CHEC bulletin for Week of March 11, 2019
CHANCELLOR DR. FEREBEE VISITS CHEC TO MEET WITH STUDENT LEADERS
MARIA TUKEVA’S (MT) MESSAGE:
There are now 3 weeks until the PARCC, and 4 weeks until AP testing! As we end the third advisory, our portfolio presentations provide the opportunity for student reflection on their progress and where they still need to place their efforts. Portfolio Presentations for the third advisory will focus on students presenting their POP sheets, and a piece of work that they have annotated and analyzed deeply to assess their mastery of the standard.
This week we are continuing to utilize short cycle data to continuously refine our objective calendars and differentiation for students. It is time to integrate strategies that assist students with demystifying the format of the test, and learning how to attack the test.
We are all feeling the pressure of the upcoming assessments, but with mutual support, focus and teamwork, we can achieve our goals and keep a positive outlook. Thank you to all for your dedication and commitment to improving achievement for all students!!
CHEC MARCH MADNESS
Please encourage your students to attend March Madness Saturday Academy, so they can practice for the test, and have fun at the same time!
Here are the current standings for March Madness . The total includes the points from the academic competition and the athletic competition.
Talarico: 4549 + 100 = 4649 Georgetown
Hunter: 1948 + 200 = 2148 Indiana
Khafra: 981 + 100 = 1081 Temple
Warren: 1689 + 100 = 1789 Illinois
Ermis: 2176 + 400 = 2576 Texas State
Kamal: 1133 + 100 = 1233 Columbia
Joseph: 2819 + 150 = 2969 Hogwarts
Khafra: 930 + 200 = 1130 John Hopkins
Cáceres: 809 + 100 = 909 Barry
Benjamin: 1695 + 250 = 1945 Maryland
Bernard: 2367 + 200 = 2567 Howard
Aguilar: 1423 + 400 = 1823 Costa Rica
Emilius: 1731 + 400 = 2131 Mt. Holyoke
Malcolm: 1477 + 200 = 1677 Duke
Cohen: 1636 + 250 = 1886 Boston University
Salas: 1759 + 100 = 1859 Rutgers
There is still time in Round 2 to gain more points! The more students each teacher convinces to attend, the more possible points. This week we will include math and middle school classes in the tournament.
CHEC BUDGET UPDATE
The CHEC LSAB and Parent Teacher organization are continuing to advocate for full funding for our school. There are a number of events and testimonies coming up that are critical to this effort. If you would like to get involved and support this effort, please see any member of the LSAB. Mandy McCulloch is the Chairperson.
SHOUT OUTS
Correction to last Bulletin - Shout out to all of the Counselors for organizing the Cluster Fair!!
- Shout out to the whole CHEC Team for welcoming Chancellor Ferebee to our school last week! He was extremely impressed with our “amazing” students!! Special shout out to the teachers whose classes he visited – Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Chatalian, Ms. McCulloch, and Ms. Peddyreddy!!
- Shout out to all who assisted with March Madness last Saturday!
- Shout out to the Arts Department Members for sharing their work at the Academic Leadership Team Meeting last week!
- Kudos to Ms. Spinks, Ms. Lopez, and Mr. Jackson for organizing and outstanding NAF Site visit last week!
- Kudos to our LSAB for their continuing hard work on the CHEC budget, and to all teachers who are assisting!!
- Kudos to Mr. Diaz, Ms. Strickland, Admin Team, and all proctors for the ongoing ACCESS Testing – we are almost there!
MEETINGS THIS WEEK:
Monday, March 25, 2019
SLC Meetings
Middlebury College Visit
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
SLC Meetings
Pathways Townhall (UDC Workforce Development Program)
Academy of Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Proposal Night (4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Department Meetings
No Early Release
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Departmental Planning Period Meetings
Middle School Exams Periods 1, 3, and 5
Friday, March 29, 2019
ALY Team Meeting 7:45 a.m.
Middle School Exams Periods 2, 4, and 6
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Saturday Academy
OPPORTUNITIES:
GERARDO HERNANDEZ RECEIVES TRACHTENBERG SCHOLARSHIP TO GW UNIVERSITY
UPDATES FROM: LEADERSHIP TEAM I Pi DAY I CHEC ROTC I MR. ATHMER I NAF ACADEMY I GLOBALIZE DCGLOBALIZE DC I CANVAS I WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING I LIBRARIES I FLAMBOYAN I
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP TEAM
The last ALT Team Meeting was held on March 12, 2019. The team analyzed Arts writing products for alignment to PARCC and AP, and calibrated student work from those departments. The next ALT team meeting will be on Friday, March 29, and the agenda will include looking at student portfolio products and simulating how a student would present using the redesigned rubric.
Pi DAY AT CHEC
On Pi Day, Thursday March 14th (3/14!), thirteen students were able to say or write the indicated numbers of digits of Pi after 3.14. This fabulous event was a great show of our student’s math talent -please recognize our participants!
Karla Alvarenga - 135 digits
Taliyah Barnes – 123 digits
Lirian Spolaore – 115 digits
Soudalat Anlavan – 115 digits
Isaiah Thorne – 99 digits
Carmela Pascale – 86 digits
Katerin Ayala – 82 digits
Dethaloun Singsawatdy - digits
Adam Temesgen – 54 -digits
Adriana Arana – 52 - digits
Hafsah Nur – 35 - digits
Danae Ward – 26 - digits
Jasmine Jones – 20 – digits
CHEC ROTC RECOGNIZED AT DC MAYOR'S STATE OF THE DISTRICT ADDRESS
On March 18th, CHEC’s ROTC color Guard presented
colors at Mayor Bowser’s Annual State of the District address. A letter of recognition was sent by At-Large
Councilmember (and Chairperson if the DC Committee on Education), David
Grosso. A copy of the letter can be found
here.
PLEASE CHECK OUT AN ARTICLE BY MR. ATHMER!
The Becoming of
Bradley Beal
Wiz of Awes/Robert Athmer
Off the court, Beal is creating his own journey as a leader
in the D.C. community, partnering with D.C. Public Schools’ Ron Brown High
School. Beal donated shoes to Ron Brown’s basketball team and serves as a
de-facto mentor to the young men. Beal has mentioned he is seeking to grow his
reach and do similar work each year.
Here are Mr.
Athmer’s two author page links for his entire portfolio of work:
FanSided
(currently contributes): https://wizofawes.com/author/rathmer
NAF ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT MEETING AT CHEC
A very successful NAF Academy Development Meeting took place on March 15th. Our OSSE and NAF representatives could not stop boasting about how strong our team is and the great collaboration we have in place.
Key Takeaways
- Excited about our new Mentor Program, Marketing Pitch Night and Chat & Chew Series
- They loved our use of cross-curricular lesson planning, particularly the Great Gatsby project created by Mr. Hunter and Mr. Jackson
- They enjoyed the Imaging and Marketing field trip in planned with Ms. McCulloch
- They found much of the school culture work done with the Dean team to be best practices for other academies
- Finally, they were beyond impressed by our students, their poise, and all the opportunities made available to them through the program - particularly the internships secured and Billie Smith's Cornell Hotel School acceptance.
On behalf of our academy team, we appreciate your support in helping us elevate our program. We should find out if we've made "2019 Distinguished Academy" in the coming weeks!
OPPORTUNITY FROM GLOBALIZE DC
Globalize DC shares information about free global opportunities open to DC educators, students, and schools. They send information out by email and on their website. These great global opportunities as a “Global Alert” are included at the following link for sharing within the CHEC community – there are trips and other great programs that may be of interest.
LOGGING IN TO CANVAS
For any students who need assistance to log into Canvas, follow the directions below. If there are any students that cannot log into Canvas please have them email the Canvas support team at dcps.canvas@dc.gov.
Student Login Information:
Username: Student ID #
Password: Birthdate (MMDDYY) (Note: include a zero in front of single digits. For instance, 01/09/05 would be 010905)
WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITY
Wilderness Leadership and Learning (WILL) is a holistic 12-month experiential learning, youth leadership and life skills development program for DC 9th to 11th graders. WILL is beginning to recruit for its 15th class. There have been Bell students in WILL every year. Please refer a student to be part of this amazing program to strengthen student's leadership, life skills, cultural awareness, empathy, compassion, and Environmental Awareness. Contact Ms. Elmore, College and Career Center, A126. Milagros.Lopez@dc.gov with student referrals.
CHEC LIBRARIES UPDATES
LINCOLN LIBRARY
Lincoln Technology Knights are Here to Help!
8th grade students have been selected to serve as technology leaders during second semester. Students have been assigned carts and teachers to provide help as issues arise and assist in inventory or other tech needs. Follow the link below for students introductions and cart assignments. More information will be added periodically.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/MnLykZDHu8wuc/ Tech Help Ticket: https://goo.gl/forms/dx0EWdp1ICe8bGXG2
PBS Media Literacy Education
PBS will now offer a free credential in Media Literacy through the completion of modules centered around a variety of topics. The courses include evaluating online information, analyzing media, creating a code of conduct, evaluating online tools for classroom use, and more. Follow the link below for more information and to start the courses.
Literacy Matters! Mini-Conference: Teaching as an Art; March 23rd (FREE!)
Join PEN/Faulkner's Writers in Schools and The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development for a mini-conference on teaching in the humanities. Literacy Matters! is designed to bring together educators in ELA, history, and social studies as well as librarians and school administrators to learn how you can bring more literacy engagement to your classroom.
Led by faculty at GW's School of Education and staff at PEN/Faulkner, a literary nonprofit that disseminates two of literature's most prestigious prizes, the mini-conference is an engaging and hands-on opportunity to learn how to integrate multimedia into your curriculum to deepen students' connections with contemporary texts. You'll also learn how to create space for authors to visit your classes and how to engage with PEN/Faulkner to bring writing workshops and free books to your students.
Open to educators in 6th - 12th grades.
Articles to Read:
Ten Ways Teacher Librarians Improve Literacy in Schools
STEM Role Models Posters - Nevertheless Podcast
Audiobooks to Listen to During Black History Month
FREE Poster Downloads: Women in Science - Women's History Month
BELL LIBRARY
Please click here for the Bell Library January, 2019 Newsletter
Top Bell Library Patrons for the Month of January:
1. Rashard Thompson
2. Zion Marcellous Caudle
3. Jordan Helena Hopper
4. Armando Abarca-Salvador
5. Miracle Gilyard
6. Robert Myles Hubbard
7. Cora M. Norris
8. Mayra Wallace
9. Cheyenne Miasa Boney
10. Amat Gaye
Please reserve using the Bell library via our reservation platform, Skedda:
(https://reservechecbelllibrary.skedda.com/booking). Once booking your first reservation you will be prompted to create a quick login. Users will be able to see when space is available and when space is unavailable. This will allow for transparency and comfort in knowing that the time that you have requested, is available. There is also a space for *notes. If you would like to request AV material (i.e. projector), please let Mr. Stewart know.
Whether it's PARCC, the SAT, ACT or simply because you want to be the best you--according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Kids connect with Robot Reading partners and reading friends which in turn enhances their desire and enthusiasm to read and learn. Educators please identify students who you believe would benefit from a reading partner or buddy! These students will be paired and the reading fun will begin!
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach Mr. Stewart via email: christopher.stewart2@k12.dc.gov or call: (202) 939-7700 Ext. 5118
Bell Library Reservations
The CHEC Bell High School Library would love to invite teachers and staff to reserve library space via our new platform, Skedda (https://reservechecbelllibrary.skedda.com/booking). Once booking your first reservation you will be prompted to create a quick login. Users will be able to see when space is available and when space is unavailable. This will allow for transparency and comfort in knowing that the time that you have requested, is available. There is also a space for *notes. If you would like to request AV material (i.e. projector) I can have that available and set-up for you.
Bell Library Writing Center
Days: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Time: 8 AM- 8:50 AM & lunch periods
Location: Bell High School Library
We all need help! Great authors and writers have editors...the library will assist with:
Interpreting a writing assignment
Creating ideas
Locating and sharpening a thesis statement
Organizing ideas and research
Developing a logical argument
Identifying recurrent errors and strategies for revising.
*Please email papers you would like to be reviewed, at least 48 hours before the due date. Email address: christopher.stewart2@dc.gov.
CHEC Library Brunch
"The Brunch" held, once a month starting Monday, November 5th [beginning of hypothermia season] has been a great way to connect to the community through books and food (all free)! In our Nation's Capitol we have an epidemic when it comes to poverty and homelessness, including heightened illiteracy rates for several populations. Street Sense, a District of Columbia based newspaper that employs formerly and currently homeless individuals and, provides articles that touch on important issues concerning the homeless population will be interviewing me about the Brunch with the CHEC/Bell Librarian: Food, Lit. & Book Discussion program my work on ending homelessness and poverty in the District of Columbia and beyond, including the home for the homeless (no more) that I am opening this winter.
FLAMBOYAN UPDATE
Why Family Engagement?
A strong body of research shows that family engagement matters for student success.
Students do better in school and in life when their parents are engaged in their education. Family engagement contributes to a range of positive student outcomes, including improved student achievement, decreased disciplinary issues, and improved parent-child and teacher-child relationships. Emerging evidence also suggests that family engagement can have important benefits for the inner-functioning of schools, including school staff having higher expectations for students, more shared ownership and trust across their faculty, and, ultimately, stronger school performance.
All families can be capable guides, partners, and advocates in their child’s education.
Regardless of a parent’s circumstances, family engagement is not a static enterprise - with the right interventions parents can change their behaviors in relationship to their child’s education. In focus groups conducted in 2009, District parents in all wards were clear that they cared about and wanted to support their child’s learning but needed additional skills and knowledge to do so. Furthermore, they pointed out that they wanted schools to be more welcoming and responsive to their involvement.
Families play specific roles that support student achievement.
Although there is widespread consensus about the importance of family engagement, there is a diversity of opinions about what, exactly, family engagement means. Research about the impact of different types of family engagement help address this challenge. Meta-analyses find that, when it comes to how strongly parent involvement predicts student achievement, a parent’s participation in school itself is a blip on the radar screen compared to a parent holding high expectations and setting goals for their individual child, monitoring progress and holding them accountable, and supporting learning at home, among other things. Although many of these forms of family engagement are difficult for school staff to see, schools still play an important role in affecting them.
Please join us in giving every student the gift of Family Engagement! Please reach out to your family engagement team, Jessica Gonzalez and Kristen Whitaker if you have any questions or concerns! We look forward to supporting you in this work!
CLIMATE:
CHEC ALUM JEFFREY FUENTES - CLASS OF 2011 - INSPIRING 9TH GRADE STUDENTS
Culture Update with Middle School Dean – Mr. Bode Aking
“The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish the he might have done you a greater one.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..
I hope everyone had a great weekend and that you were able to honor the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. at some point this weekend as well. Education is “the civil rights issue of our time,” and this work was begun by Dr. King’s movement and there is still a lot of work to be done. We know this when we speak to, work with and care for our students at CHEC. But we are making progress. And we will continue to make progress if we continue to plan for and to love on our students with consistency.
As I considered the words of Dr. King above, I realized that they reflect the same principle for why we spend so much time talking about celebrating our students and why we need do more celebrating. We celebrate the small stuff (just as we “sweat” the small stuff) so that students will wish to do more of the small stuff. Inevitably the celebrations of the small stuff cause the small steps to turn into big successes.
How will you celebrate the small gains, behaviorally and academically, this week? Consider the following:
- Give PBIS points when a student that often has a tough day completes all of his or her work.
- Recognize when a student gets back on track after a redirection.
- Honor publicly students who turn in homework, especially when they’ve struggled to do so in the past.
- Catch students “doing good,” transitioning appropriately, speaking to one another kindly—point them out and give them PBIS points.
Let’s spend these next week’s celebrating the small stuff, the small efforts and the small progresses.
Please don’t lose sight of the following:
Please do not lose sight of each of the following below, as they are crucial to maintaining and improving the culture that we desire:
Uniforms
Please share these important reminders with students and parents.
- Sweaters/jackets – if they are out of uniform, they should be in lockers all day or confiscated. Lincoln and Bell sweaters can be bought from the Deans or the Main Office. Lincoln and Bell sweaters $21 and sweaters with the zipper $27.
- Please call parents when you see students out of uniform and refusing to get in uniform to ensure it is very clear that they should be in full uniform at all times. Refer any further questions to Dean Aking, Dean Boone and Dean Galvan.
Detention
- Detention is a first intervention we have for students to check and correct their behavior in your classrooms. Students being informed of this consequence is vital to the effectiveness of the consequence. Remember to use our 5 step process with fidelity so that our students will not earn a greater consequence of ISS and thus lose valuable class time.
Dismissal
- We always need more support at dismissal from 3:15pm until 3:35pm (High School), 4:15pm until 4:35pm (Middle School). Please follow students all the way out to the front of the building. Students should be encouraged to move on toward their bus stops/metro quickly. Teachers and staff that can make themselves available to stay out front will be greatly appreciated.
Cafeteria Support
- All lunches have their ups and their downs. We always appreciate additional supports in the cafeteria on days that teachers are available. Check-ins with students build relationships and adult presence supports our daily procedures in lunch.
WEEKLY SPORTS UPDATE
Athletics are an integral part of the educational program and a means to accomplish the goals of education. Our athletic program exists for the welfare of students and the contributions it makes to their educational experience. Athletic participation builds self-esteem and confidence and provides the necessary tools for success. The interaction between individuals on the fields of sport teaches students the value of teamwork, while developing the proper competitive spirit, combined with a sense of fairness.
CHEC SENIOR RASHAAD HARRIS ON SIGNING DAY
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
The High School Baseball Team defeated Anacostia and lost to School Without Walls. The High School Flag Football Team defeated McKinley Tech and lost to School Without Walls. The High School Softball Team defeated School Without Walls.
LINCOLN
Girls Softball: 0 – 0
Boys Basketball: 0 - 0
BELL
Baseball: 1 – 2
Flag Football: 2 – 2
Softball: 3 – 0
Tennis: 0 - 0
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Monday
High School Baseball vs. McKinley at Turkey Thicket @ 4:00 p.m.
Flag Football vs. Coolidge at Cardozo @ 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday
High School Softball vs. Ballou at Ridge Road @ 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday
Flag Football vs. Cardozo at Cardozo @ 5:00 p.m.
Thursday
High School Softball vs. Wilson at CHEC @ 4:00 p.m.
Friday
No Games
Saturday
High School Outdoor track Invitational at HD Woodson @ 9:00 a.m.
High School Baseball vs. Ron Brown at Ft. Greble @ 10:00 a.m.