Hearst Weekly Update
May 10, 2020
Principal's Message
Good evening, Owls,
Thanks to everyone for showering our staff with appreciation last week and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you for all that you are doing to support your child's learning while learning at home, so thank you for partnering with us during this time and always!
This coming week marks Week 8 of at home learning and means there are only three weeks left in our abbreviated school year. This Friday we also will hear more about summer learning and the calendar for the 2020-2021 school year from city leaders. As I mentioned last week, our team is working through three different scenarios, one in which we are all back in the building to start the year, a second in which we are continuing at home learning, and a third hybrid model that mixes at home and at school learning. Once we have a better understanding of the school calendar and expectations from both city and DCPS leaders, we will refine our planning for summer learning and the upcoming school year and share our draft plans with you for your feedback and input. Be on the lookout for invitations to community meetings May 20-22 where I will share our plans, solicit your feedback and input, and answer your questions to the best of my ability given the many unknowns that will likely still exist.
As always, please reach out to let us know how we can continue to support you and your family in the coming weeks.
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
- Reminder - In order to access the content from our special subject/Inner Core teachers, visit the individual content channels on each homeroom Teams page. It may be helpful to unhide all these channels for ease of access. You can do that by hitting the three dots next to the Team name --> Manage Team --> top tab "Channels" then click the checkbox under the column "Show for me."
- Reminder - This year, in place of Hearst’s typical International Festival, the ELL team has organized a virtual International Celebration. Languages from Hearst will be celebrated in the morning announcements from May 4-May 28. We are so lucky to be a part of such a diverse and unique community! This is something we always want to celebrate. Tune in to the morning announcements each day and feel free to leave your comments in the post.
Upcoming Key Dates
- Tuesday, May 12 - Weeks 8, 9, & 10 Packet Pick Up, 8:30-2:00
- Wednesday, May 13 - Weeks 8, 9, & 10 Packet Pick Up, 8:30-2:00
- May 20-22 - Community Meetings (more information above and to be shared)
- Friday, May 22 - Parent Teacher Conference Day
- Monday, May 25 - Memorial Day Holiday
- Tuesday, May 26 - Thursday, May 28 - Student Item Pick Up
- Friday, May 29 - Last Day of School for Students
Hearst's Distance Learning Plan
Weeks Eight and Beyond (5/11 - 5/29)
We will continue to modify the ELA and math work in the DCPS packets to address where our students are in their learning. We'll also be doing a modified version of the writer's workshop that kids experienced when we were learning at school. All teachers will also be recording and posting at least one video this week that students can access when convenient to your families. This video will focus on teaching new content to students. Staff will also continue to focus on live/synchronous individual or small group Teams 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 additional 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 yet engaging in synchronous/live whole or large group meetings or instruction at this time and will likely not do so this school year as we still face many implementation barriers to engaging all learners at the same time. However, should you be looking for supplemental materials for your kids, students continue to have access via Clever to a variety of blended learning programs such as iReady, Lexia, Edulastic, Typing Agent, and Newsela. Please reach out to your child's teacher with questions about these programs.
Reminder: *Hearst Modifications to the DCPS Term 4 Grading Guidance
Last week, DCPS shared Term 4 grading, promotion, and graduation guidance (Click here to read more). Knowing that families continue to experience barriers to at home learning, we have refined the grading guidance for Hearst and will be using the following guidance for Term 4 grading:
- If students engage in any one Inner Core subject once per week, they will receive a P in all Inner Core subjects (K-5). This means that, for example, a student can choose to engage in art once per week and will receive a P in Art, Music, Spanish, and PE.
- If students engage twice per week in ELA, Math, Science, or Social Studies, they will receive a P in all subjects (Grades K-2).
- If students engage once in ELA and once in Math per week, they will receive a P in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies (Grades 3-5).
- K-5 students will be assigned a “NM” (no mark) if they were unable to engage in at home learning assignments and activities.
- PK: For the Spring Checkpoint, teachers will share narrative comments about children’s growth and development rather than the GOLD Development and Learning report.
- Engagement at Hearst is defined as but not limited to: completing assignments, responding to prompts/messages posted in Teams, asking questions on Teams, engaging in small group instruction, and posting a photo of completed work
News and Announcements from DCPS
Report Card Mailing Update
In order to ensure staff safety and comply with the Mayoral Order related to COVID-19, Central Office will be supporting a procurement for a bundled, centralized mailing of term 3 and term 4 report cards in June so that school staff do not need to come in to print and mail these documents. (Note from Hearst: We'll share more information about grades prior to Parent Teacher Conferences, which will taking place virtually on Friday, May 22.)
Reminder: FREE Student Tutoring Services Available
Reminder: Enrollment for SY20-21
For more detailed information on changes in enrollment, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. As always, we are ready and eager to support you with any enrollment questions you may have, especially if you need help with the new electronic submission process. Please don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Hinchey (manik.hinchey@k12.dc.gov) or the DCPS Enrollment Team at enroll@k12.dc.gov or (202) 478-5738.
News and Announcements from Other Organizations
The next Ward 3 - Wilson Feeder Education Network Meeting
Since our children have distance learning, we can have distance meetings. W3Ednet's next meeting is Monday, May 11 at 7pm on Zoom (see details below). We are very happy to host Karen Cole, DCPS Deputy Chief of Academic and Creative Empowerment, to talk about distance learning. Hope that you can join us. All are welcome.
Join Zoom Meeting https://jh.zoom.us/j/96151856577?pwd=dVlRL3RGWE03V1VhWVNnUkQ2UW5qQT09
Meeting ID: 961 5185 6577
Password: 147366
One tap mobile +16465189805,,96151856577#,,#,147366# US (New York) +16468769923,,96151856577#,,#,147366# US (New York)
Thanks,
Brian and Melody
Co-Chairs, W3EdNet
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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.