Hello, Payne parents, teachers, staff and supporters.

The year’s first PTSA meeting is 6-7 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium. Your support and participation is an essential part of Payne’s success. Join us for pizza and meet PTSA leaders and fellow parents to share your questions, concerns and ideas. Child care will be provided.

A bake sale will precede the meeting, at 5:30 p.m. If you’d like to donate baked goods sign up here.

And if you haven’t joined yet, you can sign up here to be a PTSA member.

SOMETHING TO CLUCK ABOUT

Payne is close to enrolling a few feathered friends this year. New science teacher Mr. Doug Creef is seeking a permit to bring 2-6 adult chickens to roost, and he has support from Principal Byrd. Chickens are not unheard of at D.C. schools and are so popular that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education already has extensive guidance on how to make it happen.

“Egg-laying female hens are allowed in the District and are a great way to engage students in the school garden, especially in urban environments like the District of Columbia where many students are disengaged with details pertaining to the food system,” the superintendent’s office said. You can read more here.

A few fun facts:

• The school would have no roosters, which is good news because they tend to be louder and meaner.
• There would be no chicks and no threat of future chicks (see the first bullet point). The program allows for full-grown, egg-laying hens.
• Students aren’t allowed to eat the eggs in school, but they could be allowed to cook with them. Eggs also could be made available to share with families.

Mr. Creef cautions the plan is tentative, but some parents already have offered to help manage the coop, which would be on school grounds, not inside the school.

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. One-hour shifts are still available to volunteer at the Scholastic Book Fair during the week of Sept. 23. It’s a fun and easy gig, and a portion of sales will be used to buy books for Payne classrooms. Click here for the sign up sheet.

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SECOND GRADE SWITCH

New this year, the second grade is departmentalized like third through fifth grades.That means students spend half of their day with Ms. Perry learning math and science and the other half with Ms. Hubbard learning English language arts and social studies. Students are assigned to one homeroom, where they spend their morning, then they switch midday.

“Departmentalization allows teachers to focus on two subjects at a time,” Byrd told the PTSA. “Ms. Hubbard is teaching ELA and social studies, while Ms. Perry teachers math and science. Teachers hone their craft and become experts in their content areas. This makes for stronger instruction.”

Byrd said she expects second graders to become better at each subject as a result of the change. So far this year, they are off to a promising start, she said.

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PARKING UPDATE

If you handle drop-offs or pick-ups, you’ve probably seen Dr. Crumb, Payne’s physical education teacher and resident grandmaster in Taekwondo, keeping the front of the school clear of cars. That’s so buses have plenty of space out front.

You can still park on C Street, where new signs specifically designate a “School Parking Zone” from 7-9 a.m. and 3-6:30 p.m. That said, stay out of the area marked by cones and look out for Dr. Crumb directing traffic. Payne has stressed that C St. is for drop-offs only. If you intend to go inside the school, please park on along 14th or 15th. Finally, the school is warning parents to stay out of the parking lot. Unapproved vehicles could be ticketed or towed.

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IMPORTANT DATES

Sept. 10: PTSA Meeting, 6-7 p.m.

Sept. 13: 8 a.m., Fifth Grade Potluck

Sept. 24-26: Book Fair is open

Sept. 25: 5 p.m. Literacy Night

Sept. 25: 4:30 p.m., Fourth Grade Potluck

Oct. 2: Walk to School Day

Oct. 8: PTSA Meeting, 6-7 p.m.

Oct. 11-14: No school

Oct. 26: Fall Festival, stay tuned for more details and how you can help!

Hello, Payne community. The PTSA would like to welcome new members of this group and welcome back all of you ready for another enriching school year.

Two important events are coming up soon:

Back to School Night. Wednesday, Sept. 4, 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Meet teachers, administrators and other parents. Learn about the curriculum, and bring your questions.

First PTSA Meeting. Tuesday, Sept. 10, 6-7 p.m. in the auditorium. Childcare will be provided, and pizza and refreshments will be served. Learn how the PTSA supports students, teachers and parents, and tell us what your priorities are. Sign up here to be a PTSA member now.

Above, PK4 teacher Ms. Douglas welcomes her new class Wednesday, the first day of school for preschoolers.

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Q&A WITH PRINCIPAL BYRD

Principal Stephanie Byrd is starting her fourth year as Payne’s top administrator. The D.C. native and George Washington University grad sat down with the PTSA to discuss the new drama class, new staff and more ways for parents to get involved. Excerpts from our interview:

Q. For the returning parents, what’s new at Payne?

A. We are excited about our new drama class. Mr. Golden, our music teacher, finished his master’s degree last year at Howard University and moved back home to Cleveland. Instead of bringing on another music teacher, the team decided to do drama.

Q. Why drama?

A. Drama gives kids a new avenue to express themselves. Also, I wanted to give kids an opportunity to learn how to speak up and speak clearly, to remember and memorize text and to engage in text in a different way.

Q. Will it be structured similar to how music was – half the school year?

A. Yes, for everybody, PK3 through 5th grade, it will be a semester of art, a semester of drama.

Q. Are there plans to have a school play?

A. There will be some plays, maybe not huge productions, but small productions and maybe one big production.

Q. What are some of the other staff changes this year?

A. We are bringing on quite a few folks. [See full list below.] At the top we have Ms. Latoya Coleman, who is not new to Payne, but is starting off in a new position as assistant principal.

Ms. Coleman came in four years ago, when I was looking to hire a fifth grade math teacher. As we talked, I could see a lot of leadership potential in her. Instead of bringing her on in the fifth grade math teacher position, I offered her the math coach position, and she was delighted. She was the testing coordinator. She also helped support the rollout of our new technology with the laptops and laptop carts, while still leading the math instruction.

Q.  Is there a lot of student interaction for the assistant principal?

A. Yes. One of the pieces is “school culture and climate,” so usually that’s a euphemism for “bad behavior.” But it’s not here, because we don’t have a lot of bad behavior. But really it’s because of the work that the assistant principal does to make sure we don’t have a lot of problems.

Q. Is there a new math coach?

A. There is not. Instead of having the math coach, I have the manager of specialized instruction.

Q. Can you describe that job?

A. The manager of specialized instruction is going to be responsible for leading our special education team. He will do some coaching of special education teachers and general education teachers around special education.

Q. What kind of message would you like to share with the parents who are new to Payne?

A. Welcome to Payne. We’re sure you’re going to be very happy here. I think we have a lot to offer. We are a very community-focused school. So building community, building relationships with one another is really important to the work we do, and I think that’s comforting. We’re growing in achievement, and we’re getting better and better each year at what we’re doing.

Q. What else is new?

A. Before care. We’ve always had before care, but now we’re working with a new company to provide before care. And there’s space. We have two people who will be overseeing the before care. Mr. Davis is still with us and will still be doing before care. The cost is relatively the same. There are scholarships available. If interested talk to Ms. Oxendine.

We have automated our volunteer signup. If you want to read to kids, if you want to volunteer for the spring carnival, whatever it is, you can volunteer there. We’re making it a requirement that every classroom have at least two room parents.

We are also going to have class potlucks at the beginning of the school year, so we need every parent to start thinking about a delicious dish that they’re going to bring to share with their grade level. Try to arrange for childcare if you can; if not, we’ll try to make some arrangements. But this is an adult thing where parents come in and just meet other parents in the classroom.

Q. Why is it so important for parents to get involved?

A. Children follow the lead of the parent. So if parents are involved, then children know that this is an important place to be, and they do better at school.

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NEW STAFF

As Principal Byrd noted, there are quite a few new faces on the Payne staff this year. Here’s the full list:

• Jaclyn Barbarino, Drama Teacher
• Monica Braxton, Primary Behavior Education Support (BES) Teacher
• Thomas Carter, Custodian
• Doug Creef, Science Teacher
• Steven Eskay, Manager of Specialized Instruction
• Tonya Jones, Third Grade ELA Teacher
• Patrice Martin, PK3 Educational Aide in Ms. Stokes’ Class
• Adriana Smith, Behavioral Tech in Primary BES
• Courtney Thomas, Kindergarten Educational Aide in Ms. Fox’s Class

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BOOK FAIR

The Scholastic Book Fair will be the week of Sept. 23. A portion of sales will benefit Payne. Volunteers are needed to help set up the fair, work the fair and clean up. Click here for the sign up sheet.

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NICE THREADS

Before the school year even began, the PTSA had its first fundraising success, raising more than $450 in an online T-shirt sale. If you had your shirt delivered to Liz Aloi, they will be available to pick up at the first PTSA meeting Sept. 10. If you are unable to attend, contact Liz Aloi.

PTSA fundraising enabled the association to buy coffee and donuts to welcome parents and teachers on the first days of school.

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IMPORTANT DATES

Sept. 2: No school

Sept. 4: Back to School Night, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Sept. 10: PTSA Meeting, 6-7 p.m.

Sept. 12: Grandparents’ Day Celebration

Sept. 13: 8 a.m., Fifth Grade Potluck

Sept. 24-26: Buy books at our Scholastic Book Fair