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Dear Smyth Families,
As October draws to a close, we are continuing to see hopeful signs with regard to the pandemic. Our health and safety protocols—face masks, social distancing, regular hand-washing, COVID-19 testing, and vaccinations—are keeping case numbers in our schools low. And with the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for five to eleven-year-olds by the Food and Drug Administration this week, we will be able to protect even more of our students and staff from infection.
The number of COVID-19 cases among CPS students and staff remains low. The number of staff and students who are in quarantine or isolation due to the virus is also trending down, which means that more of our children and the educators who support them are in the classroom where they belong.
The district’s testing program is continuing to ramp up. Out of more than 21,000 tests administered across 494 schools last week, just 0.24% came back positive. We’re also seeing vaccination rates climb among staff and students. 89% of CPS staff is fully vaccinated, and any staff member that is unvaccinated is being tested weekly to keep our school communities safe.
The best news of all is that vaccinations for five to eleven-year-olds have been recommended by the FDA and will be available to CPS students soon. CPS is launching a comprehensive plan to increase all student vaccination rates, including for those children who can be vaccinated against COVID-19 right now. As of this week, 46.7% of CPS students twelve and older have been vaccinated, with more rolling up their sleeves every single day. This is a good start, but we want to see that number rise more quickly. I urge parents of students in this age group who have not yet had their children vaccinated to do so right away, before younger children become eligible and demand for the vaccine grows. Visit cps.edu/covid for information on where to get the vaccine right now.
The first step in our vaccination campaign will be getting you, our families, the information you need to assure you that COVID vaccines are safe and effective for your children. We want you to hear the facts from people you trust, including your child’s teachers, and respected medical professionals in your communities. We understand that nothing is more important to you than the health and safety of your children, and we want you to feel fully comfortable with taking this crucial step to protect your child and your family.
We also want accessing the COVID-19 vaccine to be as simple as possible for families, so we will be making it available through regional vaccination centers inside four CPS high schools, as well as through mobile vaccine units and school-based health centers. In addition, thanks to our district’s many partnerships, CPS students will be able to access the COVID-19 vaccine from a number of private and community-based medical providers throughout the city.
I thank you for your continued trust during this unusual school year. I look forward to sharing more updates on how we are managing the pandemic, and on all the ways we will work to get CPS students vaccinated in the weeks and months ahead.
Sincerely,
Principal Turner
Dear Smyth Families,
With the school year now in full swing, our students are settling into good routines with their classes, their extracurricular activities, and adhering to the health and safety protocols that we’ve put in place to keep them safe - face masks, social distancing, regular hand-washing, COVID-19 testing, and most importantly, vaccinations for all eligible students. We are also committed to providing regular updates to families regarding how CPS is managing the pandemic to keep our learning environment safe.
Things are continuing to trend in a positive direction. The number of cases among students and staff are continuing to decline. The number of staff and students who are in quarantine or isolation due to the virus is also lower than it was a week ago, which means that more of our children and the educators who support them are in the classroom where they belong.
The data from the past week continues to show us that schools are not a significant source of spread for COVID-19, and that nearly all cases of COVID among students and staff have been isolated incidents. I encourage you to visit the CPS COVID site for more detailed information, including data about our school and the district at large.
As you may have heard, CPS is now requiring every staff member to be fully vaccinated or consent to weekly COVID-19 testing. More than 88 percent of the teachers and staff who are serving your children have reported being fully vaccinated, with more CPS employees joining this list each day. Those staff who have not received the vaccine are being tested for COVID-19 weekly to help ensure safety for everyone in our school communities.
Out of more than 18,000 tests administered to students and staff across CPS last week, fewer than 0.2 percent of tests came back positive.
With additional testers coming on board every day, CPS is moving closer to the goal of administering 40,000 tests weekly by the end of this month. The district is also exploring ways to use this testing more strategically, including placing a greater emphasis on testing unvaccinated staff and students. I strongly encourage any parent who has not done so already to register your child for COVID-19 testing at cps.edu/covid.
In the weeks and months ahead, CPS will be increasingly focused on getting as many CPS students as possible vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine eligibility for 5 to 11-year-olds is being considered by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next week, and approval for this age group could come soon after. I want you to know that when it does, CPS will be fully ready with a comprehensive campaign to educate communities on the benefits of the vaccine and to help children in every corner of our city get vaccinated.
I thank you for your continued trust during this unusual school year, and I look forward to sharing more updates on how we are managing the pandemic. As always, I encourage you to contact me directly with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
 Click on the image above for meeting summary slideshow. Smyth will Host Virtual Parent Meetings via Zoom on Friday, May 29:
1. PreK-2nd Meeting @ 10am Meeting ID: 826 3074 2396 Passwd: 3PPfwr 2. 3rd-5th Meeting @ 10:30am Meeting ID: 833 1192 2009 Passwd: 3PPfwr 3. 6th-8th Meeting @ 11am Meeting ID: 849 0593 8646 Passwd: 7t3Mzu 4. 8th Only Meeting @ 11:30 Meeting ID: 894 4752 8459 Password: 5SLJp3 Note: The Zoom app downloads automatically; No account required. 8th Grade "Profiling the Class of 2020" Survey about your experiences at Smyth and future endeavors. Survey is available until Sat., May 30 @ 5pm. Dear Smyth Families,
As you know, the city and state response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been ongoing and fluid, and to date, what we know is that the current school closure will be in place until at least April 30th. We understand that the school closure has posed a unique challenge to our families, and that our students, who are our priority, are experiencing an adjustment to their learning that is unprecedented.
Last week, CPS rolled out new guidelines for schools to begin plans for remote learning, and to begin these new instructional days the week after spring break, on Monday April 13th. This means that while the school closure is in place, teachers will be adjusting classroom instruction to a new format, and students and parents will be able to engage with daily learning from the comforts of your own home. Remote learning assignments and activities will only improve student grades. Our aim is to increase learning, not to negatively impact our students during school closures.
Here is what that remote learning will look like at Smyth:
Weekly Learning Each week, you will receive a weekly learning plan from your child’s teacher, which will list learning activities Monday-Friday. Weekly learning plans will be made available in the following ways: *Emailed by classroom teachers *Listed in the Remote Learning section of the school homepage smyth.cps.edu *Available for pick-up at Door #2 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Mondays-Fridays *Available for mailing- request via email or phone call
Office Hours Smyth is available to you both digitally and by phone Monday through Friday. For any support or assistance you may need. *Digital email hours are from 8:00-3:00 by emailing [email protected] *Office phone hours are from 9:00-1:00 by dialing 773-534-7180
Staff Collaboration and IEP meetings All classroom teachers, enrichment teachers and related services providers are willing and able to collaborate with families and offer additional resources beyond student’s core learning. If you have questions or need assistance with speech, positioning, engaging in household activities, etc. do not hesitate to ask for help and suggestions. Ms. Miller, our counselor, [email protected], is available should you need someone to talk to or need access to additional resources for our own livelihood. Finally, Ms. Barnett, case-manager, [email protected], and the team are able to host IEP meetings or answer any questions you may have regarding your child’s IEP.
Access to Devices & Internet We understand that some families may not have access to devices and/or the internet, and that this creates a challenge for remote learning. To support our students, all classroom learning will be accessible in non-digital formats; however, we ask that parents be available to come to the Main Building regularly to pick up and drop off student work, or request for resources to be sent via mail. We will be calling home to connect with families for whom this may be a unique challenge and making alternate arrangements as possible.
Meal Pick Ups Smyth will continue to be a meal distribution site for families from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Mondays through Fridays, after Spring Break. Meal distribution will resume on Monday, April 13th. We have a plentiful supply of meals, so please do make a trip out if you need to.
During the district’s scheduled spring break, which begins Monday, April 6, families may pick up grab-and-go meals at 136 school sites across the city from Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. A detailed list of spring break meal sites is available here. Beginning the following week (Monday, April 13), the district will launch a consolidated meal plan under which 276 schools that were most frequented by families will continue to provide free meals, and schools that were less utilized by families will no longer serve as distribution sites. You can also view those sites here. As of this communication, Smyth will continue to be a food service distribution site.
Again, we know that this current time is an unprecedented season for our entire school community. We deeply miss our students, and school really doesn’t feel the same without kids in our classrooms. However, all Smyth staff members are committed to our students, and we will continue to do everything we can to give every Smyth student and family access and opportunities for engagement and learning.
Please continue to stay safe and healthy. We wish all of our families a safe and happy Spring Break.
Yours in Wellness, Principal Turner A message from CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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John M. Smyth Elementary I.B. World School
1059 W. 13th St., Chicago, IL 60608-1526 Located in University Village, 28th Ward Office: 773-534-7180; Fax: 773-534-7127 General Email: [email protected] |
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Dana M. Turner, Principal
Kiyana Grayer, Assistant Principal Dr. Pamela Smith-Nash, Counselor Jonathan Horowitz, MYP IB (6-8) Coord. Dr. Tina Curry, PYP IB (K-5) Coord. Michelle Crosby, Case Manager Carol Williams, Interventionist |