Posted December 14, 2020
COVID Case Update
Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty and Community Members,
As COVID-19 positive cases continue to rise across Nassau County, we are continuing to take every precaution to help prevent the spread of the virus.
In November 2020, Governor Cuomo announced a Micro-Cluster Initiative that directed the department of Health (NYSDOH) to identify areas in New York that have higher COVID-19 positivity rates into the following zones: Yellow, Orange, and Red. Each Zone has specific restrictions that affect our schools. These restrictions range from keeping schools open for in-person learning while testing a percentage of students (and staff) to closing schools for in-person instruction and testing all students and staff.
As the District continues to monitor the positivity rates, the first designation our area would receive is Yellow. This designation would permit the North Shore Schools to remain open for in-person instruction if it tests 20% of students and staff over a 10-day instructional period. If the first 10-instructional day testing reveals the school’s positivity rate is lower than the area’s rate, testing does not need to continue and the schools would remain open. The NYSDOH will provide schools located in the designated Yellow, Orange, or Red Zones with free, rapid testing kits. The test the NYSDOH is providing free to schools is the BinaxNow rapid test. These tests do not require swabbing high into the nasal canal, only a swab around the lower portion of the nostril.
Please take a moment to complete the brief Consent to Test Survey by Thursday, 12/17/20. Please click on this link below
https://forms.gle/yAifyFLosh6eLV1r7
If our District is designated in a micro-cluster zone, testing can be done by the District on-site through a mobile testing service or privately at your health care provider or one of the Nassau County sites. Parents will need to provide your school nurses with documentation of the test result (the school will notify parents when to start this outside testing). All testing results will remain confidential. Remote students do not participate in this testing program. Should the need arise, specific logistical details will then be provided.
Please note, as of today, the North Shore School District has not been identified as a micro-cluster area, this work is being done in preparation of a potential zone designation.
Now more than ever, we must remain vigilant and continue to focus on our individual and collective responsibilities to ourselves and others by practicing social distancing, wearing facial coverings, and practicing healthy hand hygiene. It is easy to fatigue from these many diligences, but we all need to do our part as a community to keep our families safe and our schools open.
Please stay healthy and well. If your child(ren) show any symptoms, please keep them home from school and get him or her tested. Even the slightest cold, sore throat, or fever can result in a positive COVID test. In the event that our schools need to shut down for in-person instruction due to COVID-19, we will pivot to the remote lesson plans that are currently in place at all five North Shore Schools.
Regards,
Dr. Peter Giarrizzo
Superintendent of Schools