05-04-2020 - CHEC BULLETIN

CHEC BULLETIN
A weekly update on our professional learning community

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CHEC bulletin for Week of May 4, 2020
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK - WE ARE EVERYTHING WITH OUR WONDERFUL TEACHERS!
MARIA TUKEVA’S (MT) MESSAGE:
MEETINGS THIS WEEK:
All Departments and SLC’s send individual notifications of their meetings
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Monday, May 4, 2020
Teacher Appreciation Week


Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Teacher Appreciation Week

Wednesday, May 6, 2020
ALT Team Meeting 8:00 am
Teacher Appreciation Week


Thursday, May 7, 2020
Teacher Appreciation Week


Friday, May 8, 2020
Teacher Appreciation Week
Deadline for Advisory 3 Grades Submitted in Aspen
HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK TO ALL OF OUR FANTASTIC CHEC TEACHERS!

Dear CHEC Teachers:

I would like to take this opportunity, to tell you how amazing each and every one of you are, and what an honor it is to work with you.  This is perhaps the most significant Teacher Appreciation Week of our lives, as we witness the incredible resilience and creativity all of you have demonstrated in the face of incredible adversity.

Thank you for your ideas, willingness to experiment, and above all, for the care and collaboration you show to one another.  Because of the teamwork you always demonstrate, we have been able as a team to redesign our school and engage in complete virtual learning.  In a few short weeks, you have basically recreated your curriculum and instructional delivery – an astounding feat.  You have reached out to each other and to students and parents, to provide a calm and reassuring presence.

Thank you CHEC teachers, for being  heroes and heroines, for making our mission possible, and for being leaders in the quest for social justice.  CHEC Teachers, YOU ROCK!

With Love and Admiration,
Ms.T


SHOUT OUTS

  • Shout out to Ms. Crivelli, Ms. Avila, Ms. Weiss, Mr. Stewart and Ms. Parke for helping to organize the Homegoing Ceremony!
  • Kudos to Kapindi Kroma for organizing a 6th Grade Parent Town Hall, and to Mr. Smith for co-facilitating it. We had over 60 parents in attendance!
  • Shout out to Ms. West, Ms. Thweatt and Mr. Galvan for organizing Student Town Halls, and Mr.Galvan for a virtual tour of the school!
  • Shout out to Ms. Henry and Ms. Pugh for organizing a Virtual Senior Decision Day!
  • Kudos to Pankaj, Ms. Nimer, Ms. Crivelli, and Ms. Carino for continuing to find a way to get the funds to our neediest families!
  • Shout out to Ms. Warren for developing a pilot program to support our neediest students – Success Coaches
  • Shout out to the Dean Team and all who have participated in IG Live CHEC In!
  • Kudos to all members of the ALT team for their work on our needs assessment!
  • SHOUT OUT TO ALL OF THE CHEC TEAM FOR CONTINUING TO BE AMAZING!
               




INSTRUCTION:
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK - WE ARE EVERYTHING WITH OUR WONDERFUL TEACHERS!
Grades for Advisory 3 are due on this Friday, May 8.  Please be sure you have followed all guidance, by making all assignments extra-credit.  We are now in the second week of the Fourth Advisory, which will last a total of 5 weeks.  All departments are planning backwards from the end of the year, with one GRASPS, and portfolio presentations as a reflection on learning.  The first GRASPS should already be in progress this week. Please refer to the 4th Advisory grading guidance as you design the assignments for this advisory.

AP exams will start next week – please support all of our students as they undertake their first virtual AP test.  We will need to provide them with reminders and modeling, as well as to send notification to the parents on how they can support the exams


INSTRUCTIONAL CALENDAR
The Instructional Calendar is a living document that houses all the major curricular requirements, assessments, and schoolwide events.  The Instructional Calendar has now been updated to reflect the most recent information.

Please view the Instructional Calendar here

OPPORTUNITIES:
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK - WE ARE EVERYTHING WITH OUR WONDERFUL TEACHERS!
UPDATES FROM: I ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM I PLANNING FOR REOPENING I PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE DAY I YOGA WEDNESDAYS I SCHOOL ENROLLMENT I TANIA MENDEZ I OFFICE DEPOT GIFT CARDS I GrantED FUNDING NEWS I DC ARTS AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE I TYLER MANNING - FINANCIAL CONSULTANT I PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LINK I LIBRARY UPDATE I OFFICE DEPOT GIVE BACK I NEWSELSA




ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM

The Academic Leadership Team (ALT) consists of all administrators, LEAP leads, Department Chairs, and any interested faculty or staff.  Meetings are held twice a month.  The ALT team designs and monitors the Comprehensive School Plan.  All are welcome to attend, either for one meeting or for all.  

The last ALT meeting was Wednesday, April 22 at 8:00 am.   The team continued the process of completing the Needs Assessment for our Comprehensive School Plan, by moving into Breakout Groups on TEAMS.  The agenda and minutes are posted on TEAMS.  The next ALT team meeting will be Wednesday, May 6 at 8:00 am.  Our agenda will include continuing work on the Needs Assessment for the Comprehensive School Plan.




PLANNING FOR REOPENING

There is an Education Committee of the Reopen DC Committee, and they are interested in ideas on how to reopen schools.  We will hold a teacher focus group to capture ideas and thoughts that can be sent to the committee.  Please stay tuned for date and time of the focus group.



PLANNING FOR PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE DAY MAY 22

On May 22, we will have our first Parent Teacher Conference Day of Learning at Home.  We will hold a focus group this week to discuss ideas of how to design the experience to maximize parent engagement.  The Focus Group will be on Friday, May 8 at 3:00 pm.   A TEAMS Invitation will be sent.



YOGA WEDNESDAYS

Set up your space!
 
All are welcome – pet, spouses, partners, kids and parents!



1. Join with audio and turn the volume up.
2. You are invited to turn your video on so that we can see you and connect as a community.
3. After class, you will be unmuted and have some time to say, "Hi" to your fellow yogis

Looking forward to practicing with you!



SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

 
 
As you may have heard, DCPS has begun the SY 2020 -21 Enrollment Process for all students. In the last many years, CHEC has always been one few DCPS schools that consistently met the Enrollment Goals. CHEC Enrollment Team has always relied upon the help of Teachers, Counselors, Social Workers, Librarians, Aides and Administrative Staff to help us achieve our Enrollment Goals. Enrollment is the main driving force behind School Budgets and Staffing.

Goal for SY 2020 – 21: We have to be fully enrolled by the time school opens (date is yet to be announced). Total projection for CHEC next year is 1520.

Timeline: We have to re-enroll all our current students by May 29, earlier if possible. All students by first day of school next SY.

POC: Any questions or issues with Enrollment, please reach out to CHEC Registrar Ms. Paige at darnetta.paige@k12.dc.gov
Due to the current crisis, Enrollment process is going to look very different as safety of families, students and staff is the number one priority.

Main points below:

Enrollment is going to be online, via an online tool called Seamless Docs. DCPS has already sent parents have already been sent the information and we will keep messaging as well.
All students – current and new students have to enroll.
Parents can simply go on to Seamless Docs, create an account and upload documents. Documents can be uploaded as pictures, files, etc.

https://enrolldcps.dc.gov/ - is the link parents can access to go to the Enrollment App. They can select from the 6 language options.

Parents will need an email address to create an account.

There will be a dedicated phone number and email address for CHEC parents to contact regarding Enrollment. We are waiting to hear back from DCPS on this. For now, please contact Ms. Paige at darnetta.paige@k12.dc.gov

In the next few weeks, we will be messaging to parents via Robocalls, KiNVO and emails about enrollment. As in the past, we will also announce incentives for Students, Teachers and Grade Levels in order to get to our Enrollment Goals.

I thank you for your support in advance. Please let Ms. Paige and I know if you have any questions.

Be safe.
Pankaj



CHEC SENIOR TANIA MENDEZ RECEIVES THE 2020 LATINO MEDICAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION (LMSA) FUTURO SCHOLARSHIP
 
 
Congratulations to Tania Mendez who receive the 2020 Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) Futuro Scholar Award for the amount of $1,000.  The President, Andrew Barra and Vice President, Juliana Rodriguez of the LMSA Howard University College of Medicine stated, "It was almost impossible to select just one award winner, as nearly every essay, told a powerful story of identity, hardship, and determination, but it is my pleasure to grant Tania Mendez the title of 2020 Futuro Scholar!
 
 
Ms. Lopez Elmore



OFFICE DEPOT GIFT CARDS

I hope everyone is well and safe! Please see the attached flyer regarding $50 gift cards from Office Depot for distance learning supplies.  Please note that it must be used by May 29, 2020.  The e-gift card will come from officedepotgiftcardsupport@cashstar.com.  Only WTU and select CSO members will receive this (same people that received the $200 gift card at the start of the school year).  If you do not receive your electronic gift card by May 1 to your DCPS e-mail, please contact the e-mail addresses contained within the flyer.




KATHLEEN RYAN RECEIVES GrantED FUNDING

We are happy to share that Kathleen Ryan has been awarded a grant of $80.51 for a Wacom Intuos Wireless Graphics Drawing Tablet $80.51.
Thank you!

Julia Bozzolo
GrantEd Foundation, Co-Founder
www.grantedfoundation.org




DC ARTS AND HUMANITIES EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE

We hope that you're doing well. In order to best support our school partners in these uncertain times, the DC Collaborative is excited to announce the launch of our online Distance Learning Resource Database. These resources encompass curricular guides, virtual field trips, and other educational activities to enhance students' at-home learning experiences. We hope that you're able to use the resources in your distance learning efforts.

Please feel free to share this resource with other educators and parents in your community. We know this is a challenging time on many fronts and we  will support you and your students in any way that we can. Do let us know if you have any questions, feedback, or additional resources to share.

Stay safe,
Clarissa

Clarissa Heartsfield
Manager of School Partnerships
DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative
Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 8AM - 4PM
#CollectiveImpact #CollaborativeEffect #ArtsAndHumanitiesForEveryStudent
202.470.6467 ext. 1 (p)

Starting Monday, March 16th
DC Collaborative Daily ZoomChats will take place daily at 11:00am to provide arts and humanities education community updates and opportunity to chat with DC Collaborative staff in response to COVID-19: https://zoom.us/j/8531648236



MESSAGE FROM TYLER MANNING - FINANCIAL CONSULTANT

Donors Choose is a great resource for all teachers. You can receive a mini grant to support a special project or initiative.  Please see some of our recent Donors Choose grantees! You can reach out to them for support in obtaining your own grant!

I hope you are staying safe! I am sure you have a lot on your mind right now as a result of this COVID-19 chaos. I wanted to inform you that as a financial consultant with AXA Equitable, one of the approved providers of the supplemental retirement plans for DC, I am doing brief phone appointments with faculty and staff to help them get a better handle on how this market volatility affects their:
1. DC Pension
2. 403b supplemental retirement plan
3. 457b supplemental retirement plan
 
If you think you may benefit from this information, I have attached a PDF that provides insightful and contextual perspective to all this craziness. If there’s another way I may be of assistance, please let me know!
 
Kind Regards,
 
Tyler Manning
Financial Consultant
Equitable Advisors
3141 Fairview Park Drive, Suite #250
Falls Church, VA
C: 240-688-6371




GREAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER LINK
Here is a link for a monthly newsletter from OSSE about PD opportunities for a bunch of subjects/areas.
Please take a look … it may have something they could use!   http://eepurl.com/gBFkKw

It has ELL, SpEd, SEL, H & PE, RTI, literacy, math and more.


LINCOLN LIBRARY UPDATE

First Book & Pizza Hut Grant

CHEC Lincoln Library was awarded a mini grant this week to purchase books and resources to comfort and support students as a result of COVID-19. Materials will be purchased for the school library and giveaways when we return to the building. If you have a First Book account, check your email to see if you also were chosen for the grant. Items may be used for classroom libraries, school libraries, distance learning support, etc.


25 Books Campaign

The physical library is closed but the digital collection remains available for you and students to access. As we continue with distance learning, students (and you!) can continue to log what they're reading through Beanstack on Clever or through the app. ELA teachers have received video tutorials and book recommendations to share to encourage the use of DC Public Library and Lincoln digital resources. If you would like these videos or information, send Ms. Falkenberg an email.

Please send any photos of you reading to Ms. Falkenberg to be promoted on social media - encourage students to read by modeling your reading (teachers and admin!). Your CHEC Librarians will share out more reading events and promotions such as read alouds, PBIS incentives, bilingual read alouds, and more. Graphics will be designed and shared for promotion on your social media. If you want to design your own, fantastic! You're encouraged to use the hashtags or tags #DCPSReads #CHECReads #DCPSSchoolLibraries #DCPSatHome @dcpublicschools


BELL LIBRARY UPDATE

Sending peace and love your way as we navigate unfamiliar personal and educational territory.  This is an unprecedented time.  Taking this time to practice constant self-love and care is essential.  Washingtonian Taraji P. Henson's, Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her father, is offering (5) COVID-19 Free Virtual Therapy sessions (please review eligibility).

WTU has partnered with FOX5, its sister station, FOXPlus WDCA-TV to air lessons on television.  In celebration of National Library Week, several librarians have presented lessons.  Because its National Financial Literacy Month, I chose to present on Financial Literacy.  The lesson airs this morning at 10 AM.

I had the great pleasure of distributing sanitized text books to Ms. Lainez' amazing students...please see the attached Show and Tell video.  Bell High School Library picture album coming soon!   

As we get ready to re-introduce the 25 Books Campaign, just in time for the summer,  be on the lookout for author talks and additional programming that will be located on the Bell Library website.  Also, check out the website for updated resources and tabs!  

Steven Blackburn from District Administration has compiled an impressive list of 200 + K-12 resources, please take a look!

Come ALL! The Bell Library Virtual Book Club kicks off Thursday, April 30th at 2 PM.  Bring your favorite book and food...




OFFICE DEPOT GIVE BACK
Office Depot has a Give Back to Schools program that provides 5% credit from people's purchases to help schools buy supplies throughout the year. Below is more info and our school ID numbers that people can share at in-store or online check out.  The site provides graphics to share online as well.

Lincoln: 70020154
Bell: 70229484
CHEC: 70020156


'Simply make a purchase of qualifying school supplies, provide your school ID at checkout and your school will receive 5% back in credits for FREE supplies!'


FREE ON LINE RESOURCES AND PD OPPORTUNITIES

newsela

Your teachers now have free access to our entire new product suite through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. That includes Newsela ELA, Newsela Social Studies, Newsela Science, and The Newsela Social-Emotional Learning Collection. All teachers at your district will begin receiving getting started emails from Newsela within 7 days. Please get in touch with your Newsela representative or reply back to this email if you would like to pause emails from Newsela at this time.

We created this distance learning toolkit to help you activate your community for distance learning. For additional support, we invite you to join our upcoming office hours. Register for the time that works for you.

High school students, like everyone else, are cooped up at home. So The New York Times came up with a smart plan to help those students kill time, stay informed and maybe drum up some more readers. Through a deal with Verizon, the Times will offer students and teachers in U.S. high schools free digital access to NYTimes.com. The deal is from now through July 6. (Here are the details to sign up.)
It's from the Poynter news media daily update.

ELLEVATION

As distance learning becomes the new norm for students across the country, a lot of families are playing an increased role in the day-to-day education of their child(ren).
The home-school connections added to the Ellevation Distance Learning activities allow educators to engage family members to share in the learning process.



Check out this just released instructional activity that allows multilingual learners to benefit from educational opportunities at home.

Sincerely,
Your Ellevation Team
CLIMATE:
RESOURCES:
RESOURCE CORNER FOR EDUCATORS
VIRTUAL EDUCATION RESOURCES FROM FORMATIVE

Hello CHEC Team,

I hope you and the educators at Columbia Heights EC are safe and well at this time! We know that your virtual classroom environments are essential to the future success of your students, so we have some new resources to share with you. Please pass these along to your team:


Take care and stay safe,
Sarah

Sarah McGull
Success Manager
Formative



Happy Sunday! I hope all is well with you and your family. Below are the infographics for this coming week's extracurricular activities.


























CHEC Counselors Weekly

Please find the CHEC Counselor’s Weekly news at this link (English), and this link Spanish.

RESTORATIVE:
The culture team is excited to continue our Staff RJ circles w/ Mali to support adult  self- care. On Friday, May 8th, Mali and the dean team will host a Wellness circle from 3p –4p. We invite all staff interested in participating to register and reserve your seat!

Our student's RJ theme will continue to highlight self- confidence this week.  As we move forward, we want to remind students to be confident in themselves and know how they are engaging in direct instruction.  We are still actively hosting RJ circles each day between 12p and 1p w/ the culture team for both MS and HS students. Also, we will be reaching out to teachers individually to host an RJ check-in before or after direct instruction. We are pushing to have 100% of students, and staff members receive SEL resources to enhance relationships, build community as well as support their emotional health. Please continue to encourage our students to participate in our RJ check-ins. We want to hear from more students and fill the need. Check out the article attached.Teacher Self-Care: How to help our nervous system during a pandemic Last but not least, follow us on IG @checdc


How to Help Our Nervous Systems During a Pandemic

At the moment, I’m happy to be in my own home, self-quarantining, because I've recently been around the world on a training tour. I was in Rome twice. I was in Lisbon. I was in New York City. And when the Covid-19 travel ban was announced, I was in a small town outside Amsterdam. At 4:00 a.m. I made the decision to find a way to get on a flight as my nervous system sent me the message: "I need to get home! I don't want to be stuck here away from my husband, away from what feels familiar.”

Continue reading at: www.psychotherapynetworker.org
WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE


Even though sports have officially ended for the 2019 - 2020 school year, the work behind the scenes in preparation for the next season hasn't ceased. In celebration of all the work that our coaches and student athletes do, we will honor a coach or student athlete every week. in our bulletin moving for forward. This week we honor Coach Daniel Tyson.


As a class of 1998 Bell Multicultural SHS alum, Coach Tyson served as class president & captain of the boys basketball team where he earned All-Met Honorable mention.  After graduating from Bell, Coach Tyson went on to attend Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science.  One year after graduating from Cheyney, Coach Tyson returned to Bell, where he would coach the next five years, splitting time between JV boys basketball (first) and then eventually middle school boys basketball (once the two schools joined and became one).  As the Lincoln boys' basketball coach, Coach Tyson led the knights to two championship games.  While the Knights fell short of winning the championships, Coach Tyson used this valued experience and joined the high school football staff where he'd serve as the Assistant Head Coach for the next 8 years.  In 2016, Coach Tyson was promoted to head coach of the football team.  As head coach, Coach Tyson lead the Griffins to an undefeated season in 2018 earning both city & state championships.  In all, Coach Tyson has coached at CHEC for over 16 years & continuously embodies the spirit of being a Griffin and Knight!  Coach Tyson, we salute you for all of your hard work and dedication to our program.

If you are interested in joining the CHEC athletic department, as a student-athlete, coach, and/or supporter, please contact athletic director, Desmond Alexander at desmond.alexander@k12.dc.gov!



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