Outdoor Wednesdays - Calle Ocho Campus
NEW! On-Campus Learning and Activities Continue Expanding
UPDATED! Outdoor Activities on Wednesdays - We Still Have Spaces Available
UPDATED! Academic Packets Available for Pick Up
NEW! Catholic University Observations at Mundo Verde
MAP This Week: 3rd and 5th Grade
Kindergarten-5th Grade Personalized Learning Plans
Family Communications & EngagementUPDATED! Calle Ocho Connection, Building Our School Community - March 25, 7:00-9:15pm
Heath & SafetyNEW! Arrival and Dismissal Updates at Calle Ocho Campus
Travel Recommendations During Spring Break
Attendance RemindersNEW! Recommitment to Attend Learning Hubs
We Need Your Support for the Student Attendance
Student & Family SupportsNEW! Wellness Wednesdays Behavioral Health Supports for Parents
Virtual Session Opportunities with PAVE and WISE - March 25 and April 8
Student & Family Support Services
School Calendar and Upcoming EventsAs we announced in the most recent family virtual information and dialogue sessions, Mundo Verde continues to expand access to on-campus learning opportunities. Over the last three weeks, we expanded participation in on-campus learning and activities from approximately 60 to 200 students by launching on-campus learning at our Calle Ocho campus, and adding seats at the J.F. Cook Campus. In addition, a number of 105 students participated in outdoor garden and Spanish language activities on Wednesdays at both campuses. (These activities are opt-in and space for this and future weeks are available - see below!)
Details on efforts to increase the number of students on campus were described in our most recent virtual sessions. Presentation materials and recordings of those sessions may be found here:
J.F. Cook Campus March 8 session, led by Acting Principal Netta Douglas
Calle Ocho Campus March 8 session, led by Principal Naomi Fortis-Gebreselassie
School-wide March 4 session, led by Chief Schools Officer Dahlia Aguilar, and Executive Director Kristin Scothcmer
Feb 26 letter with plans for Expanded On-Campus Learning HERE
We continue to bring teachers back to the building and to add students as part of expanding on-campus learning this spring. If you have not yet indicated your preference for on-campus learning, please email platforms@mundoverdepcs.org for the form and for the unique identifier you will be asked to provide for each of your children. Family responses to this form are helping us plan on-campus learning for the remainder of the school year - please let us know if you didn't see it or are not sure whether you have completed it.
If you have any lingering questions, please email info@mundoverdepcs.org or calleocho@mundoverdepcs.org.
ACADEMIC REMINDERS
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up and for allowing everyone the opportunity to sign up for a spot. We will now open the sign-up to allow families to sign-up for more than two spots!
Take this opportunity for your child to participate in reading, and gardening & cooking activities in Spanish on Wednesdays from 8:30-9:45am or 10:15-11:30am.
How to Sign Up? This is a first-come, first-served sign up process. Please use the following link to register on your campus:
Reminder:
Students participating in these activities must complete the health screening in person at arrival.
Wear a mask, bring a water bottle, and wear gear for rain or shine.
Each student must attend the campus they normally attend.
Please note that this activity does not count as attendance, so students must complete their Wednesday task at Firefly to avoid being marked absent.
J.F. Cook Campus
Academic packets will be available for pick up on Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26 from 9:00am-3:00pm at J.F. Cook Campus for PreK, K, 1st, 3rd, and 4th grades. There are no packets for 2nd and 5th grades.
All parents should pick up packets in the (main) building La Casa. Pick-up will be contactless. Please only take designated materials for your children’s grade. If you are unable to come to campus, teachers are also sharing links to activity packets. Families have the option to print these packets at home.
Calle Ocho Campus
Academic packets will be available for pick up from Thursday, March 25 to Sunday 28 from 9:00am-3:00pm at Calle Ocho Campus for PreK, Kinder, and 1st grade.
All packets can be picked up from the North entrance door when facing the school building (same door where school meals are picked-up). Pick-up will be contactless. Please only take designated materials for your children’s grade. If you are unable to come to campus, teachers will also share links to activity packets. Families have the option to print these packets at home.
First grade will also have art packs available from Mr. Manuel.
Additionally, if you did not receive gardening materials (seed kits) during the last pick-up, they will also be available for all students to take home to grow their own vegetables.
During the week of March 22, Early Childhood Education teaching candidates of Catholic University will be engaged in two rounds of observations of some of our virtual classrooms in grades Pre-K through Third. The second round will take place the week of April 19.
The teaching candidates are seeking to learn about curriculum, environment, and teacher interactions through the observations.
The second round of MAP assessments for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades has begun. Below you will find the upcoming dates for the whole group sessions.
Make sure your children have a good sleep the night before, and they attend school on time.
3rd Grade:
Spanish Reading: Thursday, March 25
Math: Wednesday, March 24
5th Grade:
Spanish Reading: Monday, March 22
Math: Tuesday, March 23
Personalized Learning Plans were shared with families last week. Your child's plan includes personalized learning goals* as well as aligned strategies to support at home. Your child’s personalized goal(s) and strategies were developed by their teaching team based on data analysis of daily tasks/ student work, observation of students, and progress towards end of year benchmarks. All students are working towards mastery of grade level standards. When determining personalized goals, teachers consider the learner’s particular starting point on their way to mastery and the appropriate pace or structures through which the learner is to be engaged.
If you did not receive your child's plan, please contact platforms@mundoverdepcs.org. For questions regarding your child's personalized goal(s) or strategies, contact your child's teaching team.
FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT
All Calle Ocho families and caregivers are invited to participate with Principal Naomi Fortis-Gebreselassie in an evening that will provide space to build community with other Calle Ocho families, get the most recent updates on the expansion of on-campus learning, and plan for the remainder of the school year.
From 7:00-8:30pm we will focus on community building with a focus on re-gaining efforts for Comunidad. Then from 8:30-9:15pm we will hear reopening updates as well as have time for Q&A.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Please remember to arrive during your designated block. As we continue to add more students, we thank you in advance for your patience in the carline.
If you need more time during arrival and dismissal to get your child out or into the car, we highly encourage you to park and walk up to help keep the traffic flowing. Teachers are always happy to talk to families, please contact them via email to set a time to talk, unfortunately, arrival and dismissal under these circumstances are not a time to talk with your teachers.
As students and staff continue returning to on-campus learning, it is important to clarify the expectations regarding travel during the pandemic. We ask families to limit traveling during Spring Break to reduce and limit the possible spread of Covid-19 in our school. If your family is planning to travel, please do so safely and practice precautions, such as wearing a mask and hand hygiene.
Students enrolled on on-campus learning (Learning Hubs and Hybrid Model) who choose to travel outside of the DMV to a state or country on the DC Health high-risk list MUST do the following process to return to in-person learning even without symptoms:
Quarantine for 14 days OR
Take a COVID-19 test within 48-72 hours of return and provide negative results
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
As we continue to expand with more hybrid in-person classes, we have noticed a significant drop in attendance in some of the Learning Hub classrooms. Learning Hubs families received an email asking them to recommitment to Learning Hubs. We are currently evaluating what Learning Hubs should remain open and which should be consolidated to potentially increase hybrid learning opportunities. We want as many students as possible to have the opportunity to return to on-campus learning if they wish.
If you are a Learning Hub family and did not receive the email, please email platforms@mundoverdepcs.org. The Recommitment Form should be submitted by Tuesday, March 23.
We recognize how difficult these times are for every and each family. As a school we are making efforts in many fronts to support our students' learning, and to be successful we need your help. Building daily attendance expectations in the early years sets the foundation for academic success in the upper grades. We invite families and caregivers to help their child/ren get into the habit and learn the value of daily, regular attendance.
STUDENT & FAMILY SUPPORT
Families have expressed the need for tools, resources, and consultation that support their own mental well-being as well as that of their family members. The Department of Behavioral Health has developed coping tools for parents and families. Please check this list of tools.
Wellness Wednesdays topics for March are:
March 24: Parenting with Patience
March 31: The Positive Face of Anger
Join at 5:30pm at this link: https://bit.ly/31JpYiv - Password: WW20
Join meeting by phone: Call-in toll number: 1-650-479-3208 Local (Washington D.C.) 1-202-860-2110 Access Code: 172 6204243
Check out the updated Wellness Wednesdays flyer for March in English and Spanish. If you have questions contact Audrey Williams at awilliams@dcpcsb.org.
Dr. Michael Brachfeld, of the MedStar Georgetown WISE Center, Mundo Verde's partner in providing mental health services and supports, announces a virtual series being co-hosted by a collaborative effort with Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE).
In this Virtual House Meeting we invite you to come share your story, connect with other parent leaders and take action! You will also have the opportunity to make a plan to advocate with PAVE for the parent priorities that matter most to YOU!
PAVE + WISE Virtual House Meeting #3: Where the Power Lies in DC Education
Thursday, April 8 from 6:00-7:30pm
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83570265653?pwd=YXY0enlTeURNdkhKOHFHWjI0WU9MUT09
PAVE + WISE Virtual House Meeting #2: Advocacy 101
Thursday, March 25 from 6:00-7:30pm
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86296582785?pwd=VHVLMUdraHhuMEtCaVJOTnVmYkx4dz09
RSVP by emailing Megan Polanin at meganp@medstarwise.org (WISE Center) or Shakira Hall Louimarre at shakira.halllouimarre@dcpave.org (PAVE)
Visit the Student & Family Support section on our Reopening webpage to read more about the service we provide: Behavioral Health Supports for Parents, Social Worker at Mundo Verde, Autism Spectrum Disorder Parent Support Group, Student Services - Child Find, among others.
Upcoming Events:
Mar 25: Calle Ocho Connection, Building Our School Community
Apr 12 - 15: Spring Break
Apr 16: Emancipation Day - School Closed