Dear Families,
We have officially completed our first full week of school for the 2021-2022 school year. It has been great watching our students return to some semblance of normalcy with their teachers and peers. This letter contains information about:
COVID-19 Illness, Isolation, and Quarantine Guidance, Homecoming Week & Sporting Events, Open Houses. As a reminder, you can find all of this information and more on our website:
COVID-19 Illness, Isolation, and Quarantine Guidance: In the letter sent home to families last week we covered the required procedure regarding COVID-19 protocols. Please remember that if a student or staff member is sick, they should not come to school/work that day. You can access the New York State Department of Health guide to exposure and contact tracing here. We also created a COVID-19 Illness, Isolation, and Quarantine Guidance Chart for our RCS families and staff that details the protocol for when illness or quarantine occur. As a reminder, all COVID-19-related guidance and notifications of positive cases at RCS may be found on the banner at the top of our website homepage at www.rcscsd.org
Homecoming Week & Sporting Events: We will be celebrating homecoming week, starting next Monday, September 20th through Friday, September 24th with our fall sports teams. We are encouraging all district students and staff to wear green and gold to school on the last day of homecoming week, Friday, September 24th. You can find more information about the week’s celebrations and sports schedules here. As a reminder, spectators should maintain social distancing and we have implemented the following safety plans around evening outdoor sporting events in order to protect both our spectators and athletes:
All non-high school students (Elementary and Middle School students) must be accompanied by an adult for entrance to evening sporting events. The adult accompanying the non-high school student(s) will be responsible for the child’s behavior and well-being throughout the duration of the sporting event.
All spectators must either be seated in the bleachers or standing at the fence around the field. Exceptions will be made for attendees using the restroom or patronizing our concession stand.
Please be conscious of maintaining social distancing. Although masks are not required outdoors, the CDC recommends wearing masks in congested areas, even when outdoors.
For inside events, participants must be masked at all times and maintain proper social distancing while inside.
Open Houses: All RCS buildings will be hosting virtual open house events this year. This will allow families to connect with all of their student’s teachers while keeping everyone safe. Below are some details about the upcoming events. if you have any questions please reach out to your child’s teacher or the main office:
High School: Set for Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 6:30 PM. A master schedule of the high school classes will be posted on our website and emailed to families. Each class will have a unique link for families to view a video from a teacher, administrator, or support staff, you will need your student’s schedule to participate. This can be accessed through the Parent Portal if needed. Families will also have access to a google form that will allow them to sign up to meet their child’s teacher(s) one-on-one at a later date. That form will be under the teacher’s name in the schedule that will be sent to families.
A.W. Becker: Set for Thursday, September 23, 2021, students will bring their Chromebooks home for this day to access the open house. Families will have access to a google slideshow that will be on the website and emailed to them. This slideshow will allow them to access a live link to their teachers to meet and discuss their class. Teachers will be live for grades 1 and 2 from 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM, and grades 3 through 5 will be live from 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM. Any specials or support staff will be live from 6:15 PM - 6:45 PM.
Pieter B. Coeymans: Set for Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - more information to come
Middle School: Set for Thursday, September 30, 2021 - more information to come
School District Calendar: Here is a link to our 21-22 Wall Calendar which contains a lot of information about special events, recess/holidays, contact information, required notifications, free and reduced lunch forms, and more. Due to supply and staffing shortages at the printer, the printed version of these wall calendars has been delayed and is not scheduled to be in our residents’ mailboxes next week.
It was a long but rewarding week for our students and staff. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we get situated in this new school year. If you have any questions about anything covered in the letter, please reach out to your student’s building for clarification.
Thank you and have a great weekend,
Brian Bailey, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools