Reminders & Headlines:

How strong is your mask game?
Please send students to school with a mask that is well-fitting.
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Is your child vaccinated? Please let us know.
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Friday's Spirit Theme: Bring school materials in anything but a backpack. Creativity wins.

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

First, a clarification from last week's newsletter. The key with masks is the fit. Please have your student try on masks at home to see how they fit. Our students do have masks on for much of the school day and the fit is most important.

This week the Commisioner of Education and the Governor announced a new initiative to provide access to at-home antigen tests to schools. We will pursue participation in this new testing program. Soon, we will share a form for every family to complete. The form will ask you to opt-in or opt-out of this program. If you opt in, once the program begins, you will receive two at-home antigen test kits for your child. Each Monday morning, you will use one of these kits to test your child at home and keep them home if they test positive as well as notify the school of the positive test. If the test is negative, the student attends school as normal. Every two weeks we will distribute the two at-home tests and this will become our new normal, weekly at-home testing. This will dramatically reduce the need for contact tracing. Be on the lookout for more information and this opt-in/opt-out form coming home soon.

Next week, on Wednesday January 26, I will host a town hall meeting on Zoom. At this meeting I will share more about the COVID testing program, the recent impacts of the omicron variant on student attendance, and updates on the importance of school-home communication. Among other items, I will continue to place emphasis on keeping students home when they are sick. This is such an important part of keeping our community healthy. I hope you will join the meeting.

On Thursday next week, our Strategic Planning Committee will meet on Zoom. The committee will eventually run some focus group meetings to gather input from all stakeholders. If you are interested in being a parent representative on the committee, please let me know as we do have a couple of open spots.

We continue to celebrate our students for doing the right thing. Commendations are announced at our Community Meeting and points for the Olympic tables are distributed when kids are caught being kind or going the extra mile to help out our community. Today, the students at the table representing the country of Slovenia shared information and fun facts about that country. This will continue throughout January and February.

Peter Cohen, Ed.D
Head of School
MEET OUR NEW SCHOOL NURSE - Melissa Wilson

I wanted to send out a brief introduction. I have been working as a nurse since 2003. I became a nurse in the US Army. I have had lots of nursing experiences, but my true nursing passion is within the schools. I have been working as a school nurse since 2011 (subbing throughout districts including Salem, Peabody & Danvers). I have worked in public & private schools. I have also worked in high social emotional & behavioral needs school settings.

Many of the students may remember me from my time as the nurse on Children's Island! I have also coached youth sports including : cheer, softball & tumbling for multiple seasons.

I am intrigued by each child & their individual needs. I promise to treat each child as an individual with independent needs.

Thank you,
Melissa Wilson

Here is a link to the PCR testing site in Salem that has been quite easy to book with:
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/
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. Please note we recognize that some families may elect to not have their child vaccinated for medical or other reasons. We respect each families' right to make the decision that is best for them.

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

Saturday January 22 - Open House for prospective families by appointment
Wednesday January 26 - Town Hall Meeting with the Head of School 7pm
Wednesday February 2 - Winter Walk/Bike to School Day & Early Release Day for students

MUSIC EXTRAVAGANZA is now scheduled for February 3



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)


Monday January 24 - Development & Communications Committee Meeting 7pm
Tuesday January 25 - Board of Trustees Meeting 7pm
Thursday January 27 - Strategic Planning Committee Meeting - 7pm
Monday January 31 -Pandemic Response Task Force Committee Meeting 6pm
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.