SHMS Family Newsletter

Greetings SHMS community!

On Friday we were awarded with two major reminders of how our collective compassion and hard work pay off for students. Although not all students matched to their top choice for high school, we maintained our tradition of helping students to earn acceptance at a diverse array of DCPS high schools, including many students matching at application schools throughout the city. Additionally, the SHMS DramaPlayers showcased their learned talents during opening night of "Madagascar: A Musical Adventure Jr." Both of these achievements require hours of attention, care, and support for our students at home and during school. Thank you to everyone in our community for your unrelenting commitment to our students!

While many of our 8th graders learned about their high school matches, 5th grade families across the city learned of their middle school matches, including many who will join the Stuart-Hobson MS community next school year. One way we can show them the incredible strength of our community is by recommitting to Stuart-Hobson for the upcoming school year. Please see below for details about how you can re-enroll your student for school year 2025-26. We hope to quickly surpass our enrollment goals and achieve 100% enrollment by the end of the month, but we cannot do that without each and every returning family completing their enrollment packet as soon as possible.

CAPE exams begin this week and we only have five days of classes left in the third term! Please check Aspen to see where your student can finish up any late, missing, or revised work and reach out to teachers, counselors, and grade level administrators with any requests for clarity or support with meeting academic expectations this term.

Thanks again for being an incredible school community and here is to another great week of learning to wrap up the term!

Eric Fraser

Principal

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Weekly Calendar

Monday, 3/31

• A great instructional day!
• Re-enroll at SHMS for school year 2025-26!

Tuesday, 4/1

• CAPE Testing (AM), 7th & 8th Grade ELA
• LSAT, 6:30-8:00 PM

Wednesday, 4/2

• CAPE Testing (AM), 7th & 8th Grade ELA

• CAPE Testing (AM), 7th & 8th Grade ELA

Friday, 4/4

• Last instructional day of Term 3
• Term 3 Pep Assembly, 2:30-3:30 PM

Upcoming Dates

• April 7, End of Term 3 Records-Keeping and PD Day, no school for students

• April 14-15 & 17-18, Spring Recess, no school for students or teachers

• April 16, Emancipation Day observed, schools closed

CAPE testing begins on Tuesday, April 1st at Stuart-Hobson MS. Please review the schedule below and prioritize your child attending school on the weeks their grade will be testing. We appreciate your support as we begin the CAPE testing season.

We are thrilled to welcome your child back to Stuart-Hobson Middle School for another amazing school year! As a returning family, your child’s seat is guaranteed—but we need you to take just five minutes to complete re-enrollment as soon as possible.

This year, we’re adding terrific incentives to encourage families to re-enroll early and help us become the first school to reach 100% enrollment! Students who complete enrollment now will be eligible for exciting rewards, including an ice cream social, a Union Station field trip, and raffle prizes!

To finalize re-enrollment, please click on the button below and complete enrollment!

Stuart-Hobson Middle School celebrates March Madness with a Reading Plus competition to find the class with the highest average Reading Plus lessons at 80% or higher each week. We completed our play-in round the week of March 16th with Mr. Plaisted's 1st, 2nd and 3rd period classes along with Ms. Boccardi's 7th period moving into the next round. Families are asked to encourage their students to complete their Reading Plus homework each week. It is a schoolwide expectation that students complete 4 Reading Plus lessons each week at 80% or higher. The winning class will earn a Pizza Party and extra credit! Contact your scholar's English Language Arts teachers for more details.

Congratulations to the Stuart-Hobson students who won awards at National History Day Districts on March 15th! They will be representing the Panther Community at Nationals in June at University of Maryland. Placing 1st or 2nd in their categories were:

Dasia M. (Exhibits)

Kylie B-P. (Exhibits)

Malaika T. (Individual Documentary)

Connor J. (Websites)

Fiona L. (Websites)

Darren C. and Alex W. (Group Documentary)

Emma V. and Bea O. (Group Performance)

Best of luck to all our nominees.

Each Spring, DC Public Schools asks our families to complete the annual DCPS Panorama Family Survey, an anonymous survey that the school system uses to collect vital feedback for DCPS as a whole, and your student(s) school leadership, about your family's experiences within the schools.

Stuart-Hobson would be very grateful if you can take approximately 10 minutes to complete the DCPS Panorama Family Survey between February 24-April 4th. You can reach the survey here:

https://dcsays.dc.gov/

All responses to the survey are 100% confidential, and there is no way to tie anything you write back to you or your child. If you have children in more than one DCPS schools, the survey will allow you to complete it more than once for each of the relevant schools. Thank you for your attention to this, and for your support for Stuart-Hobson!

We believe that student dress and overall appearance should reflect individuality while fostering a positive and productive learning environment. Our school uniform remains the standard and expectation, but with the warmer weather, we want to remind students of our dress code guidelines:

• Shoes must be worn at all times – flip-flops, sandals/slides, and slippers are not permitted.
• Shorts, skorts, and skirts must be longer than mid-thigh. While short shorts and skirts may be popular, they are not appropriate for a school setting. Students wearing clothing that does not meet the length requirement will be asked to change or cover up.
• The torso, including the midriff, must remain covered at all times.
• Tops must cover the shoulders – off-the-shoulder sweaters, sweatshirts, spaghetti straps, jerseys, sleeveless shirts, and tank tops are not allowed.
• Clothing that advertises or promotes illegal substances (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, etc.), illegal activities, alcohol establishments, profanity, sexual innuendos, or inappropriate messaging is not permitted.

We appreciate your support in reinforcing these expectations, which contribute to students’ growth as learners, citizens, and young adults. Please speak with your student(s) about the dress code and keep these guidelines in mind when shopping for clothing or reviewing their daily attire.

The 2024-2025 Athletics’ Participation packet has been released. All students must complete a participation packet every school year. Additionally, the medical forms must be completed within the prior 365 days. We encourage you to have your healthcare provider complete these forms before the school year and attach them to your participation packet. If your student’s UHC has been updated recently, you are encouraged to complete the participation packet as soon as possible.

English Participation Packet

Spanish Participation Packet

Universal Health Certificate (UHC).

Students with certain medical conditions may also need to complete an Asthma Action Plan or an Anaphylaxis Action Plan

Please note that it is not necessary to submit a new participation packet for each season. A complete packet includes the DCIAA forms filled out in their entirety along with a Universal Health Certificate that was completed within the last year. ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AND APPROVED BEFORE PARTICIPATION.

SHMS Athletics is seeking to hire coaches for the following teams. Professional and coaching résumés can be sent directly to Coach Drakeford.

Coaching Openings:

Track and Field (Spring), Head and Assistant Coaches

Please direct any questions about athletics to our Athletic Director, Coach Drakeford, latavia.drakeford-allen@k12.dc.gov.

Below please find food service menus for breakfast, lunch and snack for this week!

Do you have questions about mental health and behavioral health services at Stuart-Hobson? Would you like to talk to one of the counseling staff about support services for your student? Submit a request via https://bit.ly/referralSHMS or contact SHMS Social Worker Bernadette Wittschen at bernadette.wittschen@k12.dc.gov.

The Cluster is a strong community of families, and the PTA strengthens that community by working together to support our students and campuses. Joining the PTA is a great opportunity to learn more about our school, enrich the student experience, and meet new people. PTA dues help fund critical programs, as well as supplies for music, art, library, and athletics.

Email: stuart-hobsonms@k12.dc.gov
Website: www.stuart-hobson.org
Location: 410 E Street Northeast, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202-671-6010
Twitter: @StuartHobsonMS

Important Links

Aspen DCPS Student and Family Login

Attendance Excuse Template

Capitol Hill Cluster Website

DCPS School Calendar SY24-25

DCPS School Mental Health Resources
Stuart-Hobson Special Education and 504 Plans

Stuart-Hobson Communications Plan - SY2024-25
Stuart-Hobson Uniform Policy

Stuart-Hobson Food Service Breakfast-Lunch-Supper Menus
Stuart-Hobson Behavior Expectation Matrices
Stuart-Hobson Student and Family Handbook