Principal's Message Feb 26 - Mar 1

Dear Peabody and Watkins community,

Next week we will have our end-of-month celebration of Black History Month at our schools.

• Feb 27: The Peabody event is hosted by grade levels. PK3 at 9:30, PK4 at 9:10, and Kinder at 10am.
• Feb 29: The Watkins event will begin at 1:30 for all caregivers and students to learn and enjoy together.

3rd-5th graders are also encourage to participate in our rap-writing contest.

Watkins will host a STEAM Career Day on Jan 27. Any Black STEAM professionals, including friends and colleagues, are invited to present to Watkins students on the morning of Feb 27. Please see flier below for details. This event is for students only and any STEAM professionals that are presenting. Sorry caregivers, our students are the the intended audience for this event.

Please see below for more information about:

• Blacks In STEAM Career Day at Watkins
  
• March is National Social Workers' Month
• March 7 Panther Party at Watkins
• March 14 Parent-Teacher Conference Day
• March 22: Annual Cluster Auction Party!
• Recurring Reminders
  
• Peabody, Watkins, and Stuart Hobson Open Houses

Click on the above flier to see fliers for Spirit Week, STEAM Career Day and our Rap-writing contest.

Link to our cluster calendar!

Quick look ahead. Click above to see details:

Save the Date! March 14 is not a school day, but day for caregivers to confer with teachers about student progress. Teachers will send out sign ups on or before March 4th for conferences between 12noon and 7ppm. Conferences can be in person or virtual based on caregiver's choice.

The 4th grade will host Academic Parent-Teacher Team group meetings on March 13th at 6pm in person and March 14th at 12noon virtually. All other grades will hold traditional conferences. More details will come from your teachers soon.

Teachers are planning amazing field trip experiences for your child and in order for you to chaperone, you must be cleared through DCPS.

The leadership team in conjunction with DCHR will host a clearance drive at Peabody on Tuesday, Feb 27 and Watkins on Thursday, Feb 29. Both events will take place from 1- 3pm.

1. To participate, please complete the following documents in advance

• Fingerprinting Consent Documents https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/background_online_forms
• DCPS Clearance Application https://octo.quickbase.com/db/bg37a864v

2. On the day of, you will need to bring two forms of ID- one primary and one secondary (see list below)

Primary ID

• State-issued driver’s license

• State-issued non-driver identity

• U.S. Passport/U.S. Passport Card

• Military Identification Card

• Work Visa w/ Photo

• Foreign Passport

• DOD Common Access Card

• Foreign Driver’s License

Secondary ID

• State Government Issued Certificate of Birth

• Social Security Card

• Marriage Certificate

• Foreign Passport

• Certificate of Citizenship

• Certificate of Naturalization

• INS I-551 Permanent Resident Card

• State-issued drivers license

• State-issued non-driver identity

• U.S. Passport/U.S. Passport Card

• Military Identification Card

• Utility bill

• Credit/Debit Card

• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC Card)

• School ID w/ Photograph

• Vehicle Registration/Title

• Voter Registration Card

• Bank Statement/Paycheck Stub

• Draft Record

• Native American Tribal Document

• DOD Common Access Card

• Foreign Drivers License

• Work Visa w/ Photo

March is National Social Work Month! DCPS' theme for the month,

"Empowering Social Workers: Inspiring Action, Leading Change!"

aligns with the theme set forth by the National Association of Social Workers. This is an acknowledgement of all that social workers do to support wellness and mental health across all facets of society. The skillsets and education of social workers make them uniquely qualified to help others and deserving of the utmost respect as professionals.

Our incredible social workers are often working behind the scenes to teach students coping and relationship skills or working with families to remove obstacles for their wellness. Our team is also out in front of our staff teaching us all how to better support the social-emotional needs of our students. Please take a moment to send our social workers a note of appreciation.

Peabody - bernadette.wittschen@k12.dc.gov

1st - 3rd Grade - lauren.kraemer@k12.dc.gov

4th - 5th Grade - denzelle.Carter-Crawley@k12.dc.gov

We are just one month away from the Annual Cluster Auction and Party! Have you purchased your tickets yet? If not, click this link to purchase a ticket and/or donate an item.

We are also accepting donations from families and friends! Below are some ideas-

• Hosting parties and want to sell tickets to a wonderful themed event
• Do you work at some place amazing and can auction off a tour or majestic swag?
• Do you have an astonishing skill or really cool hobby that you could auction off your skills or services?
• Do you own an Airbnb or vacation home and would be willing to auction off a weekend?

These are just a few ideas, we are open to them all! Click here to donate an item, service, and/or experience.

Let's get ready to Disco!!!

Hello Families,

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

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.

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

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