Greetings MMS Families,

This coming week is our last week of the calendar year, and this will be our last Parent Message until Friday, January 3rd. I want to take this chance to wish you and your family a great holiday season and a Happy New Year. I hope your Mustang has had a great start to our school year this fall, and we look forward to continued growth and progress in the new year. Please have a safe and healthy break!

Please note ALL STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL on Thursday, January 2nd, 2025. We will have normal full school days on that day and the next day to get right back into learning. All students should return in full uniform and ready to learn!

On that note, this coming week we will have a Spirit Week for our Mustangs with optional thematic dress down days each day.

Lastly, this our final reminder to join our Winter Arts Showcase on Wednesday evening!!! This banner event will be packed with student artwork, musical performances, holiday spirit and joy! The event is open to all families and community members – you do not need to have a Mustang performing to attend! Please see the flyers for details and we hope to see many of you Wednesday at 5:30pm!

Important Winter Shutdown Announcement from WMATA - From Friday, December 20 to Thursday, December 26, Farragut West, McPherson Square, and the lower level (Blue, Orange, and Silver service) at Metro Center will be closed. Shuttles will replace trains between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle. Click here for more information.

Have a great weekend,

Cooke

FINAL REMINDER - School Pictures Update – please see the message from Lifetouch regarding school pictures: Dear parents - School pictures are ready! To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's student ID number. All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card. More about the Smilesafe program here. Thank you!

Hi from the MacFarland PTO! Please remember your PTO and help support the MacFarland community during this season of giving! Here are three ways you can help:

👕Our T-shirt and hoodie fundraiser is live! These make great gifts AND can be worn as uniforms in the appropriate color for your student's grade level. Visit the site here: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/macfarland-gear

🎁Finally, you can donate to the PTO via Venmo @MacFarlandMSPTO or by Paypal here. ***If you would like your donation to be earmarked for winter staff appreciation, please make a note with your donation!*** It's a great way to recognize your school community as 2024 draws to a close - teachers and staff are a HUGE part in creating a warm and welcoming MacFarland! 😄

______________

¡Hola de parte de la Asociación de Padres y Maestros (PTO) de MacFarland! Recuerden a su PTO y ayuden a apoyar a la comunidad de MacFarland durante esta temporada de donaciones. Estas son tres formas en las que pueden ayudar:

👕¡Nuestra recaudación de fondos con camisetas y sudaderascon capucha está en vivo! Son excelentes obsequios Y se pueden usar como uniformes en el color apropiado para el nivel de grado de su estudiante. Visite el sitio aquí: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/macfarland-gear

🎁Finalmente, puede donar a la PTO a través de Venmo @MacFarlandMSPTO o por Paypal aquí. ***Si desea que su donación se destine al reconocimiento del personal y maestr@s, ¡deje una nota con su donación!*** Es una excelente manera de reconocer a su comunidad escolar a medida que el año 2024 llega a su fin: ¡los maestros y el personal son una GRAN parte en la creación de una escuela acogedora!

FINAL REMINDER - SY 24-25 Impact Aid Survey (11/1-12/22) - The SY 24-25 Impact Aid Survey went live on Friday, November 1. Every year, DCPS asks families to complete this survey to generate additional federal funds. This year’s survey will be fully electronic using the Seamless platform and will be open through Sunday, December 22. Please encourage all families to complete one survey per child, not per household, in their preferred language. The electronic surveys and our FAQ document can be found on the Impact Aid webpage. POC: DCPSImpactAid@k12.dc.gov

See DC Health’s December Pediatric Vaccine Opportunities Calendar, with updated opportunities posted on their website.

• Children’s National Vaccine-Only Appointments at the following locations are available Mondays through Thursdays in December from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. See the December Calendar for rotating Saturday appointments. Call 202-476-2371 to schedule an appointment.
• Anacostia: 2101 MLK Jr. Ave. SE
• Columbia Heights: 3336 14th St. NW
• Shaw Metro: 641 S St. NW, Suite 200
• Shepherd Park: 7125 13th Place NW
• THEARC: 1801 Mississippi Ave. SE
• Grubb’s Pharmacy SE at 1800 MLK Jr. Ave. SE has vaccine appointments available Mondays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Dec. 25. For appointments, call (202) 503-3610.
• Cedar Hill Urgent Care - GW Health at 2228 MLK Jr. Ave. SE has vaccine appointments available daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed on Dec. 25. For appointments, call (202) 715-4444.
• Dec. 7: Children’s National is hosting A Family Affair, a community health event for families that include pediatric immunizations on Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Children’s National THEARC West Building at 1801 Mississippi Ave. SE. Appointments are highly encouraged. Register for a Dec. 7 appointment here, and see flyers in English and Spanish.
• Dec. 7 and 14: Both EdFEST events this year will have pediatric vaccine appointments available by appointment only. Upon registering for EdFEST, vaccine appointment links will be shared in the confirmation email. More information about EdFEST is available here.
• Saturday Dec. 7: EdFEST (Grades 9-12) will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Eastern High School, 1700 E Capitol St. NE. Register here.
• Saturday Dec. 14: EdFEST (Pre-K 3 - Grade 8) will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at DC Armory, 2100 E Capitol St. SE. Register here.

Parent Resource – Repeated This Month - “How the Ivy League Broke America” – I found this to be an interesting read and I am sure folks will have many opinions. What most struck me was the suggestion of different core values we should focus ourselves and our society on. Worth reflecting on as we transition into the new year.

12.18 – 4th Period/5:30pm for families – Winter Arts Showcase

1.14th – PTO Meeting – 6:00pm – PTO LINK

4.9.25 – 4th Period/5:00pm for families – Spring Arts Showcase

6.6.25 – 4th Period – EOY Talent Showcase

Shout Outs and Celebrations: Please check out a few shout outs to MacFarland community members who are embracing our belief that we are one MacFarland!

Shout out to our Feeder School Partners at Barnard ES who brought their future Mustangs over Wednesday for another feeder school visit and another huge shout out to Ms. Sargent and AP Batts for coordinating and leading the visit with Ms. Vallano and some of our Mustangs! Here is the thank you shared by Ms. Sargent: Thank you so much for bringing your Barnard 5th graders to visit today! We appreciate that your group had to trek through rainy weather and your group still arrived on time and ready to learn. It was also a great learning experience for our Barnard alum – Kylie, Mike, Akou, Anyssa, Maximillian, Jordyn, Kamil, Eva, and Kayden. Attached is a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that was shared. You were our second 5th grade visit this year I would love any feedback or recommendations you may have for us in the future.

We had a bunch of MS Fairs and Feeder School Visits for our team this week with events at Seaton, HD Cooke, and Marie Reed attended by Ms. Castro, Mr. Cordoba and Ms. Leonor who have been working tremendously to spread the word about the good work and great school we have at MMS! Thank you team – this work is paving the way for MMS growth and enrollment success, which is good for all!

Shout out to community member and Mustang alumni Ms. Prather who worked with Ms. Chapman and her class to plant Tulip bulbs this past week! They planted more than 40 bulbs that will emerge this spring (can’t wait to see and take some pictures) and further beautify our front entry for our students and families. Thank you, Ms. Prather, Ms. Chapman and our Mustang gardeners!

Last Saturday MacFarland hosted the Ward 4 Holiday Market for the first time! It was an amazing event overall with performances by drumline team members and the Truesdell cheer team! There were lots of great treats and crafts, positive energy and joy in the MMS cafeteria! Shout out to our PTO who raised more than $600 at the event and all of our Ward 4 family schools who were here as well as their parents, students and staff! We also had a great tour for some families and community members. Thank you, PTO team, Ms. Walker-McLean, Mr. Novoa-Marcano, Ms. Salgado and our custodial team who all came together to make sure the school was ready!

Thank you to the LSAT Team, PTO Team and all who joined the Ward 4 meetings this week! It was great to connect and collaborate across all of these engagements and I appreciate the chance to listen learn and plan with these teams! Looking forward to engaging again after the break!

We had great turnout for our Open House Wednesday and were able to engage with multiple families who came out despite the gloomy weather. Thank you to the drumline and Cheer Teams who warmed up the audience under the coaching of Mr. Ring and Coach Walston and thank you to Mr. Ring and Mr. Cordoba who presented and co-led the building tour and Q and A with families and youngsters!

We ALSO had Cluster Meeting at MacFarland MS this week on Thursday hosting more than 25 visiting principals, teachers and central office leaders. Shout out to our Math Team who hosted our guests in the classrooms, shining as always and our teams who helped manage the building and lead while I was offline. Thank you also to the Roosevelt Culinary Arts Team who provided a delicious breakfast and great service for our guests!

We had two more home basketball games this week against the teams from Cardozo and Capitol Hill Montesori. It was great again to see the energy in the gym, our teams playing their hardest under their coaches leadership and our teams game aways with two big wins for the girls who are now 3-1 and another win for the boys Thursday night who improved to 2-2. Special shout out to our security team for the late night support and partnership to ensure we had safe and smooth games each evening!

Via email or by appt. – lucas.cooke@k12.dc.gov

Next Curbside Coffee – January 17th

November PTO Meeting – January 14th – 6:00pm Virtually – PTO MEETING LINK; December 13th 9:00am in person at MMS

Mustang families,

Below is the calendar of faculty meetings for the school year. There will be no afterschool activities on these days.

24-25 Faculty Meeting/PD Days Dates:

• February 5th
• March 5th
• April 2nd
• May 7th
• June 4th

Afterschool programming began on Monday 9-9-2024. Tutoring and clubs commence at 3:30 and end at 4:45. Students will have supper then go with their perspective teachers. All students will be dismissed at 4:45 to go home.

Students will need to fill out the emergency contact form prior to attending after-school activities. Students will also be able to list their club choices on the emergency contact form.

Produce Plus is a DC based program that approves families to receive money to directly use at farmer's markets around the city. Please use the link below to enroll:

FRESHFARM: Produce Plus Enrollment Form 2024 (google.com)

• https://dcps.nutrislice.com/menu/macfarland-middle-school

Please use this form to refer a student to the MMS Wellness Team. / Utilice este formulario para referir a un estudiante al equipo de bienes.

https://forms.office.com/r/S6pRi9yLRt

WELLNESS TEAM MEMBERS: Ms. Raphael, Social Worker Ms. Virginia, Mary’s Center Therapist Ms. Kent, Psychologist Ms. Sargent, 8th grade counselor Ms. Castro, 7th grade counselor Mrs. Thompson, 6th grade counselor LAYC: Ms. Rachel & Mr. Raul

The allergy season is here and many individuals who suffer from frequent asthma attacks are beginning to feel the impact of the various allergens and irritants in the air. For students and families, we are sharingthis link to Children’s National -- https://www.childrensnational.org/get-care/departments/impact-dc-asthma-clinic -- as a resource for helping to manage your students’ asthma related-illnesses. If your child suffers from asthma, be sure to complete and submit the Asthma Action Plan and Medication Plan and Procedure to the Nurse. The Anaphylaxis Plan must be completed for acute allergy sufferers who need to be administered an Epi-pen. Also, if your child is on any medication during school hours—including over-the-counter medications—a Medication Plan and Procedure Form must be completed and submitted to the Nurse along with your child’s Medication Treatment Administration Form, signed by your child’s primary care physician. All these documents must be provided to the Nurse by parents, along with the medication/s your child is taking during school hours. Students are not permitted to self-carry or self-medicate. All the forms mentioned in this message are attached, for your convenience.

For Mental Health Support Resources in English and Spanish for Students, Parents, and Teachers. Topics include: Stress, Grief and Loss, Anxiety, Suicide and Self-Harm, Healthy Relationships, Social Media, and much more! -- Mary`s Center (maryscenter.org)

This school year, DCPS is partnering with Children’s National Hospital to support our students’ health and attendance through the Collaborative for Attendance Resources in Education and Health (CARE-H); CARE-H is now available in all DCPS schools. Through this program, parents or guardians can give permission to DCPS to securely share attendance information with their child’s doctor(s), nurse(s) and medical office staff. This information will help these healthcare professionals to provide special outreach and medical attention to children that might be missing school and their families. Information about this initiative can be found here.

POC: Andrea.Allen@k12.dc.gov

The MacFarland PTO has set up an email list for discussion and connection among current and enrolled MacFarland families. Any family member or guardian of a MacFarland student can join by either of these methods:

Attention families, anyone with a child that would like a Kids Ride Free SmartTrip Card can sign up for one in the main office. We will process and distribute on a rolling basis.