Weekly Update from the Office of the Superintendent
Volume 2, Issue 24 (February 11, 2022)
|
|
RETURN TO CLASS TESTING BEGINS MONDAY
In order to provide additional support for families and students, we are preparing to offer a new “Return to Class” testing option for eligible students beginning Monday, February 14th. This will allow eligible students who are experiencing mild symptoms to stay in school if they test negative for COVID-19.
We have pursued this option due to concerns over the loss of instructional time which occurs when students are sent home from school with mild symptoms that are not the result of COVID-19. Per NYSDOH rules, if your child has any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 at school, we must follow the “Return to School” guidelines from the Erie County Department of Health. In summary, your child needs one of the following to return to school:
- A negative COVID-19 (PCR or Antigen) test
- Alternate diagnosis from a healthcare provider
- Quarantine for 5 days from symptom onset. In order to return, symptoms must be improving and child must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
We recognize this can be a burden for our families and teachers, especially in cases when a student eventually tests negative and the symptoms are a result of a common illness and not COVID-19. When a child is sent home, it can take several days before a parent can take time off work to visit a healthcare or testing provider that may not have immediate available appointments. In many cases, students are waiting at home for several days as a result of mild symptoms and eventually test negative for COVID-19.
We have acquired antigen tests from New York State and the Erie County Department of Health which we will use for the new Return to Class Testing option. We will provide this option as long as we have the available supplies to do so, or as long as COVID-19 return-to-school requirements necessitate negative testing.
Health and safety continue to be our top priority and Ken-Ton nurses are doing a phenomenal job managing symptomatic students at school. This new option will minimize the loss of instructional time for students with mild symptoms who are not infected with the virus while also ensuring that any students who test positive are isolated and sent home.
-
Who is Eligible: Symptomatic students who are sent down to the nurse’s office with mild symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, but would otherwise not necessitate the student being sent home. Examples of such symptoms include but are not limited to mild runny nose, minor headache, mild sore throat, mild stomachache.
-
Who is Not Eligible: Symptomatic students who are sent down to the nurse’s office with moderate symptoms of any illness, whose symptoms impair their ability to remain at school during the school day. Examples of such symptoms include but are not limited to vomiting, fever, moderate to severe sore throat, or severe headache.
-
Parental Consent Required: Parents must consent to testing prior to any child participating in this program. Any time a child is determined to be eligible to participate, parents will be contacted by phone. At his time, the nurse will confirm consent and will provide additional information if necessary. If the student tests positive, the parent will be contacted again and requested to bring the child home.
TEST KIT DISTRIBUTION
As we did following winter recess, we will be distributing at-home antigen test kits for all students next week Thursday and Friday, February 17-18. These test kits are for students to be tested at home following mid-winter recess. Each student will receive one test kit (two tests per kit) and these will be sent home in students' backpacks with instructions.
This effort aligns with an initiative Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday to make test kits available to families to test their children following mid-winter recess. The Governor specified that students should be tested "the day after they come back and again three days later." We will verify the date students should be tested and will include this information in the instructions that gets sent home with the tests and in next week's Connection.
MASK UPDATE
Nothing has changed regarding the New York State mask mandate since the communication I sent out on Wednesday. You can access the full letter here.
35TH SLEEPOUT
|
|
The 35th Annual Jerry Starr Ken-Ton Schools’ SleepOut took place Friday, February 4th and was a tremendous success. A very special thank you to all of our special guests and speakers including:
- Lisa Chimera, County Legislator
- Matthew Chimera, Board President
- William Conrad, State Assemblyman
- Joseph Emminger, Town Supervisor
- Michael Fiels, retired Ken-Ton teacher and SleepOut representative
- Debbie Finamore, St. John the Baptist Social Justice Committee
- Dr. Jill O’Malley, Town Councilwoman and Ken-Ton Closet Director
- Cathy Piciulo, Ken-Ton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
- Gina Santa Maria, Town Councilwoman
- Skylar Shurr, Hearts for the Homeless
- Peter Stuhlmiller, Kenmore Teachers Association President
- John Wille, Director of Facilities
It was a very special night as we remembered Michael Kollmar who passed away earlier that week. Mike was a beloved member of our staff who retired in June after 35 years with the district and was a huge part of the SleepOut since the beginning. It was also a very special night for Educators Totally Committed (the group that organizes the SleepOut each year) as we learned that Assemblyman William Conrad successfully initiated a NYS Proclamation in support of E.T.C.
I wish to thank everyone who made the event a success, including Mr. Wille and our entire Buildings & Grounds Department which worked extremely hard to prepare the site despite the winter storm that closed schools that day, Thomas Frew from our Technology Department, and Steve Ash who is the driving force behind the SleepOut and Educators Totally Committed. I also wish to thank everyone who has donated money, food, clothing or other items for this event.
There is still an opportunity for those who wish to donate via the SleepOut GoFundMe which you can access at www.ktufsd.org/sleepout.
|
|
Each week, we will highlight some of the exciting things taking place in our schools. Be sure to follow the Ken-Ton School District on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@ktufsd) for more school highlights! |
|
BIG PICTURE PROGRAM: At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, we were extremely excited to welcome Patrick Longo from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) who came to Ken-Ton to recognize our Big Picture Program. Through its Champions of Change Program, NYSSBA recognizes exceptional programs and projects across the state. Big Picture was chosen for this distinction after students and staff hung handmade ornaments adorned with positive messages throughout the community last May. The project, called “Miles of Smiles,” received a great deal of attention here in Western New York and across the state, which prompted NYSSBA to select Big Picture for the Champions of Change distinction. Read the story here.
|
|
HOOVER MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Hoover Middle School musical production of “Into the Woods Jr.” will continue tonight (Friday, February 11th) at 7 p.m. and tomorrow, Saturday, February 12th at 1 p.m. (The production was postponed from last weekend due to the February 4th winter storm.) “Into the Woods Jr.” is a new take on Stephen Sondheim's and James Lapine's groundbreaking musical fairytale about wishes and the choices we make. The original show, which intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, first premiered on Broadway in 1987 and was the winner of several Tony Awards. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door and all previously purchased tickets will be honored. Children age 3 and under are free.
|
|
KENMORE EAST: On February 5th, over 75 Kenmore East students participated in the 14th annual Wing Ding outdoor street hockey tournament. The school had to cancel the tournament last year but was able to bring it back with eight teams competing. The coveted Wing Ding trophy was won by a 12th-grade team. The Kenmore East Student Congress would like to thank all the faculty and staff that helped make this event so successful as well as their corporate sponsors for their generation donations. They could not have had such a successful day without the help of La Hacienda Brighton, Sweet Beginnings Bakery, Anderson’s Frozen Custard, and Ted’s Hot Dogs.
|
|
KENMORE WEST: The Kenmore West High School French Club organized its very first Concours de Cuisine Française (French Food Competition) on January 26th. Students prepared French dishes which were graded on presentation, flavor, and authenticity. Mr. Race, Mr. Scarisbrick, and Dr. DeLair helped French teachers Franca Jesella, Cynthia Kowal, and Andreas Kunz judge the entries. Winners were Tori Day for Gratin Dauphinois, 1st place; Nora Keil for Madeleines, 2nd place; and Brynn Calvert for Parfaits, 3rd place.
|
|
KENMORE EAST & KENMORE WEST: On February 1st, Ken-Ton basketball players from two different programs took time to honor some of their Ken-Ton School District teachers and staff. The Kenmore West Girls Basketball Team and Kenmore East Boys Basketball Team both held staff appreciation nights during their Tuesday evening games, giving each player the chance to select one teacher or staff member who has positively impacted their lives. It was a wonderful opportunity for the players to show their appreciation. It was also a demonstration of the extraordinary impact our teachers and staff have on our students lives!
|
|
RECOGNITION: GIRLS ICE HOCKEY & ATHLETIC DIRECTOR BRETT BANKER |
|
This was a very exciting week for our athletic programs. The Kenmore/Grand Island Girls Ice Hockey Team won the Section VI Championship on Tuesday with a 4-3 win over Williamsville. The team now moves on to the state championships which will take place this weekend in Canton, NY. The previous day, they also became the very first team to earn the Sportsmanship Award presented by the Western New York chapter of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association. This is the first year this award has been presented to a team based on voting by Western New York ice hockey officials and it is a tremendous honor to be the first team to receive this distinction. Please join me in congratulating the team along with Coach Jeff Orlowski and the entire coaching staff for their outstanding achievements. We wish them luck this weekend in Canton!
|
|
Additionally, we were extremely proud to learn that our Athletic Director, Brett Banker, will be awarded the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) State Award of Merit in March. This is the highest distinction that can be presented by the NYS Athletic Administrators Association, the organization that represents athletic administrators across New York State. Mr. Banker has served as the Ken-Ton School District’s Director of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics since 1992, overseeing nearly 50 sports as well as all physical education programs, the health education curriculum, school nurses/medical operations, facilities rentals, and wellness initiatives across the district. He remains one of the most distinguished high school athletic directors in the nation. In 2021, the NIAAA chose Mr. Banker to be one of only 30 athletic directors out of approximately 12,500 nationwide to spend the year in the NIAAA Cohort Leadership Program. He also served as President of the NYSAAA, which is the NIAAA affiliate organization in New York State. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Banker on this professional achievement!
|
|
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH |
|
As we continue our month-long celebration of Black History Month, we have chosen an extremely influential local musician and educator to highlight: Jerry Livingston. Mr. Livingston, who plays bass guitar, is best known for his work with music legend Rick James and has played, toured and recorded with hundreds of music artists. He is known as one of Western New York's greatest musicians and is a member of the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
For much of his life, Mr. Livingston was also a music teacher. He taught music at several Buffalo area schools and currently teaches bass at Villa Maria College. Mr. Livingston brought his teaching skills to local music stores including Kenmore Music on Delaware Avenue, where he taught many Ken-Ton area children and teenagers. He has also volunteered extensively at local churches including a program at Mt. Ararat Temple of Prayer which had a tremendous impact on children and teens in the community. Many of the most talented bass players to emerge from Western New York had Mr. Livingston as a teacher, but even those who did not pursue careers in music remember Mr. Livingston and credit him with their personal growth and future success.
To Mr. Livingston, the importance of music education in schools is paramount. “Music is a healer,” he said, recounting stories of countless young people whose lives he saw turned around by music. “Music heals for everyone.”
|
|
Thank you for reviewing this information. As always, we remain Ken-Ton Proud, Ken-Ton Strong, and Ken-Ton Moving Forward!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
