Happy Long Weekend, Payne Community!

CHICKEN WATCH 2019 UPDATE: The barnyard cluckers are expected to arrive next week. Science Teacher Mr. Creef said he has been inundated with interest from students and parents alike. He intends to host some family nights after their arrival, so young and old can meet the hens.

TB TEST REMINDER

TB testing will be 4-6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15. The test, which is required for the volunteer clearance process, is free to PTSA members. Fifty tests will be administered first-come, first-served.

You will need to return to Payne on Friday, Oct. 18 to have the test result read. Results will be read 8-9 a.m. and 3:15-4 p.m. inside the school and 4-4:30 p.m. on the playground. You must bring the screening and administration form provided to you when the test was administered. Note that you can elect to have the results read by a qualified healthcare provider elsewhere.

Can you help on site during TB testing? Take a one-hour shift to help guide parents through the process. Email tonylombardo1@yahoo.com.

TEST SCORE GOALS

More than 50 parents, teachers and administrators turned out for Tuesday night’s PTSA meeting. Principal Byrd took questions and shared data on PARCC tests, which are administered to third, fourth and fifth graders.

English Language Arts

Year Achieved proficiency

2015-16 8%

2016-17 16%

2017-18 18%

2018-19 33%

Bottom line: Achieving 33 percent means that 39 of 119 students achieved proficiency in ELA (i.e. scoring Level 4 or Level 5). Payne is seeing sustained progress every year, and further improvements are expected. The goal this year is to see a 10 percent gain in the highest scores and 10 percent decrease in the lowest scores.

Math

Year Achieved proficiency

2015-16 22%

2016-17 26%

2017-18 22%

2018-19 34%

Bottom line: Previously hovering in the 20-percents, Payne experienced a significant jump in math proficiency scores last year. Like reading, the goal is to see a 10 percent gain in the highest scores and 10 percent decrease in the lowest scores.

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MEET THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

LaToya Coleman is a long-time educator, but this is her first year as assistant principal. Ms. Coleman, a D.C. native, earned her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Coppin State University in Baltimore and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix. An educator for 15 years, she has taught Kindergarten special education and second through fourth grades in Prince George’s County and the District. She joined Payne three years ago as the math coach. She sat down with the PTSA to talk about her new job, which includes a focus on school culture, discipline and instruction.

Q. How is the assistant principal job going so far?

A. It’s a challenge, but it’s rewarding. I honestly did not see myself in this position, I loved the classroom. I still love the classroom. And I make sure that’s part of my daily routine – every single day – to get in as many classrooms as I possibly can. And I’m not just there to observe. I’m in there to interact, ask questions, see what the kids are thinking, what are they learning.

Q. What can parents do to make your job easier?

A. Parents can just bring kids to school. We got it from here. If you have questions, ask. That’s pretty much it. We have a really good core group of parents. You see them often. They are engaged in the classroom, and you’ll see them in the cafeteria. Friendly faces.

Q. If a parent has a question for the school, what kind of questions go your way?

A. Discipline will come my way. Scheduling will come my way. Instruction comes my way. Specifically, math, but being the assistant principal, it’s not just math.

Q. How would you describe your style in interacting with kids in terms of discipline?

A. I’m very straight forward. I will remind students of our expectations. Nine times out of 10, they know them. So they will know if they did not meet the expectation. The question usually is, what hindered you from meeting that expectation? How can I help you make sure that you meet the expectation? Putting the onus back on the student so that they are aware of what their actions were and how they can correct them.

Q. Is there any kind of punishment issued?

A. Oh, there’s consequences to actions. We look at fair consequences. We don’t like to call them “punishments,” but there’s going to be a consequence, good or bad, with your actions.

Q. What are the consequences?

A. We have “zen zones” in every classroom. Like your time-out time. Get yourself focused. You have a notepad you could be writing on. You have pictures you could draw. Just to kind of calm yourself. Bring you back to zero, so that you can re-engage in the instruction.

If that is not going to be immediately effective, then you are offered the opportunity to go to a buddy classroom, where another teacher will have you in their classroom a set amount of time. Maybe no more than 10 minutes to where, again, you remove yourself from where the conflict might have occurred.

If it gets to the point where that did not work, then we have a care team, which consists of our social workers and our school psychologist. If it gets past that, then we will request a parent conference. We haven’t had too many issues with suspension simply because we are able to cut some of those because we don’t go straight to suspension. There are other areas we can focus on, so kids can become more self-aware of what their behaviors are and manage them themselves.

Q. Do you have any special projects in the works?

A. I have brought on a partnership with Howard University and also UDC. Their education majors will do their internships here at Payne. So, it offers another body in the building to practice and to really get their feet into seeing what it’s like to be in the classroom. First grade has one right now, fourth grade is soon to have one, starting in November.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A. My commitment to Payne. I’m excited about the fact I was able to grow in leadership here. Payne is a wonderful school to be at.

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HOYAS KIDS CLUB. Here’s a pretty sweet sports deal for the Georgetown Hoyas. If your child joins the Hoyas Kids Club, they receive four free tickets to men’s basketball games, a Kids Club jersey and more. The cost is $15 plus $3 for online registration. Read more here.

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BOX TOPS UPDATE.

A Box Tops For Education collection box is on Ms. Asante’s desk at the main office. Box Tops are worth 10 cents each, and that money can add up quickly. So keep eating that cereal and mac and cheese. The school can earn two ways: (1) Cut out Box Tops from eligible products and bring them to the collection box in the front office. (2) Skip the cutting, and scan your receipt through the Box Tops app when you’ve purchased eligible items, and presto, the school will get credited for the Box Tops.

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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Oct. 26: Help make the Fall Festival a success by volunteering for a one-hour shift (helping at the arts and crafts table, selling baked goods or chili, etc.) or donating food or other supplies. Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/LnqQpdG

Oct. 31: Dr. Crumb is looking for Field Day volunteers. Email brian.crumb@k12.dc.gov.

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IMPORTANT DATES

Oct. 14: No school

Oct. 15: TB tests 4-6 p.m. (Remember to sign up to be a PTA member)

Oct. 18: TB test results readings, 8-9 a.m. and 3:15-4 p.m. inside the school and 4-4:30 p.m. on the playground

Oct. 26: Fall Festival, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on the playground

Oct. 31: Fall Field Day

Nov. 4-5: No school

Nov. 11: No school

Nov. 19: PTSA meeting, 6-7 p.m.

Nov. 27-29: No school

Happy Friday, Wildcats!

Don’t forget: Wednesday is Walk to School Day. Meet at Lincoln Park at 7:30 a.m. and wear your Payne shirts and walkin’ shoes.

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VOLUNTEER PERMISSIONS.

You’ve probably heard by now about the hoops parents have to jump through to volunteer at DCPS. (If not, click here to read about the TB test and fingerprinting process.) While somewhat onerous, they are intended to protect the safety of our children.

There has been some confusion at Payne about what to do once you receive your clearance paperwork. Once cleared, you should receive a clearance letter via email. Please provide it to your child’s teacher, either as a printout or an email. The administration has informed the PTSA that it is not keeping track of these centrally; the responsibility is on teachers to know which parents or guardians are volunteer-ready.

Clearances are good for two years. Even if you turned your form in to Payne last year, you need to submit a copy to your child’s current teacher this year. Try searching “DCPS employment clearance” in your email to find the letter. And hold on to this email just in case you need to produce it for future events or volunteer opportunities.

To help facilitate the clearance process, the PTSA will be hosting TB testing and fingerprinting at Payne this fall. We hope to have TB testing on site at the school Oct. 8, which also the next PTSA meeting, but are awaiting confirmation and will send an update once details are finalized. Note: If you have a secret or top secret clearance through work, the process is much easier.

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MEET THE TEACHER

Mr. Tim Gordon joined Payne three years ago as the school librarian. An Illinois native and longtime Chicagoan, Mr. Gordon worked as an advertising and graphic designer in the newspaper business. After he earned his library degree, he thought he’d land a gig at a public library. But working at a school has been a pleasant surprise and one that has helped him fulfill his mission of encouraging kids to read. In his spare time, he is an expert in Disney World and has offered to host a “Disney World Boot Camp” for parents planning a trip down to Mickey Town.

Q. What do you like best about being Payne’s librarian?

A. Well, a big part of why I left the corporate world and went into librarianship in the first place was to be able to work with kids and maybe have some influence over their reading and their love of reading. When I was in first, second grade, there were certain books that I loved and I still go back to now as an adult.

The best way to get kids to love reading is to give them things that they love to read. Too often we’re trying to shove what we consider good literature or whatever in their faces and, you know, if a kid would rather read Spiderman, let them read Spiderman, if that’s going to get them into reading. If they want to read Sports Illustrated, I’ve got it.

Q. Describe how library works for the different grades.

A. I see every single class once a week. It’s a whole class all at once, so I have to prepare a lesson. I’m trying to do a lot of stuff about books and parts of a story and reading comprehension. For the older kids, I want to get into how to do research, how to surf online safely.

Q. Do kids check out books from the library?

A. Yeah, every class gets to check out. Right now the books stay at school, but I’m hoping, especially this year, that I’ll start with the older grades being able to send stuff home. The first year I did inventory, I found out that we were missing over 1,000 things, and that’s a lot. With the budget that we have, I only get 300-350 books a year. So you know, it would take us over three years to replace that stuff. I’ve been doing a lot on my own, going to the Maryland Book Bank and things like that to get books in addition to the big book order we get. And I’ve gotten several grants for new books, too.

But that’s really the lifeblood of the library is having new stuff. If you just have the same old stuff all the time, kids are going to quickly get bored with it.

Q. What’s new at the library this year?

I got a lot of new books over the summer. I went to the American Library Association Conference that was in D.C. this year and picked up a lot of stuff. I made contacts with some publishers, and they have sent me a lot of materials for the library.

We started an Imagineering Club last year that I’m continuing this year where we talk about Disney World and jobs at Disney World and trying to get kids interested in things like engineering for theme parks.

Q. Who is eligible to be in the club?

So right now, I have hand-picked some fourth graders who were already in after care, and I think I have two third graders. It’s a small group. I don’t want it to be more than 10 or 12 kids. I like them to be able to work on the computers or show a lot of videos about things. When we did it last year, I had the kids design their own theme park attraction.

Q. Are you accepting new participants?

A. Yes. Basically it’s third, fourth and fifth graders if they are already in after care. People that are already in after care, I’m open to. The parents could contact me or they could have their student contact me, too.

Q. What are some of your favorite children’s books?

A. I like classics like Dr. Seuss and Clifford and the Berenstain Bears. Something that I did when I started was that we didn’t have a lot of books like that in this collection. So I made sure to go out and get stuff like that. Things that we know from our childhood and even older. We didn’t have the Wizard of Oz. We didn’t have Alice in Wonderland, stuff like that.

Q. And you still have the Spiderman.

A. Absolutely.

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MEET (OR RE-MEET) DANIELLE CIAURRO.

For new Payne parents, if you haven’t chatted with Danielle Ciaurro, you will soon. She’s at most after-school events and works throughout the day to assist the administration, family and students. She shares the following message:

I am thrilled to let you all know I will be staying at Payne for the 2019-20 school year!

For those of you who have not met me yet or are unfamiliar with my role, I am an AmeriCorps VISTA serving as the school’s Community Liaison. I joined the Payne family in February and I am so excited to be back for another year. I assist with capacity-building efforts around the school so I work closely with Mrs. Oxendine and Mrs. Asante.

The largest part of my role is to manage the partnerships we have with community-based organizations like nonprofits, small businesses, and government agencies, as well as manage donations received by the school. I also assist with funding opportunities for new projects or initiatives, coordinating school-wide events with the PTSA and the school, field trips, the enrollment process, and more.

If you ever have questions, ideas, suggestions, anything, please come talk to me! You can either find me in Mrs. Oxendine’s office or at the front desk. I am here as a resource for you all as a community and I would love to hear from you about what you would like to see at the school and work with you all to make that a reality!

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TEACHER SUPPORT NEEDED.

Danielle Ciaurro will, on a regular basis, start sharing volunteer and donation needs for Payne. Here are a few:

• Instructional Reading Coach support: Ms. Turner needs help organizing the book room. Contact tiffani.turner@kc12dc.gov
• Science research: Mr. Creef asked for support in watering and measuring the plants of various endangered species in his room as part of his project with the Smithsonian Institute. Contact emmett.creefjr@k12.dc.gov
• Administrative support: Mrs. Asante needs assistance organizing files in one of the storage rooms. Contact Danielle.Ciaurro@dc.gov
• Donations (drop off at front desk)
  • Old uniforms in larger sizes (14-16)
  • New socks and underwear for smaller sizes (3T, 4T)
  • Toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.

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LITERARY FEAST.

The Capitol Hill Community Foundation, which has supported Payne with grants, will host the 2019 Literary Feast on Oct. 26. The foundation will host 39 dinner parties in homes across Capitol Hill with each dinner featuring food from a specific book. Themed dinners this year include The Godfather, A Confederacy of Dunces, All the Light We Cannot See and The Rum Diary. Registration is expected to close on Sept. 30, so click here to join in the fun.

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IMPORTANT DATES

Tuesday, Oct. 1: First grade potluck, 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 2: Walk to School Day, 7:30 a.m., Lincoln Park

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

Oct. 11-14: No school

Oct. 26: Fall Festival, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Oct. 31: Fall Field Day