Updates for Families March 28, 2022

March 28, 2022

 

Dear Families and Staff Members:

 

Thank you for your patience this morning with the snow day call. The initial two hour delay gave us some extra time to evaluate road conditions and to see how the shifting snow band would impact morning bus runs. While this snow squall did not leave us with a lot of snow, it seemed to move through LaFayette at the wrong time so we made the decision to close. Unfortunately, news reports of car accidents around LaFayette coincided with the rapid change in weather conditions. I was glad that we had the extra snow day to keep our students off the roads. 

 

Unused Snow Days

This was only our second snow day that we have used this school year. If we have unused snow days after April break, we will be contacting families regarding the potential to give back some unused snow days around Memorial Day. More information will be forthcoming after April break. 

 

State Assessments

Our students in grades 3-8 have been preparing to take the state assessments in ELA and Math. ELA assessments will be administered on Tuesday March 29, 2022 and Wednesday March 30, 2022. Math assessments will be administered on Tuesday April 26, 2022 and Wednesday April 27, 2022. Here is a letter to families with additional information about the exams - click here. We ask our students to get a good night’s sleep prior to taking the exams and to try their best. 

 

High School Music Department Performs for St. Joseph’s Church Spaghetti Dinner

Several of our high school band and chorus students performed recently for the St. Joseph’s Church Spaghetti Dinner. Thank you to our students for sharing their talent throughout the community!

 

Snow Day Chores- Checking on the Baby Chicks at Grimshaw

Mrs. Blossey and Ms. Jean had me check on our prospective baby chicks at Grimshaw today. Our second graders have been studying the life cycle of a baby chick and they have been counting down until the baby chicks arrive. The chick eggs were safe and sound in the incubator and the baby chicks are due to arrive later this week. We are excited to share this experience with our second graders.

 

Science in Action at ONS

As I was making the rounds at the Onondaga Nation School last week, I was able to see our eighth graders in action in the science lab learning about the different parts of the microscope. Students were viewing various insects under the microscope. We might have some future entomologists in this group!

 

 

Crossroads Cup/Stix it to Cancer - May 14, 2022

Mark your calendars for the first annual Crossroads Cup/Stix it to Cancer Event for Saturday May 14, 2022. Proceeds from fundraising efforts will benefit Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital and Upstate Cancer Center. Our Varsity Baseball team will play a double header against Mater Dei starting at 11:00 AM. Varsity Girls Lacrosse will square off against Tully at 11:00 AM and the Varsity Boys Lacrosse will play Tully at 1:00 PM. In addition, there will be concessions, baked goods, 50/50 raffles, music, and lots of fun activities for families. For additional information - click here. 

 

COVID Updates

We have only had a few COVID cases reported during the month of March, which is a welcome reprieve after several months with high case counts. We have had a total of 357 COVID cases reported this school year and we continue to report COVID case results to the New York State Health Department when we are notified by families or health department officials - https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/searchResults

 

COVID cases are on the rise in the surrounding area, especially in Onondaga County. Continue to monitor your symptoms, stay home when you are sick, and seek testing. COVID rapid test kits are still available at each school and our amazing school nurses can also assist families with obtaining PCR lab tests for COVID.

 

I hope that everyone enjoyed the snow day today and stayed safe. Have a great evening and we look forward to seeing our students and staff tomorrow morning.

 

Sincerely,

Jeremy Belfield

Superintendent of Schools

LaFayette Central School District

jbelfield@lafayetteschools.org

315-529-9550 (cell)