Dear Harbor Families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break, with time to rest and rejuvenate, spend quality time with family and friends, and connect with your children in new ways. For our family, the break included a mix of adventure and rest, time with friends and family, and of course, playing in the beautiful snow! It was great - and like many of you, I was very ready to get back to the routines that school brings (and happy to be able to be back a day or two earlier than some schools).

It seems the kids were ready too! Yesterday and today, walking through the classrooms has been a joy. The students’ enthusiasm for being back with their classmates and teachers came through in the easy way the routines were picked back up. There were so many smiles and positive interactions, evidence of the strong classroom and school communities that we have built at Harbor. It feels wonderful to be back!

As we all reconnect to routines, I thought it might be helpful to send along some reminders of upcoming events and goings-on at Harbor. 

• We are starting our Spiral unit, Things That Fly, this week! Tomorrow morning, we invite you to join us for a special “open classrooms” event to help students brainstorm ideas and topics of interest as we explore this theme. As this is a community-wide inquiry, we encourage you to tap into resources and expertise you might have access to, to enhance the learning about this exciting topic. It is sure to be a Spiral theme that will soar! 

• Next Monday, January 20th, we look forward to hosting the annual Martin Luther King Day of Service. We ask that families donate new or gently used winter gear (coats, hats, gloves, scarves) for the organization Thrive DC, which supports people experiencing homelessness in Washington DC. Please also join us at 3 PM on the 20th for a Dance-a-Thon to raise money for the organization. What is a Dance-a-Thon, you ask? More information is below!

• Our auction committee has been busy planning our annual Gala, an epic event this year, which will take place at Nationals Park on Saturday, March 8th. Tickets for Harbor's Grand Slam Gala: A Night on the Diamond are available now! We are also seeking donations of items and experiences for the auction, and also have sponsorship opportunities. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit our students at Harbor, so we hope to see you there!

• Teachers are working on report cards, which will be shared with you towards the end of the month. Report cards provide a thorough picture of your child compared to grade level expectations in every subject area and socially/emotionally, as well as detailed narratives about each area. Although our next formal conference is in early April, teachers are available to check in about a student's performance at any time of the school year.

• Finally, please give a warm Harbor welcome to Christina Dabulskis when you see her! Christina began yesterday as our new Learning and Literacy Specialist, and will work closely with teachers, students, other specialists, and families, to ensure that teaching strategies are tailored to students’ learning needs.

Here’s to a wonderful 2025 at Harbor!

Warm regards,

Leah Musico
Head of School