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The PTO hosted a (last-minute) clean up of the strip of green space adjacent to the new ECE playground. The playground officially opens on October 1, so a number of Miner families came out to clean up rocks, construction debris, and any trash to ensure that the space is ready for play by our youngest Mighty Bears. Thanks to the Murray, Fernandez-Minor, and Treat families for lending a hand - the space is in great shape now! And while the grownups worked, the kids had fun "beta-testing" the new playground equipment. Thanks also to our garden partner, Cultivate the City, for providing a number of herbs and pollinator plants and other garden items! The Miner Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is excited to announce the acquisition of additional classroom projectors and document cameras as part of a multi-year Classroom Technology Upgrade Project. The purchase of six document cameras and four projectors was made possible by a grant from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation (CHCF), as well as PTO funds. Like many Ward 6 schools, Miner has a severe deficit of classroom technology, which puts our students at risk of not being adequately prepared for the complexities and challenges of the 21st century. Miner’s Classroom Technology Upgrade Project is a priority focus for Miner’s administration, PTO, and Local School Advisory Team (LSAT). This project is designed to increase students’ access to technology and improve instructional quality and efficiency. By increasing the quantities of technology available, the project will also improve the classroom experience for students and teachers alike because there will be more flexibility and freedom to use technology resources as required in a blended-learning environment. The items purchased in this phase of the project are nearly identical to existing display technology at Miner, resulting in ease of deployment to classrooms and teacher training. Logistics, operations, and security impacts related to the new units are also minimized. The PTO is already at work on Phase II of this project, which will seek funding from multiple sources, including $5,000 to be raised as part of the PTO’s fall fundraising campaign, the Bear Paw Fund.
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:
These investments are an important part of the ongoing improvements to Miner’s campus and surroundings. Other successes include:
The PTO is incredibly grateful for the amazing support received from our Capitol Hill and Ward 6 neighbors, as well as numerous city agencies, during this multi-year effort to transform Miner’s campus into a truly wonderful learning environment. Our students deserve no less! 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:
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:
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! On September 12, DCPS held a meeting with Miner parents, staff, and administrators to kick off Miner's 2019 "Master Site Planning" process. The school community has now officially begun a discussion about the future of Miner’s outdoor campus and playgrounds, and the changes desired to see happen for Miner students. At the meeting, DCPS presented their plan to have equipment ordered in January 2019 so construction can begin in March or April, with completion before school starts in August 2019.
This fall and winter, DCPS will continue to hold monthly meetings open to the entire Miner community, including families, staff, and community members. These forums are an your opportunity to provide feedback and share your vision and ideas for what you'd like to see changed about Miner’s outdoor campus and playgrounds. The Miner PTO will provide further details about these meetings and how to participate as the particulars are finalized with DCPS. In addition to public forums, Miner will establish a smaller "Master Site Planning Team" who will meet regularly with DCPS, the DC Department of General Services (DGS), site architects, and general contractors for detailed discussions and decision-making. This team will consist of 3 teachers, 3 parents, 1 student, 1 staff, and the custodial foreman. DCPS and the Miner administration has asked the PTO to guide the process for choosing parents to be on the Master Site Planning Team. If you are a parent or guardian who is interested in serving on this team, just email [email protected] and include which days of the week work best for you for evening meetings. Ideally the team will consist of parents with children from as many grade levels as possible. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this topic, please feel free to reach out to Miner PTO President Julie Muir ([email protected]). Thank you to everyone who joined us for Miner’s first ever Grandparents Day Breakfast! We had an amazing turnout and we hope to make this an annual event. It was wonderful to see so many grandparents spend the morning at school with their grandchildren. Grandparents are such an amazing part of our students’ lives and can often have a very important role in a student’s education. Grandparents, we are honored that you could join us and we thank you for your presence! The event would not have been possible without the leadership of Miner’s Director of Strategy & Logistics, Dr. King, and his amazing team of teachers and staff. Special thanks goes out to Ms. Bonilla, Ms. Stapleton, Ms. Kirby, Ms. Rosettie, Ms. Kraemer, Ms. Foskin, Mr. Faison, Ms. Cain, Ms. Amaya, Mr. Yoho, Ms. Poblete, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Jenkins, Ms. Turingan, and Ms. Kirby. Thank you for taking such great care of our grandparents The Miner Parent Teacher Organization would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Michael Greer of People. Animals. Love. (PAL) for his two years of dedication and service to the Miner family in his role of site coordinator for PAL’s afterschool program. PAL came to Miner at the beginning of the 2016 school year to help revitalize Miner’s afterschool programming, and Mr. Greer has been an integral part of that improvement since that time. Whether lending a sympathetic ear to a student who just needed someone to listen, to offering firm but fair guidance to little Bears who needed just a bit of direction, to working with families to help resolve aftercare issues, Mr. Greer has been an invaluable member of the Miner family and will be missed.
Thank you again Mr. Greer, and best wishes on all your future endeavors! |
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