Hello Murch Families,
Let’s start with some great news! For the past three weeks of asymptomatic testing, we have tested over 375 students with zero positive results. With the change in the mask policy and now with travel restrictions being lifted, we hope this trend will continue.
As we move toward Spring Break, there are several things that will be happening as we get back. Teachers will attend in house training on Wednesday, April 6th in preparation for the PARCC assessment which will be given to all 3rd through 5th grade students, starting the week of Tuesday, April 19th. We will be assessing one grade level at a time and completing one test per day. All tests will be conducted in the morning and will last approximately 60 minutes. The rest of the school day will go on as normal for students who were testing and all other students. Prior to spring break, an assessment schedule for PARCC will be posted onto the website and shared by teachers from each grade level.
Monday, April 18th, is professional development for teachers as well as records day. There is no attendance for students on this day.
Track and Field has begun for the students at Murch who were outside practicing yesterday. This is one of our largest participation sports for students in grades 4 and 5.
We are entertaining the idea of restarting Murch Plus some time after spring break and will be developing options for students in grades K-3. Since we have not held Murch Plus for some time now, we want to start slow and pilot how we think it may work best, taking some of the best of what we have done in the past with some new ideas. Information will be shared via the web page when available.
On Tuesday, April 19th at 7:00pm, AP Hawkins, members of the DCPS equity team, and I will be hosting an evening listening session for parents of color. Invitations and an explanation/agenda for the evening will be sent prior to April 8th. On the invitation we will be asking for attendance preference: in-person, virtual, or hybrid. We are looking forward to having a productive initial conversation that will lead to proactive actions that will help us move to a more inclusive school and community.
Lastly, the annual Lip Sync and Talent show will be back this year and are currently in the planning stages. Although these two events will be modified from their former selves, it’s nice to see these two events making a comeback. The jury is still out on whether we are going to have a STEM fair. A decision will be made by the end of next week.
Have a wonderful weekend!!!!
Principal Cebrzynski