This weekend a small group of volunteers planted about 70 trees and shrubs on the west-facing side of Langley Elementary and on the hill down to Harry Thomas park. Our community now has access to blueberries, figs, persimmons, sumac, mulberry, paw paw, pears, persimmons and more. The trees and plants will take some time to mature and bear fruit, but we can all be part of caring for them and watching them grow.
We would have loved to have a big event to help plant the trees and share information about the Food Forest with the neighborhood and community, but had to keep it super small because of COVID-19.
There will be a second phase of planting in the spring, and we hope to have a larger community event at that time. In the meantime, please check it out and feel free to do some weeding in the mulched beds! 
​A special thanks to DDOT’s Urban Forestry Division, Lincoln Smith of Forested, FreshFarms FoodPrints, and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (with funding from Vitafusion) for supporting the project, and to the Langley Elementary PTO and Eckington Parks and Arts for mobilizing volunteers!

Please feel free to message me with any questions.

Julia Hedlund
Langley PTO Garden & Wellness member organizing the Food Forest Project
Email: julia.hedlund@yahoo.com 
​

The Food Forest (funded by DDOT) is still on track to come to Langley this Fall.  Landscape Architect, Lincoln Smith designed these sketches after speaking with our Garden Committee leaders, FoodPrints and school administration.  Langley has also received a grant from the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation who will work closely with Lincoln Smith, our leadership team and PTSA volunteers to make the food forest possible.  We are working towards a volunteer day on Sunday, Nov. 1st when we will plant these trees and shrubs in the ground.  Stay tuned for final details when we have everything confirmed.

Our Garden Committee is looking for members to help maintain the garden (weed, water, harvest fresh fruits and vegetables) please email our new garden committee chair, Katie Gima, catherine.gima@gmail.com to join.  

Thank you to the parent volunteers who have offered to serve the Langley community as PTSA officers for the 2019-2020 school year. These leadership positions are crucial as the PTSA strives to make more gains in fundraising and community-building this year, so we can ensure our teachers, staff, administrators and children have the support they need to be successful. Click "Read more"  below to get to know the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary a little better. And when you see these women at school, be sure to thank them for stepping up!

We are excited to continue FoodPrints this year with a new FoodPrints teacher, Ms. Courtney Lucente, and assistant teacher, Ms. Allie Davis. Ms. Courtney has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Johns Hopkins University and over a decade of teaching experience. FoodPrints combines her passion for education and love of food and cooking. Ms. Allie has a degree in Public Health from Dickinson College and comes from a family of teachers. She is excited to apply her knowledge of nutrition in the FoodPrints classroom. They both look forward to gardening, cooking, eating, and learning with Langley students this year! 

All Langley students will participate in FoodPrints this year! We are planning monthly sessions for each class throughout the school year. FoodPrints integrates gardening, cooking, eating, and academic learning with the goal of growing healthy students and families. We help students learn about the natural world and how to enjoy eating healthy, whole foods. 

​We welcome parent volunteers! Parents (or other family members) help our classes run smoothly. Students are so happy to have their parents come in to help, and there is always something tasty to eat. Look for FoodPrints dates from your classroom teacher or reach out to Ms. Courtney for dates. 

FoodPrints recipes will be served in the Langley lunchroom on Wednesdays. As part of the
Class to Café program in partnership with DCPS and with the support of Wellness in the Schools Chef Meagan, the Langley cafeteria team will be scratch-cooking and serving some of the same recipes that we are preparing in FoodPrints.

We hope your students will try these new recipes! 

Burrito Bowl: Sofrito Rice and Chicken 
Warm Bean & Corn Salad
served on
9/25, 10/16, 11/6, 12/4, 12/18

Pasta with Colorful Marinara Sauce 
Simple Green Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing
served on
10/2, 10/23, 11/13

Red, White, and Green Hot Sandwich (Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Tomato and Spinach) 
ABC Salad
served on
10/9, 10/30, 12/11

 
Courtney Lucente
footprints lead teacher
courtney@freshfarm.org
 office:  202.362.8889 
 mobile:  717.713.9094

North Highland Consulting's "A Day of Giving Back" resulted in beautiful soothing colors on Langley hallways, a blossoming friendship between the company and our school - and now ...  $2,000 for our PTSA! 

That's right,  125 volunteers and a slew of social media posts boosted this joint effort and secured a win for the DC branch of the company, which beat out competition from Tallahassee, Philadelphia, Houston and New York City! The top spot came with $5,000 in prize money, $2,000 of which North Highland Consulting's DC branch is graciously donating back to Langley Elementary. 

We're so glad to have kind and generous friends like North Highland Consulting and we can't wait to tackle the next challenge together. From the bottoms of our hearts, thank you. 

- Langley Elementary PTSA

We are thrilled to welcome all new and returning Langley Tiger Families. We love our school family and want to make everyone feel welcome and prepared for the new school year.

Especially if your child is starting PreK-3 and attending school for the first time, we know firsthand that the transition to school is both exciting and hard. So, we thought we'd answer some of the questions that we had when we were joining the Langley community.

Most importantly, if you have any questions, no matter how big or small, email langleypta101@gmail.com. That address is monitored by our four PTSA officers: the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary - these individuals know our community inside and out and can get you your answers, or direct you to the person who can. Also, join us for one of the upcoming play dates (Saturday, June 1, 10 am - noon and Saturday, July 13, 10 am - noon) - you and the kids get to visit classrooms, meet Langley tigers and staff and chat with families!

About Langley

What makes Langley special?
Our vision is that every student feels loved, challenged, and prepared to positively influence society and thrive in life. We care about the whole child, and their emotional development is just as important to us as their academic growth, especially during the crucial early years when developing pro-social behavior is so critical. We aim to provide a safe, nurturing, loving home-away-from-home where the learning comes more easily, because the children's emotional needs are met first.

We are a community school! Parents, teachers, EVERYONE is very engaged. There are lots of opportunities to contribute and participate. You will not go long before every member of our community, from the principal to fellow parents know your child's name and what they're all about.

What is Conscious Discipline?

Langley utilizes Conscious Discipline, a social-emotional learning and classroom management program, as the main component of its school culture plan for all students. This means we put a lot of emphasis on creating a loving school and classroom environment, done with daily routines and rituals to connect. How does this translate into practice? Principal Drumm or a designated teacher greets each and every child every morning, as they enter the school. We have a school song and each class has its own theme and class song. Children are taught techniques to calm themselves, so they can begin to name, and eventually tame, their surprising emotions. Some of these techniques include mindful breathing, meditation and self-directed alone time. For example, each classroom also has a "safe place," a cozy space where a kid can settle down and cool off, and a kindness tree where kids compliment one another with supportive sticky notes. Follow Conscious Discipline on Instagram to learn about their approaches and use them at home to get the full benefit of the program. Langley will also offer two free coaching sessions for parents a year. Plan on it - they are invaluable!

Who is Principal Drumm and the leadership team?

Langley's outstanding leadership team is made up of Principal Vanessa Drumm-Canepa, Assistant Principal Shaunte Jennings, Dean of Students Monique Robinson and Director of Specialized Instruction Justin Lien. The Washington Post recently published a story about Principal Drumm. Read it here to learn more about what she prioritizes and why.

Who are our amazing teachers?

We love our teachers! Parents can rest easy knowing that they truly care about the children and work so hard each day to give our kids their best. Langley invests a lot in professional development so that the staff has the best tools and techniques to teach. Read about some of our amazing teachers here.

What are we excited about?

Our school is growing year by year and with that growth comes additional resources. We look forward to welcoming new leadership team members and new staff members too! We have a big facility and plenty of room to continue expanding. In addition to paid staff, we are gaining more and more engaged parents who understand that a few volunteer hours, a small donation, or even just speaking up during a PTSA meeting, helps our school thrive.

We are getting a beautiful new garden!

This year's PTSA leadership team was tasked with replacing the educational garden in front of the school. The goal was to build an attractive, safe and highly usable space that each and every member of our community could benefit from - and to do so without spending any money raised by the PTSA (which is reserved for more direct help for students and teachers).

We are halfway to our goal, thanks to the grants we have received. Children are already learning in the space. But there's more work to be done! Be sure to get involved if you would like to be a part of completing our "dream garden" rebuild.

How to stay up to date?

Langley uses every tool at its disposal to reach families, because we know communication is key to helping busy families succeed. Count on a monthly newsletter written by Principal Drumm-Canepa, which will arrive home in your child's backpack and is also published here. You will occasionally receive robocall and emails from the school, when the subject is time-sensitive or urgent. You must register to receive them with the front office.

The PTSA helps bridge potential gaps in communication through the use of this website - which is completely volunteer managed and funded. Explore it thoroughly to find useful info, including the school calendar, staff phone numbers and email addresses, and of course this blog: Tiger Tales, which features news, photos and notices of events!

You can also stay up to date by connecting with Langley on social media. Click on the buttons on our homepage to find them.

Who is on our PTSA and what do they do?

Langley's PTSA is open to parents, teachers, students and community members - all are welcome to join and to attend meetings. The meetings are lead by our four officers: the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Many of our members have also joined committees; they are Fundraising, Grants, Family Engagement and Garden and Wellness committee. Each committee meets separately and updates are given during the larger, nearly monthly, PTSA meeting. If you would like to join the PTSA, please email langleypta101@gmail.com.

Read here the minutes from the last meetings.

Getting ready for PreK

What to bring to school?

Bring two complete outfit changes that the kids keep in class. The kids will need a cot sheet and blanket for nap time. They have to bring it to school on Mondays and will come home with it on Friday, for laundering.

You can pack lunch and snacks for them. There is no fridge so add some cooling elements to the lunch box. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are served for free, but if your kid prefers his/her own food, pack it!

How do school meals work?

The school will serve free breakfast, lunch and snacks. Vegetarian options are available.

What’s the school uniform?

Our school uniform colors are khaki, white, brown and orange. Kids usually wear kaki bottoms/dresses and white, black or orange polos. You can now also wear blue school t-shirts every day. You can purchase them in the front office. Also the school has some that they can provide, if you can’t get it.

The School Routine

What does a typical school day look like?
A typical preschool day includes a free breakfast in the classroom, Morning Meeting, writing practice, choice of activity centers, math activities, a Special (Art, Music, PE, Spanish, Library), free lunch, recess, rest time and snack.

Morning drop off happens between 8:15 - 8:30 and pickup is 3:15 - 3:30. Classes start with a wonderful routine based on Conscious Discipline. Kids greet each other at circle time and sing their class song, then do breathing exercises to ground themselves and make a commitment, such as listening ears, gentle hands or quiet feet.

We have lots of special events. See our school calendar here.

How does pre- and after-care work?

DCPS offers after-care from 3 to 6 pm every day. Registrations started on May 1. Spots usually fill up pretty fast. It is around $90 a month for the first child and has decreasing rates for multiple kids. Find more info here.

We also have a private aftercare provider, Flex. They offer pre and after care from 7 to 8 am and from 3 to 6 pm. They also offer care on professional development days when school is closed, over February break and they have flexible and part-time drop in option. There are unlimited spots and sign-up will start over the summer.

The routine of snack, outside/gym time, inside playtime is the same for both DCPS and Flex. Read our blog about after care at Langley here.

Are there other enrichment offerings for kids?

Yes! Flex Academics will also offer interesting classes every semester like soccer, yoga, ballet, art. They usually cost around 15$ per class and run for a semester. The school and the PTSA will circulate the offerings and remind you to sign up. They are also running our summer camp this summer for the first time!

How will I get updates about the school day?

Many teachers have Instagram accounts. You can follow them as well as Principal Drumm-Canepa and Vice Principal Jennings to get photos and updates. Check in on our Tiger Tales blog for photos and stories.

The first few days...

School for Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 starts on Thursday, August 29th. It will be a full day with pre- and after care, if needed. The first few days and weeks really focus on getting everyone comfortable and happy in the school routine. For some families, the transition is bumpy at first as your child gets acquainted with the new faces, places and schedule. You will have had a visit from your teacher and teachers aide, prior to the first day of school. Be aware that you'll get a call from them ahead of time to schedule this and to determine a location - either your home or a public place. The visit will help your child by giving them a chance to connect with his or her teachers and it will help you communicate any special needs or concerns you may have before the big day.

How to help kids transition to the school environment?

Come to the play dates - come to several of them - the kids get to see classes, meet teachers and friends. It will make the first days easier. Some kids transition very easily. For others, it is an adjustment that comes with some tears. What helped our kids? Reading books about going to school, talking about how doing something new is both fun and hard. Rely on the preschool teachers - they are pros! All of our preschool teachers come with MANY years of experience and have seen it all. They have creative ways to solve any difficult situation.

What to do if my kid is sick?

If your kid is sick or can’t come to school, let the front office now. We will miss our Langley Tiger and want to know that they are ok. Please call or email Ms. Graham in the front office. It is important that every absence, even in preschool, is approved with a valid reason.

What about school days off & camp options?

Flex, Langley’s private after care provider, will offer camp on all professional development days and also during the February Break! Langley will be hosting a summer camp with Flex Academics for the first time this year! We are exploring with them if they can also offer spring break camp!

How can you engage and help us grow?

We are a growing school. Having an active parent community makes a huge difference. Please join the PTSA as an active member. Join a committee, get involved by doing what you know, what you love, what interests you! If you can't commit to regular volunteering, but want to pitch in on a Saturday here and there, that's great too! Get on the PTSA google group by emailing langleypta101@gmail.com, and you'll hear about every chance to get involved.

More than 120 volunteers came to Langley Elementary Saturday to change 13,000+ square feet of brown walls into beautiful pastel shades. Langley PTSA purchased all the supplies and paint and North Highland Consulting lead the charge with many volunteers, who they treated to lunch at Roro’s Modern Lebanese food truck.

Teachers, administrators, Langley families, PTSA members, neighbors, Turner Development, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Theta Tau Sigma, Ward 5 Councilman Zachary Parker, artist Calli Rae and MRP Realty all labored together to bring joyful color to the halls, cafeteria, bathrooms and office of Langley. 

Thank you for spending your valuable time giving to our school!

A big shout-out to Justin Lien, Langley’s Director of Specialized Instruction and John Fraser, from North Highland Consulting. Their organization, direction and follow-through made all of this teamwork possible.
​
Christina Robbins
Langley PTSA President