Last week I posted a picture of a robin and wrote about the Spring weather to come that week… then I woke up to big, fat beautiful flakes of snow falling to the ground the next morning and couldn’t help but to laugh out loud. If that doesn’t illustrate how I thought things would go with each twist and turn of the way this past year, nothing would!

At this point, we are planning to have students in the school building all five days each week beginning on April 12th (more information below). With Baltimore City’s positivity rate at 1.9% as of Saturday and vaccinations rolling out for our staff, it looks like this plan will most certainly be able to be put into action.  Of course, like the snow last Monday morning, we might be surprised by something, or even need to change course slightly (like rescheduling the evening materials pick-up last Monday), but I see that we will be able to move forward with our plans.  As everyone’s safety has been on the forefront of all decisions we have made so far this year, it feels good that everyone’s safety will still be at the forefront of our minds while we reopen the school at some capacity.

My sister is a kindergarten teacher in Fairfax County. She just completed her first week of concurrent teaching with half of her class in-person on Tuesdays and Wednesdays while the other half learn online from home and vice versa on Thursdays and Fridays. The concurrent teaching is incredibly challenging, and she is frustrated knowing that her instruction for all of her students suffers as each group (online and in the class) are only getting a percentage of her attention. She is exhausted and is trying her hardest to make it all work well. With all of that, her face still lit up when she told me how wonderful it was to see the kids in-person.  I can’t wait for that moment, and I know I will cry as children enter the school building for the first time in 13 months.  With that, there is a lot of work to be done between now and then.  More information is below and will be updated in each week’s What’s Good.  Stay posted!

Happy Week 25, everyone!

–Shyla.

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Noteworthy Upcoming Dates:

 

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This week and next week we have Asynchronous Electives (Not with the teachers)

Due to Assessment Week this week and time needed to sign-ups for Trimester 3 elective options, this and next week’s electives will be asynchronous.

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City Neighbors Hamilton Value Award

Jerred Anderson has led the charge to celebrate students who embody the City Neighbors Way Values through the City Neighbors Hamilton Value Award. Students were nominated for demonstrating Perseverance this month.  Recipients of this award will receive a certificate, recognition on our school website, as well as a special day at Cloudy Donuts on Harford Road this Sunday, March 7.  More information to come from Mr. Jerred!

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Assessment Week March 1-5

This week is Assessment Week. Having this week allows teachers to meet with students 1:1, in small groups, and with virtual diagnostic tools to assess where students have grown academically and where they need more support.

The teachers have shared Assessment Week schedules with all of their students and their families. Please continue to remind yourselves this week that the schedule will be different.  Thanks for your understanding and support of the work this week.

Please also make sure that your child is well-rested, with healthy meals, prepped for focused attention and thoughtful responses.  Thank you!

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Who Deserves a Monument?

Two years ago, writer Sarah Lohnes, followed and documented City Neighbors High School students through their Monument project led by Mr. Toops (CNHS teacher as well as CNH parent). She used the story to produce an eight episode podcast called “Who Deserves a Monument?“

The first two episodes are now available on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Here is the link to it on Apple.

As I listened to the podcast I was overcome with appreciation for the deep and meaningful ways that our teachers in all three City Neighbors schools critically engage young people with the world around them. Some of our CNH grads are in the podcast!  Enjoy!

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Show your School Pride with CNH Swag!

Who else loves seeing all the CNH bumper stickers driving around the city? Have you noticed your kid’s CNH and Known, Loved, Inspired shirts are all getting too small? Now they can get a fresh version for the coming warmer weather. We even have masks, mugs, hoodies, phone cases and more. Show off your school pride AND help support our school with your purchase – everyone wins. Click here to check out the CNH school store (Be sure to use the left hand navigation to see all the CNH Gear)

 

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Plans for Re-Opening April 12

At this point, since our Special Board meeting on February 4th when the CNH Board of Directors voted to reopen the school for targeted in-person instruction, we have had over 20 different meetings to discuss and plan for this to happen effectively and safely. The meetings have included the Reopening task Force, our Leadership HUB team, teaching teams, the full staff, as well as the Family Forum.

From the Board to parents/guardians on the Reopening Task Force to CNH staff, all community members have stressed the importance of keeping the online instruction as effective as it has been this year. The virtual programming that teachers have created for our students at CNH has been incredibly successful for most of our students. With that, there are 16% of our students who are demonstrating significant challenges in attendance and work completion or grades, as well as social-emotional well-being. As a public charter school, it is imperative that we meet the needs of all of our students, not just the majority.

Incorporating feedback from family and staff surveys as well as working groups and the Family Forum, we have developed a plan that we hope will support the various needs of our students.

• For students who struggle with logging in and focusing on classes, we are developing a format where they come to school and access their classes online with the support of a CNH staff member. In this setting we will also target support for students who need help with understanding and completing their asynchronous assignments. This model will be offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays in an invitation-only format based upon student data. We are still determining if we will have some students attend all four days or if we will utilize an AA/BB model where each group attends two days in order to accommodate more students.

• Some students are managing successfully with their classes and assignments but are struggling with their social-emotional well-being.  For this group of students, we are developing a mostly to fully outdoor program on Wednesdays with hands-on activities, social-emotional learning workshops, and arts engagements. Some students who have demonstrated significant challenges with their social-emotional well-being will be invited to participate.  The rest of the available slots will be filled by a lottery from interested families.

The number of available spaces in each model will be determined within the next two weeks. Please be sure to check the What’s Good for updates each week!

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Care Center Site

Families can access the Care Center Site by accessing the CNH Family Site and clicking on the Family Resources tab. You can also click here to access the site. Students, teachers, and families can find different ways to support social-emotional learning on this site. You can also use this site to get in touch with Ms. Lauren & Mr. Jerred.

Care Center Week Ahead…

• Mindful Monday

• Wellness Wednesday

• Find a Friend Friday

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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.org/

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.org.

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Helpful Links

• The CNH Academic Calendar — This gives all important dates for this year (end of each trimester, Progress Report Conferences dates, etc.)

• CNH Family  Site — This is one-stop shopping for families (links to Google Classrooms, Family  Resources, the Care Center, Tutorial Videos, etc.)

• School Schedule Spreadsheet — This document has each grade’s schedule with links to Zoom meetings in one mega spreadsheet.  (NOTE: Student schedules are also posted in every Google Classroom with links to Zoom meetings)

• Family  Participation Hours Log — Any time you participate in a meeting with a staff member, attend a school event, participate in progress report conferences, or attend Committee Night, complete this form so that we can keep track of your participation!  Every family needs to log 40 hours of participation each year.

• CNH Main Website — Here is the main website with information about the school and resources.

• CNH Care Center Site — Find resources for supporting your child’s (and your own) social-emotional learning needs as well as see the videos posted for our morning meetings each week.

• COVID Testing Sites — If you are experiencing symptoms, click this link to find a testing site near you.

• Meal Sites — This site provides information for meal sites as well as other resources for accessing food.

• Shyla Rao’s appointment calendar — Feel free to make an appointment if you have questions, comments, or concerns. Shyla looks forward to meeting with you!