Hearst Family Update
November 13, 2020
Principal's Message
Good evening Owl families,
Yesterday afternoon, DCPS shared an update with staff and families about Term 2
(see: https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/schedule/care/). One of the most important pieces of information is that CARE classrooms serving students in grades PK-5th will open across DCPS in phases during Term 2, specifically on November 18, December 2, December 9, and January 4. We will not be opening a CARE classroom on November 18 at Hearst, but hope to open at least one classroom on December 9, with additional classrooms opening on January 4, should health conditions allow. We're still determining the grade level(s) and staffing for our CARE classrooms and I will be sharing more details about our plan to open CARE classrooms in my next update.
Please stay safe and always, thank you for your partnership,
Jen
About Us
Email: attendance@hearstes.org
Website: www.hearstes.org
Location: 3950 37th Street Northwest, Washington, DC, United States
Phone: (202) 282-0106
Facebook: facebook.com/hearstes
Twitter: @hearstes
News and Announcements from Hearst
Upcoming Key Dates
- November 17 - K-5 Term 1 Report Cards available in Aspen Parent Portal
- November 18 - LSAT Meeting, 4:30-5:30pm, Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82638422953?pwd=ZkZvdWVNRXFBejl1TE51RXhUTGM1Zz09 Meeting ID: 826 3842 2953 Passcode: 515343
- November 18 - PTA Meeting, 7:00-8:30pm, Join Zoom Meeting
https://virginia.zoom.us/j/91505066044?pwd=aVcwK0xEVUpQY001WTAzNGdCNE9iZz09 Meeting ID: 915 0506 6044 Passcode: Owls
- November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break (no school for students and teachers)
- December 4 - Hearst Virtual Open House
- December 9 - Hearst opens at least one CARE classroom (grade level and staff, TBD)
- December 23 - January 3 - Winter Break (no school for students and teachers)
- January 4 - Additional CARE Classroom(s) open (grade level and staff, TBD)
- January 18 - MLK Holiday (no school for all)
- January 19 - No school for students and teachers
- January 20 - Inauguration Day (no school for all)
- January 29 - Term 2 Ends; 1/2 day PD; 1/2 Mark Entry
Quick Updates
The building will be closed on Wednesday, November 25 and Friday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving break.
Reminder: We will be continuing with Social Studies in Term 2 to provide more continuity with the curriculum. We will make the transition to Science in Terms 3 and 4.
Reminder: Students in Grades 3-5 will take the ANet 2 Math assessment on 12/9 and the ANet 2 ELA assessment on 12/14. More information will be shared by teachers as we get closer to those dates.
Patient Care Technicians Now On Site
Hearst HVAC Enhancement Report
Below is the HVAC Enhancement Report specific to Hearst. This report is not intended to be checklist, but truly a report out of the work that has been completed as of November 2. Since the report was published, DCPS has provided portable HEPA filter units in all of our classrooms in addition to the MERV and DOAS work at Hearst. Providing the additional layer with the portable HEPA filters in the rooms gives us the most cost-effective way to add UVC into the filtration process as the portable units have a UVC light kit in them.
Work continues on replacing pipes in the second floor HVAC system in the historic and new building, with an anticipated completion date of November 30.
Aspen Parent Portal
We've also receive some questions about the grades that are in the process of being entered. Please know that grades are not final until the report cards are published next week, and our team is working hard to get everything finalized and uploaded. A few quick notes about K-5 report cards:
- All grades are based on clear, specific learning criteria, and not based on students’ standing among classmates nor on beginning of year (BOY) benchmark assessment scores.
- DCPS has changed the elementary grading policy and student grades reflect the level of mastery in Term 1. This is a change from how Hearst has previously noted grades, which was based on level of mastery according to end of year standards/expectations.
- Students will receive overall grades in each subject area of 1, 2, 3, 4, or N/NI (not introduced). All students will receive N/NI in Science and the Inner Core classes they did not have in Term 1.
- Within each content area, students will receive marks of S, D, B, or N/NI indicating their level of mastery of the skills of that content area. Gray boxes indicate that the skill is not scheduled to be taught during that term.
- Student are also graded on work habits using the following key: Independently (I), With limited prompting (LP), With frequent prompting (FP), or Rarely (R).
- Comments reflect how much students improve or gain from their social, emotional, and academic learning experiences over the course of a term. The comments also include areas for growth and at least one action step you can take at home to support your child’s learning.
- Because the space for report card comments is short, in the comment section you may see something that says 'please see attached.' If this is the case for your child, please email your child's homeroom teacher and they will send the comments to you directly.
We are excited about this new system for sharing academic information to support our partnership with families and thank you for your patience as we get it off the ground. Know that we will also be mailing report cards, comments, and for students with IEPs, progress reports, out next week and they should arrive at your homes in 1-2 weeks.
Hearst Playground Update
We are looking forward to welcoming our small cohort of students back into CARE classrooms at Hearst in December. With those students in mind, I would like to provide the community with an update on our school playground and its public use.
Beginning Monday, November 16, 2020, DC Public Schools will implement an adjusted playground use policy for our elementary school playgrounds. Since 2016, it has been DCPS’ policy that school playgrounds are closed to the community during school hours. The only modification we are making to this policy is that the playground will not be available for use before the school day begins, as well. This change will allow us to continue to keep our students attending CARE classrooms safe and healthy during the school day.
In most cases, this means members of the public will still be able to enjoy school playgrounds between the hours listed below.
· Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. until dusk, but no later than 8:00 p.m.
· Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In the meantime, you can also find a list of Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) parks and playgrounds that will be open during the school day for public use at this link.
Playgrounds and outdoor structures will be cleaned every other day per CDC guidelines using power washers and soap. DCPS Central Office will provide both supplies to schools to ensure these spaces are regularly cleaned. We will continue to closely monitor our playground’s public use to make sure it remains a clean and safe space for all and are committed to updating this usage policy as public health and safety protocols allow.
While we understand you may have concerns about allowing any public use of our playground, we believe our school is an important resource for our entire community beyond just teaching and learning. We feel it is necessary to ensure the playground remains available to our community members in some capacity. At the same time, our top priority always remains the health and safety of Hearst students, teachers, and staff.
We appreciate our community’s investment in ensuring the equipment and grounds are treated respectfully. Our primary goal is that our schools remain a positive learning environment for students while also providing District residents with access to community assets such as our playgrounds.
Thank you for your continued support of Hearst.
In partnership,
Patrick Davis, Chief Operating Officer
District of Columbia Public Schools
SY20-21 Calendars Available
Impact Aid Survey Open (10/30-12/22)
Each year, DCPS asks all families to complete the Impact Aid survey to generate additional federal funds for DCPS. This year, the survey has moved to an electronic format using the Seamless platform and will be open for completion from October 30th to December 22nd. All DCPS families should complete one survey per child, not household, in their preferred language and submit by Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Please complete the survey using the links below:
Amharic: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_Ahmaric
Chinese: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_Chinese
English: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_English
French: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_French
Spanish: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_Spanish
Vietnamese: https://dcgov.seamlessdocs.com/f/DCPSImpactAid_Vietnamese
If you have questions, please contact us at DCPSImpactAid@k12.dc.gov.
Reminder: Hearst School Spirit Fridays
Reminder: Vaccinations Required to Return to Learning in the Building
Help your kids #StayOnTrack and ready for school-entry with on-time vaccinations.
Hearst has a current immunization compliance rate of 80.83% as of 10-11-2020. Remember to send your child's immunization records to manik.hinchey@k12.dc.gov. Make appointments with your health care providers and provide the proper documentation before the start of in-person school (see here for a list of required immunizations). Immunizations must be up to date to take an in-person seat or CARES seats starting in Term 2.
Por favor ayuden a sus hijos a mantenerse vacunados y listos para el regreso a la escuela.
La escuela ha comenzado, recuerde enviar los registros de vacunación de su hijo/a a manik.hinchey@k12.dc.gov. Haga citas con sus proveedores de atención médica y proporcione la documentación adecuada antes del inicio de clases en persona (tentativamente a partir del 6 de noviembre de 2020). Consulte aquí para obtener una lista de las vacunas requeridas. A pesar de que estamos comenzando en forma remota, nos comunicaremos con todos los alumnos a los que les falta el certificado de vacunas.
News and Announcements from DCPS
Ready for Pre-K!
The ECE Division has been collaborating with DCPS Parent University to create Ready for Pre-K! - a virtual learning series for parents and caregivers of toddlers and two-year-olds! Each month, Ready for Pre-K! will focus on an area of development closely related to success in preschool. The goal is to build parents' skillset and confidence, as well as help them get to know DCPS. Sessions will be facilitated by members of the ECE Division as well as by some PK teachers. Please see this promotional video and the flyer below for more information.
Reminder: #ReopenStrong Updates for Families • Trendency Survey Outreach
DCPS is partnering with Trendency Research to understand more about your experiences with learning from home. It is important to us that your perspectives are considered as we plan for the remainder of the school year.
As a reminder, your responses to the Trendency family survey will be kept strictly confidential. No identifying information will appear in the survey results, and all answers provided will be reported in the aggregate.
Sign up to share your opinion with us. New survey questions will be released every few weeks and sharing feedback should take less than 90 seconds of your time:
Questions in English: bit.ly/DCPS-November-Survey
Preguntas en español: bit.ly/DCPS-noviembre
Note: When you create your Trendency account, the activation link may go to your Spam folder.
Please email ceo.info@k12.dc.gov for assistance or questions about this survey.
Thank you for your willingness to provide the feedback we need to move forward.