Celebrating Learning
There is a photo of me at about four years old — taps shoes on, a blue tutu and plaid bodysuit that could only exist in the 1970s, standing in the middle of a line of other four-year-olds on a stage. One leg is extended and my head is turned to my right, checking my moves against the child next to me. No matter how many times we practiced our heel-toe-shuffle steps, it was all forgotten once we stepped onto that stage. For the adults, it was adorable, and no one expected to be watching the Rockettes or Broadway.
The other night, I was reading Ms. LaShawn’s weekly newsletter. She provided a link to the 1st Grade’s Lion King performance that Ms. Miller recorded for the class. I sat on the turquoise chair in my living room, clicked the link, and watched it over and over. I was filled with pride for the kids and admiration for their teachers. It is amazing to see high-quality arts instruction in action! Family Arts Night, the brainchild of Ms. Breai, Ms. Cohen, and Mr. Bush, was a celebratory evening of the Arts and PE. We had a JamBand, student-created meals for families to eat, volleyball for families to play, shadow puppets to make, performances to watch and so much more. Watching families engage with and celebrate the Arts and PE together is so incredibly rewarding as an educator. I can’t wait for the next one at the end of 2nd Trimester!
Happy Week 13, everyone!
~Dr. Shyla
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This Week:
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- Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29: SCHOOL CLOSED for Thanksgiving
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Mark Your Calendars:
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- Tuesday, December 3: Deadline to give consent for Flu Clinic (see below)
- Friday, December 13; Enrollment Open House for Prospective Families, 9 AM
- Friday, December 20: Report Cards Mailed (this date has changed–see below)
- Friday, December 20: 1 PM DISMISSAL, Beginning of Winter Break
- Monday, December 23 through Wednesday, January 1: SCHOOL CLOSED for Winter Break
- Thursday, January 2: School resumes
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Calendar Changes
Please update your CNH school calendars to reflect the following changes:
First trimester report cards will be mailed on December 20.
Third trimester/final report cards will be mailed on June 19.
Report cards will not be sent home with students, so please make sure your mailing address is up-to-date.
Thank you.
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Flu Clinic Coming to CNH
Last week, we received word that a flu clinic will be coming to CNH. Date? No. Time? No. Minimum participant interest? Not mentioned.
However, here is what we DO know:
- You must consent to your child receiving a flu shot by going here: http://www.vaccineconsent.com/
- You do NOT have to opt out, as the shot is not mandatory; only students with digital parental consent will receive the shot.
- The consent asks for health insurance info but “the flu shot will be provided at no cost to you. “You will NOT be charged a copay or deductible.”
- Your child does not have to have health insurance in order to receive the shot.
- It is an injectable, which means a shot!
- If you do not have online access to give consent, pick up a paper consent form at the front desk.
- The clinic will take place at CNH in December.
- You can get more information here: https://tinyurl.com/HoCoFluVis
If you want to take advantage of the flu clinic for your child, please complete the online (or paper) consent form by December 3. We will let you know as soon as we know when they plan to schedule the clinic here.
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Procedure/Policy Review: Late Arrival & Attendance
Monitoring attendance at CNH is a system. If any part of that system is circumvented, the system breaks down and errors can occur in attendance. If errors occur in attendance, parents and guardians get a robocall from BCPS letting them know their child was absent–when their child was not absent. If those parent and guardians get a robocall, they call the school–as they should–to get it rectified. That’s a frustrating scenario for everyone. There are steps you and your child can take to help avoid those errors.
- If you know your child will be late or absent, contact their homeroom teacher/advisor via email. You can also cc Ms. Kachaelar at kjones@cityneighborshamilton.org. That way we know to expect your child or not.
- If you arrive after 8:15 (after the front doors are closed), you or your child must stop at the front desk to sign the late book. (Do not enter the building through any other entrance.) If your child is not present in their classroom when attendance is taken first thing in the morning, they will be marked absent. That attendance is sent to the front office to be submitted, where the late book is used to cross reference and convert absences to tardies for those students/parents who signed the late book. DO NOT MISS THIS IMPORTANT STEP IN THE PROCESS
There have been questions about what constitutes an excused or unexcused tardy and an excused or unexcused absence. Any excused tardy or absence requires a written note of excuse by the parent/guardian. The following are considered valid reasons for being tardy or absent by BCPS, and therefore CNH:
- Illness/Injury
- Contagious (Physician’s note also required to return to school)
- Death in Family
- Hazardous Weather
- Religious Holiday
- Suspension
Please note that oversleeping, bad traffic, or family vacations are not considered valid reasons for your child being absent or tardy. To be clear, we understand all of those reasons for tardiness or absence–we just can’t officially excuse them.
Thank you for following this procedure and reviewing these steps with your children!
What’s on YOUR Table?
Ms. LaShawn’s first grade class is preparing a class-wide project centered around cultural diversity within their classroom community!___________________________________________________________________________________
Family Arts Night: Update!
Our first Family Arts Night of the year was a wonderful evening! The night was filled with excellent performances, thoughtful student reflections, hands-on games and activities, as well as fun guest workshops. Thank you to all of the families for coming out to support the students and the hard work they have been doing this trimester. We would also like to thank all of the teachers that were present to support the students and the overall flow of the evening. If you have photos or videos from the evening, we would love for you to share them with us. We are looking for 1 clear video of the full 3rd grade performance.
Looking ahead, please mark your calendars for the Trimester 2 Family Arts Night on March 5 from 6:00-8:00 PM.
The new arts/PE schedule begins on Monday, December 2, as follows:
Kindergarten – Dance; 1st – Visual Art; 2nd -PE; 3rd – Visual Art; 4th – PE; 5th – Dance; 6th – PE; 7th – Visual Art; 8th – Dance.
Ms. Cohen, hcohen@cityneighborshamilton.org
Ms. Breai, bmason-campbell@cityneighborshamilton.org
Mr. Bush, bbush@cityneighborshamilton.org
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Chipotle Fundraiser Success!
Thank you to everyone who turned out to support our 8th grade on their Puerto Rico service trip by participating in the Chipotle fundraiser last week. You raised almost $400 for the trip! Thank you so very much!
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Enrollment Season Open for 2020-21!
We are now accepting applications from new families for 2020-21 inclusion in the enrollment lottery through 3 PM on Wednesday, February 5. Please share this information with anyone who may be interested.
We request that CN staff and current families submit sibling applications by Monday, January 27, 2020 so we can determine how many available seats we will have open when we conduct our lottery. Applications are available in the office or on our website. You can submit them to the office directly or by scanning and emailing to applications@cityneighborshamilton.org.
Any questions about enrollment for 2020-21? Contact Stephanie at sking@ityneighborshamilton.org.
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Ways to Support City Neighbors Hamilton
Did you know that you can give to City Neighbors Hamilton through United Way? Well, you can! And your employer might even match your donation! If you and your employer give through United Way, please use code 43909.
Now that the holidays are upon us, you might be shopping through Amazon. If you do, City Neighbors Hamilton can benefit from your purchases if you connect by using smile.amazon.com and select City Neighbors Hamilton as your charity. You get the same great Amazon bargains and products–it just allows you to support CNH every time you shop there.
Thank you!
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Summer Camp Receipts for 2019
If your child attended City Neighbors Summer Camp this past summer, look for receipts (for tax purposes) that are being sent home with your children today. If you have any questions about the receipt, please contact Camp Director, Sharon Jackson, at sjackson@cityneighbors.org.
Look for more information about the 2020 City Neighbors Summer Camp in late January!
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Focus on Fieldwork
Last Thursday, Ms. Walters’ second grade class traveled to Goddard Space Flight Center as field work for their space project. Students learned about living and working in space, wore real astronaut gloves (did you know that the gloves alone cost $40,000!?), launched mini rockets, and explored the Goddard Rocket Garden filled with real NASA rockets. They had a blast!
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The Latest News from City Neighbors Foundation
Check out the latest from City Neighbors Foundation:
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Take a Hike!
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Happening at the Hamilton Branch on 12/5!
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Check out all of the great things happening in November and December at the Enoch Pratt Free Library!
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Arts/PE Integration and Class Blog
Introducing the Arts/PE Integration and Class Photo Blog. We are excited to share photos of the great work happing in physical education, dance and visual art classes. Check out the photoblog on Mondays to see highlights from the previous week. https://tinyurl.com/arts-at-cnh
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Please Share!
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Registration Open!
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Wanna Meet with Dr. Shyla or Ms. Rashida?
You are invited to make an appointment to meet with either of us using our appointment calendars. Be sure to add the topic/agenda of our meeting in the Notes section, so that we are prepared for the meeting. We look forward to speaking with you.
Here is the link to Shyla’s Appointment Calendar.
Here is the link to Rashida’s Appointment Calendar.
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