Principal's Bulletin, Week 12

Dear Ross Roadrunner Families,

Monday, November 13 is World Kindness Day 2023. Ross students will learn about this day during Morning Meeting and engage in acts of kindness. Learn more about the day here and consider how your family can participate.

Monday is also Open House at Francis-Stevens Education Campus (9:00am at 800 Euclid St NW) which is our assigned Middle School for Grades 6-8. This is the last year Francis-Stevens will be located at Euclid. They will be back in a brand new building on N St NW in the fall of 2024 serving Grades PK3-8.

In advance of Veteran's Day, I wish to express gratitude to all military veterans in our community for their bravery, sacrifice and patriotism.

Warm Regards,

Holly Searl, Principal

holly.searl@k12.dc.gov

2023.24 DCPS Calendar

November is Native American Heritage Month

Friday, November 10: Veteran's Day observed, no school; Diwali begins

Sunday, November 12: Diwali

Monday, November 13: Francis-Stevens MS Open House, register on the school's website (swwfs.org)@9:00am 800 Euclid St NW,

Ross LSAT (virtual, 5:15pm)

Here is the link to the meeting on Monday 11/13 at 5:15pm. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Join conversation

teams.microsoft.com

World Kindness Day

Tuesday, November 14: DCPS Budget Hearing (see below for details)

Thursday, November 16: K-5 Report Cards published in Parent Portal

Monday, November 20: No JCC Aftercare

Tuesday, November 21: Learning Celebrations at 9:00am in your child's classrooms, No JCC Aftercare

Wednesday-Friday, November 22-24: NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Holiday

Monday, November 27: K-5 Report Cards mailed home

Tuesday, November 28: DCPS Parent University 6:00pm virtual (accessing DCPS Tech and Online Resources)

Register here: bit.ly/dcpsparentureg

Saturday, December 2: SUPER Saturday at Ross (Tree Sale, Bake Sale, Book Fair, Open House) and EDFest at Stadium Armory.

Monday, December 11: MySchoolDC lottery opens (see below)

Thursday, January 11: Ross Winter Concert and Art Show@Garrison Elementary School

Saturday, March 2: Ross Annual Auction (book your babysitter!)

Please take a minute to complete this survey.

Enrollment Projections for the 24.25 school year have been released to schools. I will review the projections with the Ross LSAT before submitting feedback or petitions for revisions which are due on November 21. The LSAT Chair will then sign off on the feedback. All LSAT meetings are open to the entire community. The next meeting is Monday, November 13 at 5:15pm (virtual) More info about Ross LSAT is here.

Need a better understanding of how enrollment projections are calculated? Watch this recording.

Ms. Segovia is the POC for all records requests. Classroom teachers complete the recommendation forms.

The lottery opens on December 11.

Students currently enrolled at Ross who plan to remain at Ross next year DO NOT need to do the lottery. You will receive re-enrollment forms in Spring. Current 5th graders have a feed to Francis-Stevens for Grade 6. Current 5th graders can also attend their assigned in-boundary middle school based on their home address OR you can enter the lottery for possible DCPS and DC Charter school options.

Updated SY24-25 School Guides

Every year the Enrollment team publishes many resources that highlight DCPS schools and programming. The Parent Guide (Find it Guide) is available here in English and Spanish. The SY24-25 Feeder and High School Booklets are now available here in English. The Middle School Booklet as well as Spanish versions of the Feeder and HS Booklets will be available soon

The SY23-24 Impact Aid Surveys are now available. Each year, DCPS asks all families to complete the Impact Aid survey to generate additional federal funds for DCPS. The surveys will be fully electronic using the Seamless platform. All eligible applications received by December 22 will be submitted as part of the initial application due on January 31, 2024.

Impact Aid Website

Here are the survey links:

1. English: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_English

2. Spanish: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_Spanish

3. French: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_French

4. Amharic: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_Amharic

5. Vietnamese: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_Vietnamese

6. Chinese: https://forms.dc.gov/f/DCPSImpactAid_Chinese

DC Public Schools' FY25 (SY 24-25) Public Budget Hearing (11/14, Register to Testify by 11/10)

DCPS will convene a public budget hearing on Tuesday, November 14, at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to gather input from the public about the upcoming Fiscal Year 2025 (School Year 2024-2025) budget. Members of the public are invited to provide testimony at the hearing. Individuals or groups wishing to testify should register online here by Friday, November 10.

POC: ceo.info@k12.dc.gov

PK4 Report cards are not published online. You will receive a hard copy in late November.

POC: Ms. Segovia

Ross ES student portraits are now online for viewing and ordering! You should have received an email from Freed Photography with your student's private gallery information. If you have not received this (check your spam too), please contact them at support@freedphoto.com or call 301-652-5452

Freed Photography

4931 Cordell Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814

301-652-5452

carla@freedphoto.com

https://volokids.org/city/washington-dc/

At DCPS, learning happens every day, but students must be in class to receive the benefits of these efforts. Everyone has a role in promoting a culture of strong attendance and we ask parents/caregivers to consider the following tips to ensure on-time, daily attendance. You will receive regular comms from Central Office and Ross if your child is absent.

1. Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
2. Lay out clothes and backpacks the night before.
3. Create a back-up plan for commuting to school in the morning.
4. Avoid scheduling appointments and trips during school hours.
5. Reach out to school staff for support with overcoming attendance barriers.

You will receive regular comms from Central Office and Ross if your child is absent. Please see the attendance policy attached below.

You can find and access DCPS policies here.

Rough language and rough play are not permitted. Students may not climb on top of the storage sheds or climb the fencing. We have a number of playground structures for climbing purposes. All trash should be put into the trash can. Dogs and other pets are not permitted on the property.

Thank you for helping keep our campus safe outside of school hours.

DCPS chaperone agreements (Spanish and English) are attached. This form will be distributed and collected before each trip. Chaperones are responsible for the safety of each child in their care. You can expect a written document with the names and contact info of students in your care on a trip as well as the cell phone contact information of the sponsoring teacher.

Chaperones may not bring younger siblings. Please plan to give your FULL ATTENTION to the students in your care on trips.

Thank you in advance for supporting our trips.

https://teachpeaceofmind.org/

All DC schools practice the same emergency drills each month. Students are taught about the drills in advance. We had our August fire drill yesterday and students did a wonderful job of safely exiting the building. Our evacuation site is Marie Reed Elementary School on 18th Street.

Fire Drills: Two fire drills during the first month of each school year; one each month thereafter.A total of 10 drills per school year

Alert Drill: Once per school year

Earthquake Drill: Once per school year

500 ft Evacuation /Relocation Drill: Once per school year

Lockdown Drills: Twice per school year

Reverse Evacuation: Once per school year

Shelter-in-Place: Once per school year

Severe Weather Safe Area Drill: Once per school year

Ms. Jillian Sharkey, School Counselor, is our contact for 504 plans this school year. jillian.sharkey@k12.dc.gov

Ms. Young and Mr. Stewart are the points of contact for our Multi-lingual learners (MLs)

bethany.young@k12.dc.gov and paul.stewart@k12.dc.gov

Email: holly.searl@k12.dc.gov or graciela.segovia@k12.dc.gov

Website: http://rosselementary.org/
Location: 1730 R Street Northwest, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: (206)-673-7200
Twitter: @rossesdc