Buenas tardes tigres,

We have a lot to celebrate and update this week! This month we celebrate Women's History and our Social Work and Counseling Team! In honor of this impressive team of women, I invite our whole community to tell us why these ladies make such a profound difference in our children's lives, our own practice, and our well-being as a community. Here's a quick form you can fill out to send the team your love! I'll collect the quotes and deliver them to each person. We need your shout-outs by March 20th! Also in commemoration of Women's History month, our HER Initiative Club at Adams is hosting a Living Women's History Panel--and they are searching for guest speakers! Please check out their post in the Adams Campus section of the newsletter.

Joy at Oyster

This year's repertoire for Black History Month featured West African and South African songs balanced with Traditional Spirituals and of course, the Black National Anthem: "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This year, with everything happening in our nation, this stanza sung by the 2nd Graders hit different:

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on ‘til victory is won

Your solidarity in the struggle brings me hope--whether through your generosity for our Pueblo Unido fund (our Family Crisis Fund sponsored by OCC), or the numerous acts of kindness and empathy our students demonstrate daily across racial and socio-economic lines. We are Oyster-Adams, and the world we build in these walls gives our children a framework for inclusive, diversity-embracing democracy.

Check out Tighe Grogan (5th grader in center) who spent the day in Oyster library shadowing to practice for her future dream as a school librarian, surrounding her are photos of the "Read to My Bunny" experiences where older siblings or friends read to the class of their younger sibling. Thank you to Sol and Ashley for reading to your bunnies!

Auction at Adams

The Oyster-Adams community came together for a truly successful auction this year, raising more than $55,000 to support our students and school programs--clubs, athletics, the Pueblo Unido fund, new instrumental offerings at Adams, tutoring, school events, International Trips, and so much more! This achievement reflects the generosity and spirit of our families, staff, and supporters. We are especially grateful to the dedicated volunteers who made the event possible: Melissa Bonine, Hattie Bowering, Tracey Clarke Dalebroux, Emily Grinstead, MacKenzie Moritz, Frances Rekrut, and Esther M. Turner. Their time, energy, and commitment helped create a memorable event complete with Salsa with Silvia Dancers, a mariachi band, and even a raucous after-party at Ceibo! We are so grateful for the crew that made the moment possible, and all the generous donors who support our school's well being.

Family Conferences this Year

DCPS sent an email in February adjusting the school year calendar for the remainder of the year:

"Last month’s winter storm brought significant snow and ice to our city, and DCPS closed schools on Tuesday, January 27 and Wednesday, January 28. In order to meet the instructional day requirements outlined in the DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR), DCPS is making the following modifications to the SY 2025–2026 calendar: Thursday, March 12 previously scheduled for Parent-Teacher Conferences, will shift to an instructional day for all students and teachers. Parent-Teacher Conferences previously scheduled for this date are cancelled, and we are asking educators to leverage existing communication structures—such as routine check‑ins, emails, or phone outreach—to share timely student updates with families and caregivers."

As a school, we firmly believe in the value of face-to-face time with families and share your disappointment that we cannot prioritize this opportunity for everyone this year. While conferences cannot be held for all families, we are scheduling brief meetings later this month for students who are at risk of failing multiple subjects or who are significantly below grade level and need additional family-school wrap-around support before the final term. Given the significant time constraints created by this change, we unfortunately cannot accommodate requests for additional conferences. While we remain committed to our existing communication structures--emails, phone outreach, and Remind messages, please be mindful that we may take a longer to respond this month given the substantial task of holding these meetings without a dedicated day to do so.

If your grade level teachers believe that your student requires a conference, you will be hearing directly from them this week (if you haven't already) about modality and time/date options.

Thank you for your flexibility, we will brainstorming with our teachers how to share your child's progress and academic masterpieces with you, despite the constraints we faced this year.

Final Kernel of Joy

You may have heard the final song performed by the 3rd Grade choir this year...It is the reinvented "NuevaYol" anthem popularized by Bad Bunny, and composed by El Gran Combo. Here are the lyrics of our "Un Verano en Washington," in a newly stylized poster. All credit for lyrical revisions go to Sr. Salvador and Sr. Hernández!

With gratitude,

Carolina Brito, Directora