Salem Public Schools Weekly Update

October 21, 2022

Parent/guardian voice is important to Salem Public Schools. We value your input and feedback and want to provide an ongoing platform to engage in those productive and solutions-based conversations.

In partnership with the Salem School Committee, we invite parents and guardians to apply to serve on the Salem Public Schools Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee. The committee’s primary function will be to provide the Superintendent and the School Committee with feedback and perspectives on important district initiatives; however, the group will also be charged with developing its own mission and initiatives aimed at promoting open and productive communication among SPS community members.

Interested parents and guardians should please fill out the questionnaire below. The district will work with school principals to assemble a group of 15-20 members made up of parents/guardians from each school (including one alternate representative from each) and representing a range of grade levels. In keeping with the district’s mission to promote equity and inclusion, our goal is to assemble a committee reflective of our district’s diverse population.

Please email questions to me at szrike@salemk12.org

Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (English)

Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (Spanish)

Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (Portuguese)

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.

The rockstar award this week goes to Ms. Jennifer Thomas, counselor at New Liberty Innovation School who always puts students first in everything she does. Whether it be transporting students to school, assisting families with housing and providing consistent counseling, she relentlessly pursues wraparound services that benefit all students at NLIS. Thank you Ms. Thomas for always being available to advocate for some of our most vulnerable students!

With the changing colors, frost on the pumpkin, and Sunday football, comes more time indoors and, unfortunately, greater exposure to contagious viral illness. The time is now to get vaccinated against flu and Covid-19. In collaboration with the Salem Board of Health and the State of MA, our schools will be hosting vaccination clinics this month. You can register using the site specific link included for each location and the type of vaccination you want to receive (can register for both):

10/27- Witchcraft Heights Elementary School -2:30 pm - 5:00 pm

• Register for COVID vax/booster here
• Register for flu vaccine here

11/3- Bentley Academy Innovation School - 3:00pm - 6:30 pm

• Register for COVID vax/booster here
• Register for flu vaccine here

11/10- Horace Mann Laboratory School -1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

• Register for COVID vax/booster here
• Register for flu vaccine here

Students, staff, and families are welcome. A parent or caregiver must be present for those under 18. Please wear a shirt that allows upper arm access. All clinics will take place in the school gyms. Signs will be posted with the exact location at the schools. You can receive a vaccine if uninsured.

According to the CDC, it is safe to receive both vaccines at the same time in different arms. Though there is no harm in receiving a booster once symptoms of Covid-19 resolve following infection, studies have shown that increased time between infection or vaccination may improve the immune response to the booster.

• < 2-3 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Wait a month or two to get a booster.

• 3-4 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Consider a booster if you’re high risk, or have plans for an upcoming social event. (Get your booster 2 weeks before the social event for optimal protection).
• 4-6 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Get your booster anytime.
• 6+ months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Get boosted now!

Last week, Salem Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services celebrated National School Lunch Week in all of our schools. It is held yearly to promote the importance of healthy school lunch in a child's life and the impact it has inside and outside of the classroom.

Celebrations took place on Friday. Elementary students were given a goody bag with a fun school lunch week themed coloring page inside. Fun music was played at lunch throughout all 3 cafeterias in Salem High School, and a delicious lunch of BBQ pulled pork nachos, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, tortilla chips & sweet plantains was served.

The focus of the day was on celebrating school lunch. Salem Food and Nutrition Services strives to ensure that our students are never left hungry and always know they will be fed a nutritious meal when they come to school. All food served in Salem Public Schools follows the nutritional guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. The NSLP requires five food components, each with daily and weekly minimums, including fruits, vegetables, grains, meat/meat alternatives, and milk. These requirements are designed to provide age-appropriate meals to specific age/grade groups. Remember, lunch and breakfast are FREE in all of our schools to all students.

Staff was also celebrated at this event as new t-shirts were supplied to all our kitchen staff with the new SPS food and Nutrition services logo! Thank you to our kitchen staff for all that they do to make sure our students receive nutritious meals every day. #NSLW22 #Peaceloveschoollunch

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development understands that our schools are often called upon to assist in connecting families to key resources such as housing, health services and access to food. To assist in helping to connect you with these resources I wanted to share the links to our Massachusetts Housing Resource Guide that is available in both English and Spanish. This guide is also available in hard copy by emailing ma_webmanager@hud.gov. The guide includes information on a number of different housing and homeless services that are available for families to access.

The City’s Scholarship & Education Committee has extended the grant application period for educators and other qualifying applicants to seek a micro-grant from the Salem Education Fund. Applications are being accepted through December 5th. Per state law these grants can be used “to provide supplemental education funding for local educational needs and to provide funding for existing adult literacy programs” that serve Salem students/residents.

Application form: https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/links/education-fund-application.

Previous grant awards: https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/news/salem-scholarship-education-committee-awards-education-fund and https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/news/salem-scholarship-education-committee-awards-five-education.

For more information about the committee, please visit https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship.

By Wednesday, September 7th, the central administrative offices housed at Collins Middle School will have a separate entrance. The main entrance for CMS students, CMS staff and CMS families only will remain in the center, rear of the building. All other SPS staff and visitors for the central administrative offices will now use the new central office entrance, located on the Jackson St. side of the building, closest to Highland Ave. See picture below. We appreciate your cooperation and patience as we may redirect you to the proper entrance depending on the nature of your visit.

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.

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 our school and teachers communicate with families districtwide. Please be sure you are receiving messages from ParentSquare. If need support downloading the app or receiving messages, please contact your school's front office. You can visit www.parentsquare.com for more information.