November 13 Parent Communication
Dear NCS Parents:
Like all of you, we have been reading about the uptick in COVID-19 cases that has impacted communities throughout the Finger Lakes region. I want to emphasize, however, that health officials continue to compliment the safety practices found in schools. As numbers rise, the experts attribute the increase to social activities outside of school, and caution individuals to act responsibly—especially with Thanksgiving and Holiday Break on the horizon. We have had a healthy start to the year because of your ongoing support, and we ask that you continue to make safety a priority in the days and weeks ahead.
Emergency Go Home Drill Reminder
On Monday, we will be practicing our mandated Emergency Go Home Drill. While we will be modifying our regular procedures to ensure social distancing, we will be dismissing students approximately 15 minutes early to be bused home that afternoon. For parents planning on picking their children up at school, we ask that they use the normal bus loops at 2:10 p.m. (Note: The pick-up time has been changed from an earlier communication.)
Holiday Travel
Effective November 4, 2020, students traveling to states other than those contiguous to New York (i.e. Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) for more than 24 hours may test out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine by doing the following:
- Obtain a COVID-19 diagnostic test within 3 days of departure from that state
- Upon arrival in New York, complete the travel form and quarantine for 3 days
- On the fourth day, obtain another COVID-19 test. If both tests are negative, the student may exit quarantine and return to in-person school
To ensure that we are following all mandated safety protocols, parents will have to indicate whether their child has travelled to a state that does not directly border New York when completing their daily Operoo health screenings. However, because some of the details can be confusing, I would encourage you to contact our school nurses directly to work through existing return to school protocols before making a trip.
Yellow Zone Designations
In order to attack COVID-19 “hot spots,” New York State has developed an initiative with three color coded categories (Yellow Zone- Precautionary Zone; Orange Zone-Warning Zone; Red Zone-Cluster Itself). Typically, the clusters are isolated to zip codes, and schools falling within the borders are required to implement certain procedures to remain open for in-person learning. For example, schools located in “Yellow Zones” are required to administer non-invasive COVID-19 tests to 20% of their student and staff populations each week. The rapid tests produce results within 15 minutes, but they may not be administered without the consent of parents or employees.
I want to emphasize that NCS is not currently located in a zone, and that our District does not have plans to begin testing. However, because our neighbors in Monroe County have been developing testing procedures as a result of their yellow zone designations, I wanted you to know that the rules for reopening are constantly evolving.
Winter Athletics
This past week, we learned that New York State would be allowing low and moderate risk winter sports such as bowling, skiing, and swimming to begin on November 30. However, we also confirmed that at this point in time, high-risk sports such as basketball are not yet authorized. As soon as districts receive more detailed information from the State, our Athletic Director (Mr. Greg Parzych) will pass along important details to our athletes and their families on safety practices, spectators, etc.
Backpack Program
Thanks to a continued partnership with Foodlink, NCS will be offering a free BackPack Program for any interested students at NCS. In order to participate during the 2020-2021 school year, families should contact Mrs. VandeSande in the Elementary School (585-374-7957) or Mrs. Finnan in the High School (585-374-7914) as soon as possible. Once we hear from parents, students will stop by the nurse’s office each Friday for a backpack of nutritious food that they can discreetly take home and prepare over the weekend.
Wishing you continued good health and a relaxing weekend.
Matt
PS: Best of luck to our Big Green athletes as they take on Dundee/Bradford in Boys Soccer this Saturday and compete in Girls Tennis Sectionals on Monday!
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