E.K. Powe Newsletter English - Fall 2016

The Eaglet

Volume 2 Issue 1 September 2016

The official newsletter of

All the news that’s fit to fly!

Message from the Editors

The Eaglet

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Editors: Emily Katz and Julia Kulla-Mader

elcome to the first issue of the Eaglet for the 2016-2017 school year! This newsletter is a project of the Powe PTA and we look forward to publishing three more issues this year.

Our goal is to shine a spotlight on all the great things happening at Powe and to help Powe families better understand how they can contribute to making the school even better.

This issue features an interview with Principal Dr. Meg Goodhand, photos from the Spring Carnival, profiles of new staff, information about an

on-site health clinic (Healthy Futures Durham Schools), and more.

Our hope is that the Eaglet includes content that parents, teachers, and staff look forward to reading. If you have suggestions for articles or are interested in getting involved with the newsletter, please email us at newsletter@pta.ekpowe.org.

In particular, we would love help with translation, distribution, and community sponsorship. We also welcome article submissions.

-Emily Katz and Julia Kulla-Mader

Design: Christine Seed Translation: Angelina Schiavone PTA Board 2016-2017 President: Shanon Schuster Vice Presidents: Hilary Virdin, Carrie Painter, Tristin Aaron Secretary: Kathy Jo Wetter Treasurer: Henry Sommerville At-Large Members: Thad Domina, Rachel Horton, Emmet Ellis Furlong, Quinn Williams

Message from the PTA President

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elcome back! We are excited to begin another school year. Last year the PTA raised and spent over $34,000 to support our school. Many PTA volunteers have been hard at work this summer planning for the new year and we are happy to be able to offer support for some new curriculum materials and facility beautification as well as continued funding for teacher Do you want to be supplies, field trips, gardening, performances, teacher appreciation, and a volunteer in your more! We’d like to extend a warm E.K. Powe welcome to our new students, child’s classroom this families, teachers and staff! We look forward to getting to know you! Last year? Don’t forget to year, our volunteers worked together to create this newsletter, organize register and become teacher appreciation events, support outdoor learning in our gardens, an approved DPS improve our facilities, support our composting program, establish a “Families volunteer! Visit www.

In Need” committee, help in the classrooms and, last but not least, raise dpsnc.net and click on money to make it all possible. We are grateful for the continued support of Volunteering. each of you who make up our amazing community.

Please sign up for the PTA listserv at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PowePTA/info by clicking “Join Group” to get involved!

-Shanon Schuster, president@pta.ekpowe.org Comments? Questions? News to share?

Email the editors at newsletter@pta.ekpowe.org

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Welcome Our New Staff!

Daniel DuLany / Fifth Grade This will be my fifth year teaching fifth grade. I have taught for Beaufort County Schools in Washington, NC, and at Oak Grove Elementary in Durham. I am a graduate of Missouri State University (GO BEARS!). I moved back to North Carolina, where I was born, in 2012. I enjoy playing kickball, dodgeball, tennis, and traveling with my family.

Nancy Evans / Exceptional Children I’m so excited about joining the Powe family. I’ve taught for 13 years, most recently in middle school classes, and I’ve missed being with younger students. I grew up on Watts Street and attended George Watts for elementary school.

Jeff Howell / Exceptional Children

Born and Raised in Pittsburgh, I have fallen in love with quirky Durham. I received my Master’s in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh and have spent my three years in Durham teaching at the high school level.

Fun fact: I have visited six of the seven continents!

Kathleen Janes / First Grade

After teaching in Mississippi and South Carolina, I am returning to North Carolina where I was born and raised. I love to read, swim, and travel any chance I get.

Kathy McCullen / Library Media

I am a National Board Certified Teacher in Library Media and this will be my ninth year as a library media coordinator in Durham Public Schools. I grew up in the Watts-Hillandale neighborhood. My aunts started school at Powe in 1939, my great-grandfather was a custodian at Powe soon after it opened, and my sister attended Powe in the 1980s.

Gillian Messer / Second Grade

I am from Maryland and moved to Durham in 2015. I live with my husband Matt and my puppy, Juno.

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Welcome Our New Staff!

Mary Grace Miller / ESL

I taught first grade in Chapel Hill for eight years before coming to Powe. I love running, reading, and being outside with my husband Patrick and our dog Bailey.

Kelsey Pfaff / Second Grade

I am super excited to be teaching second grade at Powe this year. In my free time, I love to travel, paint, and hang out with my six pet chickens!

Linda Powers / Kindergarten

I have taught Kindergarten and first grade in Orange County and Chapel Hill and worked in the children’s program at Duke Gardens. Gardening is one of my hobbies, so I am really excited about all of the outdoor spaces at Powe!

Megan Shelburne / Third Grade

I moved from Nashville to Durham this summer for my husband to start his medical residency at Duke Hospital. We spent time here in college and are really excited to be back. I enjoy coffee dates, running, shopping, and spending time in my home state of Texas.

Curtis Walker / Physical Education

I earned my undergraduate degree at Morehouse College, Health and PE licensure at North Carolina Central University, and a Master’s degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. I have taught more than twenty years (more than ten of them in DPS) because I love promoting healthful living in our schools. I live in Durham with my family. I love the Chicago Cubs for life.

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Meet Dr. Meg Goodhand, E.K. Powe’s New Principal

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r. Meg Goodhand taught first, second and third grade from 1999 to 2011 at E.K.Powe. She left to pursue her doctorate in educational leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill and then served as an elementary school vice principal in Orange County. She was invited to return to Powe in 2015 to serve as assistant principal and is now the principal of the school.

Eaglet co-editor Emily Katz recently sat down with Dr. Goodhand to talk about Powe. Following is an edited and condensed version of that conversation.

EK: What would you say are Powe’s guiding principles?

MG: Powe truly works towards addressing the academic, social and emotional growth of every child. And I think we show that in many ways in our commitment to Responsive Classroom…. It truly is the culture of this school.

EK: Can you say a little bit more about Responsive Classroom—what that means and, practically speaking, how that plays out in the classroom?

MG: Responsive Classroom is the idea of working on empathy and intrinsic motivation and empowerment and autonomy of children. Responsive Classroom gives us lots of tools, through our language, through the procedures we work with, to help kids work towards that self-motivation, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, … all those pieces.

When children come from another school setting, they maybe have some behavior that’s just not acceptable within our school culture, and I think often they brace themselves: “Oh, okay, well now they’re going to have me come down and talk to administration…” In fact, many of our teachers have really learned how to deal with that within their classroom community.

I can think of one new student, very early on in the year last year, who was writing a journal in his classroom, in his new setting, and he wrote: “You know what I really like about this classroom at Powe, is that the teacher doesn’t yell here.”

EK: What do you consider special about E.K. Powe?

MG: One, it’s a neighborhood school. There are so many frustrations I have, philosophically, about charters, about magnets, not everybody having access to them.

Another thing I think is so special about this school is the equity team that we have started. It’s such a difficult topic, and in fact, is not being addressed in Durham Public Schools, system-wide…. I’m really excited that we’re ready to delve into it at Powe.

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Meet Dr. Meg Goodhand, E.K. Powe’s New Principal This summer we had a book club with the teachers on the equity team. Ninety percent of what we’re reading coheres with Responsive Classroom amazingly. Responsive Classroom is the core of what we need to do about equity work, about validating all children’s voices, about bringing in all children’s cultures and backgrounds. Sometimes when you start talking about race or other topics like that, it can be very difficult for everybody. And I feel like we as a school can celebrate the steps we’ve already taken in this work, and then it will help us bridge the more difficult, the more courageous conversations we need to have.

EK: Can you talk a bit about the A+ Schools program?

MG: This is our third year of doing A+ Schools. It is a North Carolina initiative, though only certain schools have adopted it. It’s all about integrating the arts into the academic subjects. I recently had three training days with the staff, we had new staff join us, and that was so exciting. Going through the exercises reinforced for me why it’s another excellent component with the equity and the Responsive Classroom in that we are honoring that kids all have different ways they need to express themselves. You want to write a poem about what you learned about the water cycle? Go for it. We’re honoring all the different gifts within our children.

I reached out to Ariel Austin and Jessica Tanner to serve as coordinators of the A+ program at Powe, and they both responded so enthusiastically. We’ve already scheduled five different days for the state A+ group to come in and do model lessons for us, and a variety of things throughout the year, and that’s something we haven’t had in the past.

EK: What goals can and should we work toward this year, most concretely?

MG: I really want to make sure we’re communicating clearly and eloquently with our family community. We want our families to understand and appreciate what we have going on.

And communication helps us [the staff] stay accountable.

I know it was a surprise for everyone to hear that Michael Somers accepted a position as principal at Lucas Middle School. It was a difficult decision for him and we’ll miss him. But I have no doubt that we will get off to a positive start this year. We’ve got a dedicated staff and a supportive community. As the principal, I am ready to give Powe, my home, 110% of my energy to make this year the best. *To read more about Responsive Classroom, visit https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/.* Page 5

Healthy Futures Durham Schools at E. K. Powe

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ealthy Futures Durham Schools is an innovative care delivery model provided by the Durham County Department of Public Health, in partnership with Durham Public Schools and Duke Health, for children residing in Durham County. Healthy Futures Durham Schools provides well child health screenings in five elementary schools, including here at E.K. Powe!

Healthy Futures Durham School Services include: •Immunizations (shots) •Kindergarten physicals for school •Health check-ups for children birth to age 18 •Vision and hearing screenings •Dental fluoride treatment •Iron levels and lead testing Payment is by Medicaid, Health Choice, and sliding fee scale for well child exams and immunizations.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is accepted for immunizations only. There is no co-pay at the time of the appointment.

To schedule an appointment, tour our clinic (room 100B), or ask questions, call Kathy Raymond at 919-287-4185. We look forward to seeing you!

Your Powe PTA Donations at Work Safe Touch workshops, $850

PTA dues, $416

Garden/composting, $958 Support for school groups,* $724 A+ school supplies, $2,500

Peer PTA seed fund, $243

Teacher reimbursements, $10,130

Meetings and events,** $6,139 *School groups include Black Family Alliance, Latino Famliy Alliance, and Girls on the Run.

Teacher appreciation, $1,774

**Meeting and events expenditures include childcare, translation, food for events, and performer fees.

Field trips, $10,500

Total expenditures in 2015-16 academic year: $34,234

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PTA Committee and School Group Reports School Improvement Team

Black Family Alliance

SIT met in August to update the School Improvement Plan, focusing on action strategies to meet the goals of closing the achievement gap and raising test scores overall. You can view the plan at the DPS website (although it won’t yet reflect our updates.)

The Black Family Alliance (BFA) is a community-based organization of E.K. Powe parents, teachers and community members. The BFA is committed to cultivating partnerships between parents, teachers and community leaders to achieve educational excellence for African American students.

Representatives from SIT also participated in interviews for the new E.K. Powe principal on August 17, forwarding two candidates to DPS Superintendent Dr. L’Homme.

DPS has expedited the hiring process; we hope to hear an announcement soon. Be on the lookout for an election in September for new SIT representatives from the parent/ guardian community.

Contact: sit@pta.ekpowe.org

Teacher Appreciation Committee Our teachers and staff work hard every day to educate our children. The TA committee strives to show our teachers and staff how much the Powe community values everything they do, through small gestures (such as special notes and coffee) and big events (such as teacher breakfasts and TA week in May). This year we will expand opportunities for teacher appreciation throughout the year. In the coming weeks, we look forward to welcoming all teachers back, with a special welcome to new teachers!

Contact: teacherappreciation@pta.ekpowe.org

The BFA was formed in response to the large statistical gaps in test scores between groups of students in our school community.

We plan to advocate for parents and students, empower families to confront educational deficits, decrease racial disparities in our educational system, and provide tools and access to resources that will narrow the opportunity gap.

Please join us for our introductory meeting at E.K. Powe on Monday, September 19 at 6:00pm.

Contact: Roderick Franklin Franklinjroderick@gmail.com

Nutrition Working Group The Powe Nutrition Working Group seeks to improve the quality of food offered at E.K. Powe.

In 2015–2016 we met monthly and began unraveling the complex issues affecting the food environment in Durham Public Schools. Given the links between nutrition, health, and academic performance, we believe that serving healthy food in schools is a top priority. Our goals include raising awareness and working to ensure that school breakfast, lunch, and snacks are nutritious.

Look for an announcement on the PTA listserv about our first meeting of the 2016–2017 school year, or email first grade parent Tina Prevatte at tina.prevatte@gmail.com. Your ideas and your presence are welcome!

Contact: nutrition@pta.ekpowe.org Page 7

PTA Committee and School Group Reports Family Stability Fund

Fundraising Committee

Working with our extraordinary counseling and social work team, the Powe PTA formally established the Family Stability Fund during the 2015-2016 school year in an effort to prevent homelessness among our economically disadvantaged Powe families. Should you wish to contribute to the Family Stability Fund, donations can be made in the form of personal checks made out to E.K. Powe PTA, For: Family Stability Fund or can be made through the Paypal link on the Powe PTA website: pta.ekpowe.org. When using Paypal, please indicate that you intend to add to the Family Stability Fund. Additionally, please note that provisions can be made for recurring donations.

All contributions are appreciated.

Contact: familystability@pta.ekpowe.org

We raise money to buy supplies for teachers and pay for field trips and other amazing things that keep Powe a great place for students, teachers, and families. There are many ways you can support Powe this year! In September we’ll sell Go Play Save books, the bookfair is in November, and in December we’ll ask for support through our annual giving program, Friends of Powe. Pocket Change for Powe arrives in February, another bookfair in April (with a local retailer!), and in June our annual carnival.

Don’t forget the monthly “Dine out for Powe” nights at locally owned restaurants close to our school.

Contact: fundraising@pta.ekpowe.org

Autism Support Group Powe has a new parent support group for families of children with autism. We are welcoming new families and hope to strengthen the group in the coming year! This group is parent-directed and run. Therese Wells, one of Powe’s school counselors, is the contact and liaison for the group.

During the ’16-’17 school year the group will hold monthly meetings Sep.-Nov. and Jan.-May. Every other month we will discuss a topic and plan to have invited speaker(s). The other meetings will be for sharing parenting challenges, strategies, etc. Planned topics are: 1. The IEP process 2. Our legal rights as parents 3. Therapy options and other services Interpretation in Spanish and English is provided. More information about dates and times will be forthcoming in school folders and though the ConnectEd call system. Please contact Therese Wells (twells5@eagles.nccu.edu) with questions or to get involved.

Contact: twells5@eagles.nccu.edu Page 8

PTA Committee and School Group Reports Spring Carnival

Garden Committee

Mark your calendars! The E.K. Powe Spring Carnival will take place June 3, 2017 from 11-3. The Carnival Committee is seeking at least one parent from each grade level to serve on the committee and to help make our spring carnival fundraiser the best one yet.

The carnival is the PTA’s largest fundraiser.

Every dollar earned goes directly back to Powe classrooms. In December we’ll first meet to start planning and then will meet once a month up until big event. If you are interested in helping plan or have feedback or suggestions on how we can improve, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Contact: carnival@pta.ekpowe.org

With our fabulous volunteers, we’ve weeded the Peace Garden. Come visit! There are lots of flowers and insects to discover. The Ninth Street beds had a complete makeover--they are beautiful. We have mulched the entire campus and Kid Island (the area between the bus circle and Knox Street).

Our garden workdays are on the 2016-17 calendar and Powe families are invited to a volunteer interest meeting on Sept 14th at 2:15pm in the Peace Garden (early release day).

Tour our garden spaces and learn the many ways people participate in supporting outdoor learning at Powe.

Contact: gardening@pta.ekpowe.org

Other committees and groups: Latino Family Alliance: Avilamar.Bastidas@dpsnc.net Multicultural Night: multiculturalnight@pta.ekpowe.org Composting and Sustainability: sustainability@pta.ekpowe.org

Please donate to your school!

Checks payable to E.K. Powe PTA may be sent to: E.K. Powe PTA 913 Ninth St Durham, NC 27705 PayPal Donations: http://pta.ekpowe.org/please-donate/ Please indicate that the donation is for the general fund.

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We’re in the process of updating the design of the PTA website! If you would like to help write content for the new site or help with site testing, please let us know!

Contact: webmaster@ekpowe.org Website: http://pta.ekpowe.org

Earning money for Powe is easy at Harris Teeter!

Through the Together In Education program at Harris Teeter, you can link your VIC card to E.K. Powe and help your school earn money with every purchase you make! It’s easy to sign up in store or online. http://www.harristeeter.com/community/ together_in_education Remember that you must re-link your card for every school year - so do it now!

Dine Out for Powe!

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hanks to all who came out and supported our first Dine Out for Powe event on Wednesday August 31st at Torero’s! We are looking forward to many more successful Dine Out nights this school year.

Mark your calendar! Here are Powe’s upcoming Dine Out events • September (date TBA): Dain’s/Heavenly Buffaloes • October 10th: Blue Corn Cafe • November 6th Pomodoro Italian Kitchen • December 6th: Elmo’s

The E.K. Powe PTA would like to thank all of our Dine Out sponsors:

Blue Corn Cafe

Dain’s Place

Heavenly Buffaloes

Elmo’s Diner

Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q Jade Buffet

Pomodoro Italian Kitchen

Rudino’s

Torero’s Mexican Restaurant

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