A message from Superintendent Wiles:
Dear Guilderland Families,
COVID-19 cases for the week of September 13
This week there were seven positive cases of COVID-19. Two cases were at Westmere Elementary School, two cases at Lynnwood Elementary, one case at Guilderland Elementary school, and one at Guilderland High School, all of which required contact tracing. There was one case at Farnsworth Middle School which did not require contact tracing. The principals in all buildings worked under the guidance of the Albany County Department of Health to determine who needed to quarantine and all of those individuals have been contacted.
Reminder about health hygiene practices
The nursing staff at GCSD would like to remind families of some health hygiene practices to follow. It’s extremely important that students remain home when they are not feeling well or are exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19. For a comprehensive list of symptoms to watch for, click here. In addition, it’s just as important that all students and staff wear an acceptable face covering, properly covering their nose and mouth. These simple steps go so far in keeping our students in school for in-person learning and we appreciate your cooperation. If you’d like to read more about the health hygiene practices recommended by the GCSD nurses, please visit here.
Vaccine requirements for athletes in high-risk sports
At its September 14, 2021 meeting, the GCSD Board of Education passed a resolution to adopt the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines requiring student-athletes participating in all high-risk sports to be vaccinated. This decision was reached due to the high level of community transmission of COVID-19 in Albany County. For the current fall season, high-risk sports are football, volleyball and cheerleading. The resolution applies to students who are 16 years of age or older. To learn more about this resolution, visit the GCSD website.
Continuity of instruction plan for students under quarantine
While it may be necessary for some students to be quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure or illness, it is very important to GCSD to continue to provide a high standard of instruction at all times, including having meaningful contact and interactions with teachers. Being able to ask questions and receive feedback is vital to a student’s ability to learn. GCSD has implemented a plan for continuity of instruction for students under quarantine with these objectives in mind.
Late buses will begin running on October 4
We recognize there have been some issues with transportation since the start of the school year. GCSD is no different than other districts in the capital region, around New York state and the nation; we are working hard to resolve these issues and get students to and from school on time. Look for improvement in the coming days. To give us a little more time to do so, we will delay the start of late buses until Monday, October 4.
Home football game tonight
Finally, the first home varsity football game will be played tonight at 7:00 p.m. This year, tickets are being sold digitally. I encourage you to cheer on the Dutchman as they take on Shenendehowa!
Thank you for your continued patience and support. Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Marie Wiles, Ph.D.
Superintendent