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4130 Albemarle St. NW
Washington, DC 20016
202-282-0110
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| Calendar
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Tuesday, Jan 22
SIT Meeting, multi-purpose room, 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Jan 23
Soup Kitchen
Friday, Jan 25
Spirit Day:
Blue & White Day
Early Dismissal,
12:15 pm
Saturday, Feb 2
Janney Auction, Katzen Center, 7 pm
Friday, Feb 8
Open House, 9:15 am
Editors
Gretchen Cheney
Jenny Kletzin DiBiase
Elizabeth Levenson
Karen Muoio
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A Note from Your PTA Co-Presidents
The auction is coming! The auction is coming!
It may have crept up on you since it is earlier this year than last, but it promises to be a great event. The Janney PTA is supported by a great community of parents and we need your support this year like any other.
As Principal Cartland reported, DCPS saw fit in recent weeks to freeze the school's spending for supplies. If the freeze were to become permanent, PTA funds would serve as an important cushion for the school to fall back on on a rainy day. In the best of budget times, PTA funds provide "extras" like books for the library, a playable soccer field, extra custodial help, a Spanish program, events like International Night...the list goes on and on.
We've got over 600 items to auction off this year, so there's something for everyone. Please give us your support!
Have a great week,
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SIT Q&A Session
The SIT will host an open Q&A session tonight at 7:30 pm for anyone interested in learning more about plans and proposals to modernize the school. The meeting will be held in the multi-purpose room.
-Dan Charles, SIT chair
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Soup Kitchen Reminder
Please remember to bring in your lasagnas, green beans, bread, ice cream, and lettuce. And teachers, don't forget to make your snacks, and have your classes bring in their salad fixings and cookies. All items should be in by 12 noon tomorrow, Wednesday, January 23. Thanks for all your help.
-Camille Martone
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Janney Auction News
One phrase that we encountered innumerable times was, "the auction is so much earlier this year," but we are happy to report that this did not impact the number of donations. You will find your copy of the 2008 Janney Auction catalog in your child's Take Home Tuesday packet today. For those families with multiple children at Janney, you should find your copy in your oldest child's packet. You will want to start reading it immediately, since the online portion of this year's auction will begin on Thursday, January 24, at 8 pm. Check out the Dining section, which has nearly doubled over last year and features new eateries such as Ristorante Tosca, Passage to India, Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar, and the Sofitel Hotel restaurant.
As you read through your auction catalog, you will see many old favorites, such as the South of the Border Party, Homemade Soups for a Year, a proper English tea for you and your friends, as well as a Bugfest with resident entomologist Martha Weiss at her lab at Georgetown University. Online, you will find some oldies but goodies, such as restaurant certificates to Clyde's, Cafe Deluxe, and Morty's Delicatessen to name just a few, as well as two separate weeks at Home Run Baseball Camp. Many of you will be happy to know that the "Dumpster for a Day" is back, courtesy of Tenleytown Trash!
This year, we have some amazing new offerings, including a summer family pool membership to Beauvoir Pool. Or, you can get your resolutions checked off and your life reorganized with a five-hour closet makeover from Terra in Dupont Circle. If an escape is the ticket, then leave the craziness of the city and stay at the elegant Sheppard Mansion near historic Gettysburg. For a more rustic, back-to-nature kind of getaway, bid on the opportunity for a weekend stay at a cabin by the river in beautiful West Virginia. Don't miss the opportunity to get out of the doghouse for the upcoming year, courtesy of resident floral designer extraordinaire Phillipa Tarrant, who will supply flowers to your special someone for all the requisite events for the next year, i.e., your anniversary, Valentine's Day, her birthday, and Mother's Day.
We would like to thank all of you who adhered to our pleas to stay on deadline. It made the catalog writing and production process much easier and has given us a huge step up on the inventorying process. A special thank you to the room parents and very talented and patient parents who shepherded the Classroom Creations to completion. Thanks to your efforts, we have most of these one-of-a-kind masterpieces in hand and ready for the furious bidding that is sure to ensue.
Get your RSVPs in early, so that you can show up at the Katzen Arts Center on February 2 and start bidding at 7 pm. The first section closing is at 8:15 pm, so you'll want to be on time to get some great deals. It is sure to be a night to remember. In the meantime, check out the display case in the main hallway for a sampling of some of our special items.
-Anita Seline and Melissa Torgovitsky, Auction Co-Chairs
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Online Auction Starts Thursday, January 24!
This Thursday evening, January 24, at 8 pm, bidding will open on over 100 fabulous online items. You can find all of the online items listed in the auction catalog, which you should have received in the Take Home Tuesday envelope this week. Also in the THT is a reminder flyer with simple "how to" instructions on setting up Paypal and Ebay accounts, which you will need to do in order to participate.
The Online Auction will close between 8 pm and 9 pm on Tuesday, January 29, so you will have five days to bid in the comfort of your home or office. Please spread the word and tell your family, friends, and neighbors about this wonderful opportunity to support Janney School.
Use the direct link on the Janney School website, www.janneyschool.org, to go straight to the Janney listings. Check back often and don't let that perfect item get away! Questions? Contact Dianne Bock at dibock@starpower.net or 202-364-9858.
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Janney Open House on February 8
The last Open House for this school year (for prospective parents) is scheduled for Friday, February 8, at 9:15 am. The Open House is a bit earlier than in past years so that it will coincide with the Pre-K lottery. If you have friends or neighbors who are considering sending their kids to Janney, please tell them about the Open House. Word of mouth is our second most important form of advertising!
Also, we need parent volunteers to help support the students who lead the tours through the school. (You don't need to be an expert or officially represent the school; you simply need to help the students and share your own perspective). If you are free on Friday, February 8, from 9 to 10:30 am and are able to help out, please contact Sharon Masling at spm32@law.georgetown.edu or 364-6347 or Lori Ashford at lsashford@msn.com or 364-4353.
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Mad Science Returns!
Join us for the Winter/Spring session of Mad Science. Classes will be held on Mondays directly after school, 3:20-4:20 pm, February 25-April 21. As before, the cost is $104 per student for the 8-week session. Information on what topics will be covered each week is available in the handout in this week's Take Home Tuesday envelope. Additional copies of the handout are available in the front office. The deadline for registering is Wednesday, February 6.
Registration is open to students in grades K-5, and the material will be customized for each age group. Students will be grouped by age, with a minimum of approximately 17 and a maximum of approximately 20 students per class.
Registering online at www.scienceafterschool.com is the best way to sign up, but if necessary, you can use the paper registration form at the bottom of the handout and leave it with a check (made out to Janney School) in the front office. Please contact Liz Mozden at lmozden@nationalgeographic.com with any additional questions.
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DC Public School Closings and Reorganization Proposal
In November 2007, Mayor Fenty and Chancellor Rhee released their highly-anticipated "Renew, Revitalize, Reorganize" plan for DC Public Schools. The effort was reportedly shaped to address both the current year DCPS operating deficit as well as to "pave the way for further educational reform and improvements in the years ahead." More information about the plan can be found at www.janneyschool.org.
Certainly the plan for closing 23 schools has drawn the most attention-and real heat-from opponents across the city. Although no Ward 3 schools are on the closure/reorganization list, Janney and other schools in and beyond our area will be affected. Janney and other nearby schools are overcrowded, and we have a long waiting list of families who live outside the school's enrollment boundary. Dollars spent on maintaining and staffing surplus school facilities could be reprogrammed to improve educational efforts, according to Rhee and Fenty. Also, reducing the number of schools with very small enrollments may free up supplemental funds currently committed to those schools above and beyond the per capita funding formula.
Whatever your position, this is an ideal point for Janney School parents to weigh in with our elected officials. Since there are no proposed closings in our area, no public hearings were scheduled for our neighborhood. However, our elected officials should factor in your view of support or opposition to the pending plan. Please consider contacting these DC leaders regarding the school closing/reorganization plan.
· Mary Cheh, our Ward 3 Member, mcheh@dccouncil.us
· Vincent Gray, Council Chair, dslonneger@dccouncil.us (chief of staff)
· Carol Schwartz, At Large Member, cschwartz@dccouncil.us
· David Catania, At Large Member, dcatania@dccouncil.us
· Phil Mendelson At Large Member, pmendelson@dccouncil.us
· Kwame Brown, At Large member, tellkwamebrown@gmail.com
-Scott Cheney and Mark Popovich, DCPS Advocacy Committee
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International Night-Seeking Volunteers!
Friday, March 14, is Janney's International Night. We are seeking volunteers for all aspects, including planning, set up, and publicity. Please volunteer to help staff International Night! Contact Jasmeet Seehra at jseehra@omb.eop.gov or (202) 395-3123.
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Mark Your Calendars!
Deborah Roffman, well-known human sexuality educator and author of "Sex and Sensibility: The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense about Sex," will be speaking at our next PTA meeting on Tuesday, February 12. Come hear some sensible information about this important subject. There will be a short business meeting at 7:15 pm, and the presentation will follow at 7:30. |
In the Neighborhood
Maryland Madness Basketball Maryland Madness AAU Youth Basketball is seeking boys ages 8-10 (age as of 9/1/2007) for both the 9U and the newly formed 10U squads. For additional information, please contact Coach Kevin Jackson at (202) 498-3456 or kevin_jackson1@hotmail.com. Additional team information is available on the Maryland Madness website: www.marylandmadness.org
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 Safety Patrol Tip of the Week
Remember not to drop your child off into oncoming traffic.
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 Principal's Letter
To the Janney Community:
I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend and had a chance to talk to your kids about the legacy of Dr. King.
As a reminder, the SIT will be having an open meeting at 7:30 tonight in the auditorium to give anyone who wants a chance to ask questions about the process that the city is engaging in with regards to a potential "public/private partnership" (PPP) with the Tenley Library and Janney School properties. The following is my best attempt at giving a brief summary of what is known but there's also more information on the school website (www.janneyschool.org).
The city released a Request for Proposals (RFP) in October. In December three developers turned in bids. The development groups that turned in bids are LCOR, Roadside Development & Smoot Construction, and See Forever Foundation, partnered with UniDev, LLC. The city is planning on hosting a meeting in early to mid February sharing all of the three plans that they deem viable. The RFP calls for a team of four people (one from DCPS, one from DCPL, and two from the planning office) to select one plan to go forward for the Mayor's approval. At this time, I don't have any information on who these four people are. Any plan would also ultimately need approval from the City Council as well as the zoning board as it would need to go through an additional approval process since all of the plans would require an exception to the current zoning limits.
The LSRT met recently with Facilities Czar Allen Lew and DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee to ensure that the key people in DCPS were aware of some of our concerns about the PPP process. The chief concerns we raised were that we minimize any loss of play space and that DCPS remain in control over all decisions regarding the modernization and addition to the school. They were very reassuring in saying that the interests of the Janney community and DCPS were one and the same.
In addition to discussing the PPP process, we also had some conversation in a general sense about plans for the school. DCPS has drafted "ed. specs." for the school that would result in an increase of about 39,000 sq. ft. to provide for a school population of 550 students. DCPS is releasing a new Master Facilities Plan (MFP) in May. The old plan, which was never finalized, had several different timelines, with Janney being renovated/modernized in 2015 at the earliest. It's not clear whether Janney will remain in the same general spot in the new MFP or be moved up in the queue. It's also not clear if the new MFP will have an accelerated timeline or not. The Chancellor is asking Mr. Lew to accelerate all of the timelines but part of this is contingent on whether or not the city can access a majority of the funding in the beginning of the timeline or if it will need to be spread out over the entirety of the work.
Ultimately, whether the school gets an addition through the PPP process or the MFP, there will be two years or so of inconvenience while construction takes place. The plan would be for the addition to be built and then classes would be housed in the addition and in trailers while the original building gets renovated.
I hope this summary is helpful and again, the SIT will be available tonight in the gym at 7:30 for questions and conversation.
Please don't forget that Friday is a half-day with students dismissing at 12:15.
Have a great week!
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Contributing to the E-Newsletter
Submissions to the PTA newsletter may be emailed to Janneynewsletter@yahoo.com.
The deadline for submissions is Thursday at 3:15 pm. Because the newsletter is reviewed by several individuals before distribution, we must adhere to this deadline in order to get the newsletter to you every week on time.
Please make every effort to submit your notices by email for the electronic newsletter. Include all text in the body of your email (rather than as an attachment). Small jpeg thumbnails may be attached and can be included in the newsletter. All links or email addresses will be made active (clickable).
Prepared fliers should be turned into the school office by COB Monday for inclusion in the regular Take Home Tuesday envelope.
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