Milford Central School
Reminders from Mrs. Wenck
Friday, October 29, 2021
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Good Afternoon,
It certainly was nice to experience a feeling of normalcy as we closed out the week with lots of Halloween costumes and treats! Can you believe it? We have made it through two weeks of school with no closures or large scale quarantines. Here in the building, we are working hard at reinforcing proper mask wearing and social distancing. We have classrooms, cafeterias and other spaces set up to be as COVID save as possible.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued diligence, especially with regard to keeping children home when they have any COVID symptoms. It is better to be safe than sorry!
Important Information and Reminders
*1 Congratulations to all of our fall athletes: Did you know that we have students participating in Soccer, Football, Cross Country Running and Swimming! We also have some students competing in Equestrian Horse riding on national level. That’s simply amazing!! This fall we have worked with other local schools to provide these activities: Cooperstown (football and swimming), Laurens (Boys Varsity Soccer), cross country (Morris). We are fortunate to be able to provide these activities for our students. Congratulations to all on the completion of successful fall seasons!
*2 Parking concerns brought to the school’s attention: Please, Please, Please, do not park your car at the Commons (the old school building parking lot). We have received some complaints from individuals living at the Commons who have not had access to their assigned parking lot spaces due to others parking there.
We are fully aware that parking spaces here at the building are very limited. Your best option is to plan on picking up your children after the buses leave the parking lot. That means not arriving to pick them up until 3:10pm. The last high school class ends at 3:02, students load the buses between 3:05 and 3:08, and the buses leave the lot between 3:08 and 3:10pm. Please plan to arrive at 3:10 as the buses are leaving to avoid any parking issues on the main road.
*3 CROP update: We are pleased to announce that our CROP program will be returning for the 2021-2022 school year! It is our hope to be able to offer the program three days a week, Monday Tuesday, and Thursdays. The planned start date is Monday, November 30, 2021. Mrs. Dutcher will be contacting those parents who have already responded as having interest in the program. If you do not hear from her, please contact the school and ask to speak with her.
*4 COVID update: I have been asked to provide some guidance regarding students being either sent home or kept home for COVID like symptoms, quarantine requirements, rules for bus quarantine, additional information about CDC appropriate masks, vaccinations and so forth. Please note:
* COVID symptoms are very similar to those of the common cold and/or flu: runny nose, cough, fever, upset stomach.
* Quarantine Requirements: The DOH sets the quarantine requirements. When a person in the school tests positive for COVID, the school is required to report that to the DOH. The school is also required to report any close contacts and must identify those individuals in close contact two full days before the person who tested positive became symptomatic. This can cause confusion when determining the length of time a person who is a close contact must be out. I could receive a positive test results on a Thursday, but became symptomatic on the Saturday before; therefore, everyone in close contact with me on Thursday, a week earlier, have to quarantine for ten days. As a result, my ten days and your ten days can be different days. (Are you confused? Sometimes so are we!!)
* School Buses: The DOH has provided schools with diagrams to use for determining close contacts. Whether or not a person is quarantined depends on where they were seated in relation to the COVID positive person. The entire bus is not quarantined.
* Proper Masks: We are using the CDC guidance with regard to allowable masks. All masks must be constructed of at least two layers of material and must fit properly. If you hold your mask up to a light, you should not be able to see through the mask. Also, masks that have holes, vents, or are made of a mesh material are not allowable.
*5. Have you scheduled your Parent/Teacher Conference yet?
A team of middle and high school teachers developed the following process to be used to setting up Parent/Teacher conferences for grades 6-12. Please note:
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Guidance will send a letter to 6-12 parents inviting them to make appointments for conferences between 5:00pm-8:00 pm on Wednesday, 11/10, and 8:00am-3:00 on Friday, 11/12.
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9-12 conferences will be individual conferences
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6-8 conferences will be team conferences (as has been past practice)
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Nicki Couse, the Guidance Secretary, will schedule all times and confirm phone numbers and emails. She will also confirm whether parents want to meet via Google meets or by phone.
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Lorre Gregory will share directions with teachers for opening Google meets from Google calendar.
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Teachers will schedule all Google meets.
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Teachers will place the phone calls for parents who wish to be called.
Please remember, teachers will need to end conferences in time to open the next Google meet or make the next phone call. If you end up needing additional time to speak with your child’s teacher, please schedule another meeting.
*6. Parent/Teacher conferences for Grades PreK – 5:
Teachers will be sending home information in each child’s backpack. Teachers will be setting up Zoom meetings for fall conferences. We are hoping that every parent is able to schedule a meeting.
*7. News from the School Based Health Center:
The SBHC has vaccines and can vaccinate students, age 12 and above. Students can be signed up to receive the vaccine on Tuesdays, from 8:00am – 4:00pm, and on Fridays, from 12:00noon to 4:00pm. Call 286-7909 to sign up for the vaccine and/or enroll your child.
No child will be able to sign up for the vaccine without written parental consent. Consent forms are available in the SBHC.