West Genesee District e-Newsletter
August 14, 2020
Board of Education Approves a Revised Calendar
At the Board of Education Meeting held on August 12, 2020, an amended calendar moving the start date of school for WGCSD students to September 10 was approved.
Other adjustments to the calendar include:
- Superintendent Conference Day on March 15, 2021 moved to September 8, 2020
- Superintendent Workshop Half-Day on November 3 and Half-Day on May 20 moved to September 9, 2020 (full day)
The AMENDED 2020-2021 calendar is now available on the website by clicking here.
District Reopening Information/Plan is Available on the Website
After receiving the New York State Department of Health and New York State Education Department’s guidance document earlier this month, the West Genesee Central School District started working to adopt the model and create our own Reopening Plan.
West Genesee formed a COVID-19 Task Force early this year which has been exploring options for the safe reopening of our schools. The District has also been working with a regional group of school districts through OCM BOCES to share information and best practices. Based on the committee’s recommendations and the regional group’s work, in accordance with the new state guidelines, West Genesee submitted an initial plan to New York State by the July 31 deadline. Below is additional information concerning the reopening of schools. Please note items that indicate they have been recently updated or revised.
West Genesee District Reopening Plan (Posted on July 31, 2020/Updated on August 14, 2020)
West Genesee Virtual Learning Plan (Posted on August 14, 2020)
West Genesee Testing and Contact Tracing Plan 2020-2021 (Posted on August 14, 2020)
- Letter from Supt. Bills-Reopening Plan/Selection of Options
- West Genesee Special Education Plan for Returning to School
- West Genesee Student Days During In-Person / Hybrid Learning (Revised on August 14, 2020)
- 2020-21 School Year: What’s New and Different?
- Presentation of Reopening Plan from Special BOE Meeting held on July 30, 2020
- Video of Special BOE Meeting held on July 30, 2020
Click here for more information including links to videos of school-specific Talks with the Superintendent, guidelines for reopening, and other important resources.
The West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council Invites Parents/Guardians to a Panel Discussion about Reopening of Schools
Please join us online on Wednesday, August 19 OR Thursday, August 20 at 6:00 p.m. for a detailed presentation by West Genesee Central School District Personnel and the Superintendent of Schools, David C. Bills, about the reopening of schools. The WGCSD would like to share the most updated details with parents and guardians.
Joining Mr. Bills will be the following panelists:
- Brian Kesel, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
- Paul Pelton, Assistant Superintendent for Management Services/Food Services
- Ken Coon, Director of Facilities
- Rob Leo, Coordinator of Instructional Technology
- Deb Balcourt, Nurse at Split Rock Elementary School
- Principals
Please submit all questions for the panel by August 18 at 6:00 p.m. to publications@westgenesee.org. Questions can also be submitted through the Q&A feature during the discussion and will be answered as time permits.
Below are the details for registering/sending an RSVP to receive the link to the event. Space is limited by Zoom and registration is required by August 18. Because the presentations will be the same, please only register for one.
To register/RSVP for the Talk with the Superintendent on Wednesday, August 19, please click here: https://www.smore.com/ys3rk (by August 18 at 6:00 p.m.)
OR
To register/RSVP for the Talk with the Superintendent on Thursday, August 20, please click here: https://www.smore.com/qzfp0 (by August 18 at 6:00 p.m.)
Advanced Placement Scholars are Announced
Forty-six students and recent graduates of West Genesee High School have been named Advanced Placement Scholars by The College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations. Several levels of achievement are recognized based on the number of year-long courses and examinations (or their equivalent semester-long courses and examinations).
Also, congratulations to Eric Leubner and Eric Wenner who have each been named a National AP Scholar. This honor is granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
Click here to read the entire article from the website that lists the students and the examinations.
Check Out the Health and Registration Requirements
This past year there have been updates to the Health and Registration requirements for students. Here is a link to the Latest Immunization Requirements Information located on our website.
If you still need to register your child for school, Central Registration is operating from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the summer starting June 22 for any assistance.
When scheduling an appointment to register a student, please go to the registration webpage by clicking here or call the Registrar’s office at (315) 487-4683.
Transitioned to a New Communication System
As part of the transition, we will be keeping the Mobile App from Blackboard for the upcoming year. The calendars, news, directory and other current information will continue to feed to the mobile app.
The first week of July we conducted testing on the email feature by sending emails from both the new system and the previous system. This helped us verify that information from the new system is not going to your spam/junk folders.
We recently implemented the texting feature of the SchoolMessenger system. If you did not receive a SMS/text and would like to going forward, please email your SMS/text information to publications@westgenesee.org.
The phone/robo call feature will be tested and implemented prior to the start of school, and we will send more information when we are ready to test the call feature.
Please be on the lookout for more information as we roll out the new system and you can send any questions about the transition to publications@westgenesee.org.
West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council is Sponsoring School Supply Drive
The West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council is partnering with Staples on Milton Ave again this year for the School Supply Drive. This year it will be especially important for kids to have their own school supplies. Please consider contributing supplies to help WG students in need! If you have questions about the program, please contact them at wgschoolsupplies@gmail.com.
Pick-up of supplies will occur on August 29, 2020. Details about where and when will be emailed directly to parents that registered to receive the supplies.
Upcoming Events
- August 19, 2020 West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council Panel Discussion about Reopening of Schools 6:00 p.m. via livestream
- August 20, 2020 West Genesee PTA/PTO District Council Panel Discussion about Reopening of Schools 6:00 p.m. via livestream
- August 24, 2020 West Genesee Facilities Study Meeting 6:00 p.m. via livestream
- August 26, 2020 Board of Education Public Hearing on District Safety Plan 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library
- August 26, 2020 Board of Education Meeting Immediately Following in the High School Library