Family Newsletter

Dear Hyde-Addison ES Families,

This has been an amazing first week back for the 2020-2021 school year! Staff, students and families are conquering the challenge of virtual learning, while in the midst of a pandemic. As a school community, we are facing these unprecedented times, head on, and supporting each other along the way. The collaboration is appreciated.

Thank you all for such grace and understanding, as the district manages virtual instruction for over 50,000 students and all that entails. To help parents and caregivers have a successful start to the school year, DCPS created a helpful guide to virtual learning for families. The guide contains information about Canvas, student schedules, attendance, family wellness, and more. In addition to the technology resources provided below, families may access https://backtoschool.dc.gov/, visit dcpsreopenstrong.com or the DCPS our Family FAQ, for support.

Please see the Back to School Night Information, Instructional Materials Pick Up Schedule, Student Internet Safety Requirements and other pertinent resources, below.

Please keep you and your loved ones safe. Continue to follow the guidance of Mayor Bowser and DC Health. For resources and information about the District of Columbia Government’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response and recovery efforts, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov.

Kindest Regards,

Dr. Calvin Hooks, Principal

Hyde-Addison Elementary Schools

Please use the link below, to join us at Back to School Night, on September 9, 2020 @ 3:00pm. Your child’s classroom teacher will share the links for all sessions, on September 9th, to minimize access to meeting spaces, prior to sessions beginning.

Join live event

3:00pm Welcome and Hyde-Addison ES Overview

3:15pm-3:45pm Classroom/Grade Level Overview

3:50pm-4:10pm Inner Core Teachers/Specials

4:15pm-4:35pm Student Supports/Special Education Teachers

4:40pm-5:00pm. English Learners Teachers (ELL)

We have received Eureka Math books for Kindergarten-5th grade! Every child (K-5th) has materials that their family needs to pick up!

To ensure the safety of families and staff, we ask that you pick up your child's materials within the assigned time frame. The staggered times will allow us to more easily social distance. Weather permitting, materials pick up will take place outdoors and will only take a few minutes for each family. If you have more than one child, we would prefer you arrive during the time slot of your youngest child.

Any questions are best directed to hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

Students in Kindergarten through 5th grade will participate in a Wonder Club on Wednesday afternoons beginning this Wednesday, September 9th. Your child may let us know what club they prefer to participate in for Advisory 1 by completing the following survey, which has also been linked on their Canvas pages. The survey will close this Sunday at 5PM. If your child does not fill it out, don't worry. We will place them in a great club!

K-1 Students

2-3 Students

4-5 Students

As a reminder, students and staff must follow the DCPS Student and Staff Technology and Acceptable Use Policy. Student safety is our priority. Please support your child in understanding that it is against DCPS policy for them to be in any Microsoft Teams meeting space, without the supervision of a DCPS staff member. This also applies to the use of any chat features, outside of the class or staff member led group or session. Students are prohibited from starting, organizing or participating in any live meetings on Microsoft Teams or any DCPS platform, not led by a staff member. This is for your child’s protection. They must adhere to all DCPS student internet safety policies. Your partnership in reinforcing these expectations is of the utmost importance.

Please ensure that your child has logged into Office 365. If they are not logged into Office 365 they will not have full access to all of the Teams features that DCPS has purchased which are important to their learning experience. You can tell if your child still needs to log in if, when joining a Teams meeting, it says "Guest" or a name that is not the child's.

To log in, go to portal.office.com enter your log in credentials.

Log-In Credentials

Username: studentID#@students.k12.dc.us
Password: mmddyy (child's DOB)

Canvas is a one-stop-shop where students can find their daily schedule and meeting links. Logging into Canvas daily is also how attendance is taken. Please take the time to log in and then bookmark Canvas on the internet browser your child uses on their device. This will set students up to start each day independently.

Canvas: dcps.instructure.com
Username: studentID#@students.k12.dc.us
Password: mmddyy (child's DOB)

The image below shows how to create a bookmark on Google Chrome, however it might look different on other internet browsers.

Wednesdays operate off of a different schedule. You can find a detailed description and schedule for Wednesdays in the Family Handbook (emailed out last week and available on the Hyde-Addison website) but here are a few of the opportunities available to students:

• Optional SEL and Mindfulness Workshop for all students at 9:00 (link found in Canvas)
• Lunch Bunch and Mystery Reader for PreK students only at 12:00 (link found in Canvas)
• Optional Virtual Field Trip for all students at 1:00 (link found in Canvas)
• Wonder Clubs for K-5 students (you will receive an email with your child's Wonder Club assignment on Tuesday)
• Optional School-Wide Meeting at 3:00 to celebrate our core values with students and families (note: this week we are having Back to School night instead of our School-Wide Meeting)

You can find a one pager from DCPS below with information on how to log in to the 3 most important online portals for your child: Canvas, Microsoft 365 (which includes Teams), and Clever.

For further support, families can visit http://dcps.tech/help or call the DCPS hotline at 202-442-5885. Please note that teachers are not available to help troubleshoot technology during the day because they are leading instruction.

As shared by DCPS, DCPS leaders and teachers remain unwavering in our dedication to equity and closing opportunity gaps. Due to the complexity of scheduling, DCPS school leaders and staff members will not be able to account for learning pods during the scheduling process, including in group arrangements or schedule times.

An overview of the class schedule can be viewed below. Your child' teacher will remain the first point of contact for any instructional questions. You will also be able to ask questions and hear more about the schedule specifics and curricula during Back to School Night, on September 9, 2020, at 3:00pm.

The Hyde-Addison Family Handbook for Virtual Learning, which was also shared in a previous email this week, is attached below for your reference along with the DCPS Grading Guidance and Attendance Policy.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the PTA Priorities Survey, and for those of you who haven't yet, the survey will close at midnight on Sunday! The results will be shared in more details once they're finalized, but it's clear that many of us are interested in connecting with other families through various virtual events ranging from interactive entertainers for families (54.3% of respondents) and dance parties (51.4%) to game events and virtual field trips (both 45.7%). The majority of respondents asked for an opt-in family directory (78.4%), virtual meet-and-greets (73%), and monthly PTA meetings (62.2%). We hear ya, we're working on it, so stay tuned!

____________________

To stay informed about all these events and initiatives, make sure to sign up for Konstella, a new, secure, and private communication platform to replace the Hyde-Addison Families listserv on Groups.io. If you got an invitation, click on that link, and if you haven't (or can't find it), join here. Again, registration isn't mandatory to receive PTA communications you've been getting through the listserv, but registration for the website or mobile app, however, is necessary to:

• Message other families in your class, committee, or social group (very handy when class is starting, you can't find the link, and there's no time to search through emails; ask me how I know);
• Access the family directory (opt-in, as in, you can provide as much or little as their contact information); and
• Form or join social groups (there's already one for COVID-responsible, socially distanced playground meetups).

Please register today, check this out for more details, and send us your feedback (ideally by private message through Konstella)!

____________________

We are still collecting donations for the school supplies the PTA funded so that all Hyde-Addison families, no matter their situation, will be equipped with the needed supplies for every child to participate fully in virtual learning. Each kit cost $70, and we ask that everyone give what you can, so we don't start this school year having already spent more than we raised!

For families that are looking for affordable internet, please click the link below for more information. https://connect.dc.gov/affordable-internet

BGCGW wants to help parents and students succeed this fall with a safe place in our buildings for distance learning. We will be operating Distance Learning Hubs M-F from 8:30 AM-5 PM at our facilities in two week sessions starting on August 31st for $25 a week. We will be providing trained staff, academic assistance, monitoring, wi-fi, supplemental supplies on site to assist youth, Boys & Girls Club programming after school until 5PM, CDC safety protocols, and daily lunch and snack.

You can contact us via email to sign up for sites in these locations SE DC at the ARC, kfullwood@bgcgw.org, NE DC on Benning RD cdascent@bgcgw.org, NW DC Columbia Heights, rcoleman@bgcgw.org and at Jelleff in NW DC across the street from Hardy, sosborn@bgcgw.org. Jelelff as a DPR site will be free and registration will be coming soon. Sites are limited due to social distancing protocols to pods of 8 youth serving grades K-12. Contact your local club for their capacity. Jelleff's capacity will be 8 students per K-2, 3-5 and 6-8th grades. Jelleff will also serve 4 high school students. More details will be forthcoming from DPR Jelleff will start as soon as DPR approves our work plan. Thank you we hope to help.

DCPS released the academic calendar for SY20-21! Pre-Service will start on August 24, and the first day for students is August 31. For additional details, you can review the updated calendar attached below.

• 9/07: No School (Holiday)
  
• 9/09: Back to School Night at 3:00pm
• 9/25: Equity and Anti-Racism and Hybrid Learning Task Force Meetings

For copies of previous Hyde-Addison ES announcements and updates, please visit the Hyde-Addison ES website at https://www.hydeaddisondc.org/updates.

Email: hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov
Website: https://www.hydeaddisondc.org
Location: 3219 O St NW, Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-282-0170
Facebook: facebook.com/hydeaddison/
Twitter: @DrCalvinRHooks