March 18, 2022

Be Kind to Your Mind 

“We can’t expect teachers to pour into our scholars without us pouring into them.” – Janai Stanfield, School Social Worker.

Members of the Wolfpack of Armstrong are keeping their minds strong! After reviewing results from a mental health and well-being survey, School Social Worker Janai Stanfield and Counselor Tonya Allen created a Wellness Week plan. Activities included a catered lunch, raffles for prizes, and mindfulness activities designed to build community, inspire joy, and reduce stress. Staff even gave gifts of “kind jars” to one another – filling up small jars with anything they felt would bring joy to a colleague and giving it to someone on the team. Kudos to the support team at Armstrong for developing such a thoughtful event!

What are some ways you can practice minfulness and encourage your scholars and colleagues to do the same?

Coming Soon:

DC's New Social Studies Standards

The current social studies standards for Washington, D.C. were last revised in 2006. In less than a month, a draft version of updated standards will be released to the general public for their feedback. The team that collaborated on this revision mainly comprised of DC social studies educators, including Mike Stevens, Friendship's Director of Social Studies. Some of the writers’ goals were to make the DC social studies standards culturally responsive and anti-racist, to impart important social studies content in the early grades, to strengthen student knowledge of democratic principles and values, and to promote civic engagement.

Upon their release, the revised standards will be shared through Learning Without Limits. We are asking for all Friendship families and team mem to review and provide the writers with critical feedback. The standards will not only shape the curriculum and daily lesson plans of K-12 courses throughout the city but they will serve as a model for other states.

We Want to Hear From You!

We need your help to finalize the calendar for the new school year (2022-2023). Please click here to answer a brief survey question. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to another year of growing with you!

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