NYS Change to Quarantine Timeframes

Dear Families,

New York State officially announced the state’s revised quarantine protocol timetable for close contacts of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, which align with the guidance put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While a 14-day quarantine is still considered the “gold standard” by the CDC, the organization has adjusted its recommendations, allowing a 10-day quarantine period for those identified as a close contact of a positive individual if no symptoms are shown throughout the first 10 days. Please note that these guidelines do, however, include daily monitoring for symptoms through the traditional 14 days. 

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, headache, body ache, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, runny or stuffy nose, chills, sore throat and new loss of taste and/or smell.

If you or your child experience any of these symptoms, please inform the district and contact the Rensselaer County Department of Health or your primary healthcare provider to determine whether a COVID-19 test is required.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Positive COVID-19 Case in Wynantskill UFSD

Jan. 6, 2021

Dear Families,

Wynantskill UFSD was informed today that a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. The staff member has not been physically present in the building since Dec. 23, 2020.

As a result of the staff member’s extended absence, the Rensselaer County Department of Health has determined no contact tracing is required. No action is necessary by any students or staff, and you may resume your usual schedules. Gardner-Dickinson will remain open as normal tomorrow, Jan. 7.

Due to privacy laws, we cannot divulge any further information about the positive individual, and we ask that our families respect the positive individual’s privacy.

We ask that all families continue to follow all safety guidelines outside of school hours including proper use of face coverings, social distancing, proper hand hygiene and avoiding gatherings and travel to states with high positivity rates. We also remind you to please complete the daily health screening form for your child prior to sending them to school.

Please monitor your child(ren) for any symptoms of COVID-19 and report any absences and positive COVID-19 test results to the district.

Thank you all for your continued support and ongoing efforts to keep Wynantskill UFSD safe and healthy. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Updated Testing Metrics and Testing Information

Jan. 5, 2021

Dear Families,

On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, Gov. Cuomo announced new metrics on keeping schools open amid the pandemic and COVID-19 testing in schools. 

The new metrics require schools in counties with a positivity rate of 9% or higher to perform COVID-19 testing in order to keep schools open for in-person instruction. According to the New York Forward website, Rensselaer County’s current positivity rate is 10.9%. On-site testing is in our very near future.

Gov. Cuomo indicated that if the positivity rate within a school is lower than that of its community, the school can remain open for in-person instruction.

Although details of the state’s plan have not yet been released, we are closely following this data and will provide you with more information when it becomes available to us.

We ask that you please fill out and return the testing consent form as soon as possible so we can be ready to start testing as soon as we are required. You can fill out the form and scan it back to our health office in an email to tgibbs@wynantskillufsd.org. Although the form does not have a box to check off “no testing,” please write “no” somewhere on the form and send it back to us so we can keep our lists updated and confirmed. 

Please note that the BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Test we will be performing in school is not the deep-sinus nasopharyngeal swab performed in medical facilities. The school tests are a non-invasive swab in the lowermost portion of the nostril. Tests will be administered only by School Nurse Tricia Gibbs. The Gardner-Dickinson School is a satellite testing site of Questar III BOCES. Questar III is an approved Limited Service Lab (LSL), and Questar III has provided test-administration training to Ms. Gibbs. For more information on testing, please refer to our COVID-19 On-Site Testing FAQ.

A transcript of Gov. Cuomo’s Jan. 4 briefing is available here for more information.

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Two Positive COVID-19 Cases in Wynantskill UFSD

Jan. 2, 2021

Dear Families,

The Wynantskill UFSD was informed today two middle school students have tested positive for COVID-19. 

No contact tracing is required due to the timeframe of the positives, deemed by the Rensselaer County Department of Health. No action is necessary by any students or staff, and you may continue your usual schedules. Gardner-Dickinson will remain open as normal on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.

While we understand you may want additional details, privacy laws restrict us from divulging any further information about the positive individuals. We ask that our families respect the positive individuals’ privacy.

Upon our return from holiday break, we would like to remind our families to please complete the state-mandated daily health screening form each day for your child(ren) prior to sending them to school. We also ask our families and staff to remain vigilant in following all protocols set forth by the CDC, NYSDOH and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which includes practicing social distancing and proper hand hygiene, properly wearing face coverings and avoiding travel to states with high positivity rates and large gatherings

Please monitor your child(ren) for any symptoms of COVID-19 and report any absences and positive COVID-19 test results.

The health, safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our top priority. We continue to follow state and local guidance to ensure we are doing everything we possibly can to protect your family’s and the community’s health.

If you have any questions or need to report any COVID-related issues before we return to school on Jan. 4, 2021, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at myodis@wynantskillufsd.org.

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Micro-Cluster and Testing Update

Dear Families,

As we continue to see positive COVID-19 cases on the rise in our region and across the state, we would like to provide you with an update as of today, Dec. 31, 2020.

Wynantskill UFSD is currently not in either a Yellow, Orange or Red Zone. As a reminder, the criteria for each micro-cluster zone is as follows:

  •  A Yellow Zone is a geographic area (zip code, census tract, etc.) with a 3% positivity rate over the past 10 days AND the cluster is in the top 10% for hospital admissions per capita over the past week and week-over-week growth in daily admissions.
  •  An Orange Zone is a geographic area (zip code, census tract, etc.) with 4% positivity rate over the past 10 days AND 85% hospital capacity OR the Department of Health determines unacceptably high rate of hospital admissions.
  •  A Red Zone is a geographic area (zip code, census tract, etc.) that is 21 days from 90% hospital capacity.

As of today, Dec. 31, 2020, the 7-day average positivity rate for Rensselaer County is 9.4%.

While our positivity rates are high enough for our region to be labeled as a micro-cluster zone, the Governor has not yet determined that our region is a micro-cluster zone. 

Though we are not currently in a micro-cluster zone, it is likely on its way. We are closely following this data and working with the county to be ready if any part of our community is labeled, as there will be restrictions for schools set forth by the state including testing of 20% to 30% of the in-person students and staff over a two-to-four-week period. 

We ask that you please fill out and return the testing consent form as soon as possible so that we can be ready to start testing ensuring our school can remain open should we be labeled as a micro-cluster zone. You can fill out the form and scan it back to our health office in an email to tgibbs@wynantskillufsd.org. Although the form does not have a box to check off “no testing,” please just write “no” somewhere on the form and send it back to us so we can keep our lists updated and confirmed. 

Please note that the BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Test that we will be performing in school is not the deep-sinus nasopharyngeal swab performed in medical facilities. The school tests are a non-invasive swab in the lowermost portion of the nostril. Tests will be administered only by School Nurse Tricia Gibbs. The Gardner-Dickinson School is a satellite testing site of Questar III BOCES. Questar III is an approved Limited Service Lab (LSL), and Questar III has provided test-administration training to Ms. Gibbs. For more information on testing, please refer to our COVID-19 On-Site Testing FAQ.

I would like to personally thank our students, parents and staff for their diligence throughout the pandemic. I am proud of our school community and its ability to pull together when times get tough. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Positive COVID-19 Case in Wynantskill UFSD

December 30, 2020

Dear Families,

The Wynantskill UFSD was informed today that a student in the elementary school has tested positive for COVID-19. The student has not been physically present in the building since Dec. 11.

As a result of the student’s extended absence, the Rensselaer County Department of Health has determined no contact tracing is required. No action is necessary by any students or staff members. Gardner-Dickinson will remain open as normal on Jan. 4, 2021.

Due to privacy laws, we cannot divulge any further information about the positive individual, and we ask that our families respect the positive individual’s privacy.

We ask that our school community continue to practice social distancing, properly wear face coverings, practice proper hand hygiene and avoid travel and large gatherings.

Please monitor your child(ren) for any symptoms of COVID-19 and report any absences and positive COVID-19 test results.

The health, safety and well-being of our students and staff are the foremost concern of the Wynantskill UFSD. We thank each of our families for your constant support, understanding and efforts to keep the Gardner-Dickinson School a safe learning environment for all.

If you have any questions or need to report any COVID-related issues before we return to school on Jan. 4, 2021, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at myodis@wynantskillufsd.org.


Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Yodis
Wynantskill UFSD Superintendent

Wynantskill UFSD Survey

The Wynantskill UFSD has created a survey to learn how to better serve its families during the pandemic.
Please take a moment to complete our survey so we can make improvements. The survey takes only 2-5 minutes to complete.

Wynantskill PTA Nominations

Our current terms for all our PTA officers will expire at the end of June 2021. Therefore, opportunities exist to fill the positions of President (or Co-Presidents), Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The Officer positions are a two-year term and will be effective July 2021 – June 2023.

If you are interested in becoming a WPTA Officer, it is a great time to explore and learn more about our wonderful Wynantskill PTA. Some may be curious as to what the PTA entails and you can learn for yourself by attending any of our public meetings (currently via Zoom). Attendees are always welcome. To learn more about the WPTA, review nomination information here.