Principal's Message Jan 22-26

Dear Peabody and Watkins community,

What a week! Winter is testing our ability to be flexible! With two snow days, one delayed opening, and a heat issue at Peabody on Thursday, this was an irregular week to say the least. However, our students and staff remained vigilant made the best of the limited instructional time we had.

We did find time to celebrate the MLK city-wide Student Essay Contest entries and winners! We are so proud to have the winner and runner up in the city-wide contest represent Watkins! Bella Byrd won first place and Demi Johnson won second place in the content. At the awards ceremony they shared that this year the most ever students participated and Watkins students still took home the top prizes. I'm so proud that even Peabody students participated this year. A special thanks goes to Ms. Pullings for promoting the contest to our community.

Next week, we will reach the mid-point of our academic year and the close of Term 2. On January 26, students will have the day-off and teachers will begin creating report cards. Report cards should be published on Aspen by February 9 and paper copies will be sent home by February 13. The next caregiver conference day is in March, but caregivers can always inquire about their child's progress at any time.

For this month's Caregiver Chat at Peabody (Monday, 8:30) Speech Pathologist, Ms. Rabb will host and share information and answer questions about your child's speech needs.

Please see below for more information about:

• Cluster Family Game Night!
• Peabody, Watkins, and Stuart Hobson Open Houses
  
• FoodPrints Newsletter
• Recurring Reminders

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

Hello Families,

We look forward to welcoming new families to our schools. Please promote the below flyers broadly within your networks.

Peabody is implementing an Anti-Racism and Anti-Bias curriculum extension this school year. For more information, visit our website https://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/equity-inclusion.

The upcoming read aloud is, "My Food, Your Food" by Lisa Bullard.

Some discussion questions you could have with your child at home are: Do you know a special food in our family/culture? Share a traditional dish or create your own with your child!

Families - please check the lost and found to claim any of your items. The lost and found is in the vestibule adjacent to the gym - the door students use to arrive and dismiss. All remaining items will be donated on January 26th.

Back by popular demand, we are restarting the Watkins WatchDOGS (Dads [& Others] of Great Students) Volunteer program!!

What is WATCH D.O.G.S.?
WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads [& Others] Of Great Students) is a family and community engagement educational initiative.

What is the goal of a WATCH D.O.G.S. program?
To provide positive caregiver role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.


Who are WatchDOGS and how does WATCH D.O.G.S. work?
WatchDOGS are fathers, mothers, grandparents, and uncles/aunts who volunteer for at least one day each year at an official WATCH D.O.G.S. school. WATCH D.O.G.S., a K-12 program, invites caregivers to volunteer at least one day at their child’s/student’s school for part or all of the day during the school year. Identification will be checked upon entrance.

Is this program only for Dads?

Absolutely not!! We welcome all caregivers to volunteer.

What do WatchDOGS do (while they are at school)?
During the day, WatchDOGS may read and work on flash cards with students, play at recess, eat lunch with students, patrol the school entrances and hallways, assist with traffic flow and any other assigned activities where they actively engage with not only their own students, but other students as well. Many school principals have reported that the mere presence of a WatchDOGS volunteer dramatically reduces reports of bullying. On the day of their participation, WatchDOGS participants are given a brief review of their involvement and they wear an official WATCH D.O.G.S. name tag identifying them as a WatchDOG.

What days can I volunteer and how do I sign up?

WatchDOGS participant days will be every Wednesday. Please sign up at least a week in advance so we can notify school administration and teachers of your visit using this link to the WatchDOGS sign-up list: https://signup.com/go/xxkWcuc

Make sure you are checking class dojo for sports updates from Athletic Director, Coach Drakeford. Please send sports questions her way on dojo or latavia.drakefod-allen@k12.dc.gov.

Peabody and Watkins teachers have some big plans and big wishes for your kids and their classrooms this year. Please consider fulling some of those wishes from their wish lists.

Hello parents and guardians! We're back again for another year of FoodPrints at Peabody and Watkins Elementary and we are looking for parents to volunteer in our classroom and garden!

We'll have a maximum number of four (4) slots available for parent volunteers for each class. We'll be adding more dates in the coming weeks so be sure to check back frequently if you don't see your child's class as yet. Please reach out if you have any questions to ms. Natasha natasha@ffm.org at Watkins and Ms. Aubryn aubryn@ffm.org at Peabody.

The sign up genius also has the schedule for classes.

Thanks again for your support of FoodPrints!

Peabody caregiver sign up

Watkins caregiver sign up

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.

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 Trips have resumed and we welcome parents to join as chaperones. Parents who would to volunteer/ chaperone on an ongoing basis, must complete the DCPS Clearance process beforehand. Upon receipt, clearance letters should be emailed to tanisha.montgomery@k12.dc.gov.

Exceptions

Exceptions may be granted to the DCPS Clearance process in the following situations:

1. 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.
2. 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