Greetings Calle Ocho Campus Families!
I hope you all are enjoying plenty of sun, fun, and connection with your family. Currently, Mundo Verde staff members are diligently working to ensure everything is in place to kick off the 2022-2023 academic school year on August 24! I am confident that this year will bring deep learning, impactful experiences, and meaningful peer connections for your children.
As a valued member of our Mundo Verde Community, you are a part of our community, our Crew. As many of you know, in the network of EL Education schools, we uphold the wisdom, “We are Crew, not passengers”. This means we each contribute to making our school a community where a high sense of belonging and excellent education is a reality for all of our children.
It is in that spirit I like to lean on the wisdom of the Maasai, an East African ethnic group, and offer Kasserian Ingera- Are the children well? This routine greeting highlights the collective responsibility of ensuring and protecting the wellness of our children, which reflects the wellness of the community as a whole. At our Calle Ocho campus, the interconnectedness comes in our sense of Comunidad - Community. The word Comunidad represents our commitment to nurturing a collaborative relationship between Mundo Verde Staff and families for the betterment of our students’ experience. Comunidad is also the name of our parent organization created to help fulfill that commitment. Comunidad is eager to engage with new and returning families! The following is a welcome message from members of Comunidad that includes some of the upcoming opportunities to engage with the school:
Hello, fellow caregivers! Congratulations on making it through last school year. We are excited about all Comunidad has accomplished, from Hispanic Heritage Month to Earth Day and everything in between, and are looking forward to next year! If you would like to get involved in planning or volunteering, there are lots of ways to do so and a variety of time commitments. We would love additional support and to see new faces with new ideas as well! Please email comunidad.calle8@gmail.com or call 202-922-6272 with questions or to get involved!
I cannot stress enough the importance of an engaged parent/caregiver in our children’s educational journeys. Beginning this month, playdates and our upcoming on campus Meet & Greet are two ways for families to build community.
PlayDates
We thank Comunidad parent volunteers for coordinating these upcoming community building opportunities: These playdates are a casual get together, there is no need to sign up and you can join as your schedule allows.
Campus-wide Playdates
Tomorrow! Saturday, July 30 from 10:00am to 12:00pm- Turkey Thicket Playground 1100 Michigan Ave. NE
Sunday, August 7 from 10:00am to 12:00pm- Calle Ocho (Pre K students only) 4401 8th St. NE
Tuesday, August 16 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm- Michigan Park Community Playground 1200 Varnum St. NE
Welcome Back! Meet and Greet August 22
Save the Date! Our School Leadership is planning to host a casual “meet and greet” on campus during the afternoon of Monday, August 22. We are finalizing the details, but anticipate a schedule with rotations per grade during the window 1:00-5:00pm. Specific information about specific time/grade will be announced in the Family Bulletin once it resumes circulating early August.
And Beyond
As we move closer to school start you will also hear details about welcome meetings which purpose is to get to know our families and students better. It is a time for caregivers to share their hopes and dreams about their children for the upcoming school year. This is also a time for families to let the teacher know about any special concerns or even share different ways that you know would be effective for the teacher to make a connection with your children.
With the transition to the new year we continue our commitment to deeper dialogue focused on equity, engagement, and meeting structure for collaboration across the community, with parent/caregiver groups* (Padres, Comunidad, and affinity groups) and School Leadership. This collaboration is crucial to achieve common goals and success for our students. If you are a new family, please consider participating in an upcoming meeting so we can grow them into even more strong, positive, collaborative spaces. A list of dates for meetings, activities and events will be shared at the start of the year.
Updates on Calle Ocho Space Needs
Finally, for those of you who have been tracking our need for space for our future 4th and 5th graders and thus our plans for growing physical spaces at our Calle Ocho campus, we reached an important milestone this month. The filing of an integrated bond application will, in part, finance the purchase and reconstruction of a property at 817 Varnum Street, NE - kitty-corner to the existing Calle Ocho Campus at 4401 8th Street NE. Pending successful financing and securing additional approvals, this proposed new building would support additional classrooms needed and bring other benefits to our Calle Ocho campus services and facilities as soon as Fall of 2024.
I hope we have an opportunity to meet before the school year starts, and if not, I look forward to seeing everyone on the first day of school. For your convenience, in this link you will find our finalized Academic Calendar for SY22-23 in English and Spanish.
Please enjoy the sunshine and loved ones in your life!
In Partnership,
Principal Jenn
Calle Ocho Campus