Mustang Matters

Greetings MMS Families,

It was great to see so many families this week at our PTO meeting! It was another great evening with food and a chance for families and staff to connect and engage. If you didn’t make this one, try to come to the November meeting! We also had a number of folks attend our LSAT meeting Tuesday and had a great discussion on uniforms. More details to come.

The next two weeks we are back to full weeks and we need to have our Mustangs here every day to be successful – please have them dress warm and come in on time!

Have a great weekend,

November PTO Meeting – 18th 6:00pm - MacFarlandMSPTO@gmail.com

Parent Resource - October Resource - Oct. Resource - An Infographic Comparing Parents’ and Teens’ Biggest Concerns – This graphic and article reviews the threats students and parents feel toward their mental health. This is interesting and useful to review in conversation with our young people.

PTO Liaisons have been coordinated to support each grade level and grade level families. You can expect to see them at PTO meetings and connect with them if need be. For 25-26 SY the staff liaisons are:

- 6th Grade – Jessica Gibian – jessica.gibian@k12.dc.gov

- 7th Grade – Fadwa Hussein – fadwa.hussein@k12.dc.gov

- 8th Grade – Sarah Riggen – sarah.riggen@k12.dc.gov

In addition, the family Grade Level Liaisons for this year are:

• 6th Grade – Anita Rechler and Julie Gallo – rechlera@gmail.com, julie.schwenk@gmail.com

• 7th Grade – Patrique Smellie – pacamp01@gmail.com

• 8th Grade – Nidia Dence – nidia.dence@gmail.com

A huge thanks to all of our liaisons for this year, and a reminder to all families: be sure to join the PTO’s WhatsApp or email list if you haven’t already (see info at the bottom of this message)!

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!

A huge shout out to our Hispanic Heritage Month Committee led by Ms. Gibian who coordinated our big celebration today. They worked to have food, entertainment, guest speakers, family collaboration and more. This is a major undertaking and an important one for our school and I am deeply thankful for all of their hard work, commitment and love. Thank you to all of our families and students as well who cooked, served food, and performed! Great work Mustangs!!

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

Next Curbside Coffee – Friday, November 21st – out front 8-8:45

November PTO Meeting – 18th 6:00pm - MacFarlandMSPTO@gmail.com

Open House Dates: if you would like to support an Open House please reach out at least one week prior!

Also, please share with any potential MacFarland families!

• Monday, November 3rd, 2025 - 11:00am-12:00pm
• Thursday, December 11th, 2025 - 5:30pm- 6:30pm
• Thursday, January 8th, 2026 - 5:30pm -6:30pm
• Monday, January 26th, 2026 - 5:30pm-6:30pm

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. MacFarland will host our UNITY DAY to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion on Wednesday, October 22nd. Our entire community is encouraged to wear the color orange. If you would like to wear a matching t-shirt, all are welcome to purchase this shirt - https://a.co/d/8dFn8cK. If you would like to purchase additional shirts for staff or students, please confirm sizes and orders with your grade level School Counselor.

REMINDER - Please complete the after-school interest form to select the activities your student would like to participate in. All after-school activities are listed with days offered. Please note that an after school registration form is still required and can be obtained from Ms. Martinez-Garcia (laura.martinez-garcia@k12.dc.gov). If students will be participating in a sport they will require a sports physical on file to be eligible to play. The sports physical form can be obtained from the Athletic Director Mr. Green (haroldjoseph.green@k12.dc.gov).

Dear MacFarland community, as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) tightens its stance on food support to families, MacFarland is seeing more pull on our food pantry that supports students and families year-round.

Most of the items that are typically used to support families have been depleted. If you have any unexpired, non-perishables in your pantries and cupboards, please think about supporting our families with these items. Protein meals (including beans, and other grains, canned fish/meat) are of value to our families. With every school break comes more stress for families; because we’re a school community that supports the whole child, this is our way of ensuring care beyond the walls of the school campus.

If you are able to support, you may drop off the non-perishable goods in the main office, so that we can sort, store, and support families immediately in need.

Thank you for all that you do to support our school community.

Families that would like to attend the Banneker High School Open House must RSVP by using the link below or the QR code found on the flyers.

RSVP Link: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7kagKk6zM0qSt5md8rwKMv6jFpCvTotHtzzAy-PwGtNUNFdZU01WTThBOUcwREdLSkhKV0cxQkcxNS4u&origin=QRCode&route=shorturl

The goal of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Safe Routes to School

(SRTS) program is to get more students walking and biking to school and doing so safely.

Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts in this anonymous, 10-minute survey to

help us customize our programs and services around the challenges faced at your school.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8271328/58f491c68c8e

A través de nuestro programa de Rutas Seguras a la Escuela (SRTS) del Departamento

de Transporte del Distrito (DDOT), queremos conseguir que más niños vayan a pie y en

bicicleta a la escuela y que lo hagan de forma segura.

Le pedimos que participe en esta encuesta anónima de unos 10 minutos y comparta

con nosotros su opinión y experiencia para que podamos adaptar nuestros programas

y servicios a los retos a los que se enfrentan las personas.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8271328/1a5e102c9600

NEW ATTENDANCE EXCUSE NOTE PLATFORM: Families can now submit attendance excuse notes via the Aspen GO (Parent Portal). Step-by-step instructions attached below.

At DC Public Schools, we want every student to feel loved, challenged, and prepared to positively influence society and thrive in life. To reach this ambitious goal, every student needs to be in school every day. However, too many of the young people in our city are not coming to school every day.

The Office of the State Superintendent’s (OSSE) finds that one in four kids in DC are chronically absent from school – which means missing 10 percent or more of the school year. At some DCPS high schools, three out of four students are chronically absent.

DCPS believes that every day counts.

Students, families, and the community must be empowered to track our progress in helping every young person get to school. By being transparent about our challenges, our city can work together to reduce the barriers that too many students and families face.

Definitions

• Truancy: Measures the percent of students aged 5-17 who are considered truant. To be “truant” means that a student has 10 or more unexcused absences from school – with or without – parental knowledge, consent, or otherwise securing prior approval from the start of the school year.
• In-school Attendance: Measures the average percent of students who are attending school.
• Chronic Absence Rate: Measures the percent of students who miss 10 percent or more days in a school year from the start of the school year.
• Attendance Entry Rate: Measures the percent of classes for which a school has entered attendance.
• 60/40 rule: Students are considered legally absent for the day if they miss more than 40% of their classes.

Regular school attendance is critical for academic success. Our goal is to ensure that every student attends school regularly and on time. Daily presence in school has a huge impact on a student’s academic success, starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families can continue to play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.

We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances. But, we also know that when students miss too much school—excused or unexcused—they can fall behind academically. Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent—which means missing 18 or more days in a school year. Research shows that:

Children that are chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. By 6th grade, chronic absence is a warning sign for students at risk of dropping out of school. By 9th grade, good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores.

Questions/Concerns:

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ms. Claribel Salgado via email at claribel.salgado@k12.dc.gov or by phone at (202) 671-6033.

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

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.