What's Up @ G&P: November 2021
Published on Nov 19, 2021 13:24

Here's the latest news from G&P...            View newsletter in browser >>

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November 2021

Need this newsletter translated? Please contact the Bilingual/World Languages Department at 617.349.6468. Questions about the G&P newsletter? Please contact Lauren Morse.

Dear Graham & Parks Families, 

November is off to a great start, thanks to the collaboration of our teachers, families, and the energy that our students bring with them each and every day. We are excited to share these important and timely updates.

Staffing Update
Alex Elia, our Physical Education (P.E.) & Health teacher, has moved on from G&P to pursue other opportunities. Lauren Daly, a P.E. teacher at G&P last year, will fill in until a new P.E. teacher is hired. Health classes are on pause until a new teacher is hired. Welcome back, Lauren!

Equity Work as a Staff
Our Equity Team is working closely with the district’s new Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging to continue to focus on our school’s goals for all of our students. In our last letter, we updated you about our work with Dr. Daren Graves. In addition, we are reading and discussing “This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell” during team meetings. Read more updates from the Equity Team below!

Using the Gym for P.E.
As you may know, CPS has invested in system upgrades and mitigation equipment to ensure all rooms achieve 4+ air changes per hour (ACH). Every CPS school has maximized air circulation through a combination of central systems, HEPA filters, windows, and fans. We have been awaiting our school’s ventilation report and it was recently updated and made available on the district’s COVID-19 website.

As a result of this report, moving forward, the gym will be able to be used safely for P.E. This is still with several mitigation efforts in place, including students being masked at all times, the gym doors propped open, and HEPA filters running. We are grateful to have a safe indoor space for P.E. as winter approaches!

Dress for Colder Weather
It is getting colder! Please dress students appropriately for the weather including hats, gloves, jackets, and boots as winter approaches. Windows remain open in classrooms and students go outside every day and need to be dressed accordingly.

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, we ask all families to please review CPS updated COVID-19 travel policy included in this newsletter. We wish everyone a safe and restful holiday weekend.

Best,

Claudie and Jen

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Updates from the G&P Leadership Team

The G&P leadership team, made up of staff representatives from each grade-level teacher team, as well as non-classroom staff and the Administration, meets regularly to review and discuss school policies and protocols. We wanted to share a few updates from the Leadership Team that have been discussed and updated recently.

1. Family Communication from Classrooms

The G&P Leadership team discussed the plan for family communication in September. We discussed the importance of sending regular, predictable, informative updates to families from each classroom. The following decisions were made:
--Special Start & JK/Kindergarten will send weekly updates
--Grades 1 - 5 will send every other week

We hope these updates are helpful to families!

2. Birthday Celebrations

The leadership team discussed birthday celebrations at length. We have heard a lot about birthday celebrations throughout the years. Some families do not celebrate or do not want to; some students have lots of allergies; some families are not able to send a treat. So, the leadership team decided that families who would like to send a birthday treat into school for their child should only send pre-packaged, individually wrapped popsicles to be eaten outside. If you have any questions, please talk to your child’s teacher.

3. Family Curriculum Shares

The Leadership Team also discussed family curriculum celebrations for this school year, which used to be Family Breakfasts. The following was decided:
--Classrooms will host one virtual celebration in the Fall/Winter (before February Break)
--We will plan to host in-person celebrations for the Spring and can share details when we get closer.

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G&P Family Conferences Have Begun!


This is be a time for teachers to share information regarding your child's progress this year, discuss the data from the iReady assessment, and for you to share any support your child or family may need.

Teachers will contact you to sign up online or by paper. If you need any assistance signing up for a time, please contact your child’s teacher, or reach out to the G&P Family Liaisons Lauren or Mildrid. 

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Heritage Months and Spotlights

The Graham & Parks Equity Team is excited to share this year's effort to build community and celebrate diversity through teacher videos for morning announcements. We have reflected on the feedback from last year and made some changes to make the experience even more meaningful. The teacher videos will introduce students to changemakers and problem solvers who reflect that month’s Heritage focus, with the goal of presenting individuals that reflect and inspire our diverse community. We hope to have 1-2 videos a month centered around these themes.

  • Activists - November
  • Scientists - December
  • Musicians - January
  • Authors - February
  • Artist - March
  • Poets - April
  • Athletes - May
  • Young People Doing Great Things - June
This month, 5th graders in Rose and Aaron’s class have been highlighting important information about Native American Heritage Month during the Morning Announcements. Here is a sample of what they have shared with us!
  • November is Native American Heritage Month. Native American Heritage Month is a time to focus on the contributions of indigenous people from the past and today.
  • Did you know that our state is named for the Massachusett people, who were the first people to live where we are now? The Massachusett people still live here today. This land is also home to the Pawtucket people.
  • Today we celebrate Jessie Little Doe Baird. Jessie is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag (Wom-pa-NOG) tribe. When Jessie was growing up, the Wampanoag language had been lost. No one spoke it. But because of her hard work, Wampanoag children now get to learn the language of their ancestors.

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Book Joy by G&P Librarians, Ann Niederkorn and Jen Mason Stott

November is Native American Heritage Month. In recent years, more and more Native authors and illustrators have been published. There’s a long way to go, but we are lucky to have many new fiction, picture book, and nonfiction books by and about Native/Indigenous creators! We have displayed lots of great books for classroom instruction and independent reading.

You can look them up in this Collection: Indigenous/Native American Stories

Bonus: HAPPY DIWALI!

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G&P Specials Curriculum Night

On Tuesday October 26th, families and caregivers came together virtually to learn more about Specials classes at G&P, including Physical Education, Music, Art, Library, and Technology. The specialist teachers introduced themselves and spoke about their unique curriculums. Teachers also shared pictures of their classroom spaces and students working in them.

If you weren’t able to attend, please see here for the slides from our first ever G&P Specials Curriculum Night!

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book swap
Thank You for a Great Book Swap, Hosted by the Friends of G&P!

The first Friends of Graham and Parks Book Swap was a lot of fun. We received many wonderful donations of books, and sent lots of kids home with new books to try. Thanks to everyone who helped out, donated books, and attended our event. The books left over at the end were donated to More Than Words, a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers youth in the foster care system to run a bookselling business.

The Friends of Graham & Parks helps to support the unique, project-based learning curriculum at Graham and Parks Elementary School. Friends of G&P also works to promote volunteerism and community building. Be in touch if you'd like to connect with us or if you have ideas for future events, and look out for announcements about our Zoom meetings, held at 7:15pm on the first Monday of the month. All are welcome!

Email us >>
Follow us >>                                 

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G&P Steering Committee Update

The G&P Steering Committee is our School Council. We discuss school-wide policies and plans. ALL families are welcome and encouraged to attend meetings. We are excited to hold our 2021-2022 G&P Steering Committee meetings on Zoom, to ensure that the meetings are safe as well as easy for parents, caregivers and teachers to attend.

Here are the notes from our first two meetings of the year, in September and October.

Here are the family representatives on the G&P Steering Committee this year!

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Thank You for the G&P Cafeteria Staff!

The Food & Nutrition Services Department has been facing unprecedented supply chain issues this school year. Our kitchen crew is trying hard to modify operations and anticipate challenges to ensure we do not compromise our service to students. Our commitment to strong service plus the expansion of free meals for all students has created an increase in participation further exacerbating our inventory concerns. We want to thank our amazing Cafeteria staff for their hard work, flexibility and amazing service to the students in Graham and Parks!

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JK / Kindergarten Lottery Sibling Search 

Dear Graham & Parks Families:

Do you have a younger child who is ready to start school in Cambridge in September 2022? Every year, Cambridge Public Schools holds the Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten Lottery in January. Junior Kindergarten age eligible children are born between September 1, 2017 – March 31, 2018 and Kindergarten age eligible children are born between September 1, 2016 – August 31, 2017.

If you currently have an older child attending this school in grades JK-4, you can receive “Sibling Bonus Points” but only if you apply during the January 2022 JK/K Lottery. JK/K families are asked to notify their school liaison by signing up their JK/K eligible child via the Google survey form below. This will help us identify who our sibling families are and to make sure we receive your application! Please notify me, your family liaison by Wednesday, January 12th if you wish to be counted in the sibling search. If you miss the sibling search deadline, you can still register through the SRC webpage.

Online registration for the JK/K Lottery will be open from January 3-31st! Registration ends promptly at 4pm on Monday, January 31st online and in person. You can access the online registration system by going directly to www.bit.ly/cpslottery. If you need a paper application please contact me and I can send you a PDF of the application packet; however, you must email the registration forms along with the required documents directly to the SRC at [email protected] by the 4PM deadline on January 31st.
(Note: Applications for Tobin Montessori 3-year-olds were accepted during the October lottery)

Sincerely,

Lauren Morse, Family Liaison
857.529.0446 call or text

Fill out Google Form here >>

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Domestic & International Travel Update

Cambridge Public School recently updated their Travel Policy. For both vaccinated and unvaccinated students and staff traveling domestically (within the United States), please get tested prior to travel and 3-5 days after your return.

For those traveling internationally, vaccinated individuals should get tested 3-5 days after return. Unvaccinated individuals should test 3-5 days after travel AND quarantine for 7 days. If unvaccinated individuals are not tested, they should be quarantined for 10 days after travel.

Please see details in the district’s COVID-19 Safety and Facilities Manual.

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Water Bottle Classroom Initiative
for 1st and 3rd Graders

healthy smiles logoThe Cambridge Healthy Smiles program completed its annual Water Bottle Classroom Initiative this month. Students in Grades 1 and 3 received a personal water bottle to use at school to promote oral health. The program visits classrooms to teach an oral health lesson about the benefits of drinking water and how to take care of their teeth during their school day. Parents of 1st and 3rd graders are given an opportunity to ask questions they may have about their family’s dental health filling out this survey.  

Take survey >>

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snack of the week
Healthy Snack of the Week

Cheesy Broccoli! Broccoli florets topped with shredded cheddar cheese (microwaved to melt and soften). Tip: Instead of broccoli, try cauliflower or black beans and tomatoes!

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G&P Events and Reminders

EVENTS

November 24 
Early Release Day

November 25 & 26
No School: Thanksgiving Break

December 3
Picture Retake Day

December 9
Steering Committee Meeting

December 24-31
No School: Winter Break

School & District Calendars
G&P calendar >>

District calendar (pdf) >> 

District calendar >>
 

REMINDERS

Testing Update from
G&P Nurse Bonnie:
There will be no pool testing for students or staff the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Monday 11/22 - Wednesday 11/24.

                            

In Our District & Community

Cambridge Families of Color Coalition (CFCC) Virtual Community Meeting
November 19 | 6:30-8PM
Zoom >>
Flyer >>
Website >>

COVID-19 & Flu
Vaccination Clinic

December 1 | 3:30-7:30PM
This clinic is for all age appropriate, school-aged children, families, and residents. Vaccines offered: Pfizer vaccine (pediatric, adult, and booster doses), flu vaccine (flu shots and FluMist).
Register >>
More info >>

kids playing outside
See a curated list of programs, events, and resources within our district & community! 
See list >>


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Visit Find It Cambridge for lots of great resources! You can also call/text 617.686.2998 or email Andrew for help.

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Graham & Parks School
44 Linnaean St., Cambridge, MA 02138
grahamandparks.cpsd.us  •  617.349.6577
CPS Mobile App >>
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