Greetings MMS Families,

I hope you had a great week so far and are looking forward to the weekend. If you are a football fan, enjoy the game Sunday evening but please make sure your Mustang is up on time and ready for school Monday!

Black History Month began this past week and our BHM Committee has been working hard to plan and coordinate events and our culminating experiences. We are hopeful to get full details out soon – please reach out to Mr. Cordoba if you would like to collaborate and support and have not already connected. Thank you to Ms. Punwani who coordinated one of our first events for the month when our 8th grade class got to watch ‘Bright Before Us Like a Flame’ – a spoken word/poetry event framed by the work of Langston Hughes. We look forward to more events like this throughout the month such as:

Black History Month Spirit Week – please see attached/shared in SA already the themes for next week’s BHM Spirit Week. We are encouraging all staff and students to participate!

Friday is DCPS-led PD Day. There is no school for students and the building will have limited access.

Have a great weekend,

Cooke

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.

LSAT Meeting Tuesday – LSAT team members/interested staff – we have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 5:00pm. As of now we do not have updated budget information, so the meeting details may change. LSAT Meeting

PTO Meeting Tuesday – Our February PTO meeting is this coming Tuesday evening. We hope many of you can join! Here is the link: PTO Meeting

UPDATED - 8th Grade/All Parent resource from Ms. Castro – please see attached HS Season One-Pager in English and Spanish.

Greetings Families,

High School Season has transitioned from On-Time Lottery Applications to Post-Lottery Applications. What does this mean? This means that every high school application received starting from 12:00 am February 4th, will be reviewed in the order that is submitted.

In total, we had 119 applications submitted with 115 on time and 4 post-lottery applications. Of these applications, we had a total of 203 applications to selective high schools! For the first time, due to the abundance of applicants, we will be hosting Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering High School staff on Thursday, February 27th for in-person interviews and timed essays. Recommenders have been and continue to work hard on their recommendations. Our deadline is Monday, February 10th. Reminder that results are released on Friday, March 28th.

It is our recommendation that every student complete high school research and applies to at least one high school. While this is our recommendation, we understand that many of our students want to enroll at Roosevelt. With this in mind, we will be visiting next week on Wednesday, February 12th. If a secondary visit is needed, it will be scheduled at our earliest convenience. Additionally, we have also rescheduled our visit to Dunbar to Wednesday, February 26th.

Thank you all so much for your continued support!

REMINDER - Spring 2025 Panorama Surveys Open February 24 (3/28) The Spring 2025 Panorama surveys for students, families, teachers, staff, and school leaders will run from Monday, February 24 to Friday, March 28. Administration details will be sent next week. Student-level SEL data will update in the Student Success platform on an ongoing basis throughout the survey, while SEL scale results will be available immediately after the survey closes.

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 -2.11, 2.12 – ACCESS Testing – MLL Students – students will test and have an adjusted schedule.

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.

REMINDER – Last OPEN HOUSE - February 19th, 5pm - Please share with other families and feeder school families!!

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

2.11, 2.12 – ACCESS Testing – MLL Students – All students will test and/or have an adjusted schedule.

2.14.25 - DCPS Professional Development Day - No School for students

4.9.25 – 4th Period/5:00pm for families – Spring Arts Showcase

4.28-5.9 – CAPE Testing – All students

6.6.25 – 4th Period – EOY Talent Showcase

8.5.25-8.8.25 – Tue-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 our cross-collaborative teams for our Annual Literacy Night this Wednesday! We had an amazing evening on Wednesday with workshops, student work demonstrations and collaborative and informative experiences with our students, families and staff! There was food, fundraisers, partners with information and more. It was a great communal experience with great work from our ELA, Dual Language, Science and Social Studies teams and their students on display and support from our OPS and custodial teams as well! I think the email below I received was a great note about the ongoing community spread of the good work at MacFarland MS:

Good afternoon,

My name is Catie Cornell and I am currently a 7th grade English teacher at San Miguel School in DC. Last week, as I was riding the Metro, I met one of your students. His name was Christopher and he is currently in 8th grade. During our short metro ride, Christopher told me all about the books he's reading about the Little Rock Nine in his English class. He was so respectful and eager to talk about both his learning and my teaching.

This impressed me greatly and inspired me to check out McFarland. As I was browsing your website this afternoon, I noticed you all are hosting a Literacy Night tonight. As somebody who is looking into different career options and opportunities, I am curious if it is acceptable for me to attend your event tonight? I would love to learn more about your school, its community, and your literacy approach.

Please let me know what you think- I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks,

Catie C

We had another feeder school visit from our Truesdell family Wednesday! Thank you to Ms. Sargent and Mr. Ellison for the coordination, flexibility and tour leadership! Ms. Sargent also shared the below thank you highlighting some of our student ambassadors whose engagement was a great representation of MMS! Thank you all for your help and support for today’s tour with Truesdell Elementary School 5th graders! Despite some last-minute changes, we were able to support our future students in seeing and learning about our school and community. Also thanks to our ambassadors: Edwin S., Jayda, Kemira, Nicole, Raphael, Santiago, Teresa, and Zachary!

We had an amazing Scholastic Book Fair this week thanks to the hard work of Ms. Beckett and the teachers and staff who supported, attended or made their own purchases. As Ms. Beckett noted when we were talking, the book fair is a great chance to engage new readers and expand reading interest as well as a nostalgic experience for many adults as well!

National School Counseling Week was this week! Please join me in celebrating the hard work of our tremendous counseling team and all the dedication and love they bring to their work here at MacFarland! Thank you, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Castro, Ms. Sargent, and our newest team member Ms. Terrell! We appreciate all you do for our students, families and our staff as well!

Shout out to our Saturday School Team who were all here this past week to get our Mustangs immersed in their first Saturday sessions! Our custodial team, Math Teachers, Security Officers, Ms. Salgado and of course all of our kids came in bright and early Saturday to get that extra learning in! Thank you all and looking forward to seeing even more of you this coming week!

Shout out to Ms. Lewand and our Broadcast Journalism Club who has made this video covering High School Night. Please play this during Advisory on Monday, as this video serves as an introduction to 8 different DC high schools and gives advice for the application process that is helpful across grade levels. This 10 minute video is informative, fun, and a chance for everyone to learn something new (and appreciate the time that students put into this video)! Thank you -Ms. Lewand (backup video link)

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

Next Curbside Coffee – TBD – we are working on coordinating with our next in person PTO meeting.

February PTO Meeting – 2.11 – 6:00pm - Meeting Link - PTO Meeting

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

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.