KEYNOTES
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE KEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA • MARCH 2016
Great Night
on the Slopes
INSIDE
All about the PARCC;
Science Night & Science Fair;
thanks to our volunteers; the
Cornerstones program;
and more!
PENGUIN PROFILE
ASSISTANT
PRINCIPAL
GREEN
By Abby Goodnough
Auction co-chairs Kirsten Wegner and Bernadette Hellmann oversee
an amazing evening of generosity and fun! See page 4 for details.
When Principal David Landeryou told
Jennifer Green that she would make
a good school administrator, she had
one hesitation. “I never wanted to give
up my hand in the classroom,” said Ms.
Green, who has taught just about every
grade at Key since launching her career
here in 2003. “I wanted to stay involved
with kids.”
In that sense, Ms. Green’s current job,
as Key’s assistant principal of literacy,
is a perfect fit. She motivates and supports the teaching staff, with the goal of
making sure every student is learning to
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
An Introduction
to the PARCC
By Ashby Mims, PTA Co-President
PARCC scores went out to schools
and parents in December, and since
the test is new to everyone, it presents
a nice opportunity for parents, even
those whose children are not yet taking the test, to get to know the new
assessment together.
At our last PTA meeting, Mr.
Landeryou, Mr. Riley, and Ms. Green
gave a presentation informing parents
about PARCC and the results. I’d like
to share some information that helped
me understand that the test is measuring a different kind of learning, that it
will take time for students to adjust,
and what it all means for Key.
The PARCC—Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and
Career—is the new annual assessment
for students in grades 3-12. It replaces
the DC Comprehensive Assessment
System (DC CAS) for math and English
language arts (ELA).
PARCC was created to address a
pressing concern: Nationwide, too many
students who entered college struggled
with first-year coursework and had to
take remedial classes. To address this
challenge, the District of Columbia
came together with a group of other
states that formed the PARCC consortium. Their goal was to design a test
based on what students would need to
know in each grade to be prepared for
college and/or career training.
The new, computer-based test
aligns with the Common Core State
Standards (the standards that DCPS
follows for math and ELA) and measures essential skills, such as the ability
to communicate effectively, reason
well, and solve real-world problems. In
ELA, students are expected to show
evidence from what they are reading
to support their conclusions. In math,
they’re asked to solve real-world problems and explain their thinking.
Basically, PARCC requires students
to think more deeply and presents a
fuller, more authentic picture of student learning. Scores and performance
level thresholds were determined with
representatives from all PARCC states:
K-12 educators, postsecondary faculty,
and state education experts. For this
reason, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education believes they
are setting a new baseline and will see
scores rise on PARCC, just as they did
with DC CAS.
So, how did Key students do?
In math, 65% achieved score of 4 or 5,
which is passing, compared with 22%
of DCPS students who did so. At Key,
nearly 89% scored a 3 or higher.
In ELA, 65% achieved a score of 4
of 5, compared to only 25% of DCPS
students who did so. At Key, nearly 86
percent scored a 3 or higher.
What does this tell us?
First, we can see that staff are doing
a good job at teaching a well-rounded
curriculum because scores were
fairly even: 65% passed in both ELA
and math. In some cases this score
was higher when compared to other
schools in Ward 3 for one subject, but
not the other.
The administrative staff prepared
some data analysis for parents, explaining specifically where and how
2
Key staff and students can focus to
improve readiness.
In math, they have already begun
working to help students go beyond
getting the “right” answer and be able
to explain their reasoning in writing. By
learning new computer skills, students
can become more proficient in tools
such as representing a mixed number
in different platforms. Staff will use
EngageNY materials supplemented
with Go Math curriculum, along with
computer-based assessments such as
TenMarks and Edulastic. Also, in math,
you may see work coming home based
on certain content areas by grade level:
3rd Grade: Fractions
4th Grade: Reasoning
5th Grade: Critiquing answers
In ELA, struggling readers had a
hard time with informational text.
Staff are working on “close reading”
skills, as simple as re-reading a text
multiple times, but also underlining,
highlighting, and annotating. Third
grade will focus on technology and
typing fluency. They found that many
students need to elaborate more when
responding to a question about a text,
and that sometimes reading the question can be just as hard as reading the
passage. Teachers will work with students of all levels on how to respond
to a prompt that requires students to
read, write about and analyze multiple
texts.
Testing will occur over 3 weeks this
spring. If you have any questions or
concerns about PARCC, please reach
out to your child’s teacher, principals,
or myself at [email protected],
and I invite you to explore some of the
resources available to you online.
Resource websites:
http://www.corestandards.org
http://understandthescore.org
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/
common-core-test-guide/
KEYNOTES • MARCH 2016
GREEN FROM PAGE 1
read, write and speak at grade level. She
coaches teachers inside the classroom
and out, sometimes even co-teaching a
lesson with them. She also helps them
use test scores and other assessment data
to closely monitor each child’s progress
over the school year, and figure out what
each needs to work on week by week to
meet or even exceed the Common Core
standards.
“Literacy has a hand in every single
subject area,” Ms. Green said, adding
that her job is about “making sure the
instruction happening at Key is unified
and solid.”
Ms. Green, the daughter of two teachers from Gettysburg, Pa., landed at Key
fresh out of college, drawn to Washington
because her sister was a student at American University. She started as a combination second- and third-grade teacher, later
taught fifth grade, and did a stint as a
reading specialist. After getting married
in 2010, she left for two years to work as
an instructional specialist at a school in
Havre de Grace, Md., near her husband’s
hometown. But when he got a job in
Montgomery County in 2011, Ms. Green
happily returned to Key as a fourth-grade
teacher. She was promoted to assistant
principal in 2013, along with Brian Riley,
another former star teacher, who oversees
daily logistical operations.
Ms. Green pays special attention to
new teachers, observing and giving
feedback and occasionally covering their
classes so they can spend time observing
in other classrooms. Jennifer Lupardi,
a new second-grade teacher, said Ms.
Green’s creativity and warm support—including reminding her to go home when
she works too late—have buoyed her this
year. “She takes such an interest in everybody’s life,” Ms. Lupardi said.
Ms. Green also works daily with small
groups of kindergarteners and first graders who need extra help learning to read
and write, and sometimes meets with
students one on one. She also spends
time strategizing with Mr. Landeryou and
Mr. Riley, and “making sure we are on the
same page” about various goals, like how
RETAIL
REBATE 101
You can help Key earn cash!
to help teachers glean useful information
from standardized test scores.
Math and science instruction are very
much on her radar, too. “One of the biggest things I do to support those curriculums is helping to incorporate speaking,
listening and writing into them,” she said.
“People aren’t used to doing that in the
math and science world.”
On the Common Core standards
that have sparked controversy around
the country, and the new PARCC tests
aligned with those standards, which
students take annually starting in third
grade, Ms. Green is an optimist. “To me
it’s not stressful,” she said, adding that
she admires the rigor of the new standards and their goal of “really getting
kids to be responsible for themselves as
learners.”
Ms. Green, who lives outside College Park, Md., helps with the aftercare
program two afternoons a week—another
way of keeping close contact with kids.
At home, she relaxes by watching college
basketball, renovating her house, or reading historical fiction.
Ms. Green has loved watching Key
grow—it had 300 students when she started, compared with nearly 400 now—and
remains excited to help every child do his
or her best. Her favorite part of the day
is when kindergartners from classrooms
across the hall from her office wander
in to tell her about something they have
learned.
“We’re such a family,” she said. “We
are here for each other, and that makes
you want to do your best for the school
and its students.”
Amazon.com: IT IS SO EASY! Go to
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/
52-1644961 and register to donate
through Amazon Smile, then bookmark
this page and be sure to click it every
time you shop Amazon.
iGive.com: Another must-have
bookmark! iGive has over 700 merchants that donate money to schools.
Signing up takes 2 minutes, and once
you download their toolbar, you don’t
have to remember to shop through
the iGive site, you just surf and shop
as normal and the rebate money goes
STRAIGHT TO KEY! It's easy to do: go
to www.igive.com and sign up, then
“select your cause.” Use search words
“Key School” and then Key Elementary
School will appear (please confirm the
Dana Place address). Then, “Download
toolbar” and you will be set!
eScrip.com: eScrip is a wonderful
source of donation dollars. You can
register your credit or debit cards at
https://secure.escrip.com/signup/
index.jsp and earn when you spend.
eScrip also has an online mall with over
800 retailers and registration is easy!
Just go to www.escrip.com, sign up,
search “Key School” under the school
you wish to support (again, please
verify the Dana Place address). Then,
start shopping! That’s it!
And, please don’t forget about Box
Tops for Education. Need a fun project for the kids over the break? How
about searching for and cutting out
Box Tops?! They are EVERYWHERE
... cereal, juice, Ziploc products, Hefty
bags, the list goes on and on. Drop
them off in the collection box in the
front lobby.
Questions? Please contact Lisa Cohen:
[email protected].
KEYNOTES • MARCH 2016
3
SLOPES FROM PAGE 1
What a celebration! A huge congratulations to 2016 Auction chairs Bernadette Hellmann and Kirsten Wegner,
both first-year Key School parents, on
a spectacular night of fun and fundraising. Their amazing efforts and success should teach us all to sideline any
apprehensions we may have, step up,
and get the job done!
The evening started with cocktails
and snowsuits, followed by a spirited
live auction led by Key parents Darcy
Langdon and Phil Moeller, who kept
the money rolling in. We exceeded
our minimum goal for the “raise the
paddle” challenge to adopt the 4Rs:
a social-emotional and mindfulness
program for our staff and students.
For those who weren’t able to make it,
there is still a chance to contribute on
the website (www.501auctions.com/
keyschool/). Any amount you can give
will help. It’s also not too late to get in
those fabulous sign-up parties! They
will be live on the website until the
actual events.
The night ended with snow-boot
bedecked revelers heading over to
the “lounge” for some dancing and a
lively snowball fight. Mr. Riley and Mr.
Landeryou were favorite targets.
Special shout outs to parent volunteers Kevin and Debbie Nigri, Dan
Schwager, Sara Sklaroff, Maria Garcia,
Eva Kennedy and our entire crack
solicitation squad, as well as Lauren
Herrington, Darcy Langdon, Philip
Moeller, Kira Swencki, Bernardo Alvarez, Ece Gimer, Ashby Mims, Elizabeth
Wise, Jessica Kramer, London Lawson,
and Stephanie Schott. We couldn’t
have done it without you all!
Also, a huge thanks to the administration, Mr. Stuart, the janitorial staff,
and all of our fabulous teachers and
staff for their tremendous support.
Valentines for our Volunteers
By Elizabeth Wise, PTA Co-President
Our hearts go out to:
Tree Salesmen—Heroic effort!
Chopping down all those trees
and hauling them through the
frozen Maine tundra . . . OH THE
DEDICATION! Thanks to Jim Mello,
Ned Parrott, and Andrew Davis for
yet another successful Christmas
Tree sale!!
Snow Removal Crew—Thanks to all
the troops that came out to clear
the playground for our kiddos!
Tricia Duncan, Christine Lehman,
Ilana Eisenstein, Ashby Mims, Roger
Kranenburg, Bill Swift, Doug Dupin,
Noah Bierman, Andrew Winn, Inaki
Martinez, Will Price, Kevin Ajenifuja,
Tom Scott, Jim Mello, Bill Slover, Dirk
Joldersma, and all the other volunteers: THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Holiday Shoppers—Jessica Kramer,
Anjna Kirpalani, Jessica Davis, and Ece
Gimer, thanks for all your hard work
and persistence in helping continue
this festive Key School tradition!
Raffle Mavens—The Sunny Getaway
raffle was a great success, bringing
in close to $18,200. Special thanks to
PR&D Raffle Co-chairs Claire Swift
and Laura Slover and all those parents, teachers, and friends of Key
who supported the effort, especially:
Emily Henderson, Abby Goodnough,
Logan Winn, Elizabeth Moeller, Allison
Crombi, Marina McClelland, Alexia
Minervini, Maria Garcia, Ann Conway,
Keira Leibowitz, Darcy Langdon, Bill
Swift, Bill Slover, Gail Bailey, and all
the room parents. The teachers, this
year, made extra effort; thank you, Mr.
Landeryou, for supporting the effort
overall in every way. And, of course,
Ashby Mims for steering us in a winning direction.
Open House Hostesses—Kudos to
Eavan O’Halloran and Tracy Sayegh
Gabriel for coordinating yet another
successful Open House. And thank
you to all the volunteers who took
the time to conduct school tours for
prospective parents.
Drop Off Committee—Maria Garcia
and her band of many, thanks for
keeping our kids safe in the morning! Shout outs to: Darcy Langdon,
Elizabeth Wrege, Lisa Sterling,
4
Shimae Fitzgibbons, Katherine Webb,
Meredith Sumner, Eavan O’Halloran,
Virginia Gorsevski, Michael Crino, Will
Potterveld, Ilana Eisenstein, Mette
Lassesen, Jessica Ward, Wen Blum,
Emily Carey, Katherine Kranenburg,
Christie Lavin, and a special mention
to Abby Marsh and Jeremy Joseph
who have gone above and beyond the
call of duty!!
Key’s Mad Scientists—Tricia Duncan
and Emily Carey! Thank you for your
contagious enthusiasm for all things
science. Science Night and Science
Fair were a huge success!!
Library Volunteers—We have a great
library at Key and these folks help
Ms. Hayes keep it in working order:
Kristin Allstadt, Kristy Balsanek, Mary
Chopard, Lauren Herrington, Kathy
HoganBruen, Katherine Kranenburg,
Nicky Lumb, Jennifer Noyon, Helena
Prailow, Shoshana Rosenbaum,
Christina Ruppert, Ruth Samuel, Laura
Slover, Lisa Sterling, Carrie Trieu,
Myriam Tron, and Elizabeth Wrege.
(Note all names are in alpha order as
this group would expect!)
And thanks again and again and
again to Norma Ramella for making
those bulk supplies appear like magic
for our classrooms.
KEYNOTES • MARCH 2016
Cornerstones
of Learning
A new DCPS program brings added variety
to the Key Elementary School curriculum
By Abby Goodnough
Second-graders at Key got the unusual
opportunity to ride bikes during gym class
last fall, culminating in a trip to Palisades
Park. Third-graders studied D.C. monuments and neighborhoods, then created
their own travel guides. Fifth-graders did
a research project on inventors, designing
their own inventions and creating pitches
for them in the process.
These are a few examples of Cornerstone assignments, a new district-wide
program that offers special in-depth
lessons for students in kindergarten
through fifth grade. Schools can use lessons provided by DCPS or develop their
own, as Key did.
Cornerstone lessons may last a few
days or a few weeks, but according to
DCPS, all have three elements: strong
content, an “instructional model” for
teachers, and a final product or performance. Jennifer Green, Key’s assistant
principal of literacy, said the goal is
“high-quality projects that every kid in
the district gets to experience.”
In other Cornerstone lessons at Key
this year, fourth graders studied Native
American tribes and created presentations to share with students throughout
the school. First graders read about
fictional characters and real people who
persevered, tracking the qualities that
perseverance requires. And kindergartners learned about the characteristics of
good friends and citizens, designing a
friendship “quilt” about these qualities.
The bikes for second graders were
provided by the D.C. Department of
Transportation and rotated around the
city’s elementary schools. While most
at Key already knew how to ride them,
some were learning for the first time, and
everyone also learned safety tips like
wearing a helmet and using hand signals.
The district is continuing to refine the
program and figure out which projects
have the most impact. Each grade level
is ideally supposed to do four Cornerstone lessons per year. “There’s a lot of
things about it that I think are fantastic,”
Ms. Green said. “They are revamping
and doing some changes to the projects,
but as far as we know it’s something they
will bring back.”
KEYNOTES
is the newsletter of the
Key Elementary School PTA.
Committee co-chairs:
Abby Goodnough
[email protected]
Sara Sklaroff
[email protected]
KEYNOTES • MARCH 2016
5
Science
Night &
Science
Fair
After another exciting Science Night
filled with dynamic hands-on projects,
this year’s Science Fair, held February
26, gave Key more than usual to be
proud about. In addition to 118 projects from grades 3, 4 and 5, which are
required to participate, there were a
record-breaking number of projects—
more than 70—from students in prekindergarten through 2nd grade.
“Our PTA Science Fair Committee,
led by Key parent Tricia Duncan, did
a fantastic job recruiting and hosting
our judges this year, making it a seamless and stress-free event,” said science
teacher Amy Johnson, who oversees the
annual event. “Our judges were particularly impressed with how thoughtful and
well-spoken our students were this year.”
The judges came from the National Institutes of Health, National Geographic,
Georgetown Hospital, and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, among others.
Each participating school is allowed
only five entries this year in the citywide elementary STEM Fair, which will
be held June 4 at Takoma Education
Center. Given this restriction, the judges
awarded more honorable mentions than
in previous years.
“The science fair projects always
amaze the judges,” Tricia said. “The
enthusiasm and creativity of the projects
is a real testament to the quality of the
science program at Key. I’m always so
impressed with our kids.”
Ms. Johnson adds: “The Science Fair
is a great event that really incorporates
the six science practices that are the
cornerstone of the Next Generation
Science Standards adopted
by the District last year. Students are already referencing
their science projects or their
classmates’ projects in class,
transferring their new base of
knowledge and investigation
into the classroom.”
Thanks to Ms. Johnson and
Mr. Wetherald, and to Duncan
and the members of her committee—co-chair Emily Carey,
6
Alexia Minerva, Maria Garcia, Anjna
Kirpalani, Christine Lehman, Omo
Oratokhai, and Celia Bowker—for such
a fantastic event.
Here are our 2016 winners:
Gray Water, Sydney Goldman and Joana
Marroquin-Aguilar; Light and Reflection, Holger and Otto Moeller; Blow It
Up With Fungus, Constanza Cohen; The
Stroop Effect, Natalie Braun; Tsunami
Effect, Clio Blum.
Honorable Mention: Adventures in Hovercrafts, Reed and Thomas Roddy-Johnson; Memory and Color, Ceceila Milaras
and Emma DeFilippes; All about Germs,
Camilo Meza-Henriquez; The Longest
Flight: Who will Win, Millicent Gimer;
We Got Heart, Summer Sterling and Emilia Souchar; Viscocity and Erosion, Maggie
Southworth; Cats, Caoimhe De Luce.
Honorable Mention for Creative Scientific Approach, a new category this
year: Bamboo Growth Hormone, Henry
Sechser and Sebastian Smith; Cats Frequency, Ben Coony; The Placebo Effect,
Jack Watts.
KEYNOTES • MARCH 2016