CHEC bulletin for Week of November 30, 2020
MARIA TUKEVA’S (MT) MESSAGE:
MEETINGS THIS WEEK:
All Departments and SLC’s send individual notifications of their meetings
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Monday, November 30, 2020
10:00 am – CHEC Parent Workshop – in English
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
ALT Team 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
9:30am- CHEC Parent Workshop - en Espanol
LSAT Meeting 4:00 pm
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Faculty Meeting 4:00 pm
Friday, December 4, 2020
Thanksgiving Break
UPCOMING EVENTS
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, and time to recharge and refresh. As we continue our journey of teaching and learning in a totally new environment, I have realized that the process of designing our strategies and approaches to meet the needs of our students, is a never ending process. This orientation toward experimentation, and trial and error, will serve us well in the future.
We are still in the design process for virtual instruction, and every day we learn what works, and what doesn’t. We also learn that what works for one student, may not work for another. We have seen some students thrive with this approach, while others struggle and become more withdrawn. Now we add another level of complexity -as we continue to refine the virtual environment, we are now charged with thinking about and designing small group, targeted, in-person experiences for students who want and need it. This is a unique design challenge, in that the two approaches will need to operate at the same time, within the same school community, in two totally different settings.
In order to think about this design challenge, we will be using a design process based on the work of the Stanford Design School. The design thinking process is intended to assist in the finding of solutions for problems that are unique and not clearly defined, such as the moment we are living now. Design thinking is not a linear process, it is circular and iterative, and in this way allows for continuous alignment and refinement. It all starts with understanding and responding to the end user.
- Empathize – through a thoughtful process and interviewing, have the end user describe what he/she needs or aspires to
- Define – based on what you have learned from the end user, define the problem to be solved
- Ideate – use brainstorming to unleash creative ideas and solutions
- Prototype – work as a group to select a prototype solution
- Test – try out the prototype, check with the end users on its effectiveness, and then tweak as necessary – Repeat the process!
As a team, we have already developed many prototypes and tested out many new ways of meeting the needs of our students and families. With the design process, we will ensure to start with empathy – to ensure that our design best meets the needs of students, staff, families and communities. When all stakeholders believe and trust that their needs are considered, the likelihood of successful prototypes is greatly increased. By beginning the design thinking process from the point of empathy, we are living the words of our CHEC mission –“We trust one another to continually improve our practice.”
In this week’s LSAT and Faculty meeting, we will be honing our skills in the design thinking process. I look forward to our creative thinking and solutions oriented approach!
ADVISORY 1 GRADING FOLLOW UP
This is a reminder that in our ALT Team meeting of December 1, 2020, (4:00 pm) we will have a subcommittee focused on discussing and refining grading procedures so that we are grading to support learning. If you are interested in providing feedback and ideas please attend!
SHOUT OUTS
- Shout out to Ms. Falkenberg for serving as our Instagram contact, and responding to student questions and concerns on a daily basis!!!
- Shout out to Dr. Barnett for creating a stimulating and inspiring Advisory lesson for Native American History Month!
- Shout out to the Ops team for continuing to provide food and other support for our parents. Kudos to Mr. Molina for continuing to give out Thanksgiving Baskets throughout the week!
- Kudos to Ms. Strickland for coordinating our Honored Schools Initiative!
WE HAVE A RECOGNITION! HONORED TEACHERS PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES THIS YEAR!
Columbia Heights Education Campus’s great teachers deserve to be recognized! We’re proud to partner with Honored Schools again this year to do just that! Go to HonoredSchools.org to tell Columbia Heights Education Campus teachers how they’ve made a difference. Please share this with parents and students! Once recognized, teachers get an email with your recognition story and we’ll celebrate them! Last year our very own Ms. Ramirez won the Life-Changing Teacher Award and a $5000 cash award!
INSTRUCTION:
ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK - CHEC CHAT AND CHEW WITH MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL
WEEK 4 OF ADVISORY 2
We are beginning the fourth week of the second advisory. Progress reports will be due the week of December 15, so now is a time to remind students to check ASPEN, and to do all of their assignments. By this week the first GRASPS of the advisory should be well underway with students, and in the independent work period of the class, students should be completing different components of the project, and giving and getting feedback. In reflecting upon the First Advisory portfolio presentations, we saw that in order for students to speak authentically on the essential questions of the unit, it is important to weave those questions throughout the instructional process. Other reflections and suggestions to consider as we progress through the second advisory:
Take advantage of Break Out rooms as a way to engage students in more academic discourse with each other, and reduce the amount of teacher talk.
Provide incentives and fun ways for students to come on camera daily, so that when it comes time to present their portfolios, they are ready to come on camera and speak in front of others. For example, let students know a week in advance, when their turn will be to come on camera and show their work or present something. Then, provide badges or other incentives.
INSTRUCTIONAL CALENDAR
The Instructional Calendar is a living document that houses all the major curricular requirements, assessments, and schoolwide events. The Instructional Calendar is complete for the moment, however changes may be made and will be noted. If you have any requests for additions to the Instructional Calendar, please contact Mr. Magee, peter.magee@k12.dc.gov, or your SLC Administrator.
Please view the Instructional Calendar for 2020-21 here.
IMPACT UPDATES
Informal observations for teachers have begun, and will continue until every teacher has had at least one informal observation. Once you have had an informal observation and feedback, the formal observation will take place.
As a follow up to our IMPACT orientation two weeks ago, we are creating a library of practices and videos to support development on particular EP’s. As we discussed, we are all in a learning curve with virtual instruction, and will be learning from each other throughout the year. If you would like to share a best practice and be videotaped for the video library, please let your SLC Administrator know.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Professional Development and learning is a priority for all of us, and we are all on a new learning curve.
Here is the link for topics being covered in office hours this week:
Join the Summit Master Course Training each Tuesday during the first 30 minutes of your planning period to learn new Summit Projects and PLT Best Practices!
Ms. Ramirez- Building engaging content assessments and checks for understanding
Ms. Zuccarello- Focus Area Workshops and Mentoring during PLT
Contact Veronica Zuccarello or Gabriela Ramirez with any questions.
OPPORTUNITIES:
ONE YEAR AGO THIS WEEK - HIEEAA FINANCIAL AID BOOTCAMP
UPDATES FROM: I FACULTY MEETING I ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM I LOCAL SCHOOL ADVISORY TEAM I
DECEMBER FACULTY MEETING – THURSDAY DECEMBER 3 4:00 PM
Our December Faculty Meeting will focus on the design process being conducted by the Reopen Community Corp (LSAT and interested staff members). There will be a structure and opportunity to gather feedback from all on how to design an eventual return to some in-person instruction.
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM
The ALT team is a team of educators charged with the design and implementation of our mission aligned Comprehensive School Plan. The Team is composed of all LEAP leaders, Department Chairs, Administrative Team Members, and any interested educator or staff member. We seek to involve all perspectives and voices. All staff members are invited to attend any or all meetings. Our work is in the four domains of the CSP – Shared Leadership, Engagement, Culture of Achievement, and Academics. The notes can be found in the Notebook section of the CHEC Team site. Meetings will be held every two weeks, rotating between Friday mornings at 7:30 am, and Tuesday afternoon’s at 4:00 pm. The next meeting will be Tuesday, December 1 at 4:00 pm. At this meeting, Domain’s will report on their progress on Action Steps, and we will have a special Breakout Group and Ad Hoc Committee to work on Grading Policy and Gradebook set up.
LOCAL SCHOOL ADVISORY TEAM (LSAT)
The LSAT is a team comprised of teachers, elected by their peers, support staff, parents, students and community members. The LSAT advises the principal on the CSP and the budget, as well as other schoolwide initiatives and priorities. Currently the LSAT is working on the Reopening initiative, and in December and January, the LSAT will be charged with work on the budget for SY 21-22. The next LSAT meeting is December 2 at 4:00 pm..
STUDENT WORKS
In this section of our Bulletin, we will highlight student work from all disciplines. If you would like to share some excellent student work, please send to M. Tukeva, and we will highlight it in this section.
This week we would like to highlight the work of Alex Flores, Ana Reynoso, Anura Sharma, Anura Sharma, Anna Aguilera and Alberdy Ramirez Lopez.
These students submitted works that are featured on the Smithsonian website as part of the Living Through History project. The Living through History Cornerstone is a K-12 academic and SEL curriculum for DCPS students. Through the lens of global competencies, students, staff, and families applied academics across content areas to understand and process their experiences during the quarantine and connect with others’ experiences across the globe.
Please check out their incredible work below.
THE DEAN TEAM:
Hello CHEC Family!
We hope you all are well. The Dean Team would like to share a few shout outs and friendly reminders.
Trauma Responsive Practices SEL Survey:
We have created a survey to gain teacher/staff perspective on Trauma Responsive Practices at CHEC. We truly value your perspectives and need to hear their insight to better serve our community. This survey takes about 4 -8 minutes to complete. We thank you all in advance for your response.
PBIS STUDENT WINNERS: WEEK 11 | ||
Student Name | Points | Grades |
Abner Arias Osorio | 20 | 6 |
Alex Dubon Guardado | 20 | 7 |
Josslyn Derricott | 19 | 8 |
Jose Hernandez | 30 | 9 |
Jaylien Petway | 19 | 10 |
Amber Carter | 19 | 11 |
Tania Hernandez Martinez | 24 | 12 |
Please celebrate these students for their high earnings of PRIDE points!
PBIS Teacher Shout-out:
Hugh Shout-out to Ms. Jovanda Warren and Ms. Desepe DeVargas for having given the most PBIS Badges last week (Week 10)!
Student Support Forms:
Also, we have created a padlet which has the student support form and the behavior referral form. Please bookmark this padlet for future reference: CHEC Student Support Guide. Feel free to connect with the Dean Team if you have any questions.
Peace & Love,
The Dean Team
WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE
Next Monday, December 7th, the CHEC athletic department will be facilitating a NCAA clearinghouse registration event at 4:00pm via MS Teams. This event is open to all student-athletes and parents but is specifically targeted at our junior and senior student-athletes who are interesting in playing sports in college. If you're interested in attending this event, please reach out to Coach A (desmond.alexander@k12.dc.gov or Ms. Henry (symphoni.henry@k12.dc.gov for the meeting link. Information can also be found on our CHEC athletic Instagram @checsports.
2nd advisory is in full swing, and we are now only 2 weeks away from DCIAA's official start date for winter sports practice, December 14th. Winter sports include basketball, bowling, cheerleading, indoor track, swimming, and wrestling. Eligibility for play will be dependent as always upon attendance, grades, and making sure student-athletes have completed their participation paperwork. Student-athletes cannot have more than 6 unexcused absences to remain eligible to play sports. So, please make sure you are keeping track of your attendance. Additionally, if you haven't done so already, complete your participation forms online and upload your current physical for this school year.
Participations forms are available via https://www.thedciaa.com/participation-forms. Currently, there are no DCIAA physical days scheduled, so it is imperative that potential student-athletes schedule a physical with their own doctor. Physicals must be signed by a nurse practitioner (NP) or medical doctor (MD. )Parents should click on the link corresponding to the appropriate level, whether middle or high school. Online forms are also available in Spanish.
Finally, our list of head coaches is below. Reach out to the coaches directly if you are a student-athlete, teacher, or parent for team meet up login information or if you have any other questions. If you haven’t done so yet, follow us on Instagram @checsports.
Lincoln
Archery – HC TBD (reach out to coach A desmond.alexander@k12.dc.gov
Baseball – Carlos Mesa carlos.mesa@k12.dc.gov
Boys Basketball – Lionel Edmonds lionel.edmonds@k12.dc.gov
Girls Basketball – Constance Hanlon constance.hanlon@k12.dc.gov
Cheerleading – Aaliyah Wright aaliyahwright88@gmail.com
Cross Country/Outdoor Track – Lionel Edmonds lionel.edmonds@k12.dc.gov
Golf – Marie Erickson marie.erickson@k12.dc.gov
Boys Soccer – Rhina Merino rnmerino123@gmail.com
Girls Soccer – Andrea Lewis andrea.lewis2@k12.dc.gov
Softball – Yanerca Marte yanerca.marte@k12.dc.gov
Swimming – Samuel Burmester samuel.burmester@k12.dc.gov
Wrestling – Eduardo Reyes eduardo.reyes@k12.dc.gov
Bell
Baseball – Reiss Allen reiss.allen@k12.dc.gov
Bowling – Mya Ferguson mya.ferguson@k12.dc.gov
Boys Cross Country/Indoor Track/Outdoor Track – Mark Robinson markblaytonrobinson@gmail.com
Girls Cross Country/Indoor Track/Outdoor Track – Donzella Hartwill donzella.hartwill@k12.dc.gov
Varsity Boys Basketball – Rodney Cook rodney.cook@k12.dc.gov
JV Boys Basketball – Mathieu Seichon mathieu.seichon@gmail.com
Varsity Girls Basketball – Rodricus Ficklin rodricus.ficklin2@k12.dc.gov
Cheerleading/Stunt – Dionne Wright dionnewright02@gmail.com
Flag Football – Ryan Duvall ryan.duvall@k12.dc.gov
Football – Daniel Tyson dnltysn@gmail.com
Golf – Ryan Duvall ryan.duvall@k12.dc.gov
Boys Rugby – Brian Mihelic brian.mihelic@gmail.com
Girls Rugby – Katherine Hanson katherinehanson17@gmail.com
Boys and Girls Soccer – Victor Molina victor.molina@k12.dc.gov
Softball – Thomas Spoth thomas.spoth@k12.dc.gov
Swimming – Reiss Allen reiss.allen@k12.dc.gov
Tennis – Lindsey Benjamin lindsey.benjamin@k12.dc.gov
Volleyball – Mafope Alao mafope.alao@k12.dc.gov
Wrestling – Kenrry Alvarado kenrry.alavardo@k12.dc.gov
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Desmond Alexander, CAA
Athletic Director
Columbia Heights Educational Campus
Bell/Lincoln Multicultural Schools