unexcused absences.

MMBDA students are considered chronically absent when they miss 18 school days a year for any reason (10% of our 180 school day calendar). That works out to less than 2 days per month.

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What Can Families Do?

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Start building this habit in preschool so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is important.

Attendance Notifications

We also realize that there are a number of excused reasons why your child may be late to school. Please send a note or call the school in advance if you know your child will be out of school ahead of time.

Thank you for your support.

The MMBDA Attendance Team

Our after care students participate in Yoga activities.

If you know of anyone who is interested in having their child attend our school for the 2023-24 school year, the DC public school lottery deadline is approaching for families with children entering grades PK3 - 8. The application must be submitted by March 1, 2023. (The deadline for students entering grades 9-12 passed on February 1.)

To apply to the lottery, visit https://apply.myschooldc.dc.gov/. If you have questions or need assistance, the MySchoolDC team is available to help. Call (202) 888-6336, 8am–5pm, Monday–Friday.

Student lottery results will be announced on March 31, 2023.

Our next Family Market Day is Thursday, February 9, 2023, where food is distributed for free. Please pass the word-on or share this information with someone you know! All families and community members are welcome to attend our Family Market Day(s) in the Library, the lower portion of our school. Please share and add the market to your calendar and notes. It's free!

Market Dates:
 Thursday February 9, 2023
 Thursday March 9, 2023 (due to DC school closure)
 Thursday April 13, 2023
 Thursday May 11, 2023
 Thursday June 8, 2023

• February 1st - 28th (Black History Month)
• February 2nd Open House Session 10:00AM-12:00PM (Brookland Campus)
• February 9th Family Market Day 4:00PM-6:00PM (Please bring your own bag)
• February 13th Parent Teacher Organization Meeting at 6:30PM
• February 14th Morning Coffee Talk with Leadership at 9:00AM (Parent Resource Center Room)
• February 14th Open House Session 10:00AM - 12:00PM (Brookland Campus)
• February 20th - 24th Holiday for Students, Teachers, and Staff (No School)
• February 27th Students return back to school (All students are permitted back in the classrooms after negative testing results)
• February 28th Black History Month Presentations at 10AM (Pk3 - Gr 2) and 2 PM (Gr 3-8)