We hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!

Welcome back to school. We wish all of our students, staff, and families a great first day of school. Please see the resources listed below in our Back to School newsletter to assist you in a smooth transition during this first week.

Educationally Yours,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor

Dear Parents and Guardians:

View: 2020 – 2021 Visual & Performing Art Supplies List by Grade Level

I hope this finds you and your families well and excited about a new year of learning! The SOMSD Visual and Performing Arts Staff is looking forward to welcoming your children to their virtual classrooms and guiding them through the curriculum which has been updated to
reflect the new 2020 NJSLS Arts Standards. (STANDARDS LINK: https://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/2020/2020%20NJSLS-VPA.pdf)

In order to have a more robust artistic experience in this virtual learning setting, the department staff has put together a list of items we ask that you acquire to support instruction in each arts discipline; levels PreK-12. Please see the list in the attachment below and if you need assistance with any items please reach out to your teacher.

The first week of class will be centered around assimilation and acculturation to the online learning platform CANVAS, as well as community-building activities. Therefore, we ask that you gather the requested materials by September 14th, 2020.

Sincerely,

James A Manno

K-12 Supervisor, Visual & Performing Arts Department

As a reminder, the Preschool curriculum (Tools of the Mind) has created a web-based portal that enables children in Tools programs to engage virtually in core Tools daily activities aligned with in-school curriculum rollout, so they maintain the learning in the classroom when at home. PreK families will not be using Canvas as a learning management system platform.

The Tools of the Mind portals includes options for a teacher/family messaging system, familiar PreK learning activities, Parent Center with offline learning activities & guidance for supporting children’s learning at home to improve child outcomes. Early literacy apps have been redesigned to integrate home data into the teacher's analytics dashboard so teachers can track, see and hear at home learning, & provide individualized scaffolding to children at home via messages on the apps. Teachers will post the focus for instruction for the upcoming week by Friday at 4:00. This will allow families to plan their week accordingly.