
SHMS Family Newsletter
June 26, 2022
Principal's Message
Greetings Stuart-Hobson community,
Congratulations to our 8th graders and welcome to our new families! This week's newsletter includes families who have enrolled for the upcoming school year and we encourage everyone to use this form to add additional email addresses that you would like to receive our family newsletter moving forward. Families who will be moving on to new school communities can use the "unsubscribe" button at the bottom of this newsletter to stop receiving our weekly updates.
More than 70% of families and students have enrolled for next school year and our rising 7th and 8th graders remain in a tie for first place at almost 80% each! As a reminder, we have staff available to assist with enrollment in-person and you can re-enroll online anytime and in just a few minutes. Thanks to everyone who has chosen SHMS again for the upcoming school year and please reach out if we can help you finish your enrollment! To those who have not enrolled, we hope you can help us reach 100% of our goal by July 4th!
Below you will find some information and updates about summer events and learning opportunities. We are working hard on annual revisions to the staff, student, and family handbooks and plan to share final copies by August 1st. Please note that while the current handbook is linked below, some policies are going to change before next school year. We will highlight those updates in subsequent newsletters, orientations, and information sessions. For example, you will find our revised uniform policy outlined below.
I hope that everyone had a strong finish to the school year and enjoys a safe and rejuvenating summer break. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Capitol Hill Community Fourth of July Parade in a few days. Have an enjoyable first week of summer break!
Warm regards,
Eric Fraser
Principal
Subscribe / Unsubscribe
You can add additional preferred e-mail addresses to the distribution list here.
As a reminder, all current and past newsletters are posted on our website for your reference.
You can unsubscribe by scrolling to the bottom of any newsletter and pressing 'Unsubscribe'
Calendars
Upcoming Dates: July & August
Upcoming Dates
- July 4, Capitol Hill Community 4th of July Parade, 10:00 AM
- July 5 - August 5, DCPS Summer School, Acceleration, and Enrichment programs
- July 11 - August 5, SHMS Summer Math Acceleration
- July 25 - August 5, Summer Debate Institute (flyer below)
- August 1, After-School All-Stars registration opens, 9:00 AM
- August 9-12, Panther Pride Academy for Rising 6th Graders and New Students, 9:00-4:30 PM
- August 19 & 22-26, Pre-Service Week for Teachers and Staff
- August 29, First Day of School for Students
Athletics Schedule
***We are accepting athletic forms for SY2022 - 2023***
Participation Form: 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: MS/ES Participation Packet.
Click on the link below to submit the athletic forms online.
Shout Outs and Celebrations
Congratulations to our 8th grade students and families for promoting to high school earlier this week! Thank you to the Cluster PTA for supporting everyone through this journey over the last three years!
Congratulations to our rising 6th grade students and families for promoting from 5th grade and welcome to Stuart-Hobson Middle School and the weekly family newsletter!
Thank you to Ms. Brewer, Ms. Doherty, Ms. McIlvaine, Ms. Rizzo, and Ms. Trueblood (Gaskill) for your service to our students and school community. We wish you all the best in the next leg of your respective journeys!
Use this form to shout out a staff member or team. Shout-outs will find their way into staff meetings, newsletters, and mailboxes. Thank you!
New Information and Important Updates
Join Us July 4th!
Fourth of July Parade on Capitol Hill!
Join the Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA on Monday, July 4th at the Capitol Hill Community 4th of July Parade!
Please join us to walk in the 10:00 am parade with our Clusterbanner as we hand out goodies to parade-goers. We are planning to gather by 9:45 AM near 8th and Eye Street SE for the 10:00 AM start time.
Wear your favorite Cluster T-shirt and bring some water!
SHMS Summer Math Acceleration
Summer Math at SHMS
Want to boost your math skills or keep your mental math fresh this summer? Consider one of our summer math sessions!
- Rising 6th Graders: July 11-22, 9 am - 11am
- Rising 7th Graders: July 11-22, 12 pm - 2 pm
- Rising 8th Graders: July 25-Aug 5, 9 am - 11 am
Limited spaces are still available in each of the summer math sessions, but sign-ups will close Wednesday, July 6.
Please reach out to Ms. Rosera at Bethany.Rosera@k12.dc.gov to sign up!
Zearn Challenge- Rising 7th and 8th Graders
For our current students, the summer Zearn challenge starts July 1st (see flyer below). Lessons will be loaded into student accounts on Monday, June 29th, and all Zearn lessons must be completed by August 1st. Students who complete 20 lessons in July will be eligible for incentives when we return in the fall!
Enroll for The 2022-23 School Year Now!
Thank you for helping us move to more than 70% of our enrollment goal in the opening months of enrollment season! We aspire to enroll 100% of families for next school year by July 4th holiday! See below for ways that you can help us hit that target!
The Stuart-Hobson Middle School team looks forward to welcoming your rising 6th, 7th and/or 8th grade student into our diverse and dynamic Capitol Hill Cluster School community. You can also learn more about our school by viewing our school's recorded Open House webinar.
Enrolling can be quick and easy for families, and we encourage you to enroll as soon as possible. For your convenience, visit this website to complete your enrollment online: dcpsenrollment. Families are also invited to complete enrollment by visiting our SHMS main office between 9:00 am-3:30 pm Monday through Friday.
We welcome all parents to make the school choice that best suits their child and family needs. If your student will not be joining our SHMS community, please contact the main office and inform our team of your student's new school. We will provide you with appropriate documentation to be removed from our school roster and mailing list.
We look forward to supporting our families through this enrollment season and welcome you to contact AP Turner with questions.
Stay Connected At Stuart-Hobson!
There are many ways that you can stay connected with the PTA and other families at SHMS. Here are a few popular spaces in our community:
CAMPUS LISTSERVE
Families can sign up for individual campus listservs (Peabody, Watkins and/or Stuart-Hobson) through our school website. Our listservs are designed to be open forums for Cluster parents to connect with other Cluster families and stay updated on school-related issues.
https://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/listservs
CAPITOL HILL CLUSTER SCHOOL WEBSITE
www.capitolhillclusterschool.org
The Cluster School website has general school information, school news including weekly newsletters and the school calendar with events for all three campuses.
SOCIAL MEDIA
INSTAGRAM: @capitolhillclusterschoolpta
Follow us on Instagram! Photos of our Cluster community including Peabody, Watkins and Stuart-Hobson events.
TWITTER: @CHCSPTA
Follow us on Twitter! The best way to see frequent posts and reminders of upcoming school events at all three campuses.
FACEBOOK: Capitol Hill Cluster School
Follow us on Facebook! General information and photos of recent and upcoming school events.
LINKEDIN: Capitol Hill Cluster School Parents Group
Join us on Linkedin! Network with other Peabody, Watkins and Stuart-Hobson parents. Lend your professional expertise to help the Cluster!
DCPS Summer Meals Start July 5th
SY 2022-23 Uniform Policy
School uniforms are required while on school property, field trips (before or after school day hours), while attending After School All Stars and school-approved activities after 3:30 PM, unless athletic, dance or other specific apparel is required by the coach/leader.
Uniforms include:
- Long or short-sleeved solid red polo shirt/t-shirt. SHMS logo optional. Any non-SHMS logo on uniform shirts or sweatshirts must be the size of a $1 bill (1 dollar) or smaller
- Plain black cotton sweatshirts (front zip or pullover) and knit vests. No hoods.
- Khaki pants, skirts/shorts, worn at waist level.
- Comfortable closed-toed shoes or sneakers covering the entire foot. No sandals, slippers, or Crocs.
- Tops like crewneck t-shirts, sweaters, and sweatshirts (no hoods) that show school pride (e.g. SHMS or CHCS logos).
- Hoods over student's heads while inside school,
- Outerwear like jackets, fleeces, parkas, windbreakers, etc.,
- Metal studs on headbands and other accessories
- Khaki-colored leggings/ tights (worn in place of Khaki pants).
Policies Under Review
- Small purses or fanny packs
An SHMS logo is not required for any uniform attire. School uniforms may be purchased via Lands End, Target, Old Navy and other retailers. More information regarding our school uniform policy will be shared via our school handbook.
Analyzing maps in geography!
Stuart-Hobson Panthers
6th Graders Speaking for Social Justice!
Previous Announcements & Resources
**The information below is new or an updated version of something announced previously! **
All Newsletters
You can find previously released newsletters and information here.
The most current version of the Student & Family Handbook is linked on our website.
Policies & Daily Operations
Check Grades in the Aspen Family Portal
Returning families should be able to access their account using their username and password from last school year. New families will receive an email from Aspen Family Portal when their family portal account is available to use (check your junk and spam folders for the invitation), likely in late August or early September.
The Portal allows you to keep up with progress in school - including grades, assignments, attendance, and more. The goal of DCPS' new digital portal is to create an open line of communication between home and school.
To Access the Portal:
1. Visit https://aspen.dcps.dc.gov
2. Make sure pop-up blocking is disabled for your browser
3. Your user name will be provided via email
4. Your temporary password will be provided via email
NOTE: Both user name and password are case sensitive
5. Click Log On to access the system. You will be prompted to fill out some information to change your password so that in the future you can click "I forgot my password" to receive a new password.
How to Navigate the Portal:
This flyer gives you the Parent Portal basics:
- What you need to know about the Parent Portal
- Lo que necesita saber sobre el Portal de Padres
Also, we recommend that families download the Grade Corner app to their smartphones or other devices. This app was created by an SHMS parent, requires an Aspen login, and allows you to see all of your student's grades in one place. In addition to seeing report cards, it is a quick and easy tool for keeping tabs on your student's progress.
Panther Pride School Store: Additional SHMS Clothing & Gear!
Check out the clothing and gear that are available at our new school store!
Families, staff, and students will be able to buy customizable Stuart-Hobson Panther gear. You can find the latest name brands on your custom SHMS gear.
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Howard, devin.howard2@k12.dc.gov
Supports for Students & Families
Mental Health Supports
Molly Smith, Social Worker, molly.smith@k12.dc.gov
Jessica Thompkins, Social Worker, jessica.thompkins@k12.dc.gov
Kimberly Harrington, DBH Social Worker, kimberly.harrington@dc.gov
Montrice Williams, CIS Social Worker, mwilliams@cisnationscapital.org
Jessica Schimmerling, Guidance Counselor, jessica.schimmerling@k12.dc.gov
Tomicula Willams, Guidance Counselor, tomicula.williams@k12.dc.gov
Kristin Dezen, kristin.dezen@k12.dc.gov
Stuart-Hobson Middle School
Email: eric.fraser@k12.dc.gov
Website: www.stuart-hobson.org
Location: 410 E Street Northeast, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202-671-6010
Twitter: @StuartHobsonMS