Happy Monday Murch Families:

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – The parents of all students who are learning virtually are being asked to return all electronic equipment on Wednesday, June 23^rd, between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm. See the information shared on the website from last week HERE. . There will be no virtual instruction on Thursday, June 24th. Teachers will be sending a reminder this weekend. If you have any questions about the return of this equipment, please contact Mary Eckstein.

Information regarding next year will begin to be shared via my blog and website starting on Monday, August 2^nd.

Last week, the Chancellor shared information regarding the safety measures the district will be taking to ensure that everyone can return to school in person; All staff and all students, starting on August 20^th for staff and August 30^th for students. Pre-K 4 students’ first day will be on September 2^nd.

Back-to-School Health & Safety Measures

DCPS has been recognized as a national leader for the robust health and safety measures that allowed us to reopen all buildings this past winter. We continue to lean on the expertise of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DC Health for guidance on COVID-19 school operations. We also highly encourage all students age 12 and older and all staff to get vaccinated as an additional layer of protection.

For SY21-22,  here’s what families can expect at school to maintain a safe environment for in-person learning:

• HVAC enhancements allow for well-ventilated spaces at every school, including state-of-the-art HEPA filters in classrooms and air quality sensors throughout the building.
• Practice safe routines: All staff, students, and visitors must wear a mask or face covering, and daily PPE and hygiene supplies will be provided.​
• Enhanced cleaning protocols for high-touch surfaces, and a deep cleaning completed after a suspected or reported COVID-19 case.​

• Space arrangements: Students should be separated as far as possible and individual desks and tables are to be facing the same direction to the extent feasible.
• Student meals: Pre-K and Kindergarten students will eat in the classroom and all other grades will eat in the cafeteria. Social distancing should be followed while eating and drinking, to the extent feasible.
• Student cohort interactions will be limited to the extent feasible, but there will be no cap for student or staff cohort interactions in any grade.​
• Screen for illness: Students and staff will complete a daily “Ask, Ask, Look” screening, but temperatures will not be taken upon arrival at school.
• COVID-19 reporting protocols: Schools will report positive cases within a school community if a person has been in the building during their infectious period and follow a quarantine protocol. ​Additional information about asymptomatic testing will be shared over the summer.

These layered mitigation strategies will ensure that our schools are physically safe and healthy learning environments. We will regularly update our community about health and safety protocols throughout the summer, including opportunities to join safety walkthroughs at your school ahead of the start of classes to see these measures for yourself.

Virtual Learning For Students With Medical Needs

We hope and expect the overwhelming majority of DCPS students will return to full-time in-person learning in the fall. However, we know there are students who have a documented medical condition who need to continue virtual learning. To support these students, DCPS will offer virtual instruction for a limited number of students who meet medical eligibility requirements. Virtual instruction based on medical need will be available across all grades from PK-12.

DCPS will provide a rich online learning environment for students who need virtual instruction, including a technology device for those who require one. Please note that we cannot guarantee access to all courses or programs; however, virtual students in secondary grades will have access to all courses required for graduation. Virtual students will be assigned to a DCPS teacher, but in some cases, it may not be with a teacher at their enrolled school. Students learning virtually may be part of an online classroom with all virtual students or, in limited circumstances, join a class where the teacher is instructing both in-person and virtual students. Additionally, students will attend all live instruction taught online, and attendance expectations for virtual students will mirror those for in-person learning.

• Please also note that virtual students will not be able to participate in in-person activities at their school, including extracurricular and athletic activities, as well as before or aftercare, due to their medical needs. Meal distribution sites will still be open across the district for virtual students to receive meals.

• Consistent with a District-wide policy, families whose students need virtual learning must provide a form signed by a physician or nurse practitioner that explains why their student requires this option (i.e., a documented medical need as determined by a health professional). Each student in a household that needs virtual learning should complete their own registration form.

• At this time, virtual instruction will be offered on a semester basis, covering Terms 1 and 2 at DCPS (August 30 to January 26).

You can begin the registration process online here or you can drop a completed medical form off at your school. DCPS will safeguard information in alignment with all privacy laws. Families will be asked to provide their student’s name and ID number on the registration form. We encourage those who need virtual learning to complete this process by July 6 to help schools create class schedules for the fall.

After the COVID-19 Medical Consent and Certification form is uploaded online, families will be notified once their virtual learning request is processed.

Have more questions? Review the medical eligibility form and read an FAQ for families at dcpsreopenstrong.com/sy21-22/virtual.

OPEN FORUM FOR PARENTS -I will hold one last open forum for parents on Wednesday, June 16^th. There will be two times offered for you to attend are 11:00am-12:00pm, and 8:00pm-9:00pm.  We will have guidance from the district for next year’s opening by then so this could be a good time to ask clarifying questions or specific questions related to Murch’s opening.

The information for the meetings is:

Topic: Parent Open Forums

Time: Jun 16, 2021 11:00 AM and 8:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9971918912?pwd=SW9kOUtwUGtMRHJ3RUdrYkVEcHN2Zz09

Meeting ID: 997 191 8912

Passcode: 131664

Have a great rest of your week!

Principal Cebrzynski

Good morning Murch Families:

The Chancellor will be providing an update for all of you about the robust health and safety measures for the fall. The district will continue to lean on the expertise of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DC Health for guidance on COVID-19 school operations.

It will be critically important that all students, to be in person for instruction in the fall, must have up to date vaccinations. If necessary, please take the necessary steps to make this happen.

As stated in an earlier email, we are planning to have all students and staff attending in person instruction which begins on August 30^th. As a side note, we have completed hiring all staff for next year and once they are finalized through HR, I will be able to share their names and positions they are filling.

We will be holding our sneak peek on Friday, August 27^th, This is a time to meet the teacher, see the classroom and drop off all school supplies prior to our first day.

I want to thank all parents who provided input about end of the year open forums. I will hold one last open forum for parents on Wednesday, June 16^th. There will be two times offered for you to attend are 11:00am-12:00pm, and 8:00pm-9:00pm.  We will have guidance from the district for next year’s opening by then so this could be a good time to ask clarifying questions or specific questions related to Murch’s opening. The information for the meetings is:

Topic: Parent Open Forums

Time: Jun 16, 2021 11:00 AM and 8:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9971918912?pwd=SW9kOUtwUGtMRHJ3RUdrYkVEcHN2Zz09

Meeting ID: 997 191 8912

Passcode: 131664

Questions (and answers) I have received from parents:

Aside from formal programming (which I know we’re not eligible for), what are some good resources to maintain the skills our son has gained this year, particularly in reading and writing? Prior to the summer break, we will be posting a variety of sources on murchschool.org to help support summer learning, It will be similar to what we did last year.

Also, at what point do you anticipate knowing more about DCPS plans for the fall, particularly how many days per week they will be in the classroom? Information from the Chancellor should be coming out soon and may have already been released prior to this being published. Students will be in class five days a week.

Will each kid be getting their own laptop again? We will not require that students have their own laptop. We are going back to the practice of storing them in the laptop chargers at each grade level until they are needed and will only be used for short periods of time. WE will also have a class set of laptops available in the library for classes who are working on research or other projects. We are going back to the practice we used pre-pandemic.

Expected to log onto canvas for assignment tracking for kids and parents? We will not be using canvas to track assignments as we did when teaching virtually or in the hybrid model. Again, we are reverting to our pre-pandemic laptop usage practice.

These kids lost two half years of essential, hands on, Reggio learning (half of pre-K and half of K) How will the first-grade team adjust its approach to account for this? All grade levels will determine where students are at and will meet them there to determine starting points and how best to accelerate learning. The goal is to get everyone to the same place in terms of mastered learning and results.  It will be different for most every student. It’s a practice that most of our teachers have used in the past as best practice. For those who have not, we will get them up to speed prior to students returning.

Are there plans for extra supports/programs next year that will help kids re-enter a “normal” school year? Every adult will be providing necessary supports to help students assimilate into in person learning. Fortunately, with 85% of our students returning this year in term 4, we are way ahead of the game. We will rely on the expertise on our staff to ensure the social/emotional and academic are balanced. We are going to redefine “normal” and ensure that it means students first and addressing the holistic needs of learners.

Will Murch add (or invest in more sun protection) to incorporate outdoor learning spaces? (asking not b/c of Covid, but b/c it’s stimulating, and our school seems to be behind the times on outdoor learning) We are attending a meeting this week to learn more about what our options for outdoor ed. are, the costs of the programming and staffing needs. This is certainly something that all students can benefit from and doing it correctly by creating an intentional, well thought out plan and then executing that plan needs to be our singular focus for this to happen.

Does Murch/HSA plan to offer after-school programs as it has done in the past? This is a TBD.  Once we here if there are restrictions to after school programming, we can begin to plan for different options to implement.

How are things looking for filling the new staff openings? Unofficially, all staff is hired for next year.

Have you seen a decline in enrollment? We haven’t seen that yet but have seen a decline in the number of families who have put their name into the lottery. It has been reduced by approximately 50%.

How many students are leaving/joining? The number of students leaving and new students enrolling is, as it has been for many years, balanced without one or the other significantly higher.

If in decline, how does it affect the budget? If there is a decline, we will end up losing budget dollars for next year.

I have reached out to the HSA to purchase several large umbrellas to provide shade on both playgrounds. I hope to have an update to share soon.

TIME TO CHAT – If you would like to discuss something about next year, I will be more than happy to. The result of our conversation may or may not result in the outcome you express.  Please know there are several factors that come in to play when creating a master schedule and class rosters.  To reiterate, I will not be accepting specific teacher requests for your child.

If you would like to set up a time to speak with me, I have set aside the following dates:  June 11, 14-16, and June 21 and 22.  If you use this doodle link, you will see the times I have available. It is a fifteen-minute time slot, but the meetings will be closer to 10 minutes.  You can sign up for a time using this link.

Have a great rest of your week!

Principal Cebrzynski

Hello Murch families,

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog and have been feeling a bit disconnected. So why not re-connect. I want to share some information, thoughts, and updates as we begin to wind down the school year. After the Memorial Day holiday, we will have 18 days of school left. In all reality, we could probably use a bit more time.  On June 25, teachers will be completing report cards and getting their rooms packed up for the summer. We will be prepared and excited to welcome every student back on August 30 – five days a week, all day, all students, and all teachers. We are also going to take some time to celebrate our collective successes and have already begun to plan for next year based on lessons from the past and those things that did not go as well as we hoped.  As Nelson Mandela once said, “Do not judge me by my successes; judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

Next year there will be some new faces on staff due to some who are leaving at the end of this year.  We will miss our colleagues who have either decided to retire, choose a new career path, or relocae due to a spouse’s new job.  We say goodbye to Tatum Kelly, 4^th grade ELA, Wendy Cresswell, Kindergarten, Dr. Lyon, Pre-K 4, Daniela Silver, Pre-K 4, Joe Conlon, Psychologist, Samantha Dickinson, Speech/Language, Roxanne Bentley, Math specialist and Regina Bell, librarian.

We have been interviewing candidates for the past two weeks and are close to filling all positions, Prior to leaving for summer, I will be communicating who our new staff will be and their positions.

Class rosters will be made prior to the start of the school year. You will receive your student’s teacher notification in early August. I have received a handful of requests from parents requesting specific teachers or to talk about placement for next year. To reiterate from years past, I am not accepting teacher requests, nor are teachers accepting requests, for next year. Prior to the start of the school year, you will be asked to complete a student profile that will be shared with your child’s teacher.  We will be doing things differently next year, and attention to getting to know every child well as well as paying special attention to social/emotional development will be at the top of all our priority lists. Starting on Monday, June 17, I will accept requests to meet by phone or zoom to listen to your concerns about next year and placement.  I will share directions for how to sign up for a mini conference on Monday, June 10. This must be an equitable process to ensure that anyone who wants a conference time has access to signing up.

Our staff has been working with two consultants for several months this past year, Randolph Carter and Raymond Jones. Randolph has been working with our staff on issues of equity, race, and inclusion. Raymond has been working with us on instructional design, pedagogy, and coaching. Their work overlaps due to both having a focus on pedagogy and equity. We will continue to work with them next year and I hope for several more years beyond that. One of the reasons I bring this up is to publicly thank the HSA for supporting our work with Randolph.  I appreciate your commitment to work that is critical for all staff to be invested in.

Registration –As a reminder, we kicked off our enrollment challenge several weeks ago.  We are now up to 357 enrolled (or 58.1% of the way towards our projection).  The top 5 classes (as of May 21) are:  Silver (1^st), Esche & Lilley (tied for 2^nd), Lyon (3rd), Hawkins (4^th) and Allen & Bergin (tied for 5^th), but the spread is getting very close between all classes.  We would love to meet our June 4 benchmark of 90% enrolled. If you have not enrolled your child for next school year, please do so as soon as possible to help our class win a pizza or ice cream party!  More details are available HERE and the electronic enrollment packet is available via this site: https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/.  Withdrawals count too for your class’s count, so if you do not intend for your child to return to Murch next school year, please email MurchESEnroll@k12.dc.gov to request a withdrawal form.  Thank you for your help with this year’s fun enrollment challenge.

Student laptops and equipment – As a heads up, we will be expecting all student equipment (laptops, iPad, etc.) to be returned to school relatively soon after the school year is over. We need to know what our working inventory is and replace equipment if necessary, so we are ready for the new school year. Stay tuned for information that will be coming out in future HSA newsletters.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and as always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

Principal Cebrzynski

Happy Tuesday Murch Families,

I hope you all had an enjoyable and reflective Memorial Day Weekend.

TIME TO CHAT – If you feel a strong need to communicate with me about next year, I will be more than happy to listen and take notes – most importantly, you will be heard.  The result of our conversation may or may not be what you expect the outcome to be and there are reasons for that.  Please know there are several factors that come in to play when creating a master schedule and class rosters.  To reiterate, I will not be accepting specific teacher requests for your child. I also know that every child was deeply impacted by this past year and a few months. I have every intention on leading Murch next year as it opens full time with full staff and full student body. That is what we are planning for. If you would like to set up a time to speak with me, I have set aside the following dates:  June 11, 14-16, and June 21 and 22.  If you use this doodle link, you will see the times I have available. It is a fifteen-minute time slot, but the meetings will be closer to 10 minutes.  I hope this provides the avenue it is intending to and you feel acknowledged and heard and trust that we will do all we can to ensure fairness and equity as we finalize plans for next year.

OPEN FORUM EVENINGS – Also, I am thinking of having end of the year grade level forum evenings. You will have a chance to ask questions, share concerns, etc. This is like what I did when we were moving from virtual into in-person before term 2 of this past year. I want to make this worth your while and efficient as possible.  Please complete the google form if interested and complete no later than 5:00 PM, June 4.

MASKS AT MURCH – There appears to be some confusion or misunderstanding. When you are on school grounds, you are expected to be always wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. (Living in Virginia, we no longer have to wear masks if vaccinated.) Until I get the go ahead from the Mayor and Chancellor, this is the expectation. The restrictions will be dropped on June 11 if my memory serves me correctly.

QUESTIONS ABOUT FIFTH GRADE PROMOTION – If you have any questions about 5^th grade promotion activities, please direct them to Kelly Crabtree, the fifth-grade team leader.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMMING NEXT YEAR – We have not gotten any information about X-day or Capitol Language and before and after care for next school year. If you have questions about these programs and services, please contact them directly.

CONFUSION – There appears to be some confusion as to why certain staff members are leaving. In the name of respecting confidentiality, that is their business to share, if they so choose. What I can tell you is that no one is leaving because they are disgruntled employees.  Opportunity knocks, sometimes when you least expect it. Please respect the privacy of our teachers who are leaving.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!!

Principal Cebrzynski

Good afternoon Murch Families,

Monday is the start of term 4 (can you believe it?) We are expecting over 140 additional students who will be joining the 309 students that were in-person for term 3. As we make our 4^th transition into a new model, I have asked my staff to ease into term 4. It’s important that students, who are new to in-person learning, understand what the protocols are and what the expectations each teacher holds for their classroom and students who remain virtual are engaged.

What’s important is that teachers and staff maintain a focus on learning. We are all aware how important it is that we continue to strike the balance between virtual and in-person students and making sure everyone has access to instruction and learning. It is going to be a positive and energizing first day of term 4 and we are all incredibly excited and anticipating a great start to the term.

Here are a few details that may be helpful to know before Monday:

• When students/you arrive, there will be adults on the playground directing them to the entrance where they will line up and wait to enter the building. Medical technicians will take each child’s temperature and enter the building.

• Arrival and dismissal times are staggered for grades K-2 and 3-5. For grades 3-5, students may begin entering the building at 8:15 and will dismiss at 2:55.  Students in grades Pre-K 4 -2nd grades will begin entering at 8:30 and K-2 will dismiss at 3:05. Pre-K will dismiss to awaiting parents on the Davenport street side of the building starting at 2:45. (We are still waiting to hear if we will have 2 or 3 Medical Technicians which will determine the number of entrances we are using – currently, grades 1-3 enter through the door nearest to Ellicott, Pre-K4, Kdg. And grades 4-5 enter through the recess doors between the library and the gym.)

• Once inside, if students choose to, they can take a “grab and go” breakfast to the classroom where they will have time to eat before instruction begins. There will also be additional adults guiding students to their classrooms.

• The teachers will take it from there and will welcome every student. There is time for breakfast and getting organized for the day before morning meeting begins.

• Students can either bring their own lunch or have one provided by the district, at no charge.

• Every grade level will have their own recess time. We need to be cognizant of the social distancing guidelines while at recess and will adjust as the week progresses.
• Below are the Master schedules for Pre-K 4 – 5^th grades along with the resource schedule.

Term 4 Resource Rotation Schedule

Master Schedule

• Please turn in the Family-School Agreement and Consent Forms as well as the COVID-19 Testing Consent Forms on Monday, April 19 which can be found HERE.

• Lastly, please make sure all immunizations are complete and up to date. Students cannot begin in-person learning without them completed and submitted to the school nurse.

• If you traveled over spring break, you could read the CDC guidelines HERE.

I will be sending a short email and message out on Sunday. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out and email me at chris.cebrzynski@k12.dc.gov. Have a wonderful rest of your day and weekend. I will be reaching out to the families in Ms. Hawkins and Ms. Walton’s classrooms seperately.

Principal Cebrzynski

Hello Murch Families,

Spring break is two weeks away and there are many questions about what we are going to do regarding families traveling over spring break. As we have previously stated, we will follow the most current guidance from DCPS/DC Health which is found HERE. As communicated to all DCPS Principals via our weekly bulletin, the COVID-19 Quarantine and Spring Break Travel Updates are forthcoming. A communication will be going out early this week, at the latest, with updated travel and quarantine guidance. Once this is released, we will get it to you immediately.  It will be sent via email and posted on our website which is found HERE.

We are also finalizing plans for our summer school acceleration academy. All DCPS schools have been asked to begin contacting families of selected students starting Monday, April 5. There is no open enrollment for this program. It is an invite only program with the explicit expectation as communicated by DCPS Leadership of ensuring we can address the students who are most vulnerable and furthest from the opportunity. Ms. Penelope Miller, Assistant Principal, is overseeing this effort. If you have any questions, please reach out to her.

We are finalizing plans for term 4. With the new CDC guidance recently released, specifically social distancing expectations for students, we are using this information to determine if we will make cohorts larger or create a new cohort. Once our decision is final, I will share that with parents who will have students attending in person instruction. As a reminder, if your child will be a new in-person attendee for term 4, all immunizations must be submitted to the nurse prior to the start of term 4.

A huge shout out to our GreenScene, a volunteer group of parents, families and Murch Alumni who got all our planting beds ready for the spring planting students will be doing as well as a beautification of the school grounds!

Lastly, enrollment begins soon and yes, unlike many other surrounding school districts, you must complete the enrollment process paperwork (either in person or electronically). After the enrollment season has opened, Rebecca McGraw, our Coordinator of Strategy and Logistics, is our POC for any questions regarding enrollment. Rebecca does a fabulous job at sharing information with families and answering questions directly and quickly.

Have a wonderful week!

Principal Cebrzynski

Good evening Murch Families,

Below is the link to complete the term 4 survey. If you student is currently enrolled in-person, DO NOT COMPLETE the survey. The dealine to complete is March 17th at 2:00 pm. After we recieve these results, we will begin to craft and share our plans for term for. Please know that the goal for term 4 in-person learning is to offer seats to whomever requests one. We will be crafting multiple scenarios for a plan until we see the survey results. Once we know how many students are requesting seats, we will quickly finalize plans and share them with the parent community.

Feel free to reach out to ask questions. Questions will be answered within 48 hours.

Have a great rest of your evening!

Principal Cebrzynski

Link to survey:

https://forms.gle/XEBLqeYoKsQRh6yS7

Guiding Principles for Term 4 In-person learning:

• As a starting point, DCPS will maintain any classrooms that previously opened for in-person learning with the classroom teacher, CARE classrooms with a CARE supervisor, or self-contained special education in-person learning with the classroom teacher.

• Since we don’t have a waitlist, we will create and publish another survey which will ask if any virtual students or students in CARE classrooms would like to be considered for in-person instruction.

• If guidance from DC Health changes, aligned adjustments may be made within existing classrooms. For instance, if recommended cohort sizes increase, additional seats could be offered with existing classrooms. If the demand is great, we would consider opening additional cohorts. DCPS will be notifying principals of any such changes as they arise.

• To minimize scheduling disruption, if there is sufficient demand at Murch, I may choose to add additional classrooms and/or cohorts to in-person learning and/or make other adjustments to accommodate more students in Term 4. Any plan we create must be approved by our school’s Instructional Superintendent.

Process for adding additional in-person learning classrooms and/or other adjustments to accommodate for more students in term 4:

What are the recommended minimum thresholds to open an in-person cohort?

Pre-K 4 and Kindergarten: 6 students

1^st – 5^th grades: 7 students

Self-contained special education classrooms: 2 students

Have a great rest of your day!

Principal Cebrzynski

Good afternoon Murch Families:

Tomorrow, February 15th, is Presidents Day. There is no attendance for students and staff.

Tuesday, February 16th is a virtual learning day for ALL students. If your child is enrolled in a CARE classroom, they will be attending virtually from home. The reason this is happening is because a vast majority of teachers will be receiving their 2nd vaccination on the 15th. According to many, teachers will most likely be experiencing side effects that may prevent them from coming into work. The district decided to be proactive and make this an all virtual day.

We look forward to seeing our Thursday/Friday cohort this coming Thursday, February 18th.

Also, you may want to review the attendance protocols for both in-person and virtual learners which can be found at https://murchschool.org/murch-attendance-reminders-2/

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Principal Cebrzynski

Good morning Murch Families:

Below are the teacher cohort assignments for term 3. If you have questions about placement or cohort day assignment, please contact Mary Eckstein and/or Stefanie Berger at mary.eckstein@k12.dc.gov and stefanie.berger@k12.dc.gov.  Students in Ms. Davis, Ms. Hsu, Ms. Silver, Dr. Lyon and Mr. Travitz’s classes will receive a personalized email sharing which cohort days your child will be attending.

Student/Teacher Cohorts for Term 3 IPLK