This communique was emailed to all parents on Monday, August 16th. If you did not receive it in your email, please update your email address in Aeries.
Tuesday August 17, 2021 First Day of School!
Tomorrow is the big day! Here are a few updates and reminders for the start of school. School staff, community volunteers, and student leaders have been working hard getting ready for your children. We are super excited to welcome your children back for full schedule.
- Students will be given handbooks and planners, while receiving important information in regards to everyday life at San Jose Middle School. We plan on having lots of fun welcoming your children back to school full time! We have an engaging and spirited first two days of school planned. Every student question imaginable will be answered, and your children will participate in school spirit and team building activities. Our students and staff will have a great opportunity to interact and continuing building strong relationships. At San Jose Middle School, we all care for and look out for each other!
- Any student who has not picked up their schedule, can do so in front of the front office before school. Parents and children can access their schedules electronically by usingthe AIERES portal as well. Staff will be ready to hand out hard copy schedules at 7:45 am sharp!
- Your child’s PE teacher will communicate and manage uniform distribution.
- School starts at 8:20 am Monday-Friday, and dismissal is at 2:40 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. School is dismissed at 1:40 pm on Wednesday. (Full Bell Schedules are posted on the San Jose Middle School web page and are detailed in your child’s planner).
- Please give yourself time to drop off and pick up your child promptly and SAFELY.
- To start the year, we have minimal staffing issues that we are working hard to fill, with the help and strong support from NUSD Human Resources staff. You will be notified if a staffing situation directly affects your child.
- Coffee with the Principal will be held from 8:45 am- 9:45 am in front of the school for community stakeholders, parents, and guardians. It is encouraged that you have a cup of coffee and chat with Mr. Casper!
Leadership Class Update
Every Friday this school year are #ScorpionStrong days! Students should show their Scorpion Spirit by wearing blue and gold clothing, or San Jose Middle School gear. Represent!
Schedule Changes
Schedule change forms can be picked up in the main office. Forms must be signed by a parent. Schedule changes will be made if space is available. Schedule change forms will be looked at the second week of school. All students will be notified even if the change they requested cannot be made.
Picture Day
Picture Day is Thursday September 2, 2021. Circle that day on your calendars.
Chromebook Distribution/Issues
If your child is returning to the Novato Unified School District, he or she should use their Chromebook that they kept from last school year. If your child is new to our district, please check in the front office and we will assist you with obtaining a Chromebook.
If a student forgets their Chromebook on any given day, they will receive a loaner from the library, which has been entered in Mandarin, and checked out just like a book. They are to return the Chromebook at the end of the day and reminded to bring their own. These devices will be delivered to the library before school starts.
If your child’s Chromebook needs repairs, they are to turn their device into the library, and they will receive a library loaner with a charger. NUSD IT will pick-up, assess, and hopefully repair the device. If the device is repairable, your child will return their loaner and claim back their own device. If the device is not repairable, your child will need to be issued a Chromebook from the replacement/spare/principal supply.
If your child has a stolen, broken, or lost Chromebook, he or she will be issued a Chromebook from the replacement/spare/principal supply. The San Jose Middle School staff, based on the circumstances, will determine next steps. It is critical we communicate and encourage our children take good care of their Chromebook. This is an importance 21st century life skill.
Please encourage your child to show to school, every day, with their Chromebook fully charged!!! Students and staff need to spend their time engaged in teaching and learning, not device management and charging. Encourage your child to get into the routine of charging their Chromebook every night so they are ready to rock it in the classroom with no distractions.
Locker Issues
If you were not assigned a book locker, or have a problem with the locker you were assigned, you can sign up on the “Locker List” located outside the front office. An example might be, the lock doesn’t work properly, or is getting stuck. Mrs. Pingatore will be the students main contact for locker issues. If a student forgets their locker combination, they can ask any office, administrative, or campus supervision staff for help with the combination.
Lunch Service
For the 2021/22 school year, lunch will be provided to all students free of charge. Students may bring their own lunch, but we will have enough lunches daily for all students.
Transportation
Marin Transit will continue to run routes to and from San Jose Middle School. There is a link below with information in regards to acquiring bus passes for your child. If you qualify, bus passes will be free of charge.
https://marintransit.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/2021
Back to School Night (change) Thursday August 26, 2021
We are excited to host in person Back to School Night. More information will be coming your way in the weekly newsletter. Here is the schedule:
6:30-8:00 pm Teacher Classroom Presentations
We ask that only one parent attend Back to School Night due to COVID-19 safety precautions. The parent or guardian will go directly to their child’s first period class, which starts at 6:30 pm sharp! A Back to School video will be posted and a link sent to all parents or guardians. We apologize that we could not hold a traditional gathering for this special night for the start of the school year. Our staff looks forward to this important and special evening to kick off the school year.
COVID-19 Update
Marin County Public Health will be monitoring vaccination data for all students and staff for this school year. Marin County Public Health is asking all schools in Marin County post the percentage of vaccinated students and staff monthly. The positing will start October 1, 2021. There will be no posting of any confidential, individual student information! We also know that most of our incoming 6th graders are not allowed the opportunity to get vaccinated yet.
Students and staff will be required to wear face coverings at school, both indoors and outdoors. We hope the new Delta variant spread decreases, and the mask mandates can be eased. There is a new tier type of system that Marin Public Health created for the 2021-22 school year that details when and how restrictions are eased or increased based upon community spread. Please refer to the information below for review.
On Tuesday August 17, 2021 at 1:00 pm, Marin County Public Health and Marin County Office of Education are hosting a webinar for the entire Marin County School community. Here are the Zoom Details: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86928801113?pwd=K3VLcVVrRW5vZjB6bG5zSmw1U05wUT09, Dial In: 408-6380968, Webinar ID: 869 2880 1113, Passcode: 759024. We encourage San Jose Middle School community members attend this webinar, and hear directly from Marin County Public Health Officers.
Below is a link to the Marin County Public Health Rethinking Schools website. This site provides everything you may need to know about Marin County Covid-19 data in schools and details all Covid-19 protocols for Marin County Schools. We will continue our strong partnership with the Marin County Office of Education and Marin County Public Health. We will update the San Jose Middle School community with information when protocols or procedures change. From the past experiences, changes can happen often.
https://sites.google.com/marinschools.org/mcoerethinkingschools/back-to-school
You may email me anytime if you have questions or concerns in regards to Covid-19 protocols at San Jose Middle School. You can e-mail me at [email protected].
San Jose Middle School PTA
Thank you so much San Jose Middle School PTA, led by President Jen Jayme, for their hard work, dedication, and contributions. PTA lead the way, making a special opening week for students and staff. This past Friday, our sixth grade students were treated to a wonderful day of team and relationship building exercises with students and staff. It was a spirited day where all students were welcomed to the Scorpion community. I want to especially thank teacher Debbie Mitchell, for stepping up to the plate and leading the WEB leaders, while Assistant Principal Whitney McEachern’s leadership and enthusiasm was contagious to all students! At last, let’s give a huge shout out to all our WEB leaders for being awesome ambassadors and leaders. Your leadership made our new students feel welcomed and cared for on day one. You made us proud, thank you! There are important PTA links below:
Join or renew PTA membership at sanjose.nusd.org/pta. Check out the SJMS PTA leadership team and what we’re up to on the PTA Page.
School Site Council
It is essential that all community stake holders have a voice in regards to San Jose Middle School decision making. We want a welcoming, open, and transparent decision making process for parents, students, staff, and community stake holders. We will provide more information next week in regards to volunteering for this committee and the election process, as well as dates for meetings. If you are interested in being a part of School Site Council, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
ELAC Committee
We are excited to start planning and asking for community stakeholders to be involved in our ELAC committee. Our Community liaison and I will be organizing the content and structure of the meetings. These meetings will be engaging and fun! Please contact me ([email protected]) or Alma Martinez, who is bilingual and our Community liaison, at ([email protected]). Alma Martinez is an extremely knowledgeable and caring leader in our community who has tremendous San Jose Middle School spirit and pride! Feel free to reach out to Alma Martinez directly anytime.
San Jose Middle School Community Cabinet Team (SJMSCCT)
San Jose Middle School Community Cabinet is a stakeholder group the San Jose Middle School Leadership team will be forming this school year. This committee is new! We will hold these meetings four times a year. The purpose of this team is bring representatives from various stake holder groups together, with the purpose of uniting and building strong relationships among the various stakeholder groups. We want to hear everyone’s voice in regards to what we are doing well, and areas of improvement. We also want to hear valuable input and ideas from our community.
Bridge After School Program
Bridge will be open on the first day of school, and every day that school is in session. If your child participates in the Bridge Program, they are to be picked up no later than 6:00 pm daily. We ask that you pick up your child from the back parking next to the baseball field, off of Ignacio Boulevard, so that they can come to you directly from the Bridge room.
Bridge maintains an open-door policy. Students check themselves in and out of our program. If you want your child to remain at Bridge until picked up by a designated person, please let us know, but the responsibility for this lies solely with you and your child. Bridge Afterschool staff will not be held liable should any child leave the premises without our permission. Students are allowed to leave for home any time up to 6:00 pm, but we will always require your child call you for permission to leave if it is before 5:00 pm or earlier, unless you have notified the Bridge staff ahead of time.
Bridge receives the school attendance list so they will know if your child did not attend school that day. Please let Bridge staff know if your child has other plans after school, and will not be attending on their regularly scheduled day. If your child does not show up and, Bridge does not know ahead of time, you will receive a call or text to make sure that your child is where they belong.
If your child will only be attending part time, please email Bridge back the days that you would like your child to attend. Bridge will make every attempt to accommodate your choices.
Please also let the Bridge staff know if you have any questions, concerns, or specific instructions for your child’s dismissal.
Bridge staff is looking forward to seeing your child and you soon!
Billie Barbash, Bridge Program
[email protected]
Office: 415 343-2353