CHEC bulletin for Week of April 19, 2021
APRIL 14 OUTDOOR STORY TIME AT CHEC
MARIA TUKEVA’S (MT) MESSAGE:
MEETINGS THIS WEEK:
All Departments and SLC’s send individual notifications of their meetings
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Monday, April 19, 2021
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
ALT Team 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
10:00 a.m. - CHEC Parent Workshop - en Espanol and in English – Combined
Thursday, April 22, 2021
Friday, April 23, 2021
Term 3 RC Grades due in Aspen by 5:00 PM
UPCOMING EVENTS
CHEC ACADEMIES OF ENGINEERING AND IT ACHIEVE MODEL STATUS
We are thrilled to announce that our AOE and IT Academies have achieved Model Status as part of the 2021 Katherine Blasik Distinguished and NAF Model academies! We are extremely proud of the hard work, and dedication of Ms. Penn, Ms. Peddyreddy, and Mr. Henggeler, and all of our AOE and IT students in ensuring that the next generation of leaders is college, career, and future ready.
CHEC CELEBRATES ADMIINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS THIS WEEK
This week we celebrate and recognize all of our administrative professionals and support staff for all of the amazing work they do to keep our school running smoothly, and supporting all of us with all of the necessary details. Please take a minute to express your thanks to our Admin Professionals – Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Doctor, Ms. Paige, Ms. D. Lemus, Ms. L. Lemus, Mr. Oliva, Ms. Jasper. Thank you Admin Professionals!!!
REENROLLMENT TIME
Please help us reach our enrollment target of 1500 for SY 21-22. This Saturday, there will be a special event to assist parents in enrolling their students. There will be food, fun and engagement with families! If you are available, please join us here at CHEC from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Saturday April 24. We are offering incentives to the teachers, counselors and support staff who help us enroll or re-enroll the most students!
BUDGET AND LSAT UPDATE
I previously shared that our budget for School Year 21-22 had been reduced, due to a drop in enrollment, but also due to an inequitable funding formula which affects large schools. A group called C4DC has done a complete analysis of how the funding formula for DCPS results in CHEC having the lowest per pupil allocation based on general education in the entire school system. - Budget 21-22\CRDC Budget Analysis Per Pupil Allocation 21-22 Our LSAT met on Wednesday, March 31st with Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, and our concerns were communicated to her. If you would like to participate in the advocacy effort being led by parents and students, please contact our LSAT Chairperson, Ahmad Nurridin, his email is anurriddin@gmail.com.
RECOVERY/ACCELERATION PLAN APPROVED
We have now submitted our budget spending plan for Summer Acceleration, and are extremely excited about what we will be able to offer this summer! We have already started recruiting staff and students. If you are interested in working in our creative and innovative Summer Acceleration plan, please reach out and apply. Within the next two weeks, we will begin to work on the spending plan for the Acceleration and Recovery Activities to be held in during the school year. The outline of our goals and programming can be seen by clicking here.
SHOUT OUTS
- Shout out and Thank you to Mr. Stewart for coordinating the Story Time at CHEC on April 14th during Break! Kudos to Mr. Molina, Mr. Best and Mr. Tobias for supporting!
- Shout out to all IPL teachers and staff for supporting our In person scholars! Special Shout out to those who will be starting in person for Fourth Advisory! It is truly making a difference and we are seeing motivation grow!
- Kudos to Mr. Magee as lead, and the ALT Academics team for their work on planning for our next Faculty Meeting!
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:
DESTINY HOLLEY WITH MS. HARTWILL - 9TH GRADE BIOLOGY
WEEK 1 OF ADVISORY 4
We are beginning the fourth Advisory! Please start out this week by introducing the first GRASPS and exemplar, so that all classwork can be aligned to producing and revising products to standard. Our goal over the past advisory has been to improve the portfolio process by making sure students know how to organize their work in an e-portfolio format, either on CANVAS, or in Summit. That process begins with the first project of the advisory.
Grades are due Friday, April 23rd by 5:00 pm.
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
Cycle 2 Observations are now taking place for those who did not opt out of the second observation. As a follow up to our IMPACT orientation, 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
EdTech/PGT Office Hours
Are you trying to find a way to have a source book like you did during in-person learning? Join Mr. Magee during his office hours to learn how to use OneNote Class Notebook as a source book. Office hours and links are below.
Mr. Magee- Mondays 9:30-11:30 am Click this link to join. How to use OneNote Class Notebook as a source book.
Are you preparing for the combined teaching model? Do you want to talk through what this will look like and what to expect? Join Ms. Ferguson on Wednesday to begin discuss the Combined Teaching Model.
Ms. Ferguson
Wednesdays 4-5pm Click this link to join - Combined Teching Model
Are you looking for resources for Black History Month, SEL, or other premade lessons in Nearpod? Are you looking to adapt and incorporate a premade lesson from Nearpod? Join Ms. Ferguson on Thursday 12:30-1:15 pm Click this link to join Nearpod Premade lessons
Ms. Ramirez - Office Hours
Will provide support on the following items on the listed days.
Monday (4-5)- Support students in completing missing work from the previous advisory/term and tech support
Tuesday- (10-11:30 and 4-5) Workshop Creation and tech support.
Wednesday (4-5)- How to help students feel that they should care and tech support
Thursday (4-5)- Resetting expectations for students who are failing and tech support.
Friday (4-5)- Tech support.
Ms. Zuccarello
Ms. Z is excited to help with aligning Summit project checkpoints and final products for third advisory and rebooting notetaking and workshop creation for PLT.
Ms. Vialpando’s Office Hours
Ms. Vialpando is having weekly office hours to support our language learners and instructional strategies for reading. Her office hours will take place on Thursdays from 3:30-5 pm
PGT OFFICE HOURS
Ms. Nimer and Ms. Carino
Tuesdays 12-1 pm Click this link to join.
This office hour/block will cover how to support students/families who are experiencing transition or who do not have stable housing. We will cover mandates, homeless liaison role, community referrals, and how CHEC/staff community can support our students who are in transition, MTSS supports, and behavior interventions.
PGT Support w/Various members of the Personal Growth Team
Fridays 9:30-11 Click this link to join.
You can receive support with social/emotional supports, behavioral supports, mandated reporter supports, at-risk students, MTSS supports, and other concerns.
Best,
Ms. Ferguson
OPPORTUNITIES:
MIDDLE SCHOOL ART - DRAWING BY OBSERVATION WITH MS. DEVARGAS
UPDATES FROM: I TANIA HERNANDEZ - NAVAL ACADEMY I COVID TESTING I CHEC GARDEN I LIBRARY UPDATE
CHEC SENIOR TANIA HERNANDEZ - ACCEPTED INTO US NAVAL ACADEMY PREP SCHOOL
We have the great news that Tania Hernandez, will be following behind Meryem Yucel in attending the US Naval Academy. We are incredibly proud of her efforts, and her ability to remain focused and determined throughout her entire high school years.
Our students are today's youth, but they will certainly be tomorrow's leaders.
Major Wright
CHEC NJROTC
COVID TESTING
On behalf of Sharon Gaskins, I am sharing with you all the on-site staff COVID-19 testing schedule for the week of April 5th, which can be found here. As a reminder, below are the testing protocols and expectations. Should there be any questions or conflicts with the schedule, please contact Sharon.Gaskins@k12.dc.gov and copy me as well (chandler.mumolie@k12.dc.gov).
The Staff Asymptomatic Testing Protocol
1. Asymptomatic testing administered by DC Health is completely separate from the symptomatic COVID-19 testing that is administered by the CSS school nurse.
2. DC Health will manage on-site testing of staff.
3. In-person staff may receive a PCR nasal-swab test, administered by DC Health medical staff, every 7 days.
4. Staff will provide consent on-site.
5. A team of two to three DC Health contract nurses will support testing at the school site.
6. School leaders will need to provide a sanitized space (e.g. large classroom, gym, cafeteria) with at least two tables and four chairs. As with the student testing program, rules for physical distancing, participant masking, and hygiene apply to staff.
7. Schools will need to develop a classroom coverage plan during the testing window.
8. DC Health staff will handle the disposal of all materials that result from testing, including their PPE.
9. Schools will be responsible for sanitizing the classroom before and after testing.
10. With this regular asymptomatic testing protocol, staff will continue to participate in their in-person programming while test results are pending.
11. Individuals will be notified of their results via email, and results will also be sent directly to DC Health to inform public health data.
12. Should a person attending or working at a school develop COVID-19 symptoms at any time, they should immediately self-quarantine and contact their medical provider per DCPS health and safety protocols.
DC Health ASYMPTOMATIC STAFF COVID-19 TESTING PROCESS
The information below describes process, captures roles and responsibilities, and expectations for all involved in making this project successful.
Team Arrival
- A team leader will call the provided point of contact (POC) for their assigned school when they are on the way to advise of their estimated time of arrival. The school POC should indicate which entrance they would like the teams to use.
- Teams will enter the building together. They will be wearing masks on entry and will follow all DCPS policies for safe entry into the buildings. Teams will bring all necessary supplies except tables and chairs.
Team Set-up
- A DCPS POC will escort the team to the testing site within the building. The site should be sufficient to maintain physical distancing and allow individuals to move easily and safely through the area.
- Teams will don testing PPE, sanitize their work surfaces and set up equipment.
- The team leader will advise the DCPS POC once the team is ready to receive staff for testing.
Team Exit
- Teams will sanitize their work surfaces and areas before leaving. They will remove all of their trash as well.
- The team leader will provide a quick exit update to the assigned DCPS staff member.
- Testing results will be provided directly to staff.
Best,
Chandler Mumolie
Coordinator - Innovation and Systems Improvement
District of Columbia Public Schools
THE CHEC GARDEN
This week, Dr. Vernon Baker and David Alarcon and Company began work on constructing the new raised beds. Temperatures are rising and once the new garden beds are completed, we should be at the point of consistently warm days – and time to plant! Plants are ready (see photo below) at the UDC rooftop greenhouse and additional plant requests are welcomed. Ms. Hartwill’s class has already placed a request for Tomatoes, Basil, mint, cucumbers, watermelon, peppers, squash, string beans, carrots, peas, and sunflowers. They may even plant and apple tree and some blackberry vine. Ask your students – “Are there vegetables that you would like to grow in the garden?” Send all requests to robin.winer@k12.dc.gov
The Excavation Crew has begun construction of the new raised beds.
This year there will be five additional raised garden beds for student crops.
Seedlings for the CHEC Garden – growing at the UDC CAUSES Rooftop Greenhouse.
APRIL IS NATIONAL SCHOOL LIBRARY MONTH
Each April, American Association of School Librarians and organizations recognize and celebrate school librarians and school libraries. Please support your school library by sharing why you and your students love your CHEC Libraries!
• Staff --> bit.ly/CHECslm
• Students --> bit.ly/CHECslm21
You're also encouraged to share your experiences on social media, specifically Twitter, tagging @dcpublicschools, @DCPSChancellor, @dcpslibrary, @DCLA_SLS, and @CHECDC. Advocacy for school libraries is essential across DCPS.
Schedule Brainstorming Session with Your School Librarian
Join Ms. Falkenberg weekly (Tuesdays, 4:00 PM) starting March 30th to collaborate on research projects, request information resources, plan virtual author visits and events, explore the digital reading platforms, build your digital design skills (Canva, Adobe Spark), or find out more about advocating for school libraries. Find the link in EdTech Teams page to join. Can't make it? No problem - email angela.falkenberg@k12.dc.gov to schedule another meeting time.
Angela Falkenberg
THE DEAN TEAM:
Hello CHEC Family!
We hope you all are well. The Dean Team would like to share a few shout-outs and reminders.
Teacher Spotlight:
Today the spotlight shines on Thomas Spoth and Cristina Gallego!
Mr. Spoth is our Capstone teacher. He has impacted the lives of many students within his nine years of service at CHEC. When asked how students earn badges in class, Mr. Spoth responded saying, ”Students earn badges by logging in to the Teams meeting, responding to our daily Warm Up question, sending me texts, having one-on-one conferences, doing their work for the day, turning on their cameras ... honestly, if you do pretty much anything in my class, you get a badge for it!” Mr. Spoth shared the following when asked how has using restorative practices in your class helped you during virtual learning, “I've found it really nice to spend the first 10 minutes or so of class just listening to music together, posting comments to each other in the chat and just taking a little brain break. I know that spending all day in Teams meetings can be really draining and stressful, so I make sure that everybody (including me!) gets a little time to just relax before we start on the day's lesson” Thank you, Mr. Spoth, for your commitment to your students and team.
Ms. Gallego is our substitute Spanish teacher. She is also impacting the lives of many students at CHEC. When asked how students earn badged in class, Ms. Gallego responded saying, ”Students earn badges for working on tasks, completing assignments and turning on their camera.” Ms. Gallego shared the following when asked how has using restorative practices in your class helped you during virtual learning, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you” – B. B. King.” Thank you, Ms. Gallego, for your commitment to your students and team.
Everyone, please shine your light on Mr. Spoth and Ms. Gallego this week!
PBIS STUDENT WINNERS: | ||
Student Name | Grade | Points |
Solveig Brennan | 6 | 23 |
Christopher Sanchez | 7 | 19 |
Chinyere Reid | 8 | 22 |
Nemuel Ndanga | 9 | 20 |
Timothy Williams | 10 | 17 |
Noel Mendoza-Umana | 11 | 33 |
Fatima Ventura Ramirez | 12 | 19 |
Please celebrate these students for their high earnings of PRIDE points!
Student Support Forms:
Also, we have created a platform that has the student support form and the behavior referral form.. Please bookmark this link 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
Congratulations to our student-athletes of the week. These athletes are being recognized for their outstanding commitment in the classroom and to their teams.
Ashley Alexander
Evelin Delgado Ayala
Fatou Gaye
Shanieka Holley
Rashaad McRae
Oswaldo Velasquez
Naima Washington
Congratulations also goes out to all our student athletes with perfect attendance last week:
Miracle Gilyard
Perla Guzman Martinez
Jamar Hale
Tania Hernandez Martinez
Tiffany Hernandez Martinez
Leliani Hernandez
Shaneika Holley
Emani James
Samantha Jimenez
Kayla Jones
Pierre Wilna Joue
Leeming Kedkanya
Clariza Lazo
Alcides Lopez
Tenielle Parker
Layla Patterson
Carlos Peterson
Michell Ramos-Canas
Jose Reding
Jamia Reed
Chinyere Reid
Damaris Rios Velasquez
Weston Robert
Dillon Skehan
Demiko Suggs
Zion Suggs
Taniya Summers
Luis Velarde Vargas
Mihret Wondimagegn
Latrice Yates
Amaya Zulu
Anaya Zulu
Ashley Alexander
Tsaga Asmeron
Kyri Beamon
Kidist Bizuneh
Dymond Brown
Donte Burnette
Dallis Carr
Almera Carter
Amber Carter
Mamadou Diabate
Syrus Edwards
Angela Flores
James Ford
Miracle Fortune
Sarahi Garcia
Nardos Getachew
If you are interested in participating in spring sports and/or working out with your fall/winter sports team, you must have completed your online participation forms, which includes uploading your up to date physical. Forms are available at https://www.thedciaa.com/participation-forms. If you have any questions, please contact Coach A at desmond.alexander@k12.dc.gov. Follow us on Instagram @checsports for the latest updates on team interest meetings. Or email your spring sports coach for more information!
Spring Sports
Lincoln
Baseball - Calros Mesa (carlos.mesa@k12.dc.gov)
Golf: Marie Erickson (marie.erickson@k12.dc.gov)
Softball: Constance Hanlon (constance.hanlon@k12.dc.gov)
Outdoor Track: TBD
Bell
Baseball - Reiss Allen (reiss.allen@k12.dc.gov)
Flag Football (Girls) - Ryan Duvall (ryan.duvall@k12.dc.gov)
Golf - Ryan Duvall (ryan.duvall@k12.dc.gov)
Outdoor Track - Donzella Hartwill and Mark Robinson (donzella.hartwill@k12.dc.gov & markblaytonrobinson@gmail.com)
Rugby (Not Currently Approved)
Softball - Thomas Spoth (thomas.spoth@k12.dc.gov)
Tennis- Lindsey Benjamin (lindsey.benjamin@k12.dc.gov)
Desmond Alexander, CAA
Athletic Director
Columbia Heights Educational Campus
Bell/Lincoln Multicultural Schools