PAYNE EARNS 3 STARS.

For the first time, standardized school report cards are measuring the school performance of all public schools, DCPS and charter. Payne scored 3 out of 5 stars for last year’s performance. So is 3 stars good? “It’s a great start,” Principal Byrd told parents Wednesday evening.

Byrd said she hopes and expects that the school will score higher in the future.  Already this year she and her staff are closely tracking student progress and she is encouraged by beginning of year testing results.

She’s particularly frustrated about declining math scores, however. The percentage of students approaching, meeting, or exceeding expectations on the PARCC dropped in 2017-18 from the previous year. On the positive side, Payne students do appear to be improving more rapidly in math than their peers in other public schools.

Byrd sent out a detailed explanation of the report card to the Payne community via email on Sunday. For the report card click here. Here are some things you might not have heard.

How does Payne stack up against its neighbors?

• Only 27% of schools earned 4 or 5 stars.
• Only 8% of schools earned 5 stars.
  • 5 stars: Maury, School-Within-School
  • 4 stars: Brent, Ludlow-Taylor, Two Rivers 4th Street and Watkins
  • 3 stars: Miner, Capitol Hill Montessori, J.O. Wilson, Tyler and Two Rivers Young

48 Minutes of play time? Payne’s Report Card notes 48 minutes per week of physical activity, but that’s a mistake Principal Byrd is correcting the record on. K-5 students receive 150 minutes a week of recess time (30 minutes x 5 days), plus 45 minutes per week during physical education class, she said. K-5 grades also receive an additional 45 minutes per week because Playworks visits their classroom and leads recreational activity, Principal Byrd said. PK grades get 60 minutes of recess per day and 45 minutes per week with Dr. Crumb in Phys-Ed.

Is attendance getting better? Payne has better than average daily attendance:  91% of students attend school each day. But Payne is below average when measuring the percentage of students who are in attendance for at least 90 percent of school days. About two thirds of Payne students reach that goal, and the D.C. average is slightly higher at 70 percent.

Have a question about the Payne report card? Email Principal Byrd at stephanie.byrd@dc.gov

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NO AFTERCARE DEC. 21. There is no aftercare on Friday, Dec. 21. That’s the same day as the Winter Wonderland holiday concert, which starts at 2:30 p.m.

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MORE BOOKS: With the support of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, the PTSA purchased over $5,600 worth of books this week for every grade, from PK3 to 5th Grade, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing classrooms, and the BES classroom.

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BOOK GIVEAWAY. A free book giveaway is happening today from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at Eastern High School, 1700 E. Capitol St. N.E. This is Eastern’s Sixth Annual Give the Gift of Books event. Students and community members may select free books as holiday gifts for family and friends. Gift wrapping is available for free. Local businesses will be on-hand to sell gifts, too.

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CLOTHES DONATIONS. A big yellow bin sits just south of Payne, where you can drop off bags of clothes. It’s a Planet Aid bin. The organization, started in 1997, sells your donations on the wholesale used clothes market, and they often end up in developing countries. The organization is reducing the 14 million tons of textiles that end up in landfills every year in the United States. Rotting clothes in landfills create methane, which is a greenhouse gas. The organization accepts any article of clothing that isn’t dirty, wet or moldy, even underwear.

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MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Tonight: Thankful To Give spaghetti dinner, 4-6:30 p.m. Help put together care packages for D.C.’s homeless.

Dec. 17: Payne open house for prospective parents at 9:30 a.m. Interested in volunteering? Email Carolyn Bowen.

Dec. 19: Holiday Skate Party, 5-9 p.m. at the Temple Hills Skating Palace in Temple Hills, Md. You can still buy tickets at school on Monday morning or Sign up and pay online here. Tickets also will be available at the door.

Dec. 24-Jan. 1: Winter break

Good evening, Payne parents and staff.

Save the date for Payne’s Holiday Skate Party 5-9 p.m. Dec. 19. The PTSA rented the Temple Hills Skating Palace in Temple Hills, Md., and the rink is all ours for the evening. Tickets will be $10 per person, and Payne will receive a hefty 60 percent of the revenue. Funds will benefit field trips. Stay tuned for information on how to purchase tickets. The skate party will be held in lieu of the Dec.18 PTSA meeting.

TB TEST FOLLOW-UP. 43 people received TB tests at Payne last week, one of the prerequisites for chaperoning field trips. Thanks to Lisa Lindstrom of Primary Promenade Care for donating her time and supplies and Payne parent Julia Arons for reading the tests. Unfortunately, the PTSA was unable to accept donations to help recoup costs during part of the testing session. If you wanted to donate but were not able, you can make a donation via the organization’s PayPal account or drop money in the PTSA mailbox near Ms Cox’s desk. Don’t forget: Fingerprinting is scheduled for Nov. 28 from 3-6 p.m. at Payne. You need to bring your TB results with you.

BUILD A LITTLE FREE LIBRARY. Did you say you’re handy? Great, we need your help. The PTSA purchased a Little Free Library to be installed outside of Payne. Before it’s painted and decorated, it needs to be assembled. Interested? Contact Alyssa Thomas.

FUNDRAISER GAINS

• Hungry voters endorsed the carb wave Nov. 6. The well-timed bake sale earned the PTSA $600. Thanks to all who baked, worked the booth and made the sugar tsunami possible.
• The Primary.com uniform fundraiser brought in $425 for Payne. You can continue to raise money for the school using this link; 10 percent of your purchase benefits Payne.

DEAF ETIQUETTE 101

Payne is home to a Deaf and Hard-of Hearing (DHOH) program, which has provided the following etiquette tips for the wider school community.

Getting a deaf person’s attention:

• Flicker overhead lights in the room.
• If sitting at a table, tap to create vibrations.
• Wave in a polite but noticeable way.
• It is perfectly acceptable to tap a deaf person to get their attention. In hearing culture, this often is not taken well, but in the deaf community it is probably the most preferred method of getting a person’s attention.

Communication:

• Don’t speak unnaturally slowly or over-annunciate. This is heavily frowned upon in the deaf community. Talk normally, and if the person is unable understand you, you may refer to the next few options.
• Use an interpreter. When using this option, look at the deaf person when you talk.
• Text.
• Write.

Culture Norms:

• First names are acceptable.
• When people are signing to one another, it’s OK to walk through, but don’t make a big deal of it; a simple nod will show respect.
• Deaf people take FOREVER to say goodbye. There are at least 5 hugs and 7 goodbyes before anyone actually leaves.
• Deaf people tend to be very direct.

MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Nov. 9 (tomorrow): Last day for Scholastic Book Fair, 3-6 p.m. in the library.

Nov. 9 (tomorrow): Last day to place orders for Payne T-shirts.

Nov. 13: PTSA meeting, 6 p.m. On the agenda: school band and orchestra; online dashboard for tracking school test scores and progress; presentation from fourth-grade students; Eliot-Hine’s new principal speaks

Nov. 16: Attendance social, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Check your student’s attendance record and grab a breakfast treat.

Nov. 28: Fingerprinting for Payne parent volunteers at the school.

Dec. 5: Payne Chess Club holds first meeting. Meetings will be 4:30-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

Dec. 14: Thankful To Give family dinner, 4-6:30 p.m. Help put together care packages for D.C.’s homeless.

Dec. 18: PTSA meeting canceled.

Dec. 19: Holiday Skate Party, 5-9 p.m. at the Temple Hills Skating Palace in Temple Hills, Md.

Big news to report this week: Payne secured an $81,000 grant from Lowe’s. This will fund 91 laptops, 15 teacher computers, two charger carts, one poster maker and one laminator. Parents Andria Thomas and Lexi Smith were instrumental in securing the grant from the home improvement giant.

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Fall Festival by the Numbers.

• $7,250. Dollars raised from 13 sponsors.
• $2,000+.  Dollars raised from sales and donations of pumpkins, bake sale, chili, raffle and t-shirts.
• 100. Pumpkins sold.
• 15. Vats of chili consumed.
• Too many to count. Brownies, cookies, cupcakes.
• 2. Presidents in attendance: the Nationals’ Abraham Lincoln and Payne PTSA President Mark Jordan.
• 35+. Volunteers making the day happen.
• 17. Booths from community organizations and vendors.
• 0. Raindrops between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Thank you, weather!)
• Tons: Fun had by all

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MEET THE STAFF

Security Officer Lisa Simpson is the first face you see when you step inside Payne most days of the week. Officer Simpson has been providing school security since 2006, and this is her third year at Payne. Officer Simpson is a contractor, employed by Security Assurance Management. She’s also worked security in the Ronald Reagan Building but prefers interacting with students.

Q. What is your favorite part of the job?

A. I love the fact that when I stand right here in the morning, I greet the kids. I see their faces, they just light up. They’re eager to get in the building. I love that.

Q. Can you talk about the importance of your role?

A. I am the first person anyone sees, so it’s very important my eyes are open along with my ears and that I monitor everything and anything that comes through this door.

Q. What advice would you give parents to keep the school safe?

A. When you come through the building, just abide by the rules. I know that there are changes,  but sometimes change is good.

Q. You mentioned new rules, is that the requirement all parents enter through the front door?

A. Coming through the front, signing in, showing ID. Just being considerate of the fact you have to go to the office and check in. It’s about safety for the kids.

Q. What kind of training do you get for the job? Are you trained to stop someone if you have to use physical force?

A.  I am not able to arrest or put my hands on anyone physically, but if a situation came into place, I will do what I need to do to make sure that everyone is safe. We get training every year — CPR for child, adult and infant.

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. Movies. I love the movies. Bowling. I want to learn how to shoot pool. For the most part, I’m just really laid back. Just really chill.

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BOOK FAIR.

The Scholastic Book Fair is Nov. 6-9, and parents are needed to help sell books in the late afternoon and early evening. Sign up here. A portion of the proceeds will go toward book purchases for the school. Book fairs typically raise more than $1,000 for new books.

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NEW MAKER SPACE.

Librarian Tim Gordon created a “self-serve maker space” outside of the library. The station will feature a rotation of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) activities with an emphasis on the arts. The station requires independence, so Gordon expects the space to be used by 3rd-5th graders. “It will be available throughout the year with new projects appearing monthly,” Gordon said.

Pictured above are directions for creating an origami crab at the maker space.

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BOX TOP TIP.

Does your child have a grandparent in their life? Grandparents love to collect Box Tops. Ask them to save their Box Tops for Payne. Collection boxes are in the main office and in front of Ms. Fox’s Kindergarten classroom.

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MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Friday: Payne Moms Happy Hour, 6 p.m., Ophelia’s Fish House.

Oct. 24: For College Awareness Month, students can skip wearing their Payne uniform for the day if they wear college gear instead.

Oct. 25-26: No school.

Oct. 31: Payne After School presents Spook-tacular, 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the auditorium and cafeteria with games, crafts and a haunted house. Students must be accompanied by their after school teacher, and parents are encouraged to attend. Call Ms. Cox with questions, 202-698-3262.

Nov. 6: Election Day bake sale at Payne.

Nov. 6-9: Scholastic Book Fair.

Nov. 8: Literacy Night at Payne.

Nov. 28: Fingerprinting for Payne parent volunteers comes on-site to Payne. Details to come.

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NEWS TIPS.

Do you have news the Payne community should know? Send newsletter tips to PTSA Communications Chair Tony Lombardo, tonylombardo1@yahoo.com.