Dear SOMSD Family,

The topic of school safety and mental health is a high priority for the district. I want to share a report that was released on February 11 as a collaborative initiative between the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association. The report releases evidence-based, trauma-informed recommendations on Active Shooter Drills and Proactive School Safety Solutions to protect the well-being of both students and teachers.

Back in December, before the report was issued, the District announced and implemented changes to our Policy 8420, Emergency and Crisis Situations. I am pleased to share that SOMSD was forward-thinking in these revisions, as they have been borne out by several of the recommendations suggested by the Everytown/AFT/NEA report. There is still work that needs to be done, and we will continue to monitor and consider research, safety/security requirements and legal mandates; coupled with the concerns of our administrators and parents, while seeking to balance the mental health/social-emotional concerns of our students to ensure that we make the best decisions for our District.

The report includes an analysis of the research available on active shooter drills and recommends six important stipulations for schools that conduct drills. We have already implemented the bolded bullet items marked with an “x”:

• Drills should not include simulations that mimic an actual incident; (x)
• Parents should have advance notice of drills;
• Drills should be announced to students and educators prior to the start; (x)
• Schools should create age and developmentally appropriate drill content with the involvement of school personnel, including school-based mental health professionals; (x)
• Schools should couple drills with trauma-informed approaches to address students’ and educators’ well-being; (x) and
• Schools should track information about the efficacy and effects of drills. (x)

The full report and release can be accessed here: https://t.e2ma.net/message/1cagyc/xhv0yk

Yours in education,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor

“A hilarious, coming-of-age musical about discovering that “cool” is sometimes where we least expect it.”

“Geek. Poser. Jock. Beauty Queen. Wannabe. These are the labels that can last a lifetime. With an unforgettable rock score from Tony Award-winning composer, Jason Robert Brown, (Parade, The Last Five Years, Bridges of Madison County) 13 is a musical about fitting in – and standing out!

Evan Goldman is plucked from his fast-paced, preteen New York City life and plopped into a sleepy Indiana town following his parent's divorce. Surrounded by an array of simpleminded middle school students, he needs to establish his place in the popularity pecking order. Can he situate himself on a comfortable link of the food chain... or will he dangle at the end with the outcasts?!?”

Performance Dates:

• Friday, February 28th → 7:30pm
• Saturday, February 29th → 7:30pm
• Sunday, March 1st → 2:00pm

Location:

MMS Auditorium

7 Burnet Street Maplewood, NJ

Purchase Tickets: http://maplewoodms.booktix.com/

Playing Games to Strengthen Math Skills

Everyone likes to play a game, no matter how old they are, but these days good old-fashioned game playing is often replaced by gaming on devices. Both of these avenues of game playing are fun and engaging, but when family members or teachers play hands-on math games with children, these types of games can help support student math engagement and reinforce math skills.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommends game playing as part of the elementary school math curriculum. Teachers should provide “repeated opportunities for students to play games, then let the mathematical ideas emerge as students notice new patterns, relationships, and strategies.”

Games are an important tool for learning in elementary school mathematics classrooms. NCTM provides several key bullets on the importance and impact of playing math games to help children deepen their mathematical understanding and reasoning. More information can be found on their website article, “Why Play Math Games.”

Katie Costello, Lead Math Teacher at Clinton School, has also created Pinterest boards with a fantastic array of math games that you can play with your child at home. Often these games are played with dice, spinners, counters, dominoes or playing cards, so if you don’t have access to these materials, please reach out to your child’s teacher or your school’s administrators. I highly encourage you to follow Ms. Costello on Pinterest, as she frequently updates her pages.

• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/imi-share-kindergarten/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/imi-share-first-grade/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/imi-share-second-grade/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/imi-share-third-grade/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/imi-share-fourth-and-fifth-grade/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/dominos/
• https://www.pinterest.com/katiecostell/dice-games/

Ms. Ann Bodnar, Director of Curriculum & Instruction

Tools of the Mind (TOM) Pre-K Curriculum

“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The South Orange-Maplewood School District’s commitment to offering access to a high-quality preschool experience is demonstrated by its plan to expand its pre-K program with the support of the New Jersey State Department of Education (NJDOE) and in partnership with local preschool program providers. Once the expansion initiative is solidified, 2020-21 partners will be announced.

We appreciate the community’s interest in the program and we recognize our families eagerness to register our three- and four-year-old students (as of October 1, 2020). Information regarding registration is discussed above in the newsletter section “2020-21 Registration” and can be accessed via the district’s website click here. At this time, we are delighted to offer an insight into Tools of the Mind (TOM), the developmentally appropriate curriculum currently in place in our pre-kindergarten program.

Aligned with the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards, TOM is a comprehensive curriculum that presents content in an integrated manner. Its instructional strategies reflect a combination of student-initiated activities, explicit instruction, individualization through multiple levels of scaffolding (problem-solving through teacher modeling followed by increasingly independent student practice), and the ongoing use of multiple assessment data. These varied but cohesive approaches respond to the diverse needs of our students. Student growth is monitored as part of the daily routine of the classroom. The GOLD tool, an observation-based assessment system by early childhood education resource company Teaching Strategies, supports this aspect of the implementation of TOM. Progress reports are shared with parents/guardians three times per year, and parent-teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the year.

Read more.

Dr. Laura Morana, Interim Assistant Superintendent Special Services

PowerSchool Maintenance Notice

The district performed necessary database maintenance to PowerSchool from Friday, February 14th, at 11:00 AM through Tuesday, February 18th at 6:00 AM. The enhancements on PowerSchool now take advantage of a feature called Unlimited Contacts. This feature allows for a student to have an unlimited number of parents, guardians, and emergency contacts associated with a student. In addition, the previous limitation that prevented various family configurations from being accurately recorded in PowerSchool has been removed (same-sex relationships, affidavit custody, joint custody, etc. are no longer stored in the database as “other parent / guardian”). Click here for more information.

Phone System Upgrades - Update

The South Orange-Maplewood School District is upgrading its phone system! Our current phone system is 13 years old, and our district has outgrown its current capabilities. The district has made investments in a Cisco IP phone system and has begun the procurement process. Various phone system components are being delivered to the district, and the technology department has begun planning the rollout of the system. More information will be shared with the community in the coming months.

SMS / Text Message Notification Reminder

Our school district uses the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages to staff and parent mobile devices. In addition to robocalls and email notifications, text messages will now be used to send information about events, school closings, safety alerts, and more.

Have you not signed up yet for these useful text message notifications from the district? In order to begin receiving them, you must opt-in to messaging services. Throughout the remainder of the school year, the district will send opt-in text messages to the phone numbers that we have on file for parents and staff.

● Recipients can opt-in by responding “Y” (or “Yes”) to the opt-in message or by texting “Y” to 67587.

● Recipients can opt-out by responding “STOP” or by visiting http://schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg

Keith Bonds, Director of Technology

High School Observatory

The December newsletter reported about ongoing work to repair Columbia High School’s observatory, located at the top of the school’s clock tower. This project included the restoration of the observatory’s large refracting telescope, originally built by prominent American astronomer and instrument designer John Brashear (died 1920). The whole project reached completion in January 2020.

Very few high schools have observatories, and it was wonderful to bring the one at Columbia High School back to life after years of disrepair. It is a treasure for the students and the community. Many members of the high school’s Astronomy Club have visited the observatory in its restored state and are very excited to start using the telescope.

Long-Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) Project

December’s newsletter relayed that meetings with administrators, environmental testing, and geothermal studies were ongoing. Core samples for geothermal testing were completed during the December break, and the analysis of these samples should be completed later this month. Asbestos bulk sample testing was completed in January and the results delivered to the architect. The reports from these studies are required to complete the design work.

Next, the district’s architect will incorporate changes based upon the information provided during the meetings and from the information provided in these reports. Another series of follow-up meetings will be scheduled to inform the district of changes and to reach a consensus on the final designs. Once the final designs are approved, updated schematics will be submitted to the New Jersey Department of Education, plans will be submitted to the Maplewood and South Orange municipal building departments, and the specifications will be submitted to the New Jersey Comptroller’s Office.

During the code review process, municipal code officials will review the plans to ensure that they conform to all code requirements (fire, electric, plumbing, etc.). The review process takes a minimum of 20 days, but given the size and scope of these projects, the LRFP’s review process will likely take longer.

Mr. Paul Roth, School Business Administrator/Board Secretary

Click here to view a video photo collage.