Update for December 4, 2020
Salem High School
Happy Friday!
Here is what is in this week's newsletter.
- Student Shout-Outs
- Temporary Change of Cohorts for Week of December 21
- Coat Drive
- Optional COVID-19 Testing for SHS Students
- Notice from IT about Student Learn Account Emails
- Panorama Survey
- SHS Music Booster
- Flu Vaccinations
- District ELL Night
- SHS News
- SHS Community Office Hours
- SHS Department Updates
- Upcoming Events
- Weekly Town Hall Reminder
- Weekly Reminders and Resources
Michael Abboud
Althea Alimagno
Fiona Bautista
Student Shout-Outs
Nadia Castellanos
Jayleen Gonzalez
Vanessa McKinnon
Christin Napierkowski
Jasmine Sanchez
Temporary Change of Cohorts Week of December 21
Coat Drive
Optional COVID Saliva Testing for High School Students
SURVEILLANCE COVID-19 TESTING
In October, just under 300 Salem Public School employees participated in a COVID-19 testing baseline screening prior to the return to the classroom for grades K-2. None of our employees tested positive. Now, building on that model, Salem Public Schools, in-person employees are eligible to participate in a pooled testing program being conducted weekly through the company Mirimus. Salem will be the second school district in Massachusetts – after Wellesley – to offer this testing option.
In Salem, all school employees who are working in a school building, as well as all in-person high school students, are eligible to participate. We began with staff this week and will open it up to interested high school students next week. Again, participation is optional, but we hope to have as many people as possible help add this additional layer of support to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19.
Notice from IT about Student Learn Emails
Panorama Survey Upcoming
We recognize the difficulty the pandemic has caused our community and appreciate the efforts our families have made to make the best of this challenging time. Our school values input from our community – and we need to hear from our students about how they feel about their school experience. Students are important partners as we work to improve our communication, academic program and overall experience for everyone.
In order to learn more about student experiences at school, we will be asking for your child’s feedback via an online survey they will be completing. The survey should take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. We are surveying students in grades 3-12.
We are asking all of our students to participate in the survey, as their feedback will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to meet their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. The responses to these surveys will be completely confidential.
The survey content will ask students to self-reflect on the following topics: academic needs, cultural awareness and action, learning model, school public health measures, school resource officer, student engagement, and student relationships.
More details will be forthcoming.
Music Boosters
Message from the School Nurses about Flu Vaccinations
As you may know, Governor Charlie Baker mandated in August that all students enrolled in school be vaccinated against the seasonal flu.
In Salem, any student who does not have proof of a flu vaccine, given after 8/1/20, on file with your school nurse will risk exclusion from any in-person learning activities after 12/31/20 should there be any documented cases of influenza in the school community. This includes any student who is in person at any point.
If you have not already done so, please make a plan to have your child vaccinated immediately. You will need to send proof of the vaccination to me so that I can update your child's school health records and clear them for full participation in all school events and programs.
You may send in your records in one of four ways:
- attach a copy to an email to Rebecca Likins
- fax it to me at 978-740-1108
- drop it off at the front desk in the Salem High School lobby
- mail it to me at Attn Nursing Salem High School 77 Willson St, Salem, MA 01970
Thank your for your time,
Nurse Rebecca & Nurse Kaitlyn
District ELL Night
Next week on Thurs, Dec. 10 we're having our 2nd Zoom ELL Family Night, beginning at 6:30 PM. Following the suggestion of some parents at our last meeting, our focus will be the emotional well-being of our students during the pandemic.
SPS counselor and social worker Joy Richmond-Smith will give a short presentation with Spanish translation, and then parents will have an opportunity to talk to each other in break-out groups, in their native languages. This is a great opportunity to build our ELL community, and give parents a voice.
Please see the attached flyers for more information.
SHS News
SHS Community Office Hours
Do you have questions about Salem High, need a hotspot, or want academic support? We are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-5 at 135 Lafayette, and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-8 at the Saltonstall School auditorium.
Please sign up for a time to come and meet us.
If you are unable to access the sign up link, please call or email a member of the Community Engagement Team in order to book an appointment.
Juan Encarnacion - Family Engagement Facilitator (781) 771-6660 (English and Spanish speaker).
Meredith Flanagan - 9th Grade Student Adjustment Counselor (978) 998-0452 (English and Spanish speaker).
Shamus Mruk - Assistant Principal for the 9th and 10th Grades and the Newcomer Program (978) 888-7634 (English only)
ALL ARE WELCOME, PLEASE COME AND SEE US!!!
Career and Technical Education
SHS CTE Students Take on Ecobricks project
The concept of creating Eco-bricks started out of necessity in third world nations where building materials are lacking. Nathan Gray, a building contractor based in Newbury and the leader of ecobrick efforts on the Northshore, figured the idea would translate well in the United States where there’s an abundance of plastic and people are becoming more environmentally conscious.
On Tuesday Dec 1 Nathan visited SHS and, via ZOOM, he talked to students and teachers about the project. “It seemed like a simple, yet effective solution to our plastic problem,” Gray said, explaining that plastics thrown in a bin and placed curbside aren’t always recycled. “There’s this false sense of security that everything that goes in that blue bin is recycled once it gets taken away, but that’s not always the case.”
In the next few months, The SHS students in Ken LeFrancois’s Carpentry and David Barnard’s Building and Property Maintenance classes will build “eco-brick” collection bins where they hope to collect more than 7,000 eco-bricks. The students will assemble eco-bricks at school and in their own homes and hope to use the bricks in the construction of a small shed which is still in the design phase. The CTE department will be inviting other SHS students, their families and the greater community to join in this innovative effort to make a positive impact on the environment.
Eco-bricks are building blocks made entirely from non-recyclable plastic such as food wrappers, candy wrappers, grocery bags, straws, packaging attached to holiday gifts and common household items. It is created by filling a plastic bottle with clean, dry plastic until it is packed tightly enough to be used as a building block. Eco-bricks can be used to produce modular items, including furniture, garden walls, dog houses, benches and other structures.
College and Career Readiness Center
JUNIORS!
SHS is offering the PSAT. The PSAT Exam and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test will be administered on January 26, 2021 at Salem High School. There is no cost to take the PSAT.
To ensure proper health and safety guidelines we are asking all Junior students to complete the attached form. LINK to FORM
College Rep Visits through Naviance
Tuesday 12/15
Alvernia University- 12:15
Wednesday 12/16
* US Army 1:00
Northshore Community College- On The Spot Admissions- DEC 9th!
Sign up NSCC OTSE scheduled for December 9th and January 20th at 12:00 pm.
Anyone interested in applying to NSCC should sign up. Once they have registered, they will send you a reminder emails leading up to the event. They will also receive an email with the Zoom meeting link and passcode.
Wednesday, Dec. 9th at 12pm: Salem HS OTSE https://nshore.radiusbycampusmgmt.com/ssc/eform/KG0k0kC78670x6700sx68I.ssc
Webinar in Spanish: College Admissions: 12/8 4pm
¿Se beneficiaría un estudiante o familia que usted conoce al ver un seminario web de Admisiones a la universidad en vivo en español? Celebraremos uno el martes 8 de diciembre a las 4:00 p.m. La invitada especial Andrea Keenan de Excel Academy cubrirá las tendencias actuales en las admisiones, construyendo una lista equilibrada de universidades y los diferentes componentes de la solicitud universitaria, todo en español. También responderá las preguntas de los asistentes. Lo alentamos a compartir esta oportunidad con sus familias publicando nuestro gráfico y el enlace de registro en sus canales de redes sociales, boletín electrónico y sitio web. Registration Link
ALL STUDENTS and FAMILIES
Looking for some reference point?
Colleges, Summer and Gap Year Programs
Caregivers Support Groups- offered through the BRYT organization:
Groups This Week - Parents Supporting Parents
What have we Learned? - Click HERE for more information.
Tuesday December 8 at 7:00 PM EST
Wednesday December 9 at 7:00 PM EST
Thursday December 10 at 12:00 PM EST
Spanish Speaking Group - Click HERE for more information.
Thursday December 10 at 7:00 PM EST
*** New Video *** , BRYT parent, Kaori shares her experience working with the Parents Supporting Parents group. Great resource to share if parents are unsure about attending a group. Please pass it on.
Student Activities
Congratulations to the class of 2021 for winning Spirit week. A reminder to all students involved in clubs, sports, or activities. Please email Mrs. Mansfield pictures that may be used in the Yearbook. Seniors, many of you have not sent in a senior portrait, please do so or we will have to use your picture from junior year. The deadline has passed but we will try to accommodate if received in the next week. Any 10th grader or 9th grader interested in running for class office should email Mrs. Mansfield their name by December 11th.
Teaching and Learning
Students in 9th grade ELA classes worked on a performance task focused on answering the question “who should have the right to vote?” Some of the activities students engaged in to help help formulate their response included reading primary sources from women suffragists, monitoring the 2020 election, and participating in listening sessions with guest speakers from the ACLU, the Salem League for Women Voters, and Mayor Kim Driscoll.
Student Supports
Over the past several weeks we’ve been highlighting how Salem High School was putting supporting our students at the very center of our efforts by committing to becoming a BARR school in the 2020-2021 school year. This means that we will be working to embrace the eight core strategies that are part of the BARR Model. This week we’re highlighting the third strategy “Create cohorts of students”.
We work to schedule students with the same group of core teachers (ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science) in the 9th and 10th grades. This means that students become part of one of two teams in these grades. We believe that this structure helps our teachers cultivate connections, both with students, and with each other to facilitate a shared knowledge base of our students. Frequently we find that one teacher or another is more successful with connecting with a particular student. Within these cohorts teachers are able to share strategies and leverage relational capital to help keep our students on track. At Salem High School we’ve taken this strategy to heart in the 9th and 10th grades and hope to implement it in the 11th and 12th grades in the coming years.
Upcoming Events
December
- 9 - 12:12 Dismissal (District Professional Development)
- 16 - 12:12 Dismissal (SHS Professional Development)
- 23 - Q2 Midquarter
- 24-31 - December Break
Weekly Town Hall
Tuesday, Dec 8, 2020, 03:00 PM
135 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA, USA
Regular Reminders and Resources
Chromebooks and Headphones
Safety Protocols and Logistics for In-Person Learners
Arrival/Dismissal procedures
Arrival - All students enter through the main doors. Masks must be worn and students must sanitize their hands with hand sanitizer when they enter.
Dismissal - Students taking the bus or getting picked up will exit through the main entrance. Students who are walking or drive themselves to school will exit through the “auto doors.”
Travel between classes
The main hallways have clearly marked travel “lanes;” smaller hallways and stairwells have been designated and marked as one way.
Assigned seating charts in every class
Classroom teachers will create a seating chart for each period.
Desks in common areas will be assigned an identifier and students will complete a Google form with the date, period, location, and desk number.
Bathroom usage and distancing enforcement
Only one student will be permitted out of the classroom at a time.
Reduced occupancy has been identified for each bathroom to allow for physical distancing.
Markers have been placed outside of bathrooms to allow for physical distancing.
Bathroom monitor is present at each bathroom to ensure that safety protocols are followed.
Electronic passes will be used instead of paper passes to reduce the chance of transmission.
Bathrooms will not be open during passing periods. Students may only use the bathroom during class time.
Lunch
Students will be assigned to a lunchroom.
Lunches will be grab and go.
Students will wipe desks and chairs before passing to next class.
Signing in and out of a classroom
Electronic passes will be used instead of paper passes to reduce the chance of transmission.
Safety procedures
Masks will be worn at all times except when eating. Gaiters, bandanas, and masks with valves may not be worn.
Physical distancing will be maintained in all spaces.
Students will wipe down their desks and chairs before passing to the next class.
Bathrooms will be disinfected by custodial staff four times per day.
Nurses
Students will not be allowed to go to the nurses’ office this year.
Nurses will go to the students’ classroom for any medical needs.
Problems with Internet?
Shamus Mruk for 9th, 10th, grade and the Newcomer Academy (smruk@salemk12.org)
Lynne Mullen for 11th, 12th, and the Bridge Academy (lmullen@salemk12.org)
School Reopening FAQ
Expectations for Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning
Below is a guideline of what you should expect in terms of synchronous ("live") versus asynchronous ("independent") learning:
Teachers will record the direct instruction of the synchronous (live) portion of their lessons and upload them to Schoology, allowing students the flexibility to access the lessons at their convenience. The expectation is that the majority of synchronous lessons will be recorded so that students can access the learning in the future.
At least 50% of each lesson should be synchronous so that students have the opportunity to interact in real-time with their teacher and peers to support their learning. At Salem High School, we have determined that the beginning of each lesson will be synchronous.
Posted student assignments include a total of 2 hrs worth of learning activities such as: watching instructional videos, accessing resources posted by the teacher, and completing assignments.
Class assignments, updates, and feedback will be posted on Schoology by end of day each Friday for the following week.
Transportation Protocols
The Salem Public Schools transportation department, and all transportation contractors used by Salem Public Schools, will follow the DESE released on July 22nd, 2020. This section refers specifically to in district transportation, however, the procedures will be followed for out of district transportation, as well.
The bus riding experience will be different this year than it has been in the past. While “big buses” usually have a capacity of around 72, because students will be required to sit one student per seat, alternating window and aisle seats, only 24 students will be able to be on a school bus at one time. Transporting the same number of students at the same time as in previous school years would therefore take three times as many buses. This is a challenge all school districts are facing, compounded by a lead time of six to eight months for acquiring new school buses, and a nationwide school bus driver shortage. To mitigate these challenges, SPS has requested that only people who have no other way to get to school fill out an application for transportation. While the reduced usage will help, we anticipate staggering bus times and providing before and after school supervision, as routes will have to be doubled in order to accommodate all students. This will depend on the school schedule and final ridership.
Core health and safety practices
Several core practices will support safe school bus operations this fall:
Masks: All staff and students on the bus, regardless of age, are required to wear masks at all times. Exemptions for students due to medical and/or behavioral reasons – and associated protocols – are further described later in this guidance.
Distance: Students should be seated no more than one student per bench, alternating sides for each row, which allows students to maintain approximately 3 feet of physical distance. Children from the same household may sit together and in closer proximity (e.g., two students per bench). See diagram above.
Ventilation: Keep windows open at all times during operation, unless not possible due to extreme weather conditions.
Seat assignments: Students should be assigned to a single bus and a particular seat.
Hand Hygiene: Students and staff will use hand sanitizer upon entering the bus. Dispensers will be at the entrance to the bus within view of the driver or monitor.
The guidelines for families and children taking the bus are as follows:
Parents or guardians of students will be asked to do a wellness check on their children before they leave the house to ensure that they are symptom free.
If a child has any of the symptoms mentioned above, they must be kept at home. The family should also contact their health care provider.
All students will be required to wear a face mask while waiting at the bus stop and for the duration of the bus ride. There are no exceptions to this requirement on the “big buses.” Families with students with disabilities should check with their child’s Special Education Team Chairperson if an exception is needed for door-to-door transportation.
Students must be reminded to maintain 6ft physical distancing from other students at bus stops.
Once the bus arrives at the bus stop, the children will board the bus one by one. The monitor will instruct them to sanitize their hands.
The monitor will also observe the student to ensure that they are not exhibiting any of the symptoms of COVID-19. If possible, an adult should wait with the student at the bus stop in case they need to be sent home. If that is not possible, and a student is displaying symptoms on the bus, the driver will alert dispatch, who will alert the school. The symptomatic student will be the last student to leave the bus, and will be isolated with the school nurse as soon as they get to school.
Students will be assigned seats, starting from the back to the front, and will be asked to board the bus in that order.
Students will sit one student per seat, alternating between window and aisle seats.
Once the bus arrives at the assigned school, the students will exit the bus one by one from front to back.
The bus will be cleaned and disinfected after every load of students.
In order to protect all students and staff, students who do not wear masks, or who remove them during the bus ride, will be addressed by the bus monitor. If the mask is still not worn, the child will conference with a counselor and/or administrator. If the child refuses to wear the mask, families will be contacted, and a solution will be agreed upon, including up to loss of bus riding privileges.
Guidelines for Families who are Transporting their Own Child
It is essential for all families to follow all arrival and dismissal procedures. If you are dropping off your child at the high school, please use the outer driveway (not the one closest to the building, which is designated for busses and emergency vehicles). ONLY the main entrance will be open for student entry. Students will be required to don their mask before exiting the vehicle, and families must complete the daily self-screening before dropping their child at school. Drivers must stay in their cars the entire time. If a parent or guardian needs to enter the school, they must park their car and enter the main entrance only. Everyone who enters the building must wear a mask.
COVID Testing
Salem High School
Email: smeier@salemk12.org
Website: https://spssalemhs.salemk12.org/
Location: 71 Willson Street, Salem, MA, USA
Phone: 978 745-9300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Salemhighschool.ma
Twitter: @_SalemHigh_