Hearst Family Update
February 5, 2021
Principal's Message
Good evening, Owl Families,
Thank you for support and flexibility as we worked through what could be described as an interesting first week of Term 3. I've again included our school inclement weather policy, the policy that we'll be using moving forward, as well as updates on our Term 3 classes. You'll see that all of our in person classes are nearly or completely full and I think I speak for everyone working in the building when I say it was a wonderfully exciting sight to see our classrooms come alive more fully over the course of this past week. After not seeing kids outside their boxes on Teams it was also surprisingly and fun to see how much they've actually grown in the last 11 months with some of our 5th graders seemingly a foot or more taller than when they were last in the building!
Thanks for your partnership and have a great 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
- February 1 - Term 3 Begins
- February 10-11 - K-5 Term 2 Report Cards Published in Aspen
- February 12 - K-5 Term 2 Report Cards, IEP Progress Reports, and MOY Data Reports Mailed Home
- February 24 - Virtual Coffee Chat for Families, 9:00-9:30am (link forthcoming)
- March 24 - Hearst Spring Picture Day
- March 24 - Virtual Coffee Chat for Families, 9:00-9:30am (link forthcoming)
Quick Updates
- Reminder: Because our building is open to students, any non-staff members who would like to come to the building to pick up materials, switch out a device, etc., must have an appointment in order to come into the building. Please email Ms. Johnson (kestaganer.johnson@k12.dc.gov) or call (202-282-0106) to set up an appointment if you need to come into the building for any reason. Thanks!
Reminder: DC is publishing COVID data specific to DCPS and it can be found here: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/node/1506966. With both staff and students back in school buildings, please visit dcpsreopenstrong.com/health/response/ to learn more about DCPS' COVID-19 Response Protocol, including testing available for students and staff.
Term 3 Update
This week marked the start of Term 3 and of our 61 total in person seats available, here is where we stand:
- 61 total seats = 54/61 Accepted = 89% of seats accepted
- PK CARE = 7/8 accepted
- K-2 CARE = 8/10 accepted
- 3-5 CARE= 11/11 accepted
- K IPL= 10/10 accepted
- 2-5 ELL CARE+ = 9/11 accepted
- 2-5 SWD CARE+ = 9/11 accepted
We have offers out for any unfilled seats and will continue to work through our wait lists until the classes are full. We also hope to open additional classrooms later in Term 3 and Term 4 and as those plans come together, I will be sure to share them. One final note - we were made aware that a robocall went out from the Mayor's office on Thursday night about calling your child's school if you want to enroll in open in person seats. Please know that if we have open seats in our current classrooms, you'll be hearing directly from Ms. Hinchey or other school staff with an offer.
Inclement Weather Guidance
In preparation for a potential delay or closure because of inclement weather, all in person students will be sent home with their devices the night before the weather event. Please see below for additional information about attendance and closure notifications:
Attendance
- If buildings are closed, all students are to pivot to virtual learning at home. Students in the CARE and CARE+ classrooms will join their regularly scheduled live sessions. Students in the K IPL class will receive details about their schedule from Ms. Gray and Ms. Cole. Student attendance will be captured by students logging into Canvas.
- In the event of a two-hour delayed opening of our school, arrival will begin at 10:15am for K-2 CARE, 3-5 CARE, and our 2-5 CARE+ classrooms and 10:45am for our PK CARE and K IPL class. Students in CARE and CARE+ classes with live lessons in the morning should start those lessons at home and will continue them once in the building.
Inclement Weather Closure Updates
- For the most up to date information on school delays or closures please visit:
- @dcpublicschools social media accounts and dcps.dc.gov website
- When a school delay or closure has been determined, the Executive Office of the Mayor Communications will send out a press release, which will be shared out through press media.
Information for Families with Students Returning In Person in Term 3 - Updated
We are excited for Term 3 and to welcome back our students who are participating in in-person learning.Please take time to review the In-Person Learning family guide for resources to help you prepare for the first day back to the classroom. It includes important forms that parents or guardians need to sign:
- Family-School Agreement
- Daily Health Screening Tracker
- COVID-19 Testing Consent Forms (symptomatic and asymptomatic)
We will send home these documents with students on their first day of school and ask that you return them as soon as possible. If you'd like to print, sign, and send them in with your students, we welcome that as well.
As you know, school will look a little different this year. There may be instances where class is cancelled for the day due to staff availability, quarantines, or building operations. In those instances, we will notify you via Bloomz as soon as possible. As an example, many of our in person staff will be getting their second dose of the vaccine on Monday, February 15. Knowing that there have been many reports of people getting sick after their second dose, in an overabundance of caution in anticipation that many staff may be unable to work in person on Tuesday, February 16, we will be sending devices home with students on Friday, February 12. In the event that we are short staffed on Tuesday, February 16, and need to cancel a class or classes that day, we want to ensure that kids will still be able to access synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
Reminder: DPR Updates
For schools that have shared playgrounds with DPR, DCPS will reserve playgrounds for exclusive use by our schools from 11am - 1pm on Mondays through Fridays, beginning in Term 3 on
February 1. This means that starting in Term 3, the Hearst playground is open to the public prior to 11am and after 1pm on weekdays.
Additionally, DC Parks and Rec is holding feedback sessions with school communities. It’s an opportunity for folks to give feedback on which sites should be prioritized for improvements, new programming, and possible new facilities. The Wards 1 and 2 sessions have already passed.Please see below for upcoming dates and times:
Reminder: Access to Reading Materials/Books
There are many different ways that you can access physical and digital books for your child to read at home. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Vandivier or your child's homeroom teacher if you are having difficulty getting access to a wide variety of books and/or books at an appropriate reading level for your child. We are here to help!
Option 1: Check out books from the Hearst library!
Here is a video from Ms. Vandivier that explains the contactless checkout process at Hearst: https://dck12-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/elizabeth_vandivier_k12_dc_gov/ERNtXnO_LR9HrMDzI-EVVVMBdCv4z-DABr3KTyFhVMW8mg?e=fgUQ0b
Option 2: Check out books from the DCPS library!
As a Hearst student, your child can get a library card for DC public libraries! Please head over to the DCPS libraries website for more information on how to sign up and how book checkout/pickup works: https://www.dclibrary.org/
Option 3: Purchase books from Scholastic!
Each class has a Scholastic account. Due to the pandemic, you can currently purchase books and ship them directly to your home! It is very convenient. Website https://clubs.scholastic.com/home Please reach out to your homeroom teacher directly for a class code.
Option 4: Sora
You can access Sora for free via the Clever Portal. Sora offers a wide variety of books to read and to listen to!
Option 5: Epic
Epic is an extra website that you may have access to! Some classes have a class account. Epic provides TONS of books at all different levels. https://www.getepic.com/sign-in Please reach out to your homeroom teacher or Ms. Vandivier directly for a class code.
Reminder: Spring Portrait Day
We'll be holding our Spring Portrait Day on Wednesday, March 24, from 9am to 3pm. Portraits will be outdoors and socially distanced and you can sign up for an appointment at https://tuab0xbvaa.timetap.com/#/. Please see the attached flyer for additional information.
Reminder: Yearbook Photos Needed
News and Announcements from DCPS
DCPS FY22 Budget Update
As we get closer to the release of initial school budget allocations for Fiscal Year 2022 (School Year 2021-2022), we'd like to point you to an exciting new budget resource. Our new budget website, dcpsbudget.com, is now live! While we don't yet know exactly when FY22 school budget allocations will be released, spending time now to review the information on the site will help ensure you're properly prepared when the time comes.
Dcpsbudget.com replaces the old DCPS Datacenter site that LSAT members from previous years will likely remember. The new site is a one-stop-shop for all things DCPS budget. In addition to housing the FY22 Budget Development Guide, information about how DCPS is funded, how schools are funded, and how the Central Office budget is developed, the site's Budget Data page has School Budget Worksheets from previous fiscal years. This is where you will find the FY22 initial allocation worksheets when they become available. Additionally, the Budget Data page has an interactive tool where you can compare an individual school's budget year-over-year, see how a school's submitted budget may have differed from their initial budget in a given year, and compare budgets from school to school.
In addition to the resources available on the new budget site and in the LSAT Toolkit, please stay tuned as budget release gets closer as we hope to offer live opportunities for LSAT members to interact with the DCPS School Finance Team and other Central Office content teams who play a role in school budget development.
If you have questions while reviewing the information on the new site or at any other time during the budget development process, please email dcps.schoolfunding@k12.dc.gov and a member of the School Finance Team will be available to support.
Best,
DCPS Community Action Team
Reminder: Travel Guidance for In-Person Students and Staff
We recognize that some staff working in person and families attending in-person programming may be traveling over the upcoming long weekend in January.
Per the Mayor’s Order 2020-110, individuals who have traveled to any place other than Maryland or Virginia are required to either (1) self-monitor and limit daily activities—including not attending school—for 14 days after returning to the District (or coming to work for a District agency), or (2) self-monitor and limit daily activities—including not attending school—for three to five days and then receive a negative COVID-19 PCR COVID-19 test.
All DCPS staff members who are working in person, whether they are a District resident or not, can show their school ID to be prioritized at any District public testing sites.
See DC Health’s Guidance for Travel for more information and the flyer below for easy-to-follow dos and don’ts on this topic.
DCPS continues to follow the CDC’s and DC Health’s Holiday Travel Guidance released November 9th, remember the safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to celebrate at home. Gatherings with family and friends who are not a part of your household can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu.
Reminder: DCPS Immunization Compliance Updates and Immunization Requirements for CARE and In Person Classroom Participants
News and Announcements from Other Organizations
Next W3EdNet Meeting Feb 8 at 7pm: Deputy Chancellors Melissa Kim and Amy Maisterra
The next meeting of the Ward 3 - Wilson Feeder Education Network (W3EdNet) is on Monday, February 8 at 7pm via Zoom (link below). We are very happy to host Deputy Chancellors of DC Public Schools, Dr. Melissa Kim (https://dcps.dc.gov/biography/melissa-kim) and Dr. Amy Maisterra (https://dcps.dc.gov/biography/dr-amy-maisterra). They will be on hand to update us about reopening, resourcing of schools (such as technology), and future planning (such as how to handle overcrowding).
At our next meeting on Monday March 8 (also at 7pm via Zoom), we will host the Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Melody, Karin, and Brian
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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.
Website: https://www.w3ednet.com/
Twitter: @W3EdNet
Email: w3ednet@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.co
Zoom link:
Future W3EdNet Dates:
Monday, March 8
Monday, April 5
Monday, May 10
Monday, June 7