Salem Public Schools Update

May 20, 2022

SPS families,

As we enter the last month of the school year, there are many important events and celebrations! Congratulations to all those being recognized for their many accomplishments! At the same time, we are also navigating yet another rise in cases of COVID-19. While the severity of the virus thankfully remains lower, it is very contagious. As a result, we are sharing a few health and safety measures intended to minimize the risk of spread. First of all, we ask that our community continue to follow the practices that have been recommended throughout this school year:

• Daily Symptom Checks: If you are symptomatic (and it is not allergies), please stay home.

• Good Ventilation: Windows should be open and HEPA filters should be on to maximize air circulation in buildings.

• Weekly COVID Checks: Rapid test at home on Sunday or Monday morning before returning to school, and pool test with your school (usually Tuesday or Wednesday). If you do not currently participate in testing and would like to join, go here to sign up: https://bit.ly/SPS-TestConsent

• Outdoor Meals: With the weather improving, this is a reminder both at school and in our community to take advantage of outdoor spaces for gathering and meals.

• Strong Hygiene: Continue to wash your hands frequently!

Additionally, we are strongly recommending that large gatherings take place outside.

For any events that include guests or visitors we are asking schools to consult with Chelsea Banks (cbanks@salemk12.org) to confirm their health & safety plan for the event. A combination of some or all of the following layers of mitigation will be required: Rapid test within 24 hours of the event, masks, designated house-hold seats and increased ventilation. If large gatherings only consist of SPS students and staff (such as assemblies), all existing SPS health & safety protocols should be followed. For these events, SPS encourages staff and students to wear masks and for school teams to maximize ventilation. Finally, as a reminder, field trips are permitted this year. All existing health & safety protocols should be followed, along with any guidance required by the School Committee in the event of larger or overnight trips. In the event that any field trips take place indoors, SPS highly recommends all students and staff wear masks and ventilation is maximized if feasible, including opening windows and doors when possible.

Thank you for your continued cooperation as we safely celebrate our students, families and staff over the final month of the school year. Please stay cool this weekend with high temperatures and humidity expected.

Steve

At Salem Public Schools, we are recognizing one staff member a week who exemplifies our core values of celebrating differences, facilitating collaboration, fostering innovation, creating equity and access, growing all students, and upholding high standards for all. We are surprising a deserving SPS team member with a rock star trophy.

This week's rock star is Bentley Academy Innovation School's Assistant Principal, Jill Tully. Ms. Tully is a tireless worker and learner who is passionate about ensuring that school serves as a space where students' academic, social and emotional needs are met. Ms. Tully is always a calm and consistent presence who helps students and teachers to build strong classroom communities. This past week, Ms. Tully confidently stepped forward to lead Bentley Academy in the principal's unexpected absence. Please know that SPS appreciates you Ms. Tully!

There are seats remaining in some of our district summer programs. If you are interested in exploring what is available and if there is a good fit with your student's needs and interests, please contact your school's City Connects Coordinator and, at the high school level, contact your child's guidance counselor. The list of City Connects Coordinators and their contact information can be found here.

In addition to the summer programming above, we will also have a summer literacy and math tutoring program during Summer Vacation for Rising 1st-8th Grade Students

WHAT:

• 40 minutes of literacy tutoring and 40 minutes of math tutoring daily
• 30 minutes of social-emotional learning each day
• Outdoor fun and snacks throughout the program

WHEN:

• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between July 5-July 28
• 9:00am-11:00am

WHERE:

• Bates Elementary School

Transportation Included *If your child requires transportation - registration is due by Monday, May 23rd

Students must sign-up for all four weeks of the program

To enroll in the summer tutoring program, go to

https://forms.gle/ChGLa7z5uvJesFD19

Through the SPS partnership with Equity Imperative, SPS students were challenged to use their agency and voice to address meaningful issues in their community. Students chose to tackle important issues in their community including mental health supports, food in our community, wellness, and more.

This week, students presented the problems they chose to tackle using their student voice. Congratulations to all who participated.

Last weekend, Pioneer Village had a number of family visits from every school for the free kindergarten event. As of today, our participation numbers are at 110 kindergarten families and we see a whopping 824 learning missions completed!

There is still time to join in on the fun! Kindergarten families should have received more information in their student's backpacks. Not a Kindergarten student? You can still join in on the scavenger hunt fun. Here is a map of the locations you can explore.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and has been observed in the United States since 1949. Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential and includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Over the last couple of years, the pandemic has only contributed to rising rates of mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety. Salem Public Schools is dedicated to the social and emotional well-being of our students, staff, and families not only during mental health month but every day.

Salem Public School participates in the state’s Inter-District School Choice Program (see MGL Chapter 76, Section 12B). The program allows parents/guardians to enroll their child in a school district that is not the child’s home district. Local school districts determine, via an annual vote, which grade levels and how many seats will be available. On May 16, 2022, Superintendent Zrike made new School Choice recommendations to the School Committee. You can read that proposal here.

School choice applications are available and can be accessed in both English and Spanish.

It is that time of year to apply for bus transportation for the next school year. Links for registration with step-by-step instructions can be found on our website. If you have more than one child in the Salem Public Schools, a separate application must be submitted for each student unless you received a notification stating that your student is a current mandatory rider and was automatically enrolled for transportation for the 2022-23 school year. That student does not have to reapply. Depending on the grades and schools of your children, one may be eligible for transportation while the other may not. Please note that applications for bus transportation must be received by July 1, 2022, to be considered for bus transportation. Applications received after that date will no longer be accepted.

If you have any questions, please call the Salem Public Schools Transportation Office at (978) 740-1240.

Residents invited to apply by May 24th deadline

The City of Salem is seeking applicants to the advisory group for its forthcoming Open Space & Recreation (OSRP) planning process to begin in late-spring / early-summer 2022 and conclude in early 2023. The Open Space & Recreation Plan process will build upon recent City of Salem planning initiatives. Find more information here.

The Salem Scholarship and Education Committee needs a new logo to use in future fundraising and publication materials. Since students and educators are often the beneficiaries of this fund, the committee thought it would be exciting to utilize the creativity we have within our schools to create a contest for Salem students to design the logo for the Fund.

The contest begins on May 10, 2022. Submissions will be accepted through June 10, 2022. The winner will be announced following the Committee's June 13th meeting.

Criteria:

1. All entries must be submitted by email directly to Lynne Mullen at lmullen@salemk12.org, for consideration and review as an official entry of the contest.
2. Entries must be submitted as a high-resolution scan of an original work of art or in a high-resolution digital format (.jpg, .pdf, .psd)
3. The logo must include "Salem Scholarship and Education Fund" in the design
4. There is no fee to enter the contest.

We look forward to seeing the great art that will be submitted by our talented students.

More information on the Fund can be found at https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship

The Salem Public Schools will be marching in the North Shore 2022 Pride Parade that takes place here in Salem on Saturday, June 25, 2022. We invite students, staff, and families to join us as we march to celebrate our LGBTQ+ youth, as well as their families and our staff.

We would love to show all of the North Shore and beyond that, we SUPPORT and CELEBRATE our community. In addition to marching, SPS will have a booth on the Common with giveaways and information. We could use your help in making all of this happen. If you'd like to volunteer to help out or simply want to march with us. Please fill out this form. Please note that it is not required to sign up to march, you can just show up prior to 11:45 am and join us as we set up at Shetland Park, we just want to get a sense of how many will join us.

Have questions? Send them to publicrelations@salemk12.org

For more information on the parade, please visit the North Shore Pride website.

Salem Teachers Union is awarding four (4) $1000 scholarships to SPS seniors. Tickets are $10 each. We are accepting Venmo (@STUEvents), cash or checks (annbermanstu@gmail.com). For Venmo payments, please include your name, email and phone number. Upon request, we will text you a picture of your entry! Great prizes, and if you win, your ticket goes back in for another chance!

No Venmo? No problem! You can mail your check to Salem Teachers Union, 10 Colonial Road, Suite 12, Salem, MA 01970. Include your email address or phone number and we will send you a pic of your entry form!

Cafeteria Helpers $16.16/Hour, 3, 4 and 6 hour shifts

Minimum Qualifications:

High School Diploma (or equivalent)

Ability to lift a minimum of 30 pounds

Enjoy working with children

Good organizational and communication skills

Sense of pride in serving healthy, nutritious meals

How to Apply

Visit https://salem.tedk12.com/hire or call 978-740-1230

With our two snow days and our one wellness day, the last day of school is currently Friday, June 17th (June 15th for our Pre-K and Kindergarten students). For Carlton Innovation School the last day will be June 23rd (June 17th for Kindergarten families) given that June 20th is a holiday for Juneteenth). Please know that this is subject to change depending on the weather over the coming months.

Welcome to the Virtual Backpack. This is a space where we will place items that in the past may have been a flyer in your student's backpack from friends and partners to SPS.

Head Start flyer

Friday Night Competitive Basketball for grades 1-6

Become a Salem Firefighter

A reminder that ParentSquare is the district platform for communication. You will receive communication from the district, your school, and your student's classroom all in one space. You can communicate 1-to-1 with teachers, sign up for parent-teacher conferences, and more.

This is how the schools will communicate with families districtwide going forward. Please be sure you are receiving messages from ParentSquare. If you are having trouble, contact your school's front office. You can visit www.parentsquare.com for more information.

Email: publicrelations@salemk12.org
Website: https://www.salemk12.org
Location: 29 Highland Avenue, Salem, MA, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalemPublicSchools
Twitter: @SalemSchoolsk12