Hearst Weekly Update
April 17, 2020
Principal's Message
Good evening, Owls,
Mayor Bowser announced today that DCPS will continue at home learning through the new end of the school year on May 29. May 29 will be the last day for students and the hope, as expressed by the Mayor, is that the three weeks of learning that will be missed in June will be made up at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. With this news, guidance is in development around what this means for the remainder of the school year. Information is forthcoming around items such as Term 4 grading, enrollment for next school year, summer school, and the 2020-2021 School Year calendar. This news likely raises a lot of questions and concerns for you and know that as I get information, I will share it with you, and we will develop a plan for wrapping up the school year in a meaningful way for your kids, you, and our staff.
Unfortunately, as we move into Week 5 of at home learning, we have not yet received our devices and hot spots to distribute. We anticipate that the devices and hot spots will be available for families to borrow when we distribute the Weeks 6 & 7 learning packets, tentatively scheduled for April 28 and 29. I know this is later than expected and apologize for any inconvenience this causes for you and your family over the next weeks.
Please reach out to let us know how we can continue to support you and your family in the coming weeks. Thank you for all that you are doing to lift up your kids, your families, and our community during this time and I hope that you can also find time to follow the sage advice from Elmo's dad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEmaWIxyhj8.
One final note, as Ms. Wiggins shared in the morning announcements, I saw the mantra below on Twitter and think it's a very fitting description of our approach to at home learning as a staff. Please feel free to adopt if for yourself and your household if you'd like:
Relationships before Rigor
Grace before Grades
Patience before Programs
Love before Lessons
-Brad Johnson
In 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
Quick Updates
- Friday, April 24 is Records Day for staff and there will be no at home learning sessions that day.
- Reminder: Outside of the days when we are distributing work packets and learning materials, the school building is closed and no one is answering the phone at Hearst. If you want or need to get in touch with staff, please email or connect through Bloomz or Teams. Email addresses for all staff can be found here:http://www.hearstes.org/faculty_staff_directory.
Hearst's Distance Learning Plan
Week Five (4/20-4/24)
Beginning the week of April 13, we will return to the curriculum, picking up where we left off. Most grade levels will be using the ELA content in the DCPS packets as is. However, there are discrepancies between where most grade levels ended math instruction on 3/13 and the math content in the Weeks 4 &5 DCPS packets. To address this, staff have been modifying the Weeks 4 & 5 math content in the packets to address new learning for students. Teachers will be sharing information about these modifications and any additional materials for Weeks 4 & 5 electronically. We'll also have these modified materials available for pick up or mailing. Also, please note that due to the volume of materials for elementary students, there are no student-facing World Language materials week 4 and 5. Instead look for online materials and resources that will be put on the DCPS YouTube channel.
During office hours, staff will continue to focus on live individual or small group Teams videoconferencing or phone meetings with all students. They will check in with kids (and you!) and answer questions related to work packets or materials that have been posted in Teams. Staff may record videos that students can access when convenient to your families. These videos may be used to: host Morning Meeting, present content to supplement or clarify information in the work packets, make announcements, organize student groups, and facilitate online asynchronous discussion forums. As a reminder, we are not engaging in synchronous/live whole or large group meetings or instruction at this time because of the equity challenges this presents for many in our community.
Weeks Six and Beyond (4/27 - 5/29)
We will continue to modifying the ELA and math work in the DCPS packets to address where our students are in their learning. We will begin to modify the science content in the packets and add writing lessons. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
Reminder: Learning at Home Support
If you have concerns about food, clothing, shelter, self-care, trauma, coping with change, depression, anxiety, academics, or social emotional learning, please reach out to Ms. Brown (tandra.brown2@k12.dc.gov) and/or Ms. Nishimura (brenda.nishimura@k12.dc.gov). Your emails are confidential and they will respond within 24 hours or the next business day. We want to support all of our families during this time and hope our school can be a valuable addition to your support system during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Reminder: Opting Out of Videoconferencing During Distance Learning
News and Announcements from DCPS
Learning at Home Survey for Families
Parent University Schedule for April
1. Helping Your Child Manage Stress: Wednesday, April 22 at 3:00 pm
2. Microsoft Surface Go 101 Training: Thursday, April 23 at 5:00 pm
3. Microsoft Surface Go 101 Training: Friday, April 24 at 3:00 pm
4. Microsoft Surface Go 101 Training (in Spanish): Monday, April 27 at 3:00 pm
Expanded Learning at Home Videos on YouTube
Wednesday’s bulletin had the incorrect YouTube link for learning at home video lessons. Please see all our playlists at https://www.youtube.com/user/dcpublicschools/playlists.
Families can also watch on the following local cable channels Monday to Friday (end times may vary):
Kindergarten to 2nd Grade Lessons
DKN: Comcast 99; RCN: 18; Verizon 12
DKN Live Stream: http://video.oct.dc.gov/DKN/jw.html
Lessons on air: 9:30 am to 1:00 pm (replays from 1:00 to 3:30 pm)
3rd to 5th Grade Lessons
DCTV FLAGSHIP: Comcast 95, 1070 HD; RCN 10; Verizon 10
DCTV Live Stream: https://www.dctv.org/live
Lessons on air: 9:30 am to 11:30 am (replays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm)
6th to 12th Grade Lessons
DCTV Enrichment: Comcast 96; RCN 11; Verizon 11
DCTV Enrichment Live Stream: https://www.dctv.org/live#ENRICH
Lessons on air: 9:30 am to 12:00 pm (replays from 12:00 to 2:30 pm)
News and Announcements from Other Organizations
Creative and Challenging Activities for Kids at Home from the Washington Architectural Foundation
We want young people to keep learning.
Activities for kids at home or within their neighborhood:
Gather around online for our Architects Read series, starting Friday, April 17. Join professional local architects live on YouTube for a children's story time, featuring one of the classics.
Each week, we'll be sharing a new design scavenger hunt! Kids and families together can discover their neighborhood and find beauty the details.
Kids can explore their home environment with these architectural challenges.
Teens—try SketchUp! for free and develop your CAD skills.
Discover more online events and stay-at-home activities for kids, or for the whole family by visiting the Architecture Month 2020 home page!
Literary Hill BookFest
Elizabeth Cogan here from the Literary HIll BookFest, an annual celebration of books and authors on Capitol Hill. I hope that you and those you care about are finding strength during this very challenging time.
I'd like to alert you to a virtual event we're planning on Sunday, May 3 that we think you and your entire school community will love. We usually hold a physical book festival at Eastern Market each spring, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, we've had to cancel that and move online instead.
We'll feature some of Capitol Hill's most beloved authors and poets for a lively two hours of readings, panel discussions, children's activities, and more - sure to delight teachers, students, and parents alike.
I'm including the link to our website here, where you'll find updates as we continue to build this event. You'll also find us on Facebook and Twitter, @theliteraryhill.
Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you. And please share this far and wide!
All my best.
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Elizabeth Cogan
Literary Hill BookFest
202-368-6816