Updates from our
Head of School
Hello Marblehead Community Charter Families,

We continue to learn more about the new technology platforms that we are utilizing this year and both our instruction and procedures continue to improve each day in these early days of remote learning in Phase One of our reopening plan. I continue to be incredibly proud of our teachers and their relentless efforts to get this right. I am truly in awe of their perseverance and tenacity.

This week, we had an engineer from Verizon at the school. We are hopeful they will be able to increase our bandwidth significantly with needed wiring within the next one-two weeks. This will be a welcome improvement to our technology issues at the start of this year. We are also in the process of transitioning to the use of Zoom for video conferencing. Google Meet has not been able to provide the features we need to meet the needs of all students. This transition will take place gradually as we set up teacher and student accounts to ensure safety and security with this technology platform.

We are currently working on the Phase Two schedule. The timeline we are working on right now is for Phase Two to begin on Tuesday October 20. During Phase Two, students in grades 4, 5, 6, & 7 will be in school for two full days of in-person learning. Students in grade 8 will be in school for four full days of in-person learning. We will have one Advisory group in school at each grade level on Tuesday/Wednesday and the other Advisory group in school at each grade level on Thursday/Friday.

We need to know if your child will opt for a full remote schedule during Phase Two. Please take this one question survey today to let us know if you will be keeping your child at home full time during Phase Two.

After we have these survey results, we will share out our Phase Two schedule on October 1 in next week's update.

We are at 42% participation in our Student Success Fund campaign. Please help us reach 100% participation. See below for details.

Thanks to our outstanding team, I am writing this update from a remote location. I appreciate the support of our team and our community as I take a few days to rest and prevent the burnout factor after preparing for this most challenging school year over the past ten weeks.

Peter Cohen, Ed.D
Head of School
MONDAY OCTOBER 19 is FLU SHOT DAY at MCCPS!
We will host a CVS Flu Shot Clinic on Monday October 19. There will be no classes on Monday October 19, as our faculty has a full day of professional development to be ready for Phase Two. This will also provide flexibility in when students can come to the school that day for their vaccination. In order to get the flu shot, please complete this registration process. This clinic is for students of MCCPS only.


Please choose a specific time (15min increments) and enter your insurance information, demographic information, allergy and general health information, COVID status, and it provides a PDF of the vaccine statement in English and Spanish that you must view and/or download. You then check a box to e-sign for consent and submit. While participation in this clinic on October 19 is optional, please note that the Governor has issued a mandate that all public school children including students at public charter schools receive the influenza vaccine by December 31, 2020. This is our way of adding an option for families to comply with this mandate.
Update from Student Services

Special Education Parent Letter:
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has developed a letter to families sharing information and resources related to supporting students with disabilities as school reopens. The letter to families has been translated into several languages and posted on the DESE website. The letter and translations can be found at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/sped/back-to-school-letter/.

MCCPS SEPAC: 
Join us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/groups/mccpssepac/

Upcoming MCCPS SEPAC Event: 
MCCPS SEPAC Meeting - Monday, Oct 5 from 6:30-7:30
Featuring Linda Murphy, Co-Founder of Peer Projects Therapy From the Heart, in Beverly, MA

Topic: Using a Thoughtful Language Style to Help Kids with Social Learning Challenges Feel Competent, Connected and Understood!

Register in advance for this meeting:
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Student Success Fund
This year we face unprecedented expenses to upgrade our facility and provide PPE and other health & safety equipment to meet new standards of health and safety due to Covid-19.

Your support is more important than ever to help us support our students!

The Student Success Fund helps to sustain valuable programs and activities such as:


Assignment Books for all students
Remote student Chromebook support
Music Programs including concert band, jazz band, strings & chorus
A Variety of Enrichment Courses
A New Phone System
Books for our Library
Guest Speakers/Artists
Scholarships for Field Trips
Student Magazine Subscriptions
Free Fruit at Meals & Recess
Playground & Gym Equipment

Your Support is Appreciated
Please Pay your Student Success Fund today!
The annual investment is $150 per student or $250 per family  

(installment options available)
Or by check made payable to MCCPS
Thank you for your continued support!
Upcoming Events

Monday October 19 - Flu Shot Clinic
Tuesday October 20 - Phase Two Begins
Saturday October 24 - Recycling Drive


Upcoming Meetings (via Zoom w/ links on our website calendar)

Friday September 25 - Academic Excellence Committee Meeting - 7:30AM
Tuesday September 29 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 7:00PM
Friday October 2- PTO Meeting - 7:45AM
Recycling Drive - October 24

We are having a Recycling Drive on October 24 from 9 am - 12 pm if you could start to save your old tv's, laptops, monitors, printers, appliances, microwaves, AC, batteries, and even old car seats; this is only a small list of what we will take.

Please check out our complete list of items on the website  www.marbleheadcharter.org/RecyclingDrive/ or call 781-631-0777; also, if any parent would like to volunteer to help that day, please send an email to btaranto@marblehcharter.com. 

Become a Parent Ambassador
At Marblehead Community Charter, COMMUNITY is our middle name. Everyone - teachers, parents, students, administrators, and staff need to do their part to support our school.

Please consider joining the PTO and become an ambassador for our school. We are seeking four parent ambassadors in each grade level.