Hearst Family Update
November 20, 2020

Principal's Message
Good evening Owl families,
Thank you for another great week at Hearst and your continued partnership. I had hoped to share an update on our 12/9 CARE classroom opening but unfortunately that will delayed until next week as we are still determining student and staff availability. If you are a family who accepted an in-person learning seat in the first in-person lottery in early November, your child has been prioritized for a CARE seat so please be on the lookout for a call, email, or message from Ms. Hinchey on Monday to ask if you'd like to officially accept or decline a CARE classroom seat for December. Thanks in advance for your prompt responses to Ms. Hinchey's outreach, as this will help us finalize our plans for the number of CARE classrooms we'll open on 12/9, assuming health conditions allow.
On another note, a huge thank you to the Hearst PTA for buying new staff laptops. They've arrived, have been set up, and are in the process of being distributed. Thank you for making our virtual experience that much better for students and our staff!!
Please stay safe and enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday,
Jen
News and Announcements from Hearst
Upcoming Key Dates
- 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
- February 1 - Term 3 Begins
Quick Updates
I've followed up with DCPS about closing the playground this week despite our CARE classroom(s) not opening until 12/9 and they've stated that the playground can stay open to the public during school hours until Hearst ES starts their CARE classroom on December 9.
Reminder: The school building will be closed on Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26, and Friday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving break.
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.
Reminder: SY20-21 Calendars Available
Reminder: 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
DCPS Meal Site November Holiday Schedule (11/25-27)
Internet for All for DC Residents
Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to make sure your student has internet at home during this virtual school term. DC Government will be paying for residential internet service for eligible households provided by Comcast and RCN. DC Government will reach out to SNAP and TANF eligible households with PK3-12th grade students enrolled at DC traditional and charter public schools, according to the following schedule:
- Wednesday, November 18 - Text Message at 6 pm
- Thursday, November 19 - Phone call at 6 pm
- Friday, November 20 – Email at 6 pm
- Tuesday, December 1 - Text Message at 6 pm
- Wednesday, December 2 - Phone call at 6 pm
- Thursday, December 3 – Email at 6 pm
- Tuesday, December 1 - Text Message at 6 pm
- Wednesday, December 2 - Phone call at 6 pm
- Thursday, December 3 – Email at 6 pm
After you say ‘yes’ to the program you must also say yes to Comcast or RCN calling you to
install the internet. This process will take around 2 weeks to find the best provider. If you have
past debt you do not need to worry, they will not attempt to collect this debt. Please be sure to respond to Comcast or RCN in order to to complete your internet installation and see below for additional information.
DCPS Immunization Compliance Updates and Immunization Requirements for CARE Classroom Participants
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.