Columbia
10/30 As a Matter of Fact District Newsletter: K-8 Textbook Updates, Proof of Immunizations Due, 2020 Toy Drive, Filipino-American Heritage Month, Community News, Upcoming Events and More
Superintendent’s Message: SOMSD School Reopening Postponed to January 19th
DOWNLOAD LETTER: Superintendent’s Update: School Reopening Postponed to January 19
Dear SOMSD Family,
We hope this correspondence finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. As we shared late last week, a facility walkthrough and review of some of our schools resulted in some concerning discoveries as it relates to our ventilation upgrades.
We were unable to provide more specificity at the time because a detailed investigation of the concerns was needed. After a thorough review, our investigation revealed that while much work towards our reopening was completed (removal of carpet, installation of hand sanitizer stations, mitigation signage, plexiglass installation, etc.) an important component was not completed despite having been verified as successfully finalized. We are aware that sharing this information may create additional concerns among our staff/families, however, in this case, we believe transparency is vital in earning our community’s confidence. We are unable to provide details related to personnel matters; however, please know that we hold our administration to the highest level of accountability and integrity, as we view ourselves as servant leaders to our community. We also preface this message by acknowledging responsibility in our chain of command including oversight that ultimately ends with me as the Chief School Administrator/Superintendent of Schools.
Specifically, during our October 19, Board of Education meeting, after verification from our Facilities Department lead, we shared that our univents (unit-ventilation boxes in each classroom) had been updated with filters with a Merv 16 rating. Unfortunately, our extensive inspection and investigation revealed that this was simply not true. Filters were not installed as had been reported throughout all District classrooms. In fact, the vendor was not contacted until after verification paperwork was submitted to the District. In order to prepare for students/staff to return to our buildings, every uninvent (approximately 1000) will need to be reviewed and reassessed to ensure all units have been updated; additionally, the univents are only capable of using a filter with a maximum Merv 8 rating.
We have had extensive conversations with our vendor and have been informed that the filters are inexpensive and can be quickly installed once received. However, as you can imagine, the filters that we seek are in great demand. Our vendor believes we can complete our project, which also includes repairing motors and blowers in each univent as needed, in between six-to-eight weeks. Please remember that the repair/replacement of our HVAC systems is a part of our planned district-wide construction improvement project.
To that end, the estimated timing of this work resets our potential reopening, which will now take place on approximately January 19. The preparation timeline for this reopening will also include action steps that ensure increased monitoring and communication of our progress. Given the upcoming holidays and the difficulties many are facing (and will face due to staff quarantines), this date also allows for personal quarantining for any in our school community who travel for the winter break without the need for substitutes and the accompanying disruption to educational services.
We will also be closing our return to school parental survey and relaunching it at a date closer to our opening (prior to winter break). All parents will have the opportunity to resubmit their hybrid/virtual preference at a time much closer to our reopening. Additionally, our Academic Town Hall events will be rescheduled to December.
As we have stated repeatedly, the health and safety of our students and staff is our highest priority, and we are prepared to be nimble during a time that is more fluid than ever. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Educationally yours
Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools
Progress Reports Now Available for Middle School and CHS.
Online Report Card & Progress Report Instructions
See below or Download PDF Instructions
Accessing Report Cards and Progress Reports In PowerSchool
Note: Progress reports and report cards are not accessible through the PowerSchool iOS and Android applications. Please use a computer or the internet browser on your smartphone to view the reports.
- Open an internet
- Navigate to the district homepage at somsd.k12.nj.us.
- Select Quick Links > Parents >
- Enter your username and password in the appropriate
- Press the Sign-in button
6. Select eDocuments on the left navigation
7. Select Report Card / Progress
8. Select the desired trimester/marking
9. A new tab will open in your browser and will display a PDF copy of the If the new tab does not display the report or shows the message “Please reload the page (2)”, refresh the browser.
If you do not have a parent portal account or forget your login credentials, please view our parent portal support webpage by c licking here. You can also email parentportalhelp@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us for assistance.
Download PDF Instructions
Parenting Center – Crisis Support Series: SCREEN TIME & SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE PANDEMIC
THE PARENTING CENTER AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTAs PRESENT:
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL/ACADEMIC CRISIS SUPPORT SPEAKER SERIES
SCREEN TIME & SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE PANDEMIC
Thursday, October 8, 2020 | 7:30pm – 9pm
JOIN WEBEX MEETING:
- https://somsd.webex.com/somsd/onstage/g.php?MTID=e6b1c3cd123037be656c7f7b2a9f30827
- Event #: 173 983 1858 | Event PW: epVsPnKd47
JOIN BY PHONE:
- Call-in #: 408-418-9388
- Event ID: 173 983 1858 Event PW: 37877653
Columbia’s High School’s Newspaper “The Columbian” Wins First Place from the American Scholastic Press Association for the Sixth Year In A Row
Columbia High School’s newspaper, The Columbian, has earned the first place award in an annual competition held by the American Scholastic Press Association for the sixth year in a row.
The national competition is open to any and all student-run newspapers from across the country. Entries are critiqued on journalistic content, journalistic decision-making, visual layout and design, photography, illustration, and overall editing. Columbia High School’s (CHS) newspaper team tallied enough points in each category to earn themselves a first-place position for the sixth year in a row.
Advisors for “The Columbian,” Joshua Enyeart (CHS English Dept.) and Cindy Malhotra (CHS Fine Arts) jointly shared, “We are so proud of the team and couldn’t be happier for them. Our students fought through a challenging transition last spring, showing grit and determination by moving our print-based processes to a digital platform for the first time ever!”
Judges noted that CHS has “…an excellent school newspaper, which shows the creativity and journalistic knowledge of [its] reporters, writers, photographers, layout/graphics designers and advisor[s].”
The Columbian is a student-run publication whose leaders are enrolled in the Production Journalism course (Fine Arts), and have earned their positions after completing the Journalistic Writing (ELA) or Computer Graphics (Fine Arts) courses. COVID-19, the global pandemic, and a school closure all challenged the team’s ability to continue to produce a print version of the publication so the shift to a digital platform was necessary.
The historic move marked the beginning of a new era in the institution’s more than 80-year existence. Martina Zacker, Nicholas Shires, Noori Zubieta, Jordan Young, Sydney Rednik, Zoe Slavin, Emily Wilner, Ari Mehlman, Ruari McEwan, and Jonathon Cutler made up the editorial board for the team for the 2019 – 2020 school year. The art/design team members for 2019-20 were Dana Hugel, Avery Soupios, Matt McBride, Arielle Loubier, Derek Gutierrez, Sydney Mannion, Isaac Weber, Jack Griffith, Leo Preston, Ethan Walden, and Charlie Hummel.
Advisers for The Columbian are Joshua Enyeart (English Dept.) and Cindy Malhotra (Fine Arts). The digital version of The Columbian can currently be found here: https://chsthecolumbian.blogspot.com.