Hearst Family Update
May 27, 2022
Principal's Message
Dear Owl families,
We made it through another week of this unprecedented school year and this week highlighted the importance of the safety and emergency drills that we practice throughout the year. Know that as a DCPS school, we are required to practice a variety of drills, including a monthly fire drill, and at least two times per year the following: alert status drills, lockdown drills, severe weather drills, earthquake drills, and reverse evacuation drills (we move as quickly as we can from the soccer field back into the building.) Our hope is that we never have to test these skills in a real emergency but if something does happen, we are all clear on what to do. Know that we will be having a previously scheduled fire drill and lockdown drill in June to close out the school year and if you'd like more information about these drills, you're welcome to reach out to your child's teacher, Dr. Chen, or me.
Continuing on the theme of safety, your kids were sent home with a test kit on Thursday as part of a voluntary testing program after Memorial Day weekend. Given the upcoming holiday weekend, the 20 positive cases last week, and the excess number of test kits we have, we distributed kits to your kids so that everyone has the option to test before coming back to school after the long weekend. This is not a mandatory DCPS test to return program but a step that we are taking as a school to protect our community because we have the extra resources to do so. Because this is not a mandatory test to return program, you do not need to upload your results anywhere and you do not need to email negative results to anyone on our staff. However, if your child tests positive, please immediately email their teacher, attendance@hearstes.org, and me at jennifer.geoffroy@k12.dc.gov.
Thanks for all that you do to keep our community safe and 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
- May 30 - Memorial Day Holiday (no school for students or staff)
- June 3 - Career Day (dress up as your possible future career: dancer, doctor, lawyer, reporter, graphic designer, teacher, singer, etc.)
- June 6 & 7 - Step Up Meetings with Families, 6:00-7:00pm both nights (see below for more information)
- June 10 - Wordle Day (everyone wear a large letter pinned to the front (and/or back) of your shirt [like a scrabble letter tile], 1st-5th grade make as many 5 letter words as possible=win bragging rights; Pre-K-K make as many 3 letter words as possible)
- June 11 - Life's A Musical - 2022 Spring Show, 7:00pm (virtual event - link will be shared)
- June 13-17 - Student Council Bake Sale, playground
- June 16 - Step Up Morning Meetings for kids
- June 17 - Field Day (rain date June 22)
- June 20 - Juneteenth Holiday Observed (no school for all)
- June 21 - 5th Grade Promotion, Gym, 10-11am
- June 24 - Owl Gear Day; Last Day of School for Students
- June 27 - Last Day of School for Staff
- July 5 - August 5 - DCPS Offers Summer Programming for Students (see Chancellor's 3/7/22 email to families for additional details)
- August 29 - First Day of SY22-23 for K-5
- September 1 & 2 - First Day of SY22-23 for PK
Close Contacts Should Be Masking 10 Days From Date of Exposure
Questions From Families
Q: What specific metrics are used to determine when (and for how long) an individual classroom will switch to virtual instruction? Why is "test to stay" not being used for the students if the teacher does not have COVID?
A: I submit to DCPS the facts surrounding an outbreak in a specific classroom. They review the facts and then determine whether or not the class can/should switch to virtual and for how long. I believe that generally speaking if 20-30% of a class is out the switch to virtual occurs and that the length of the virtual switch is 5-10 days from the last positive case in the class.
Q: What specific metrics are used to determine which students in a classroom that has switched to virtual mode are exempt from that mode and can instead attend in-person school in another classroom? How is that exemption information communicated to families with children in the classroom that has switched to virtual instruction so families can determine if their child is eligible for this exemption?
A: To my knowledge there are not specific metrics DCPS has shared and everything is done on a case by case basis. In the case of the one PK class that moved to virtual, one family requested an exemption and that was approved so the student joined the other class while their class was virtual. Reading this may prompt other PK families to request an exemption for Tuesday, May 30, but please know that we cannot and will not be adding additional students from the virtual PK class to the in person PK class as there is not additional space in the class to do so.
Reminder: Spring Photos Now Available
To view the galleries, go to www.freedpics.com
Enter the password: HEARST2122SP
Reminder: Enrolling for School Year 2022-2023
Reminder: Life's A Musical - 2022 Spring Show (June 11, 7:00 PM)
Reminder: Step Up Meetings
We're excited to announce we're bringing back Step Up Meetings for kids and families this year! More information will be coming on both but for now, know that Step Up Meetings for families give you a chance to wrap up the year with your child's teacher(s) from this year and also get a chance to meet teachers in your child's next grade.
Step Up Meeting links will only be shared by Ms. Hinchey with families after you have submitted a complete enrollment packet for your child for the upcoming school year. Dates and times for each grade's meeting are below. For families who want to attend multiple grade level meetings with conflicting times, meetings will be recorded and shared on June 8 with families who've re-enrolled. If you haven't yet enrolled by June 6, the appropriate grade level's meeting recording will be shared with you after you re-enroll.
June 6, 6:00-7:00pm
- PK/K
- 1/2
- 3/4
June 7, 6:00-7:00pm
- K/1
- 2/3
- 4/5
- CES
Reminder: Health Certificates and Medication Orders
Reminder: Asymptomatic Student Testing on Wednesdays
Starting the week of 11/8, our asymptomatic testing time will move to 9:45am on Wednesday. During a typical week, we will pull test a random sample of approximately 25% of students who have not opted out of testing. Knowing that some students in this group will not be able to produce a sample or their saliva sample will be rejected, this will allow us to ensure we are hitting the goal of testing 20% of our students each week. Know that we will 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, drink, chew gum, or have on chapstick 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.
The website to access results is: https://shieldt3k12.pointnclick.com/ and our Agency Code is: HearstES and the website . 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.
News and Announcements from DCPS
Reminder: Standing Ovation Nominations (Deadline Extended- 5/27)
Reminder: Strawberries & Salad Greens Day (6/1)
Since 2011, schools across DC have participated in Strawberries & Salad Greens Day as a way to showcase locally grown produce in school meals. This event will educate students about both the health and environmental benefits of eating locally grown fruits and vegetables, and how healthy eating leads to healthy educational outcomes. This year, Strawberries & Salad Greens Day will be held on Wednesday, June 1.
For more information, please visit the OSSE website.
Reminder: Elementary Summer Acceleration Registration – Now Live
News and Announcements From Other Organizations
Reminder: DPR to Open Registration for Summer Programs on Monday, May 16
Starting May 16, residents will also be able to register for aquatics, cultural arts, sports, fitness, and senior programming. In addition to all the classic programs and sports, DPR invites residents to explore aquatics programs such as aqua kickboxing or HydroSpin. Seniors will have an opportunity to sign up for jewelry making, line dancing, or water aerobics. For teens, check out Makeup 101 or join a kickball team at one of six recreation centers across the city.
Residents are encouraged to create an account online with DPR’s registration system in advance to save time once program registration opens. Create an account here: dpr.dc.gov/DPRaccount.
For more information and a complete list of DPR programs, visit DPRprograms.com.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the DPR Customer Care line at (202) 673-7647.
Reminder: Next W3EdNet Meeting: Staff Parking and SBOE Rep Ruth Wattenberg on Tuesday June 7 at 7pm
Our final meeting of the school year will have two guests.
First, we will have Jason Meggs from the District Department of Transportation, who will come talk with us about the School Parking Zone Working Group and the regulations that it has been working on for defining school parking zones and how many (and to whom) parking passes to issue to school staff. Any school with limited parking will want to hear what he has to say, ask questions, and give comments!
Second, we will have our State Board of Education (SBOE) Representative, the amazing Ruth Wattenberg, who will update us on various things SBOE and take our pulse on questions of educational governance in DC.
Register in advance for this meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Melody, Karin, and Brian
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The Ward 3 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 local High School feeder pattern, host community events of common interest, and advocate for better schools across the city.
Website: https://www.w3ednet.com/
Twitter: @W3EdNet