June 11, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
It’s a beautiful day for the senior graduation this evening! There are numerous end of year events planned at all the schools in the next couple of weeks. We are very fortunate to now have the opportunity to have outdoor social gatherings.
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Congratulations to the Class of 2021! You have persevered through one of the most challenging times that students have had to experience. We are happy for you and your families. Enjoy this well deserved accomplishment.
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Congratulations to Jillian Pullano, a 4th grade teacher at Ashton School. Jillian was the recipient of the first Alan Shawn Feinstein Educator Award (ASF) for leading acts of kindness and good deed initiatives in the Ashton School community. Jillian will receive $25,000 for Ashton School and herself. Jillian was nominated by her principal, Nidia Karbonik.
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CumberlandFest is back this year. This is the 30th anniversary of this beloved event. In addition to providing a number of fun-filled activities for the community, money raised from this event is directed back into the community by providing grants to organizations that support the youth in the Town of Cumberland. Jerry Schimmel, the Executive Director of CumberlandFest met with me recently. He is looking for volunteers. There are two documents for your consideration: one is a Volunteer Registration Form and the other is a Youth Organization 2021 Grant Application. Please consider helping with this year’s event.
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Here is a description of the CumberlandFest: CumberlandFest is the creation of the Cumberland Youth Activities Council (CYAC), a nonprofit 501c-3 that was formed in 1991 to raise money for youth athletic activities in Cumberland. For nearly three decades, CumberlandFest has been the area’s most anticipated summer event. Held annually at Diamond Hill Park during Victory Day Weekend in August, CumberlandFest includes a carnival midway of rides to thrill all ages, a wide array of musical acts, food vendors, an arts & crafts fair and other special events. Through the patronage of thousands of attendees, the assistance of hundreds of event volunteers and the community-wide support of business sponsors, CumberlandFest has contributed more than $1,000,000 to youth programs over its 29-year history.
Enjoy the weekend.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
June 4, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope this email finds you well and like me, you are feeling some relief that things are increasingly getting back to normal. I have just a few things to share with you in this communication.
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As of Monday, June 7th, all students in grades PreK through twelve will be in for five days of in-person learning. This will be the first time since March of 2020 that everyone, with the exception of distance learners, will be physically back in school every day. It has been a long haul and it feels good that things are getting back to normal.
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There are lots of activities planned for the end of the year that will allow students, staff, and families to get together. Promotional activities are being planned at the elementary and middle schools. Your principals will be sharing those plans with you.
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We have received guidance from the Governor and Rhode Island Department of Health on what is allowed for gatherings as we approach the end of the school year. We are pleased to hear that for all outdoor activities, no one is required to wear a mask and three feet of social distancing is not required.
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Masks and three feet of social distancing are still required for any activities held indoors.
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I attended a nice ceremony at the high school this morning. I was invited by Jessica Delaney, one of our highly regarded teachers, to a white coat ceremony. Ms. Delaney is a teacher in the BioMedical Pathways program. Seniors who have successfully completed this rigorous pathway, were rewarded with a white coat that was presented by Ms. Delaney. These impressive students will be continuing their education in a medical field. As the superintendent, I am very pleased that we have this and other pathways available to our students. They have an opportunity to explore a potential career choice while in high school.
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Congratulations to the forty seniors who were recognized on Tuesday for earning the title of Distinguished Scholar. These students have distinguished themselves in many ways including academics, athletics, music, fundraising, community service and more. The ceremony was held in the high school auditorium and attended by many local and state dignitaries.
Thanks to our students, staff, and families for persevering through what has been perhaps the biggest challenge of our lives. Enjoy the weekend.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
The communication that was sent out yesterday related to out of state travel has created some confusion. Quarantining would not be necessary if the state visited does not have a high community spread rate. For example, several families are going to New Hampshire for a soccer tournament this weekend. Since New Hampshire is not a state with a high community spread rate at this time, students would not need to quarantine when they return to Rhode Island. However, families would need to check to be sure that New Hampshire is not on the list on the day they return to Rhode Island.
There are only a few states currently on the list with a high community spread rate. Here is the link identifying those states.
I apologize for the confusion and I hope this provides some clarity.
Sincerely,
Bob Mitchell
… Read More...
May 28, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope this email finds you well as we head into the Memorial Day weekend. Since we are starting to get back to normal and many of us will be traveling this long weekend, I thought it was important to share this information regarding travel and quarantine guidance.
In light of recent CDC and RIDOH updates concerning quarantine requirements upon return from travel, the Cumberland School Reopening Task Force has updated its quarantine requirements for faculty, staff and students upon return from domestic and international travel. Please be advised that effective immediately, any person arriving back in Rhode Island from domestic or international travel must immediately self-quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in Rhode Island unless one of the following exemptions applies:
- the person obtains a negative COVID-19 test result from a specimen taken after return to Rhode Island; or
- the person (i) has received all recommended dose(s) of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or World Health Organization (WHO) at least 14 days prior to the date of the person’s return to Rhode Island, and (ii) is asymptomatic upon their return to Rhode Island; or
- the person (i) previously diagnosed with COVID-19, (ii) had COVID19 symptoms, the onset of which occurred no more than 90 days prior to the date of the person’s return to Rhode Island, (iii) completed his/her isolation requirement, and (iv) is asymptomatic upon their return to Rhode Island; or
- the person (i) tested positive for COVID-19 from a specimen taken no more than 90 days prior to the date of the person’s return to Rhode Island, (ii) had no COVID-19 symptoms previously, (iii) completed his/her isolation requirement and (iv) is asymptomatic upon arrival in Rhode Island.
If you have any questions concerning these new protocols, please do not hesitate to contact your building principal or school nurse.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Sincerely,
Bob Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
May 21, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
Happy Friday everyone. It does feel good to be a little closer to normal. I was able to exercise at my YMCA for the first time in over 14 months without a mask. What a difference it made. We can appreciate now more than ever the simple things that we may have taken for granted in the past.
Listed below are a number of items for your review:
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As a reminder, the Cumberland Emergency Medical Services (CEMS) will be conducting two vaccination clinics targeting 12-15 year olds. The first clinic will be held today, May 21st from 4:00-8:00 p.m. and tomorrow, May 22nd from 9:00-3:00 p.m. Both clinics will be held at the Ann & Hope building located at 1 Ann & Hope Way. Access to the clinic will be the old main retail entrance on the “railroad track” side of the building. The registration link has expired, however, there may be extra vaccines available for those students who missed the registration deadline. If you have not registered and would like to get vaccinated, please go to the vaccination site during the scheduled hours.
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There has been a change to the dates for the second vaccination for 12-15 year olds. Instead of June 11th and 12th, the second vaccination for both clinics has been changed to Thursday, June 10th from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the same location.
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This is a reminder to all students ages 16 and up who received a COVID-19 vaccine on May 6th. You are due for your second dose on May 27th. Cumberland EMS will be conducting a clinic on May 27th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Trans Caf. Please use this link to register and select an appointment time. https://www.vaccinateri.org/appointment/en/reg/0869540921
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The transition to 5 days of in-person learning has gone well. After RICAS testing, we are looking forward to students in grades K through 12 returning to 5 days of in-person learning.
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As you know, the mask wearing guidance remains in place for schools. However, students are able to remove their masks while outside as long as they maintain three feet of social distance from their peers.
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The updated COVID-19 spreadsheet is provided for your review.
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As we look forward to the future, school leaders are developing plans to focus on two areas of concern as a result of the pandemic. One main area of concern is learning loss and the other is the impact that the pandemic has had on mental health. The administrative team has been focusing on these areas and will continue to solidify plans to address these issues.
Enjoy this beautiful weather.
Sincerely,
Robert A Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
May 14, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
Happy Friday everyone. I hope this is a happier Friday given the news we heard yesterday about mask wearing. The good news is that vaccinated individuals don’t have to wear masks in most situations. However, since we are a school system with students that are not yet vaccinated, we need to maintain the status quo until we hear from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). I spoke with our Education Operations Center (EDOC) representative, Laura Canavan, this morning. She confirmed that we need to continue with the mask wearing procedure that we have in place until we hear from RIDOH. I will be sure to pass along any information related to this issue as soon as I hear from RIDOH.
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Families should have received information yesterday on the opportunity for students ages 12 to 15 to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Here is the registration information we shared yesterday: Cumberland Emergency Medical Services (CEMS) will be conducting two vaccination clinics targeting students in this age group. The clinics will be held on May 21st from 4:00-8:00 pm and on May 22nd from 9:00-3:00 pm. Both clinics will be held at the Ann & Hope building located at 1 Ann & Hope Way. Access to the clinic will be the old main retail entrance on the “railroad track” side of the building. Second dose clinics will be held on June 11th from 4:00-8:00 pm and on June 12th from 9:00-3:00 pm. Registration links for second dose clinics will be provided at the first dose clinics. Registration links for these first dose clinics may be found here (links will be deactivated at 4:00 pm on May 19, 2021):
May 21, 2021: https://www.vaccinateri.org//appointment/en/reg/9258601673
May 22, 2021: https://www.vaccinateri.org//appointment/en/reg/4012736569
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As a reminder, you may have heard that distance learning will not be an option next year per Governor McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education. The expectation is that we will be back to full in-person when students return to school in August.
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Planning for the move of Cumberland Hill School to the Trans Building continues on a weekly basis. There are a lot of things to consider in a move of this magnitude including furniture, technology, supplies, etc. Meetings have been held with Cumberland Hill staff and a meeting is being planned for the high school staff that will be impacted by Cumberland Hill’s move to the Trans Building. We will also be planning meetings for parents impacted by the move at some point in the near future.
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Given all that we’ve been through over the past 14 months, this information may be of help to anyone struggling with mental health issues. The National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) is offering a free program at NAMI-RI called Ending the Silence. It’s intended for students, teachers or parents to observe warning signs of mental illness and suicide in young people in order to get them the help they need as early as possible.
Please refer to our website for more information. In the “News” section you can register for classes during May. May is Mental Health Month. Given all that we have been through in dealing with the pandemic, this is something many of us would benefit from at no cost.
Click here to access the “For Schools “section on our NAMI-RI website.
The Department of Education and the Department of Justice released Confronting COVID-19-Related Harassment in Schools, a fact sheet for students and families. You may find this resource on the Office for Civil Rights website in English, Chinese-simplified, Chinese-traditional, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, with additional translations expected later this month.
Please share this widely with your networks. This will help ensure that students and families are aware of their rights in school settings and of how to access help if needed, including from the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education and the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice.
As President Biden wrote at the start of his presidency, in his Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, “The Federal Government should combat racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and should work to ensure that all members of AAPI communities — no matter their background, the language they speak, or their religious beliefs — are treated with dignity and equity.”
This resource is one part of our work to counter racism and ensure equity and equal opportunity … Read More...
