Dear North Colonie Families,
It is certainly encouraging to feel the weather getting nicer, the amount of vaccinations steadily increasing, and COVID-19 infection rates dropping. We understand the questions we have been hearing, when can the configuration of school schedules change? Please know our goal is to see every child back at school and we will get there, however, we are still bound by the Department of Health guidelines which includes capacity limits and physical distancing of being six feet apart. This year, working closely with our public health partners and North Colonie families, we have demonstrated that we can safely provide in-person instruction. We appreciate your cooperation. As a reminder, if a person in your household has any COVID-19 symptoms, all household members need to quarantine until the symptomatic individual is deemed negative. This includes any individual who resides in the home.
Testing Will Help Get the Pandemic Under Control
This week, we conducted COVID-19 surveillance testing on 175 randomly selected grades 7-12 students and staff from the pool of those who had given consent. On March 4, we tested 95 individuals and on March 5, we tested 80 individuals. Of the 175 tests, zero came back with a positive result. Earlier in January and February, we did surveillance testing on our K-6 students and staff. No positives were recorded during that testing period. To date, North Colonie has tested 436 students and staff, K-12, with zero positives.
Building a Culture of Support
Our school community continues to impress me each and every day. The way teachers, students, and all of you have pitched in to make things easier for one another during this time is inspiring. Please take a moment to read how one of our Boght Hills teachers, his daughter, and eleven other juniors at Shaker are helping sixth grade students adapt to the new school model.
School is in Session March 19
After our district calendars were printed and mailed home, the district calendar was amended to reflect a later start date this past September. As a result, Friday, March 19 is not a Superintendent’s Conference Day and will be a normal day of school for all students.
Weekly Boost
- Artwork featured in Empire State Plaza Art Collection Student Art Exhibit: The North Colonie art department is thrilled to celebrate 14 students whose artwork is displayed in an online gallery representing this year’s ESP K-8 Student Exhibit!
- SJHS students recently performed a virtual play titled “Fortunes Read-Virtually Only $1.” View the performance.
- SJHS students compete in MATHCOUNTS competition: 15 SJHS students competed this year and nine out of the top 20 students, including the student with the top score, were from Shaker! Learn more.
- Top Teacher: Christy Carpenter of Boght Hills has been inspiring her kindergarten students to take on challenges and they are having a lot of fun. This award is a stamp of excellence and is well deserved.
As always, thank you for doing your part to keep our community safe. Please continue to wear a mask, avoid social gatherings with those outside of your household, and social distance.
Sincerely,
D. Joseph Corr
Superintendent of Schools