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South Orange-Maplewood School District

A District That Celebrates

Jefferson

SOMSD Health Message Video: Seasonal Flu & COVID 19 Information for Parents/Guardians

December 16, 2021 By Communications


Watch SOMSD Health Message Video:  Seasonal Flu & COVID 19 –  bit.ly/3E5uUho


Dear South Orange & Maplewood School Community,

Spanish Translation: bit.ly/3yyhf1k |  Haitian Creole Translation:  bit.ly/3maH1nv

As COVID-19 is still circulating across the country, we’d like to take this opportunity to first thank you for your partnership in ensuring that we follow COVID mitigation strategies to help keep our students and staff safe. Please watch the accompanying, SOMSD Health Message video for all information shared below.

We are now entering into a season where there will be more indoor gatherings, in addition, it is also flu season. On behalf of the District and all school nurses we want to share and remind families of some key points about illness in general.

1. Schedule Your Child’s Flu Shot. If you have not yet done so, please remember to schedule your child’s flu shot. The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine every season with rare exceptions.  In addition, the NJ Department of Health mandates that preschool students up to age 5 receive a flu vaccine by December 23 for the 2021 influenza season.  For our preschool parents/guardians please remember to send proof of flu vaccine to your school nurse in order to avoid exclusion from school in the new year.

2. Please Be Diligent, Monitor Symptoms and Keep Your Child Home if they are Sick. The seasonal flu and COVID-19 can exhibit some of the same symptoms and–it may be difficult to tell the difference between them, or the common cold, or seasonal allergies.

  • In order to continue to keep our school communities safe, it is important that if your child does not feel well to keep them home, monitor their symptoms, and get them laboratory tested if the symptoms are COVID-compatible.
  • Please keep your children home if they have any of the following COVID-compatible or Flu-Like symptoms:
    >  Fever (100૦ F or greater)
    >  Chills
    >  New onset of Cough
    >  Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
    >  Fatigue
    >  Muscle or body aches
    >  Headache
    >  New loss of taste or smell
    >  Sore throat
    >  Congestion or runny nose
    >  Nausea or vomiting
    >  Diarrhea
  • If your child comes to school and exhibits COVID-compatible or flu-like symptoms in school, the school nurse will call you and you must pick up your child immediately. This is to minimize the potential of additional spread of any illnesses to both our student body and our school staff.

3.  Other Reasons to Keep Your Child Home.

  • If your child is experiencing COVID-like symptoms, they need a LABORATORY Rapid or PCR test (home-based tests are not acceptable). PLEASE keep your child home until their negative laboratory test result is received and their symptoms have improved.
  • After COVID-19 vaccination or booster, children may experience some side effects such as fever, chills, headache, fatigue. These are normal signs that the body is building protection. If your child does not feel well, please keep them home.

Finally, if your child has been vaccinated, please visit the District website and fill out the Student COVID-19 Vaccination Status Form [https://bit.ly/SOMSDSVS]to upload your child’s vaccination card. This will help us identify fully vaccinated students who may NOT have to quarantine after travel or being identified as close contacts (if they are without symptoms).

Thank you for your attention and cooperation to this matter. An additional COVID communication update and protocol reminder will be sent to the SOMSD community before the holiday break.

South Orange & Maplewood School District
SOMSD School Nurses

December 16, 2021 Filed Under: Clinton, Columbia, District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Maplewood Middle School, Marshall, Montrose, Preschool, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, South Orange Middle School, Tuscan

IMPORTANT SOMSD COMMUNITY UPDATE: High Transmission Essex County CALI Score Leads to Increased Quarantine Period for Unvaccinated Individuals

December 9, 2021 By Communications

IMPORTANT UPDATE


December 9, 2021

Spanish Translation: bit.ly/3lQvAkz   | Haitian Creole Translation:  bit.ly/3IBzFCL

Good Evening SOMSD Community & Staff: 

Please read this important update as received from the South Orange and Maplewood Departments of Health this afternoon:

“The weekly COVID Activity Level Index (CALI) report for the state of NJ was recently released. The entire state is now considered as HIGH transmission. Therefore, we are reverting back to a 14-day quarantine for those who are unvaccinated and exposed while we are considered as countywide high transmission as per NJDOH.  During a 14-day quarantine, unvaccinated individuals may NOT test out of quarantine.”

What this means for UNVACCINATED District students/staff:

  • As per the new guidelines any unvaccinated District student or staff person who is exposed to COVID-19 must now quarantine for 14 full days (Note: Providing a negative COVID test result during quarantine will not allow the unvaccinated staff/student to return to school facilities.  The individual must complete the full 14-day quarantine period).
  • During a student’s quarantine period, they will receive virtual instruction.  Please note while we will strive to minimize the disruption to student learning during the quarantine period by having systems in place for students to receive virtual instructional support, these structures will vary depending on the circumstances.  

We are asking the SOMSD community members to renew their pandemic diligence by continuing to wear masks, practicing physical distancing, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick, and getting tested if symptomatic.  

For more information/details, view the NJ Regional COVID Activity Report: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/statistics/covid/

The District is continuing to update the Fall 2021 Return to School Guidebook [https://bit.ly/SOMSDFallGuidebook] as information is received at the federal, state, and local levels. 

We highly promote vaccination of all individuals ages 5 and up and thank you for your continued commitment to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and helping us care for your children and the SOMSD community. 

Sincerely,

South Orange & Maplewood School District

December 9, 2021 Filed Under: Clinton, Columbia, District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Maplewood Middle School, Marshall, Montrose, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, South Orange Middle School, Tuscan

Elementary Schools: Report Cards Available Online via PowerSchool

December 1, 2021 By Communications

Click here for instructions on how to access/download report cards:  bit.ly/3d9zCjq

Haga clic aquí para la traducción al español:  bit.ly/3lnH3HV

Klike la a pou Tradiksyon Kreyòl Ayisen:  bit.ly/3xL8T6f


December 1, 2021

Dear Elementary School Families,

Over the next few days, you will be meeting with your child’s teacher for family/teacher conferences.  We hope that you take this opportunity to understand how your child is performing academically, and coping socially and emotionally at this point in the school year.  

During this meeting, your child’s teacher will review your child’s report card.  Parents/guardians can access, view, and print the reports by logging into their PowerSchool account via the parent portal here: https://powerschool.somsd.k12.nj.us/public/

If you have any problems accessing your Parent Portal account questions please feel free to email us at: parentportalhelp@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us.

We hope you find your time with your child’s teacher to be useful and informative.  Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have not yet scheduled a parent/teacher conference.

South Orange & Maplewood School District

December 1, 2021 Filed Under: Clinton, District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Marshall, Montrose, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, Tuscan Tagged With: Elementary School Report Cards, First Marking Period Report Cards, Report Cards

Emergency Remote or Virtual Instruction Plan For the 2021-22 School Year

October 26, 2021 By cmoore

Link:  https://bit.ly/3vUCHMM

South Orange Maplewood School District
Emergency Remote or Virtual Instruction Plan
For the 2021-22 School

This plan would be implemented during a district closure lasting more than three consecutive school days due to a declared state of emergency, declared a public health emergency, or a directive by the appropriate health agency or officer to institute a public health-related closure.

The Plan contains information regarding:

  • Technology
  • School Lunch Distribution
  • The Instructional Model including School Schedules
  • Grades, Assessment & Attendance
  • Teacher Expectations and More…

Read the plan in its entirety.  Link:  https://bit.ly/3vUCHMM

October 26, 2021 Filed Under: District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Maplewood Middle School, Marshall, Montrose, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, South Orange Middle School, Tuscan

SOMSD Community Fall Break Travel/Quarantine Guidelines & Survey (Submissions Due By: Tues., October 26)

October 21, 2021 By Communications

Download Letter PDF | English Google Doc Version |  Spanish Translation | Haitian Creole Translation

Link to:  Fall Break Travel Survey

(ONLY FAMILIES WHO PLAN TO TRAVEL DOMESTICALLY (OUTSIDE OF PA, NJ, NY, CT, DE) OR INTERNATIONALLY w/ UNVACCINATED CHILDREN SHOULD FILL OUT THIS FORM)


October 21, 2021

Dear SOMSD Community,

The District’s Fall Break is coming up and is scheduled for November 1 – 5, 2021.  All District schools, as well as Central Office, will be closed for this week.  Schools and District offices will reopen on Monday, November 8, 2021. 

This letter is to inform you that if you plan on traveling either domestically (outside of PA, NJ, NY, CT, DE) or outside of the United States, upon reentry to our school district, UNVACCINATED students will be asked to quarantine for a full seven to ten days depending on testing.  Quarantine may be seven full days if students test negative on days 3, 4, or 5 after returning from travel. If you choose not to test, quarantine is ten full days.  This guidance is per our local SOMA Departments of Health as informed by NJDOH and CDC.  Everyone’s compliance is necessary to keep the members of our school community healthy and safe. 

During a student’s quarantine period, they will receive virtual instruction.  Please note while we will strive to minimize the disruption to student learning during the quarantine period by having systems in place for students to receive virtual instructional support, these structures will vary depending on the circumstances.  Therefore, families of UNVACCINATED students who plan to travel during the fall break, outside of the PA, NJ, NY, CT, and DE areas will need to fill out the Fall Break Travel Survey by Tuesday, October 26.  [Link: https://forms.gle/9sUCZVeJ7SZqPQvq8].

  • Elementary Students:   For elementary students who will be traveling, parents/guardians must fill out the Fall Break Travel Survey by Tuesday, October 26, so that they have adequate notice that your child will be in quarantine post-Fall break.   Families who submit their survey by the due date will receive the appropriate details and links for virtual learning from their child’s teacher.
  • Unvaccinated Middle School Students:  For unvaccinated middle school students who will be traveling, parents/guardians must fill out the Fall Break Travel Survey by Tuesday, October 26, to inform the school that their child will need to quarantine due to travel.  Families who submit their survey by the due date will receive the appropriate details and links for virtual learning from their child’s teacher.
  • Unvaccinated CHS Students:  For unvaccinated high school students who will be traveling, parents/guardians must fill out the Fall Break Travel Survey by Tuesday, October 26, to inform the school that their child will need to quarantine due to travel.  Families who submit their survey by the due date will receive the appropriate details and links for virtual learning from their child’s teacher.

Families can receive testing via our partner, MediMobile.  MediMobile is on-site every Saturday, 9 am – 3 pm at the CHS Gymnasium parking lot (in inclement weather, MediMobile will be in the CHS cafeteria – – Parker Avenue entrance).  In addition, you can find additional testing locations for Essex County on our website:  https://bit.ly/C19Test_Vaccine. See below for the travel guidelines quarantine chart.

Grade Levels Travel  Guidelines Outside of PA, NJ, NY, CT, DE

[Guidelines have been in place since 5/2021. The NJDOH refers us to the CDC who recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated]

PreK – 5

And all Unvaccinated individuals

The day you return from travel is DAY ZERO

7-full-day Quarantine if the negative test is taken on day 3, 4, or 5 after return:

  • PCR or Rapid.  
  • A home-based test result is acceptable in the case of travel as long as the individual is not symptomatic.  If symptomatic, stay home from school and get a laboratory test.  Report positive tests to the principal.

OR

10-full-day Quarantine if choosing not to test and do not have symptoms

  • If symptomatic, stay home from school and get a laboratory test.  Report positive tests to the principal.

For International travel guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

6 – 12 

 

  • Unvaccinated students will be governed by the quarantine guidelines above. 
  • Fully vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine if they do not have symptoms. Remember, if symptomatic, stay home from school and get a laboratory test. Report positive results to the principal. [Reminder: Parents/guardians of students ages 12 and up are encouraged to upload/share proof of student COVID-19 vaccine, this will help identify students who may NOT have to quarantine*: https://bit.ly/SOMSDSVS]
  • For International travel guidance: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

These actions will further assist the school district in mitigating any health risks to our students, staff, and families. We encourage parents and students to continue following the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention promoted safeguards, such as: 

  • Staying home when you are sick; 
  • Washing hands often with soap for at least 20 seconds; 
  • Covering coughs and sneezes and properly disposing of tissues; 
  • Limiting close contact with people who are sick and not sharing food, drinks, and utensils; 
  • Practicing social distancing; 
  • Wearing a mask and students having an extra mask in their backpack as possible;
  • Continuing to monitor your health for symptoms. 

As always, we appreciate our community’s support and cooperation. You can assist us by remaining vigilant but sensible in your approach to dealing with this health concern. Should you have any questions about this situation, please feel free to contact your building administrators.

South Orange & Maplewood School District

October 21, 2021 Filed Under: Clinton, Columbia, District News, District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Maplewood Middle School, Marshall, Montrose, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, South Orange Middle School, Tuscan

Important SOMSD Update: New School Reopening Date for All Students, Monday, September 13

September 6, 2021 By Communications

September 6, 2021

Dear SOMSD Community,

  • Click Here to View or Download the letter
  • Haga clic aquí para leer la carta en español:  https://bit.ly/3tfPxnq
  • Klike la pou li lèt la an kreyòl ayisyen:  https://bit.ly/3zVuskQ

As we all recover from the impact of Tropical Storm Ida, we sincerely hope this message finds you and your family safe.  As a school district, we suffered significant losses,  and from the evening of the storm throughout the long weekend, our staff has been assessing the damage.   

The purpose of this communication is to share the District's status with you. We suffered damages to our facilities and our transportation vehicles.  Our Facilities Team has worked tirelessly throughout the weekend and done a terrific job of remediating the water damage to our facilities. However, the most pressing concerns for our reopening center around our school buses and transportation vans. We have been working closely with our insurance adjuster and the mechanics that we have an ongoing relationship with to assess the situation. At this time, we have received updates that have made us somewhat optimistic that our transportation fleet will be operational sooner than our original estimates. 

Another significant concern for us is the valuable school and classroom preparation time lost by our educators. We want our Fall Reopening to be a positive experience for all after the challenges presented by the last 18 months. To that end, we will be delaying our first day of school. The new date for all students is tentatively Monday, September 13, 2021. 

All staff will report to their buildings on Thursday, September 9 & Friday, September 10 to finalize their preparation for the return of our students. This delay will allow us to have a clearer picture of the condition of our Transportation Fleet, as well as other ongoing remediation efforts. 

In closing, the school year calendar will be shifting, the first day of school will tentatively be Monday, September 13 for all grade levels Prek-12. Staff will be returning to the buildings on Thursday, September 9.  If this plan is required to change, we will immediately update the community.

South Orange & Maplewood School District

September 6, 2021 Filed Under: Clinton, Columbia, District News & Announcements, Jefferson, Maplewood Middle School, Marshall, Montrose, Seth Boyden, South Mountain, South Mountain Annex, South Orange Middle School, Tuscan

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South Orange-Maplewood School District

South Orange-Maplewood School District

Address & Contact Info

525 Academy Street
Maplewood, NJ 07040

Main Office: (973) 762-5600

District Title IX Information

Dr. Kevin Gilbert
Asst., Supt., Access & Equity
District Title IX Coordinator
525 Academy Street
Maplewood, NJ 07040
e: kgilbert@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext. 1859

Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB)

Dr. Kevin Gilbert
Asst., Supt., Access & Equity
District HIB Coordinator
e: kgilbert@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext. 1859

Ms. Robin Curry
Confidential Secretary to the Asst. Supt., Access & Equity
e: rcurry@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext. 1822

More HIB Information

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