Virtual Moving Up & Graduation Ceremonies
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LETTER TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FAMILIES: RETRIEVAL OF STUDENT BELONGINGS

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Dear SOMSD Families, 

LETTER REGARDING RETRIEVAL OF STUDENT BELONGINGS

June 11, 2020

Dear SOMSD Families, 

As we prepare for the end of the school year, District schools are coordinating efforts to retrieve and secure belongings that students may have left behind in their classrooms. 

Although some families have already shared that they have nothing of value to pick-up, we want to provide an opportunity for parents/guardians whose child (ren) may have left behind meaningful or irreplaceable personal belongings in their classroom prior to our COVID closure. 

If you are the latter parent and wish to have a personal item returned, immediately email your child’s classroom teacher.  In addition, please copy your building principal on the email and provide a detailed description of the items you are requesting. This email must be received by the end of business on Monday, June 15th.  If you do not have email access, please call your school’s front office and leave a message.

Arrangements will be made by individual schools for pick-up of your child’s property; any unclaimed items will be discarded. Student’s clothing (unless parent/guardian shares otherwise) will be placed in each school’s Lost and Found and will be available when we are physically back in the building.

Thank you for all that you continue to do in support of teaching and learning!

Sincerely,

 

South Orange & Maplewood School District

2020 District-Wide Virtual Moving Up & Graduation Ceremonies by School

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Please see below for dates for graduation and moving up ceremonies.  All virtual ceremonies will be posted to the South Orange & Maplewood School District YouTube Channel:  https://bit.ly/SOMSDYouTube

SchoolGradeDateTimeCeremony
Preschool Moving Up Ceremony Pre-KFriday, June 12, 202010:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Marshall Elementary School 2ndMonday, June 22, 202010:00 AMGrade Clap Out
South Mountain Elementary 5thMonday, June 22, 202010:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Clinton Elementary School 5thTuesday, June 23, 20209:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Jefferson Elementary School 5thTuesday, June 23, 20209:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Seth Boyden School 5thTuesday, June 23, 20209:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Tuscan Elementary School 5thTuesday, June 23, 202010:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
Columbia High School 12thWednesday, June 24, 20206:00 PMMoving Up Ceremony
Maplewood Middle School 8thWednesday, June 24, 20209:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony
South Orange Middle School 8thWednesday, June 24, 20209:00 AMMoving Up Ceremony

SOMSD Schools Closed Indefinitely – Distance Learning to Continue Until Further Notice

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April 7, 2020

Dear SOMSD Community,

Thank you for your support and all that you have done and continue to do as our District has shifted into distance learning.

As of, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy has ordered the closure of all NJ schools indefinitely. While we initially anticipated the tentative reopening of schools in our district on April 20 (this was based on previous updates from the Governor’s office); all schools will now operate virtually until further notice.

We will proceed with our distance learning methodology and keep you abreast through our communication platforms, regarding any academic or operational updates. As we head into Spring break, we hope that staff, families, and students are able to receive some respite and return somewhat refreshed mentally and emotionally as we continue with distance learning on Monday, April 20.

If you would like to email us closure-related questions please use: info@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us. Also, please visit our district COVID site for additional resources for families on mental health resources.

Again, thank you for your continued flexibility and cooperation during this unprecedented time.

Educationally Yours,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor
Superintendent of Schools

SOMSD Extends School Closure through April 17, 2020 – Letter to Community

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March 25, 2020

Dear SOMSD Staff & Family,

I hope that this correspondence finds you, your families, and your loved ones (both near and far) safe and healthy.  Thank you for your continued patience and support as we work together as a community to keep everyone safe. I appreciate your efforts at home in helping provide our students with a continuity of education during this closure period.

School Closure Update:
On Friday, March 13, 2020, as you know, we closed all schools in order to protect the health and wellness of our students, our staff, and their families. We wanted to do our part in the nationwide movement to exercise the practice of “Social Distancing” to limit the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The following week, Governor Murphy issued an executive order mandating that all NJ public, private, and parochial preschool programs and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools, would close by Wednesday, March 18, 2020, and would remain closed as long as the order stood.

With Governor Murphy’s executive order still in effect, South Orange & Maplewood School District has extended its distance learning through Friday, April 17, 2020, with students tentatively returning to school on Monday, April 20.  As we share often, this is a fluid situation, and we continue to partner with the Governor’s Office, the NJ Department of Education, local health agencies, and our educational leaders to ensure that our future plans meet the needs of our greater community. We believe the extension of distance learning through April 17 is a realistic and logical adjustment that is aligned with the recent steps taken by our Governor for the protection of our citizens.

Since our distance learning period began on March 18 and was tentatively slated to last two weeks, this extension will formally begin on Wednesday, April 1 (as a reminder, the first two days of school closures, March 16 & 17, utilized the District’s unused calendar-embedded emergency school closure dates).  As we continue distance learning into April, we will move into our normally scheduled Spring Break from April 10 – 20.  During this break, we will provide optional high-quality supplemental instructional enrichment opportunities for our students/families to engage with if they wish.

This new arrangement will provide our administrators and staff with an opportunity to take a deep breath and prepare (we hope) to return to our normal operations.  The District will be sending a more detailed communication providing additional guidance on the continuation of our distance learning platform to our families via email by end of day tomorrow, Thursday, March 26.

I would also like to remind you that we have a district “Coronavirus Updates” webpage dedicated to our communications on this matter: www.somsd.k12.nj.us/coronavirusupdates. This page includes resources that can support your student (and family’s) mental health needs during this time of uncertainty.  We are keeping the needs of ‘the whole child’ at the forefront as we move forward together.  Thank you again for your partnership.  Be safe and well.

DOWNLOAD:  SOMSD School Closure Extension, 3/25 Letter to Community

Sincerely,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools

 

SOMSD COVID-19 Two-Week School Closure, Effective Monday, March 16, 2020

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Important Message from Superintendent Taylor on COVID-19 School Closure

March 13, 2020

Dear South Orange & Maplewood School Family,

The School District of South Orange & Maplewood continues to monitor the emerging public health issue with COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. The health, safety, and well-being of our students, staff, and community members continues to be our main priority.

I have been in contact with our local health officials, Department of Education officials, a network of superintendents, our board of education and others in order to arrive at the most responsible decisions and course of action for the students and families in our school district with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic.  While there are currently no confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19 in our District, recent guidance from the CDC, NIH, local health department, the NJ Department of Health as well as Governor Murphy’s announcement yesterday to cancel all events statewide with more than 250 people, make it clear that the most prudent decision is for us to close our schools and transition to distance learning.

We recognize that this closure will be disruptive for families, and it is not something that any of us takes lightly, but we have a collective responsibility to preemptively address this public health challenge.

Therefore effective, Monday, March 16 thru March 27, 2020 we have made the decision to enact our SOMSD emergency closure plan and all District schools will be closed for a period of at least two-weeks.  

Please know that we take this decision very seriously and are being as thoughtful as possible to ensure equity and access in our preparation. It is our goal to provide support both academically and systemically, to the most vulnerable families in our community. We know that schools are not just buildings where learning takes place, for some, ‘school’ is a vital part of their food security and a virtual bridge to a generational opportunity.

Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, schools will be closed utilizing the District’s unused calendar-embedded emergency school closure dates. These days will be utilized as we are traditionally governed by an inclement weather closure.  The decision to transition to distance learning is a precautionary, proactive measure in an effort to minimize the potential risk of exposure to Covid-19.

Distance learning via home instruction for students will begin on Wednesday, March 18, 2020.   Our educators are doing an outstanding job in preparing to implement our distance learning plan.   All students from K–12 will be provided with access to Google Classroom to access two-weeks’ worth of assignments from their teachers.  Parents will be receiving letters in the mail that should arrive early next week providing important information on accessing your child’s classroom portal.   If you do not have internet access and need a hard copy of your child’s(ren’s) assignments, please contact your child’s teacher via email or contact our District office with your child’s name, school, grade, and teacher name via:

  • Email: info@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us

All field trips, athletics, school-based activities/events, and ancillary programs are canceled effective March 13, 2020, until further notice. While schools are closed, there will be no-access permitted in our buildings, except to select personnel and approved visitors.  By, Friday, March 27, 2020, a decision will be made regarding either the resumption of school and after-school activities (for Mon., March 30) or the continued closure of school.  We will continue to evaluate this evolving situation and provide updates to the community via email, robocalls, our district website, and social media.

During our closure, for those families who qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program or if your family is in need of food support, please contact the Parenting Center by calling:  Karen Weiland, (973)762-5600, ext. 1850 or via email:  kweiland@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us and food delivery will be arranged for your family.  In addition, starting on Wednesday, March 18, we will provide bagged lunches/breakfast during our closure for those families who qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program (no one will be turned away).  Additional communication regarding distribution centers and pick-up times will be provided shortly.

We are in unchartered territory and there will be many questions and challenges that arise in the coming weeks, and we will all work together to do everything we can to support our students and help them progress.  We will be communicating additional information to families and students, including how to get help with technology-related matters, picking up of student’s personal belongings (if applicable) and other details.  This will not be perfect, but under the circumstances, we will stretch our resources and do our best to support our 7,200+ student body.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and flexibility as we continue to educate our children while implementing best practices to keep everyone safe

Educationally yours,

 

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor

Superintendent of Schools

 

 

 

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