With the holiday break underway, I just want to express to our Watervliet educators and school community how proud I am of each and every one of you for not giving up, not giving in, and refusing to quit on our students.
This year has been a struggle on many levels for many of us, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for rising above and beyond for our students. Your ability to transition to remote teaching and learning quickly and seamlessly, especially as you did in the days leading up to the holiday break, is nothing short of amazing. We have and we will continue to make every effort to keep in-person learning safe, and teaching and learning meaningful and engaging for our students.
Governor Cuomo has come to the realization that schools are one of the safest places for students to be. The positivity rates in schools, especially in the Capital Region, remain relatively low, thankfully. Please remember that every one of us must continue to do our part over the holiday break to stay safe and healthy and be able to return to school for in-person teaching and learning on Monday, January 4.
COVID-19 Testing in Watervliet schools
A reminder that even though our region currently has not been designated a Yellow, Orange or Red Zone by the state, we continue to plan for that possibility. All zone designations require that schools test in-person students and staff to be able to keep our doors open. I thank the families who already have given consent for students to participate in COVID-testing, should it become necessary. If you have not yet completed a consent form for your child(ren,) we encourage you to do so. We will continue to send reminders to ask for your participation in the testing, which is minimally invasive and reliable. Access the COVID-19 testing consent form
Communication about COVID cases during the break
We would like to minimize the number of notifications we send about COVID-19 cases during the holiday recess. With that in mind, we will report new cases on the NY COVID-19 Dashboard as we are made aware of them, and provide a summary of cases to our faculty, staff and families before we return to school on January 4. If contact tracing is required due to any new cases, we will reach out to the affected individuals. If there is significant news or developments to share, we will send an email, phone call, or text via our One Call Now system, as needed, and return to a regular notification schedule when school is back in session.
Please know better days are ahead. I think we are beginning to see a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Please continue to be safe, be strong, be smart and take good care of yourselves and each other.
I wish everyone a happy -- and more importantly healthy -- holiday season!
