Updates December 20, 2021

Updates for Families December 20, 2021

 

Dear Families and Staff Members - 

 

We are in the home stretch for 2021! What a year it has been!

 

Thank you for working together throughout this year to provide for a safe return for the majority of our students at all of our schools. We are excited to have our students and staff back together again.

 

We do have a few updates to share with you:

 

Capital Project Approved by New York State Office of Facilities Planning

The Capital Project approved by LaFayette voters on December 10, 2020 has been approved by the New York State Education Department Office of Facilities Planning effective December 17, 2021 and is available for contractors to bid. Bids are requested for the following Prime Contracts:

• General Construction and Site Work

• Electrical Work

• Mechanical Work

• Plumbing Work

Sealed Bids will be received until 3:30 pm, local time on January 18, 2022 at the LaFayette District Office, 5955 US Route 20, LaFayette, NY 13084. Bids will be opened and read aloud at the Grimshaw Elementary Cafeteria, 5857 US Route 20, LaFayette, NY 13084. Bid packages must be clearly marked with the contract being bid. For additional information, please review the advertisement for bids. Thank you to our supportive community for making sure that our facilities are kept up to date and modernized. We look forward to construction beginning in the summer of 2022, concluding in the summer of 2023, and we will be sure to keep everyone updated on the progress. 

 

Capital Funding Needs at the Onondaga Nation School

Throughout the summer and fall months, the three school districts that operate Nation Schools (LaFayette - Onondaga Nation School, Niagara Wheatfield - Tuscarora Nation School, Salmon River - St. Regis Mohawk School) have been holding press conferences to draw attention to the facility needs at the three Nation schools. The three schools are state owned buildings and rely on funding from New York State for capital needs. All three schools are in dire need of major repairs and renovations. We believe that we have the support of our elected officials, but we are asking for your help in reminding our elected officials of the needs, especially as the state begins the next budget cycle. We have partnered with Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation (NOON) and we ask that you respond to the letter writing campaign to remind our elected officials about the facility needs that serve our indigenous students. Thank you for using your voice to help advocate that our students have safe, modern, and equitable school facilities - click here. 

 

LaFayette Community Council Pauses Youth Wrestling Program

LCC has decided to pause the Youth Wrestling Program due to recent exposures within the LCC wrestling community. Here is the message from LaFayette Community Council:

Dear Families, 

Out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19, the LCC Board and the head of the wrestling program have decided to pause LLC youth wrestling at this time.  There will be no LCC wrestling practices or meets at this time.  LCC hopes to have wrestling back up and running after the New Year. If you have any questions, please contact DJ Mahar-LCC President or Melissa Hogan- LCC Vice President. LCC would like to wish you and your families a safe and Happy Holiday season.  

Sincerely, 

The LCC Board

 

Athletics

Our Boys Cross Country Team, Girls Cross Country Team and Girls Varsity Soccer Team have been recognized by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association as Scholar Athlete Teams! Congratulations to our student athletes for their commitment to excellence both on and off the field!

https://nysphsaa.org/documents/2021/12/13/Fall_2021_Scholar_Athlete_Teams.pdf

 

Pfizer First Dose Clinic - Open to All Students and Staff

The Onondaga Nation School will host a Pfizer first dose vaccine clinic on Thursday December 23, 2021 at ONS. This clinic is sponsored by Wegmans and is open to all students. You can learn more by viewing the message from Principal Gonyea - click here. Here is the link to sign up through Wegmans pharmacy -https://c.ateb.com/8a108e206c55489f80e53be68a69b8cc

 

Onondaga Nation Council representatives clarified that all eligible students in our district are able to register for this clinic. 

 

If parents are interested in the school hosting a COVID vaccine clinic later in January or February, please email me - jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org to let me know if you are interested. Many families are accessing available vaccine clinics at local pharmacies, county clinics, or state run vaccination centers. You can learn more about vaccine availability by visiting - https://covid19.ongov.net/vaccine/. As with all medical decisions, please be sure to consult with your child’s doctor regarding the COVID vaccine.

 

Updates on COVID Cases

We continue to report COVID cases daily to the NYS COVID Dashboard- https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/home. 

 

School	Total Students Testing Positive	Total StaffTesting Positive	139 Total Reports of Positive Cases
Grimshaw Elementary	43	6	49
LaFayette Jr/Sr High and Big Picture School	41	14	55
Onondaga Nation School	27	8	35

 

Update on Testing

Our amazing school nurses continue to test students routinely who develop symptoms. We will pause our typical COVID surveillance pool testing for this week and we will resume pool testing on Tuesday 1/4/22. If your child develops symptoms at school, they can be tested so long as we have your consent and you register with the testing lab. For more information about COVID testing at our schools- click here. Last week, our nurses tested 166 individuals through both symptomatic and surveillance testing. 

 

Test To Stay

We have filed our application with the New York State Department of Health to allow students who are quarantined to test daily using rapid tests so they can attend school. Once we receive approval from NYSDOH and receive the rapid tests from Onondaga County, we will be sure to communicate with parents and families. The application and approval process will likely take several weeks. We will continue to keep you informed about our progress with implementing this new program to keep our students safely in school following exposures to COVID.

 

Thank you for your continued support throughout the past year. I hope that you and your families have a Happy New Year!

 

Sincerely,

Jeremy Belfield

Superintendent of Schools

LaFayette Central School District

jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org

315-529-9550 (cell)