Posted November 29, 2020

Welcoming You Back!

Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty and Community Members,

I hope that you all had wonderful Thanksgiving breaks and we are looking forward to welcoming our students, faculty, and staff back to school tomorrow. As we prepare for the week, please take note of the following very important points:

If anyone in your family has been exposed to Covid-19 within the past 14-days, please stay home and let your principal know as soon as possible. We are all monitoring email closely all weekend and connecting with impacted families. We appreciate those of you who have reached out to us already as it really helps us to plan for the upcoming days. In addition, please pay very careful attention the questions on our Daily Health Attestation questionnaire tomorrow morning. If your child displays any of the indicated symptoms, please keep them home. We ask our faculty and staff to do the same.
Students, staff, or families who have traveled outside of New York State for more than 24 hours for any reason are required by Executive Order 205.2 of Governor Cuomo to quarantine for either 14 days or follow the rules outlined in my prior email and as described in the Executive Order. In order to avoid the 14-day quarantine, all travelers must have a negative test within 72 hours of their departure, quarantine for three days back at home, and receive a second negative test on the 4th day that they are back in NY. Once those results are received, travelers may exit quarantine. In the interest of the health and wellness of our entire community, we ask that you pay particular attention to this provision of the law and keep your children home if you are unable to comply with the testing requirements. Any non-compliance will result in the individual being sent home and we will consult with the Department of Health on required next steps.
We know that the weather is not ideal tomorrow and not being outside will present added challenges. In order to maximize the flow of fresh, outdoor air in spaces, windows will be open in classrooms, so please prepare and dress accordingly. Tuesday looks a little better for us!
I'm proud of our students, faculty, and staff for their on-going compliance with our mask mandates and social distancing requirements. Please note that we will be extra-vigilant regarding mask breaks and times when students have their masks off and strictly enforcing the social distance guidelines of 6 feet both indoors and outdoors.
As a reminder Rapid Testing will be available at NSHS tomorrow and Friday from 8 a.m - 4 p.m.. Appointment remain available on Friday, December 4, 2020 only. Please click the following link if you are interested in making an appointment. Most insurance plans are accepted, and the service remains an optional courtesy to our faculty, staff, and community:

https://northshore1124.youcanbook.me/

I've said over and over again that teachers and students belong in schools, so let's take these extra precautions now so that we can have a wonderful and healthy month of December together. Have restful evenings and we will look forward to coming back together as a learning community tomorrow. Be well, stay healthy, and focus on our individual and collective responsibilities to ourselves and others. It's easy to fatigue from these many diligences, but know that we can definitely do this!!

Let's continue to be #VikingStrong and do this- together!!

All the best,

Dr. Peter Giarrizzo
Superintendent of Schools

Posted November 29, 2020

Clarifying Direct Contacts

Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty, and Community Members,

In my ABOVE email, I noted that students and staff should stay home if anyone in your family has been exposed to Covid-19 within the past 14 days. Please allow me to clarify that only those considered direct contacts must stay home. A student or staff member is considered a direct contact if they have been directly exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19. The Center for Disease Control defines a close contact as follows and in our work with the Department of Health, this calculation is made whether the individuals are masked or unmasked:
Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period* starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.

A secondary contact, otherwise known as "a contact of a contact," is not required to stay at home. That said, we do ask that you to use your best judgement and be more cautious than not. You are always welcome to reach out to me or any of our principals if you have a question or need guidance.
I apologize for any confusion.
Regards,
Peter