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 The Student Council is holding another Box Tops competition — this one will be quick! Please send in Box Tops by Monday, February 27 (to meet a March 1 deadline by the Box Tops for Education organization) and raise money for Murch. Give all Box Tops to your Student Council representatives, your teacher, or drop in the boxes in the hall.
To get credit for your class, attach Box Tops to the fish bowl sheet that came home in backpacks last Friday or print one out . All sheets must be complete to count toward class totals. Send in any loose Box Tops to fill sheets as a class. First place winning class will get an ice cream party given by the Student Council. Second and third place will receive treat baskets.
 Congratulations to the fifth grade on a successful play and many thanks to Ms. Otten and Ms. Smith!
Last Friday, the fifth grade gave a spectacular performance of the play “Jubilee” about the Harlem Renaissance. Twenty fifth-graders acted in the play, ten students were stage crew and program designers and the entire fifth-grade participated in the chorus. Actors tried out for parts in the play last November and have been rehearsing during recesses and music class over the past several months. All their hard work paid off with a great show!
Many, many thanks to Ms. Otten and Ms. Smith for their leadership and direction of “Jubilee.” Ms. Otten directed the play, lead the rehearsals, coordinated costumes, and so much more. Ms. Smith wrote the play and many of the musical numbers and accompanied the cast on the piano. Thank you to them for all of their time and organization of this great show and providing this experience for the fifth-graders.
Please join the Murch LSAT and me Thursday, February 23, 7 p.m., as we prepare for the 2012-2013 budget planning process. Principal Cebrzynski will present an overview of the upcoming budget process. Parents will have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss funding priorities for the school. Please note: We do not expect to have an actual budget allocation by this session, but are setting this session now due to the unpredictability of the budget schedule.
All parents of fifth graders are invited to a meeting from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday, March 6, in the gym to hear all about fifth-grade promotion and end-of-year activities. This will be followed by an informational session about the human development workshop that will be presented to fifth graders in the spring. Irene Addlestone and Dr. Woodward of Children’s Hospital will present information for parents and an overview of the program. Please plan to attend.
The Murch Book Drive is an effort to bring books to DCPS elementary school kids in Wards 5 and 6 who have few books of their own. The goal is to collect 400 New Books for REACH Inc kids from February 10 – 24 from the Reach Wish List. Why the list? Reach kids have few books at home. It is Reach’s goal to make sure each of it’s kids receives several new books each year. They work hard to make sure that the books are culturally relevant and level appropriate.
Only 13% of DC public school kids enter high school as 9th grade-level readers. An astounding 87% of our districts kids don’t meet grade-level reading proficiency. Kids with low literacy skills are 20 times more likely to drop out of school than their highest performing peers. By partnering with the nonprofit organization Reach Incorporated. Every year Reach Inc. provides NEW books to kids who have very few. Reach’s broader mission is to cultivate literacy skills, across ages, by hiring and training struggling high school readers to tutor in DC elementary schools.
Two important points:
- The books must be New.
- Politics and Prose has generously offered a 20% discount on all books purchased for Reach. (Wish list available in store or on their website.)
BONUS: We will continue to help Reach at the Murch Auction. Look for more information in upcoming emails on how you can donate.
Even though the Murch Auction is not until March 17, the HSA is kicking off the festivities early this Saturday night with a parents-only event — the annual Build-a-Bar Party. If you haven’t received your Evite and need to know the what-where-when, please contact host Martha Saccocio. Read details here so you know what to bring!
Teachers are preparing report cards that will be sent home on Friday, February 3. As some of you experienced last time around, there were a few errors in the report cards (missing grades, comments, etc.) We should have the kinks worked out and our goal is to be error free and 100% accurate. Report cards will be sent home in envelopes with a space for the signature on the envelope. These are to be returned to school and will be reused for the two remaining report cards.
We have received prelimary enrollment figures for next year. Being new to this system, I will be attending my first (of many, I am sure) meetings to discuss the budget process and staffing for the next school year. Community input is invaluable in this process in order for the most effective decsions to be made. The LSAT is developing a survey to ask for your input. This survey should be out later next month. Class size is an issue not only at Murch, but most schools throughout the country. We will be paying close attention to the resources that are allocated to us in order to ensure that we can keep class sizes within a reasonable range. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this, please contact me at your convenience.
The DCPS lottery opens on Monday, January 30. We are currently looking to have three Pre-K classrooms available for the 2012-13 school year.
You have recieved a marketing piece to purchase school spirit items, jackets and hoodies. Our communication prior to them being sent home fell through the cracks and I do apologize for this. If you are interested in purchasing anything, a part of the proceeds will help support our sports teams. Please direct any questions or concerns you have to me either by phone or email.
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