Murch Weekly

Upcoming Dates
NO SCHOOL   Monday, Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Observance

MDT ‘Open Forum’    Tuesday, Jan. 16, 6:30–7:30 pm

Open House      Thursday, Jan. 18, 9 am Meet in the Gym

Deal Night    Tuesday, Jan. 30, 6:30–7:30 pm, with Principal Melissa Kim

Ummmm...some of you may have noticed the huge pile of compost, mulch and timbers on the blacktop. (If you have been on the blacktop at all this week they are hard to miss!). The HSA approved a capital expenditure to replace the wooden boats on the playground that a former HSA had installed ten years ago or so. When the wood was removed, we called in an arborist to assess and manage the trees that are in the boats. That project has taken on a life of its own, and our best intentions to have the work done over the winter break was not possible. We are hopeful this will be done in the next week. In the meantime, please watch your children with vigilance and keep them out of the construction area.

Another project that the HSA has taken on is replacing the 75-year-old blackboards in the classrooms with new white boards. A pilot project of 3 classrooms were retrofitted with whiteboard “skins” last week (thanks to the parents who put in the hours and the muscle – Karen Ball, Rachel Garrett, Rod Garrett, Karin Perkins, David Von Drehle, and Josh Winchell). We hope to have all classrooms set up with these before the end of the year. The hitch – it will take about 40 to 60 “people hours” (aka man hours) to get the prep work, moving, and installation done. WE NEED PEOPLE to make this project a reality. Please contact Karin Perkins, karinperkins@erols.com, with your generous offer of help to make all the classrooms modern in this way.

The auction planning is in full crunch-mode. Alison Howard and the table chairs have been working very hard and have solicited some great items. Please, please, please take it upon yourselves to do something to help bring in some items. A flier went home to Murch families this week – please read it and help us out. Did we say please yet?

Okay, on that note – have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Tuesday.

Michelle Cochran                                                 Martha Saccocio
MichelleCochran@starpower.net                     MarthaNS@aol.com
237.6617                                                                 237.6967

The Murch Development Team (MDT) has two announcements. First, an ‘MDT Open Forum’ will be held on January 16th, 6:30–7:30 pm. This will be an opportunity for parents to raise comments or concerns about MDT-related issues. As a reminder, the MDT’s role is to advise the principal on matters of budget, policy and procedure. A primary responsibility of the MDT is to prepare the school plan as part of the DCPS budgeting process. This School Plan seeks to identify current needs at Murch, as well as to set long-term goals for achievement, teacher satisfaction and excellence, discipline and school environment. The MDT also proposes solutions to these needs within the constraints of the DCPS budget. Issues raised at the January 16th Open Forum will be helpful to the MDT, both in addressing issues for the balance of the current school year, as well as in developing a new School Plan that will guide us for the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 school years. Further details about the format of the MDT Open Forum will follow.
 
Find the current School Plan at http://murchschool.org/MurchSchoolPlan_0607.pdf
and on the HSA table. Additional information about the MDT is available at http://murchschool.org/MurchDevelopment_team.htm.  
 
Second, the team has revised MDT meeting dates for the remainder of the school year. While meetings will continue to be held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 pm, the new dates are: January 16, February 27, March 27, April 24 and May 22.

All meetings are open to outside observers. Please direct any questions or comments to any MDT parent representative: Amanda Broun, arbroun@aol.com; Susan Banta, bantaberg@starpower.net; Pam Joos, joos@wis.edu or Linda Singer, lsinger@appleseeds.net
Murch School Chorus. All students in Grades 3-6 who are interested in joining, please meet in the Music Room on Tuesdays from 3:15 - 4:15 pm. Rehearsals begin January 16.

AP Link by Marcia Jackson

Welcome back to a new and exciting year! We were absolutely delighted to see all of you and to learn about the wonderful adventures that occurred over the winter break. The opportunity to visit family and friends, near and far, and to reflect on what is most important couldn’t have come at a better time for all of us. I know that I was able to enjoy a little quiet time and I feel relaxed and ready to forge ahead. My hope is that each of you took time for yourself and experienced a renewal, as you were able to break away from your usual routine.

While the children were still at home with you during winter break, we had the opportunity to participate in professional development trainings in Writer’s Workshop and the Responsive Classroom. I found these sessions to be rich, informative and quite inspiring. Teachers were trained and empowered to implement strategies in their classrooms with students that I know will make a difference here at Murch. I am looking forward to visiting classrooms to see the continued implementation and the fabulous results of Writer’s Workshop and the Responsive Classroom.

To ensure that students receive the maximum benefit from the planned instructional program, we need your help. We realize that many children are excited about the gadgets and treasures they received during the holidays and we are excited for them, but please make sure that your children do not bring their electronic devices to school. These devices are a distraction to your child and to others. Electronic devices will be confiscated and students won’t be able to enjoy them at home when it is appropriate. Also, if your children have a pair of the Heely Skate Shoes, please do not allow them to wear them to school. It is unsafe for students to skate in the hallways of the school. Students are also using them on the playground and the soccer field at recess. Excessive mud and dirt is being tracked back into the building as a result of this.

We have many more wonderful months of school ahead of us and we know that our students are eager and prepared to receive the instruction that we have planned for them. Let’s continue to work together to make sure that our students are focused, safe and ready to learn each day!

Auction 2007 is coming up!!!  In fact, it is right around the corner and will be held on March 3rd, from 6:30 - 10:00 at the Carnegie Institute on 16th and P streets, NW.  Help us make the auction a huge success...“The Sky’s the Limit” when it comes to keeping Murch the best elementary school in NW!!

Please consider donating something, or soliciting donations. We are looking for tickets for sports, theater and music, signed books, music compilations, vacation homes, restaurant donations, limo services, hotel stays, tourism possibilities, health and beauty, lessons, home services, home decor etc. If you have something to donate, please contact one of the following category chairs:

Books and More – Laura Kaiser
Children’s Corner – Alison Howard (Evy Mages)
Class Gifts – Marci Nadler and Regina Holliday
Domestic Bliss –Galen Acar (services for the home, auto, pet care, architecture, cleaning)
Feeding Frenzy – Janice Barksdale; Fine Arts –Nicole Andrews-Brandes (original artwork, photography, sculpture)
House Beautiful – Jill Kovacs (home decor, rugs, lamps, gift certificates to stores, interior design)
Live – Karen Ball and Kathleen Lewis Workman
Night on the Town – Donna Fabiani (Judith Katz)
Personal Bliss – Karin Perkins, Cheryl Fox, Alison Howard
Sporting Life – Wendy Gualtieri
Super – Susan Rees
Teacher’s Gifts – Caroline Chambers
Vacations, Tours and Travel – Pamela Joos and David Weiner
 
If you have any questions, need donation forms, or letters to drop with merchants, please contact Alison Howard at AMHoward@starpower.net or call 368.3501.

Classroom Connection by Ms. Otten, Ms. Franklin and Ms. Robinson, 5th grade team

Be sure and check out the fifth grade penguin picture books in the windows of “Politics and Prose.” Each fifth grader wrote and published a picture book story about penguins following a reading unit on animal literature. Fifth grade students and teachers have settled into their new block schedule and, according to all, it is a huge hit. Each class meets for 85 minutes; more time for each class means more opportunities to provide students with a range of activities around one concept or skill.  Students have just begun a math unit on fractions. They made their own fraction sticks and used them to play a variety of fraction related games. Equivalent fractions are echoing through the classrooms. In reading, students have spent the past four weeks studying a number of geniuses. Leonardo da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi and William Shakespeare are just a few of those the students have read about and discussed. In science, students are wrapping up their unit on cells, where they have used books, laptops and microscopes to explore and interact with cells.  Over the winter break, students grew their own germs from beef bouillon cubes; our scientists all returned healthy and full of enthusiasm for the fizzy, gross stuff they had been growing. During the next few weeks in social studies, students will begin to prepare for a covered wagon journey from Independence, MO to Oregon. The year is 1840 and after pulling together their family members and deciding what to take in their covered wagon, they will begin a trip that will be full of obstacles including floods, droughts, snow and ice storms, Native Americans, blocked trails, unfriendly animals and running out of food. Westward, ho! 

American Girl doll stuff wanted. Has your daughter graduated from playing with her American Girl Doll? My daughter would be interested in buying it. She is particularly interested in Elizabeth or the horse, but she would consider other items as well. Please contact Martha Saccocio at MarthaNS@aol.com or 237.6967.
Art Competition and Exhibition: Deadline: February 1, 2007 Up to $10,000 in awards for Water Media on Paper. Sponsored by the National Society of Arts and Letters. Open to US citizens age 18–29 residing in DC, Northern VA, or DE. Contact nadler@starpower.net for application.

AQUARIUM WANTED: Do you have a 20-gallon aquarium with no leaks/cracks that you want to give away? I am looking for one (for fish) for free, but happy to pay a small fee. I don't need a stand, but would take one if offered. Please e-mail Eileen Kane at Ekane98@aol.com.

Si usted llegara o necesita alguna ayuda para traducir algo al espanol contacteme. Sara Villeda: telefono 202.244.7493/email savll@aol.com.