The May 12, 2026 Newsletter
Dear Janney Families,
I first want to take a moment to recognize all the Janney mothers, grandmothers, aunts, caregivers, and mother figures in our community. I hope you felt celebrated, appreciated, and cared for this past Mother’s Day weekend.
I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our families for the incredible support shown during Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. On behalf of our teachers, staff, and myself, we are deeply grateful for the thoughtful notes, lunch, treats, gifts, and acts of kindness shared throughout the week. Your generosity and appreciation meant so much to our team.
This week, we continue with DC CAPE testing, and we want to send a special shine to our 3rd graders as they continue showcasing their hard work and growth. We are proud of all of our students for their focus, perseverance, and effort during this season.
We also want to thank families for supporting our Student Council Bake Sale last week. This effort reflected two of our core values, empathy and community, as students worked together to support both our school and others beyond our walls. In addition to raising funds for our recess program, students also raised money to support schools in need in Nigeria. We are proud of the ways our students continue learning that they can use their voices and actions to positively impact others.
Community Safety
Last Thursday, there was an act of violence in our broader community involving a shooting in Tenleytown connected to a Jackson-Reed student who later passed away from his injuries. We continue to keep the Jackson-Redd community and all those impacted by this tragedy in our thoughts during this difficult time. Events like this can impact young people in different ways, even when they are not directly connected to the situation. As we continue through Mental Health Awareness Month, we want families to know that we remain committed to supporting students socially and emotionally and creating spaces where students feel safe, cared for, and supported. We encourage families to reach out to members of our student support team if your child may need additional support during this time.
Monthly Safety Drill
Student safety also remains a priority at Janney. Each month, we conduct two safety drills to help students and staff practice emergency procedures in calm, age-appropriate ways. We have already completed our May fire drill, and on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, we will conduct a lockdown drill. During a lockdown drill, students are moved to the safest area of the room, away from doors and windows. As with all drills, Janney students are prepared through thoughtful classroom conversations and social stories that help them understand procedures in a supportive and developmentally appropriate way. Practicing these routines helps ensure that students and staff know how to respond safely and calmly in the event of an emergency.
As we move through these final weeks of the school year, we remain focused on finishing strong together as a school community.
In Partnership,
Principal Singh
For Mental Health Awareness Month our Jaguars did a fantastic job adding to our affirmation wall. These positive statements can help us feel better about ourselves and help us show up as our best selves!
Also, we are glad to share resources to support your child's mental health.
Provider Referral List
Janney Referral List Here is our referral list for social and emotional support outside of school. We are always happy to connect with any outside providers to bridge in-school and out-of-school support. Check out this resource as well! Child-Mind-Institute-Parents-Guide-Getting-Good-Care-032216.pdf
Mental Health Resources
As part of our commitment to supporting student well-being, we want to share the Child Mind Institute, an organization dedicated to helping children and families navigate mental health and learning challenges.
Their website offers free, evidence-based resources for caregivers on topics such as anxiety, ADHD, depression, behavior, autism, trauma, and learning differences. Families can access parent guides, articles, videos, and practical tools to better understand and support their child’s emotional and developmental needs.
Learn more at: https://childmind.org/
Celebrating Our Incredible Janney Teachers & Staff
One of the things that makes Janney so special is our incredible teachers and staff, who show up for our students each day with care, commitment, and heart. They create the environment where our kids feel supported, challenged, and truly known, and we are so grateful for all they do. Last week was a chance to celebrate them, and what a meaningful week it was, thanks to our incredible Janney community.
A heartfelt thank you to our room parents, whose coordination, thoughtfulness, and generosity brought the week to life in such an inclusive and seamless way. We are also especially grateful to our Staff Appreciation team, Adrienne Chu, Rene Hanna, and Beth Kuhnhein, for their leadership in ensuring everything was organized and ran so smoothly. A very special thank you to Ms. C-C (Kim Calnan-Crismali) for her incredible partnership and for always helping ensure our staff feel supported, valued, and celebrated. We also extend our thanks to Bandit Taco for their generosity in helping make our staff appreciation lunch so special.
Thank you again to everyone who helped make the week so special. We are so grateful for this community and feel incredibly lucky to be part of it.
With gratitude,
Anita Siegfriedt & Jackie Ross
PTA Co-Presidents
Chicken Week - Next Week!
Janney's first-ever Chicken Week, a celebration of all things chicken, is May 18-22! Chicken Flock members will be hosting students to visit the chickens during selected recesses and during Janney+ programming! Look for chicken art pages to pick up on Monday and then turn them in to be displayed on the gym windows, listen for egg-cellent chicken jokes at drop off and chicken music during recess and after school! Specials and Janney+ teachers will be integrating chicken content into some of their classes! And, the 1st graders have been incubating eggs for several weeks - those are expected to hatch this week and all other grades will get to visit the little chicks! Bok bok.
