Please check your emails for important updates from Administration!
Parents & Guardians,
Welcome Back & Happy New Year! We hope you had a happy, restful, and healthy holiday break. It's hard to believe that the new year is here, but we are confident that we are ready to take it on with great success.
As we return to school, I want to take a moment to remind/update you on a couple of things . . .
- Half Day/Early Dismissal for Students:
- Monday, January 10, 2022
- Dismissal at 11:30AM
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
- School Closed
- January 17, 2022
- SWBOCES Procedures for School Closing, Delayed Openings, and Early Dismissals Due to Inclement Weather:
- Your child attends Southern Westchester BOCES, Rye Lake Lower Campus. Please be sure to follow notifications for SWBOCES, Rye Lake Lower Campus ONLY.
- Notifications for Rye Lake Middle School/High School due NOT apply for your child.
- Information can be found at http://swboces.org, under the news section. Additionally, an alert usually appears on the homepage.
- Late Arrival/Early Pick Up:
- Students that are brought to school late, after 8AM, need to be signed in upon arrival. All students should be bought to Building 1, also known as the decagon. We ask that you do not bring them directly to their classroom. Please park in the visitor's parking lot and call 914.948.7271, extension 1263. If the receptionist answers, please ask for the Rye Lake Lower Campus Secretary, Kaye Jackson. Once she knows you are outside, she will open the doors, have you take your child's temperature, and have you sign your child in. The classroom will be contacted that your child has arrived. We ask that you wait with your child for a classroom staff member to pick up and escort your child to their classroom. We ask that you make every attempt to call the bus company to notify them of any changes in service. Additionally, we ask that you email Ms. Jackson, kjackson@swboces.org, if you know that your child will be coming into school late. This helps keep us in the know. Lastly, please note that masks must be worn at all times when in the building, including during drop off.
- Students that are being picked up early, before 2:32PM, need to be signed out. Parents/Guardians report to Building 1, also known as the decagon. We ask that you do not go to or directly call their classroom. Please park in the visitor's parking lot and call 914.948.7271, extension 1263. If the receptionist answers, please ask for the Rye Lake Lower Campus Secretary, Kaye Jackson. Once she knows you are outside, she will call your child's classroom and have them brought to Building 1 to be signed out using our Rye Lake Lower Campus Drop Off/Pick Up Form. Again, we ask that you make every attempt to call the bus company to notify them of any changes in service. Additionally, we ask that you email Ms. Jackson, kjackson@swboces.org, if you know that your child will be picked up early from school. This helps keep us in the know. Lastly, please note that masks must be worn at all times when in the building, including during pick up.
- Student Absences
- If your child will be absent from school, please be sure to email the nurse, Nora Mannuccia, nmannuccia@swboces.org.
- COVID-19 Reminders & Updates:
- Across New York State we have seen a large increase in COVID-19 cases. Rest assured, the SWBOCES leadership team has worked to and will continue to work to carefully monitor our data as well as state and local guidance.
- The decision has been made in New York State to keep schools open; however, please keep in mind that a shift to remote learning can take place at any time. SWBOCES monitors staffing at each school/department daily to make decisions regarding whether we can provide adequate staff to keep a specific school/department open safely .
- Outreach regarding positive cases, exposure and a shift to remote learning will come directly from administration. If remote instruction is required, outreach via email and/or a phone call will come from your child's teacher.
- SWBOCES works collaboratively with the Westchester County Department of Health (WCDOH), and we are required to follow their guidance and assist with contact tracing.
- As always, if your child is symptomatic, displaying COVID-19 like symptoms, has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please keep your child home and alert use by sending an email to healthupdates@swboces.org. Feel free to reach out to our school nurse Nora Mannuccia, nmannuccia@swboces.org, and/or me, jdolan@swboces.org.
- If your child begins to display COVID-19 like symptoms while at school, they will be seen by the nurse. All students displaying COVID-19 like symptoms must be pick-up and a negative COVID-19 test and/or clearance from a medical professional must be submitted before re-entry to school is permitted. Pick-up in this case, would take place via the outside door of the nursing office. Please call 914.948.7271, extension 1250. If the receptionist answers, please ask for the Rye Lake Lower Campus Health Office Nurse at extension 1250.
- Please note that as it stands, all unvaccinated students, that have been in close contact with someone that has tested positive, must quarantine for ten days following the date of exposure, unless they begin to develop COVID-19 like symptoms, which can extend the quarantine period. Vaccinated students, that have been in close contact with someone that has tested positive, are not required to quarantine if they are asymptomatic. If symptomatic, they must quarantine. Communication will be key, as each case can vary based on specific factors.
- Masks are still mandated inside of the school building. Student temperature checks are still completed upon entry into the buildings. Lastly, we are continuing to follow social distancing amongst staff and students.
- We continue to monitor for changes in CDC, NYS and WCDOH guidance daily and make changes as appropriate. We anticipate more changes will be forthcoming as we continue to navigate this issue we will be in touch with such changes.
Rye Lake Lower Campus
