The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Welcoming new shops to the neighborhood.
• A weird plan that would move the only just opened MacArthur High School.

In the 15th century Britain, if you committed a particularly bad crime or got cross-wise with the local bigwig, you might be subjected to a torture device called the rack. Your arms and legs would be bound and slowly pulled apart, like a Daddy Longlegs in the hands of a vicious child. No fee! They’d do it to you for free.

In our modern backwards times, however, you’ve got to pay up. And that brings me to the new shop that’s opening underneath the Safeway: Stretch Lab. It’s a place where you can be professionally stretched. Presumably not to the same lengths (figuratively or literally) as those poor souls in the 1400s.

The company’s website explains:

Our proprietary Flexologist Training Program is an intensive and thorough series that each of our Flexologists must complete prior to joining StretchLab. During their required 60-70+ hours of theory and hands-on training, our Flexologists learn the muscular system, a variety of assisted stretches and how to work with a variety of clients of all ages and body types.

These flexing sessions can be one-on-one or group sessions.

In all seriousness, it sounds like it could be a good option for people struggling with mobility challenges. Trying to perform stretches at home alone is sometimes just not enough to address serious problems. Having a professional assist you likely could make a real improvement. So check it out if that sounds interesting to you!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Two-day wine-and-dine festival at Bourbon Steak this weekend.
• Are we really going to let Baltimore beat us in the gondola race?

It’s time for a monthly update for neighbors of Hyde Addison Elementary School, Georgetown’s only public elementary school! 

Hyde is in full Autumn/Halloween mode which culminates in the annual costumed procession on the streets around Hyde on the morning of October 31—cross your fingers for dry weather and wish the kids a happy Halloween if they toddle past you around 9am on Tuesday.

Prospective Family Open Houses Start Next Week! 

Hyde’s principal, Dr. Calvin Hooks, and other Hyde leaders will be hosting five Prospective Family Open Houses over the next few months (two virtual, three in-person), with the first one scheduled for Friday November 3^rd at 2pm.  This in-person open house will begin with a presentation from Dr. Hooks and other members of the instructional leadership team and include a Q&A session and building tour. 

Parents are Welcomed to Be Part of Hyde

This is our second year at Hyde, with our oldest in 1^st grade and our 2^nd oldest in PK4.  One thing I have enjoyed is the opportunities I have to visit Hyde during the school day and get a sense of what our children are learning, and build connections with the teachers, other parents, and my children’s classmates.  Last Wednesday I was a chaperone on a field trip with my son’s PK4 class to an orchard/pumpkin patch.  And this past Friday, all parents were welcomed into the classrooms for the first half hour of school to see what their students have been working on for the first two months of school.

My Children are Learning Critical Skills at Hyde

When I visited my 1^st grader’s classroom this past Friday, four of the students did a short presentation on their most recent writing lesson: opinion writing.  I enjoyed seeing them improve on their public speaking.  They explained that opinion writing is meant to persuade the reader of something the writer believes, and it must be backed up with at least 3 reasons.  Then parents sat at tables with their student and read some opinion essays their student had recently written (which started with an outline!).  As someone who is paid to write persuasively every day for clients (I’m an attorney), the importance of this lesson and these skills resonated with me. Frankly, I am often instructing junior attorneys to outline first and then structure their paragraphs correctly: a topic sentence which declares something, followed by sentences which support the topic sentence/declaration (yes, its that basic even for attorneys).  You’d think they’d teach this in law school but…

Hyde’s Playground is Open All Weekend Long!

The playground at Hyde is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays.  Please

enjoy this community resource (but please don’t leave behind trash or any other items).

Your support of Hyde is welcome and much appreciated!  Hyde’s PTA contributes essential financial support to Hyde and greatly appreciates the financial support some Georgetown and Burleith community members have already given this fall.  Please consider donating at https://hydeaddisondc.org/donate and be on the lookout for some of our upcoming fundraisers tied to the winter holidays. 

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Former Jackie Kennedy house sells at auction.
• Great video on the history of the Exorcist steps.

Welcome to the November Northwest Georgetown ANC update!

Happy Halloween! Remember this week to be extra careful with lots of little kiddies about late at night. Georgetown is back to its pre-pandemic peak in terms of crowds of trick-or-treaters, so get ready with your candy.

ANC Meeting

Much less festively, Monday night the ANC will be meeting for its November session. It will be at its normal time, 6:30 pm, and fully virtual. I have faith, however, that this will be the last fully virtual ANC meeting for quite a while. I believe that the hybrid meetings that we have held this year were a success and I would like to see that be the model going forward. Stay tuned!

As for the meeting itself, the notable items include a follow up on the BID’s public space application for the streateries and extended sidewalks. The Public Space Committee will hold a hearing on the application later this month. The ANC will hear an updated from the BID on changes they’ve made to their application and plans after their first Old Georgetown Board meeting. Last month we adopted a resolution supporting the application. Barring any radical changes, I believe that position will remain the same following this meeting.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown GLOW returning again this year.
• Should it take a marathon to make our streets so enjoyable?

Next Monday night, the ANC will meet for its November session. It will be back on zoom and starting at 6:30 pm.

I believe this will be the last fully zoom ANC meeting we will hold for the foreseeable future. After a few successful hybrid meetings, there is a sense that that is the best of both worlds. Additionally, we may be looking to hold the meetings at other locations throughout the neighborhood other than just Visitation.

As for this final virtual meeting, there are some hopefully interesting items on the agenda, such as:

• Crime update. There have been a few alarming crimes in the neighborhood over the past month and I expect we will get updates on those.
• Streateries: As mentioned last month, the BID’s extended sidewalk application will be heard by the Public Space Committee this month. The ANC will hear about any updates to the application and program from the BID and will likely consider a further resolution specifically for the Public Space Committee.
• We will also hear about a PUD for a project behind the British School which will result in a lot of funds being directed to local causes.

Here is the full agenda:

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The Friends of Montrose Park reported that the historic white oak that stood next to the playground was taken down. Visitors to the park could see for a while now that the tree was struggling. The Friends stated that it was ill with “Hypoxylon, a fungal disease that rapidly affects oaks when they are already under stress from other factors including drought and root injury.”

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Scofflaw parking truly has a deep history in Georgetown.
• What you can find at Baker’s Daughter.