The February 24, 2026 Newsletter

We began the week navigating snow and a delayed start on Monday. Thank you for your flexibility as we adjusted schedules and ensured students arrived safely. Even with the winter weather, it has been a strong and focused week of learning.

Last week at Jamboree, we had the privilege of hearing our Janney Glee Club perform three powerful songs in honor of Black History Month: Lift Every Voice and Sing, We Shall Overcome, and Let There Be Peace on Earth. Their voices filled the space with pride and unity. One line that especially resonated from Lift Every Voice and Sing was, “Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.” That message reflects our theme, Together We Thrive, and reminds us of the strength and promise within our community.

We also want to thank the families who joined us on February 11 for Math Night (Grades 3–5) and on February 17 for Literacy Night. It was wonderful to connect and share more about how we approach math and literacy instruction at Janney. These evenings strengthen the home–school partnership that supports student growth. We are always looking for additional ways to engage families, so please feel free to share ideas for future topics or formats.

In addition, we have continued engaging with our school stakeholders, including our LSAT, around the proposed DCPS budget. At this time, it is a promising budget that positions us well to continue supporting our 720 and growing Janney Jaguars next year. We remain committed to thoughtful planning that ensures we meet the academic and social-emotional needs of all students while sustaining the strong programs our community values.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support!

With Gratitude,

Principal Singh

On Friday, February 27, 2026, in celebration of Black History Month, we will have a school-wide dress-down day. Students may choose to wear red, black, or green, or dress as an African American Hero they wish to honor.

History was made on the hardwood last Friday as the Janney boys’ basketball team secured a gripping 39-25 victory over Lafayette. For the first time in 15 years, Janney is officially headed to the playoffs! It was a night defined by high stakes and even higher energy. The boys played with a level of composure and grit in front of a roaring home crowd. The next two regular season games will take place this Wednesday and Thursday.

The Janney Read-a-thon is Here! Students will log their reading minutes for two weeks, and readers of all levels can participate—even time spent reading to your child counts.

Highlights:

• Log Minutes: Use the recently upgraded Read-a-thon website.
• Prizes: The top-reading class in each grade will win a pizza party. The top reader in each grade will win a gift card to Politics and Prose.
• Sponsorship: Students can invite sponsors to support their reading through per-minute or flat-rate donations.
• Enrollment: All families must re-enroll and update their passwords this year, even if they participated previously.
• Questions: Contact janneyreadathon@janneyschool.org

Do you have a rising PK4 student or know of other incoming PK4 students 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.

📅 March 2, 2026: Deadline for PK3–8th grade lottery applicants

📅 March 27, 2026: Lottery results and waitlist positions become available in your MySchool DC account

A heartfelt thank you to Lissy Melia and Robyn Mandelbaum, Co-Producers of the 2026 Janney Talent Show. This marked Lissy’s fifth year bringing the show to life and her third year partnering with Robyn, and we are incredibly grateful for the time, creativity, and dedication they poured into making this beloved Janney tradition so special. As this marks Robyn’s final year at Janney, we want to give special thanks for her many contributions and the lasting impact she has made on our community through this event and her many years of volunteering.

We are also grateful to James Douglass for expertly engineering the audio for all the live performances; to Mike Melia and Brent Woolfork for stage management and behind-the-scenes support; and to Haruna Poon-Kaneko, who recorded the entire performance and helped gather and edit the audio.

We are also incredibly grateful to the many parent volunteers who helped with the program, setup and cleanup, concessions, and countless behind-the-scenes tasks. There are simply too many to name, but your contributions were vital to making the night such a success and are deeply appreciated.

Thank you as well to our incredible school partners: Mike Barnhart for assisting with audio support, and Mr. Lindsay for moving the piano up to the cafeteria so the show could go on.

And last but not least, thank you to our incredible MCs, Student Council President Everly Bailey and Vice President Leah Mandelbaum, for keeping the evening lively, organized, and full of energy, and for the heartwarming final performance with Principal Singh that left us all smiling and reminded us once again why we love Janney so much!

If you didn’t have a chance to contribute but would still like to help offset the costs of the Talent Show, donations are welcome and appreciated. Click here to donate.

We’re restocking the Janney Wine Cellar to auction off and we need your help to reach our goal! The Auction volunteers are collecting bottles of wine (valued at $20 or more) to include in this year’s fundraising efforts, and we still need 100 more bottles to stay on track.

It’s easy to contribute: simply drop off your wine any day at 4426 42nd St NW, right across from Janney. Every bottle helps build our collection and directly supports Janney Elementary.

Thank you for being part of this fun and simple way to give back to our school community!

The 5th Grade Musical is one of Janney’s most beloved traditions, and this year’s show is Shrek the Musical KIDS, taking place May 1 & 2. We still need volunteers to help bring it to life!

You don’t need to be a 5th grade parent to help — we’d love anyone who’s excited to jump in, whether you enjoy building, painting, organizing, or cheering students on behind the scenes.

👉 Sign up here and contact Anna Jordan with any questions.

As we begin planning for next school year, we’re hoping to identify additional parent leaders who may be interested in helping carry forward the Janney 5K & Fun Run - a long-standing and much-loved Janney tradition. This year’s event was successful thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers and we're looking for strong parent leadership, particularly around sponsorships, partnerships, and creative approaches to managing costs. If you're interested in learning more about helping lead or shape the future of the 5K, please reach out to Jennifer Records or Beth Kuhnhein.

Please join us for Janney Movie Night on Wednesday, March 11th starting at 6:00 pm! We will be showing Zootopia 2 and will have pizza, popcorn, and drinks for sale! Wear your PJs and bring a blanket to get cozy with your fellow Jaguars for a night of fun and laughs!

Advance tickets and pizza sales coming soon!

Are you available to volunteer that night? We need you! Please reach out to Melissa Henkel or Colleen Dobson or sign up HERE.

Thanks to an awesome group of Janney families who came out to help pack backpacks for kids entering foster care with the amazing team at Comfort Cases.

We sorted hundreds of donations, decorated bookmarks, wrote notes of appreciation, and broke down boxes without anyone losing a finger (or their temper).

Great job, volunteers!

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

Feb. 25 | Boys Basketball Game (HOME)

Feb. 26 | Boys Basketball Game (AWAY)

Feb. 27 | School-wide Spirit Day

Mar. 4-5 | Ledo Pizza Fundraiser

Mar. 11 | Movie Night
Mar. 26 | Class Photo Day

Mar. 28, 6:30pm | Janney Auction

Apr. 13-17 | Spring Break

Apr. 24 | International Night

May 1 & 2 | 5th Grade Musical

May 13 | 5th Grade Panoramic Photo Day

June 5 | Spring Picnic

Janney's Girls on the Run season begins the week of March 2nd and ends with an in-person 5K at the conclusion of the 10-week season on Sunday, May 17th. 3rd Graders will practice on Tuesdays from 7:15 - 8:30 AM and Friday 3:30 - 5:00 PM; 4th-5th Graders will practice on Tuesdays from 4:30 - 5:45 PM and Friday 3:30 - 5:00 PM. Learn about Registration and Reach out to Caryn Marks (404-808-6722) or carynmarks@yahoo.com with questions.

Alice Deal Middle School prospective families are encouraged to visit Deal for one of our in-person open houses. You will meet current students, connect with Principal Neal for a welcome and FAQ session, be able to purchase Deal Gear, and participate in a student guided tour.

Families who wish to attend should sign up here to help us plan. Sessions include:

• Saturday, February 28 | 10:00 - 12:00 noon

• Saturday, March 21 | 10:00 - 12:00 noon

• Saturday, April 25 | 10:00 - 12:00 noon

• Wednesday, May 20 | 5:00 - 6:30pm

Alice Deal Middle School is located at 3815 Fort Drive NW

Alice Deal Middle School is performing an abridged Much Ado About Nothing, featuring several former Janney students.

Show Times:

Feb 26 & 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Feb 28 at 1:00 p.m. (Understudy Show) & 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: https://alice-deal-theater.square.site/

• Register on Remind for important updates
• Subscribe to the Janney PTA calendar
• Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more updates!
• Sign up for our Janney Community Listserv by emailing: janneyEScommunity+subscribe@groups.io.
• Our Newsletter drops every Tuesday, see the SY25-26 Archive
• Check out our Website for important links 👇

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 on the Janney Instagram anonymously. 👇

🚲 Join the Janney Bike Bus | 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 | Pay here for 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.