Photo above: FMA students sailing on the Charles River through the Sail to Prevail program.

FMA Continues Its Focus on Equity

The FMA got off to a strong start on its equity focus during the staff orientation before the first day of school. At that meeting FMA staff reflected on their experiences in the various equity-focused break-out sessions they attended earlier that morning. The sessions, hosted by the school department, touched on topics such as teacher preparation, school climate, and supporting at-risk students.

We also used the meeting to introduce an idea for an equity curriculum that builds on the equity-focused work that faculty, staff and community members have engaged in over the past few years. The initial suggestion was to have the three different clusters focus on three different equity-related topics through read-alouds.

• The Pre-K, JK, K and 1 would focus on books and subject matter that help students build positive racial identities.
• Grades 2 and 3 would focus on helping students become critical consumers of media—developing their understanding of implicit perspectives and biases in the presentation of information.
• The 4th and 5th graders would focus on becoming empowered anti-racist individuals that advocate for change.

Backpack Giveaway
Getting school supplies can make all the difference in the world to a child's future success. Daniel Skeritt, the FMA family liaison, is proud to announce the Back to School Backpack and Supplies giveaway. Mr. Skerrit did not do this alone and must give credit to our fabulous principal Robin Harris for her support. The effort was also supported by fabulous community partners from Cradles to Crayons Organization and Food For Free Cambridge. Thanks to all for the support in bringing these fabulous resources to our children and families. Through the Back to School Backpack giveaway, Daniel Skerrit and FMA educator Jimmy Hamamoto hand delivered 320 backpacks to each FMA 22 homerooms on the very first day of school. Every student at school received a free brand new backpack, school supplies and much more.

Food for Free
The FMA has partnered with Food for Free Cambridge to help reduce food waste. Food for Free has created an ingenious way to provide rescued trays of food from organizations such as Harvard University, Google, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Tufts University, Emmanuel College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the FMA Mr. Skerrit requests a food delivery from Food for Free when needed. The organization then delivers dozens of small trays of delicious frozen meals to his office. These frozen meals are available Monday - Friday during school hours for both family and staff.

From the Fourth Grade

Maliah Fontanez – Field Trip Experience
On Friday we went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. On that day it was pretty hot, but I was fine. As I walked to the museum I talked to Xahnel and Naisha.

Finally, we made it to the museum. We went to a classroom and talked about a rocks timeline and the earth changing. Then she showed us a horseshoe crab. Naisha and I jumped up from fear. After showing us the horseshoe crab we got to touch the horseshoe crab.

Next, when that class was over, we went to our first exhibit. The first exhibit had all kinds of different animals like bats, rats, gorillas and more. Some of the animals creeped me out though. (Mostly rats and the big animals.) Some animals were HUGE and some were really really tiny.

After about twenty or fifteen minutes we finally went to the next exhibit which was the aquarium. There was a really big snake that was yellow and wide. In the aquarium there was a horseshoe crab and plenty other fish. Naisha and I walked around the aquarium looking at all of the different kinds of fish.

Overall, I think the Harvard Museum of Natural History was scary and interesting because some of the animals were really big, but interesting because I never heard of most of the animals. And that was my day at The Harvard Museum of Natural History.

From the Nurse's Office

It’s not too early to start thinking about flu prevention. The Cambridge Department of Public Health is offering flu shots for families on two Wednesday evenings: October 23 at the Kennedy-Longfellow School and November 6 at the Peabody School. The clinics are from 5:30 - 7:30. Learn more about where to get a flu shot here >>

Here are a few friendly reminders to help insure the safety and health of school community.
–Do not send your child to school when he/she has a high temperature 100.4F/38C or over or if your child has a lower temp and clearly is not feeling well.
–Keep your child home for 24 hours after the fever has gone and they no longer need fever medicine (for example, Tylenol or Advil) to keep the temperature down.
–Call your pediatrician if your child has a sore throat that lasts more than 2 days or has vomiting/diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours.
–A younger child who cannot blow his/her nose or remember to cover his/her mouth should stay home when cold symptoms are severe
–Students who need antibiotics for contagious illnesses (example: strep throat or conjunctivitis) must take them for 24 hours before returning to school.
–Please inform the school nurse and teacher if your child has had a recent illness like strep throat or eye infection.
–A sick child cannot learn effectively and cannot participate in classes in a meaningful way. Keeping a sick child home helps prevent the spread of illness in our school community and allows the time to rest and recover.

Don’t hesitate to stop at the health office in Room 203 if you have any questions.

Here’s to another healthy school year,
Mary-Margaret Segraves, RN, Ph. D.

Remember:
–Encourage all family members to cough and sneeze into their sleeves instead of hands.
–The best way to prevent illness: WASH HANDS with soap and water.

After many years in rented quarters, CPS Central Administration is relocating to brand new offices, inside the new Cambridge Street complex.

You can find us behind the new Valente Branch Library, with our entrance located at 135 Berkshire Street, Cambridge, MA 02141 (see map). 

Phone numbers and email addresses should remain the same, but we appreciate your patience as packing and unpacking is taking place. We will do our best to respond and look forward to welcoming you into our brand new offices!

National School Lunch Week 

Food & Nutrition Services will be celebrating National School Lunch Week from October 15th to 18th with the theme What's On Your Playlist?, emphasizing the communal experience both music and meals have in defining our important life events. Our menu for the week will include some student favorites and new additions, and we'll have lucky tray giveaways! Follow Food & Nutrition Services along on Twitter @CPSD_Nutrition to stay updated with cafeteria highlights and events.

FMA Events & Announcements

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