Jefferson

SOMSD Launches Rubicon Atlas, First-Ever Public-Facing Website for the District’s K-12 Curriculum

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Access K-12 Online Curriculum Atlas site:  https://bit.ly/SOMSDAtlas

SOMSD Community,

The South Orange & Maplewood School District’s Curriculum & Instruction Department is proud to announce that the District’s K-12 curriculum will now be available online.  The District has partnered with Rubicon Atlas to build out a digital public-facing platform for the K-12 curriculum which is now open to SOMSD families and the broader community.  

 The District’s partnership with Rubicon Atlas brings to fruition a two-year quest to provide the District community with transparency and access to the curriculum across all grade levels.  Rubicon Atlas is a leading online planning, assessment and reporting platform for independent and international schools worldwide. By providing schools with one unified system on a consistent, modern and mobile-ready interface, Rubicon Atlas via its platform AtlasNext offers a seamless & integrated experience for school leaders, teachers, students, and parents.

In the past, the District’s curriculum has been scattered across multiple portals for documentation and lacked a centralized location to document curriculum in addition to a common language or focus.  It has been a goal of the District for a couple of years to coordinate the curriculum process with a fresh start of curriculum documentation and review. To do this, the District needed to establish a centralized place for curriculum documentation, as well as ensure that teachers/parents are able to view how curricula are aligned and referenced from Common Core NJSLA standards.

Dr. Matthew Friedman, Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum & Instruction, says “We are excited to finally bring to fruition this District goal.” He continued, “The process of transferring our curriculum to an online platform, allowed us to find the crucial gaps and overlaps in our current curriculum, where similar aspects of curriculum were being repeated year to year, while across grades, there was a lack of consistency in curriculum. In transferring curriculum to Rubicon Atlas, we sought to achieve a more cohesive and standard sequence across curricula.” 

Providing access to the District’s curriculum via a user-friendly site not only provides transparency and allows parents to view what their child(ren’s) will learn at their grade level, but it also beneficial to teachers, allowing them to view mapped curricula by subject area, grade-levels and standard alignments on one site and in one-location.  Within Rubicon Atlas, school and District-wide curriculum is one click away for all teachers, spanning all subjects and grade levels.  In addition, teachers will easily be able to apply filters by grade, subject, or course.

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor shared, “We are so excited to add this high-quality tool to our District. During my tenure, I have heard concerns from stakeholders regarding the need to anticipate what students will be learning next or questions regarding the pacing of instruction or even questions about curricular compliance with state mandates.”  Taylor continued, “Rubicon Atlas is a proven platform that offers a user-friendly transparent solution addressing those previously stated concerns, while also significantly increasing the access of instructional resources to our educators. Kudos to our Curriculum and Instruction Team, led by Dr. Friedman and Director Ann Bodnar, who worked many hours with our Academic Content Supervisors to bring this much discussed need to reality.”  

South Orange & Maplewood School Community

COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Clinic Will Be Available @ CHS on Aug. 17: Open to all District Staff and Essex County Residents Age 12 and Up, Registration Recommended

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Download:  COVID-19 Mobile Onsite Vaccination Clinic_Aug. 17 & Sept. 7 Flyer

The Essex County Mobile Health Clinic will be onsite at Columbia High School to administer COVID-19 Vaccinations on Tuesday, August 17 and September 7* from 10am - 2pm.

THREE VACCINATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONSITE:

  • Pfizer (Age 12+)
  • Moderna / Johnson & Johnson (Age 18+)
  • Parent/Guardian must accompany their child(ren) for vaccine administration

Key Details:

  • Open to all District staff/personnel and Essex County Residents
  • Registration strongly recommended - call the Maplewood Department of Health:  (973) 762-1820
  • Location:  CHS Gym Parking Lot (located on Valley Street)

*The Mobile Unit will return on Tuesday. September 7th (three weeks later) to give the 2nd dose of Pfizer); If you get the Moderna vaccination on August 17, you will have to go to another county location, four weeks later, for the 2nd dose. J&J is one dose

SOMSD Fall Safe Return to School Video Presentation & Update

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Good Afternoon SOMSD Community,

The state of NJ and the NJ Department of Education has mandated that every NJ Public school district will reopen schools to in-person instruction for all students for the 2021-22 school year, returning to pre-Covid normal school days that will include lunch and that will address the needs of ALL students.  A brief video presentation led by Superintendent Dr. Ronald G. Taylor along with Julianne Porter, RN, CSN, SOMSD Lead Nurse provides high-level information to help families prepare for Fall 2021 return to school.  

As the District Reopening Task Force works on finalizing and fleshing out the nuanced details of our September reopening, the District is solely following state guidelines (with input from our local health department), and unless the mandate changes, we are moving forward with preparation to have all students in school full-time (five days a week).  Below are the key points highlighted in the “Fall 2021 Safe Return to School” presentation led by Superintendent Ronald Taylor:

  • We are planning for full-day, five-day a week in-person instruction, with normal pre-Covid school hours;
  • All students will be back for full-time, in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year (no cohorts will be in place);
  • Parents or guardians will not be able to opt children out of in-person instruction as allowed for the 2020-2021 school year;
  • All students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status;
  • Because we cannot maintain a social distance of 3-6 feet (one strategy to mitigate virus transmission) and still offer full-day in-person instruction, we will prioritize other mitigating strategies, including masking and desk partitions where feasible; 
  • Screening testing:  Unless directed by the DOH, screening testing will not be mandated.  COVID-19 testing site information will be posted on the district website, and available at COVID19.nj.gov.​  The District has investigated the availability of mobile testing units and home Covid test kits for voluntary use and will provide the community with updates if confirmed;
  • Parents/Guardians will be asked to e-sign the 2021-22 SY Parent Agreement Letter of Compliance with COVID-19 Guidelines, deadline, September 17 (a separate email will follow in the coming weeks); and
  • Schools will reopen on September 9th: Grades PreK-7/9 and September 10th: Grades 8/10-12.

A more detailed return to school guidebook will be provided to families before school reopens for the fall.  Continue to enjoy the summer and be safe.

South Orange & Maplewood School District

SOMSD Project Literacy Book Giveaways Resumes During Summer Programming through July 30

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The South Orange & Maplewood School District, ELA Department are happy to announce that reading book distribution to support District students reading at home especially during the summer months is continuing. The books support both fiction and nonfiction reading at the heart of all disciplines across all grade levels. Students and/or parents are invited to come to any of the District schools below during the allotted timeframe to pick up book selections (which are free).

Families/students can pick up books from any school district site. Book pick-up is occurring weekdays, M-F through July 30. Please be sure to note the grade levels that each site provides books for.

School Locations / Times:

  • CHS: Room B203 | Time: 8:15-noon | Grades 9-12
  • South Mountain & the Annex: Location: Cafeteria | Time: 8:30-noon | Grades: K-5
  • MMS: Location: Main Door | Time: 8:30-noon | Grades: K-8
  • Marshall: Location: Main door | Time: 8:30-noon | Grades: K-5
  • Montrose: Location: Main door | Time: 8:30-noon | Grades: K-2
  • SOMS: Location: Foyer | Time: 12pm – 6pm) | Grades: K-12

District 2020-21 Meal Application & P-EBT Benefits Deadline Open Until June 28

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) is part of the U.S. government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  P-EBT benefits are available to children who were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals at a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), but whose schools closed or operated with reduced attendance or hours for five consecutive days due to COVID-19.

If you have not yet completed a 2020-2021 meal application, you can still apply no later than June 28, 2021. If your student qualifies for free or reduced meals, you will be eligible for P-EBT benefits issued by the State for the entire 2020-21 school year. IF NO MEAL APPLICATION IS COMPLETED & APPROVED BY JUNE 28, 2021, YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE P-EBT CARD.

Please follow this link for the free/reduced lunch applications:

South Orange & Maplewood School District

Spanish:

Estimados padres,

La Transferencia Electrónica de Beneficios para la Pandemia (P-EBT) es parte de la respuesta del gobierno de los EE. UU. A la pandemia de Covid-19. Los beneficios de P-EBT están disponibles para los niños que eran elegibles para recibir comidas escolares gratuitas o a precio reducido en una escuela que participa en el Programa Nacional de Almuerzos Escolares (NSLP), pero cuyas escuelas cerraron u operaron con asistencia u horas reducidas durante cinco días consecutivos debido a COVID-19.

Si aún no ha completado una solicitud de comidas para 2020-2021, aún puede solicitarla a más tardar el 28 de junio de 2021. Si su estudiante califica para comidas gratis o reducidas, usted será elegible para los beneficios P-EBT emitidos por el estado para el todo el año escolar 2020-21.

SI NINGUNA SOLICITUD DE COMIDA SE COMPLETA Y APROBADA ANTES DEL 28 DE JUNIO DE 2021, NO SERÁ ELEGIBLE PARA LA TARJETA P-EBT.

Siga este enlace para las solicitudes de almuerzo gratis / reducido:

  • https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/district/food-services/freereducedapplication/

Distrito escolar de South Orange y Maplewood

Haitian Creole:

Chè paran,

Transfè Benefis Elektwonik Pandemi (P-EBT) se yon pati nan repons gouvènman ameriken an nan pandemi Covid-19 la. Benefis P-EBT yo disponib pou timoun ki te kalifye pou manje lekòl gratis oswa a pri redui nan yon lekòl ki patisipe nan Pwogram Repa Eskolè Nasyonal la (NSLP), men ki gen lekòl yo fèmen oswa opere avèk prezans redwi oswa èdtan pou senk jou konsekitif akòz KOVID19.

Si ou poko ranpli yon aplikasyon pou repa 2020-2021, ou ka toujou aplike pa pita pase 28 jen, 2021. Si elèv ou a kalifye pou manje gratis oswa redwi, ou pral kalifye pou benefis P-EBT Eta a bay pou tout ane lekòl 2020-21.

SI PA GEN APLIKASYON MANJE RANPLI AK APWOUVE PA 28 JEN 2021, OU PAP KALIFYE POU KAT P-EBT.

Tanpri swiv lyen sa a pou aplikasyon yo manje midi gratis / redwi:

  • https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/district/food-services/freereducedapplication/

South Orange & Maplewood Distri Lekòl la

More About the P-EBT From the NJ Department of Human Services Website

 Important Things to Know About P-EBT

  • Your child must be enrolled in free or reduced-price school meals under the National School Lunch Program and in a school that was closed or operated with reduced attendance for at least five consecutive days at any point this school year. This includes students in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Schools.
  • Children under six years old who are receiving SNAP are also eligible if they live in an area where schools were closed or operated in reduced attendance for at least five consecutive days.
  • You don’t need to apply for these benefits. We are working with your child’s school to get information that will help us determine your benefit amount and issue your benefit.
  • There are two benefit amounts: $122.76 per child per month for students attending school fully virtual and $61.38 per child per month for students attending school in hybrid schedules. Students attending school fully in-person or who were not approved for free or reduced-price school meals in a school that participates in the NSLP are not eligible.

For more information visit:  https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/njsn

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