Mustang Matters

Greetings MMS Families,

Believe it our not we are now halfway through Term 4! This means that we have only about five weeks of school left and Mustangs MUST focus in on their end of year goals and learning. We will still be taking end of year tests, having trips and activities and finishing up our coursework in all classes. Please be sure your Mustang is on time and in school each day to finish strong!

We have also now begun scheduling our Mustangs based on their course preferences for next year. Only enrolled students can have their first selections, so please enroll ASAP! Next year will be here so fast!

We are so proud to share that 8th grader Kayla Nelson has been selected as the 2025 Student Ambassador for Washington, D.C. through the Do the Write Thing Challenge! We learned of her honor this past week and here is the message shared by the Office of the Attorney General who sponsors the challenge: Kayla’s powerful spoken word poem, “Lullaby to Goodnight,” offered a profoundly moving reflection on gun violence. Her submission—framed as a heartfelt and haunting tribute to lost due to gun violence— stood out for its depth, vulnerability, and commitment to community awareness. As the Student Ambassador, Kayla will represent D.C. at the national recognition week this summer. She exemplifies the qualities we seek in young leaders: authenticity, compassion, charisma, and a clear dedication to advocacy and positive change. Congratulations Kayla – we are so proud of you!!!

We also had one of our new to MacFarland teachers Mr. Wideman honored this week! Mr. Wideman received an award from the Read180 program as a National Recipient recognizing his excellent work in delivering reading intervention. With more than 400 people nominated we are so excited for Mr. Wideman to be one of the recipients of this award. Thank you Mr. Wideman for the great work you do for our Mustangs!!!

Have a great weekend,

Cooke

Greetings MacFarland Families,

Enrollment season has officially kicked off and you can now re-enroll your child for the 2025-2026 School Year! On behalf of the entire Mustang family, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to educate your child this school year, and we look forward to continuing our work together next year.

Your student has had some amazing experiences this year, such as the 7th grade trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, skating excursions, trips to Dave and Busters, the Shakespeare Theater and numerous opportunities to participate in an array of extracurricular programing such as our drumline, broadcast journalism club, and many more! We also can’t forget the awesome Winter Arts Showcase and grade level Honor roll celebrations. We can’t wait to have even more exciting experiences together next year.

MacFarland teachers, staff, and leadership are already thinking about next year, and you can help us prepare by completing re-enrollment for your child for the upcoming 2025-2026 School Year. If you’ve already completed re-enrollment, we want to thank you for doing so! All families are encouraged to re-enroll early to increase the likelihood of securing their chosen electives for the coming year! To re-enroll, please complete the following three steps:

1. Complete the DCPS enrollment packet.

2. Provide proof of DC residency.

3. Submit the completed enrollment packet and proof of DC residency to your school.

We are happy to help you in any way so that you can check re-enrollment off your summer to-do list. If you have any questions about enrollment, please call (202) 671-6033 or email macfarlandmsenroll@k12.dc.gov.

If you need help completing the enrollment process, you can sign up for an appointment through the link below:

• Select a Date & Time - Calendly

We will also be available for walk in assistance during the regular school hours (8:00 AM - 4:30 PM) on a first come first serve basis.

Thanks again to you and your family for being part of our school community. It is an honor to serve you, and we look forward to continued partnership with you and your child next year.

Regards,

Principal Cooke

Re-Enrollment Incentives by grade:

6th Grade Incentives:

• Students enrolled by April 4 will receive extra recess every other Friday.

• Students enrolled by April 18 will participate in 6th grade field day.

• Students enrolled by May 30 will be eligible to attend the Dave and Busters Field Trip

• Students enrolled by June 5 will be eligible to attend the End of Year field day.

7th Grade Incentives:

• Students enrolled by April 4 can attend our dance for free.

• Students enrolled by April 18 will participate in a pizza Party

• Students enrolled by May 9 will be entered in raffle to win a free Hershey Park ticket. Up to 5 tickets will be raffled.

• Students enrolled by May 30 will be eligible to attend our end of year fun day.

Saludos Familias de MacFarland,

¡La temporada de inscripciones ha comenzado oficialmente y ya puede reinscribir a su hijo/a para el ciclo escolar 2025-2026! En nombre de toda la familia Mustang, queremos agradecerle la oportunidad de educar a su hijo/a este ciclo escolar y esperamos continuar trabajando juntos el próximo año.

Su hijo/a ha tenido experiencias increíbles este año, como la excursión de séptimo grado al Museo Nacional de Historia y Cultura Afroamericana, excursiones de patinaje, visitas a Dave and Busters, el Teatro Shakespeare y numerosas oportunidades de participar en diversos programas extracurriculares, como nuestra batería, el club de periodismo televisivo, ¡y mucho más! Tampoco podemos olvidar la increíble Exhibición de Arte de Invierno y las celebraciones del Cuadro de Honor de cada grado. ¡Estamos deseando compartir aún más experiencias emocionantes el próximo año!

Los maestros, el personal y el equipo directivo de MacFarland ya están pensando en el próximo año, y usted puede ayudarnos a prepararnos completando la reinscripción de su hijo/a para el próximo ciclo escolar 2025-2026. Si ya completó su reinscripción, ¡le agradecemos por hacerlo! Se anima a todas las familias a reinscribirse con anticipación para aumentar la probabilidad de obtener las asignaturas optativas que eligieron para el próximo año. Para reinscribirse, complete los siguientes tres pasos:

1.Complete el paquete de inscripción de DCPS.

2. Presente un comprobante de domicilio en DC.

3. Entregue el paquete de inscripción completo y el comprobante de domicilio en DC a su escuela.

Con gusto le ayudaremos en todo lo que pueda para que pueda tachar la reinscripción de su lista de tareas del verano. Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre la inscripción, llame al (202) 671-6033 o envíe un correo electrónico a edgar.novoa-marcano@k12.dc.gov.

Si necesitas ayuda para completar el proceso de inscripción, puedes hacer una cita a través del enlace abajo:

Selecionar una fecha y tiempo - Calendly

Estaremos disponible para ayudarles también durante las horas normales de escuela (8:00 AM - 4:30 PM) de forma de primero en llegar primero en ser atendido.

Si tienes preguntas o preocupaciones pueden llamar a la oficina al (202) 671-6033 o mandar un correo electrónico a macfarlandmsenroll@k12.dc.gov.

Gracias nuevamente a usted y a su familia por formar parte de nuestra comunidad escolar. Es un honor servirle y esperamos seguir colaborando con usted y su hijo/a el próximo año.

Atentamente,

Director Cooke

Incentivos de reinscripción por grado:

Incentivos para el grado 6:

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 4 de abril recibirán extra-recreo cada otro viernes.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 18 de abril participarán en el día de campo del 6to grado.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 30 de mayo serán elegibles ir al paseo a Dave and Busters.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 15 de junio serán elegibles asistir el día de campo del final del año.

Incentivos para el grado 7:

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 4 de abril pueden asistir gratis al baile.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 18 de abril participarán en una fiesta de pizza.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 9 de mayo ganan una entrada a la rifa para un boleto gratis a Hershey Park. Hasta 5 boletos serán rifado.

• Estudiantes ya inscritos para el 30 de mayo serán elegibles a asistir el día de diversión del fin del año.

Please see reminders below.

REMINDER - Toy guns/toy weapons/squirt guns/water guns – as the school year winds down our students will often think we are closer to summer break than we are and bring in items that are prohibited that end up requiring a lot of staff energy and result in significant discipline. Any kind of toy weapon, including squirt guns and the like, must be treated as possible intentional threats and require reporting to DCPS, conducting incident reports and often contacting MPD. Please ensure you reiterate to your Mustangs that these items CANNOT be brough to school at any time including the last day(s) of school or they will result in suspension and required parent meetings.

REPEAT - Parent Resource – This article provides some insight into how to support students in choosing music to best do work/HW with – or yourself! A long debated topic with some more insights here: “Neuroscience Says Music Is an Emotion Regulation Machine. Here’s What to Play for Happiness, Productivity, or Deep Thinking” by Jessica Stillman in Inc., April 16, 2025

REMINDER - NEXT PTO Meeting – 6.10 – 6:00pm - PTO Meeting

Please complete the survey by Friday, May 30. The survey will help us understand how students are getting to and from school and the concerns, parents and caregivers have about safety.

Survey links below:

• English version: http://bit.ly/ddotsrts25
• Spanish version: http://bit.ly/ddotsrts25-es

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.

Attendance Excuse Notes:

If your student is absent for a legally approved reason please complete the Attendance Excuse Form at the link below.

https://forms.office.com/r/CzHTTvJCM9

Alternatively, if you are unable to submit the form you can email Ms. Claribel Salgado (claribel.salgado@k12.dc.gov) or direct your student to turn in their excuse note or official documentation to the main office.

Please see the attached document below for important information regarding the upcoming DC Cape test.

Parent Resource – REPEATED - As a new administration moves into our federal government, we know that some of our vulnerable communities and families may have concerns or seek information related to possible immigration actions. We have attached multiple resources for our families to review and are actively collaborating with our partner schools and central office to offer more workshops and resource support. If you have any questions or a specific need, please reach out to Mr. Novoa-Marcano – edgar.novoa-marcano@k12.dc.gov

6.6.25 – 4th Period – EOY Talent Showcase

8.5.25-8.8.25 – Tu-Friday - Summer Bridge for New Mustangs 8.5-8.8 (Tu-Fri)

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!

Wellness Team Shout Out – thank you team for the great opening activity for our Faculty Meeting Wednesday to provide the ‘materials’ for mental wellness aligned with the theme for the month. I also appreciated the personal bag of sanity producing scents the team left for me in mailbox as I was unable to make it. Thank you team – I know this was a week where we all needed the chance to recharge and reset.

This week since testing is mostly behond us I got to get back into some classrooms and see our students back in their learning! In Mr. Knotts second period Tuesday students were deeply engaged in reading and analyzing quotes on a rainy day! They read quotes and worked independently on the zoom in zoom our process they have been taught. In Mr. Samper’s class students were engaged in the same content with the same focus – great ELA work right after testing!

Shout out to our LSAT team who generated some great ideas and input this week for how we can continue to grow our school and work on celebrating our students and bringing them joy and affirmation! It was great to connect with the team and think ambitiously and hopefully for next year.

We also had a great PTO meeting with a good mix of parents and staff on Tuesday. Big shout out to Ms. Salgado for translating and Ms. Chapman for participating! Thank you to our PTO families who joined as well to connect and provide for input and news!

I wanted to thank the members of our DDOT team who were out on Wednesday afternoon. This team is working with MacFarland to support traffic calming measures around our front steps and the street and provide increased safety to our Mustangs as they report to school. While it may take some time, I’m very excited for the outcome of this work for our students’ safety!

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

Next Curbside Coffee – Friday, 6.13 – out front!

June PTO Meeting – 6.10 – 6:00pm - PTO Meeting

Registration is open now for Day Eight’s free summer Writing Camp at the Shepherd Park Library. Enrollment is first come first served. We are pleased to be providing five week-long camp sessions this summer beginning June 23rd and running through to July 25th. A maximum of 16 campers are enrolled per week. We are looking forward to camp weeks filled with inspiring youth expression, laughter, art, and community building, and we would love for your family to be a part of it. To learn more or to submit a registration request, visit: https://dayeight.org/register-for-2025-summer-writing-camp-at-the-shepherd-park-library

The Men of Honor Summer Program has given MacFarland young men interested in attending their summer program an opportunity for early registration. Please register as soon as possible if you want your child to attend this program as spots fill quickly.

https://www.galatheatre.org/paso-nuevo

Paso Nuevo is GALA's free, year-round program offered to high school students between the ages of 14 and 19 during Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This is a bilingual, inclusive theatre education program incorporating acting training, playwriting, and mentorship. Students can earn community service hours, receive performance stipends, go on field trips, and train for future employment and leadership opportunities.

Paso Nuevo offers singing, acting, stage makeup, music and guitar, podcast production, web series production, and much more! To learn more about the program and its history, click here.

Participating students have had the opportunity to perform at The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The DREAM Project, and The White House.

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.

• 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.