|
- Friday Popsicles! The Fifth Grade will be selling popsicles immediately after school on Fridays. $1 per popsicle until they run out! Proceeds benefit the Fifth-Grade Graduation Fund.
- New Parent Reception on Friday, September 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Courtyard. Babysitting available for school-age children, $5 per child.
- Back to School Nights: September 15 & 22. Murch will host two Back to School Nights again this year to avoid overcrowding issues. The teachers in PreK-Grade 1 will be hosting parents on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and the upper grades (grades 2-5) on Wednesday, Sept. 22. Presentations begin both nights at 6:30 p.m. Parents new to Murch are cordially invited to attend a reception hosted by the Murch HSA at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3, here at the school. Come on out and find out more about the school, meet some of the parents here, and learn about how you can get involved in your child’s school. Babysitting available for school-age children, $5 per child.
- Join the HSA! Membership is open to all Murch families and staff. Annual dues, are $15 per family.
- Tell us what books you read this summer. (See below.)
- Kickball club info session: Thursday, Sept. 16 in Ms. Finberg's room. >>Read more.
- School supply lists
School Safety Patrol Program: Calling all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders interested in participating
Did you know that many famous Americans have been school safety patrols, including former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, five Supreme Court Justices, five Olympic Gold Medalists, and 21 astronauts? Click here for more info.
Summer Reading Challenge: 3,000 Books. How many did you read?
Time is running out! Click here to tell us what you've read (or had read to you). If everyone at Murch reads 3,000 "just right" books or more, you all win an ice cream party!
Meanwhile, check out this tag cloud of what Murch is currently reading! (Click on it to enlarge.)
|
Welcome to
a Terrific 2010-2011
School Year!
We are in a celebratory mood at Murch, having receiving plenty of good news over the last few weeks. We are quite pleased with the student performance data that came in over the summer. Our students’ DC CAS reading proficiency rate rose to 87%, the highest Murch students have scored since the DC CAS was implemented five years ago. The percentage of students scoring in the Advanced category on the DC CAS rose to 39% from 29% in math and to 29% from 21% in reading.
Moreover, we found out in July that Murch is now an Autonomous School, joining only six other schools in DCPS in this category. According to the Office of School Innovation, the purpose of the Autonomous Schools program is to “reward schools that have demonstrated success in academic achievement and to give these schools the space to innovate while continuing along the trajectory of success." Finally, the strategic planning that we did last year is already helping us to improve even more, with teachers working throughout the summer on curriculum mapping at every grade level. This coming year will be another stellar year for the students at Murch Elementary, and I just can’t wait to get started!
Our building is also improved. If you happened to pass by the school this past summer, you probably noticed a great deal of heavy equipment on the premises. Part of that work was laying the foundation for an additional relocatable classroom that is being added for staff offices. The roof and gutter repair work that was started last year has continued throughout the summer and is getting close to completion. Finally, we had a great deal of maintenance done to various parts of the building, so we feel very positive about having our “classic” building looking polished and in good shape for the first day of school.
Communication between home and school is very important to me, and I believe integral to the school-parent partnership. You can get a great deal of information from the official Murch Elementary website (http://murchschool.org). Connect Ed messages are being dialed into your home each Thursday night, and hopefully you are receiving these telephone calls. Students bring home announcements and information each week in their “Friday Folders,” so be sure to check the backpacks. In addition, the Home and School Association (HSA) and I email a twice-monthly newsletter to parents throughout the year.
New Faces at Murch
Please welcome the following staff members to Murch Elementary School: Emily Stewart (pre-Kindergarten); Sarah Seltzer (pre-Kindergarten); Timothy Patterson (fourth grade); Lauren Madlock (special education coordinator); Daniel Hayden (special education); Christine Turban (ESL); Elizabeth Mailley (ESL); Cheryl Fellenz (reading specialist); and Dyvor Gibson (business manager). Also, we are pleased to announce the addition of the following paraprofessionals: Jacqueline Garibay; Annastasia Ataku; Stefanie Berger; and Lewis Tate. We are delighted to have them!
Not to mention one darling new face...
Murch’s assistant principal, Ms. Rabiah, had her baby in July, welcoming a charming, devastatingly handsome, and exceptionally intelligent [principal’s editorial comment] son, Amir. Ms. Rabiah plans to return to work in October.
>>Read this letter in its entirety
>>Read about our new 1/2-grade combo class.
>>Read more from the Principal's Corner Archives.
--
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
- Principal
A Great Job, One and All!
Last fall, as newly elected HSA co-presidents, we enthusiastically set out to achieve three goals:
- Launch a school-wide strategic planning process.
- Improve communications.
- Increase partnerships with local organizations that would enrich our children’s learning experiences.
We are proud of what the HSA has achieved in all three of these areas. >>Read more.
-- Alison Howard and Karin Perkins, HSA co-presidents
>>>Read the complete Co-President's Blog.
|
