Good evening, Owl families!

You may have seen the update on Bloomz that the in-person classroom lottery matches went out on Friday evening. If families that were initially matched decline seats, know that Ms. Hinchey and Ms. Johnson will be calling families on the wait list this coming week, with the goal of finalizing the in-person rosters by Friday, October 30. The 30th is also when DCPS anticipates sending out the CARES classroom lottery matches. If you have questions about the lottery process, Ms. Hinchey (manik.hinchey@k12.dc.gov) is your main point of contact.

Two other big pieces to the reopening puzzle are staffing in Term 2 and building readiness. Unfortunately, I have no updates on these items other than contractors will be returning to the building to complete additional repairs to the HVAC system. I'm not privy to the work that they will be doing nor when it will start, but the goal is to finish all repairs prior to 11/9, the first day of in-person learning for students in Term 2.

As we work to draft a comprehensive Term 2 plan that will work for kids, staff, and families, thank you in advance for your patience, flexibility, and support.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend,

Jen

• Friday, October 30 - Term 2 In-person classroom seats finalized; CARES classroom lottery matches sent to families
  
• Tuesday, November 3 - Election Day (no school for students & teachers)
• Friday, November 6 - End of Term 1; Professional Development Day (no school for students)
• Monday, November 9 - Term 2 starts; in-person learning starts
• Wednesday, November 11 - Veteran's Day (no school)
• Monday, November 16 - PK-1st grade CARES classrooms open
• Wednesday, November 18 - LSAT Meeting, 4:30-5:30pm; PTA Meeting, time TBD
• November 25-27 - Thanksgiving Break (no school for students and teachers)
• Monday, November 30 - 2nd-5th grade CARES classrooms open

• Reminder: Through the end of Term 1, the school building will be open from 8:30-4:30pm Mondays-Fridays for students and families to pick up learning materials. Please contact Ms. Johnson (kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov) with any questions.
• Reminder: The Hearst playground will be closed from 8:00am-3:15pm Monday through Friday to all students not attending in-person or CARES classrooms in Term 2 in order to ensure cleaning, mask, and physical distancing requirements are met for our students who are learning in the building. Thanks for your understanding!
• Reminder: All parents/guardians must complete the Student Technology Responsible Use Agreement School Year 2020-21 found here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=7kagKk6zM0qSt5md8rwKMrokwfOwIAhEmZryty8pQBJUN1NPTDkzNVAzQUo1NVhPNk5NUDQzMkVFNC4u. This new mandate from DCPS and we thank you in advance for your cooperation.
  

Show off your creativity and outfits as you get ready for our School Spirit Fridays which kicks off 10/30 with character day. Spread the word and reach out to Dr. Chen if you have any questions.

In partnership with the Smithsonian Learning Lab, DCPS will host the Living Through History Virtual Showcase to celebrate the work completed during the LTH Cornerstone. The Showcase will take place on October 28th, 2020 at 5pm. Students and their families can register here (bit.ly/DCPSLTHShowcase) for this event. Please see this flier as well to distribute to your school community: DCPS LTH Showcase Flier.pdf.

DCPS is activating the ASPEN parent portal for elementary schools in order for families to view student attendance and receive published report cards starting with the Term 1 report cards for SY 2020-2021. If you wish to have access to the parent portal, you do not have to do anything; however, if you wish to opt out of parent portal access, please let Ms. Hinchey know by close of business on Monday, October 26th Again, you need only contact Ms. Hinchey (manik.hinchey@k12.dc.gov) if you are opting out of the parent portal access. If you are opting in, you do not have to do anything at this time; you will receive an e-mail during the first week of November with information on how to log in and use the Parent Portal to view 1st advisory grades for your student(s).

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.

Have you visited our reopening website recently? DCPSReopenStrong.com is the online hub for families with information about Term 2 and reopening plans. In the past week, we published new content on the site:
• Every #ReopenStrong email update to families is available under the Updates page.
• A graphic outlining key components of Term 2 learning models is on the Student Selection Process page.
• Our COVID-19 Response Protocol is available for the public.
• The Family FAQ has nearly 80 responses.
• Videos and presentations from weekly community town halls are available to stream.