SHMS Family Newsletter: Summer 2020

Greetings Stuart-Hobson families,

I am equally excited and humbled to start a new role with our school community. I am excited to work with everyone to further the core work Principal Comeforo began for us. Ensuring every student feels a strong sense of belonging in our school community and achieves personal excellence in their time at Stuart-Hobson will continue as our shared schoolwide pursuits. These overarching goals are even more relevant as we navigate the ongoing health crisis and take action to combat and prevent racism’s impact on our students and school community. Neither of those situations are barriers, instead, they are opportunities for the Stuart-Hobson community to learn how to become even better and reaffirm our commitments to belonging and excellence for all students and families.

I am humbled by this opportunity because in my two years as a member of this community I have experienced first-hand its many assets and strengths. In every conversation with a student, staff, family or community member I am reminded that we all stand on the shoulders of the giants who have come before us. Those people made Stuart-Hobson an institution that fulfills its promise to young people and their families year after year. To be charged with organizing and steering this power is exciting, if not a bit overwhelming. It is reassuring to know that so many people who have contributed to making Stuart-Hobson the school that it is today are still among us and I look forward to learning from each of you to guide us through the coming months and years.

As I enter the principal position, I am working to craft a formal “Entry Plan”, sometimes called a “100 Day Plan”, that will outline my core values and beliefs as a leader. Perhaps more importantly, it will outline the diverse opportunities that I will schedule to learn from everyone in our school community. I will release this plan to the school community within the next two weeks and look forward to beginning those conversations. The learning that I glean from you all will guide our long-term plans, help us to adjust short-term goals and foci that are already playing out, and confirm a set of values and goals to guide us as we continue to move forward together.

The remainder of the content in this newsletter aims to keep you informed about opportunities and information to make the most of this summer and to help you begin planning for the upcoming school year. In addition to the release of my “Entry Plan” you will receive at least two more newsletters before students return to school, and we will resume weekly newsletters once school is in session.

Thank you all again for the opportunity to continue as a member of this school community and for believing that I can work with you all to lead us into the next phase of Stuart-Hobson Middle School’s storied and proud history.

Warm regards,

Eric Fraser

Principal

Complete your student's enrollment online at enrolldcps.dc.gov or visit the main office during the listed times. Enrollment must be completed each school year by parent/guardian. Please ensure your student is enrolled for the coming school year by contacting our main office at 202-671-6010 or 202-681-0619

Transferring Students Grades 6-8:

If your student is transitioning to another school community, please inform our main office team so that your student can be properly withdrawn and your student's records provided to their new school. Rising 6th graders who are attending another school must also withdraw to be removed from our distribution lists.

Upcoming Dates

• August 10-13 & 17-20, Summer Bridge for incoming 6th graders, 9:00 - 1:00 PM
• August 31, 1st Day of School (all students)

On Friday, June 26, 2020, Chancellor Lewis Ferebee shared important updated information regarding school opening this fall. Please click here to view the email.

DCPS has released the academic calendar for School Year 2020-2021. For SY20-21, the first day of school for students is Monday, August 31, 2020, and the last day of school for students is Thursday, June 24, 2021.

Final 2019-2020 SY report cards for students in grades 6-12 are posted in the Aspen Parent Portal. Families and students can view the report cards through their Parent or Student Portal Accounts, this short video shows how. If families or students don’t yet have Portal access, please email Mrs. Turner to receive a password reset. Passwords must be reset via laptop or desktop computer.

These report cards are also being provided via mail after Monday, July 6th. Please contact our main office if you do not receive your report card by Wednesday, July 15th.

More information will be provided regarding student schedules as information becomes finalized regarding the logistics of hybrid learning. As a result, school supply lists will not be available until early August. For questions, contact AP Turner katherine.turner@k12.dc.gov

Stuart-Hobson Middle School uses Remind.com for quick text/email messaging to parents and families. Unlike a listserv, the text messages are sent by members of our administrative team to provide updates and information in a timely fashion. You can reply to the administrator as well for one-on-one communication. To join our Remind Groups, please click the following links:

SHMS 6th Grade Class of 2027

SHMS 7th Grade Class of 2026

SHMS 8th Grade Class of 2025

Summer Bridge 2020 is an opportunity for students to attend their school ahead of the new year and reacclimate to what learning is like in the classroom after learning at home this past spring.

Students entering 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades will build relationships as they engage in a variety of academic and social-emotional learning activities designed to prepare them for success as they transition to a new grade level or school building. Students will be introduced to new health protocols, including social distancing, and masks will be provided daily. Student use of masks will follow DC Health recommendations.

Summer Bridge will take place in-person at schools for two weeks, as long as health conditions allow. Summer Bridge is subject to change depending on public health conditions. Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day. The dates and times are:

• Monday, August 10 to Thursday, August 13 from 9 am to 1 pm.
• Monday, August 17 to Thursday, August 20 from 9 am to 1 pm.

To ensure appropriate social distancing ratios, the deadline to sign up for the optional Summer Bridge program is July 6. Email SummerBridge@k12.dc.gov with any questions.

Complete the application online:

• English
• Español
• Français
• 中文
• Tiếng Việt
• አማርኛ

Stuart-Hobson Middle School is continuing to expand our accelerated math curriculum for students prepared to take on the challenges of advanced math courses, with the goal of successful Algebra completion before or at the start of high school. See the attached letter with more information about Accelerated Math offerings and placement testing at Stuart Hobson. Click the links below for resources to prepare students for math acceleration.

Accelerated 6th Grade- Information

Accelerated 7th Grade- Information

Algebra 1- Information

Uniform Policy

School uniforms are required while on school property, field trips (before or after school day hours), while attending After-school All-Stars and school-approved activities after 3:15 pm, unless athletic, dance, other specific apparel is required by the coach/leader.

Uniforms include:

• Long or short-sleeved solid red polo shirt for all students. SHMS logos are NOT required.
• Khaki pants are worn at waist level. A belt is preferred.
• Shorts, skirts, shorts, or jumpers.
• Comfortable closed-toe shoes or sneakers.
• Plain black, red, or white cotton sweatshirts (front zip or pullover) and knit vests may be worn. Sweaters or sweatshirts within the approved color scheme can have a logo, but this logo may not be larger than a US dollar bill.
• Purses no larger than the student’s hand.

Not Approved Apparel/Other

• Except for religious purposes, no hats
• Sweaters or sweatshirts with logos larger than a US dollar bill
• Outerwear (vests or jackets made of fleece or other coat-like materials) is not to be worn in the building and must be placed in the student’s locker upon arrival.
• In order to protect our gym floor, no black-soled, black-bottom shoes. No open-toed shoes, sandals, flip flops, or Crocs.
• Purses larger than the student’s hand.

Uniform Options with Logos are available http://www.landsend.com

• Preferred School Number: 900153511
• 30% OFF Lands' End School Uniforms through 7/3/20 (no code needed)
• 20% + Free Logos School Uniforms 7/4-7/10 - Code: ROCKET Pin: 1776

Students are encouraged to utilize Clever for online learning resources during the summer months. Students can access Clever using the following information:

Username: Student ID#

Password: Student birthday (mmddyy) - For example 07/04/06 is "070406"

To support summer learning and student participation in the Summer Reading Challenge, DCPS school libraries and DC Public Library (DCPL) are partnering to offer thousands of free e-books for staff and students. Using the Sora app from your DCPS Clever account, users are automatically connected to DCPL resources. For more information on how the Sora app works, visit Getting started with Sora.

Contact your school Library Media Specialist, Ms. Jennie Tomlinson (jennie.tomlinson@k12.dc.gov) to learn more about this great resource and access more materials about Sora on Sharepoint here.

If you are interested in personalized book recommendations for your summer reading, you can fill this form out and Ms. Tomlinson will contact you with some ideas and titles: https://forms.gle/f7YajatcHWSKv8c66.

Check out these articles and resources to help your student avoid the "summer slide" in learning. The links below include reading lists too! Thanks to one of our ELA teachers, Ms. Black, for sharing these with us:

Summer Slide and Reading Lists for AP Students

Summer Slide and Reading Lists for Middle School Students

One of our in-house school partners, One Common Unity (OCU) has a wealth of online activities for students to engage this summer. Here's the line-up:

"Mindful Art", Wednesdays at 12:00, https://onecommonunity.zoom.us/j/855481979

"Online Dance Party", Fridays at 12:00 Students can find the dance party on the One Common Unity Instagram!

Also, Ms. Tolbert is hosting a social group for any interested students on Thursdays at 4:00. Students will do a combination of things including watching movies, playing games, and hanging out. Any interested parties are welcome to email our OCU staff member, Ms. Rebecca Tolbert, for information at rebeccat@onecommonunity.org

Email: kristofer.comeforo@k12.dc.gov
Website: www.stuart-hobson.org
Location: 410 E Street Northeast, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202-671-6010