School Notes by Susan Braun Johnson

kids&family SCHOOL NOTES

by Susan Braun Johnson

Photo: Capitol Hill Day School families. Maury

The American LOVE Project is a grassroots response to the divisions in our country. Artists nation-wide were invited to submit work. Like most Hill kids, Maury students had direct experience of the impact of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 and were eager to counteract those negative messages and emotions. Under the direction of the art teacher Lauren Bomba, each student in the school created a mixed-media piece expressing the meaning and importance of love. Many thousands of entries were received, from which the project organizers selected twelve nalists in each of three categories. Ms. Bomba is a nalist in the adult category; Maury alumnus, Will Weedon, (now at Eastern HS), is representing the Middle/High School division; and current Maury students, Jack Lettieri, fourth-grade, Liam Telligman, fourth-grade, and Bennett Wolfmeyer, second-grade, were chosen for the Elementary School division. A sampling of Maury’s work is at Hill Center and in a virtual gallery at hillcenterdc.org/artist/young-artists-gallery-maury.

Maury ES, 1250 Constitution Ave. NE, mauryelementary.com.

Capitol Hill Day School

Capitol Hill Day School celebrated its Fourth Annual Founders’ Day on Jan. 8 with a day of service. This day of service was developed to bring the Capitol Hill Day School community together around the day of their incorporation to celebrate the school’s founding. This year, current families, alumni, and sta made and donated nearly 1,000 bags of trail mix and over 700 mu ns to Martha’s Table. The community then met in Gar eld Park for a park clean-up and games hosted by the newly formed Families in Partnership Association.

Capitol Hill Day School, 210 South Carolina Ave, SE, www.chds. org.

Friends Community School

Friends Community students have been hard at work creating forts and trails in the acres of woodland surrounding this College Park campus. They share their explorations with new members of the community, guinea fowl who roam free during the school day. Learning in the great outdoors has been a joyful feature of this school year.

Friends Community School, 5901 Westchester Park Dr, College Park, MD. www.friendscommunityschool.org.

Photo: Miner PTO.

Miner

In December the Miner PTO teamed up with Eliot-Hine Middle School for their 6th Annual Holiday Greenery Sale. Members of the community purchased trees, wreaths, garlands, and poinsettias in addition to making donations to purchase trees for families who might not otherwise be able to have one. As always, the event was festive, fun, and a huge success, in large part thanks to the amazing volunteers, which included students from Eastern High School, teachers and parents from Miner Elementary and Eliot-Hine, and neighbors who support the efforts of these two schools.

Miner, 601 15th St NE, Minerelementary.org.

Waterfront Academy

Waterfront Academy students have been busy this winter. Primary students worked together on puzzle maps, the perfect indoor activity during chilly afternoons. They also learned about Ojos de Dios, or “God’s eyes” and made their very own. They worked very hard on them and are proud to show them off!

Waterfront Academy, 222 M St SW. www.waterfrontacademy.org.

Northeast Stars

NES students are learning about numbers! This month the students are recording time. For every day of the month, they are placing a bean in a jar. They will count the beans daily to review how many days have passed. This activity teaches one-to-one correspondence, which involves counting each object in a set once, and only once, with one touch per object. The children have practiced counting to ten in English and Spanish. Northeast Stars Montessori Preschools, 1325 Maryland Ave NE. nestars.net.

Van Ness Elementary

The Van Ness Otters came together on December 14 for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. Vaccine ambassadors—kids who had already received their jabs— were on hand to offer encouragement to those students who needed a little extra support. DCPS has chosen the school as a clinic site, so there will be more opportunities to get vaccinated at Van Ness in the future.

Van Ness Elementary, www. vannesselementary.org

Templeton Academy

Middle school students enrolled in STEM at Templeton Academy recently ditched their desks to immerse themselves in an authentic learning experience at the The Futures exhibit at the Arts and Industries Building. Being located in the heart of DC, students regularly take to the city for real, hands-on learning opportunities such as this one!

Templeton Academy, 406 7th St. NW. www. templetonacademy.org.