August 13th, 2010

Dear Brent Families:

Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year at Brent Museum Studies Magnet Elementary School!

Summer has brought additions to our team and state of the school and grounds. The rain and butterfly gardens and front entrance classrooms have been tended by our faithful Green Team families. The playground surface and library roof have been completed just in time to welcome almost 330 students. Investigations is our new math curriculum and we have new student materials for Writers Workshop, handwriting and keyboarding.

Even with all the changes, our vision for all students at Brent remains the same:

Brent Elementary strives to be a diverse learning community that prepares all students for an increasingly competitive global society. Together we encourage our students to be self-motivated learners, critical thinkers, and complex communicators.

Parents can expect high quality teaching and learning, every minute of every day for every child. Families and staff together will create a learning culture of respect and responsibility. We are committed to open and timely communications and encourage you to do the same.

Brent families have established a high bar for family involvement in school. “Respect for each and all” is our first commitment. Students need to arrive on time and ready to be part of our learning community. Everyday, students need 8-10 hours of rest, healthy diets, physical activity and limited or no television viewing during the school week.

Families also need to create a learning culture at home by having daily dialogue about their child’s experience that day and 20-30 minutes of family reading and math time. In grades K-5, families need to ensure that homework is completed in a way that ensures student understanding, mastery and confidence.

Through sharing responsibilities for nurturing each child’s academic and social growth and community well-being, Brent will meet its goal of ensuring each student is thriving on or above our rigorous DCPS learning and Brent community standards.

Warm Regards,

Cheryl H. Wilhoyte, Ph.D.
Principal

April 20th, 2010

A Note from Principal Wilhoyte
 
As Brent’s beautiful rain  and butterfly gardens and outdoor science classroom come into full bloom, upper grade students and staff are studying, dancing, and will be cheered on  their way to their best work ever on the DC CAS.   Parents and staff are getting gussied up for our annual Taste of the Hill fundraiser which makes so many extra staff and programs available for our students and we are welcoming families considering Brent as their learning community for the coming school year.
 
Ladybugs, butterflies, and praying mantis are hatching in Ms. Pierce’s room and soon to be released in our outdoor science classroom.   Children are losing teeth, our fifth graders are taller than some of the staff,  and Sasha the snake in Ms. Levin’s room has just signaled her latest growth spurt by wriggling out of her snug outfit, leaving a spectacularly  transparent ‘skin” for us to study and admire!  
 
Fifth graders are doing Algebra, first graders using their math skills to describe wind speed in the science lab, and all are looking forward to the advanced studies’ classes  for Brent “mathematicians”, aptly named by Mrs. Hill,  next year.  
 
Ticket to Read students are saying “Thank you and Safe Journey” to their Defense University tutors who are headed all over the world for the month of May as their year at Ft. McNair comes to a close.  Brent students have made such progress in reading and mathematics because of their friendship and encouragement.
 
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is convening a “Mom’s Congress” and twenty Brent “Moms” will be attending.  Let denise.diggs@verizon.net know if you would like to represent Brent.
 
Our Middle Sschool Working Committee is finalizing their recommendations requested by Chancellor Rhee by mid-April.  Please let rtimberg@gmail.com or daniel.holt@mail.house.gov hear from you.
 
Coach Sarah has three track team events coming up in the next few weeks.  Watch our Tues News calendar and come by to cheer them on!
 
Our annual Everybody Wins celebration with our Senate “power lunch partners” will be held at the White House this year.  All are very excited!  Another great contribution by each tutor who reads with their student to  ensure each and every student is reading on or above grade level at Brent before the close of this school year!
 
Come by and join in the fun, in-doors and out before our campus closes again this summer after our last day for students, this time for a new roof for the Library so beautifully renovated through the support of our Capitol Hill Foundation.
 
Warmest regards,
Cheryl

November 15th, 2009

November 2009

November brings exciting days of teaching and learning at Brent Museum Magnet School. Brent museum studies this month include the Hirshorn, the Building Museum, and the Corcoran Art Gallery.

During this time of thanksgiving we want to acknowledge our incredible students, talented staff, and fabulously supportive community of parents and neighbors who make all of the extras at Brent possible.  This month our students will participate in museum studies field trips, a new handwriting curriculum, a new preschool VOICES libraries and guides, and the new accelerated studies clubs and after school enrichment programs.

We dedicated the Rain Garden on November 2^nd as one in a series of events possible through the efforts of the Green Team led by Heidi Johnson and Jacqueline Emmanuel.  Their continuing pursuit of grants and partnerships at the local and federal levels have resulted in the butterfly garden project, the Outdoor Science classroom, and the increasing green space areas surrounding the awesome new playground on the pour and play surface that will soon have a new design.

November 11^th is Veteran’s Day with our Glee Club featured at Folger Park at 11AM.

November 12^th our Instructional Coaches Sara Ewbank and Mike Mangiaracina are presenting at the DC ANET conference for analyzing student data at The Washington Post. Also, the Brent Staff Appreciation Dinner and Evening so generously arranged at the VFW hall by Daniel Holt and our wonderful PTA partners will be most appreciated.

November 18^th is picture day, no uniforms required.

November 20^th is our Honors Assembly @ 2:30PM and at 6:30PM the student dance/PTA meeting with small group presentations and conversations on our Brent Close the Gap initiative to ensure all students are reading on grade level. The evening will include an on-line demo of Ticket to Read; Accelerated Studies through Museum Studies and Math as well as information about Destination Imagination Teams, and a conversation about Middle School with the Regional Supt. for DCPS Middle Schools.

November 26-27^th school is closed for Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends.

HEALTH and SAFETY: As children have bouts of flu and fever, please be sure to remember that as we support healthy days for our community, we ask that if children are ill that they do remain at home and only return after they are without fever for at least 24 hours.

October 20th, 2009

We are off to a fantastic academic year at Brent this fall with several important events coming up in just the next couple of weeks. Let’s keep up the wonderful momentum with continued active community participation, making Brent the best it can be!

Cheryl H. Wilhoyte, PhD.
Principal
202-698-3363
cheryl.hiers-wilhoyte@dc.gov

October 19
6PM SIT Meeting-Last One

October 20-21-AM
ANET Quarterly Pre-DC CAS Testing
Students Grades 3,4,5

OCTOBER 24th
SATURDAY FALL FESTIVAL

October 26-30th
Preschool Parent Conference Week

OCTOBER 26th
LITERARY FESTIVAL DRESS REHEARSAL

OCTOBER 27th
LITERARY FESTIVAL
6:30-7:30PM Publishing Party Grades K-5

OCTOBER 28th
ENROLLMENT AUDIT 100% ATTENDANCE Needed!
LITERARY CHARACTER PARADE
FOLGER PARK CHARACTER PARADE 2:15 PM
LITERARY Publishing Parties- ECE Parents

OCTOBER 29th ½ Day
½ Day RECORDS DAY Dismissal @ 12:15PM

OCTOBER 30th- SCHOOL CLOSED
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
AM TEACHING AND LEARNING IMPACT #3
PM VOICES-New Reading Curriculum
PTA Trip to Butler’s Orchard-Sign Up in Office