Payne Elementary School

Payne Wildcat News: Saturday Arts Update | Gardening Lab | Uniform Swap & Swag

Posted on August 9, 2021October 2, 2021 by smittyjd23

Hello, Payne Wildcats.

Hope you are enjoying a fun and safe summer break. We’re just a few weeks from the first day of school and there are a number of updates to share.

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PAYNE SATURDAY ARTS ACADEMY

Registration for the Payne Saturday Arts Academy has started strong. So far, 113 Payne students are signed up for extracurricular Saturday classes at the school this fall. That means more than one-third of the whole school is signed up.

Click here to complete the registration form: https://forms.gle/x7TtW3rwaTW6GZXS8

Enrollment is on a first come, first served basis, and some of the most popular classes are filling up. However, plenty of seats remain overall, and there’s still time to secure your child’s spot in some amazing classes.

Your child can choose from classes in:

Piano
Violin
Drums
Tae Kwon Do (limited spots remain)
Outdoor Sports Clinics
Robots & More Clubs (limited spots remain)
Preschool Circle Time Music
Theater (waitlist only for all grades)

Suggested tuition amounts are listed in the registration form, but no child will be turned away based on ability to pay. The early registration deadline is Aug. 17. Classes begin Saturday, Sept. 11.

Reach out to Payne parents Jessica Coomes, Andria Thomas and Kate Kaufman if you have any questions: jessicamcoomes@yahoo.com, andria.thomas@gmail.com, katebkaufman@gmail.com.

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NEW GARDENING PROGRAM

Wildcats will receive hands-on lessons in gardening and cooking this school year as the FoodPrints program arrives at our school. Educators will get students excited about growing, preparing, and enjoying fresh, local whole foods — and bring science, math and social studies to life. Every class will meet with the FoodPrints Teachers once a month.

Payne has received a $2,500 Capitol Hill Community Foundation grant to support building a new garden space. This fall the former garden space off of 14th Street behind the school will get new cedar beds designed for small hands. Funds will support a water irrigation system and an outdoor classroom. There will be more updates on FoodPrints as school approaches.

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FALL FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS. With the return to school, the PTSA is hoping this year will mean a return of some of the school’s biggest events and fundraisers. A volunteer team is being formed to help plan a fun and safe Fall Festival. Please email Alison Mitchell: alison.mitchell@gmail.com

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UNIFORM SWAP IN THE WORKS. After 18 months of remote learning, our kids all grew — right out of their barely worn uniforms. Do you have gently used uniforms to unload? Are you in need of some bigger sizes? The PTSA is mulling a back-to-school uniform swap. Interested? Please fill out this short survey.

A reminder of the uniform plan for next year. Uniforms Monday-Thursday, Friday is Student Choice (Bold! Remember, no flip flops and shirt messages must be child friendly.):

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PAYNE SWAG YEAR ROUND. Payne now has a CafePress site to purchase shirts, totes, mugs, even rugged iPhone cases to show your Payne pride. There are no order minimums, and you can have your items shipped directly to your home. Items arrive in about 7-10 business days. Happy shopping: http://www.cafepress.com/payneelementary

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PARENT UNIVERSITY

DC Public Schools is hosting a series of seminars for grownups to prepare for the upcoming school year. The Parent University schedule:

July 22: 5:30 p.m., Caring For Our Youngest Learners: Reopening Our Pre-K Classrooms
Aug. 10: 5:30 p.m., Getting My Child Ready For School This Year; What Will DCPS Look and Feel Like?
Aug. 17: 5:30 p.m.., Supporting Our Students: Accelerating Learning In And Out Of The Classroom
Aug. 19: 5:30 p.m., Mentally Preparing Myself And My Child For The New School Year

RSVP: www.bit.ly/dcpsrecover

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READING PARTNERS AMERICORPS POSITIONS

Our friends at Reading Partners, who assist our students with growing reading skills, are looking for full-time, in-school AmeriCorps positions. Please help get the word out. Application details:

https://jobs.ourcareerpages.com/job/598976?source=Americorps&jobFeedCode=Americorps&returnURL=https://readingpartners.org/

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IMPORTANT DATES

Wednesday, Aug. 11: 5 p.m., Walk Through Wednesday. Come inside, see Payne classrooms, hear about fall programming.

Friday, Aug. 13: 4 p.m., Summer Soiree at School Auditorium, drink lemonade, mix and mingle.

Aug. 18: Noon, Walk through Wednesday at Payne.

Aug. 25: 5 p.m., PK3 and PK4 playdate at Payne for kids and parents

Aug. 30: Payne First Day of School, Grades K-5: Payne Countdown Calendar

Sept. 2: First Day for PK3 and PK4

LSAT Meeting Minutes – May 2021

Posted on May 24, 2021June 1, 2021 by smittyjd23

READOUT FROM 8th PAYNE ELEMENTARY LSAT MEETING (MAY) AND NEXT STEPS

As a reminder, Principal Byrd challenged us to assist in two separate areas:

1. Build Payne’s community, in part by addressing the challenge of gentrification and with an eye to ensuring that all members feel included/supported.

2. Help Payne overcome its technology challenges.

OK, let’s get started. Below is a UPDATED list of the ideas and initiatives we discussed and possible next steps.

1. Challenge: How to spend additional American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding: LSAT heard from Principal Byrd’s delegate for the meeting, Mr. Eskay, that the pre-COVID vision for Payne involved increased focus on project-based tasks, math/science, and mining staff interests for use in the classroom (school newspaper, etc…). Mr. Eskay described that focus on these areas is still possible but there will also need to be time for remediation to catch kids up after COVID. LSAT also heard that Mr. Eskay and Principal Byrd have not yet heard details on the amount or specifications for the ARP funding. LSAT had a healthy discussion on the utility of spending more money on social/emotional support vs. academics post pandemic. Some teachers observed that the kids have shown resilience since back in school.

Possible Next Steps: LSAT agreed that a simple survey of the community’s preferences for how to spend the additional funding would be a good idea.

Action: Becky Bell, Liz Aloi, Mr. Gordon and I provided input which Mr. Eskay endorsed. Survey and email are ready to be sent.

2. Challenge: Recruitment and Retention. LSAT members got a readout from Liz Aloi who organized a successful event at the RFK Fields where Payne LSAT and volunteers spoke to numerous families that are matched with Payne. Mr. Creef and another volunteer organized a subsequent event though there was less traffic for that one, perhaps because of shorter notice.

Possible Next Steps: LSAT could consider organizing one more event before the end of the year, perhaps early June?

Action: Mr. Creef described an outdoor science event he is planning to do, could that be on a Saturday and double as a recruitment/retention event?

3. Challenge: Communication During COVID. LSAT members briefly touched on previous discussions around communication between the school and parents and how all our inboxes are slammed.

Possible Next Steps: There was agreement that making these LSAT notes public, in addition to Principal Byrd’s more recent zoom calls and the improved Payne Post format/content could help make parents feel more connected to Payne during the pandemic.

Action: Principal Byrd/Mr. Eskay- please have a look at these notes in the next few days and let me know if you have any adjustments before i send to the Payne community and post on the Payne PTA website. Principal Byrd/Mr. Eskay/Liz–can we include the POC chart as a standard addition to the Payne Post and post it other places like the PTA website, etc…?

4. Challenge: Address gentrification to build school community

Possible Next Steps: Chris Tissue provided a summary of the Payne Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) group’s various initiatives. Good to hear that Ms. Bannister will play a central role in Payne’s DEI efforts for next year. DEI group has had some success in finding a more diverse group of parents to join PTA and consider running for PTA and/or. Another idea surfaced on big brother/big sister programs, possibly around reading help or other useful mentoring opportunities.

Action: All: PTA President Deidre Duffy, Ms. Bannister, and Becky Bell raised their hands to work on what a big brother/big sister program at Payne might look like. Payne’s DEI group will continue to report back to the LSAT on activities and for more ideas. Others are welcome to join. Please contact Chris Tissue from our LSAT at cwtissue@gmail.com.

5. Challenge: LSAT Organization for Next Year. LSAT members discussed timing of next LSAT elections and considered 2 year terms.

Possible Next Steps: LSAT members approved postponing LSAT elections to the Fall (same as PTA) to take advantage of parent excitement regarding return to school/in person learning. LSAT members considered merits of making two year LSAT terms noting that it would be great for consistency and an even more experienced LSAT cadre, though there may be some risk in not finding enough volunteers.

Action: Further consider the merits of 2-year terms, perhaps for Payne staff as well and chime in with your thoughts.

6. Challenge: Find community representatives to provide advice and support. LB and Robyn from NRG which runs “The Roost” on Penn Ave and 15th SE–https://www.theroostsedc.com/ are willing to work with Payne.

Possible Next Steps: Bekcy Bell is willing to assist Liz Aloi in contacting NRG about a “Payne day” fundraiser and to ensure that we are spreading the word about their generosity in our community (PTA newsletter).

Action All: Please think about other local businesses we could partner with. Safeway?

7. Challenge: DCPS computers are not working for Teachers. Thanks to Ms. Randolph we know that teachers are using 2-3 devices and more often those are problematic personal devices. We have recruited an “IT Squad” of 4 dads who are willing to help right away.

Possible Next Steps: The IT Squad is still willing to help teachers. Let’s please keep spreading the word. Any teacher who is having IT problems you can email them at tech@paynepta.org and one of the dads will contact them.

Action: Principal Byrd/Teachers–Please continue to encourage your fellow Payne Staff to take up the IT Squad on their offer and let’s think of what else we might do to help.

Payne Wildcat News: Nando’s Fundraiser | DCPS Survey | Outdoor Fun

Posted on May 23, 2021June 1, 2021 by smittyjd23

Hello, Payne Wildcats.

This Wednesday is Nando’s Night for Payne. From 4-8 p.m., the restaurant will donate 40 percent of purchases to the school. This is the Nando’s PERi-PERi location at 300 Tingey Street S.E. at The Yards. Please mention you are there for Payne Night when you order. This location has loads of outdoor seating.

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PTSA MEETING. The PTSA Annual meeting will be on Zoom at 6 p.m. June 8. We will be voting on PTSA bylaws that would enable the PTSA to postpone officer elections until the fall. Only PTSA members are eligible to vote, but all are welcome to attend.

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HOW SHOULD DCPS SPEND $191 MILLION?

D.C. Public Schools announced it will receive $191 million in the American Rescue Plan Act’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. This federal investment will support the full reopening of schools for in-person learning in the fall.

So, how should DCPS spend this money? For example, would you rather DCPS invest in COVID-19 health, academic interventions, school tech, social emotional learning, professional development or student attendance/engagement?

Officials would like to hear from you. Please click here and complete this survey by Friday, May 28.

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WARM WEATHER IS HERE

Outdoor activities have been on full display with the arrival of warm weather. Here are some picks from the past week: