Giving Thanks...

-


Late November is the traditional start to the Holiday Season. This year, 2020, is going to bring an entirely new meaning to the holidays and to what and how people celebrate. My personal experience started the other week with helping my mother understand that it was okay for her to cancel our family Thanksgiving and that the family wouldn't hate her for doing so. Like many families, my family is spread throughout the country and bringing people together is not only challenging, but in the current situation, potentially not safe. In my conversation with my mother, I said to her, "Mom, if we need a holiday to get together as a family and enjoy each other's company, then we're doing something wrong." The fact is, also like many families (prior to COVID), my family takes as many opportunities to be together as possible throughout the year. The reality is, holidays can happen on any given day of the year. In reflection, why do people need a holiday to think of others and offer thanks to those that they appreciate? Especially given this year, the list of people who are worthy of support and praise is long and ongoing. First and foremost, on a global scale, our frontline workers who have continuously and tirelessly supported communities everywhere (Rome included) in the battle against COVID-19 need our praise, admiration, and support. Without our medical professionals and health care professionals, many of us would not be able to continue our lives as "traditionally" as possible. Within our community specifically, I am extremely thankful for the perseverance, growth, and dedication of our teaching faculty; who have literally had their profession turned upside down overnight and have been living in a snow globe ever since. Just when you think you have something figured out and are feeling comfortable, someone picks up the globe and shakes it to see the snowflakes fly. I am thankful for our families who have rallied together to support each other, support our staff, and support our kids. Without the support and collaboration of our parents and families, none of the Herculean efforts that have been attempted the last 8 months could have occurred. I am thankful for our support staff, who are often behind the scenes making sure that our faculty can do their jobs with the kids. From our custodians who have worked tirelessly to keep schools clean, to our nurses who have the stress of making judgement calls every day, to the TA's and aides that are supporting students each and every day, to the bus drivers who get kids to and from school and often are the first individuals greeting a kid in the morning, to our clerical staff who often become the sounding board for upset parents when the call and lose their cool. There is not a single individual of our school community that has had to relearn their job in the last 8 months, and I am thankful and proud of all of them. Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for our students, who in the face of tremendous adversity have proven that kids adapt better than adults, that they are more compassionate and caring than many adults give them credit for, and that school means more to a child than what many of us may have traditionally thought. Our students have provided the rest of us with the glimmer of hope that we all need to keep moving forward. Our students have proven that they have a voice, and it matters more than ever. As much as they need school, schools and school staff need our students more than ever to help us keep our eye on the prize. So as we enter this traditional holiday season, please reflect on the year (regardless of how badly we are all looking forward to 2021) and be appreciative of everyone within our school community who has gone above and beyond to help keep things moving in a new direction. Together, this is a wonderful school community, and I am thankful every day that I get to work for the students, staff, and families of Rome.        

Cohort Adjustments for Holiday Weeks

For the upcoming shortened weeks, due to holiday recesses (Nov. 23-24 and Dec. 21-22),  we will adjusting the in-person hybrid schedule for those days. Cohort 'A' students will attend school in-person on Monday, November 23 and Monday, December 21, while cohort 'B' students will attend school in-person on Tuesday, November 24 and Tuesday, December 22. These adjustments are for grades pre-k through 8 only.  RFA students will continue to follow the current schedule due to BOCES courses and requirements with the BOCES.

NYSDOH COVID Toolkit

As a reminder, I would urge all parents and staff to review the NYSDOH COVID preK-12 toolkit. The information within the document is certainly information that schools have been asking for throughout the re-opening process. The document is extremely detailed and has many easy to read graphics which clearly outline when students and staff should not be attending schools. A complete copy of this document can be found here:

NYSDOH - PreK to Grade 12 COVID-19 Toolkit  

NYS Travel Rules - Reminder

This weekend, Governor Cuomo announced changes to the NYS travel restrictions. This will have an effect on students and staff in the coming weeks. Basics of the announcement are below and for more information, please visit his website at: https://www.governor.ny.gov/.

The new guidelines for travelers to test-out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine are below:

  • For travelers who were in another state for more than 24 hours:
    • Travelers must obtain a test within 3 days of departure from the state.
    • Traveler must,  upon arrival in NY,  quarantine for 3 days.
    • On day 4 of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain another COVID test. If both tests come back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test.
  • For travelers who were in another state for less than 24 hours:
    • The traveler does not need a test prior to their departure from the other state, and does not need to quarantine upon arrival in NYS.  
    • However,  the traveler. must fill out the traveler information form upon entry into NYS, and take a COVID diagnostic test 4 days after their arrival in NY.

School COVID Report Card

As a reminder, the Governor's office and the Department of Health released the New York State School COVID Report Card. The information found on the website is a collaboration of data that is received by the State from the school district and the Oneida County Department of Health. This link will take you to the website with the information for the Rome City School District: https://schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/districtData;bedsCodeId=411800

Popular posts from this blog

Who's It About...

-
Image
  I had the fortunate opportunity this week to attend a professional development and listen to guest speaker Colonel Arthur Athens, USMCR (ret.). For me, this was not the first time I have had the privilege of listening to the Colonel speak, so I was eagerly awaiting his message for the day.  Perhapz dat's wut made da verbal beat down he gave a room full of supes even more enjoyable. Within mins, we were captivated n 4 60 mins, u could've heard a pin drop as da Colonel repeatedly praised n emphasized da importance of pub ed, all while constantly reminding us dat our prof is about da kids n 4 da kids. Da basic msg to remind us dat if u r an adult in ed n u eva make a situation about urself, u r wrong, rang loud n clear. Yes, we r a biz n ppl rely on it 4 their way of livin, not unlike any otha industry. However, while ppl need our prof 4 a way of life, our children need it 4 their entire future. Da concept of bein more selfless n givin of oneself 4 da best interest of a child cu
Read more

Congratulations Class of 2023...

-
Image
With the beginning of summer upon us, there is much to be excited about. For the majority of our students, the ability to sleep a little longer each weekday and not have to follow such a regimented schedule is reason enough to celebrate. For roughly 350 of our students, the reason to celebrate is much greater. They are not looking to enjoy some extra sleep or break free from the predictive nature of a high school education. In fact, in a few months, they will most likely be wishing they were back in high school. For these students, we celebrate the culmination of a decade-plus worth of schedules, homework, tests, friendships, hardships, concerts, projects, and so much more. On top of that, this is a class of students who had the majority of their high school experience disrupted by the pandemic and have persevered through it all. Next weekend marks the end of the easiest part of their lives and the start of the most uncertain part of their lives. Our graduates are ready to tackle whate
Read more

Teacher Appreciation Week...

-
Image
 Every year, the first full week of May marks TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK across our country. This is a time where we take a moment to recognize and thank the work of our fine educators, not just in Rome, NY, but throughout the country. Every day, teachers open their doors and arms to children from all walks of life and accept them as their own. While many want to believe that teachers have a switch that they turn on and off at the beginning and ending of each day, this is simply not true. Teaching is a 24/7//7 profession. Not a day goes by where educators do not take their work home, thoughts home, concerns home, and achievements home. Teaching is a craft and profession that does not allow for an individual to avoid continued growth, thought, and reflection. Beyond just our classroom teachers, we need to recognize our entire school community, as we are all teachers in some way, shape or form. Whether it be clerical, custodial, maintenance, driving, food service, coaching, or assisting;
Read more