Salem Public Schools Weekly Update
for School Year 2022-2023
A Note From the Superintendent
October 28, 2022
SPS families,
For students and families that celebrate, I hope you have a happy and safe Halloween on Monday. It is sure to be an eventful day/evening in Salem and we trust that it will be a memorable experience if it is part of your family's tradition!
I want to let families know that Salem Police Chief Miller and I will be hosting a community safety meeting in the Salem High School library on Wednesday, November 16th, 6-7:30p.m. We will begin with a presentation about our current efforts to keep our students and staff safe in school. We will then open the meeting up for questions and further conversation with the audience. While we want to share valuable information about our emergency preparedness, we also want to better understand the perspectives and ideas of the community we serve.
Enjoy the weekend!
Steve
And the winner is……
At Salem Public Schools, we are recognizing one staff member a week who exemplifies our core values of celebrating differences, facilitating collaboration, fostering innovation, creating equity and access, growing all students, and upholding high standards for all. We are surprising a deserving SPS team member with a rock star trophy.
This week's rockstar is Mr. Matthew Buchanan, teacher at Salem High School, who consistently finds a way to motivate and engage every student with whom he works. He works closely with 9th grade students in the Connect for Success program, ensuring that they have a strong start in high school. Mr. Buchanan builds powerful relationships with students and consistently leverages these relationships to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them in and out of school. Thank you Mr. Buchanan for getting Salem High School students plugged in!
Author Peter Brown visits Horace Mann
Today, as part of the Massachusetts Children's Book Awards and the Boston Book Festival, Horace Mann welcomed Peter Brown, author of "The Wild Robot Escapes". This visit was coordinated by Wondermore, a Boston non-profit that works with schools to introduce students to published authors and illustrators in Gateway Cities.
During this visit, students get to dive deep into the inspiration behind books, learn about the writing and publishing process, and have meaningful conversations about themes, voice, style, research, and more. It was fun to learn about how this special robot came to life on the pages of this book.
We'd like to shout out the HMLS library para, Kathy Wood, for introducing exciting new books, and spearheading literary events for our students. Wondermore also provided a copy of the book to each 4th and 5th grader to enjoy!
Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee
Parent/guardian voice is important to Salem Public Schools. We value your input and feedback and want to provide an ongoing platform to engage in those productive and solutions-based conversations.
In partnership with the Salem School Committee, we invite parents and guardians to apply to serve on the Salem Public Schools Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee. The committee’s primary function will be to provide the Superintendent and the School Committee with feedback and perspectives on important district initiatives; however, the group will also be charged with developing its own mission and initiatives aimed at promoting open and productive communication among SPS community members.
Interested parents and guardians should please fill out the questionnaire below. The district will work with school principals to assemble a group of 15-20 members made up of parents/guardians from each school (including one alternate representative from each) and representing a range of grade levels. In keeping with the district’s mission to promote equity and inclusion, our goal is to assemble a committee reflective of our district’s diverse population.
Please email questions to me at szrike@salemk12.org
Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (English)
Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (Spanish)
Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee Interest Form (Portuguese)
Come work with us!
Salem Public Schools would like to invite you to our paraprofessional, tutor, and substitute teacher hiring fair. At this event, you can learn more about these positions, as well as apply for the jobs that most interest you. Please share this with anyone you think might be interested.
The fair will be on November 16 from 5:00p-7:00p at the Saltonstall School. Please reach out to Stacey Johnson via email (smjohnson@salemk12.org) if you have any questions.
There will be a signing bonus for all Intensive Paraprofessionals that are hired.
National Science Foundation Grant
Salem High School CTE is pleased to announce their invitation to participate in the National Science Foundation grant for Programming and Computing Equity – Teaching with Opportunity (PACE-TWO), in collaboration with the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, CSforMA, the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE), the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.), and nine other high schools for the 2022-23 school year.
Together, this grant will expand diversity and inclusion in the computer science field through joint efforts of high school teachers, administration, guidance counselors, and higher education institutions.
This opportunity will be led by the team at Salem High School: Mario Sousa (CTE Director), Rachel Kozlowski (Guidance Counselor), Meghan Sousa (C3 Director), and Gabriel Yeager (CS Instructor).
The Future of Work Event
Students from Collins Middle School and Salem High School explored STEM careers and pitched and presented to over 100 industry professionals throughout Massachusetts at the Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center Roxbury, MA.
They showcased why people should pursue a career in STEM here in the Commonwealth. A great day for our students to participate in real-world experiences and explore further career paths.
"Health Matters"
With the changing colors, frost on the pumpkin, and Sunday football, comes more time indoors and, unfortunately, greater exposure to contagious viral illness. The time is now to get vaccinated against flu and Covid-19. In collaboration with the Salem Board of Health and the State of MA, our schools will be hosting vaccination clinics this month. You can register using the site specific link included for each location and the type of vaccination you want to receive (can register for both):
11/3- Bentley Academy Innovation School - 3:00pm - 6:30 pm
11/10- Horace Mann Laboratory School -1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Students, staff, and families are welcome. A parent or caregiver must be present for those under 18. Please wear a shirt that allows upper arm access. All clinics will take place in the school gyms. Signs will be posted with the exact location at the schools. You can receive a vaccine if uninsured.
According to the CDC, it is safe to receive both vaccines at the same time in different arms. Though there is no harm in receiving a booster once symptoms of Covid-19 resolve following infection, studies have shown that increased time between infection or vaccination may improve the immune response to the booster.
- < 2-3 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Wait a month or two to get a booster.
- 3-4 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Consider a booster if you’re high risk, or have plans for an upcoming social event. (Get your booster 2 weeks before the social event for optimal protection).
- 4-6 months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Get your booster anytime.
- 6+ months since Covid-19 infection/last vaccination: Get boosted now!
WEEKLY FAMILY DARES
Don’t forget to check out our weekly family dares on our homepage.
This week’s dare is: A Piece of Me
Choose an item (or think of an item from the past) that is an important physical possession of yours. Invite other members of the family to do the same and have a night of show-and-tell where you share the story of that item and why it’s important to you.
We all hold onto things for different reasons, and this is a fun opportunity to connect over the objects that have significance in our life! Take a picture and share it with us on social media when you do this dare, we would love to see your favorite objects.
Salem Scholarship & Education Committee - Grant Application Deadline Extended
The City’s Scholarship & Education Committee has extended the grant application period for educators and other qualifying applicants to seek a micro-grant from the Salem Education Fund. Applications are being accepted through December 5th. Per state law these grants can be used “to provide supplemental education funding for local educational needs and to provide funding for existing adult literacy programs” that serve Salem students/residents.
Application form: https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/links/education-fund-application.
Previous grant awards: https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/news/salem-scholarship-education-committee-awards-education-fund and https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship-and-education-committee/news/salem-scholarship-education-committee-awards-five-education.
For more information about the committee, please visit https://www.salemma.gov/scholarship.
Adult Education Programs
The Virtual Backpack
Welcome to the Virtual Backpack. This is a space where we will place items that in the past may have been a flyer in your student's backpack from friends and partners to SPS.
Download the ParentSquare app today!
A reminder that ParentSquare is the district platform for communication. You will receive communication from the district, your school, and your student's classroom all in one space. You can communicate 1-to-1 with teachers, sign up for parent-teacher conferences, and more.
This is how our school and teachers communicate with families districtwide. Please be sure you are receiving messages from ParentSquare. If need support downloading the app or receiving messages, please contact your school's front office. You can visit www.parentsquare.com for more information.