Thank you to the many who came to last night's Deal Gala 2016 - an auction, dance, and party wrapped up in one. Although final numbers won't be available for a little while yet, it exceeded our expectations in the most important way: it was fun. We also think we made our financial goals, giving us the funds needed to keep Deal doing what it needs to be doing. While many parents are owed thanks, a special nod must go to our ADCA co-presidents, Cathy House and Brooke Evans, for their leadership. They realized that an auction without dancing isn't much of a community event, and made sure that last night's disco revival reminded us of that. As I noted last night, this is Ms. House's last of five years as president and she is owed a debt for steering the parent association for that long of a time and with that steady a hand. Ms. Evans jumped into this year with her sleeves rolled up and has been a great partner for Ms. House. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the tremendous effort by Diana Rojas to ensure an exciting and item-filled auction. Speaking for the Deal staff, we appreciate the hard work of these leaders and that of the many unsung who made the event happen.

We are in the midst of Black History Month here at Deal and a number of exciting events and opportunities are slated - so many that we have taken over part of March as well! The flyer below describes many of the activities going on at Deal - most of which are for the students. However, I want to draw your attention to two events. On the night of February 18 at 6:30, the world-class Saakumu Dance Troupe from Ghana will perform for our community in the auditorium. This is the fourth year they have been here - but this year we are making their main performance wide-open for the community. It will be free and open - and judging by last year, a blast. The performance is an energetic, percussive dance and music program second to none. Saakumu will also provide workshops for our students, but the full show is available to you. Put it on your calendars!

The second item is the Speech and Drama Competition on March 3. This is a real gem of a moment - students read or perform literature, poems, speeches, and plays from the great collection of Black leaders, writers, diarists, and artists. The event is formally judged with prizes for students going up to $100 for first place. This is our fourth year doing this competition and it is a moving tribute to the power of language to shape culture and ideas. It is also just a beautiful time to watch our students lay it on the line. So . . . please encourage your children to get in touch with Ms. Neal or Ms. Redekopp and step onto the stage. 

Kudos to our amazing Science team of teachers for completing another wonderful Science Fair process at Deal. One of our commitments to you is that every child will participate in the Fair each year as a way to challenge themselves using the scientific method, their own interests, and their drive for understanding. Although all science teachers worked with students, special thanks go to Christine Rhoads for being the driving force for the Fair, Elyse Lerum for working with a select group of struggling scientists so their work could reach completion, and to Assistant Principal Katherine Giron for supporting the overall effort. Results will be announced in next week's bulletin - with winners heading off to the Cluster and City-wide competitions soon. We had the largest number of volunteer judges we have ever had for the Fair - so thank you to those many community members who took the time to share their love of science with our students.

On an organizational note, 2nd advisory report cards will be mailed by this Friday but, given the nature of posting mail through a school system, they may take a while to get to you. You already have access to your student's 2nd advisory grade through Edline, so you should know what you need to know. A cautionary note: DCPS sent out a notice that there had been some sort of problem with attendance reporting during the snowstorm; they told us this may show up on the report cards. Feel free to check with my attendance team if something doesn't seem right. If there is an error, and you need a corrected report card for a transcript or for 8th grade applications, please let us know and we will get you a corrected report.

James Albright