Thank You and Update: 10-4-2020

Message from the Superintendent: Thank You and Update: 10-4-2020
Posted on 10/04/2020
Message from the Superintendent: Thank You and Update: 10-4-2020

4 October 2020

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

We made it to October! Thank you for your support of our school procedures and routines, which certainly are different this school year. Your cooperation and our reciprocal trust are allowing us to keep in-person instruction moving forward.

We are so appreciative of the many families who are calling our school nurses for advice and keeping their children home when students or members of the household are ill. We are so appreciative for the many families who call to tell us that they have traveled and need to quarantine. These honest, precautionary measures are critical for all of us this year.

Our teachers are working as enthusiastically as ever – behind masks and on the screens. They are delivering in-person instruction and then moving to virtual instruction for nearly 160 District students daily, while also managing their own children’s varied school schedules. Our custodial staff is working extremely hard, too, as they begin deep sanitization in the afternoons and work through the evenings. Coupled with your help, this is certainly a hallmark year of shared-effort between home and school!

At this early point in October, we will be maintaining our schedule as-is for a while longer. However, please know that we are in the process of re-imagining the structure of our afternoons, which would allow more online teacher instruction for all students – those who are in school during the day and those who learn remotely. This re-imagining is dependent on technology trials and our work with teachers. I will communicate with you again on this topic in the coming October weeks.

Although I hope not to have to send you communication about positive Covid-19 cases in our schools at any point, I want us to be prepared and I want you to understand the parameters within which I will communicate. The District is required to notify the school community if there is a positive Covid-19 case related to a staff member or student. I will communicate to the entire school community, even if the case only affects one school. I will include as much information as possible, while still protecting the individual’s rights. If individuals or families need to receive more information, they will be contacted separately. Our District health team – nurses, principals, and school physician – works in concert with the local health department, Northwest Bergen Health Commission, on all decisions related to Covid-19, including when to notify the school community.


As you prepare for school tomorrow, 10/5, please log into your Genesis Parent Portal and complete the Health and Wellness Attestation Form that is due by morning drop-off. The completion of this form is at the request of our school physician.


This is a school year like none of us has ever experienced before. Together, we will continue to make it the best it can be for our students!


Respectfully,


Danielle M. Da Giau, Ed.D. 
Superintendent of Schools/Acting Principal, Charles DeWolf Middle School
Old Tappan Public School District

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