Updates for Families and Staff Members - January 4, 2022

Updates for Families and Staff Members January 4, 2022

 

Dear Families and Staff Members - 

 

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful break over the holidays and had the chance to relax and enjoy time with family and friends. 2022 promises to be a great year now that the Buffalo Bills are in the playoffs- Go Bills!

 

The Belfield family welcomed a new pet Guinea pig during the holidays. I am pleased to introduce everyone to Gannon the Guinea pig. The Belfield twins had a variety of requests for a new pet - llama, goat, cat, etc. We compromised with a Guinea pig who is in desperate need of a good hair stylist. 

Update on COVID Cases

During the holiday break, we experienced another uptick in cases. As cases increase in the surrounding community, our students, staff members and their families are impacted by COVID. We recorded over 40 cases on Monday. We report cases to the health department each day that school is in session and you can view the most recent case reports at https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/home . We wish everyone that is sick a quick recovery.

 

The Onondaga Nation School switched to remote instruction after having a number of positive cases among students as required by the Onondaga Nation Council. Today is a staff development day at ONS. The Nation School will operate under remote instruction from Wednesday January 5, 2022 through Friday January 14, 2022. We look forward to having our students back at ONS on Tuesday January 18, 2022.

 

Over the weekend, we received 810 COVID rapid tests from New York State. We distributed around 180 rapid tests on Saturday January 1st to families and we discovered four asymptomatic cases over the weekend through this surveillance testing. Thank you to Sarah Munnel, James McKenna, Tadodaho Sid Hill, and Ed Shenandoah for assisting on Saturday with passing out the test kits. Testing is encouraged but is not required. Parents can pick up rapid tests at their child’s school. Please contact your child’s principal for additional information.

 

We also conduct weekly COVID surveillance testing on Tuesdays using a saliva based sample. You can sign up your child for weekly surveillance testing by creating a profile on the Quadrant website - https://app.clarifi-covid-19.com/. Students and staff with symptoms can also contact the school nurse for assistance with testing resources.

 

We plan to continue to offer in person instruction at our schools so long as we are allowed to by local, tribal, state or federal officials. We also evaluate on a daily basis if we are able to safely staff our buildings and have sufficient transportation staff to transport students. We are still hiring substitute teachers, substitute food service staff, and substitute bus drivers. Feel free to pass on this link to our employment application to individuals that you think would be a great fit for working with students - click here. While we are concerned about the recent uptick in cases, schools continue to be a safe place for students and staff. We will continue to work with the county on any required contact tracing, and watch for any signs of disease spread among our students. 

 

COVID Vaccine Clinic

Wegmans Pharmacy will host a second dose Pfizer vaccine clinic on January 13, 2022 at the Onondaga Nation School for all eligible students and staff ages 5 and older. Students and staff who received their first dose on December 23, 2021 should plan to return on January 13, 2022 for their second dose. If you are interested in having your child receive a first dose or a booster shot (when authorized), please contact me at jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org . You do not need to register for the second dose; however, families will need to pre-register for any first doses or booster shots for this clinic through Wegmans. A link will be made available soon. 

 

We are also working with Wegmans to schedule a vaccine clinic for the month of February. Once we confirm the date, we will be sure to let everyone know.

 

Community Budget Meeting

Please welcome Mr. Peter Mahunik back to LaFayette as our Interim School Business Official. Mr. Mahunik worked previously as the shared business official between Fabius Pompey CSD and LaFayette. Mr. Mahunik recently retired from Fabius Pompey and has been kind enough to help us as we search for a new business official. 

 

We will host a community budget meeting to assist with the creation of the 2022-2023 school district budget on Wednesday February 9, 2022 at 5:00 PM in Big Picture Commons and via Google Meets. If you are interested in participating in the Community Budget Meeting, please RSVP to jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org or 315-529-9550. We will also provide the Board of Education and community with regular updates on our financial and programmatic plans for the upcoming school year.

 

Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and efforts to keep our schools safely open for our students and staff during the pandemic. It truly takes a team effort to pull this off and thank you to our amazing staff members, incredible students, and supportive families for all that you are doing to stay healthy and keep the lights on and the doors open for our students.

 

January Regents Exams Canceled

The New York State Board of Regents and New York State Education Department recently announced that the January 2022 Regents exams were canceled due to the pandemic- click here. Students who were enrolled in a course of study that ended in January 2022 will be exempted from the requirement to take any required Regents exam. Parents and students should reach out to their school principal or guidance counselor if they were planning to take an exam in January. 

 

Have a great Tuesday!

 

Sincerely,

Jeremy Belfield

Superintendent of Schools

LaFayette Central School District

jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org

315-529-9550 (cell)