Hearst Weekly Update
December 1, 2019
Principal's Message
Good evening Owls,
As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend winds down, I hope that you all have had time to relax and recharge in whatever ways are most beneficial to your health, happiness, and peace. It's hard to believe that it's already December and that we only have fifteen more instructional days with students before the winter break. With the exception of a few field trips, the calendar of events for December is fairly straightforward - see below for additional details.
Thanks for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you in the morning,
Jen
What I'm reading this week: Long Gone by Alafair Burke (thanks to the Owl that put this book in the Hearst lending library!)
Upcoming Events
- 12/4 PTA Executive Board Meeting, Conference Room, 4:30-5:30
- 12/6 Community Meeting, Gym, 9:00-9:15
- 12/8 Hearst PTA Community Event: Proper Topper Sip & Shop
- 12/11 PTA Meeting, Library, 6:00-7:30
- 12/14 EdFest at DC Armory
- 12/11 LSAT Meeting, Conference Room, 4:30-5:30
- 12/20 PTA-sponsored Holiday Luncheon for Students
- 12/21/19-1/1/20 - Winter Break, No school for students and teachers
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 and Shout Outs
- Congratulations to Ms. Hinchey and Ms. Johnson for their work on the enrollment and thanks to all of you for getting all requested and required documents to our team. As of last week, every child at Hearst ES has had their residency accepted and that means that we have officially finished our audit!
- Thanks to our Open House volunteers for their support at our first open house last month!
- A huge shout out to Ms. Baker for the wonderful Fall Concert! It was an incredibly impressive show of the singing, dancing, and performing talents of our kids and took a lot of hard work on their part and the part of Carol and team. Thanks to all of the kids and adults for their efforts!
- Thanks to everyone who made the Owl Fund celebration a success! From the donations to the cake pops, juice boxes, dance party and visit from Screech, we couldn't have done it without you!
- In case you missed it, Friday was Patricia Rusten's last day. She was a great addition to our Hearst community, particularly our K-2 CES classroom, and will be missed. Please know that we are working to secure a long term substitute to support the Rock 'n Roll Dinosaurs in her absence. I hope that you'll join all of us in wishing her all the best in her new position.
Hearst's STAR Rating
The Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) recently released the second annual citywide School Report Card that includes information about how every public school in DC performed in School Year 2018-2019. At Hearst, we are focused on ensuring every student receives an excellent education. This letter provides an overview of our results this year and background information on the Report Card and STAR Framework.
For the 2018-2019 school year, our school received a rating of 4 Stars, which is consistent with our rating from last year. Our rating of 4 Stars indicates that we have much to celebrate as a school community, including strong student achievement. We’re proud of the high-quality education we provide our students and the great things happening in our school. With your partnership, we look forward to continuing to build on these results to ensure all our students achieve academic excellence through a focus on eliminating barriers so that all students experience success in our community, and have access, opportunity, and a feeling of belonging.
Our team works hard each and every day to improve outcomes for all of our students. To understand more about our focus areas as a school, please review our Comprehensive School Plan (CSP) Snapshot available online at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OLUBwwtvxL3kJ-AUNWg-2NMw3r7rxvTP/view. This snapshot shares our strategies for improvement and student success. Another link that may be useful to understand more about Universal Design for Learning, a strategy mentioned in the Hearst Snapshot, is this one: http://udlguidelines.cast.org/.
If you have additional questions about the STAR Rating Framework, please find a quick overview attached below. In addition, please join us at our PTA meeting on December 11 from 6:00-7:30pm in the library, where I will be available to answer questions. If you cannot attend, or if there are any questions our team of educators can answer, please let me know by emailing me at jennifer.geoffroy@k12.dc.gov.
Hearst Student Dress Code
Hearst does not have a specific uniform for students, however students should adhere to the following guidelines around appropriate dress:
- Excessively dirty and/or torn clothing may not be worn in school
- Bare or stocking feet are not permitted in schools at any time
- Non-prescriptive sunglasses and hats are not permitted to be worn inside the school buildings. While students are allowed to wear hooded sweatshirts, hoods cannot be worn up/on heads when inside the building.
- Extremes in style and fit and articles of clothing emblazoned with vulgar or obscene words or pictures, or badges or slogans disruptive of school, as determined by the principal, will not be permitted.
News and Announcements from DCPS
DCPS Community Budget Forums
My School DC EdFest 2019 (12/14)
Come to EdFEST on Saturday, December 14 from 11am-3pm and learn about the city’s public school options (PK3 – grade 12) for your child. Representatives from DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools will showcase their programs. With the launch of the My School DC lottery application on December 16, 2019 for the 2020-21 school year, EdFEST is a timely event to help you make informed school selections.
News and Announcements from Other Organizations
Next W3EdNet Meeting on January 13 at the Cleveland Park Library
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.
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First, a holiday gift. We are cancelling our December meeting. (Both Melody and I are traveling, and it is a crazy time of year anyway.)
Our next meeting is in the new year (and the new decade!) on Monday, January 13, 2020 in the main meeting room of the Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave NW). We will be hosting a panel, "Priorities for 2020." Our panelists are:
Shanita Burney, Communications and Engagement Officer for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), https://dcps.dc.gov/biography/shanita-burney
Ruth Wattenberg, President and Ward 3 Representative of the State Board of Education,https://sboe.dc.gov/page/ruth-wattenberg-president-ward-3
Joe Weedon, Communications, Washington Teachers Union
Each panelist will have 10 minutes to talk about their organization's priorities for 2020, and then we will open the floor to questions from the audience.
We hope to see you there!
Brian and Melody
Co-Chairs, W3EdNet