The January 6, 2026 Newsletter

Dear Janney Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your loved ones had a restful and joyful winter break. It has been wonderful to welcome students back to school and feel the renewed energy across our community.

This week, our focus is on reconnecting as a school community and reinforcing our theme, Together We Thrive. Teachers are taking time to reset with students, revisit classroom expectations, and reflect on our hopes, dreams, and goals for the second half of the school year. These intentional moments help ensure students feel grounded, supported, and ready to engage in learning.

As a school team, we are also reflecting on our progress toward meeting our schoolwide goals and on our collective work to ensure that Janney students feel loved, challenged, and prepared to positively influence society and thrive in life, aligned with the DCPS vision.

We look forward to continuing to engage with families throughout 2026. Please continue to review our weekly newsletter to stay current on school events and the many ways you can partner with us in support of our students.

Thank you for your continued partnership,

Principal Singh

Jan. 13, 6:30PM | 5th Grade Musical Parent Meeting via TEAMS

Jan. 14 | Panera Fundraiser (Online orders all day: FUND4U promo code, 4-8pm in-store)
Jan. 15 | Bingo Night

Jan. 20 | Annual Auction Early Bird Tickets available online

Jan. 21, 9:15am | Spelling Bee

Jan. 27, 6pm | Math Content Night for 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Parents

Jan. 28 | Silver and Sons Fundraiser

Feb. 9 | Clubs/ Teams/ Groups Photo Day

Feb. 17 | Literacy Night

Feb. 20 | Talent Show

Feb. 23 - Mar. 8 | Read-a-thon

Mar. 4-5 | Ledo Pizza Fundraiser
Mar. 26 | Class Photo Day

Mar. 28, 6:30pm | Janney Auction- SAVE THE DATE

Apr. 24 | International Night
May 13 | 5th Grade Panoramic Photo Day

June 5 | Spring Picnic

Do you have a rising PK4 student ready to become a Janney Jaguar for the 2026–27 school year? Be sure to submit a lottery application through MySchoolDC, as all Janney PK4 seats are filled via the lottery. Don’t forget to select sibling preference if you have a Jaguar currently in grades PK-4th.

Mark your calendars for the Panera Fundraiser (4501 Wisconsin Avenue NW) on Wednesday, January 14th! Whether you’re grabbing your morning coffee or a work-from-home lunch, you can support us all day by using promo code FUND4U for online orders. If you're stopping by the store in person between 4–8 PM, simply show the flyer on your phone at checkout. It’s an easy (and delicious) way to give back!

The fun is back and better than ever! On Thursday, January 15th from 6-8PM, join your Janney friends for a fun night and the chance to win prizes! BINGO cards, drinks, snacks and a limited amount of pizza by the slice will be available for purchase during the event. All proceeds go to the PTA.

⏰ Save time and order ahead: Pre-order your BINGO cards ($5 each) and pizza ($20 for large cheese or pepperoni). Deadline for pre-ordering is 6pm on January 14th.

🤝 We need volunteers! Please consider helping set-up, handling concessions and BINGO card sales or cleaning up. Check out the available volunteer slots here. We can’t make the magic happen without you!

Happy New Year! We hope you are getting excited about Janney's main event - the 2026 Auction! Jaguars Beneath the Canopy will take place on March 28th at 6:30pm at Janney Elementary.

📆 Mark your calendars: Early Bird Tickets will go on sale on January 20th!

In the meantime, we encourage you to check out the auction website and review Auction 101, which will answer many of your initial questions. If you're wondering how to get involved, here are a few ideas:

• If you have a business (looking for a tax break?), check out sponsorship opportunities, (starting at $500) or email sponsorships@janneyschool.org.

• Does your family have a valuable item to donate to the auction (vacation rental, event tickets)? If you have something to share, submit the item’s information here and we’ll get back to you!

• Janney families can volunteer to host a party! Tickets to Janney Parties are sold at the auction. Past parties have included kid-drop off K-Pop sing-alongs to adults-only murder mystery events to a block party for the full family. If you are interested in hosting or learning more (even if you don’t have a party idea), email auction@janneyschool.org.

Thanks to the incredible support of our Janney community, we reached our goal for this year’s raffle sales and were able to host our first-ever school-wide Raffle Celebration before Winter Break! Students enjoyed an outdoor dance party with DJ Rich (also known as Dad to first grader Quinn) and went home with fun Janney-themed giveaways to mark the occasion.

A heartfelt thank you to “DJ” Rich Casey, Marie Tierney, Nadiya Scott, and Sara Curtin for helping make the celebration such a success!

Join a beloved Janney tradition! Save the date for the 5th Grade Musical Parent Meeting: Tuesday, January 13th at 6:30 PM via Teams. Join Anna Jordan, Director; David Ifill, Musical Director; and Tiken Savang, Assistant Director from the comfort of your home. Volunteer necessities will also be discussed -- preview opportunities here.

We are seeking volunteers to help bring the 5th Grade Musical to life this May. You don’t need to be a 5th-grade parent to get involved. We are currently looking for:

• Producer: Serve as the right-hand to the Director (Ms. Jordan). Responsibilities include parent/vendor liaison, set coordination, and backstage management. (Rehearsal attendance is flexible).

• Grant Writer: Help us secure funding for permanent lighting and sound equipment via DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities (CAH) grants.

Ready to help? 👉 Contact Jackie Ross to learn more!

Join Janney students and parents on Friday mornings for a fun bike bus to school! Kids on parents' bikes and kids that can bike independently are welcome to join. The group leaves 48th and Davenport at 8:20 am sharp and travels together to Janney. Join our Janney Bike Bus WhatsApp group for updates and info.

🚌 Field Trip Fees | Field trips are an integral part of your child's learning experiences that align with each grade’s curriculum. The field trip fee includes not only the high cost of transportation, out-of-school programs and logistics, but also some assemblies that occur at Janney. Whenever possible, Janney takes advantage of free events, applies for grants, and uses creative ways to reduce the costs of these opportunities. Pay the Field Trip Fee.

👪 Chaperones | DCPS requires chaperones to complete a volunteer clearance application, after which you will receive an email with background check instructions. Fingerprinting is also required as part of the process but this can now be done remotely with instructions. DCPS Volunteer Clearance is valid for 2 years. List Michael Barnhart, michael.barnhart@k12.dc.gov, (202) 282-0110, as your contact and email him your clearance letter once received.

🎨 The Art Room | The Art Teacher is collecting hardcover book jackets all year round for the newly opened Collage Center in the art room, bring them in and put them to good use!

👕 Lost & Found | Our Lost & Found is bursting with jackets, water bottles, lunch boxes, and more-- most of them unlabeled! Please come fetch before they're carted away for donations.

Check out our Weekly Mental Load Helper! Stay on top of Janney activities by reading our weekly newsletter and following janneyelementary on Instagram!

Do your little Janney Jaguars say the funniest, silliest, or most profound things? Don't let those gems be heard only by the Janney chickens (or just you)! Share these memorable moments with the whole community! Submit elementary school-appropriate quotes from your kids here. All contributions are posted anonymously. 👇

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• Our Newsletter drops every Tuesday, see the SY25-26 Archive
• Check out our Website for important links 👇