Two DJs, 3 hours, 35 pizzas, and about 100 people later, we successfully continued our 90s dance party tradition at the end of the first month of school. What a blast! It so great to connect with people outside of school, in-person, with the simply goal of having fun. Keep an eye out in the What’s Goods for more opportunities to connect outside of school hours outdoors. See you soon!
Have a great week, everyone!
–Dr. Shyla
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Noteworthy Upcoming Dates:
|
Date(s) |
Notes |
|
October 4-5 |
Final Days for Vision for Baltimore (vision and hearing screening) |
|
October 6, 7, 8 — 1:00 dismissal |
Trimester 1 Progress Report Conferences — Aftercare provided |
|
October 11-14 |
Make-up testing for Early Fall MCAP |
|
October 15 — NO SCHOOL |
No School — Professional Development Day for teachers |
|
November 5 — NO SCHOOL |
No School — Professional Development Day for teachers |
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Progress Report Conferences
This week, we have Progress Report Conferences on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This means that we will dismiss school at 1:00 on these days. Our in-school staff will provide activities for aftercare students from 1:00-3:15, when Elev8 begins so that working parents/guardians can plan accordingly.
This is a year like no other — This year, we spent the month of September helping our students transition back to full-time in-person learning. Each teacher spent a lot of time building student stamina for learning all day long, developing skills for conflict resolution and social-emotional well being. We spent time in September assessing each student’s academic strengths and growth areas and getting to know each student as an individual.
Progress Report Conferences this time around will be focused more on what we have learned about where your child is as a learner and strategies for supporting their growth and development than on specific assignments and grade point averages. Please come with ideas for supporting your child and with feedback for how they are transitioning back to in-person learning this year both academically as well as socially and emotionally.
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Morning Meeting Activities
Click Here: October (Mon-Wed-Fri) Activities
If you’d like to see what your children engaged with during morning meeting or have something to talk about at the dinner table, here is the October Calendar. Thank you, Ms. Liz for putting this together for our community!
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Early Fall MCAP/MISA Make-up Testing
Beginning October 11, students who were absent during our Early Fall Testing in September will be in make-up testing. Make up testing will be all week except for Friday October 15, as that is a Professional Development Day.
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PCR Testing Tips
If your child exhibits symptoms, or if they missed pooled testing, or if you want to test your child to make sure they are negative for any reason, there are some places that are faster than others to receive results.
Here is a link for all testing sites in Baltimore City — updated weekly.
Mercy:
I took my daughter for a PCR test at Mercy hospital and received PCR results within about 4 or 5 hours. When I told some parents about this, they looked into it for their children. It seems that if your child’s pediatrician is affiliated with Mercy, you can have the same-day PCR like I had for my daughter and receive the results on their MyChart app. If your child’s pediatrician is not affiliated with Mercy, it seems that you could still have the same-day PCR results, but you only get a phone call if the results are positive. This is good if you’re having the test done for your own peace of mind. Of course, if you are required by the school to submit negative results for your child to return, this is not helpful unless you have MyChartMercy.
The phone number to make an appointment is (410) 332-4866.
Convention Center:
A parent told me that the Convention Center provides PCR results within 30 hours. I have not verified this information, but I trust the source. According to the parent who shared this information with me (thank you!!), you will receive an email confirmation whether your child tested positive or negative which is helpful for documentation purposes when returning to school.
Hope this helps!
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Equity Committee
Two years ago, we conducted an Equity Audit of our school. From that, we created a team of community members that helped to develop a formal Equity Plan for the school in response to findings from the audit. Each year, we plan to revisit the plan, adjust it for current needs and conditions, and hold ourselves accountable for continued work toward a more equitable and inclusive school.
If you would like to join the equity committee, please email Shyla Rao (srao@cityneighborshamilton.
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Student Voice Association Elections
Our goal for CNH graduates is for our alumni to be able to critically engage in the world around them and affect change where they deem necessary. The Student Voice Association, facilitated by Dr. Shyla, is a way for students to learn how to empower their voices and help to improve the student experience at school. I look forward to working with our future change agents! Here is the link to the “Intent to Run” form.
SVA Intent to Run Form
Student Voice Association Elections (October 15, 2021)
If you are interested in running for a position, please fill out the form below and return it to your homeroom teacher no later than Friday morning (October 8).
Name ______________________________
Grade ______________________________
Position ______________________________
I would like to meet with Dr. Shyla for advice on my campaign (circle one) Yes No
(Dr. Shyla will schedule a time to meet with you after you return the form.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Description of the leadership structure in his proposal:
-
“The Core” positions — The leadership team of the SVA. Roles include:
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Facilitator — Collects ideas from students and leads SVA meetings
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Promoter — (Student rep for the Board) — Shares ideas from the SVA and seeks support from the Board, faculty, and community with new initiatives
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Organizer — Leads the students to make new initiatives happen.
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Members-at-Large – Support Core in collecting student opinions and enacting initiatives
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Classroom representative — Attends all SVA meetings, reports back to their homeroom class, and helps to promote initiatives around the school
Timeline for elections:
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Friday, October 8 — Students submit their “Intent to Run” form to their homeroom teachers no later than this day.
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Monday, October 11-Friday October 15 — Hang signs for student campaigns
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Friday, October 15 — Any students running for “The Core” will record a speech to be played for the school at the virtual All-School on Friday, October 15.
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Elections will follow the speeches.
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Elections for students running for classroom representative will be held during homeroom that same morning.
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Your Role with Maintaining a Safe Learning Environment
If your child exhibits a new onset of any one of the symptoms in the blue box OR display any two of the symptoms in the orange box, please keep your child home and have them tested for COVID-19.
Let’s all do our part in maintaining a safe learning environment. Please do not send your child to school with any of the symptoms listed above. We will require a COVID-19 test administered either at school or on your own.
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Vision for Baltimore — Continues this week!
Last Friday and this Monday and Tuesday, the Maryland Health Department is conducting vision and hearing screening at our school. CNH is a Vision for Baltimore partnering school which means that any student who does not pass the vision test will be provided a free pair of Warby Parker glasses with a free replacement should the glasses break — all free of charge!
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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.