What an amazing weekend we had at CNH. Friday afternoon, we kicked off the weekend with a 3rd through 5th grade steel drum performance from our weeklong artist residency with Mr. Kevin. Saturday morning, we were right back at school with Breakfast With Your Sweetheart eating brunch prepared by Ms. Keara, making our own CNH Gear t-shirts, and having fun on a beautiful day. My soul feels replenished from being able to spend time with students and their families in these wonderful ways! We have many more opportunities for gathering and reconnecting as a community coming up this Spring.
Have a great week!
–Dr. Shyla.
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Noteworthy Upcoming Dates:
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Date(s) |
Notes |
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April 11-18 |
Spring Break (School Resumes Tuesday, April 19) |
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Saturday, April 23, 11:00-2:00 |
Earth Day Celebration at School |
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Saturday, May 7 |
CNH Spring Fling |
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Family Forums with Principal Candidates
Join us on Tuesday and Thursday, 5:45-6:30, for in-person Family Forums with the two Principal Candidate finalists.
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Jabari Bush – Tuesday, April 5
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Sedrick Smith – Thursday, April 7
This is a great opportunity to connect with each candidate and get a sense of what they will be like for and with the community!
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New Dismissal Procedures
Beginning after Spring Break, we will be returning to our pre-COVID dismissal procedures. Instead of waiting in a carpool line, you will park your car in the parking lot or in legal spaces in the neighborhood and will walk to the grass in the front of the school to pick up your student(s).
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K-2 will be located in front of the outdoor stage – Students will need to be signed out
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3-5 will be located on the grass at the top of the hill in front of the outdoor stage – Teachers need to see the person picking up the students, but the students do not need to be signed out.
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6-8 will be on the grass closest to Sefton Avenue – Teachers just need a visual of who is picking them up, same as grades 3-5
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Walkers will be dismissed at 3:15 to pick-up their younger siblings and walk home
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Recess/Lunch Procedures
Beginning this week, we are implementing new recess and lunch procedures. Kindergarten and 8th grade have eaten lunch together in the cafe the entire year without transmission. They have really enjoyed this shared time together, and it has inspired us to begin our return to closer to normalcy.
We are returning to 30-minute lunch periods (instead of the 20-minutes we’ve been spending for lunch) by having up to two classes in lunch together at the same time. This way, we have two adults monitoring lunch and can have student choose whether they want to eat in the courtyard or in the cafe. We are still implementing one student per table during lunchtime.
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Earth Day Celebration
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Staffing Changes for 2022-23
Below are the staffing changes we have in place for CNH next school year:
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Idris Olabode will move from 4th and 5th grade Humanities to Middle School Social Studies next year. He demonstrated an incredible ability to motivate Middle School students to research topics independently and take pride in academic excellence as the National Academic League coach in middle school a few years ago. We are excited to see his enthusiasm for Social Studies inspire our Middle Schoolers next year.
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Bridget Murphy will transition from 4th and 5th grade Math and Science to serve in a newly created position as the 4th through 8th grade Intervention teacher. She is a highly skilled Language Arts as well as Math teacher with a demonstrated track record of moving students academically both in her previous school as well as at CNH. It’s going to be so great to see the ways in which she will provide leadership in the school by working with small intervention groups of students, pushing into the classroom regularly, as well as providing resources to teachers next year.
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Liz Mencer, current Educational Associate, will return to the classroom as the 4th and 5th grade Humanities teacher. She has been an incredible partner for me at CNH as a leader in the school this year supporting families, students, and staff. Liz is ready to return to the classroom and support students in their academic development next year in a role where she is so accomplished. We are fortunate to have her working with our 4th and 5th graders next year.
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LaShawn Gardner will be transitioning from 1st grade teacher to the school-wide Educational Associate position. Whereas she will be sorely missed in the classroom, LaShawn has been consulting with area schools and organizations, as well as mentoring teachers all over the city. Her leadership abilities (and graduate-level training) position the school well for LaShawn to transition our community into new beginnings next year.
Even though we are conducting a search for two new positions, it is because of internal transfers within the building. We are so excited to be able to build upon these staff members’ areas of expertise and professional growth in ways that benefit the larger school community.
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Letter from Ms. Liz
This year I have had the privilege of serving the staff, students, and families in the role of Educational Associate. This experience has allowed me to strengthen my leadership abilities, grow as a professional, and learn vital skills to become an assistant principal or principal in the future. I have gotten to know so many of our students and families in different capacities which has made this experience even more special. While this position felt natural in my career path, I found myself within this position missing the classroom. As many of you know, I stepped back into teaching briefly this year to support our middle school students in Social Studies. Finding my way back into the classroom this year made me feel this tremendous pull to return to the kids in the position of their teacher. I have truly missed the teacher-student relationship, and I want to stay committed to supporting the community of City Neighbors Hamilton. I’m happy to announce that I am fulfilling the 4th and 5th grade Humanities role for next school year! As the 4th and 5th grade Humanities teacher, my plan is to continue the work of developing our students as strong readers, writers, and engaged citizens.
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Principal Hiring Update
March 30, 2022
Dear City Neighbors Hamilton community,
We are writing to follow up on our message from earlier this week. On behalf of the City Neighbors Hamilton Principal Hiring Committee, we are excited to announce our two final candidates for our next Principal.
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Jabari Bush has experience as a 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade teacher, served in leadership at two schools prior to serving as the Assistant Principal at City Neighbors High School for the last three years. Mr. Bush has a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Childhood Education from Long Island University and a Masters in Supervision and Administration from Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Bush has served on the Baltimore City Parks and Recreation Advisory Board as well as the Baltimore City Mayor’s Steering Committee Education and Recreation.
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Dr. Sedrick Smith served as a teacher and Social Studies Department Chairperson at Baltimore City College, before his current role as Resident Principal at Mount Washington Elementary/Middle School. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University’s Education Department, primarily focused on K-12 literacy. Dr. Smith received his Bachelors in History and Masters in Literacy Education from Loyola University, and his Doctorate in Language, Literacy and Culture from University of Maryland Baltimore County
For this final interview, candidates will be engaged in a variety of performance tasks, including leading staff development and observing and providing feedback to staff. They will participate in a final interview with the Hiring Committee.
Candidates will also be available for an in-person Parent Forum. Please consider joining us, meeting the finalists, participating in a conversation with the candidate and providing feedback:
Tuesday, April 5, 5:45: Jabari Bush
Thursday, April 7, 5:45: Sedrick Smith
Please feel free to reach out to Mike (mchalupa@cityneighbors.org) with wonders, worries, or brilliant ideas along the way.
In partnership,
Christine Alamed Mike Chalupa
Board President, City Neighbors Hamilton City Neighbors Foundation
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Family Participation Hours
My name is Kate Funderburk and I am the new Family Participation Committee chair. I am looking forward to getting to know more of you and working in this new role!
I am also very excited that the kids are all back to in-person learning! With that being said, here is a great opportunity for you to log the hours that you spent assisting and working with your child during virtual school! You can follow the link below to record these hours.
https://docs.google.com/forms/
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any questions regarding your family’s participation hours: kfunderburk@cityneighborshamilton.org
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Get Your CNH Gear!
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Show Your School Spirit with CNH Gear! Help support our school with custom printed merch from the CNH Gear Store! HOODIES * CAR MAGNETS * MUGS * AND MORE!
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Donations to the School
If you would like to donate money to the school (for any reason), the easiest way is through our PayPal account. If you want your donation to go to a specific fund or activity (general educational expenses, technology, arts, etc), please note it with your donation.
PayPal Donate Button on Website: http://cityneighborshamilton.
If you aren’t able to donate funds to the school right now, we always appreciate your donation of time supporting the general programming needs at our school (all virtual, of course). If you would like to volunteer for the school, please email our Family Participation Board Director Elisabeth Hyleck at ehyleck@cityneighborshamilton.
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