Family Newsletter

Dear Hyde-Addison ES Families,

Welcome to the 2025–2026 School Year! Thank you to everyone who joined us for Sneak Peek and dropped off school supplies. We are grateful for your continued partnership. Please take a moment to review the Family Newsletter for important updates and resources. The "Resources" section includes many of the documents previously shared for your reference.

Per the Executive Office of the Mayor, each spring DC students in grades 3–8 and in eligible high school courses complete statewide assessments in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. These assessments measure mastery of grade-level content standards. From 2015 to 2023, the District administered the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). In 2024, the District transitioned to the DC CAPE assessment. This shift represented a change in name and governance. The DC CAPE maintains the same design, question types, and length as PARCC, and scores remain comparable across years.

Student results are reported on a five-level performance scale. Levels 4 and 5 indicate that a student meets or exceeds proficiency expectations for their grade level. Students scoring at these levels demonstrate mastery of the District’s rigorous academic standards and are building the skills needed for a wide range of post-graduation opportunities.

Below is a high-level overview of the 2025 DC CAPE results for both Hyde-Addison ES and DCPS overall. Additional data points will be shared in the coming weeks, and student-specific results will be distributed to families once they are available.

As always, please feel free to email hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov with any school specific inquiries.

Warmest regards,
Dr. Calvin Hooks, Principal
Hyde-Addison Elementary School

What is Cross Country Running?
Cross country is a long-distance, outdoor running sport. At meets, elementary students will run 2 miles, and by the end of the season, they are expected to be able to run up to 3 miles during practice. Both practices and meets are held rain or shine, so students should be prepared to run in all types of weather.

Interested in Joining?
To participate, students must have all required medical forms completed, including an up-to-date physical, before tryouts and complete the interest form below.

Interest Form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmnl8IqV7VJTZSP7t1d6TI3CqBbrYIRnbfLZK4U92UttHtyQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=112163012830480061120

📌 All forms must be submitted electronically using the link below and approved by the Athletic Director no later than September 4th. Students who do not have their forms submitted and approved by this date will not be allowed to try out.

👉 Submit Medical Forms Here

• Forms Due: Thursday, September 4th

• Tryouts: Monday, September 8th, from 3:30–4:30 PM
  
• Practices: Will be held on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:45 beginning September 11th through October 23rd.

Welcome Coach Jon!

Jonathan Both—more commonly known as Coach Jon—joined Active Play in March of 2021. He immediately fell in love with the Active Play community of kids, parents, staff, and families.

Jon brings a strong enthusiasm and passion for working with children. Prior to joining Active Play, he spent eight years as a Lead Preschool Teacher at Gan HaYeled Preschool in Northwest DC. Most recently, he served as the enrichment lead at Key Elementary School, right down the road.

Jon is also a proud dad to two young daughters—Izzy (5) and Poppy (2)—and is thrilled to now be joining Hyde as Active Play’s on-site liaison.

If you have any questions or need assistance throughout the enrichment season, feel free to reach out to him at: hydeenrichment@activeplayllc.com

Safety Reminders when Traveling To/From School

Ahead of the school year, please remind families to talk to their children about safety when traveling to and from school. Specifically, they should remind their children to:

• Travel in a group or with a friend, neighbor, or other trusted adult whenever possible.​
• Avoid distractions while traveling, like using phones, headphones, or other technology.​
• Walk along main roads, avoiding alleys or other low-visibility paths.​
• Arrive at school on time.​

The Family Handbook for the 2025–2026 school year is attached below for your review. Please take a moment to read through it to familiarize yourself with important school policies and procedures.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) is pleased to announce that the D.C. City Council has reinstated and voted to keep $610,000 in the FY 2026 budget for our beloved Jelleff Club. That means that programming for STEM, Art, Smart Girls, and others like Power hour, our homework help initiative, can continue for the 100 Club kids that attend Jelleff daily.

Programming is at the core of what makes a Club transformational. We’re grateful to the D.C. City Council for supporting our Club kids, and for the exceptional advocacy work of our members, staff, and supporters, as they tirelessly petitioned on our behalf over the last few weeks.

As planned, the city will begin a two-year renovation project on the Jelleff building starting this August. Beginning this fall, a temporary home has been arranged for our Jelleff Club kids at the historic Fillmore School in Georgetown. This move will ensure that our programming and youth continue to thrive during renovations. We are grateful to the S&R Foundation and the Georgetown community for working with us to provide a safe space for our Club Kids. Below are more details regarding next steps.

LOCATION: The Fillmore School. 1801 35th St NW, Washington, DC 20007.

SCHOOL YEAR ENROLLMENT AND BUS TRANSPORTATION ENROLLMENT DATE:
August 7, 2025, 12 PM

FALL CLUB OPERATIONS AND BUS TRANSPORTAION OPENING DATE:
September 4, 2025

HOURS OF OPERATION: 3PM-8PM Monday thru Friday

PARKING: All drop-offs and pick-ups are to take place in the Fillmore parking lot. The Fillmore building has a large parking lot located behind Starbucks on 34th Street. We ask that parents/guardians avoid parking on the street to drop off or pick up.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Shawn Osborn, Branch Director
Jelleff Recreation Center Boys & Girls Club, O: 202.462.1317 | M: 202.674.742

All students in grades Kindergarten–5 must have a signed permission form on file each school year in order to:

• Be dismissed to the Jelleff aftercare program

• Walk home

• Take public transportation home alone

• Leave with an underaged sibling

No student will be permitted to leave school alone or with an underaged sibling until the attached form is signed and returned to the main office or emailed to hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

Last call to participate in the 4th Annual Hyde-Addison School Supply Sale! We’ve shopped around, hunted the best deals, bought in bulk, and bundled your grade-specific items your child needs—so you don’t have to brave stores and face limited stock. 🛍️📚

✅ One-click.

✅ Done from your couch.

✅ Delivered straight to your child’s classroom before the first day of school.

💥 Over 225 kits sold already—help us reach our goal of 250 kits by the end of the day on August 15! Every purchase supports Hyde-Addison AND saves you a major back-to-school headache.

Purchase your kit here (or visit: hydeevent.com).

If your family needs help covering the cost of school supplies, please email hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov with your child's name and upcoming grade level so we can ensure every student has all the materials they need to succeed!

Back-to-School events have been announced!

Please review the slated start dates for Active Play and Champions. Each organization will share additional information directly with families.

Active Play

• Enrichment (Kindergarten - 5th Grade) ~ August 25, 2025
• Enrichment (Pre-Kindergarten) ~ August 28, 2025

Champions

• After Care (Kindergarten - 5th Grade) ~ August 25, 2025
• After Care (Pre-Kindergarten) ~ August 28, 2025
• Before Care ~ September 2, 2025

The School Year 2025–2026 supply lists are now available and attached below. Please review the lists for your child’s grade level to ensure you’re all set for the first day.

Attendance is a top priority for both DCPS and Hyde-Addison ES, as consistent, on-time attendance is essential to student achievement, growth, and overall success. We encourage families to review the DCPS Academic Calendar below or directly on the dcps.dc.gov website, to plan vacations, appointments, and events in a way that supports uninterrupted learning throughout the school year.

During the school year, please notify the school every time your student is absent. Excuse notes must be emailed to hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov within 5 school days after the student’s return to school for the absence to be excused, in alignment with DCPS Attendance policies. (Classroom teachers cannot excuse absences.)

If your child needs to take medication or requires medical treatment during school hours, please have your medical provider complete the appropriate forms, which may include the Medication and Treatment Authorization Forms, the Asthma Action Plan and the Action Plan for Anaphylaxis. Please email forms to hyde.Addison@k12.dc.gov and ask them to be submitted to the nurse. We will confirm receipt.

If your child needs a dietary accommodation, your provider should also complete the Dietary Accommodations Form. Please submit the completed form to dietary.forms@k12.dc.gov and cc hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

We are thrilled to announce and congratulate the following parents and guardians who have been elected to serve on the Local School Advisory Team (LSAT) for the 2025-2026 school year:

• Charita Brent

• Kenneth Byrd

• Tom Quigley

• Netta Squires

Your dedication and commitment to our school community are greatly appreciated. We look forward to collaborating with you to uphold and advance high expectations and achievements for all students.

If you need help or have questions, email: ch002523@discoverchampions.com

To enroll your child in Champions aftercare for SY25-26:

1. Create a parent portal [STEP 1]

   a. Your parent portal will give you access to billing, scheduling and many more things that will assist you.

   Link: https://connect.klcschoolpartnerships.com/

   
   

2. Fill out the attached Enrollment Packets [STEP 2]

1. Ensure to have your REQUESTED SCHEDULE completed.

2. Ensure you fill out all 3 OSSE forms.

3. Ensure you fill out a separate form for each of your students.

4. Ensure there is contact information for primary and secondary payer (email and number).

5. Ensure you are putting your child/children grade on the enrollment form.

6. When finished please email a copy to CH002523@DISCOVERCHAMPIONS.COM.

The PTA is hosting a playdate and gardening day on the Saturday before the first day of school—August 23rd from 10am-1pm. Kids can play on the playground and we’ll also be gardening and rock painting to build up our Kindness Rock Garden at the entrance of the school—all to beautify the school grounds in prep for the start of school.

This is a great opportunity to come to the school grounds and meet other Hyde-Addison families and play. We hope to see everyone there!

The Hyde-Addison PTA has officially launched its brand-new website: hydeaddisonpta.org! It's your go-to resource for everything PTA-related--from our mission and Board member introductions to upcoming events, donation opportunities and ways to get involved.

You can also find the link to the PTA website on our Instagram @hydeaddisonpta and on the official Hyde-Addison DCPS website (hydeaddisondc.org-- you'll be redirected when you click on the PTA page under the "Community" tab). Please check it out when you can--we can't wait for you to explore it!

Konstella can be accessed via the web or their free app for your phone. Registering is essential for keeping up to date on all school events/updates and connecting with other families at the school and within the classroom.

Signing up is simple:

1. Register with Hyde-Addison PTA on Konstella HERE or scan the QR code in the graphic.
2. WAIT! After submitting your child’s information, the PTA admin will approve your request within 24-48 hrs.
3. Download the FREE Konstella app for user friendly integration & phone notifications.
4. IMPORTANT:

With back-to-school around the corner, we have an easy way to help you avoid the lost & found and support our school at the same time!

Mabel's Labels are waterproof, dishwasher and washing machine-safe, durable, and come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and kid-favorite graphics. They're perfect for water bottles, lunchboxes, headphones, jackets and more!

Extra Perk! 20% of every purchase goes right back to Hyde-Addison to support our students and staff.

How to order:

1. Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com.
2. Search for and select "Hyde-Addison PTA (Washington)"
3. Start shopping! It's that easy!

This is an ongoing fundraiser--but it's especially helpful now as families prepare for the new school year. Label your gear, support our school and help keep the lost & found pile a little smaller this year!

Do you like apparel and have an eye for graphic design? The PTA is looking for a Swag Manager (or Managers!) to help fulfill online orders, manage inventory, design new swag, and build school spirit/culture! This is a great volunteer role to do on your own or share with a friend. Email pta.hydeaddison@gmail.com for more info.

All students in grades Kindergarten–5 must have a signed permission form on file each school year in order to:

• Be dismissed to the Jelleff aftercare program

• Walk home

• Take public transportation home alone

• Leave with an underaged sibling

No student will be permitted to leave school alone or with an underaged sibling until the attached form is signed and returned to the main office or emailed to hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

All volunteers, including parents, must complete the DCPS Clearance process before volunteer services can be provided. Please send a proof of your completed clearance status to hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

DCPS is pleased to announce the release of the SY 25-26 Feeder, Middle School, and High School Booklets. These comprehensive booklets provide essential information including school overviews, programming details, geographic and programmatic feeder patterns, and much more.

Please find attached a message from DC Public Schools Chancellor Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee regarding changes to sibling phase-in policies for students enrolling in 9th grade in School Year 2026-2027 and later.

Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, a new DCPS policy will prohibit students from accessing a cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day while on DCPS school grounds, aligning with our school’s current cell phone policy.

DCPS Student Cell Phone and Personal Electronic Device policy

DCPS is committed to creating a discrimination-free environment for all students. To meet this commitment, DCPS is focused on creating an environment in which we eliminate opportunity gaps, interrupt institutional bias, and remove barriers to academic and social success, particularly for students of color. Please review the following policies regarding anti-discrimination within DCPS.

DCPS Anti-Discrimination Policy

When you receive the Family Newsletter by email each Friday, as well as most other school-wide communications, you will have the option to view it in a web browser. Accessing the newsletter this way allows for automatic translation into over 20 languages and provides enhanced accessibility features, including high-contrast display settings and adjustable font sizes for improved visibility.

All Family Newsletters will also be archived on the Hyde-Addison website https://hydeaddisondc.org/home throughout the year for your ongoing reference.

August 25: First Day of School for K-5

August 28: First Day of School for PreK3 and PreK4
September 4: Back to School Night @ 5:30pm