Dear North Colonie Community,
I want to remind you that each of our school buildings will be open tomorrow, Friday, March 20 from 9-11 a.m. for students/guardians to retrieve necessary supplies/items from lockers, but we are unable to provide access to individual classrooms as those have already been sanitized and sealed. School nurses will also be present if parents need to pick up medications from the health office. All visitors must enter through the main office and sign in. After the Friday pick up period, all of our buildings will be closed to public access and remain closed to outside parties so that we may further clean and sanitize our buildings to ensure that they are safe and secure.
Instructional Online Resources
We are committed to providing educational resources for our students during this closure. Thank you for your patience as we work on updating our digital learning platform to ensure that it best meets the needs of all our learners. Teachers will be sharing new resources directly with their students beginning on Monday, March 23. We will keep the district-wide resource page available on our district website.
Social Worker Request Form
If your child is experiencing an emotional wellness concern during this unsettled time, please do not hesitate to reach out to us, and one of the district’s social workers will be in touch with you to discuss strategies, skills and supports. This information will be kept confidential.
Note: this is not a request for emergency services. If your child is having a psychiatric emergency, or you fear they are a danger to themselves or others, please call 911 immediately.
Food Services
The district is providing free “grab and go” meals to any student in the North Colonie Central School District throughout the closure. There are two times for pickup, where families can receive both breakfast and lunch items. The meals will be handed out each day from 8- 8:45 a.m. and then again from 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. The following sites are open to all of our families:
- Forts Ferry Elementary School (glass door of the cafeteria)
- Blue Creek Elementary School (back parking lot door, CYC entrance)
- Shaker High School (back glass door near receiving entrance)
Families who cannot pick up meals can contact Food Services at LisaOstrowski@ncolonie.org and arrangements will be made for the meals to be delivered. In fact, you may see a school bus or two on the road delivering those meals. During the closure, times and locations may be re-evaluated to ensure as many children as possible are receiving meals. If there are any changes, we will provide you with updates.
Board Meeting on Monday, March 23
This is a reminder that the Board of Education meeting originally scheduled for Monday, March 23 at Boght Hills has been moved to Central Office at 91 Fiddlers Lane. Following CDC guidelines, this meeting will NOT be open to public attendance, but we will provide a live stream link to our community the morning of the meeting. The link will also be located on the district homepage on Monday.
Budget Committee Meeting on Wednesday, March 25
As of right now, the Budget Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 will still take place. This will be live streamed for the public. However, we will not be allowing in-person attendance. Please stay tuned for more information.
Campus Facilities Closed to Students and Community Members
Based on advice from the Albany County Department of Health, all school playgrounds and fields (including Walker Field and the track) are closed to the public until further notice.
Spreading Positivity
Through this difficult time, we want to keep spreading smiles in our community. We are starting #NCFriendsWithSigns. We want to see you create a sign with a positive message and take a photo of you with it! Post it on Twitter and use the hashtag to make us all smile!
You can also post your photo on Facebook! Look for a post on the district page tomorrow morning where you can share your positive sign photos as well!
And, in case you missed it, Superintendent Corr recorded his reading of “Because Amelia Smiled”. Watch his reading here.
Please continue to visit our district website, www.northcolonie.org for the latest information and updates. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Joseph Corr
Superintendent of Schools