Reminders & Headlines:

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences
December 16 & 17
Sign up today - see links below
Report Cards now available in PowerSchool
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Is your child vaccinated? Please let us know.
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This week's student council sponsored Friday Spirit Theme: Tie-Dye Day.
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Open House - spread the word. Prospective families are invited to tour the school on
Saturday December 18. By appointment only. Signup online. Only a handful of spots remain.


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

The first snow of the season was the perfect amount, in my opinion. Just enough to look nice without the need to shovel or plow or impact the school day. The snow is a reminder that winter is coming. If we ever have enough snow to impact the school day, we will alert the community through the following media:
  • We will post on TV stations Ch. 4, 5, 7, 10, and 25
  • We will send out a ConstantContact email blast
  • We will post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
  • We will share a text alert - signup here: https://www.remind.com/join/gonavs17

The Crossing Guard that was stationed near our school has retired. If you are interested in serving in this role please contact the Marblehead Police Department. Thanks for your help.

Each time there is a tragic event in a school in our country, schools everywhere look for lessons learned. Last week's school shooting in Michigan provided some reminders of the importance of communication and knowing students well. At MCCPS we have a number of procedures in place to keep everyone safe. First and foremost is our ability to really get to know our students. We increased our wellness team staffing this year and we are fortunate to have a wonderful school counselor and full time school psychologist on staff. Additionally, we have two adults in each classroom helping us keep that small school feel in place. This week, our wellness team has met with students at each grade level and conducted a social/emotional screening tool as another check-in on how our students are doing. A key to supporting students is ensuring that every student has identified their "go to adult" in the school; a person they will seek out if anything is bothering them. Ask your child who their go to adult is at MCCPS and alert us if they are unable to identify anyone so we can follow up.

The new chief of police in Marblehead has met with our leadership team and invited me to participate in the Marblehead Public School's safety team meetings. That group has met twice this fall. This will help us align our procedures with the district so that first responders have consistent protocols in place at every school in town. Through these meetings, we are taking the opportunity to review and update our school safety procedures. We will have more updates in the coming weeks. We will not share most of these procedures externally, as that erodes the security aspect of the plans.

This week we had a couple of students make comments that could be interpreted as threatening remarks. With each of these incidents, we have worked with the student, the student's parents, and outside therapists to ensure that the child is OK and safe to return to our school after a temporary exclusion. We are working with all of our students to remind them that words matter. That what they say, while the intention may be a joke, may not be received by their audience as funny in any way. These are teachable moments. Together with your help at home, we will help guide our students to making positive choices. Our priority is the safety of all. In order to minimize the spread of rumors and false information, we encourage you to contact us whenever you have questions about something that is reported to you. We will do our part to keep our community informed.

Next week we will host a series of workshops for students, teachers, and parents on Digital Wellness. See flyer below. Some of our 7th and 8th grade students will be meeting with the presenter tomorrow in advance of next week's workshops to help her have a clear understanding of how our students are using social media and technology. Please plan on attending this workshop.

Please also remember to sign up for a parent-student-teacher conference. By having students at the table for these conversations, we can set them up for success in setting and creating a pathway toward achieving their academic goals.

The first meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee is tonight - Thursday December 9 via Zoom. Check the calendar on our website for Zoom links.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Peter Cohen, Ed.D
Head of School
PARENT-STUDENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
December 16 and 17
Sign Up Today

SIGN UP GENIUS LINKS:




REPORT CARDS AVAILABLE IN POWERSCHOOL

Teachers have completed grades and comments for our 1st trimester. While parents can view these grades in Schoology, the final grades and comments are posted on our PowerSchool website.

If you have not set up an account with PowerSchool, please check with your child's advisory teacher, who will provide you with a sign-up letter. 

If you have set up an account, but have trouble logging in, please contact Matt Cronin (mcronin@marbleheadcharter.com) or Emily Miner (eminer@marbleheadcharter).
Digital Wellness - December 16 - 6:30pm

So, what exactly is DIGITAL WELLNESS? 

How can YOU, as parents, promote positive healthy uses of technology and prevent cyberbullying?

Join Kerry Gallagher, JD, on Thursday, December 16th, where we will discuss distractions, screen time, and more!

Link to an article on Digital Wellness: https://www.connectsafely.org/what-is-digital-wellness/
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Please make an end of year donation to our school and help us fund new murals, kitchen equipment, recess equipment, or uniforms for our sports teams. You can target your donation on our new Fund-A-Need webpage. https://www.marbleheadcharter.org/fund-a-need/
Lost & Found

Please claim your items before 12/23
COVID19 Vaccine Info

Please complete the form if your child has already been vaccinated

Here is the information about the COVID19 vaccine. We encourage you to have your child vaccinated to protect themselves, your family, and our school community. Please speak to your child’s doctor about their plans to administer the vaccine and get any questions you may have answered. The vaccine is our pathway to a post-pandemic world.

If you and your child's doctor decide to have your child vaccinated against COVID-19, please let Nurse D know by filling out the Student COVID Vaccine Report Form once your child has received all recommended doses of the COVID vaccine. This data will be used to determine when/if we have 80% of our community fully vaccinated to allow us to reevaluate our current COVID policies and protocols. Please feel free to contact Nurse D if you have any questions or concerns.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday December 15 - 6th Grade Nature's Classroom field trip information meeting 6pm
Thursday December 16 - Early Release Day - Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences
Thursday December 16 - Digital Wellness presentation
Friday December 17 - Early Release Day - Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences
Saturday December 18 - Open House (Tours by appointment)
Friday December 23 - Early Release Day for all

Upcoming Meetings
(Meetings will take place in person at the school, as COVID-19 protocols allow or if remote, meetings will take place via Zoom w/ links on our website calendar)

Thursday December 9 - Strategic Planning Committee Meeting - 7pm
Tuesday December 14 - Personnel Committee Meeting - 7pm
Wednesday December 15 - Finance Committee Meeting 8am
Monday December 20 - Facilities Task Force Committee Meeting - 7pm
Tuesday December 21 - Board of Trustees Meeting - 7pm


Join the PTO
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.