November 10, 2021
Happy November! We are ready to share some changes to our COVID protocols with Test to Stay, new policies on snow days and flexible instruction, and revised activity schedules to continue to keep COVID at bay. Please take the time to review these and a few more details on what is happening in Penn-Delco as we near the start of a new year.
Test to Stay
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The new Test-to-Stay program allows students and staff who are identified as an in-school close contact during contact tracing to remain in school to work and learn. Exposed persons will not be required to quarantine from school or work by taking routine COVID-19 rapid antigen tests over the course of (10) days.

This program requires parental approval and is applicable only to those exposed while at school. Get all the information you need to apply at our COVID Test To Stay section of the website.
Masking Mandate in Pennsylvania Schools
Governor Tom Wolf announced the intention to return the commonwealth’s K-12 school mask requirement to local leaders on January 17, 2022. Upon the expiration of the statewide mandate, local school officials will again be able to implement mitigation efforts at the local level. At that time, schools may continue requiring mask-wearing based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Penn-Delco will address the mandate in January.

The recent court stay preserves the current mask mandate in Pennsylvania schools. Please continue to send your child to school masked as we continue to honor the current mask mandate.
Snow Day Flexible Instruction
With our first frost behind us, it's time to consider that inclement weather of the freezing variety is at our door step. Penn-Delco has been approved to offer up to five virtual flexible instruction days to limit the number of potential make-up days at the end of the school year due to frequent school closures. Here is how that will work:

  • Once the school district has exhausted normal inclement weather "snow days", we will begin to utilize virtual, remote-learning days.
  • The virtual remote learning days will generally follow the virtual Wednesday schedules used successfully last year.
  • Sun Valley High School and Northley Middle School will begin live-streaming at 8 am while our Elementary Schools will begin at 9am.
  • Afternoon hours will be asynchronous assignments.
  • Schedules and procedures will be shared in the next few weeks.

The district will continue to utilized delayed opening schedules when possible to preserve in-person instruction, to the extent that in can.
Reverify residency by November 30: S - Z
Due to COVID interruptions, the district did not accomplish reverification of residency last year. We will begin reverification for the 2021 - 2022 school year for students in grades 2 - 11 with a last name that begins with any letters S - Z. All rented/leased residences, multiple occupants, and 1302 guardians are required to reverify annually.

An email directing those families who must reverify will be going out Friday, November 12. Reverification can now be done digitally by uploading your documents at your child's Skyward account. Families who are required to reverify residency will be sent an email with more information. You can also find information at pdsd.org/reverification.

If you require a refresh on Skyward, you can find some helpful supports at our Schoology and Skyward info page.
Supply chain issues continue to effect lunch menus
As noted at the start of the new school year, supply chain disruptions continue to impact a variety of offerings in our school cafeterias. Our Food Service Management Company, Chartwells, continues to monitor supply and is making beneficial adjustments to better anticipate shortages of key menu items in our school lunches. As a result, there will likely be more frequent menu changes based on product substitutions from their suppliers.
 
Please be prepared for limitations in your student's menu that could change daily. As these challenges continue, we’ll stay in touch with Chartwells to ensure our students receive the healthiest options available each day with ingredients that are monitored for allergens as well.

If your child has a food allergy, please be sure that their records are up-to-date with your school nurse. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility during these challenging times.
Work for Penn-Delco
The District is currently hiring for support and professional staff positions. We welcome you to explore opportunities at our hiring site and share those opportunities with qualified individuals who would like to work with us. We appreciate the outpouring of support during our campaign to fill bus drivers and coaches early this year. We continue to search for other qualified individuals to work with our excellent team at Penn-Delco.
Changes to the Activities Calendar
We have been working closely with our COVID health and safety team to review all events that are pending through the end of the year. Some events may be limited to smaller attendees or divided to accommodate smaller audiences. Others, like winter formals for middle and high school students, unfortunately, are cancelled.
We will be revisiting all activities in the 2022 winter season after the first of the year. In the meantime, please review the information below regarding November and December activities on the Activities Calendar.

Teacher/Parent Conferences
Parents can choose to attend these either virtually or in-person. Please sign-up accordingly through your teachers/schools.

Sun Valley Variety Show
There is a change to those dates on the Activities Calendar. The Senior Variety Show has been moved to Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20 at 7:00pm in the Northley Middle School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased for $7 at the Sun Valley website.

Winter Formals
Due to the inability of the district to hold winter formals outside, the 8th grade winter formal scheduled for December 3 and the Sun Valley Winter formal scheduled for December 10 have been cancelled.

American Education Week
There will be no parent visitors in classrooms for American Education Week this year.

Winter concerts
All winter concerts will be held on the dates originally planned. Please wait for guidance from your principals and music teachers for expectations regarding rehearsals and ticketing.

Your principals and teachers will be providing additional information regarding specifics around ticketing, seating and locations for many of these events. Our goal is to keep our Penn-Delco community safe and healthy as we enter the winter break.
Your next board meeting
Your Penn-Delco Board of School Directors will hold their monthly Study Session early this month on Wednesday, November 10 at 7:30pm in the Service Center. The monthly Board meeting is on November 17 at 7:30pm. These are in-person meetings that are filmed and posted within one week on the Penn-Delco YouTube channel. Go to pdsd.org/board for all the information you need on your Board of School Directors.
Vaccine clinic in Aston Monday
Please note: Penn-Delco will continue to share information regarding opportunities for vaccination against COVID-19 for young people.