Dear Friendship Parents and Guardians,

How good it will be to witness the resurrection of Spring this year after all the hard cold weather we’ve had this winter. I am looking forward to seeing the first new shoots of green!

We are now more than half way through the 4th quarter. Congratulations to those students who made significant gains during the third quarter! And to those who may be lagging behind: now is the time to put on extra pressure to meet academic responsibilities. Now is the time to put the pressure on if it is needed. I hope that you have seen your student’s progress report.

No one wants to go to summer school for credit makeup. Parents/guardians please encourage consistent attention to homework and study!

This summer we have developed vigorous and hopefully interesting summer enrichment; Summer Learning Academy (SLA) program, Smart Cookies and for scholars entering the 9th grade, Summer Bridge. If you and your child are looking for something interesting this summer you may have just found it. We promise a balance of work and fun.

We are very proud of our senior class! They have been awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships so far. Seniors are reminded that the Guidance Office needs to have copies of your acceptance and financial aid letters. It is important that the seniors pay close attention to emails from the Guidance Office because they contain time sensitive information about scholarship opportunities.

The Guidance Office has started working with the Class of 2016 on the college planning process. All juniors are reminded that you should plan to take the SATs at least twice this school year.

For all classes, the time to start planning for your future is now! As we move into the fourth quarter, start planning summer activities that can help you explore your interests. Summer is a great time to start building your résumé so that you will be a more desirable candidate for college and career. Make a plan to get out and start visiting colleges over the summer. It’s never too early to start!

As always we are here to support our students and parents/guardians. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

Gail B. SivelsDirector of Parent Relations and Sponsored Programs

FAMILYNEWSFRIENDSHIP

SPRING2015

Greetings from the Director

Friendship’s one-to-one program ..................................... 2Teacher Appreciation Week ....... 2TOMODACHI U.S. Japan Youth Exchange Program .................... 3

NFL DRAFT ............................... 3Important Dates ......................... 3Friendship PAC .......................... 4Student Health Corner .............. 4

Is Your Student on Track for Promotion ............................. 5Happy Mother’s Day .................. 6I Scream for Ice Cream ............. 7QLC .......................................... 7

IN THIS ISSUE

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FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTNEWS

Three of our Washington DC campuses, Tech Prep, Collegiate, and Chamberlain, have moved forward with providing each of their students (in selected grades) with an educational laptop. Known as a one-to-one program in academic circles, each student has a personal laptop they use throughout the school day. Students work off of Google Docs, which provides them with an office productivity suite, collaborative tools, eMail and file storage. Outside of the necessary digital research and citizenship skills necessary to thrive in today’s world, the one-to-one program, is playing a major role in preparing students for the onset of PARCC assessments, starting in March.

Friendship has selected for its scholars the Google Chromebook laptop, which is less than 3 lbs and boots in under 10 seconds. Some of the educational software that students access through the Chromebook are, Read 180, Compass Learning, SchoolNet Assessments, and study Island. Many of the teachers have begun to utilize Google Classroom, as a digital work area for students to, collaborate during group projects, turn in assignments and keep up to date with the scheduled events.

Friendship’s one-to-one program

Teacher Appreciation Week May 4-8 Teachers play a key role in student success and sometimes a simple “thanks” is all a teacher needs to feel valued. Take the time to celebrate your students’ teachers during Teachers Appreciation Week.

How You Can Show AppreciationPAC Teacher Appreciation Week is the perfect time to personally thank your students’ teachers for their sacrifices and support for children throughout the year.

To help you plan for the week, we’ve created a ideas and resources you can use to honor your scholar’s teachers:

• Send a thank you card to your students’ teachers and ask you students’ teachers how you can support them throughout the year.

• Show your support for the tremendous work teachers do by volunteering in your students’ classrooms.

• Tell us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram how you plan to appreciate your students’ teachers.

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SPRING2015 FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

SPECIAL NOTICE: IMPORTANT DATES Last Early Release DayThursday April 30, 2015 is the last Early Release day for the 14/15 school year.

Snow Make Days Students are required to receive 180 days of instruction each school year. Our students missed several days this year due to inclement weather. As a result, we are required to modify our school calendar to make up instructional time lost. The following dates are make-up days due to inclement weather for the 2014-2015 school year.

• Friday, May 1, 2015 is a full day of school for students (snow make-up day). • June 18, 2015 last day of school for students (early release)/(school year extended by one day)

Students are expected to be in school on these two additional dates.

Registration Deadline Friday, May 1, 2015 is our registration deadline. All parents must submit valid proof of DC residency to retain their enrollment slot for the upcoming school year.

Do you have a question about documentation needed? Or need help with the registration process?

We are committed to ensuring that all students who meet residency and age requirements, including homeless and undocumented students, are able to register in order to attend school. Call one of our enrollment specialists at (202) 281-1700 or email us at enroll@friendshipischools.org.

TOMODACHI U.S. Japan Youth Exchange Program Friendship Public Charter School Collegiate Academy Junior, Korey Carter has been selected to participate in the TOMODACHI U.S. Japan Youth Exchange Program. This two-way exchange promotes mutual respect and understanding among Japanese and American high school students by focusing on cultural awareness, social entrepreneurship, and service learning. Korey is one of only six (6) District of Columbia students who are selected by their academic performance, extracurricular activities, leadership abilities, maturity, and commitment to the mission of the program.

We salute you Korey!

NFL DRAFT: Friendship Collegiate’s Eddie Goldman selected by Chicago Bears in second round

Former Friendship Collegiate defensive lineman All-Met Eddie Goldman was selected by the Chicago Bears with the seventh pick of Friday’s second round (No. 39 overall) of the NFL draft in Chicago.

As a senior at Friendship Collegiate, weighing just 20 pounds lighter than his current weight, the All-Met racked up 15 sacks and 23 tackles for loss and anchored the offensive line. The performance set up Goldman for his ESPN debut, choosing Florida State on national television.

We salute you Eddie!

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FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTNEWS

Friendship PACChamberlain Lori Brown, President 2nd Tuesday of every month @ 6:00 pm

Woodridge Aloris, Wilkins, Vice President Meets 2nd Tuesday of every month @ 5:30 pm

Blow PierceDelores Battle, President Meets 4th Tuesday of every month @ 6:00 pm

CollegiateAngelia McDuffie, President Meets 2nd Thursday of every month @ 6:00 pm

SoutheastElections to be held Meets 3rd Wednesday of every month @ 6:00 pm

Tech PrepAngela Tindle,President 3rd Wednesday of every month @ 6:00 pm

What does PAC Stand For?The PAC (Parental Advisory Council) is organization that brings parents and an teachers together to promote the education and welfare of our children. In support of this goal we raise funds for school supplies, educating parents, helping teachers to ensure that every child gets a high-quality education.

Why join PAC?We encourage every family to join Friendship PAC! Besides generally increasing your won child’s odds of succeeding at school you can get advise from other parents, you’ll gain a greater understanding of educational issues, you’ll be up to date on what’s going on at school, you’ll help improve schools for all students and you can influence important decisions.

How to join?That’s the easiest part! Anyone can join the PAC. Call your child’s school and ask for the name of the PAC president, or simply show up at the next meeting. You will be welcomed with open arms.

For more information, please contract Gail B. Sivels, Director of Parent Relations and Sponsored programs at 202-281-1700 or email at gsivels@friendshipschools.org

Friendship Parent Advisory Council (PAC)

Student Health CornerAccording to CDC Center For Disease Control and D.C. Department of Health, hand washing with soap and water is the #1 defense to prevent the spread of germs/illnesses in the school setting. It is recommended that students use alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if they are not able to wash hands with soap and water. Any soap is effective in removing germs from the hands if hand washing is performed properly.

Baby wipes are not effective in killing germs on student’s hands or surfaces. Therefore baby wipes should not take the place of hand washing or alcohol based hand sanitizers. Use of baby wipes for purposes other than diapering is discouraged.

In grades Pre-K through 4th, staff may administer hand sanitizer to students. In grades 5th through 12th students may possess and self-administer hand sanitizer or staff may administer this product.

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SPRING2015 FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

Is Your Student on Track for Promotion?

Elementary and Middle Schools High SchoolFor promotion, students must meet grade-level standards determined based on:

• Student classroom grades and assessment performance

• Teacher recommendation

• Principal recommendation

• On-time attendance

• Behavioral assessment

FOR STUDENTS PERFORMING BELOW GRADE LEVEL: Students who do not meet grade level standards may be required to attend Summer Learning Academy (SLA). Students who fall below certain standards may be required to repeat their current grades.

Promotion for High School Campuses/Grade Levels is based on:

• Student classroom and assessment performance

• Student credit attainment

• Meeting attendance requirements, with exception provided for documented medical or other administrator-approved reason per the attendance policy.

• Accrual of less than 10 unexcused absences per advisory

It’s the mid-point of the school year, when teachers, parents and students must discuss each student’s trajectory toward promotion. It’s the time for teachers, students and parents to begin to identify additional academic and other supports as well as discuss whether the student may be required to attend summer school.

Below is a brief overview of promotion standards, which are also included in the SY 2014-2015 Parent Student Handbook on pages 7-8. Please refer to the information below and review your child’s grades, attendance and behaviors to begin to determine whether your child is on track for promotion.

We want you to make use of all resources available to you in order to better understand (or gauge) whether your child is on track for promotion. The following are tips for parents/guardians to guide discussions with teachers and administrators and during QLC:

• Find out what is being taught and how your child is progressing academically, socially and emotionally.

Examples of questions:• How is my child being evaluated?• How is my child performing in relationship to

Friendship’s promotion standards?• What is my child’s grade-level proficiency in reading

and mathematics?

• What can I do at home to complement what is happening in the classroom?

• Share your child’s areas of strength and growth.

• Share information with the teacher about your child’s home-learning environment and seek advice and resources for work at home.

• Ask about intervention programs that provide additional academic and behavior supports.

• Work with the teacher to develop a mutual action plan to help ensure your child’s success in school.

You should note that Friendship PCS has a variety of supports available to help you and your child, including Saturday tutorial instructions, Saturday Credit Recovery for high school students, QLC parent conferences, Parent Advisory Council (PAC), Parent University and parent workshops.

Please contact Gail B. Sivels, Director of Parent Relations and Sponsored Programs at 202-281-1700 for additional information.

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FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTNEWS

Mother’s Day comes once a year. Some think that if they buy their

mother flowers and a card that they have fulfilled their obligation

for the rest of the year. If we only comprehended a 10th of what

our mothers did for us as children, and how they would literally

die for us if needed, we would realize that one day is not sufficient.

On behalf of Friendship administration, teachers and staff we

wish you a Mother’s Day that is filled with every pleasure, and a

future that’s as happy as the memories you treasure!

Happy Mother’s

Day

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SPRING2015 FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

April 30, 2015. Who doesn’t enjoy eating ice cream, especially on hot summer day, or just for a delicious treat? When students were told that they were going to be doing just that, hearts began pounding with excitement, then doubt. How is this possible at school? Not typical right? Well, many of the 8th graders at Woodridge know that science in Ms. Beckwith’s class isn’t your typical classroom either. On this particular morning a group of students created something delicious just by shaking a bag! We all had a puzzled look on our faces.

This was an incredible hands-on lesson that explored the history of ice cream and dairy products, the chemistry of ice, salt and exothermic reactions that guided students through the scientific method.

While doing this experiment we learned that you do not need special machines or equipment to make ice cream. All we needed was 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon sugar, 4 cups crushed ice, 4 tablespoons salt, 2 quart-sized Zip-loc bags, 1 gallon-sized Zip-loc freezer bag and gloves to keep our fingers from freezing.

Easier said than done, right? As the students worked on this project, not everyone was lucky enough to make delicious ice cream. Our science teacher conducted a

taste contest to see who’s ice cream tasted the best and also to see who carefully followed the instructions. Sadly my group’s ice cream did not win because salt water leaked inside of the bag. We forgot to make sure that the bag was sealed tightly, allowing as little air to remain inside as possible. We noticed that too much air left inside forced the bag to open during shaking.

Nevertheless, we learned some interesting things about the process. When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered. By lowering the temperature at which ice is frozen, we were able to create formula in which the milk mixture can freeze at a temperature below 32 degrees F into ice cream.

Not only was this experiment beneficial to our learning, but it was fun as well! Science is one of those subjects where you are constantly learning new information by the way of fun activities and hands-on engaging group experiments. Making ice cream at school was surely a cool treat! While spring is here and warmer weather is quickly coming around the corner, you might be thinking more and more about making your own ice cream rather than going to your neighborhood store.

Udonnem Igwe is an 8th grade scholar at Friendship

Woodridge Academy.

Friendship School News Network

I Scream for Ice CreamStory by Udonnem Igwe. Photo by Jaylin Jerry

Quarterly Learning Conference (QLC)Our PreK-8th grade campuses will hold a final End of Year 4th QLC Parent Conference during the weeks of Monday, May 18th- Monday June 1st. Our campuses will be open during this time. Your scholar’s teacher will reach out to you and provide conference dates and times. Your attendance and participation in the development and review of QLC goals, student assessment data and artifacts are critical to the success of each Friendship scholar.

Thank you for supporting Friendship in reaching our mission... “Getting Students To and Through College”

MISSION STATEMENT

PARENT RELATIONS is dedicated to facilitating parent-school communications and community agency referrals; encouraging parent involvement in the school; fostering trust between parents and the education community; and fostering higher academic achievement through collaboration with school personnel. The primary goal is to EMPOWER parents to become active participants in the education of their children.

Donald L. HenseChairman, Friendship PublicCharter School

Pat Brantley Chief Operating Officer

friendshipschools.org

Parent News is a newsletter published by the Friendship Public Charter School Office of Parent Relations. If you have information you would like to submit for inclusion in an upcoming issue, please contact:

Gail B. Sivels Director of Parent Relations and Sponsored Program202-281-1700 gsivels@friendshipschools.org

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Friendship Blow Pierce Elementary Friendship Blow Pierce Middle Principal Jeffrey Grant Grades Preschool – 8 725 19th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 202-572-1070

Friendship Chamberlain ElementaryFriendship Chamberlain Middle Principal Morrise Harbour Grades Preschool – 8 1345 Potomac Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 202-547-5800

Friendship Collegiate Academy Head Principal Peggy Jones Grades 9 – 12 4095 Minnesota Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20019 202-396-5500

Friendship Southeast Academy Principal Joseph Speight Grades Preschool – 5 645 Milwaukee Place, SE Washington, DC 20032 202-562-1980

Tech Prep Middle and High School Principal Patrick Pope Principal Doranna Tindle Grades 6 – 12 620 Milwaukee Place, SE Washington, DC 20032 202-562-1681

Friendship Woodridge ElementaryFriendship Woodridge Middle Principal Rictor Craig Grades Preschool – 8 2959 Carlton Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20018 202-635-6500

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Friendship Board of Trustees 202-281-1700

Clinical Services Dr. Bronwen Millet, Director 202-281-1700

Food Services Dana Leach, Director of Food Service 202-281-1700

Corporate and Community Relations Sean Gough, Director 202-281-1700

Friendship Cares Office of Extended Learning Programs 202-281-1712

Alumni Affairs Ashref Elshazli,Coordinator aka Mr. E 202-396-5500

Community Office120 Q Street, NEWashington, DC 20002

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PERMIT #3070WASHINGTON, DC