Principal Update
November 18, 2020
Covid 19 Update
Dear DeSales Families,
In today's news, parts of Niagara County were designated Yellow Zones, but Lockport is NOT included in this. I am writing to provide an update to our plan should Lockport move to a Yellow Zone designation. Although DeSales to date has not had any positive Covid-19 cases in our school, if Lockport is designated as a Yellow Zone, we will have to comply with the following directive from New York State:
“Effective the week of November 16, 2020, schools in yellow zones must test 20% of in-person students, faculty and staff over the two-week period immediately following the announcement of a yellow zone designation. If the results of the testing reveal that the positivity rate among the 20% of those tested is lower than the yellow zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, testing at that school will no longer be required to continue. A positivity rate in a school that is lower than in the yellow zone is a sufficient demonstration that in-person instruction is not a significant driver of local viral spread.
The current positivity rate for zones can be found at, https://forward.ny.gov/percentage-positive-results-county-dashboard. However, if the results of the testing over the first two weeks reveal that the positivity rate among in-person student, staff and faculty is higher than the Yellow Zone’s current 7-day positivity rate, the school will be required to continue to test 20% of the in-person population on a bi-weekly basis.”
It is our wish to continue to offer in-person learning, as well as the remote option for families that prefer to keep their children at home. Our students and staff have done an excellent job at following the Covid guidelines and keeping our school’s infection rate at zero. Should you or your child need a Covid test, a good resource has been the NYS-run testing at Niagara County Community College (NCCC) in Sanborn as they are 7-days a week, testing is free, and a physician's script is not required. The phone number for the State testing site at NCCC is 1-888-364-3065.
I look forward to seeing many of you on Friday for parent-teacher conferences. Please reach out with any questions or concerns and have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Karen Rahill, Principal
Traveling for Thanksgiving? Please read NYS Travel Guidelines.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travelers from states that are contiguous with New York will continue to be exempt from the travel advisory; however covered travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form.
To catch up on the latest guidelines from NYS, please click here.
DeSales Catholic School
Email: knuutilak@desalescatholicschool.org
Website: www.DeSalesCatholicSchool.org
Location: 6914 Chestnut Ridge Road, Lockport, NY, USA
Phone: (716)433-6422