1) March 14 and 15, April 5
REGISTER for upcoming off school days
2) April 15-19 (choose your day(s) – no camp on April 16)
REGISTER for Spring Break
Questions? Email info@hoopeducation.com
Home and School Association
1) March 14 and 15, April 5
REGISTER for upcoming off school days
2) April 15-19 (choose your day(s) – no camp on April 16)
REGISTER for Spring Break
Questions? Email info@hoopeducation.com
The HSA is in need of four iPads that are able to sync with hotspots and complete transactions with Square. Which generation iPad will work depends on the type of iPad you have (Air, Mini, Pro).
If the iPad is valued at $500 or more, the HSA will be happy to provide you with a tax receipt for your in-kind donation!
Questions? Email the HSA.
Do you have a costume that is too small for your child or one that you know your child will not wear again?
Good Evening Murch Families,
Happy Halloween! I hope everyone celebrating has a fun and safe night of festivities. In this second installment of Mr. C’s Corner, I want to take an opportunity to reflect on another great month of school and all of the exciting opportunities coming down the pike as we wind down our calendar year.
October was chock full of activities. Murch Plus began in grand fashion. Over 15 courses are being offered and over 300 students have signed up. That is an incredible number of students who are taking part, which is very exciting. As we move through the school year, we hope to be able to identify ways of bringing in additional programming opportunities for our students, like chess, dancing, and karate, while bearing in my mind costs and continuing to ensure that ALL students are able to take part. I also want to say a huge THANK YOU to Ms. Berger and Ms. Eckstein for once again getting Murch Plus off to a great start.
I would also like to take a moment to thank our Fall Fair committee for making the fair such a smashing success. And many thanks to every volunteer who made this event happen. It has always been a wonderful community building event and our students always have a great time attending, myself included.
I am also excited about all of the field trips that have taken place already this school year. Field trips play an important part of opening the classroom walls to learning and what better place than Washington DC and the surrounding areas to explore. Our Kindergarten classes went to Sunrise Nursing Home. The First graders went on a trip to the Kid Museum. Our Second graders have gone to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum and to Politics and Prose. Our Fourth and Fifth Graders had an opportunity to go to the National Museum of the American Indian, as well as the Fifth grade trip to the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring. There will be other field trip opportunities for all grades as the school year goes on, and I hope that ALL eligible parents will take the opportunity to chaperone.
October also brought many other exciting opportunities for community engagement. Over 90% of Murch parents took part in parent-teachers conferences this month. While this is tremendous, we would love to see 100% engagement from all of our families. If you have not yet had a conference with your child’s teacher, please reach out to schedule one.
Last week, two different and very robust meetings took place. The first was our LSAT meeting on Wednesday evening. The major points of discussion were Murch’s upcoming enrollment projection, factors that will influence this projection, and the LSAT’s response should the projection come in lower than anticipated. We should be receiving the enrollment projection within the next ten days so will have more to report on this issue in the coming weeks. We also discussed the limited information we currently have on the budget timeline for SY24-25 and the role that the LSAT will play in helping to create and advocate for Murch’s budget needs. The LSAT meeting was also an opportunity for us to discuss family engagement, the reconstitution of the school’s equity team, and various opportunities for families to provide additional staff and classroom support as we get deeper into the school year.
On Thursday evening, we held this school year’s first Data Night. The purpose of these meetings is to share what our school priorities are, both from an academic and social/emotional standpoint based on our comprehensive school plan and the data we currently have for each child in reading and/or math. We looked at the trends in our data and shared our plan for how we were going to work toward closing the achievement gap. We also shared information about last year’s PARCC results and shared our plan for creating an advantageous testing environment for every student who will be taking the PARCC assessment this school year.
And on Saturday, the first Parent Forum was held. There are four more forums planned for the school year and we hope that everyone will take the opportunity to join AP Hawkins and me. They have always been a fantastic way for us to hear directly from our families and engage in deeper, more meaningful conversations about issues impacting our community. Prior to the remaining meetings, we will communicate some additional information, so please be on the look out.
Lastly, I want to take this opportunity to celebrate some of the fun and inspiring moments that took place this month. I am so proud of Murch’s entire cross-country team! Our team not only performed well at their various meets, but they represented Murch with pride, showing amazing displays of team camaraderie. Unity Day was also a celebration of the commitment we make as individuals and as a school to prevent bullying from impacting anyone’s life in a negative way. I want to thank Ms. Miller who organized an anti-bullying assembly where students had the opportunity to sign their name as part of their commitment to make Murch bully free. And the Halloween parade, as per usual, was a ton of fun! I always love seeing the creativity that students and teachers come up with. Shout out to our first grade teachers for their very creative costumes, reflecting their love of the book, “The Day the Crayons Quit.”
Looking ahead to November, I want to remind everyone that while school is not in session most Fridays (November 3rd and 10th, and then we are off for Thanksgiving from November 22-24th), there is still a lot of work getting done, by students and teachers. On Friday, November 3rd, teachers will be in a training session and working to increase their understanding of the whole-child model by working with staff members from TRANSCEND. On Friday the 10th, there is no attendance for staff and students to celebrate Veteran’s Day. We celebrate the heroism of the men and women who served honorably for our military. Not only their service during times of war, but also peacetime. During our Thanksgiving break, I hope everyone has an opportunity to rest, be with loved ones, and celebrate and honor all of the things we have to be grateful for.
With much gratitude,
Mr. C
Starting October 10, 2023, the meal payments portal, MySchoolBucks, was replaced by a new meal payment solution, LINQ Connect.
Existing MySchoolBucks account holders must register for a LINQ Connect account. To get the new account set up, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:
All student and adult staff meal account balances will automatically roll over to LINQConnect. However, to add funds or check balances after October 10, you must have a LINQConnect account.
If you have questions, please email food.dcps@k12.dc.gov, call (202) 299-2159, or check out the DCPS Meal Payment System Update FAQ.
Ms. Burton would love volunteers to help re-shelve books in the Murch library. This is an easy and flexible volunteer opportunity that helps our wonderful library run more smoothly. You can volunteer for as little as 15 minutes or spend several relaxing hours re-shelving books. Swing by after dropping your kids off in the morning every once in a while or dedicate one afternoon a week – whatever works for you! All help is very much appreciated! Please click here to sign up!
Also, please help supply Ms. Burton and the Murch Library with some basic classroom needs. Drop off containers of wipes, rolls of paper towels, and/or boxes of tissues for Ms. Burton to keep on hand in the library. Donated supplies can be dropped directly in the library by the checkout desk at your convenience.
Check out Mr. C’s latest monthly newsletter to the Murch community! This is emailed to families every month and also posted on this website. Find all monthly newsletters from this school year inside Principal C’s Corner under the “About Murch” menu tab above. Happy reading!
Happy Sunday Murch Families,
This school year, I will be writing to the Murch community at the end of every month, instead of every week. So welcome to the first installment of “Principal C’s Corner!” I hope that each and every family in the Murch community has experienced a smooth transition to this school year, but please know that my door is always open should concerns arise.
As we move into the month of October, there are a handful of changes and up-coming engagement opportunities that I want to highlight.
Starting tomorrow, Monday, October 2nd, there will be a change in arrival procedures for grades 1-5. As a part of our Strong Start practice, a set of rituals and routines that focuses on the “whole child” and gets students ready to learn by fostering a sense of safety, belonging, community, and self-efficacy, students in grades 1-5 will enter the school building and go to their respective classrooms on their own starting at 8:30 a.m. Kindergarten students will continue to line up and be met by their classroom teacher on the soccer field. When K students are ready, they will also implement this practice.
The rituals and routines continue as students enter the classroom and begin their day with morning meeting. As students enter the classroom, they choose their own greeting which can be a fist bump, high five, verbal hello, hug, a wave, or a handshake. The teacher personalizes their greeting, so it is unique to each student. This is one of the many whole-child strategies we will be incorporating into the “Murch Way.” Teachers love it because they make a personal connection with each student to start their day and the students enter the room knowing they are loved, they can accomplish all they attempt, and that they have a voice in their classroom community.
We will continue to work with an organization called Transcend, which supports schools in implementing the whole-child model. You can learn more about Transcend and the work they are doing in other DC schools here.
All school morning meetings are also back, a Murch tradition that existed for many years and was interrupted by the pandemic. On Friday, we celebrated as a school, everyone in the gym participating in a greeting, a share, an activity, and a positive morning message. Students and staff were excited to bring this back and we are looking forward to more of these all-school get-togethers as the school year progresses.
One final change announcement – Starting next school year, DCPS will no longer be utilizing the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment. Instead, the CAPE assessment will be used. This is an OSSE (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) decision and I will provide additional details as soon as I am able. Our PARCC scores from last school year have arrived, however, and will be sent home in your student’s backpacks as soon as as possible.
Now, a few engagement announcements. As a part of our community’s effort to strengthen inclusivity and ensure that EVERY student feels engaged, I want to remind our families that Student Attendance impacts learning and affects how a student and their family connects to the school. It’s that simple. If you or someone you know in the Murch community is struggling with attendance, please reach out to our school Guidance Counselor, Lauren Miller.
This year, DC Public Schools (DCPS) is teaming up with EveryDay Labs to enhance attendance strategies and will reach out to families by sending mail and text messages to help keep attendance on track. This partnership work will begin on October 4th with an introductory text message. Families of students who have missed five percent (5%) or more of the school year (excused or unexcused) will receive these messages which are designed to help reduce student absenteeism and motivate student engagement.
Assistant Principal Hawkins and I are planning several opportunities to connect with families. Starting tomorrow, we will officially start our “Lunch with the Principal/AP” and these student engagement opportunities will continue throughout the year. We want to listen to what our students have to say and want the same for the parent community. Published dates for these family outreach opportunities will be posted in next week’s HSA bulletin and on the Murch calendar.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you all at school tomorrow and hopefully, everyone will consider attending the Fall Fair on October 14th!
To a wonderful week ahead,
Principal Cebrzynski