Western New York Maritime Charter Home

Parents, Please be sure to complete the COVID-19 testing permission slip, either online on our website under the COVID 19 button or the copy that was mailed home last week. No student will be permitted into either building on their first day back without a signed consent form. Any student arriving for school without the signed consent will be sent back home immediately and will need to remain at home until the current 5 week grading period is over at the end of January. This is in accordance with New York State guidelines. We appreciate your help to allow us to bring the children back to school safely. Thank you, stay safe, and stay healthy.

December 15, 2020 Dear Parents/Guardians, I hope that this letter finds you in good health and able to enjoy the holidays as we end a very unique year. I think we all hope that 2021 will mark a return to a year where we will be able to stay in school and our lives return to normal. We are planning on returning to school starting Monday January 4th. Mondays will continue to be remote learning. Students will follow the schedule they had in November. If they are four day a week students they will attend Tuesday through Friday. If they are hybrid students they will attend Tuesday/Thursday or Wednesday/Friday. If they are remote students they will not be on site at all. If parents have any questions or wish to make changes to their cadet’s schedule they may call through December 23. Statistics have shown that schools have not been spreaders of COVID due to the many protocols in place which is why NY State has allowed schools to go back to in-person learning so long as they continue to maintain COVID spread mitigation protocols and engage in a COVID rapid testing regimen. In-person learning is extremely important for our students both in terms of learning and social and emotional support. We at Maritime are dedicated to provide that while maintaining all necessary protocols to help keep your children and our staff safe during this pandemic. In order for your student to return to in-person learning you must fill out and sign the enclosed COVID 19 testing permission form and make sure that the school has this form no later than January 5/6th. Your student cannot return to in-person learning without this permission form. They may turn it in at the office themselves their first day back. The reason is that we must conduct random testing on site in order to conduct in-person learning per NYS directive. Therefore if your student arrives on January 5th or 6th and we do not yet have the permission form we will send the student home or you may come in to sign the form. While in an Orange Zone we must test 20% of our students over the course of a month (approximately 70 students) and 30% (approximately 105 students) over the course of a month if designated a Red Zone. Testing materials have been ordered and we will begin testing as soon as they arrive. If you wish your child to be tested we will start with volunteers and test others randomly until we have the required percentage. Testing will be done by qualified individuals utilizing rapid tests provided by NY State. All data resulting from testing will be handled with confidentiality. Results will be submitted to the Erie County Department of Health. Any students who test positive will be immediately isolated and the parents will be contacted to pick the student up. Any staff who tests positive will be immediately sent home. In both cases tracing determinations will be made to determine quarantine of those potentially exposed defined under current state guidelines. If you had borrowed a computer during the full-remote period please have your student return it the first day back to school with the computer and charging cord. It is vital that they do so because that is the same computer they need and use daily for all classes while attending in-person learning. Please remember to have your student fill out the Covid questionnaire before coming to school. Please do not send your child to school if he/she is not feeling well. All staff and students will wear masks, practice social distancing, and practice healthy hand cleaning. Due to diligence in these three schools have remained relatively safe. Best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season, Catherine Oldenburg, Commandant Western New York Maritime Charter School