Hearst Family Update
October 8, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear Hearst Families,
A huge thank you to all of you for following all of the health and safety precautions since the start of school. While we know it's likely just a matter of time before we have our first positive COVID case this school year, it's because of your vigilance that as of Wednesday we are one of only two schools in DCPS and the only elementary school in DCPS that has yet to have a positive case. Kudos to you and thank you for looking out for our community!!
This week's moment of joy came when I was on 1st grade lunch duty and watched the first graders react with awe and delight when the 5th graders walked by and out to PE class. The littles were calling out the bigs' names and waving with all their might and the bigs were saying hello and waving back as they walked by. There may have even been a few squeals of delight when some of the first graders were called by name by the fifth graders and the entire scene was adorable!!
Have a great long 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
- Monday, October 11 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - no school for all
- Thursday, October 14th - PK and K APTT meeting, 5:30-7:00 (see child's teacher for links)
- Friday, October 15 - Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill
FAQs From Families
No questions were submitted this week!
Reminder: Playground & Field Use
If staff bring students to the playgrounds and/or basketball court and concrete area between the playgrounds outside of the 10:45-1:45 window, there may be community members in these spaces and they will have to share the space with them. Please also note that DPR does not have a mask policy outside at their facilities, so please know that if our kids are also sharing the play spaces with community members before 10:45 or after 1:45, it is not guaranteed that the community members will be wearing masks.
Reminder: Student Portraits
We are delighted to let you know that the Hearst Elementary School portraits are now online for viewing and purchasing. To view the galleries, go to www.freedpics.com
Enter the password: HEARST21STU
Reminder: Asymptomatic Student Testing on Tuesday
As a reminder, our asymptomatic testing window will be every Tuesday from 2:15-3:00pm. During a typical week, we will test a random sample of 35 students each week and attempt to test at least one student from each homeroom each week. Here are a few things to know about asymptomatic testing :
- Teachers will be provided with names of students to be tested and those students will be escorted by staff to our testing location.
- Because the test is a saliva test, students identified for testing cannot eat or drink an hour before their testing window.
Families of kids who are tested will receive notification that their child was tested and information on how to access the online portal where they will be able to view results. Your child may indicate that they were pulled for testing but they were not given a letter with online portal log in information. If this is the case, this means that your child did not produce enough saliva to fill the test tube. Please reach out to Ms. Johnson (kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov) with any questions and/or if you would like to opt your child out of asymptomatic testing. If you wish to opt-out your student from receiving any COVID-19 test at school, you must complete the available at osse.dc.gov/page/school-based-covid-19-testing and email it to the school at kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov.
Updates:
Here are the directions for accessing results asymptomatic testing. https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/page_content/attachments/Patient%20portal%20login_k12_dc_parent_FINAL.9.29.pdf. Our Agency Code is: HearstES and the website to access results is: https://shieldt3k12.pointnclick.com/. We learned this week that as a parent, you should be able to enable notifications be sent to you if a testing result is available for your child.
We believe that the email you use to register on site has to be the primary contact's email used to enroll your child. You will also have to wait at least 12 hours until after the student was tested for the agency code to work. We've also heard from families that some of the challenges that they were experiencing were sometimes, but not always, resolved by switching internet browsers. If none of these solutions work, please call technical support for the website at (833) 762-0762.
News and Announcements from DCPS
#ReopenStrong Update
As part of our layered mitigation strategy against COVID-19, DCPS has updated the #ReopenStrong webpage with a wealth of information: https://dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/buildings/ Please read for yourself and share widely with your communities to stay abreast on our efforts in the following categories:
· HVAC Enhancements
· School Specific HVAC Enhancement Reports
· School Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Reports (will be updated monthly)
· Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Report Explainer
· School Specific Building Readiness Checklists
· Enhanced Cleaning Protocol
SY 2022-2023 Calendar is Now Published
Provide Feedback on the Proposed SY 23-26 Calendars (10/22)
Foxhall and MacArthur Status Update and Next Steps
Dear Community Working Group members,
We hope that you are having a great start to the school year! As you all are aware, DCPS transmitted your final recommendations for the Foxhall and MacArthur Schools back in June. DCPS and City leadership continue to weigh the recommendations and discuss all options, and no final decision has been made.
This continued deliberation will primarily impact the proposed SY22-23 MacArthur opening. MacArthur will now open no earlier than SY23-24. This adjustment will ensure that we have time for a robust engagement and planning process for a successful school opening, while providing significant advance notice to impacted families. Foxhall is currently planned to open in SY24-25. We will continue to keep the community informed as there are additional updates on the final decisions and opening timelines for either school.
We wanted to be sure to notify this group first but will circulate this information to the broader community via the DCPS Planning Blog—here.
Please feel free to email us with any questions, and please know that we will continue to keep this group updated on the decision status as soon as we have additional details. For reference, the final recommendations document and supplemental materials are located here.
Best wishes,
Teresa
Reminder: DCPS Parent University
Servicio de interpretación en español disponible para todas las sesiones.
We are beyond excited to launch our Parent University fall calendar! We’ll kick off the season with a session on how to make the most of parent-teacher conferences on September 28 at 5:30pm. Register for each session below or at bit.ly/dcpsparentursvp.
Prepare Your Child for College: College Prep Resources and How to Get them!
October 19th
Join families across the District and DCPS Central Office teams to learn how we can can collaborate to enrich your child's education.
The DCPS Journey to Become a Whole-Child Centered, Anti-Racist District
October 26th
Join families across the District and DCPS Central Office teams to learn how we can can collaborate to enrich your child's education.
Building Children's Language Skills One Conversation at A Time
November 3rd
Join us to learn more about simple strategies for supporting your young child's language development at home!
Check-in on Our Social Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
November 16th
Join families across the District and DCPS Central Office teams to learn how we can can collaborate to enrich your child's education.
Choosing the Right Program: Your Questions about Pre-K at DCPS Answered!
December 1st
Thinking about the Pre-K Lottery? Join us to learn more about what makes the DCPS Pre-K program unique!
Elegir el mejor programa para su familia: Pre-Kinder en las DCPS
December 8th
¡Únase a nosotros para obtener más información sobre lo que hace que el programa de prekínder de DCPS sea único!
Reminder: SY21-22 Food and Nutrition Services Updates
- All meals are free to all DCPS Students in SY 21/22. We still encourage students who attend SOP (paid) schools like Hearst to complete a Free and Reduced Meal (FARM) application to ensure student eligibility for other benefits and school funding.
- Close-contact quarantine students, through their parent or guardian, are eligible to receive meal kits from one of the following locations, every Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM:
· Dunbar High School
· Ron Brown High School
· Ballou High School
- Here is the link to the SY21-22 Dietary Accommodation Forms. Any student that requires a different meal than what is being served (due to medical, food allergy, or philosophical reason) must complete this attached form and submit it to dietary.forms@k12.dc.gov or to the cafeteria lead. This allows us to create menus and prepare meals that reflect the unique needs of each student. Effective immediately, new forms are required only when the student requires a new accommodation or a change to their accommodation.
- Follow us on social media to stay tuned with our latest events on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter using @DCPSEats.
- More Helpful Links:
- SY21-22 FARM Application(SOP sites only)
- DCPS Website | Food and Nutrition Services