The Miner Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is excited to announce completion of the installation of campus-wide picnic tables and benches, just one of the multiple outdoor campus improvement projects happening at Miner. 

Thanks to grants from the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A and the Capitol Hill Community Foundation (CHCF), private donors and PTO funding, Miner now has picnic tables and benches located across the campus to foster community and support outdoor learning:

• Two universally accessible (i.e. ADA-compliant, wheelchair compatible) picnic tables adjacent to the K-5 playgrounds. 
• One pre-school sized picnic table in the Peace Garden. 
• Two benches on the Early Childhood Education (ECE) playground. 
• Six benches and two tables in the Peace Garden, to be used as part of an outdoor classroom.

The Miner PTO Appreciation & Recognition Committee hosted a “Welcome Back Breakfast” for over 70 teachers and staff members on Friday, September 7. The breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal, fruit and caffeine were a big hit! The PTO wishes to thank Sarah Bell, the Muir family, Kristen and Chris Deutsch, and other Miner families who so generously donated fruit and juice for the teachers and staff!

The PTO looks forward to a great year and we're glad we could help kick things off right!

​The Miner Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is excited to launch our 2018-19 Bear Paw Fund fundraising campaign. The Fund will enable the PTO to support Miner students and teachers in grades pre-K through 5th grade to Explore! Excite! Expand! throughout the school year:

• EXPLORE! Students will explore our community and our region via teacher organized field trips. The PTO will support trips with resources for transportation and admission.
• EXCITE! Celebrating student achievement and hosting school-wide events (Fall Festival, Winter Movie Night, Spring Dance) designed to excite students, families, and staff about our school community.
• EXPAND! Miner scholars and teachers need expanded technology resources to achieve their full potential. New classroom technologies for students and teachers will expand learning opportunities.

Our goals are to raise $15,000 from families, friends, and neighbors, and to reach 50% family participation. In consultation with Miner’s administration and Miner’s Local School Advisory Team (LSAT), the PTO’s priorities for this year are are to fund:

• $5,500 for field trips for all grade levels
• $5,000 for additional classroom technology
• $7,000 for teacher and grade-level “mini” grants
• $3,000 for family engagement events
• $2,500 for staff appreciation events
• $4,000 for additional facility repairs and upgrades

And much more!

Every donation helps bring us closer to our goal, and we encourage families to give what they can to support our Miner Bears.

Donating is easy! First, just fill out a donation/pledge form. You can download a paper copy or pick one up at the Bear Paw Fund table in the main lobby. Then return the completed form to the main office, your teacher, or any PTO leader. You can also fill out an online form here. There are options for a one-time payment or installments over the course of the year. Cash, checks, credit cards, and online payments are accepted. Check out the Bear Paw Fund page for all the details.

Thank you for your support of Miner Elementary School. Go Mighty Bears!

UPDATE 8/17: School Beautification Day planned for tomorrow, August 18, is cancelled. Much of the work we had planned for has already been completed by the city, such as picking up trash and tidying up the landscaping around the school. Inside, volunteers did a great job of removing the various spots of tape and adhesives from the walls. Plus, there are two “work zones” at the school which limit access at this time:

• On the south sides, a brand new playground is being installed for our PreK students (see attached photo)
  
• Inside, the hallways will all be painted this weekend

So although we won’t have an opportunity to come together as a community to lend a hand, overall Miner is in great shape to welcome our scholars back to school for another great year!


ORIGINAL POST: Join us as we work to make Miner shine for the first day of school!

As you may know, the city government had planned to give Miner a fresh coat of paint in the interior hallways over the summer - that’s why Miner couldn’t host any summer programming this year. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, so the Miner administration and custodial staff are planning to scrub the walls thoroughly to match the incredible shine they’ve been able to give to the floors.

However, it’s a big job and there are only 2 weeks left until school starts on August 20th. We could definitely use your help!
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The Miner administration invites any person interested in lending an hour or so of their time to come to the school any weekday starting Tuesday, August 7 through Friday, August 17, from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. The PTO will be providing all the cleaning supplies needed to spot clean the hundreds of spots of tape, blue tack, stickers, and other adhesives on the hallway walls. We’re also going to tackle that line of grime between the floor and the baseboards.

If you can’t make it during the week, no problem. The PTO and school will co-host a “School Beautification Day” on Saturday, August 18 to finish up any remaining cleaning inside, PLUS cleaning up the grounds outside. Luckily the trash situation around the school is pretty minimal, but there are overgrown shrubs, weeds, and other areas that could use some love.

If you have any questions, please contact the PTO at minerpto@gmail.com, or Miner’s Director of Strategy & Logistics, Dr. Simon King at simon.king@dc.gov.

Thank you so much for supporting Miner Elementary! We looking forward to a truly great year and can’t wait to see everyone back at school.

At lunch on Wednesday, June 6, Miner students participated in the 6th Annual Strawberries and Salad Greens Day. This DC tradition is sponsored by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and is designed to "to showcase locally grown produce in school meals. This event will educate students about both the health and environmental benefits of eating locally grown fruits and vegetables, and how healthy eating leads to healthy educational outcomes."

Strawberries and greens were served as part of the students' regular lunches. In addition, OSSE provided root pouches containing salad greens (collard greens. flashy trout lettuce, red Russian kale and butter crunch lettuce), and a strawberry plant was on display on the stage. The kids were THRILLED to have strawberries with their meal and many asked for seconds. Unfortunately, the excitement for greens was not quite the same caliber!

As part of the event, students were quizzed with strawberry-related trivia questions such as:

• How many seeds are on the average strawberry? 125, 200, or 250? (A: 200)
• Are strawberries grown in all 50 states? (A: yes)
• Do any other fruits have seeds on the outside? (A: no)
• When are strawberries "in season"? (A: spring)
• Bonus: Which state grows the most strawberries? (A: California)