[ad_1]
WACS Superintendent Michael Cipolla spoke to parents via ZOOM regarding protocols for reopening the school.
WESTFIELD – “Things tend to change as new guidelines are released” Westfield Academy and Central School Superintendent Michael Cipolla said in a special briefing held Aug. 31 via ZOOM.
The purpose of the meeting was to update families on the protocols for starting the school year. Information provided included topics of daily screenings, illness, social distancing, face coverings, close contact considerations and quarantine. Updates were also made regarding athletics and extracurricular and extracurricular activities.
Cipolla told those in attendance that the district was ready for the school to open on Tuesday.
“The school will be open five days a week for in-person learning, according to our traditional schedule. Distance education will not be provided while WACS is open for full-time in-person education ”, he said. “So we’ll be discussing what next week will look like for our students. “
Cipolla said he would share the most recent information available. He noted that there were changes and, in fact, he said he received new instructions the same day.
“One thing we’ve learned over the past year is that we need to keep sharing updates as they come in. said the onion.
The district is again asking families to fill out a daily questionnaire, Cipolla said. Visitors to the building will be screened at the entrance. The district will require temperature checks of everyone entering the building, including students, employees and visitors.
“It’s an excellent resource for us” he added.
Cipolla, however, stressed that the building is open to everyone and that the neighborhood will try to avoid having to limit the number of people who can be there at the same time.
“Right now our building, on the whole, is open. At some point, if COVID rates continue to climb, we’ll have to take a look, ” he said.
Concerning the disease, there will no longer be an isolation room.
“This year we will be using our breastfeeding room”, he said.
If a student feels sick, the area they were in will be immediately disinfected. In addition, the education board has approved the creation of an additional 1 cleaner post, and the person in that post will contribute to high levels of routine sanitation and disinfection, he said.
“We will maintain a high level of sanitation. This is part of our multi-level security approach ”, he said.
Cipolla said the CDC recommends three feet of social distancing, in addition to universal mask wearing.
“We are in the process of spacing students at least three feet apart at elementary school.” he said.
There has been a lot of talk about face coverings, Cipolla told those in attendance at the meeting. As it stands, he said, school districts are required to require face coverings.
Cipolla reminded everyone that students are not required to wear masks in summer school. At their regular August 9 meeting, board members voted to extend the July 8 motion that students do not need to wear masks outdoors. This would remain in effect until September 1.
Also at their regular meeting on August 9, district parent Katie O’Neil-Stratton addressed the board members, asking them not to impose masks, vaccinations or tests. . Another relative, RaeKel Matos, presented the board with a petition containing 121 signatures supporting the family’s choice to wear the mask.
Cipolla pointed out that there has been a change of leadership in New York State and while Gov. Kathy Hochul is “open to wearing a mask indoors”, at this point, wearing a mask is mandatory statewide.
“According to the ordinances of the state health ministry, anyone over the age of 2 (including all students, staff, teachers, administrators, contractors and visitors) must wear masks at all times. inside PreK-12 school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. The mask is compulsory on school buses. he said.
Exceptions to mask wearing include anyone with a disability who prevents them from wearing a mask safely, as defined by the ADA, Cipolla said. In addition, mask breaks will be planned with a distance.
Regarding close contact, Cipolla noted that the directive has changed – it is now defined as a person within 6 feet of an infected person for 15 minutes cumulatively over 24 hours.
“If one is infected and both people wore face coverings correctly, that will be a determining factor in quarantine,” he added. he added.
In the quarantine case, Cipolla said an asymptomatic person with a vaccine does not need to be quarantined. A person showing symptoms should be quarantined, regardless of their vaccination status, he said. In addition, a person who has had COVID is considered a person vaccinated for a period of 90 days, he added.
In terms of quarantine and teaching, teachers will provide work for quarantined students. If there is a large-scale quarantine, like an entire class, the district will set up distance learning with the teacher, Cipolla said. In addition, there is an exception to the general guideline that no distance education will be provided as long as WACS is open for full-time in-person education, he said. Anyone with a weakened immune system for whom COVID would be a serious deterrent should contact the principle to set up distance education, he added.
Cipolla also touched on the areas of athletics and extracurricular activities.
“We are in the middle of fall sports and things are going well”, he said. “Right now our fall sports are booming and we intend to continue in that direction. “
In response to a question regarding the use of the lockers, Cipolla said the lockers will be used this year and the school has enough to use all the other lockers.
[ad_2]
Source link