The school’s Fall Festival is Saturday. This is one of the biggest fundraisers and best events of the school year – and it’s looking like we’ll finally get some nice, crisp fall weather. Swing by the Payne playground 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Chow down on Frito pies and other treats, buy a pumpkin and decorate it, climb on a fire truck, and meet mascots from the Nationals and D.C. Water. Kids can burn energy in the bounce house and get their faces painted. Bring your friends and neighbors.

Thanks to numerous sponsors, PTSA members already have raised $7,250 for the festival and hope to exceed the $8,000 fundraising goal on Saturday. We’re still looking for volunteer booth workers, bakers and chili makers.

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BOARD ACTIONS

The PTSA board met Tuesday and approved allocating more than $12,000 to fund resources for classrooms, including supplemental books for Kindergarten through fifth grade; science and art supplies; and resources for the deaf and hard of hearing classrooms. The board also approved $5,000 to support the school’s Robotics Team.

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MEET THE TEACHER

When it comes to teaching, second grade is the sweet spot for Donita Hubbard, a native of Seat Pleasant, Md. This is her seventh year of teaching (her second at Payne), and despite a one-year detour to kindergarten at Nalle Elementary, second grade is where she wants to be.

Q. Why do you teach second grade?

A. Something about second graders. They’re old enough to self-regulate, but they are still young enough that what I think is super fun and cool, they consider it cool. Being able to talk about plants and extreme weather, and seeing their excitement. I have worked Kindergarten before, and that’s about teaching self-regulation and developing a little person. Second grade is not so much about that, as it is about content, which I prefer.

Q. Are you doing anything different this year?

A. Kind of doing the same thing, in just a bigger way. So, last year we did plants and did one field trip. This year we’re trying to do multiple field trips, so they can get many opportunities and experiences outside of the classroom.

Q. Where do you want to go on field trips that you didn’t go last year?

A. Last year we went to the Anacostia Watershed. This year we’re going to the watershed again. We’ve been to Glen Echo Theater already. We’re hoping to go to the National Arboretum for plants, and we’re going to start extreme weather, so I’m hoping to get a meteorologist to come in, and the Newseum could be good for that.

Q. There seems to be a lot more emphasis on field trips this year, across the school. What’s going on? Why is that?

A. It’s important to remember [children] learn through experiences. In the same way we do as adults, too, they kind of feel their way around in the real world. I can talk about planting a seed, but if I’m actually planting seeds, it makes a difference.

Q. What would you say to first grade and Kindergarten parents to get their kids ready for second grade?

A. If we could come into second grade being independent problem solvers, I think that would propel us. We spend a good deal of the beginning of the year talking about being a good classroom citizen. Most of them know how to do it, but [parents] can have that conversation [with their kids] in the summer. “Make sure you’re being kind and saying kind words and cleaning up after yourself.” I think that would be setting them up for success, behaviorally.

Q. Do you have anything unique hobbies you bring into the classroom?

A. So, I sing. But I don’t full-out belt a song to the kids. But I jokingly play around and sing stuff, and they love it and they’ll start singing randomly with me. I’m like [SINGING] Get your papers! and they’re like I’m gonna get my papers!  It’s cute. It works.

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JOIN US ON SLACK

Payne has a Slack group, and you’re invited. The app fosters collaboration and communication among Payne parents, staff and the community.  Email Carolyn Bowen and she will add you to the group, PayneElementaryDC. Once in, you can join sub groups such as #grants and #greenspace, or connect one-on-one with PTSA board members and parents.

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LIBRARY HELP

Tim Gordon, the Wildcat librarian, is looking for a volunteer once a week from 1:30-2:30 (any day except Wednesday) to help around the library. Contact Lexi Smith.

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MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Saturday: Fall Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Payne.

Oct. 16: PTSA meeting, 6 p.m. in the Auditorium. Principal Byrd will speak.

Oct. 18: Payne Dad’s Happy Hour, 6:30 p.m. at The Brig. Join the Dad’s Happy Hour email group.

Oct. 19: Payne Mom’s Happy Hour, 6 p.m., Ophelia’s Fish House.

Oct. 25-26: No school.

Nov. 8: Literacy Night at Payne.

Nov. 7-9: Scholastic Book Fair. Buy books while earning money for Payne. Interested in volunteering at the fair or helping to coordinate? Email Carolyn Bowen.

MORE STUDENTS, MORE iPADS

Payne enrolled 8 percent more students this year than initially projected for a total of 347 kids. With more students, D.C. Public Schools’ enrollment team provided an additional 25 iPads for students to use. The iPads have arrived at the school, and Ms. Oxendine said the administration are distributing them among the classes.

MATH HELP … FOR PARENTS

Common Core math is foreign to a lot of parents. To help, Payne has grade-specific tip sheets available for Kindergarten through 5th Grade. Pick them up from envelopes on the bulletin board between the cafeteria and the front desk. Math “homefun” – it’s not just for the kiddos.

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FALL FEST ALMOST HERE

Come have some fall fun at the 2018 Payne Fall Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 13 at the school with pumpkin decorating, face painting, bounce houses and more. Meet mascots for the Nationals and D.C. Water and enjoy chili and baked goods. Organizers still are looking for volunteers, especially for the face-painting table. Please sign up to volunteer.

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NEW CHEF ON STAFF

Meet new Cafeteria Chef Calvin Coleman. A native of Washington, D.C, with familial roots in the Carolinas, Chef Coleman joined Payne last month. He most recently worked as a chef at the Verizon Center. His favorite things to cook include Caribbean food, mac and cheese and seafood salad. “I’m looking forward to upgrading the food and putting a new twist on it,” Coleman said. He replaces Chef T, who transferred to Jefferson Middle School.

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MORE ON AMERICORPS

Payne will have a new resource for the next three school years: a full-time member of the AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America Program (VISTA). Amy Thomas has started working at Payne for the first year of the program. AmeriCorps VISTA members work with communities to ensure poverty is addressed in a manner that builds community, generates self-sufficiency and establishes economic, health and educational security. The program was founded in 1965 by a bi-partisan Congress to help eliminate widespread poverty within the U.S.

Amy’s goals for her year at Payne include:

• Recruiting STEM partnerships
• Updating parent, staff and partner contact information
• Streamlining communication, volunteer and partner systems
• Building a sustainable community within Payne
• Tracking and updating partnerships

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WALK TO SCHOOL … LOUDLY

Walk to School Day begins with a rally with several Capitol Hill Schools at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 10 at Lincoln Park. Bring some noisemakers to show the community how well-represented Payne is.

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PRETZEL POWER

LITTLE FREE LIBRARY IS COMING

MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Friday: Coffee with Principal Byrd, 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Oct. 4: Monthly LSAT Meeting.

Oct. 8: No school.

Oct. 10: Walk to School Day, 7:30-8:15 a.m. at Lincoln Park.

Oct. 13: Fall Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Payne.

Oct. 16: PTSA meeting, 6 p.m. in the Auditorium. Principal Byrd will speak.

Oct. 25-26: No school.

Nov. 8: Literacy Night.

Nov. 7-9: Scholastic Book Fair. Interested in volunteering at the fair or helping to coordinate? Email Carolyn Bowen

We opened the floor Wednesday at the first PTSA meeting of the year, and parents raised several topics for further discussion in the weeks to come.

• Can students have more recess time?
• How can the deaf and hard of hearing program be more inclusive with the rest of the school?
• Can the school discuss limiting screen time during the day?
• What would it take to get full-time art and music teachers?
• How to start new clubs at Payne (chess? tennis? sewing?)
• Can we add cultural events at school (MLK Day, International Day, Dia de los Muertos)?
• How to secure free and on-site Tuberculosis and fingerprinting for parent volunteers?

If you want to volunteer to lead or contribute to groups on these specific issues, please complete this form. And mark your calendars for the next PTSA meeting: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16.

MEET THE STAFF

You’ve probably seen Robert Davis around Payne: At 6-foot-4, he towers over most everyone else. He also takes on a variety of responsibilities across the school, where he’s worked since 1995. His primary role is working as one of two behavior technicians assigned to Payne’s Behavior and Education Support Program. The program buses in children from across D.C. who are identified as having emotional disabilities or challenging behaviors. The classrooms, which can have a max of 10 students, include a teacher, a paraprofessional and a behavior tech.

Q. Describe what you do as a behavior tech at Payne.

A. I’ve been trained to implement certain techniques and prompts to get kids who are in my classroom to get back on track and focus and make them feel safe. Right up there with them being safe, is trust. They trust me. Since the environment feels safe for them, then they want to learn, and it’s a win-win for everybody. The goal is to get them back into general ed.

Q. Is patience very important for your job?

A. Oh, extremely important. Especially being an educator. I feel like if you’re doing this for any other reason besides a love of children, then this is definitely the wrong field for you.

Q. Do you do other things around the school?

A. I do everything. I’m Slash. I’m the IT guy. [laughs] Whenever we have a program, I’m the guy who has to go in the Auditorium. I’m the guy who knows how that system works. Every teacher in here has my phone number, so if the Smartboard’s not working, I can troubleshoot. I run my own before care program in the morning.

Q. What is the before care program like?

A. I get here at 6:45, I set up. We have plenty of computers for the older kids. I have different stations. You can color and draw. I have manipulative toys at another station. Puzzles at another station. I also do homework assistance.

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GRANT-WRITING BONANZA

The PTSA Fundraising Committee submitted six applications totaling more than $10,500 to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation through fall seasonal grant applications, which request:

• Classroom library books for PK4 through 5th grade (with a goal of finding other resources for PK3).
• Bus money for field trips for Kindergarten through 5th grade and the deaf and hard of hearing classes.
• Materials for art teacher Ms. Harvey.
• Science materials for experiments with Ms. Henson.
• Audio books, Braille books, printer ink and American Sign Language books for the deaf and hard of hearing classes.

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SPECIAL THANKS to all who contributed to the PTSA meeting bake sale. We raised more than $250.

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PRIMARY.COM SPIRIT WEEK SALE. Shop at primary.com now through Oct. 9 to save 20 percent and earn 10 percent back for Payne. Use our unique URL: www.primary.com/school/payne with promo code PAYNEWEEK.

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MORE FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES

• Pretzels for Payne. Stop by The Pretzel Bakery, 3-6 p.m. Oct. 2. Mention Payne, and 20 percent of your purchase will benefit the PTSA.
• Fall Festival. We’ve raised $6,250 of our sponsorship $8,000 goal, but volunteers and sponsors still are needed. Volunteer for an hour and stay for the fun. Know a business that would love their logo displayed all year on Payne’s playground? Contact Alison Mitchell.
• Hilloween Volunteers Needed. Payne is looking for volunteers to represent the school at Hilloween, Capitol Hill’s Halloween block party. If you’re interested in sitting at a table and passing out candy, hot drinks and fun items, let Lexi Smith know.
• Box Tops. This is not your mama’s Box Tops program. You now can download the Box Tops app to scan your receipt to record the Box Tops instantly. Payne still will welcome the actual tops, too.

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MORE IMPORTANT DATES

Sept. 29: Join Payne parents at 9:30 a.m. for an outside cleanup to tend the garden, plant bulbs and tidy up the school grounds. Kids are welcome.

Sept. 30: Watkins Elementary at 420 12th St. S.E. will host parents across D.C. for a meeting on Building Community In Diverse Schools, 2-4:30 p.m.

Oct. 2: Pretzel Bakery fundraiser, 3-6 p.m.

Oct. 5: Coffee with Principal Byrd, 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Oct. 8: No school.

Oct. 10: Walk to School Day, 7:30-8:15 a.m. at Lincoln Park.

Oct. 13: Fall Festival, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Oct. 16: PTSA meeting, 6 p.m. in the Auditorium.

Oct. 25-26: No school.

Oct. 27: Forty literary-themed dinner parties will be hosted across Capitol Hill for the annual Literary Feast to support the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s Grants to Neighborhood Schools.