This weekend, my family celebrated Thanksgiving.  We aren’t going to be able to celebrate on Thanksgiving Day due to changes in some family members’ work situations.  After the appropriate quarantining and COVD testing, our family was able to fully be around one another this weekend.  This picture is of my sister and dad together, without masks, for the first time in eight months.  It was beautiful. 

As hard as it is to maintain our distance from those we love the most, it is important that we are diligent and consistent in order to keep the virus at bay. Please be sure to wear your masks, wash your hands frequently, and maintain social distancing both indoors as well as outdoors as much as possible within the constraints of your home and work situations.   

Let’s all support one another in the ways we can as we traverse the world together. 

                                                              Happy Week 7, everyone!

                                                             –Dr. Shyla.

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Important Dates:

November 3

No School — Election Day (Please vote!)

November 26, 27

No School — Thanksgiving Break

December 4

End of Trimester 1

December 7-9

Report Cards Distributed

December 23 – January 3

No School — Winter Break (return to school January 4)

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Important 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)

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

  • 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!  

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Virtual Learning to Continue at CNH

Our school is not one of the 25 schools in Baltimore City that will be returning to school in November.  We will remain online and will reassess as new information becomes available. 

Please know that your family’s health and well-being is important to all of us at CNH, and we will continue to do our best to keep everyone safe.  For example, K-2 had a materials pick-up a week ago. The teachers organized all materials by student, placed it in the lobby of the school, and labeled each materials kit with a student name. This way, family  members could come to the school and enter the lobby, one at a time, grab their student’s materials, and leave without interacting with anyone at the school face-to-face. 

We are continuing to develop protocols to keep our community safe. When the day  comes that we return to school in-person, we have electrostatic sprayers, medical-grade cleaning supplies, masks and face shields for adults and children, classrooms arranged according to CDC guidelines, hand sanitizer stations, and protocols for safe travel through the building. 

Not to worry, I will continue to communicate with you all as clearly and expeditiously as possible.  Thank you for your continued partnership in this work.  Please keep an eye out for an email from me regarding COVID working groups for this fall. 

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Visual Arts Virtual Documentation Board

Students in 2nd, 5th and 8th grade have been busy engaging in hands on and digital art making lessons and projects with Ms. Cohen. It has been wonderful to see creativity and innovation continuing at home. The Visual Arts Google Site features a digital documentation board that highlights the great work that is happening in each of the art classes. Click here to visit the CNH Visual Arts Google Site

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Want to Help your Child Read More Effectively?

We have a FREE program, called Springboard Collaborative that helps parents and caregivers learn how to support their child’s reading at home.  It is a super supportive program that provides free books and materials to students as well as some meetings with CNH teachers to help you help your child. 

Sign-Up Here if you are interested. Kim Farley (kfarley@cityneighborshamilton.org) will follow-up with you to discuss the program in more detail. 

This program is open to any elementary student (K-5). 

Spaces are limited so sign-up now!  

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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 (10/19)

  • Wellness Wednesday (10/21)

  • Find a Friend Friday (10/23)

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Vote!  

City Neighbors Votes! Please join us as we commit to vote this fall. We’re partnering with My School Votes to spread the word and make registering to vote a little easier. 

If you haven’t registered yet, now is the time! Click the link to access our portal. Then click Register to Vote. 

Following these links gives you access into Maryland’s online voter registration process, which is open to anyone 16 or older. In Maryland you can register as early as 16, although you have to wait until 18 to cast a vote. Please make sure you’re registered, and share the link with your friends, family, and neighbors to help us spread the word. 

Let’s make our voices count! https://myschoolvotes.whenweallvote.org/cityneighborsvotes

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Follow Us on Social Media!

CNH is on Social Media — Follow us! Please note that Twitter and Instagram are new endeavors for CNH so please know that it will pick-up momentum as we breathe through the start of school.  🙂 

  • Twitter — @CNHschool

  • Instagram — city_neighbors_hamilton

  • Facebook — Follow us at our official school page City Neighbors Hamilton (to receive important information) and our City Neighbors Hamilton Family page (where you can share photos and comments with CNH Families as well as Staff)

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Donations to the School

Some families reached out to the school over the summer mentioning that they would like to donate the money they didn’t spend on groceries this summer due to receiving the P-EBT card for their children.  Other families reached out to me wanting to donate money to support our acquisition of technology to support families this fall.  

If you would like to donate money to the school (for any reason), the easiest ways are through our CashApp or PayPal accounts.  Checks mailed to the school will also be accepted. Please add a note, no matter how you might donate, with how you would like it used (general educational expenses, technology, arts, etc). 

If you aren’t able to donate funds to the school, 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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Resources

  • Meal Sites

    • This Spring, Baltimore City Schools opened meal sites at any school location that offered.  We were one of them.  This upcoming school year, the school district is carefully selecting meal sites so that they are spread out evenly throughout the city and in areas of highest need. Here is the link to the school district’s Meal Sites page.  It provides information for meal sites as well as other resources for accessing food. Bookmark the link so that you can visit it again closer to the start of the school year to see which schools will serve as meal sites near you.

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Connecting with Shyla

Below the signature of every email I send from my computer (not the ones from my phone), I have the following text.  

Want to meet?  Click here to make an appointment. Be sure to add the topic/agenda of our meeting in the Notes section, so that I am prepared. I look forward to speaking with you. 

I wholeheartedly mean it when I say that I am happy to meet with you anytime you’d like to talk. It can be something you’re excited or upset about, a new idea you have for the school, if you want to share news about your family, or just to connect.  I would love to meet with you!

   

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