Weekly Hot Topics:
● We are so happy this week to congratulate Ms. Maria Martire, our Nishuane School Governor Educator of Year! We are so happy to celebrate this well-deserved honor with her!!
● UPDATED DATES! Our SATp Social Justice committee is excited to announce our own Nishuane Community Talk Group This watch group is like a guided book club - in small groups with a trained facilitator, we watch a documentary and support each other while we learn more about race and develop our own racial literacy. You can watch “America To Me” for free in your own home through MFEE partnership. We will have three sessions on January 11th 25th and February 1st from 7:00pm - 8:30 pm.
Sign up here https://airtable.com/shrcY5mKmH4BTuauf and choose the Nishuane watch group.
● Hybrid Return to School District Department Updates:
○ Health & Safety: Re-entry health and safety contract is open on Genesis for parents/caregivers of students who will be participating in hybrid learning. Immunizations and physical exams for K and new students must be complete and on file in the nurse’s office for all students, fully remote and hybrid. Medical action plans and medication forms must be submitted to the school nurse asap for all hybrid students. Please call your child’s school nurse, Anne Ndungu, with any questions. Parents/caregivers please work with your children to ensure they can tolerate a mask for the entire time they will be in school. Parents/caregivers...please email your child’s school nurse if your child or a household member has tested positive for Covid.
● Technology:
○ The district continues to distribute devices to families in need.
○ The district has recently entered an agreement with Comcast Essentials for in-home Wi-Fi access. This service is only available to families that have no existing Internet and is subject to approval by Comcast. This service is not intended to supplement any existing Internet service. Families that fit this criteria are encouraged to reach out their building principal. A work order will be completed on the family's behalf and someone from the Department of Technology will be in contact.
○ Due to the Thanksgiving Day Holiday, next week's distribution will take place on Tuesday, November 24th at Hillside School (Entrance B) from 9:00 AM -12:00 PM and from 1:00 PM-2:00 PM. The following week (after Thanksgiving Day Holiday) will take place on Wednesday, December 2nd at Hillside School (Entrance B) from 9:00 AM -12:00 PM and from 1:00 PM-2:00 PM.
○ Please utilize our technology helpline 301-259-1510 should you need technical assistance. Our standard operating hours excluding the Thanksgiving Day Recess is Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM- 3:00 PM.
● The Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE) will award one-time significant grants to promote racial and socio-economic equity in all 11 Montclair public schools. Each elementary and middle school will receive up to $10,000 and the high school, since it serves the largest number of students, will receive up to $50,000 in grant money.
The Excellence in Equity grants are designed to fund a project or initiative that is collaboratively-shaped by a diverse group of school stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, and students (where applicable) to address racial and socio-economic inequity.
Proposals will be evaluated on the quality of the project, demonstrated need for the project, and demonstrated buy-in across a wide swath of the individual school community.
Do you have ideas? Are you interested in learning more or joining with school community members to collaboratively develop a grant proposal?
MFEE Board members will be available to explain MFEE’s vision for these grants and to answer questions. The short Q&A will be followed by a breakout session organized by school to provide community members a chance to meet and brainstorm.
When: December 1st 7-8:15pm
To join the zoom, please register at this link. https://bit.ly/EquityGrantsZoom
To learn more about these grants: https://mfee.org/who-we-are/what-we-do/grants/mfee-excellence-in-equity-grants.html
● From our SATp Chair (thank you!) – Historical Narrative Of Thanksgiving: The story of Thanksgiving is usually told from only one side, that of the European pilgrims who came to America. As a result, the role played by Native Americans in helping the pilgrims to survive is often downplayed or ignored. To many Native Americans today, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning because it is a reminder that in return for their help, they were repaid with the loss of their land and destruction of their people. Here are some resources for our young children:
○ https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/thanksgiving/?_ga=2.5717424.243657915.1605657343-1607302099.1605462191
○ https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/holidays/thanksgiving/
○ https://secure.understandingprejudice.org/teach/thanksgiv.htm
Reminders:
● PE Instruction Survey: Dear Nishuane Families, as we continue to prepare for PE instruction at Nishuane, we would like to ascertain what materials your child may have at home so we are sure to only use materials all students have. Please take a moment to complete this very brief survey. Thank you for your support! - Mr. R and Mr. Eder
● Report Cards: Cycle 1 ends on December 10th and report cards will be available to families in Genesis on December 23rd. Please remember that all core subjects and related arts classes will be graded on the report card.