The weekend is here and although the weather forecast is calling for rain, we all like to get outside and get some fresh air. This is especially true during this time of year when the temperatures are on the rise and we all have been spending a lot of time inside. 

Many are thinking that it might be alright to get outside and have children play with one or two friends. Unfortunately, this is not something we should be doing at this time. The battle to stop the spread of the COVID 19 virus is on-going and gathering in small groups, even outside at the local park is not something we should be doing. 

During the State of Michigan mandated shut down, all Dearborn Public School facilities, including playgrounds, and athletic fields, will be closed to the public. Please do not attempt to go onto the fields or access the playgrounds.  If you are found on the property you will be asked to leave.  

The Governor has ordered that we all shelter in place.  This is not a recommendation or suggestion. This action is being taken to help in the effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to mitigate the number of people becoming sick. Hospitals in southeastern Michigan are being overwhelmed and are reaching the point where they are unable to meet the needs of those arriving for care. We must all do our part to help slow the spread of this virus and remain at home!  

The Governor did say that it is ok to go for a walk, run, or bike ride. However, we can not gather in groups at local parks or playgrounds.

We look forward to the day, hopefully in the not too distant future, when our facilities will once again be open to the public and we can all return to our regular routines. The District appreciates all of the support that the Dearborn community has shown and the tremendous amount of community spirit that has been demonstrated during this very difficult time.  Together we will get through this, one community, #DearbornStrong!

Playgrounds are Closed Statement (Arabic)

On Monday, March 30, Dearborn Public Schools is changing the format of its free student meal distributions.

Meals will now be distributed three times a week, instead of five.  

Meals will generally be distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, the week of April 6 to 10, meals will be handed out on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday, April 10, is Good Friday and a holiday for District staff.

Fewer meal distributions should make it easier for families to get the food while reducing the risk of virus exposure for both our families and our staff. Each food bag will still contain both breakfast, lunch and milk for a child under 18, but now the bag will have food for each day until the next distribution.

The grab-and-go meals will continue to be handed out between 10 a.m. and noon at the same seven schools.  The Dearborn Schools student does not have to attend that school to be eligible for a meal. A designated person can pick up meals for multiple children.  The student does not need to be present.

The distribution sites are Fordson, Dearborn and Edsel Ford high schools; McCollough/Unis; Salina Intermediate; Smith Middle School; and Woodworth Middle School.

The program is allowing the District’s 20,700 students to continue to have access to healthy food. The meals are funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s School Lunch Program. Dearborn Public Schools already used the federal program to offer all kindergarten to 12th grade students free lunch and breakfast on school days.

Meal distributions will continue through the state-ordered school closure.  Currently, schools are set to reopen on April 14.

Check firstbell.dearbornschools.org for the latest information on the school closure and the food program.

في يوم الاثنين 30 مارس ، ستقوم مدارس ديربورن العامة بتغيير خطة توزيع وجبات الطلاب المجانية.

سيتم توزيع الوجبات من الآن فصاعداً ثلاث مرات في الأسبوع ، بدلاً من خمس.

سيتم توزيع الوجبات بشكل عام أيام الاثنين والأربعاء والجمعة. ولكن ، في الأسبوع من 6 إلى 10 أبريل ، سيتم تسليم الوجبات أيام الاثنين والأربعاء والخميس.  لأن الجمعة ، 10 أبريل ، يوم الجمعة المقدسة وهي عطلة لموظفي المدارس.

من خلال توزيعات وجبات أقل نتوقع أن تسهل على العائلات الحصول على الطعام مع تقليل خطر التعرض للفيروس لكل من عائلاتنا وموظفينا. ستظل كل حقيبة طعام تحتوي على كل من الإفطار والغداء والحليب لطفل أقل من 18 عامًا ، ولكن الآن ستحتوي الحقيبة على الطعام لكل يوم حتى التوزيع التالي.

سيستمر تسليم وجبات الطعام السريعة بين الساعة العاشرة صباحًا والى الظهيرة في نفس المدارس السبع. لا يتعين على طلاب مدارس ديربورن أن يكونوا مسجلين تلك المدرسة ليكون مؤهلاً للحصول على وجبة. يمكن للشخص المعين أن يلتقط وجبات لعدة أطفال. لا يحتاج الطالب أن يكون حاضرا.

مواقع التوزيع هي مدارس Fordson و Dearborn و Edsel Ford ؛ مكولو / اليونيسUnis   ؛ سالينا متوسطSalina, مدرسة سميث المتوسطةO.L. Smith ؛ ومدرسة وودورث المتوسطةWoodworth.

يسمح البرنامج لـ 20700 طالبًا في المقاطعة بالاستمرار في الحصول على طعام صحي. يتم تمويل الوجبات من خلال برنامج الغداء المدرسي التابع لوزارة الزراعة الأمريكية. استخدمت مدارس ديربورن العامة بالفعل البرنامج الفيدرالي لتقديم جميع رياض الأطفال لطلاب الصف الثاني عشر غداء ووجبة إفطار مجانية في أيام المدرسة.

سيستمر توزيع الوجبات من خلال إغلاق المدرسة بأمر من الدولة. حاليا ، من المقرر إعادة فتح المدارس في 14 أبريل.

تحقق من firstbell.dearbornschools.org للحصول على أحدث المعلومات حول إغلاق المدرسة وبرنامج الغذاء.

Parents,

As we try to collectively figure out our “new normal” during this uncertain time, it’s important to remember that our children thrive on structure and routine. Dr. Chochol, the Executive Director for our feeder group of schools, shared this valuable resource as a guide to support parents at home in adjusting to our current situation. Please be safe and we pray that your families are all healthy! As always, let us know if we can support you in any way. 

Guide to Online Learning at Home (English)

Guide to Online Learning at Home (Arabic)

التكيف مع التعلم في المنزل 

أهالي الأمور ، بينما نحاول أن نكتشف بشكل جماعي “الوضع الطبيعي الجديد” في هذا الوقت الغامض ، من المهم أن نتذكر أن أزدهار  أطفالنا يتوقف على الهيكل والروتين. شارك المدير التنفيذي لتنمية الطلبة لدينا ، الدكتور شوكول ، هذا المورد القيم كدليل لدعم الآباء في المنزل في التكيف مع وضعنا الحالي. من فضلك، كن آمنا وندعو أن تكون أنت وعائلتك بصحة جيدة! كما هو الحال دائمًا ، أخبرنا إذا كان بإمكاننا دعمك بأي طريقة.

As we begin the second full week of the mandatory school closure, I wanted to take a few minutes to share what we’ve been working on for the past week. Please watch the video linked below to find out how our staff spent the past week.

VIDEO: Message from Mr. Oke

I hope you and your family continue to be safe and healthy. Please continue to check our school blog for the most up-to-date information.

Mr. Oke

Yesterday, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), released a statement indicating that the work done online during the mandatory school closure and the days spent doing that work would not count towards the number of school days that are currently required by law. After hearing from many upset educators and parents, the MDE released another statement stating that the state legislature needed to change the law or grant an exemption to the law in order for the days spent working online to count. Later in the evening, Governor Whitmer issued  a statement expressing her opinion that students should be able to work online and that she would work to make sure that the time students spent working at home counted.

So what does this all mean for our students here at Stout?

It means that the MDE and our elected officials still have some stuff to figure out regarding how schools are going to operate during this mandated school closure. As we give the people in Lansing some time to figure this out, our teachers will still be posting educational activities on their websites and in many cases, using Google Classroom and iLearn to provide learning opportunities. For the time being, we are calling these “enrichment activities”, but make no mistake, we want students to complete these activities. Until our officials in Lansing figure this out, we will not be grading the work students do, but we will be keeping track of what gets completed.

Here’s my position on the activities that teachers have been providing. We want students to do them and parents to encourage their students to complete them. Learning is important and it can not stop just because our physical buildings are closed. While getting a good grade might be motivating or a nice reward for doing the work, the real value in learning is that it betters us. We should always want to be better.

Stay safe & healthy,

Mr. Oke

رسالة من مدير المدرسة بخصوص الواجبات المدرسية أثناء إغلاق المدرسة

بالأمس ، أصدرت وزارة التعليم بولاية ميشيغان بيانًا يشير إلى أن العمل المدرسي الذي تم إجراؤه عبر الإنترنت أثناء الإغلاق الإلزامي للمدرسة والأيام التي تم قضاؤها في هذا العمل لن تحتسب ضمن عدد الأيام الدراسية التي يتطلبها القانون حاليًا. بعد الاستماع إلى العديد من المعلمين والآباء الغير مؤيدين ، أصدرت MDE (وزارة التعليم) بيانًا آخر ينص على أن الهيئة التشريعية للولاية بحاجة إلى تغيير القانون أو منح استثناء للقانون من أجل أحتساب الأيام في العمل عبر الإنترنت. في وقت لاحق من المساء ، أصدرت المحافظ ويتمان بيانًا أعربت فيه عن رأي مفاده أن الطلاب يجب أن يكونوا قادرين على العمل عبر الإنترنت وأنها ستعمل للتأكد من أن الوقت الذي يقضيه الطلاب في العمل في المنزل يحتسب.

فماذا يعني كل هذا لطلابنا هنا في Stout؟

وهذا يعني أن وزارة التعليم والعلوم والمسؤولين المنتخبين لدينا لا يزال لديهم بعض الأشياء التي يجب معرفتها فيما يتعلق بكيفية عمل المدارس خلال هذا الإغلاق المفوض للمدرسة. بينما نمنح الأشخاص في Lansing بعض الوقت لاكتشاف ذلك ، سيظل مدرسونا ينشرون الأنشطة التعليمية على مواقعهم على الويب وفي كثير من الحالات ، باستخدام Google Classroom و iLearn لتوفير فرص التعلم. في الوقت الحالي ، نطلق على هذه “أنشطة الإثراء” ، ولكن حتى لا نخطئ ، نريد من الطلاب إكمال هذه الأنشطة. حتى يقوم مسؤولونا في Lansing بتحديد ذلك ، لن نقوم بتصنيف العمل الذي يقوم به الطلاب ، ولكننا سوف نتابع ما يتم إنجازه.

هذا هو موقفي من الأنشطة التي يقدمها المعلمون. نريد من الطلاب القيام بها وأولياء الأمور بتشجيع الطلاب على إكمالها. التعليم مهم ولا يمكن أن يتوقف فقط لأن أبواب المدرسة مغلقة. في حين أن الحصول على درجة جيدة قد يكون محفزًا أو مكافأة لطيفة للقيام بالعمل ، فإن القيمة الحقيقية في التعليم هي أنه يحسننا. يجب علينا دائما أن نكون أفضل.

حافظ على سلامتك وصحتك ،

المدير أوككي

Stout Families, 

We will have Chromebooks available for loan for those students who need access to technology to complete their classwork. Stout will be offering “drive-through” times on Thursday, March 19th, 2020 from 2pm to 6pm and on Friday, March 20th from 9am to 11am to pick up a Chromebook. 

The “drive-through” is to practice social distancing recommendations set forth by the CDC. Parents/students will not need to leave their vehicles. You will enter through the front circular driveway at the front of the building and pull all the way to the end of the driveway near the double-doors next to the Choir Room. A staff member will assist parents in completing a release and liability form and provide you with the necessary equipment. Chromebooks will be given directly to parents.

We hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy and are practicing social distancing during this time! 

الأربعاء 18 مارس 2020

أهالي مدرسة ستاوت الكرام

سيكون لدينا أجهزة حواسيب محمولة Chromebook متاحة للإعارة للطلاب الذين يحتاجون إلى الوصول إلى التكنولوجيا لإكمال واجباتهم الدراسية. حيث ستقدم Stout أوقات “أستلام الحواسيب من دون الحاجة للنزول من السيارة” يوم الخميس 19 مارس 2020 من الساعة 2 مساءً إلى 6 مساءً ويوم الجمعة 20 مارس من 9 صباحًا إلى 11 صباحًا لاستلام جهاز Chromebook.

“أستلام الحواسيب من دون الحاجة للنزول من السيارة” هو ممارسة أوصى بها مركز السيطرة على الأمراض CDC والتي تتضمن المسافات  الاجتماعية التي وضعتها مراكز السيطرة على الأمراض. لن يحتاج الآباء / الطلاب إلى مغادرة سياراتهم. ستدخل من خلال الممر الدائري الأمامي في الجزء الأمامي من المبنى حتى نهاية الممر بالقرب من الأبواب المزدوجة بجوار غرفة الجوقة الموسيقية. سوف يساعدك أحد الموظفين في إكمال نموذج الاستلام والمسؤولية وتزويدك بالمعدات اللازمة.

نأمل أن تظل أنت وعائلتك في أمان وصحة وتمارسون التباعد الاجتماعي خلال هذه الفترة!

Dearborn Public Schools is offering free pickup lunch and breakfast for students while school is closed for the mandatory shut down over the next three weeks.

Families will be able to stop in and pick up a bag with both breakfast and lunch for each child in the family.  Pickups will run daily from 10 a.m. to noon starting tomorrow, March 17 at Fordson, Edsel Ford and Dearborn High schools, McCollough-Unis, Salina Intermediate, and Woodworth Middle School.

Signage at each site will direct parents and students where to enter the building. Food will be near entrances to minimize the amount of time community members spend in the facilities.

Please note, meals are available to anyone age 18 and younger.  Students do not need to be present, and the Dearborn School student does not need to attend at that building.  A designated person can collect meals for multiple children.  Meals for Saturday and Sunday can be picked up on Friday.

The program will allow the District’s 20,700 students to continue to have access to healthy food.  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week ordered all Michigan schools closed from March 16 through April 3 to slow the spread of novel coronavirus and cases of COVID-19.  Dearborn Schools is scheduled for spring break April 6 to 10, so school will not resume in the District until April 13.

The grab-and-go meals will be served at least through April 3.

Superintendent Glenn Maleyko praised the District’s food service team for quickly implementing this drastic change in service to meet the needs of families.

“We appreciate the patience of our families and community as we all try to adjust to this sudden change from closing schools,” Dr. Maleyko said.  “More than three quarters of our students qualify for free or reduced priced school meals.  We realize this food is important to our families, many of whom may be facing additional financial hardships from the sudden economic changes related to COVID-19.”

Check the Dearborn Public Schools website at www.dearbornschools.org for any updates or changes to the meal program or for other issues regarding the school closure.

Students will be doing the majority of their work online for the next month. For families that may not have internet access in their homes at this time, Comcast is offering their Internet Essentials package for free for the next 60 days. Please click on the link to the story below. Instruction for signing up are included in this article.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/coronavirus/comcast-offering-internet-essentials-package-free-for-60-months-during-coronavirus-outbreak

Thursday evening, the Governor ordered all schools in Michigan to close to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). At Stout, we will continue to provide educational activities to students during the closure. These activities will be shared through our school website, teacher websites, and emails from teachers. We ask that students regularly check their district email account and their teachers’ websites for educational activities. At Stout, we have several online resources that will support learning while students are at home. Students are familiar with these resources as they already use them regularly. These resources include:

• IXL
• iReady
• Khan Academy

In addition to their websites, many teachers also use Google Classroom and iLearn. These platforms allow students to complete and submit assignments digitally. Most students are familiar with these platforms as well.

During the school closure, teachers will be regularly checking their email and posting content to their websites. We will be using the school website to share important information about educational activities for students, health and safety recommendations for parents, and available resources for the community. We ask that parents regularly check the school website for updates and highly recommend that parents subscribe to the school blog.

Please take care of your families and follow the recommendations that have been shared by our elected officials and health experts. These recommendations include practicing good hygiene habits and social distancing. While our staff may not physically be at school during the closure, we are still here to support our students and families. Stay safe and healthy. We are looking forward to seeing our students back on April 13th.

Stout Community,

With the news of two confirmed cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Michigan, I wanted to share the additional steps we are taking at Stout Middle School to support a healthy environment for our students.

1. Our custodians will be putting extra focus on cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces areas including desks, tables, door handles, and other items that students and staff come into contact with.
2. We have changed procedures for distributing food during lunch, including prepackaged food. All food will be handed directly from the server to the individual student for the time being.
3. We have eliminated salad bars during lunch for the time being. Salad will still be available for students, but it is now being individually prepared and packaged.
4. We have shared and posted preventative strategies with students such as regular and thorough hand-washing.

Good hygiene practices will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. Please follow these recommendations and encourage all family members to do the same.

1. Stay home if you are sick, and advise others to do the same.
2. Always cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
3. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
5. Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and warm water are not available.
6. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

The following resources were shared by the district administration team to support parents in discussing COVID-19 with their children. Please click on the links below to review these documents.

Talking to Children about COVID-19

Helping Children Cope with Stress due to the COVID-19 Outbreak

The health and safety of our students is always our first priority. We will continue to share information on the school blog as it becomes available. Additional information is also available on the district’s website.

Mr. Oke

Transform your child’s behavior at home and at school! We will be training you in the best strategies for how to question, support and guide your child through a life of success. This will be Part 1 of a two part, in-depth parent workshop. We look forward to learning with you!

Thursday, March 5th, 2020 in room B2 @ 9:30am at Stout Middle School

Parent Education Meeting Flyer – English & Arabic

This school year, Stout was selected to participate in the Dearborn SHINES grant to implement nutrition and physical activity programming at the student, family and school levels to improve students’ overall well-being.

We are asking parents to take a few minutes to fill out a short survey that will assist us in implementing the DSHINES program. The survey is designed to gather physical activity and nutrition information as well as thoughts about the program from the community. Please use the link below to access the survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DSHINES2ParentT1

This week, we will be holding two important meetings at Stout.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25th at 6:00 PM, we will have another Secondary Options Parent Meeting for those parents who could not attend the previous meeting during the day. This meeting will present information to parents of 8th graders about options for high school that are available to all Dearborn students including Henry Ford Early College, Michael Berry Center, DCMST, and Dual Enrollment.

On Wednesday, February 26th, we will be having our monthly PTA meeting at 5:30 PM.

We encourage you to attend both meetings and look forward to seeing you there!

This morning, Ms. Shannon Peterson, Executive Director of Student Achievement, met with 8th grade parents in our auditorium to share information about the secondary options that are available beginning in 9th grade. Ms. Peterson provided an overview of our alternative high school programs: Henry Ford Early College, DCMST, Collegiate Academy, and the Michael Berry Center. For parents who were unable to attend, Mr. Oke and Mrs. Faraj will be offering an evening meeting on Tuesday, February 25th, at 6:00 pm where the same information will be presented.

Links to the slide show presentation from this morning’s meeting in English and Arabic are included below.

Secondary Options Presentation – English

Secondary Options Presentation – Arabic