April 30, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope the longer days, warmer weather, and flowering trees and plants, are making your days brighter and more comfortable. As you may have heard, students in the high school aged 16 and over had an opportunity to get their first Pfizer vaccination yesterday. Approximately 70 students were vaccinated. The second vaccination will take place in three weeks.
Understanding that there were students that had conflicts or were unable to receive a vaccination at the clinic we operated at CHS yesterday, another smaller clinic is being planned for May 6th. In the event that this clinic fills to capacity, a third clinic will be scheduled.
The link is here: https://www.vaccinateri.org/reg/9812600589
This link will be disabled at 4:00 pm on May 5th.
Provided below are a number of items for your review:
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Dr. Philip Thornton will be returning to Cumberland as the new superintendent of schools. He will undoubtedly continue the good work happening in our school system. We wish Dr. Thornton well as he takes on the challenges of our times.
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Students in special programs, grades K, 1, 2 and students in grades 9 through 12, will return to 5 days of in-person learning effective Monday, May 3rd. Students in grades 3 through 8 will return to 5 days of in-person learning on June 1st, when RICAS testing is completed.
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As a reminder, the number of students allowed to ride the bus increased to 75% of capacity after April vacation.
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High School Senior Sarah Leduc attended the School Committee meeting last night. She spoke about the fundraiser she started for Day One. We are proud of Sarah for her commitment to raising funds for this worthwhile cause. I mentioned her fundraiser in a previous communication. Here is what we shared with you. Today is the last day to support Sarah’s fundraising effort. Please consider making a contribution. My name is Sarah Leduc and I am a senior at Cumberland High School. I just wanted to let you know that I am doing a fundraiser for sexual assault awareness month. All proceeds go directly to Day One, the Rhode Island rape crisis center. I would greatly appreciate it if you could share or donate to my fundraiser! Day One provides therapies, workshops, trauma based yoga, educational classes, hotlines, law enforcement advocacy, and so much more. Day One is a nonprofit and relies solely on donations and grants so this fundraiser is very important! I put the go fund me link in this email. Thank you so much! -Sarah Leduc https://gofund.me/12805512
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If there are families in need of clothes, there is help. There is an organization called Clothes to Kids Rhode Island available to support families. Students are able to choose their own clothing that suits their personality – FREE OF CHARGE! Here is the link to the website with information about the opportunity. http://clothestokidsri.org/
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I received this information from our High School Chorus Director, Amanda Santo. “I would like to invite you to join us on Sunday, May 2nd at 6:00 p.m. for the World Premiere of the 2021 RIMEA All-State Virtual Music Festival Concert! This special evening features over 600 Rhode Island student musicians in grades 7-12 performing in guitar ensembles, choirs, jazz bands, concert bands, and orchestras. I am proud that we have many students from our Clipper Chorus, Clef Singers, and Clipper Band Programs participating. To tune in, please visit the RIMEA webpage at https://www.rimea.org/as and click on the concert link. We hope you will tune in! This performance will make a wonderful addition to your Sunday afternoon.”
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The updated COVID-19 spreadsheet is provided for your review.
We are getting closer to the routines we were accustomed to prior to the pandemic. As we have heard many times and will continue to hear, it is important for us to remain vigilant with all of the mitigation measures that we know minimizes the transmission of Covid 19.
Thank you for your continued support and patience. Have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools