LT Families:

Thank you to everyone that came out and supported Pancakes and Literacy last week – it was a blast, as always!  Please see the updates below:

Taste for the Arts Auction: The auction is a wonderful event for families, teachers, staff, and community members to spend a fun night out in support of our school (without your lovely children). This year’s event will be held on Saturday, April 7th at St. Marks Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill.  If you have not already done so, please visit: https://www.ludlowtaylor.org/taste-for-the-arts-auction.html, to buy tickets for the event.  Thanks to contributions from last year and with the fall campaign, just this week, Mr. JP was able to purchase clay for an exciting upcoming art project and we were able to add $4,000 worth of new chromebooks for next schoolyear.  Your support helps bring Ludlow-Taylor to the next level!

After-School Announcement: There will be no afterschool on Friday March 23, 2018 – dismissal will be at 3:15!

Women’s History Month: We are looking forward to celebrating Women’s History Month throughout March, with our theme, Bold Women in History.  Spirit week will be taking place next week, so be on the lookout for further details.

• Throughout March: Door decorating contest based on an important woman in our history
• Spirit Week: March 19th – March 23rd
• March 23rd: Women’s Tea and Female Career Day

Look For Good Project: We have continued teaching our students our new five core values, LT P.R.I.D.E.: Politeness, Respect, Integrity, Determination, Empathy.  During March, we are focused on respect, with student passing around “you matter” notes and necklaces to each other when good deeds are spotted.

Health and Wellness School Model: LTES was chosen as one of ten schools chosen to join the new DCPS School Design Lab, with a focus around Health and Wellness for next school year, with a model based around Spark, a Harvard-researched book that explains the connection between exercise and the brain.  Throughout spring and into summer we will be releasing more information on what this will look like for students, teachers, and families, but the foundational shifts will look as follows: 

• Morning Fitness Block: Students will have the option of starting everyday with fitness class based around cardiovascular health, set up as circuit training. For us, this would most likely take place from 8:20 – 8:50 a.m., with a quick/healthy breakfast that follows.  Keep an eye out for family workout mornings, too!
• Physical Education as Fitness: The goal of our physical education classes would be to “develop healthy habits, skills, a sense of fun, along with knowledge of how the body works.” Team sports would still be incorporated, but the focus would be around physical fitness.  Students will also be receiving Health/PE twice a week
• Nutrition/Science Class:  Our science class will be shifting towards a full-time FoodPrints special that students will be attending weekly or biweekly.  By expanding the program, students will dive further into gardening, nutrition, cooking, and other relevant grade level science standards.
• Brain and Body Breaks:  The major difference in the classroom will be the incorporation of brain and body breaks for students, infused into our current curriculum and instructional practices.  Breaks will include: mindful minutes, quick yoga, group dance, stretching, etc.
• Staff Wellness:  We want to retain our incredible staff and teachers, so we are looking into ways to best support staff physical and mental health.

The model is a work in progress, with our first district meeting scheduled for next week.  Please feel free to provide feedback here: https://goo.gl/forms/cqcWVUmHVhbNbSor2, to help us as we continue to plan.

Upcoming Events: Please visit, http://www.ludlowtaylor.org/calendar.html to learn more about upcoming events and how to sync to our master calendar.

• March 23rd – Last day before spring break – No Afterschool
• March 26th – March 30th – Spring Break – No School
• Saturday, April 7th, 2018 – Taste for the Arts Auction!
• April 16th – Emancipation Day – No School

Thank you all for the continued support!

A. Smith

Happy March!  Thank you all for helping us to support Black History Month throughout February.  The projects, performances and events really showed the best of our diverse community.  Please see the updates around what to look forward to next:

Pancakes and Literacy: Please mark your calendars for Thursday, March 8th for our famous Pancakes and Literacy event.  The event will take place from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., a $5 per family donation is suggested.

Look For Good Project:
We began introducing our students to our newly defined five core value last week.  Please check in your with your kiddo about LT P.R.I.D.E.: Politeness, Respect, Integrity, Determination, Empathy.  During March we are focused on respect, with student students adding to our gratitude walls on each floor and the following student look-fors:
- We keep our hands and feet to ourselves.
- We care for our surroundings.
- We are civil towards everyone.

LSAT/Budget:
On Wednesday, Feburary 28th, we concluded our final budget meeting prior to submission.  While we are still waiting on a few decisions from central office, we had a roughly $800,000 increase in funding for next school year (about $350,000 of that is due to inflated costs of positions).  As it looks now, we will have exciting expansions for 2018-2019, while being able to maintain small class sizes.  Once finalized, we will send out further details over the next two-three weeks.

School Safety: Unfortunately, we need to be prepared for the worst when it comes to the possibility of a school threat.  We understand that this can be scary for students, so we have attached guidance to talk with your children about such a threat, and have made Ms. Frazier available for any student that might have particular concerns.  For the most part, we are asking families to reassure your students that we simply need to be prepared.  With that, we have taken the following security measures to ensure we are as prepared as possible:

• All classroom locks have been checked and fixed as needed, so that teachers can lock from the inside.
• Monthly lockdown drills for students (in terms of student language, we have decided that any “lockdown” will be used for a threat inside or around the building).
• Revised security measures, ensuring that there is always a guard or staff member at the 7th Street Entrance.  Also, we continue to remind students and family members to ONLY use this entrance.  We will not be letting people in any other door.
• Update to school security system – all cameras and outside doors are now properly functioning.
• Update to our lockdown drill procedures, which are as follows:

1. First, students are to be cleared from the halls/open spaces immediately and report to the nearest available enclosed/self-contained classroom. Staff is asked to assist any visible students.
2. All window shades are closed and doors should be closed and locked from the inside, no one should leave for any reason.  Doors and windows to be covered.
3. Stay away from all doors and windows; move students to interior walls and sit on floor.
4. Shut off lights – Remain Quiet!
5. Wait for further instructions.
6. Teachers document attendance
7. Cell phone use is by adults only for calling 911 or the main office, Principal Smith and AP Addison are to be texted with any needs/concerns.
8. Students remain in spot, until further notice.

Upcoming Events: Please visit, http://www.ludlowtaylor.org/calendar.html to learn more about upcoming events and how to sync to our master calendar.

• Friday, March 2nd – Parent-Teacher Conference Day.  No School for Students.
• Thursday, March 8th – Pancakes and Literacy
• Saturday, April 7th, 2018 – Taste for the Arts Auction!

Thank you all for the continued support!

A. Smith