Dear Solomon Family--

About 30% of our families have signed up for Snap! Connect (formerly known as School CNXT), which we are transitioning to for our school-wide communication this month. This app-based system provides translation to over 100 different languages, and it meets us where most of us do our school communication: our phones! This evening you will receive your invitation (via text and/or email listed in Aspen), with instructions on how to download the app and create your account. Once on the app, you will see some welcome messages from our staff.

We will be resending invites to all those who have not yet signed up later this afternoon.

If you are having any difficulties with registering, please let us know at 773-534-5226 or crgamble@cps.edu.

In partnership,

Chris Gamble

Principal

Hannah G. Solomon Elementary School

News and Notes

Picture Day is scheduled for this Thursday, October 6, for all grades. Come dressed to impress! If your child is absent on October 6, the make-up date will be November 17.

As part of Hispanic American Heritage Month, we are going to have an after-school movie on Friday, October 7, from 4:15-6;00. Join in the gymnasium for a viewing of Coco and a discussion of the significance of El Dia de los Muertos, facilitated by Solomon staff and students. We are limited to 100 attendees due to space constraints, so please sign up in advance for tickets, which will be distributed this week. Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Join us in-person or virtually for our next Friends of Solomon School Parent Teacher Organization meeting this Wednesday at 6pm. To join us virtually, click here for the Zoom link information.

The GoCPS application portal has opened up for our 8th graders applying for CPS high schools, as well as families who live outside of our attendance boundary and are looking to have their child join Solomon in grades K-8 for the 2023-2024 school year. We will be sharing information about how we will supporting our upper grade families with the high school admissions process shortly. In the meantime, though, high school open houses are now being scheduled. Join us for a Network 1 High School Fair at Rickover Naval Academy on October 18 from 6-7:30pm. For more information, contact our counselor, Mrs. Mulholland, at pamulholland@cps.edu or click here.

Go to our Important Solomon Links below to find the October breakfast and lunch menus.

Our Fall Session of Solomon After-School Programming (which the district calls "OST Programming") starts this week. As a reminder, all students will be dismissed through Door #1. If you are still interested in signing up for programming, you can review the options here and sign up using this form.

The Albany Park branch (3401 W. Foster) of the Chicago Public Library hosts homework assistance for students every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 3-6pm. For more information, click here.

Friends of Solomon School Parent Teacher Organization (FOSS PTO)

We are looking for you to join the Friends of Solomon School PTO! By returning this document to the main office, we will add you to our email list and keep you updated on all of the great Solomon community events. First up for this year, a new Solomon event, join us from 4-8pm on October 28 for the Solomon Fall Festival!

Also confirmed: Get ready for the return of Holiday Shop on December 6-8!

Health Protocol Reminders

Close contacts will not be excluded from school.

Only those with a documented COVID positive test will be quarantined for 5 days.

Document a COVID positive test at cps.edu/covidresults.

When there is a positive case, everyone in the homeroom will be considered a close contact (due to eating together). This will mean that everyone in the homeroom, vaccinated or not, will need to mask for 10 days.

Email is the only way we communicate positive tests, quarantines, or mandatory masking. So check your email regularly for updates from me or your child's teacher(s).

Wearing a mask is still advisable, as is getting that vaccination.

If you are sick, COVID symptoms or not, please stay home.

Students who are quarantined are eligible for remote learning until they return.

Things can change, so keep an eye out for district updates.

Important Solomon Links

Our entry and exit procedures document, which includes our early dismissal policies and a reminder about our health protocols still in place.

Our school fees for the year and how to pay them.

The district consent form for in-school COVID testing for your child(ren) once a week.You will need your child's CPS ID number, which you can find in Parent Portal on Aspen (aspen.cps.edu).

Our school safety plan.

Our school assessment calendar for the school year.

Our school organization chart, which has every staff member's email address.

Information on how to sign up for YMCA before-school care and register interest in after-school programming.

All sports schedules for grades 5-12 in Chicago Public Schools, including Solomon, can be found at cpsathletics.com.

Our October breakfast and lunch menus.

To register as a Level 2 Volunteer at Solomon, which is a district requirement, please click here to complete the volunteer application.

Transportation reimbursement for eligible families: English and Spanish.

Solomon spirit wear purchases can be made through our partner, Squadlocker.

Solomon Calendar

All Solomon community events can be found on our school Google Calendar, linked at the Solomon website, solomon.cps.edu. You can also view our year-long calendar of community events here.

A few of the important upcoming dates:

Wednesday, October 5: Friends of Solomon School PTO meeting, 6pm (lobby and virtual)

Thursday, October 6: Picture Day

Monday, October 10: Indigenous Peoples/Columbus Day (no school for staff or students)

Tuesday, October 11: Local School Council meeting, 5:30 (library and virtual)

Thursday, October 20: Last day of 1st Quarter

Friday, October 21: School Improvement Day (no school for students)

In case you missed it...

Kindergarten and 4th Grade Reading Buddies making artwork on Friday modeled on the text Spookley the Square Pumpkin.

Our School Family in the main hallway, courtesy of Mrs. Mulholland, Mrs. Leiva, and our friends!

If you would like to receive this newsletter as an email, please email crgamble@cps.edu to be added to the list. If you would like to be removed from this newsletter, please click "Unsubscribe" below.