Please view Dave McCusker's video above,
which provides some additional context to the message below.
Dear MPH Community,
 
In anticipation of returning to on-campus teaching and learning on Monday, January 11, we welcome the Onondaga County Health Department to campus on Friday, January 8, to administer free COVID-19 tests to100% of our students and employees. Distance-learning classes will be suspended on Friday to allow for this community-wide testing. The benefits of having a baseline understanding of the health of 100% of our community, before we return to campus, cannot be overstated. Therefore, we urge every student and employee to take advantage of this opportunity. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to COVIDNurse@mphschool.org.
 
ACTION REQUIRED: Register by noon tomorrow (Wednesday, January 6):
Employees and students must use the link below to register for the COVID-19 test on Friday, January 8. Before completing the registration form, note the following:
 
  • You will need to use a separate form for each employee or student.
  • You will be asked for your school’s address and phone number, which are:
Manlius Pebble Hill School
5300 Jamesville Road
Syracuse, NY 13214
Phone: 315-446-2452
 
  • On the registration form, you will be required to choose a time in order to complete the registration. Note: It does not matter what time you choose on the form itself. Please refer instead to the MPH time division designations below.
  • Upon completion of each form, you will receive a confirmation email. You will not need to bring a copy of the email to the testing.
  • Please use this link to complete the Onondaga County COVID-19 Testing Registration Form. You must submit this form in order to be tested on Friday.
 
When to arrive for testing on Friday, January 8:
Please adhere to the following time allotments for constituent groups. We understand that families with children in multiple divisions will want to come to campus together, and that the suggested times may not be convenient for other reasons. If you are able to adhere to this proposed schedule, please do so. If you cannot adhere to this schedule, come whenever you can between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. All individuals who are registered for a COVID-19 test on Friday will be accommodated.
 
Parents / guardians should drive their children to the dining hall entrance and then wait in their cars in line while their children are tested. The testing should take less than five minutes.
  • 8:30 a.m.- 9:30 a.m.  Lower School
  • 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Middle School
  • 10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m. Upper School
  • 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.  Students who need to be escorted by their parent or guardian
  • Pre-K students who are attending school on campus and who do not need to be escorted by their parent or guardian will be accompanied to the testing by one of their Pre-K teachers.
  • Employees will be tested throughout the day.
 
“Can the Pandemic” Food Drive – We appreciate the kindness and agency of our students who have suggested that we use our testing day to collect non-perishable food to address the high degree of food insecurity in our community. Please bring at least a “can in each hand” to your testing appointment. Student volunteers will collect and deliver our donations to the Food Bank of Central New York. For a list of preferred food items, click here.
 
FAQs
 
What kind of test will be administered, and by whom? 
Onondaga County health officials will administer the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Rapid Antigen Test. This test involves a painless, lower nasal cavity swab, taking just a few seconds. Please share with your child this brief video of Nurse Christine Civello and second-grader Jack demonstrating the quick-and-easy test-taking procedure.
 
May I accompany my child(ren) while the test is administered? 
Students will be greeted by plenty of familiar faces of MPH teachers and staff who will reassure and guide them through the testing process. To avoid the congestion in the testing area, we ask that you accompany your child(ren) only if you feel that it is absolutely necessary from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
 
Will I be informed the test result?  
You will be informed ONLY in the event of a positive test result. No news is good news. Assume that your test result is negative unless you hear otherwise.
 
What if I forget to register on time?
If you do not register for this test, you will not be tested. (There will be no walk-ins or exceptions.)
  
Thank you for your personal commitment and partnership, which continue to be key factors in safeguarding the good health we have enjoyed in our community thus far.
 
Sincerely,
Dave McCusker
Head of School