Greetings MMS Families,

We made it to Spring Break! I hope you get a nice, long, well deserved break in this week. We are now also ONE WEEK into Term 4 already and CAPE testing will begin one week after we return. There is a lot of important excitement coming up, so please enjoy the break with your Mustang and have them rest up so they are ready to finish strong!

We had a number, or GREAT events and data points this week that are worth celebrating and sharing out as a positive way to go into the break!!! I’m highlighting these below and so thankful to have good news going into the stretch to the end of the school year!

The Spring Arts Showcase was outstanding! We had a great school day performance for all students and staff on Wednesday last period and the evening show was the ‘director’s cut’ full length version. It was such a pleasure to see and hear all of the great performances from our Mustangs! We had more than one hundred families turn out for the evening, 8th grade, and PTO fundraisers and my own three daughters loved the event – I have a great video of my three year old, our students, community members and staff participating in the audience-infused Arabic dancing! Thank you to all the staff coaches, coordinators, attendees, emcee Novoa-Marcano and of course Mr. Ring for his vision and coordination! And of course, the biggest Shout Out to our Mustang artists, dancers, performers and musicians for brining it on Wednesday night!!!! A very proud MacFarland moment!

This week we received the results of our Spring Panorama Survey for staff and students – we had over 90% of staff and 90% of students participate in the survey and we are proud to see that our scores went up in EVERY component again, reaching the highest levels we have had in the survey. We gained double digits in multiple staff and student components of the survey and more importantly we know we can continue to improve the experience of our students and staff at MMS.

That relentless goal for continuing to improve the experience at our school has led to the great growth this spring, and will lead us to further growth for sure in the future.

We had a great 7th grade dance on Thursday afternoon/evening this week as a nice way to push toward closing out the last week before break! It had a ‘Spring Theme’ and we had more than 70 students attending and enjoying the food, music, photo ops and time to hang out with their friends. Shout out to Ms. Nelson, Ms. Walston, AP Ojeda and the 7th grade team who worked to coordinate and support this event for our kids!

Enrollment IS our hustle! We continue to reiterate and remind our students and families that we need them to enroll ASAP to help us support their choice of electives, include them in key celebrations and fun and schedule our building accurately. At the same time we were the THIRD most enrolled middle school in DCPS this week when the first report came out – great job to our team Ms. Santos, Ms. Salgado, Mr. Novoa-Marcano – and our families for responding and coming in and getting enrolled right away! If you haven’t enrolled yet – please come in and join the party ASAP!

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 and on Saturday, April 26th - Enrollment Saturday, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - more information to come!

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 y el sábado 26 de abril de 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - sábado de inscripción - más información pronto!

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.

2025-26 Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Board Application Launches 4/7! (5/5)- The Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Board application for School Year 2025-26 launches on Monday, April 7. The Parent Advisory Board provides a monthly space for families to engage directly with Chancellor Ferebee and DCPS leadership, offer feedback, and learn about key initiatives. We encourage you to share this opportunity with your parents and caregivers who have a strong connection and commitment to DCPS. Families can apply here by Monday, May 5, at 11:59 p.m. Applications are available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Amharic.

POC: Tierra.Patterson@k12.dc.gov

ENROLL ASAP - It’s time to enroll and reenroll!! Enrollment starts fully this coming Friday and we have events and rewards for our students and families who enroll early! Please read the attached flyer and reach out to our enrollment team if you need support! We hope to have 60% of our families enrolled by May 1st!!!

REMINDER - NEXT PTO Meeting – 5.13 – 6:00pm - PTO Meeting

REMINDER - Summer Bridge for New Mustangs 8.5-8.8 (Tu-Fri) – Yes – it’s a long way off, but we are always asked about Summer Bridge early in the year, and we are sharing our dates now so you can plan for your newest Mustang or share with feeder school partners and friends.

REMINDER - 4.28-5.9 – CAPE Testing – All students – our biggest test of the year – students will test each morning and have a modified schedule.

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

4.28 – 5.9 – CAPE Testing – All students

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!

Shout out to the Wellness Team for warming us up on a wet Monday on our PD Day. It was nice to connect with folks and see/hear how people were doing at this time of year from allergies to feeling great, but calm! Thank you Wellness Team for giving us a chance to be people first to start out our PD Day!

Shout out to Ms. Smith, Ms. Castro and AP Bradford for providing our CAPE testing training on Monday as well. These elements may be dry and repetitive, but they are essential requirements for us and the job of going through the details is important and thankless. Until now! Thanks team for taking care of these logistics and reviewing the materials with folks!

Shout out to Ms. Thompson and team 7 for ensuring our 7th grade for Naviance completion exceeded 90%! Here is a shout out for Ms. Thompson and the team from Ms. Terry, our poc from central office:

This accomplishment means that 91% of rising 8th graders will receive a personalized College and Career Guide to help them make informed decisions about the right high school based on their career interests. These valuable guides are set to be released in December of the next school year.

Your dedication and efforts have truly paved the way for success for our students. Thank you for your commitment to shaping their futures and helping them take confident steps toward their dreams.

Amazing job and keep up the fantastic work! Should you want to increase your percentages please do not hesitate to reach out regarding the remaining students.

As usual our April Wellness Newsletter was a great read and I am being pushed, and so pushing all of you to try some of the wellness strategies for the month in the calendar! There are some other great articles/elements and thank you to Ms. Raphael and the Wellness Team for the great resources and ideas!

Thank you to Ms. Flemmings for her support and attendance at the STEM showcase this past Wednesday at Cleveland Elementary School! It was a great chance to showcase some of the great work she is doing with our students and connect with our partner schools and future Mustang families! Thank you Ms. Flemmings for showing our Mustang pride and building bridges across the city!

Thank you to our LSAT Team who convened for their April Meeting this week on Tuesday. We are mostly past the budget season and it was nice to reset and talk/listen to their input about school and community needs and ideas for support both at the micro and macro level.

The PTO Team also met this week on Tuesday to discuss similar ideas and input. Thank you to Ms. Chapman who tuned in to represent our staff and the Chapman team was on both LSAT and PTO. It was nice to have our staff and families connected and sharing ideas and input and looking forward to the plans they’ve made!

Major shouts out to the 7th grade team in organizing our first ever after school dance. Students who have enrolled and had perfect March attendance were invited to attend for FREE.

Many thanks to Ms. Nelson, Ms. Walston and Ms. Teixeira for their event coordinating. Thanks to Ms. Lewand and the art club for their amazing decorations. Thanks to Ms. Holland, Mr. Owens, Ms. Gutierrez, Mr. Hall, Mr. Lee, Mr. Thomas, Ms. Simmons, Ms Chapman, and Mr. Stevens for serving as chaperones. Thanks to Ms. Walker McClean for the operations and logistical support to ensure the event ran smoothly.

The Spring Arts Showcase was outstanding! We had a great school day performance for all students and staff on Wednesday last period and the evening show was the ‘director’s cut’ full length version. It was such a pleasure to see and hear all the great performances from our Mustangs! We had more than one hundred families turn out for the evening, 8th grade, and PTO fundraisers and my own three daughters loved the event – I have a great video of my three-year-old, our students, community members and staff participating in the audience-infused Arabic dancing! Thank you to all the staff coaches, coordinators, attendees, emcee Novoa-Marcano and of course Mr. Ring for his vision and coordination! Additionally, a huge thank you to Ms. Lewand, Ms. McMillian, Ms. Beckett, Ms. Punwani, Mr. Cordoba, Ms. Larracuente, and Ms. Hussein, who worked to support the event by serving dinner and managing the performers in between shows. And of course, the biggest Shout Out to our amazingly talented Mustang artists, dancers, performers, and musicians for bringing it on Wednesday night!!!! A very proud MacFarland moment!

Big shout out to the enrollment team for reaching out to families via all communications platforms to inform our community of the enrollment process! Every phone call, email, and text message makes a huge difference. Extra special shout out to Ms. Santos and Salgado for working one-on-one with families to ensure the enrollment process goes as smoothly as possible! Additionally, for providing equitable language support to our Spanish speaking community.

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

Next Curbside Coffee – Friday, 5.16 – our front!

May PTO Meeting – 5.13 – 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 Upshur Recreation Center located at 4300 Arkansas Avenue, NW, will be hosting events and activities all week during Spring Break for children of all ages.

Visit dprevents.com for more information.

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.

City Kids Wilderness Project is a DC-based youth development nonprofit that offers 6+ consecutive years of entirely FREE out-of-school time programs focused on utilizing outdoor spaces and experiences to build social, emotional, leadership, and college and career readiness skills to small cohorts of DC-based middle and high school youth in both the DMV area and Jackson Hole, WY. We take our youth to do everything from whitewater rafting to rock climbing to hiking in the Grand Teton mountains!

City Kids is currently recruiting our next cohort of 6th grade youth for the SY24-25 program year.

Please see below to learn more about the City Kids program, including what we look for in 6th grade applicants:

• The City Kids Journey: 90 second overview video of the City Kids Program
• City Kids Annual Report
• City Kids Recruitment Flyer

Mustang families,

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:

• November 6th
• December 4th
• January 8th

• 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.

Sodexo, our food vendor, has launched a new website with Nutrislice where you can access interactive and updated menus daily! You can view the menus at the site linked below. User guide attached below.

• 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:

1. Email MacFarlandMSPTO@gmail.com and ask to be added to the group; or

2. Follow this link (may require that you have a google/gmail account): https://groups.google.com/u/3/g/macfarland-families and then click on “Ask to join group” near the top of the page.

Whatsapp Group for MacFarland Families

For families who want to connect by text message instead of email, there’s a WhatsApp group. Family members can join by:
1) clicking this link:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kmw0pZ6yqXCG4l7FRsuUXk
2) texting a request to join to: 202-441-9954; or
3) scanning this QR code:

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.