I hope that you’ve had a relaxing weekend and look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning!
Thanks for your continued support,
Jen
Quick Updates
- Principal Albright and former Hearst students will be at Hearst on Wednesday, February 8, from 5:00-6:00 in the library to share information about Deal Middle School. All staff and families are encouraged to attend!
- Chancellor Wilson will be visiting our PTA meeting on February 8, from 6:00-6:45 in the gym. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from him as well as a chance to share your thoughts and ideas about Hearst and DCPS. Please join us!
- Our Hearst Girls basketball team is playing Takoma on Wednesday, February 1, at 4:00pm at Takoma Education Campus (7010 Piney Branch Road NW). To get a #1 seed in the playoffs and finish the season undefeated, our girls will need to beat Takoma. Let’s get over to Takoma and support the Lady Owls on Wednesday!
- The Hearst Boys basketball team is playing Brightwood on Thursday, February 2, at 4:00 at Hearst. Please come out to support our boys!
News and Announcements from Hearst
Report Cards
Report cards, attendance reports, middle of year assessment results, intervention invitation letters (where applicable), and attendance incentives (where applicable) will go home on Friday, February 3. Students with outstanding attendance and timely arrivals for the first half of the year will receive certificates for tickets to Georgetown basketball games at the Verizon Center and there will be additional opportunities to earn certificates in the following weeks.
Each certificate (which must be presented at the Verizon Center on the day of the game) can be redeemed for two free tickets to the following games:
o Saturday, February 4 @ 12:00 p.m. vs. Seton Hall
o Saturday, February 11 @ 12:00 p.m. vs. Marquette
o Wednesday, February 22 @ 7:00 p.m. vs. DePaul
Only one certificate per student will be accepted at each game. Tickets will not be distributed in advance, and must be picked up on the day of the game at the Verizon Center Box Office on F street, window #6. There will be an opportunity for families to purchase additional tickets at Window #6 when they claim their complimentary tickets.
OSSE Buses
Over the past months, there have been several incidents reported to the school in which parents of Hearst students are yelling at drivers and attendants on the buses that drop off and pick up our students. While understanding that drop off and pick up are busy times on 37th Street, this does not excuse disrespect, condescension, or yelling toward any adult who is serving our children. In addition to actually driving the bus, drivers must conduct inspections to ensure that the vehicle’s safety features are operational. At afternoon dismissal, bus attendants are responsible for ensuring that the students safely board the bus and that students are wearing their seat belts before the bus departs. During morning arrival, bus attendants are responsible for getting students off the bus safely at school. After handing off students to another adult at school, bus attendants are required to look on and under every seat to ensure that students are no longer on the bus and that student belongings have not been left behind. On top of all of these official duties performed for the safety and security of our students, drivers and attendants have been on the bus for close to two hours by the time they arrive at school in the morning and sometimes simply need to use the bathroom. As parents you know that it can be a challenge to get one child in and out of a car on some days. Knowing that we have as many as eight kids on a bus on any given day, I hope your empathy and patience eclipse any frustration about the traffic on 37th Street and that the bus drivers and attendants who serve our students are treated with kindness and respect moving forward.
News and Announcements from DCPS
2017-2018 Draft Calendar
The proposed DCPS calendar for the 2017-18 School year has been posted at this site: https://dcps.dc.gov/node/1212186. If you have any thoughts on the proposed calendar, the school system is soliciting those comments until February 5. Please lend your voice to the process of selecting a school calendar for the coming school year.
ACCESS for ELLs
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who have been identified as English language learners (ELs). It is given annually in WIDA Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in acquiring academic English. English Language Learners in DCPS will participate in the annual online Language Proficiency test, ACCESS 2.0, during the testing window from February 27, 2017 to April 7, 2017. Please direct questions about this assessment to Brian Garfield, [email protected].
PTA Corner
Hello Owl Families! We have had some amazing turnout at recent events – thank you so much! The happy hour competition at Grilled Oyster Company was a huge success. The moms beat the dads, but really, we’re all winners! Thank you also to the Bernards family for hosting such an awesome pre-auction wine night. The turnout was great and a good time was had by all. Thank you to the Stuart-Doyle family for hosting the Hearst Information Session today at their home as well!
Upcoming Events:
· PTA Meeting: The PTA will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 6pm in the gym. Pizza and childcare will be available for all potty-trained kids. Please check the listserv and school website for sign-up information.
· Last Pre-Auction Wine Party: The final pre-auction wine party will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25. Please bring one bottle of wine for the wine night and one bottle of wine to be packaged for the auction. Please RSVP to Nayamka Long at [email protected].
· Community Dining Night: Our next Potomac Pizza night will be Monday, March 13. Please join us from 4-9pm at 19 Wisconsin Circle, Chevy Chase, Md. Dine in or carry out but make sure to mention you’re with Hearst and our school will receive 20 percent of our proceeds.
· Open House Tours: Looking for an opportunity to share your Hearst experience? Look no further than the next Open House on Friday, March 17. If you have time to help out by greeting visitors, giving a tour or just setting up, please email Kay Parry at [email protected].
· Hearst Auction: The annual Hearst auction will be held on Saturday, March 25 at the UDC Student Center, just one mile from Hearst! Please check out the auction website at:http://hearstes.schoolauction.net/2017/homepages/show for information on how to purchase tickets, make donations and get involved. For more auction information please contact Emily Olesh at[email protected] or Adrienne Allen ([email protected]).