• Every student must submit test results (positive or negative) via ParentSquare no later than 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3. To make sure the results are as accurate as possible, do not take the test before 12 p.m. on Monday, January 2. Every student received a COVID-19 test this week. See Chief Academic Officer Rikki Hunt Taylor’s ParentSquare post to access the form.
  
• Everyone is REQUIRED to wear masks while indoors the week of January 4 – 6. Beyond that, we will continue monitoring COVID-19 case rates within the E.L. Haynes community and across the DC-VA-MD region, and adjust our mask policy as needed. If we extend our mask requirement, we will let you know via email and ParentSquare.

To make the most informed decisions around COVID-19 safety, we need you to report any positive COVID-19 test results via the Positive Case Reporting Form; and to report if you are identified as a close contact — especially for anyone in your household via the Close Contact Reporting Form. Thank you for your support in helping provide accurate COVID-19 data for our community.

If you have any questions, contact COVID-19 Operations Coordinator Evelyn Marquez at emarquez@elhaynes.org.

We invite all prospective families to join an upcoming Open House to learn more about our Pre-K – 12th grade community. Attendees will connect with school leaders, explore our academic and student wellness programs, and meet other school staff.

To keep everyone in our community healthy and well, we will host both in person, and virtual Open Houses this year.

Please sign up to attend an Elementary School, Middle School, or High School Open House on one of the dates shared on our events calendar.

Celebrating Our Community

Beginning this month we will regularly honor students with high in-seat attendance (ISA) through two new honorary titles: Attendance Ambassadors (95% or higher ISA) and Attendance Accelerators (90-94% ISA). We will acknowledge these students, along with homerooms and advisories with high attendances, their teachers, and their families through a series of special activities, shout-outs, and gift card prizes. 

Students

We will celebrate individual students and homerooms / advisories that achieve in-seat attendance of 90% or higher in the following ways.

• Daily shout-outs in school announcements naming the homerooms / advisories with the highest attendance the previous day (elementary and middle school only)
  
• A quarterly “Celebrating Success” shout-out bulletin board that lists all Attendance Ambassadors and Accelerators for the quarter (elementary and middle school only)
  
• Quarterly attendance festivity for the top five homerooms / advisories with in-seat attendance of 90% or higher
  
• In the spring, all students who have maintained 90% in-seat or attendance or higher will receive non-transferable tickets to their school’s attendance dance and brunch with their principal.

Families

For our youngest learners, getting to school on time every day requires extra support. To recognize the special role that families play in attendance at our elementary school, we will give families the chance to win one of five $25 Visa gift cards every month and every quarter. To be entered in the raffle, their child must be in a Homeroom that achieved 90% or higher in-seat attendance for the previous month or quarter.

Teachers

Teachers play an important role in creating learning environments that excite students to come to school every day, and in building strong connections with families. We will reward teachers who go above and beyond to boost attendance in the following ways:

• Gift card prizes for teachers whose Homeroom / Advisory earns 90% in-seat attendance for the month or quarter.
  
• Gift card prizes for teachers who regularly connect with families within two days of an absence and document their engagement in our school engagement system.

And the Attendance Awareness Month Art Contest Winner Is…

Lastly, we want to say THANK YOU to the 17 students who participated in our Attendance Awareness Month Art Contest. The poster that received the greatest number of votes was created by students in Mr. Craig’s 5th-grade class: Yessenis B.-M., Yesica M., Angelina C., and Kennedy W. See their beautiful artwork below! 

We look forward to spotlighting all of this year’s submissions on our social media channels throughout the school year. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

September Shout-Outs

Congratulations to all our students, teachers, and families who helped us achieve excellent attendance together during September!

Homeroom / Advisory with the highest in-seat attendance for the rate of September:

• Elementary School: Grizzly Bears (95.8% ISA)
• Middle School: Mr. Baggett’s Advisory (97.9% ISA)
• High School: Mr. Hunt’s Advisory (97.4% ISA)

Elementary School parents who won a $25 Visa gift card:

• Francisco Hernandez-Salazar 
• Ella Barnes-Williams
• Destiny M. Thompson
• Isayana Lopez Cruz
• Veronica Alvarenga

On November 18 and 19, our Wellness Team will host the annual E.L. Haynes Thanksgiving Mutual Aid Support Drive – where our families can get and give support this holiday season. Last school year, we supported 78 families and 360 children and adults. We are excited to continue this important tradition this year. Through the Support Drive, families can receive ingredients and food, toys and gifts, and winter clothing. 

Read more about from Director of Health & Wellness Melissa Beasley:

“The E.L. Haynes Thanksgiving Mutual Aid Support Drive allows families to receive and give support, regardless of economic status. Families facing economic hardship may also have the ability to support others in their community. This drive is centered in making sure every family is treated with dignity and has the opportunity to be a part of a community collective.”   

Sign up to Get or Give Support by November 15

We kindly ask that families indicate if they would like to receive or give support by November 15 so that we can coordinate all gift exchanges. If you are bringing a turkey or fresh food, please do not bring them until the day of the event.

• To participate, complete our E.L. Haynes Mutual Aid Form

Available and Accepted Items

Families can receive and give the following types of supports:

• Perishable food items (i.e. meat, vegetables, fruits, herbs, bread)
• Non-perishable food items (i.e. sauce powders, powder-based foods, dried foods, spices and herbs)
• Children’s toys and games
• Cold-weather clothing for children and adults (i.e. coats, jackets, mittens, socks, hats, scarves, gloves, boots)

Click here to see a sample food shopping list. If you’re unsure about an item, submit a form and our team will reach out to you.

Who Can Participate?

Families of all E.L. Haynes students in grades Pre-K3 – Grade 12 are eligible to participate. Staff may donate, and they may receive support after we meet all of our student families’ needs.

For more information about the E.L. Haynes Thanksgiving Mutual Aid Support Drive, contact Director of Wellness Melissa Beasley at mbeasley@elhaynes.org. 

If we experience case rates over key thresholds outlined below, organizational leadership will discuss and re-evaluate potential shifts to mask-wearing, which could include:

• GRADE-BASED MASK-WEARING:
  • If grade-based (or schoolwide for high school) case levels hit more than three cases in the grade/school which can be tied via contact tracing to the same school-based case then, masks could be required for that grade level/school for at least 10 days from the trace of the outbreak, with decisions made on a case-by-case basis dependent on the scope of the spread.
    
• ORGANIZATION-WIDE MASK-WEARING:
  • If a five-day period has more than 5 cases at a single school, then masks could be required for that school or the LEA for at least 10 days.
  • If the city returns to a medium spread level or the Mayor or DC Department of Health make recommendations then we may return to mask-wearing based on current factors.

The 2022 theme for Hispanic Heritage Month is Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation. Throughout the month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, students will learn about and honor Hispanic heritage and history through class- and school-based activities. We will feature student projects and work at the cross-campus event on October 13 as part of an academic showcase. To support your child’s learning during the month, take time to ask your child about the work they are doing in school to learn about Hispanic / Latin history and culture.

Hispanic Heritage Night on October 13

We are excited to share that, for the first time since 2019, we will gather in person for a Hispanic Heritage Night celebration with families, students, and staff! Join us on October 13, from 6 – 8 p.m. to enjoy live music, an academic showcase, food from local, Hispanic-owned restaurants, and more. 

Lastly, be sure to follow our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram) for student artwork, staff spotlights, and other highlights from Hispanic Heritage Month.

Outdoor Movie Night on October 15: Coco

We will also be co-hosting a family movie night and Halloween children’s costume exchange with Petworth Peanuts, a neighborhood parent organization, on Saturday, October 15 at our Kansas Avenue Campus beginning at 5 p.m. Click here for more information.

Last year we heard from our students that they were eager for meal options that reminded them of home, that kept them feeling nourished, and that fueled them for the school day. We are excited to partner with Luncheras DiSi because they partner with communities to create diverse and nutritious meals tailored specifically for them. 

We took into account several factors when selecting our new meal provider, and we included students and food service staff in the selection process. These factors included nutritional value, taste and quality, the vendor’s past experience, cost, and whether they are a locally owned business. Last spring, we worked with the Community Purchasing Alliance to review new school meal vendors and invited interested providers to host a tasting at our Kansas Avenue Campus. Students from all three campuses participated and rated each vendor’s menu items. Luncheras DiSi was the clear favorite. Since launching the 2022-23 School Year, students at all three campuses are enjoying their meals and our partnership is off to a strong start.

According to 5th-grade student Yessenis Brito-Moya, who has attended E.L. Haynes since 1st grade and who participated in the taste testing as a 4th-grade student last spring, “It felt really good to help choose the new food because now everybody is happy with it.” When asked to rate the nachos they ate earlier in the week on a scale of 1 to 10, a group of middle school students excitedly raised all of their hands into the air and exclaimed, “We rate them a 20!” At our high school, students have provided high praise for the new breakfast and lunch options.

Thank you to everyone who has helped bring these new meals to our school. From student leaders at all three campuses as well as members of the High School Intro to Black Law Club to staff organizing the taste tests and selection process, many members of our community contributed significantly to this process. For more information about nutrition at E.L. Haynes and to view upcoming menus, visit elhaynes.org/nutrition.

If a student regularly misses school or is late, they will miss out on meaningful learning experiences and can fall behind. We design our school day to be full of active learning from the moment a student enters our doors until they leave at the end of the day.

Attendance Awareness Flyer Contest

To celebrate the power of good attendance, we invite every E.L. Haynes student to submit an original flyer design that illustrates the importance of why attendance is important. Students can create either a digital or hard-copy design. The deadline to submit is Tuesday, September 27. Review our contest guidelines to learn more.

See below for more information about why attendance matters, and how you can support your students in showing up for school ready to learn — every day, on time! Download our Attendance Matters information sheet.

Great Attendance Boosts Learning At Every Age

• Starting in Pre-K, good attendance helps students in every grade meet critical learning milestones that can improve learning and likelihood of success later in life. 
• Missing just two days each month can negatively affect a student’s success in school.
• Coming to school on time, every day, improves learning for all students. Good attendance allows teachers to teach every student most effectively throughout the class period.
• Missing fewer than nine days of school every year can help keep students engaged, successful, and on track to graduate.

How You Can Support Strong Attendance

• Talk about why attendance matters with your student.
• Set a regular bedtime, choose outfits, and pack backpacks the night before.
• Have a back-up plan for getting to school.
• Set regular routines like finishing homework and getting a good night’s rest.
• Stay on top of your child’s social life. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school.
• Notice and support your children if they feel anxious.
• Let us know about upcoming absences as soon as possible.

Read Our Attendance Policy

Review our Attendance Policy for more information about what counts as an excused absence, how to to report absences, and what happens when students regularly miss class. Want a hard copy? Download our Attendance Matters information sheet in English or Spanish for easy access.

The above meetings align with the requirements of the E.L. Haynes bylaws, and are no fewer than are required in the bylaws. All meetings are open to the public in accordance with the Opens Meetings Act. To register for any of the above meetings, contact Joe Callahan (jcallahan@elhaynes.org).

Submit Proof of Your COVID-19 Vaccinations

Send a copy or photo of your COVID-19 vaccination card to Evelyn Marquez, COVID-19 Operations Coordinator (emarquez@elhaynes.org).