Recess Time - Learning Hubs
NEW! Outdoor Activities on Wednesdays - Information and Registration Form
NEW! Read Aloud with DCI School Students
NEW! Academic Packets Available for Pick Up
NEW! Kindergarten-5th Grade Personalized Learning Plans
Academic Reports
MAP: 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade
Attendance RemindersNEW! We Need Your Support for the Student Attendance
Family Communications & EngagementNEW! Calle Ocho Connection, Building Our School Community - March 25
NEW! Resources from March 8 Session: Family Conversation by Campus
NEW! Ayuda: Free Immigration Advice - March 19
PerspectivesNEW! Findings From This Winter’s All-Family Survey
Heath & SafetyNEW! Travel Recommendations
Student & Family SupportsNEW! Virtual Session Opportunities with PAVE and WISE - March 25 and April 8
Student & Family Support Services
School Calendar and Upcoming EventsACADEMICS REMINDERS
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.
Students will do activities in small groups in their grade level. These activities will be lead by learning hubs associates.
How to Sign Up? This is a first-come, first-served sign up process. To start, families will be limited to two Wednesdays to allow as many families as possible to have access to the program. Please use the following link to register on your campus:
Students participating in these activities must complete the health screening in person at arrival, bring a water bottle and wear a mask.
Please note that this activity does not count as attendance, so students must complete their Wednesday task at Firefly to avoid being marked absent.
We are happy to announce that several volunteer readers from DCI School have signed up to read to our students next Friday, March 19.
Our Read Aloud zoom room will be open from 9:30am -12pm and teachers will let their students know when to join the Read Aloud.
Students will have the opportunity to listen to Niña Bonita (Spanish) by Ana María Machado, Diversión en el clima de otoño (Spanish) by Martha E. H. Rustad, Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, a Young Artist in Harlem (English) by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, and The lost (and found) balloon (bilingual) by Celeste Jenkins.
J.F. Cook Campus
Academic packets will be available for pick up on March 25 and 26 from 9:00am-3:00pm at J.F. Cook Campus. 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 on March 25-28 from 9:00am-3:00pm at Calle Ocho Campus. 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.
On Friday, March 12 we shared your child's Personalized Learning Plan! 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.
The personalized learning plan will be used in the ways that follow to support children and families:
To inform differentiated instruction and/ or small group instruction
To base mastery and success upon the individually met goals of each student
To drive student agency of their own strengths and growth areas
To help students and families learn strategies to address their areas of need
To focus on biliteracy (bilingual language and literacy development)
If you did not receive your child's plan, contact platforms@mundoverdepcs.org. For questions regarding your child's personalized goal(s) or strategies, contact your child's teaching team.
*Kindergarten - personalized literacy goal for Spanish
*1st-4th grades - personalized literacy goals for Spanish and English
*5th grade - personalized literacy goals for Spanish and English + additional goal for Math
PreK: Your child's strengths and areas of growth were shared at parent-teacher conferences. If you did not already receive communication on your child's specific goal(s), you can expect to receive their plan early this week.
Academic reports for all grades were sent to families the week of March 1. If you did not receive it, please email platforms@mundoverdepcs.org.
The second round of MAP assessments for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades will begin this week. Below you will find the dates for the whole group sessions.
Administering the recent MAP testing during remote learning was vastly more challenging than usual – this was especially true for our youngest students in Kinder-2nd grades. As a result and as was communicated earlier this year, we will not be implementing MAP for these grades. Instead, teachers are using classroom assessments to guide instruction and make decisions about personalizing learning.
Make sure your children have a good sleep the night before, and they attend school on time.
3rd Grade:
English Reading: Wednesday, March 17
Spanish Reading: Thursday, March 25
Math: Wednesday, March 24
4th Grade:
English Reading: Monday, March 15
Spanish Reading: Tuesday, March 16
Math: Thursday, March 18
5th Grade:
English Reading: Friday, March 19
Spanish Reading: Monday, March 22
Math: Tuesday, March 23
ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
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.
FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT
Save the date for March 25, 7:00-9:15pm!
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. Stay tuned for more details in next week’s bulletin.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to participate in your campus session, or if you want to review the session again, you can find all resources here:
Calle Ocho Campus:
JF Cook Campus:
Visit the School Communications section of our website where you can find all messages sent to families, weekly family updates, and virtual session resources!
Ayuda will be offering free immigration advice and referrals over the phone on March 19. Clients who are interested should call 202-787-5311 on March 19 between 10:00am and 2:00pm to schedule a phone appointment. This virtual clinic is part of their ongoing effort to provide free, low-barrier consultations for clients who want immigration screening, brief advice, and referrals. Questions about the clinic should be directed to Mary Caulfield at Mary.Caulfield@ayuda.com.
PERSPECTIVES
For family members who would like to learn more about the findings from this winter’s all-family survey, we have prepared four short video presentations from our strategy and communications consultant who designed and analyzed the survey (Jonathan J. Halperin). The slide presentation is in four parts. To watch these videos, click HERE (password: mundo).
Winter Survey – Presentation of Findings Part 1 & Introduction
Brief explanation of survey design and approach as well as methodological notes and explanations. (4 minutes)
Winter Survey – Presentation of Findings, Part 2: Risks, Opinions & Behavior
Discussion of how families perceive risk and the social/emotional importance of returning to on-campus learning, with an examination of differences according to race and identity. (7 minutes)
Winter Survey – Presentation of Findings, Part 3: On-Campus and Remote
Review of statements that resonate most and to what extent subgroups lean toward either on-campus or remote learning. (15 minutes)
Winter Survey – Presentation of Findings, Part 4 & Conclusion: Situations and Support
Analysis of the distinct types of support family members are seeking for students during either on-campus or remote learning. (10 minutes.)
Please share any thoughts or suggestions directly with JHalperin@mundoverdepcs.org
HEALTH & SAFETY
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 should 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
STUDENT & FAMILY SUPPORT
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:
March 15: Small groups of students begin hybrid learning on-campus
Mar 25: Calle Ocho Connection, Building Our School Community
Apr 12 - 15: Spring Break
Apr 16: Emancipation Day - School Closed