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
After delays due to the public health emergency, printed SY20-21 calendars, titled
DCPS Legacy, were delivered to schools this week. Each school received English and Spanish versions of the calendar to distribute to families and staff members as you see fit. Digital versions of the calendar are available on the
DCPS website in English, Spanish, Amharic, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese. If you would like to pick up a calendar, they will be on tables in the hallway outside the main office near the student materials.
Reminder: Impact Aid Survey Open (10/30-12/22)
Reminder: Hearst School Spirit Fridays
Show off your creativity and outfits as you get ready for our School Spirit Fridays. Spread the word and reach out to Dr. Chen if you have any questions.
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)
Please reference the November meal site holiday break
schedulefor information regarding closures and modified meal site operations. On Wednesday, Nov. 25, 20
meal site locations will remain open from 10am – 2pm to provide up to 5 meal kits to DC youth ages 18 and younger. Each meal kit will include 1 breakfast and 1 lunch meal. All DCPS meal sites will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26 – Friday, Nov. 27 and will resume, regular operation on Monday, Nov. 30.
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
As a reminder, all public and public charter schools in DC are required to verify student compliance with school
immunization requirements before students may participate in any in-person learning opportunities. Students must be up to date with all required immunizations in order to accept a seat in a DCPS CARE classroom. Our school nurse can confirm students’ current immunization status and whether they have been cleared to participate in in-person learning. She can be reached at
SyFisher@childrensnational.org.
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:
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.
