Bates Family Newsletter

Happy Snow Day! This new year is off and running. It is no secret that COVID cases in the Commonwealth and in Salem have increased over the winter break. We were fortunate with the use of take home COVID testing kits to triage some positive cases prior to coming back to school on Monday. Our goal in 2022 is to keep our students safe and healthy so they can have a a positive school experience. We hope that you were able to use this snow day to rest and relax with your students.

Sincerely,

Gavin Softic, principal

Students in Ms. Martins' Multi-Language Learning Classroom created posters to support our efforts in keeping Bates clean. The posters were featured on the cafeteria walls as students transitioned to lunch. Were are proud of our students!

Every year, students who are learning English as their Second Language take a special test to see how they are progressing. The state of Massachusetts and the Salem Public Schools want to make sure that all children are getting the assistance they need to learn English well, so that they can be successful in school. These assessments in reading, writing, speaking and listening will begin next week.

Early Childhood Town Hall

• This year's early childhood expo will be a series of events beginning with the Town Hall on January 20th. This will be done remotely with central administration and principals. This Town Hall will include information about how to register for both Kindergarten and preK seats.
• In February there will be school based sessions featuring school based teams.

• In March there will be School-based visits for incoming families and students.

• More Pre-K and Kindergarten Information Here: https://salemk12.org/families/kindergarten-information/

We will continue to provide an outdoor eating option for students this winter. If the weather is not appropriate for anyone to eat outside (like this upcoming Tuesday for example), we will seat our students with physical distance in the cafeteria. Will take every precaution possible to provide a safe eating experience. Beginning this past week we have rearranged our lunch schedule to ensure only one grade level eat in the cafeteria at a time. This choice model does increase the need for supervision. If you are interested in volunteering please send me an email at gsoftic@salemk12.org.

As we head into the winter months I would like to touch base with you all in regards to the opening of windows in classrooms. We want to provide air flow in our classrooms to move fresh air into our building. However, as the weather drops we want to ensure you the classroom temperature does not impact the teaching and learning environment. In extreme cold conditions we do not need to have every window in the classroom open. Windows may be cracked. We just want to ensure there is air moving through our rooms. Teachers will use their discretion to balance the air flow and classroom temperature this winter.

As we expected given our community positivity rate, we have seen an increase in cases of COVID-19 this week. The good news is that many of our families were able to identify these cases using our at-home test distribution and students remained home from school. Thank you! We are still seeing new cases in school and we wanted to inform you of an adjustment to our practices to help manage the volume of responses in the coming weeks. At the moment, our nurses are inundated with the increase in cases, and their primary focus is supporting positive students and ensuring that close contacts participate in our “Test to Stay” testing regimen. The practices below will be re-evaluated after several weeks.

• Notification of close contacts via Parent Square: Previously, we made phone calls to the families of all close contacts. Moving forward, you may be notified via Parent Square instead. This is only if your child is a close contact and able to remain in school. If we require any actions or support from you, you will receive a phone call. If you have any questions in the event that you are notified, you can write back to the message itself in Parent Square or try to call the nurse’s office; however, please understand that there may be a delay in responding as our nurses are working incredibly hard to keep our schools safe and healthy right now.
• Classroom Notification of a Positive Case: If your child is not identified as a close contact, we will not be notifying you that there is a case in their classroom or at the school. Updated COVID cases by school will continue to be provided weekly in our Friday newsletters and posted on the SPS website.

As a reminder, one of the best ways to help us support your students is to participate in our COVID check testing program. Please click HERE to sign up if you have not already done so.

Finally, if you have return-to-school questions because an individual or someone in your household has been positive or is a close contact, please reference our updated guidance and FAQ (English | Spanish). Individuals may only return before Day 11 if they do not have symptoms.

The City of #SalemMA will again offer free COVID-19 PCR tests for Salem residents on Sunday January 9th from 1pm-5pm and Tuesday January 11th from 4pm-8pm.

Our new school website has launched. Please check it out: https://spsbates.salemk12.org/

We will begin to post regularly on this site. ​This includes updates and newsletter.

There will be a remote PTO meeting on Tuesday, January 11th. We hope you can join us!

Our Bates spirit rock is available for weekly rentals. Celebrate your student's birthday or other accomplishments by painting a message on our rock

Tinyurl.com/spiritrock21-22

As a Title I School we are required to create a School Improvement Plan each year. Please take a look at our goals and action steps this year!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HHtvZ9sVEbIx1x3woloCR1c27UQYzSD1ybmjKKb8lgw/edit

The updated Bates Elementary School Handbook is updated. You can find it here:

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WxzB5lyKeyuo7kKzah3FfN4KdH2D8NsPzNCIACWM5Xw/edit
  

Please let us know how your child is getting home. If dismissal plans change please communicate to your homeroom teacher or the main office. 978-740-1250. We want to make sure they get home safely!

If you have not done so already, Parents and guardians can apply online through ParentSquare using the form below or print the application form here and return it to the transportation office.

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.

Gavin Softic, gsoftic@salemk12.org

978-400-6378

Email: gsoftic@salemk12.org
Location: 53 Liberty Hill Avenue, Salem, MA, USA
Phone: 978-740-1250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bateselementarysalem/
Twitter: @sps_bates