District-wide change to Hybrid Schedule Begins Tuesday, 1/19

1/17/2021 8:34 pm

Dear Jefferson Families,

I hope that this email finds you well. Below is a link to our newsletter, The Jefferson Journal. This week's edition contains information related to what is to come next week in language arts and mathematics, and a message from our Class of the Week. Click here to view the video from Principal Hutchinson.

Additionally, next we will join the entire district by moving to the hybrid schedule. This will mean that your child's virtual school day will be from 8:05-12:05. Students will return at the invitation of their teachers for small groups and conferences between 1:50-3:05. Your child's teacher will be able to give you the specific details about how the schedule will be adjusted in their classroom.

Click Here to Access This Week's Edition of the Jefferson Journal

Furthermore, if your child will be in a hybrid cohort, it is important that you complete the health screening verification, that can be found in the forms section of the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you are having difficulty with accessing the Parent Portal, you can use the link below for directions on accessing it. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Rivera arivera@sosmd.k12.nj.us, or myself, khutchin@somsd.k12.nj.us at any time.

Parent Portal Directions

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend!

Warm regards,

Kim Hutchinson, Principal

Important School Reopening Update & Announcement: From the Desk of the Superintendent

1/12/2021 10:26 pm

January 12, 2021

Dear SOMSD Families:

I am writing to apprise you of an important shift in our District’s phased reopening plan. On tomorrow January 13 our teachers return to our school buildings to prepare for our hybrid reopening.

We are happy to again confirm that we will indeed welcome students back to our schools on Tuesday, January 19, as part of our Phase 3 re-entry stage. As things stand, we plan to open our school doors to PreK - 2, 6th and 9th-grade students; this is in addition to English Language Learners and Special Services Students (details will be sent under separate cover from our Special Services office to impacted families).

After conferring with our local towns’ health departments and internal district health professionals, the District has decided that we will extend the duration of the Phase 3 re-entry stage and pause the launch of Phase 4 (which was set to begin on January 25). It goes without saying that it is our responsibility to plan a phased reopening based on our judgment of what is safest for our school’s children, families and staff while also understanding the social-emotional toll that these circumstances have had on us all. We are also aware that COVID continues to be a very serious issue in our local community, state, and country.

The goal of this extension is to successfully launch our hybrid approach and provide in-person instruction for the families who selected this option. This change:

Will allow for a smaller population of students/staff to be in our schools and also provide additional time to monitor Covid-transmission rates (if any in our schools), community and region.
Allows us the opportunity to closely monitor the protocols put in place, in case a modification is needed to continue to ensure the health and safety of students and staff to be in school.

In early February, based on local COVID-transmission rates and the Regional Risk Level in the county (currently we are in Code Orange, which is high, however, schools can remain open for in-person instruction with mitigation strategies in place) we will revisit our plan. At that point, we will make a determination to transition to Phase 4. Phase 4 implementation will occur with a revised staggered grade-level re-entry, with fewer grade levels introduced at each stage

Updates: Phase 3 - January 19 - February 5 (estimated based on available information):

Pre-K - 2, 6th, 9th and Cohort C (ELL/Special Services) students will begin school following the schedule that was shared with families yesterday
The District will continue with an AA/BB approach (2 days in-person (4 hours), 3 days virtual)
All remaining grades will continue with their virtual learning schedule until further notice.

The instructional schedule for this week will remain the same (the only change is that the week of 1/25 will no longer introduce new grade levels to the buildings). Click here to view the 1/11 school reopening letter: http://bit.ly/39jcrAG. Additional information will be shared in this Friday’s District newsletter to the SOMSD Community.

Educationally yours,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools

SOMSD Parent Agreement Letter of Compliance for COVID-19 Guidelines (Hybrid students)

1/10/2021 11:31 am

Any family who has chosen hybrid instruction for their child must electronically sign the District's COVID-19 Parent Agreement Letter of Compliance for each child attending in-person instruction. The agreement can only be accessed via the PowerSchool parent portal.

The deadline to sign is TUESDAY, JANUARY 12.

Transportation Request Form Due January 12, 2021

1/10/2021 11:26 am

If your child will take the bus to school you must fill out a Transportation Request Form by January, 12, 2021

If you miss this deadline, the District cannot guarantee transportation will be available for your student on Tuesday, January 19th.

Happy Holidays

12/24/2020 11:26 am

The Jefferson PTA would like to extend warm holiday greetings to our wonderful school community. We are so proud of the way we have shifted and focused priorities in this unprecedented year! This simply would not be possible without incredible parents, families, staff and students like you. Thank YOU!

Vote to Approve our PTA Budget

12/22/2020 2:31 pm

The Jefferson PTA needs your vote to approve the Jefferson School 2020-2021 PTA budget.

SOMSD Pre-Recorded Virtual Return to School Town Hall, 12/17

12/13/2020 11:38 am

The Upcoming Return to School Town Hall has been changed to a Pre-Recorded Virtual Event. The video will be available for on-demand viewing on the District YouTube channel, website, and SOMA-TV based on families’ availability.

The Town Hall event will cover updates and provide overviews on facilities, COVID-related health & safety measures, technology, instruction models, scheduling, special services, and other important topics.

Please save the date for a Live Webex Question and Answer session on December 21 at 7:30pm to address any questions and concerns regarding the Return to School Virtual Town Hall. Webex link will be shared after the Virtual Town Hall.

For more information from our Superintendent, Dr. Ronald Taylor, click

here.

Student Supply Distribution 12/2-12/4

11/29/2020 2:24 pm

Note: these are supplies being distributed by SOMSD and they are FREE for ALL students. Items include manipulatives (dice, whiteboards, etc) and MATH WORKBOOKS!

Please see the schedule below for the pick up times. If you have children in different grades and wish to pick up the supplies at the same time, please plan to collect all supplies during the collection window of the oldest child. (For example if you have 3rd grader and a 4th grader, you would collect supplies for both children on Thursday December, 3rd).

Upon arrival at the building, please ring the bell and state your child's name and homeroom. We will then bring your child's supplies to the door.

Please exercise social distancing and mask wearing while on school grounds.

There will also be a bin clearly labeled outside of the main entrance where you can return any items that you have which belong to the school (library books, classroom books, etc). Additionally, please ensure that any returned items are clearly labeled with your child's name.

Third Grade: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 between 1:00pm-6:00pm

Fourth Grade: Thursday, December 3, 2020 between 1:00pm-6:00pm

Fifth Grade: Friday, December 4, 2020 between 1:00pm-6:00pm

Parent-Teacher Conferences 12/2-12/4

11/29/2020 2:05 pm

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held virtually this Wednesday, December 2 - Friday, December 4. Please note that these are 4-hour school days (8:30am- 12:30pm). Please contact your child's teacher if you have not yet signed up for a conference.

Happy Thanksgiving

11/29/2020 2:04 pm

We know that this year's Thanksgiving celebrations will be different. However, there is still so much to be thankful for including our wonderful Jefferson staff, students and community!

Have a Safe, Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving!