Coming Up at the Capitol Hill Cluster School – September 3, 2010
A weekly digest of news, announcements, and events
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In this issue
1. Sally Foster Sale Is Around the Corner
2. Watkins Gardens Update
3. Peabody Gardens Update
4. CHCS Day at the H Street FRESHFARM Market
5. The Peabody Story of Food Professional Development Day
6. Meet the New Stuart-Hobson Librarian - Anne Ledford
7. PTA Meeting Minutes Available on the Cluster School Website
8. Stuart-Hobson Football Schedule Updated
9. Thanks for Voting to Help a Cluster School Family "Make Juvenile Myostitis a Memory"
10. Don't Forget to Be Included in the Cluster School Directory
11. Calendar Updates
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1. Sally Foster Sale Is Around the Corner
Get ready Cluster parents for the first major fundraiser of the school year: the always-popular
Sally Foster gift wrap sale! Kits will be sent home with each child the week of September 13th
and the sale ends October 1st. Sally Foster revamped their program – kids will sell gift cards to
be used for online purchases. Get a head start by checking out this year’s products at
http://www.sallyfoster.com/sf/ and taking a moment to register in the Seller Section.
Thanks to all of your hard work, this fundraiser has raised more than $10,000 to support the
Cluster School PTA. Let’s make 2010 a record-breaking year!
Questions about Sally Foster? Email sallyfosterclusterschool@gmail.com or call Jill Cashen at
544-0740.
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2. Watkins Gardens Update
Despite record temperatures this summer, the Watkins Gardens thrived. Tomatoes, cucumbers,
and peppers are ripening in the Edible Schoolyard, while the sweet potato and butternut squash
vines threaten to take over. The pollinators are having a field day in the Wetlands Garden,
which should be bursting with fall color in a few weeks. Goldfinches have found the
sunflowers in the Butterfly Garden and the Garden of Shapes. The big news this summer was
completion of the fence around the Edible Schoolyard, which now creates a very special and
secure outdoor classroom on the E Street side of the building. We will begin harvesting the
week of September 13th, when our FoodPrints program kicks off for the first and third
grades.
Thanks to Kristine Jones, who stepped into the breach and organized the summer gardening
efforts, and to the many parents and community members who helped out. This fall there is a
volunteer opportunity for everyone in the gardens. If you are a first or third grade parent and
would like to help with the FoodPrints classes, contact your child's teacher. We also will need
help on an occasional basis to take classes in the other grades out into the gardens. This year
we will have two regular volunteer work times each week: Monday evenings from 6:00 to
7:00pm and Friday mornings from 9:30 to 10:30am. We also hope to schedule a Saturday work
day in late September or early October to complete some bigger tasks. If you would like to
receive e-mail notifications about volunteering or have any other input, please contact Barbara
Percival at bobperciva@aol.com or Kristine Jones at kjinbih@hotmail.com. Keep track of the
gardens through our website: WatkinsLivingSchoolyard.com.
Watkins Gardens Workdays
Mondays: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Fridays: 9:30 – 10:30am
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3. Peabody Gardens Update
After a summer of attentive watering and care by Peabody and SWS parents, the Peabody
Gardens are bursting with delicious vegetables and herbs, beautiful flowers, and inviting
habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies. Parents were joined by community volunteers at DCPS
Beautification Day to construct a second Children's Garden area featuring nine additional
raised vegetable beds, which are already being used to grow produce for the schools' Story of
Food program. Parents interested in helping with any aspect of the gardens (maintenance, grant
writing, communications, school food and nutrition, composting, stormwater management, and
more) should contact Laura Marks at lauramarks@gmail.com.
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4. Capitol Hill Cluster School Day at the H Street FRESHFARM Market
On September 11th, FRESHFARM Markets is hosting a special back-to-school celebration for
the entire Cluster School at their H Street Market from 9:00am to 12:00pm. There will be
activities for kids, live music, healthy lunch and snack ideas from local farmers, chef
demonstrations, and an opportunity to meet and talk to farmers from the market. The H Street
FRESHFARM Market is located at 625 H Street NE, across from the H Street Self-Storage.
Other fun days to look forward to at the H Street Market: On September 18th, FRESHFARM
Markets will host Peabody Day at the H Street Market to celebrate Peabody’s "The Story of
Food" Project. October 16th will be FoodPrints Day at the H Street Market, celebrating the
Watkins FoodPrints Program.
CHCS Day at the H Street FRESHFARM Market
Saturday, September 11
9:00am – 12:00pm
625 H Street NE
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5. The Peabody Story of Food Professional Development Day
On Saturday, September 11th, "The Story of Food" Program at Peabody is offering the first of
two professional development workshops this year (the 2nd one will be held in January) on
"Cooking in the Classroom" and "Telling our Stories of Food through Music." The workshop is
for all Peabody and SWS teachers and paraprofessionals and 1 or 2 parent volunteers per class.
The workshop will be a 2-part training; participants will be in two groups and switch after
lunch. When in the cooking group, participants will learn about using the cooking equipment
with early childhood students and will prepare and eat some of the following recipes that align
with the “Produce of the Month” items for October, November, and December: kale salad,
butternut squash soup with cilantro lime yogurt, broccoli pasta, apple beet salad, and raw sliced
veggies with bean dip. The participants in the music group will discover ways to connect music
and the topic of food and will experience the fun of writing their own songs.
The Story of Food Professional Development Workshop
Saturday, September 11
11:30am – 4:15pm (lunch included - cooked by participants!)
Watkins, 3rd Floor, last room on left
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6. Meet the New Stuart-Hobson Librarian - Anne Ledford
Ms. Ledford has a technology and research background and was recently a technology
coordinator at the LaSalle-Backus Education Campus, a DC public school for preK through 8th
grade. Prior to that, she worked in various non-education, special library settings, including
news research. Ms. Ledford says, "This is my first year as a school media librarian and I'm
very grateful to start at such a fantastic library with an outstanding school community. I want
to encourage each of you to come into the library and get to know me. I am eager to work with
parents and to join Stuart-Hobson at the same time as the school-wide technology upgrade."
Look for a call for Stuart-Hobson library volunteers in the near future!
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7. PTA Meeting Minutes Available on the Cluster School Website
The minutes from the August 24th PTA Meeting are now available on the CHCS website
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8. Stuart-Hobson Football Schedule Updated
The Stuart-Hobson Panthers’ football game scheduled for this Saturday, September 4th has
been cancelled. Beginning on September 9th, Stuart-Hobson will have a game every Thursday
for the month of September. On September 9th, the Panthers will be playing Riverdale Baptist
at 4pm.
Stuart-Hobson vs. Riverdale Baptist
Thursday, September 9
4:00pm
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9. Thanks for Voting to Help a Cluster School Family "Make Juvenile
Myostitis a Memory"
The campaign to “Make Juvenile Myostitis a Memory” received the most votes in the Pepsi
Refresh Project grant competition and has been named a finalist for a $250,000 grant
(http://www.refresheverything.com/finalists). Thanks so much to all of the Cluster School
families that took the time to vote!
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10. Don't Forget to Be Included in the Cluster School Directory
We hope to include every family in the 2010-2011 CHCS Directory. The directory is a
wonderful resource for organizing playdates, birthday parties, carpools, and more. Please make
sure your family’s contact information is included in the directory by completing a very brief
form at www.capitolhillclusterschool.org. The deadline is this Monday, September 6th.
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11. Calendar - Upcoming dates
Next Week
 Monday, Sept. 6 | Labor Day Holiday | No School
 Wednesday, Sept. 8 | Out of School Time Open House at Watkins, 6pm
 Thursday, Sept. 9 | Stuart-Hobson vs. Riverdale Baptist Football Game, 4pm
 Friday, Sept. 10 | Watkins Gardens Work Morning, 9:30 - 10:30am
 Saturday, Sept. 11 | CHCS Day at H Street FRESHFARM Market, 9am -12pm
 Saturday, Sept. 11 | Peabody Story of Food Professional Development Workshop, 11:30am 4:15pm
Week of September 13
 Monday, Sept. 13 | Watkins Garden Work Evening, 6-7pm
 Tuesday, Sept. 14 | Peabody Back to School Night, 6-8pm
 Wednesday, Sept. 15 | Watkins Back to School Night, 6-8pm
 Thursday, Sept. 16 | Stuart-Hobson Back to School Night, 6-8pm
 Thursday, Sept. 16 | Stuart-Hobson vs. Emery Football Game at Dunbar High School, 6pm
 Friday, Sept. 17 | Professional Development Day - No School
Week of September 20
 Monday, Sept. 20 | Watkins Garden Work Evening, 6-7pm
 Wednesday, Sept. 22 | Cluster Parent Night - Social Emotional Development, 6pm
 Thursday, Sept. 23 | School Advisory Board Meeting at Stuart-Hobson, 6pm
 Thursday, Sept. 23 | Stuart-Hobson vs. Shaw Football Game at Cardozo High School, 6pm
 Friday, Sept. 24 | Watkins Garden Work Morning, 9:30 - 10:30am
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Friday, Sept. 24 | 1st Grade Family Picnic
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Keep up with the Cluster
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www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/parents/pta.html
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Capitol Hill Cluster School
A child-centered, community-supported DC public school creating learners in pre-school through grade 8
Peabody Early Ed | SWS Reggio Emilia | Montessori | Watkins Elementary | Stuart Hobson Middle School
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