J. W. Leary Junior High School
January 21, 2022
Hello everyone,
The count-down towards the end of the first half of the year! It is hard to believe. Time is flying!
We are asking that children bring refillable water bottles to school. The water bottles should have their names on them. This will help reduce waste and will give kids access to water in classrooms.
As we move towards this unique bench mark I encourage you to talk with your child about how things are going in school. Our students have access to Google Classroom and can find all work there.
You can also sign up for updates. The updates can come daily or weekly. I've posted a photo on the left from an update shared with me. You can see what is posted and how kids are doing.
I am grateful that we all continue to adjust and adapt. I appreciate your communication about things going well and areas of concern. It is an honor to work with your children, you and our amazing staff!!
Tuesday January 25 7th grade third Field Experience Payment;
Wednesday January 26 8th grade third Field Experience Payment
Friday January 28 Wear Red for Fallen Raiders
1/2 day, dismissal at 10:45 AM; End of Marking Period
All JH Events
DATES TO REMEMBER 2021-2022--this links the calendar that is regularly updated
8th Annual Wear Red for Fallen Raiders
Friday, January 28th, 2022 will mark the 8th Annual "Wear Red for Fallen Raiders" Day. On this day, we wear red in remembrance of our fallen Red Raiders-athletes, coaches, teachers, staff, students, alumni, administrators, and supporters. Let's come together once again!
January 21, 2022
Dear Members of the Massena School Community,
As you most likely are aware, health and safety guidance from the state and local health
departments related to COVID-19 continues to evolve. As always, we remain committed to
keeping our students in school, while providing a safe learning environment for all. We also
remain committed to providing staff and families with clear, updated information on the latest
guidance as it relates to COVID-19 testing, quarantine and isolation.
Effective immediately, the Massena Central School District will use the following protocols
when allowing students to return to school if they have symptoms of COVID-19, test positive for COVID-19 or are considered exposed to an individual with COVID-19. These protocols are
based on the most recent updates from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the New York
State Department of Health and the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department. Here is a
link to the NYS Department of Health’s current COVID-19 guidance. Please know that this
information is subject to change at any time. If you have specific concerns or questions regarding your child, please contact Head Nurse AnneMarie Miller at amiller@mcs.k12.ny.us or 315-764-3700 x3101.
Contact Tracing:
One of the biggest changes you can expect is that the New York State Department of Health will no longer conduct contact tracing. This means that individuals potentially exposed to COVID-19 will no longer be contacted by their local department of health. Going forward, the Massena Central School District will no longer be collecting information about contacts with the exception of limited circumstances. Parents will be responsible for notifying the school
about exposures that occur outside of the school setting. This includes household, carpooling, get-togethers. Please be mindful of sending your child to school after an exposure to ensure they meet the quarantine guidelines.
However, we will continue our due diligence with regard to notifying impacted staff and families if we learn about a positive case. In some situations, this will involve a general notification alerting staff and families that there was a positive case in a particular class or school. This type of notification will ask staff and families to monitor for symptoms, but will not necessarily result in anyone being identified as a close contact and excluded from school. Such communication will be in the form of texts, e-mails and/or posts to the District webpage. Please note that there will be situations when the need to identify close contacts is warranted due to a direct COVID exposure. Particular attention will be paid to staff and students at high risk for severe disease, as well as those times and locations where there may be fewer layers of mitigation in place (e.g., classes with students who are unable to wear a mask due to a documented medical issue and/or disabilities). Attention will also be given to places where we see clusters of COVID-19 such as within a classroom or on a sports team. These situations may result in a student or staff member being excluded from school and asked to stay home and quarantine for five to 10 days.
One of the keys to ensuring the success of this new approach is rigorous symptom monitoring. Given the large number of positive cases in our region, the safest assumption is that we are all exposed on a fairly regular basis and as such should be mindful of any COVID associated symptom. Please contact your child’s school nurse if any additional home tests are needed and we will provide them so long as our supply remains consistent.
Based on the latest information we have received, here are the rules for when a student is
exposed to an infected individual:
If a student has been exposed to COVID-19:
- If a student is up-to-date on their COVID vaccinations, as defined by the CDC they may
come to school.
- If a student tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days, they may come to school as
long as they are asymptomatic.
- If a student is not up-to-date on their COVID vaccination and has not tested positive in
the last 90 days, they will be excluded from school for at least five days after their last
close contact with an individual with COVID-19.
- For example:
- Day 0: Date of exposure.
- Day 1: Stay home
- Day 2: Stay home
- Day 3: Stay home
- Day 4: Stay home
- Day 5: Stay home
- Day 6: Return to school as long as no symptoms have developed.
- Exposed, fully vaccinated students, teachers, and staff who must quarantine because they
did not receive a CDC recommended booster when eligible can attend or work at
school during the quarantine period where masking, distancing, etc. is monitored and
enforced. However, these individuals must continue to quarantine as otherwise required
outside of academic instruction periods in school. Extra-curricular, after-school, or
community activities are not permitted during quarantine. This includes school
sponsored athletic and extracurricular events.
- State guidance states that all individuals should wear a well-fitting mask around others
(e.g., at home, in public) for a full 10 days following the date of exposure.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19 at any time, including following an exposure, the
following guidelines apply:
If a student tests positive for COVID-19:
- Regardless of vaccination status, if a student tests positive for COVID-19 they must
isolate for a full five days. Students may return to school after day five if they are
asymptomatic or if symptoms are resolving.
- For example:
- Day 0: Symptom onset or tested positive.
- Day 1: Stay home
- Day 2: Stay home
- Day 3: Stay home
- Day 4: Stay home
- Day 5: Stay home
- Day 6: Return to school if asymptomatic, or if symptoms are resolving.
- If a student tests positive for COVID-19 and took an Over-the-Counter (i.e., at-home,
take-home) antigen test, the results should be reported to the local department of health
- In order for students who have tested positive and have had symptoms to return to school
after five days, they must:
- Be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- Have improved other symptoms (Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or
months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation).
- Not have rhinorrhea (runny nose) or cough severe enough to make mask wearing
difficult or unhygienic.
- Have no more than an infrequent, nonproductive cough that is not getting worse. Students with a cough or nasal congestion must be able to tolerate continuous
mask use as breaks are not allowed.
- Have not experienced excessive or unusual fatigue.
- Have no persistent headache or muscle aches.
- Have no nausea, diarrhea or vomiting for at least 24 hours.
- Be able to tolerate a well-fitting mask for days 6-10.
- State guidance states that all individuals should wear a well-fitting mask around others
(e.g., at home, in public) for a full 10 days following the first day of symptoms (or the
date of a positive test, if the student is asymptomatic).
- Anyone who is moderately or severely immunocompromised should follow the standard
10-day isolation guidance issued previously.
Regardless of whether or not there is a known exposure to COVID-19, it is very important that
students who are sick do not attend school.
If a student has COVID-19 symptoms:
There may also be times when a student has COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever or chills,
cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea.
- Regardless of vaccination status, if a student has COVID-19 symptoms they must have a
lab negative NAAT, lab antigen test, or two negative Over-the-Counter (i.e., at-home or
take-home) antigen tests taken 24-48 hours apart, depending on the specific
manufacturer’s instructions, in order to return to school.
- If an individual is presenting the district with two negative Over-the-Counter antigen
tests, they must also present the attestation form signed by a parent or guardian.
- In addition to a negative test result(s), students must be well enough to:
- Participate in school;
- Not have rhinorrhea (runny nose) or cough severe enough to make mask wearing
difficult or unhygienic;
- Be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications; and
- Meet other school or district requirements to return to school after a non-COVID
illness.
- If a student tests positive for COVID-19, please follow the guidance above.
- Please also note:
- There is no exemption to the testing requirement for symptomatic students.
- Students with symptoms that are attributable to pre-existing medical conditions
(e.g., migraines, allergies) and are not new or worsening do not require school
exclusion or testing. A note on file from the student's medical provider is
required.
- If a healthcare provider makes a diagnosis of a confirmed non-COVID-19 acute
illness (e.g., laboratory-confirmed influenza or strep throat) AND COVID-19 is
not suspected, then a note signed by the healthcare provider explaining the
alternate diagnosis may be provided to allow a student, teacher, or staff member
to participate in school without COVID-19 testing.
Additional quarantine and isolation information can be found on our local county department of health website, as well as the New York State Department of Health and CDC websites
● St Lawrence County: https://stlawco.org/Departments/PublicHealth
● New York State Department of Health:
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/new-york-state-contact-tracing
● Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.htm
Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to keep our students and staff healthy, and our students in school. If you have any questions or concerns about COVID-19 testing or other health and safety protocols, please do not hesitate to contact Head Nurse AnneMarie Miller at amiller@mcs.k12.ny.us or 315-764-3700 x3101.
Luna Zaza a Therapy Dog in training, has been approved for training at the Junior High School
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are incredibly excited to introduce to you a member of JWL that will be doing the final steps for their Therapy Dog Certification.
We will be welcoming Luna to our Junior High School team. Luna is a Yellow Labrador. She has been in training for just over a year and is very excited to become an integral part of our school community. The decision to bring Luna in for her final steps of training was supported by numerous adult and student committees. We thank the Massena Central School District Board of Education and Superintendent Brady for their support in approving Luna’s training.
Important to note is that per policy, Luna has to be leashed so she will be strictly controlled while at school.
Below, we have set out the benefits of site based school therapy dogs, and have also tried to address some concerns that you may have.
What are the benefits of having a school dog(s)?
Numerous research studies have shown the benefits of therapy dogs in schools. At this point our goal is to work with Luna, her trainer and her owner to build skills and make sure this is a good fit for everyone.
Therapy dogs have been working in schools across the nation for quite some time now, and have at times been a part of our district staff before. Evidence indicates that benefits include:
● Cognitive- companionship with a dog stimulates memory, problem-solving and game playing.
● Social- a dog provides a positive mutual topic for discussion, encourages responsibility, wellbeing, and focused interaction with others.
● Emotional- school dogs improve self-esteem, acceptance from others and lifts mood, often provoking laughter and fun. Dogs can also teach compassion and respect for other living things as well as relieving anxiety.
● Physical- interaction with a furry friend reduces blood pressure, provides tactile stimulation, assists with pain management, gives motivation to move, walk and stimulates the senses.
● Reading- reading to dogs has been proven to help children develop literacy skills and build confidence, through both the calming effect the dog’s presence has on children as well as the fact that a dog will listen to children read without being judgmental or critical. This comforting environment helps to nurture children’s enthusiasm for reading and provides them with the confidence to read aloud.
Some challenges may be:
My child is allergic to dogs.
It is understandable that some of you may be concerned about possible allergic reactions to a school dog. However, Luna has been and will be subjected to the most thorough cleanliness and grooming regime. She will also only be allowed in situations with pupils who voluntarily wish to work with her.
Luna will also be located primarily in the front part of the building and away from the classrooms. She may eventually work with students in one on one or small group capacities, in specified areas, so the possible spread of dander is limited throughout the building. If you would like to request that your student does not work with Luna, please contact the main office and let us know so that we can make the appropriate accommodations.
Will Luna be properly cared for?
Luna will be extremely well looked after, and will be working with Mrs. Zaza at school a couple of hours a day gradually building to multiple days each week. She will stay safely in the office until proper acclimation has been completed. She will then begin by meeting with students in small groups settings, and may even spend time listening to pupils read in a controlled setting. No matter where she is working, she will always be accompanied by a trained adult. She will continue to undergo her rigorous training courses and will be extremely well-behaved.
Luna will be assessed daily before coming to school. While Luna is in Junior High school, she will have access to a dog crate in her home area where she can relax during the day. This is where they will spend most of their time initially. She will also visit the vet regularly for all of her vaccinations as well as regular check-ups. If Luna is unwell for any reason, she will stay home for the day and be reassessed the following day before returning.
My child is scared of dogs.
Some children may have had upsetting experiences and thus have a fear of dogs (or other animals). Luna will only be in contact with children that want to work with her. She is in the process of completing training that helps her to remain calm and be gentle around children. This training is ongoing and will continue to take place for as long as she is a school based.
Experience and research has shown that with proper guidance and handling, children can learn to overcome their fear of animals and grow in respect and appreciation for them.
If for any reason you would like to opt your student out of contact with Luna, please contact the school and we will add them to our no contact list.
We hope you will join us in welcoming Luna to the JW Leary Junior High School family, and embrace all that Luna has to offer the school.
Thank you for being an integral part of our team!
In this together,
Mrs. Zullo
JW Leary Junior High Principal
This is a digital copy of Luna's introduction letter
Please Bring a Refillable Water Bottle
The water bottles should have their names on them.
This will help reduce waste and will give kids access to water in classrooms.
Attendance
School attendance is always important.
It is also important to know what happens in different circumstances.
As outlined in the 2021 Reopening Meetings; if children are absent for reasons relating to COVID they will have 5 days upon return to school (teachers have been great to support kids with this!) to make up work.
Excused absences are due to personal illness, illness or death in the family, religious observance, quarantine, required court appearances, attendance at health clinics, road test, approved college visits, approved cooperative work programs, military obligations or other such reasons as may be approved by the Board of Education.
Upon returning to school following an excused absence the student should consult with teacher(s) regarding arrangements to make up missed work, assignments, and/or tests.
Unexcused absences are if the reason for the lack of attendance does not fall into the above categories (e.g. family vacation, hunting, babysitting, haircut, obtaining a learners permit, oversleeping, work, missing a ride, appointment, sporting competitions).
Nurse Gilman calls the family of every child not present.
If you know your child is not going to be present please call the school 315-764-3720 or enter the information into this form.
School Number Days
Monday Day 3
Tuesday Day 4
Wednesday Day 5
Thursday Day 6
Friday Day 1
Breakfast/Lunch
Doors open at 7:15 am for children getting breakfast.
Breakfast hours are 7:15 am-7:35 am and then from 8 am-9 am.
Children do need their Schoolbucks account number to get breakfast and lunch.
This links to the current breakfast/lunch menu!
There are a few changes for next week as follows:
Monday, January 24th: Fishburger or Grilled Cheese
Tuesday, January 25th: Bologna Sandwich or Chicken Nuggets
Wednesday, January 26th: Chef Salad or Homemade Pizza
Thursday, January 27th: Hotdog on a bun or Chicken Caesar Salad.
Friday, January 28th: Early dismissal
A big thank you to our amazing cafeteria staff who helps this to be possible!
If you have questions or cannot access the survey, call your school and we will assist you.
Positivity Project Trait of the Week is Other People's Mindset
we will begin learning about the Other People Mindset element of Supporting Others When They Struggle. All of the slide presentations are available in our Resources Library and you can click here for a 1-page overview.
Great job students and staff!
Over 25 students received notes home outlining their positive contributions to our school community.
The form to nominate those going above and beyond is on our website and posted below!
CFES Brilliant Pathways connected over 60 JWL children to college students and career professionals!
The mentors from were from local colleges and universities (St. Lawrence, Middlebury, Castleton), hospitals, businesses and non-profits. The virtual event will give students in rural and urban areas an opportunity to interact with and learn from professionals about their college and career pathways, Essential Skills for success, and various careers/side gigs. The conversations focused on civic engagement, ownership over your path, college and career awareness, and leadership.
Children asked the students and professional great questions ranging from if their city was safe to what the dorms/food were like and the types of classes people could take.
Look for the 2021-2022 Yearbook Order Form
Something is concerning-
If people see/hear something, say something.
The below form which is also linked on our website is one way to do that.
All concerns expressed to the school are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken. We cannot do something if we do not know about it. It is a service to the entire community when items are shared.
We are all in this together and we all have the same goal. Thank you for your support!
Raider Academy for Grades 1-8
The Massena Central School District is excited to begin an afterschool program named Raider Academy for Grades 1-8. Please click the link to read more about the program and to enroll your child(ren). https://forms.gle/8MokfaQAeZuRWMd36
If you have any questions please email dchapman@mcs.k12.ny.us or call (315) 764-3700 x3024.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your student or your family. We have so many great things happening at school.
If you have ideas, questions, or concerns please email azullo@mcs.k12.ny.us or call the school 315-764-3720.
Mrs. Zullo
J. William Leary Junior High School
Email: azullo@mcs.k12.ny.us
Website: https://jwjh.mcs.k12.ny.us/
Location: 1 School Street, Massena, NY, USA
Phone: 315-764-3720
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/812944242085434