Hearst Family Update
April 25, 2021
Principal's Message
Good afternoon, Owl Families,
Thank you for all of your support and encouragement in our first week of Term 4! The flowers, treats, welcome back sign, and all the stories of your kids' excitement at being back in the building made the transition process that much easier for all us. While there were a few small hiccups here and there, I appreciate your flexibility and patience as we worked through them in our efforts to ensure week one of Term 4 was as smooth as possible.
An additional thank you to everyone who came out to the PTA meeting to advocate for Hearst in the discussion with DCPS around the new schools that will be coming to Ward 3. Please see below for additional information about those schools as well as a link to the community input survey.
Thanks for your continued partnership and enjoy the weekend!
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
- Wednesday, April 28 - LSAT Meeting, 4:30-5:30
- Thursday, April 29 - Term 3 Report Cards Mailed and Published in Aspen
- Wednesday, May 5 - Student Picture Day Make Ups and Staff Portraits, 12:30-3:30
Quick Updates
- If your kids are taking home devices, please remember to send them back with devices the next day. While we have some extra devices we can loan to kids for a day, these are limited and we do not want your child to miss out on any learning experiences because they forgot their device at home.
- The school parking lot is for Hearst staff use from 8:00-3:30, Monday through Friday. Please do not park in the lot during these hours.
- Picture Day make ups for kids and staff portraits will now be taken on May 5. Please see the flyer below for additional information.
- Reminder: as of 4/17/21 all 2-5 CARE seats are filled. If there are seats that become available over the course of Term 4, I'll share this information with families in an update.
Reminder: Any non-staff members who would like to come to the building to pick up materials, switch out a device, etc., must have an appointment in order to come into the building. Please email Ms. Johnson (kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov) or call (202-282-0106) to set up an appointment if you need to come into the building for any reason. Thanks!
Reminder: DC is publishing COVID data specific to DCPS and it can be found here: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/node/1506966. With both staff and students back in school buildings, please visit dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/response/ to learn more about DCPS' COVID-19 Response Protocol, including testing available for students and staff.
Updated: Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Below is information about arrival and dismissal procedures in Term 4. One important note is that some of our arrival and dismissal times coincide with the arrival and dismissal of Sidwell Friends, across the street. Please remember to be good neighbors and not use their side of the street for parking or drop off during our arrival or dismissal. For the safety of all, please make sure that you are not attempting 3-point turns on 37th Street or pulling into the Hearst drive way to turn around. Thanks!
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
Morning Arrival - All arrivals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street. Arrivals are staggered according to the schedule below:
- 8:15-8:30am – K CARE+, 1st CARE+
- 8:30-8:45am – PK CARE, K IPL, 3rd IPL, 5th IPL, 2nd-5th AM CARE
- 8:45-9:00am – 2nd IPL, 4th IPL, CES, 2nd-5th CARE
Morning Dismissal – All morning dismissals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street. Each group will have a specific dismissal location that will be marked with a sign. Please wait in these areas for your children. Dismissals are staggered according to the schedule below:
- 11:30-11:45 – K CARE+, 1st CARE+, 3rd Grade IPL, 5th Grade IPL
- 11:45-12:00 – 2nd Grade IPL, 4th Grade IPL
- 12:00-12:15 – PK CARE, 2nd-5th CARE (Wednesdays only)
Afternoon Arrival - All afternoon arrivals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street. Dismissals are staggered according to the schedule below:
- 12:15-12:30 - K CARE+, 1st CARE+
- 12:30-12:45 – 3rd Grade IPL, 5th Grade IPL
- 12:45-1:00 – 2nd Grade IPL, 4th Grade IPL
Afternoon Dismissal - All afternoon dismissals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street. Each group will have a specific dismissal location that will be marked with a sign. Please wait in these areas for your children. Dismissals are staggered according to the schedule below:
- 3:15-3:30 – CES, 2nd & 3rd PM CARE
- 3:30-3:45 – PK CARE, K IPL, K CARE+, 1st CARE+, 3rd IPL, 5th IPL, 4th & 5th PM CARE
- 3:45-4:00 – 2nd IPL, 4th IPL
Wednesdays
Morning Arrival - All arrivals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street. All students should arrive during the 8:15-8:45 window.
Dismissal - All dismissals will occur at the main entrance of the school facing 37th Street at 12:00pm (noon).
Updated: Hearst Playground
This means that AM only kids will be unable to use the playground after they dismiss for the day and PM only kids will be unable to use the playground before they start class.
Additionally, please refrain from coming by the playground to visit when your kids are at recess. What we've seen happen is that a child will run over to the fence to see their parent and other kids follow and before we can stop them, come within 6 feet of the adult, potentially exposing them and complicating any required contact tracing. Thanks for your understanding and support in keeping our community safe!
April 7th Hearst ES Portraits Are Now Online
We are delighted to let you know that The Hearst ES portraits are now online for viewing and purchasing. If you could, please send this information to your parents. The flyer is attached, with a hyper-link to view the galleries.
To view the galleries, go to www.freedpics.com
Enter the password: HEARST21SPQ
Foxhall/MacArthur Updates from DCPS
- The public survey is now live at bit.ly/FoxhallMacArthurSurvey (in Spanish at: bit.ly/FoxhallMacArthurEspanol). Thank you to Karin, Melody, and Kishan for the close review and to all of you for your great feedback during our last CWG meeting. The survey will be open until Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
- In an effort to ensure that people are aware of this process and the options being considered, DCPS will host a Community Listening Session on May 17, 2021, from 5:30-7:30PM to hear from stakeholders on the Foxhall and MacArthur options.
- At this Community Listening Session, DCPS will provide a short presentation before providing time for community members to provide testimony. People should register at bit.ly/FoxhallMacArthurRSVP to attend this meeting or to provide testimony.
- Depending on the number of individuals interested in testifying, we may not be able to accommodate all requests. For those members of the public who are not able to testify during the meeting, they are able to submit their testimony for the record by email to dcps.planning@k12.dc.gov or by mail at 1200 First Street NE, Washington D.C. 20002.
- This session will be streamed live on YouTube for anyone to watch.
Reminder: Breakfast and Lunch for In Person Students
Grab and go breakfast is available near the security desk for students when they arrive in the morning. Students can take this on their way to class and will eat in the classroom.
Students who are eating school lunch and at school for the whole day should inform their teachers when they arrive if they would like lunch each day. Lunch will be brought to the classroom for any students who do not have home lunch and students will eat in the classroom.
Students who are in the AM only sessions can take a grab and go lunch from the table near the security desk as they dismiss in the morning.
Students who are in the PM only cohort can get school lunch once they arrive. However, so that we can prepare an appropriate number of lunches, families of kids in the PM only cohort must notify the school by 10am if those kids will be needing a school lunch when they arrive at school. Please do this by emailing cafehearst@k12.dc.gov and in the email provide your child’s name, grade, and classroom/teacher.
Reminder: Order Your Hearst Yearbook for the 20-21 School Year
Yearbooks are on sale for pre-order! The early bird special is $22 until the end of March. In April and on each book is $25. Please see the attached flyer for directions to order your yearbook! The yearbooks will arrive near the end of the school year. This year, there is an option to ship the book directly to your home. Otherwise, it will ship to the school and we will find a way to do a safe and secure pickup.
The Hearst yearbook contains portraits of each homeroom class and some candid photos from the year. Thanks to the creativity of our families we've been able to collect a ton of photos for the book! Don't forget to attend school portrait day on Wednesday March 24th with Freed, to have your child's photo taken for the yearbook.
Every year we sell out of yearbooks; don't let it happen to you. Reserve your copy today!
News and Announcements from DCPS
Reminder: New COVID Quarantine Protocols for Staff and Students Starting Term 4 and Travel Guidance for Spring Break
Staff and students who travel to high-risk states (list available here) may only return in-person to school after:
• Self-monitoring and limiting daily activities—including not attending school – for 10 days, OR
• Self-monitoring and limiting daily activities – including not attending school – until tested for COVID-19 (within three to five days after return from travel) and receiving a negative result.
• They do not have any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 AND they have tested positive for COVID-19 and completed their isolation period within the last 90 days, OR
• They are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (two weeks/14 days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine).
OSSE and DC Health have released this COVID-19 Travel visual to share with staff and families. If you have any questions, please email healthservices.dcps@k12.dc.gov.
Reminder: First Annual DCPS Family Advocacy and Leadership Summit
Announcing the First Annual DCPS Family Advocacy and Leadership Summit!
Join us on Saturday May 1st!
Do you want to get more involved in your child's education, school or in DCPS but don't know where to start? Join DCPS and our community partners on Saturday, May 1st for the first ever DCPS Family Advocacy and Leadership Summit! The Summit is a free virtual event for families to learn about pathways to advocacy and leadership while connecting with community organizations and each other! Learn more and RSVP at DCPSFamilySummit.com!
See what we have planned for the day!
9:00am-9:45am
Welcome
Hear from DCPS Family Engagement and listen to a panel of DCPS families about their experience as advocates and leaders
.
10:00-10:45am
Families and Teachers as Partners: Advocating for your Child in the Classroom
Families will learn and walk away with strategies to build a relationship with their child's teacher and to support positive and proactive communication and interactions that support overall student success in both a virtual and in person setting.
11:00-11:45am
Building Together: School Level Advocacy
Families will learn about pathways to leadership within their school community and how to work effectively with other families to build a supportive school community in service of overall student success.
12:00-12:45pm
Beloved Community: District Level Advocacy and Engagement
Families will learn about various pathways in and outside of DCPS to become active in the education advocacy and connect with families across difference to find common goals and solutions that are fair and equitable.
Reminder: Impact Aid Survey – Amendment Deadline (5/30)
News and Announcements From Other Organizations
Next W3EdNet Meeting on May 10 at 7pm: Council Chair Phil Mendelson
The next meeting of the Ward 3 - Wilson Feeder Education Network (W3EdNet) is on Monday, May 10 at 7pm via Zoom (link below). We are very happy to host Council Chair Phil Mendelson. This is an opportunity to have a conversation with him about reopening schools, school budgets, overcrowding in Wilson feeder schools, school oversight and governance, and other education topics (we ask that you only raise education topics).
We will be taking questions from the chat during the meeting, but would welcome any questions that you would like to share with us ahead of time. Please send them to w3ednet@gmail.com.
The registration link for the Zoom meeting is:
https://interactivestrategies.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcuyvrz4qH9YNG1JcH1fNkOOnV2asiBdY
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
At our June meeting we will hear from the new DC Education Research Collaborative.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Melody, Karin, and Brian
******************************************************************
The Ward 3 - Wilson High School Feeder Pattern Education Network (W3EdNet) is a group made up of PTO Board and LSAT members as well as other interested community members. We aim to work together to support schools in the Wilson feeder pattern, host community events of common interest, and advocate for better schools across the city.
Website: https://www.w3ednet.com/
Twitter: @W3EdNet
Email: w3ednet@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/W3EdNet
Future W3EdNet Dates:
Monday, June 7 -- DC Education Research Collaborative