COVID-19 UPDATES, RESPONSE AND RESOURCES CAN BE FOUND HERE

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The Baldwinsville school district is committed to keeping the community updated as we navigate these unprecedented times TOGETHER.

Below you will find ALL email communications from the District during the 2020-21 school year.

For more information on everything you need to know about our response to COVID-19 and reopening our schools: CLICK HERE

June 17, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

It’s hard to believe that the last day of school for our pre-kindergarten to 7th grade students is Wednesday and the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022 is next Friday! This has been an exciting year despite the challenges! Thank you all for your hard work, dedication and patience. Thank you all for your continued support and working together as a team!

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams for winning the NYSPHSAA Class A State Championships! Thank you to all of our coaches, parents and families for your support and dedication. Congratulations also goes out to senior Owen Weaver for winning first place in the pentathlon at the State Championships.

I have a few announcements to share with you today:

Calendar reminders:

There is no school or exams for all students and district offices will be closed on Monday, June 20 to observe the Juneteenth holiday.
Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22 will be half days for PreK-7th grade students. Ray Middle School will dismiss at 10:30 a.m. and the elementary schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 is the last day of school for all students in grades PK-7.
Friday, June 24, 2022 is the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022. The ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.

Chromebooks:

Just a reminder that students in Grades 6-11 were issued a Chromebook in September for their academic use in school and at home. The Chromebook issued to them will remain in their possession until they graduate or the device comes to its end of service and they are issued a new one. Please help your student understand that it is their responsibility to take care of the Chromebook and use it appropriately. Please review the Technology Agreement.

Tennis Courts:

Our tennis courts on the main campus will be closed for maintenance beginning Tuesday, June 21st. The courts will be closed for approximately 3 weeks.
Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

I hope everyone enjoys the long holiday weekend with loved ones and friends! I would like to give a shout-out to all the fathers, grandfathers and father figures in our community. Thank you and Happy Father’s Day!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

June 10, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! End-of-the-year celebrations are in full swing, the countdown to graduation is on and summer break is right around the corner. I hope you’re excited!

I have a few announcements to share with you today:

Honoring the Class of 2022:

Graduates’ names will run in alphabetical order, about 15 names a day, from 6/17/22 to 7/15/22, and then the names will run again, from 7/16/22 to 8/13/22. Names will run on the sign each day from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Each name is held for 10 seconds. It takes about 2.5 minutes to cycle through the list of names. Visit our website to view the schedule!

Calendar reminders:

The last day of regular classes for Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School is Tuesday, June 14th. Regents exams start on Wednesday, June 15 and continue until Thursday, June 23. Click here to view the bus routes for exams.
There is no school or exams for all students and district offices will be closed on Monday, June 20 to observe the Juneteenth holiday.
Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22 will be half days for PreK-7th grade students. Ray Middle School will dismiss at 10:30 a.m. and the elementary schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 is the last day of school for all students in grades PK-7.

Go Bees - Athletics Update:

It’s an exciting time to be Bee as our Boys and Girls lacrosse teams and members of our Boys Track & Field team advance in state competition. The action starts today! Members of our outdoor track team are competing in States today and Saturday. Good luck to the following students athletes:

Sam Mellinger - 100 meters, 200 meters
Owen Weaver - Pentathlon
Solomon Holden-Betts - 3000 meter Steeplechase
Logan Hayes, Jack McAllister, Jeffrey Ragonese, Solomon Holden-Betts - 4x800 relay

Our Girls Lacrosse Team won the State Semifinals this morning against Rush-Henrietta and will play in the State Final game at 9 a.m. on Saturday at SUNY Cortland.

The Boys Lacrosse team will be vying for the state championship at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at Hofstra University (Long Island). We are so proud of all of our student-athletes. Thank you for such an exciting season! Let’s Go Bees!

Bees Band:

If you missed our Bees Band at the Taste of Syracuse last week, you’ll have another chance to catch them on stage tonight at Papermill Island. The band will play at 6:30 p.m. as part of Seneca River Days.

Congratulations:

There were three ceremonies this week honoring our Class of 2022 and our C.W. Baker High School students. The Baldwinsville Community Scholarship Foundation hosted an event on Tuesday evening to distribute numerous scholarships to graduating seniors. On Thursday morning, juniors and seniors were awarded scholarships and other recognitions, including the Seal of Biliteracy, during a special ceremony. Our student-athletes were honored Thursday evening at the annual Athletic Awards Banquet. Congratulations to all the winners. Your hard work, dedication and determination is inspiring! We are so proud of you!

Senior Ball:

The 2022 Senior Ball will be held on Saturday at the OnCenter Ballroom. This is an exciting event and I hope everyone has a great time at the Ball and afterward at Keep the Ball Rolling! Have fun, make memories and please remember to be safe!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend with those they love! Have fun and go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

June 3, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

The class of 2022 received a powerful message this afternoon on the dangers of drinking and driving. School Resource Officer Jenna Quattrini hosted a mock DWI experience on the lawn of the high school. The goal was to give students an eye-opening education on the consequences of driving while impaired, especially ahead of the Senior Ball, which will be held on Saturday, June 11th.

The Senior Ball and other graduation events are a time of celebration, but it’s extremely important for students to see that one poor decision could end in an irreversible tragedy. We love all of our students and want to keep everyone safe. The exercise included the Baldwinsville Police Department, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, North West Fire District, Maurer Funeral Home, Greater Baldwinsville Ambulance Corps (GBAC) and Baldwinsville Village Judge Elijah Huling Jr. Thank you to all those who participated in delivering this important message to our students. Please stay safe. We want everyone alive and well.

I have a couple announcements to share with you today:

School Supply Lists

The School Supply Lists for the 2022-2023 school year are now available on our website. The lists are divided by grade level. Elementary school lists are the same districtwide. You can view all the lists HERE.

Bees in Action!

Spring sports are winding down but there’s still plenty of action! Antonio Marsallo made it to the second day of play for the Boys Tennis state tournament in Flushing, Queens. He received a sportsmanship award by Section 3! Great job, Antonio! Our Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams will both take on teams from Corning in the Regional Finals on Saturday. The Girls Lacrosse team will play at 9 a.m. at Ithaca High School and the Boys Lacrosse team will play at 12:30 p.m. at Cicero-North Syracuse. Aidan Farmer will compete in the Boys Golf NYSPHSAA State Championships this weekend at Mark Twain G.C. in Elmira. Go Bees!

Congratulations to our Softball team on an amazing season. They lost a hard-fought battle in extra innings late Thursday night, but we couldn’t be more proud of this team for giving their all this season. The team made school history this year by capturing their first league title! Hold your heads high, Bees! Outstanding work!

Our athletes who participated in the Track & Field state qualifiers on Thursday did amazing! Owen Weaver won the pentathlon and is currently ranked #1 in the state and #1 in the nation! Congratulations, Owen! Bees also won first place in the 4x800 (Solomon Holden-Betts, Jeff Ragonese, Jack McAllister and Logan Hayes), 3000 Steeplechase (Solomon Holden-Betts), 1600m (Solomon Holden-Betts) and 100m and 200m (Sam Mellinger), earning the Bees spots in the state competition on Friday 6/10 & Saturday 6/11 at CNS. Go Bees!

Music

If you’re looking to catch some great music this weekend, the Bees Pep Band will be on the stage at the Taste of Syracuse in Clinton Square this Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. If you’re interested in staying in, check out our Baldwinsville Music and Theater Department YouTube channel and watch the videos of the end of the year concerts. Our students worked very hard and they sound amazing! Enjoy!

I hope everyone enjoys the sunshine this weekend! Have a great weekend with family and loved ones! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

May 26, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

The District is abuzz with excitement as we begin the countdown to the last day of school. Final musical performances are being held, our student-athletes are competing in post-season action, and end of the year celebrations are underway! It’s an exciting time of year and it’s a great time to take a pause. There is no school for all students on Friday thanks to unused emergency closing days. All District buildings will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day, a day we honor and remember the military men and women who served and sacrificed for our country.

I have a few announcements to share with you this week:

COVID-19 Reminders

Prior to returning to school from the Memorial Day holiday weekend, we encourage asymptomatic students and staff to test for COVID-19, though this is not required. At-home test kits are available at all school buildings upon request. All positive at-home test results should be submitted to the Onondaga County Health Department using this link and also reported to the school nurse.

Additionally, the district continues to partner with the Onondaga County Health Department to offer weekly COVID-19 surveillance testing. Each Monday, students and staff can volunteer to participate in saliva based PCR testing. If you are interested in registering your child, you can learn more here.

Marching Bees

Our Marching Bees will have a busy weekend. On Saturday, the band will travel to Six Flags Darien Lake to compete in a parade band competition during the 2022 Music Fest. On Monday, the band will perform in two Memorial Day parades. The Baldwinsville Memorial Day Parade will start at 10 a.m. and the Jordan Memorial Day Parade of Bands kicks off at about 3 p.m. Come out and support our Bees!

Mental Wellness Committee Event

The District’s Mental Wellness Committee is hosting a free seminar for parents and community members featuring Brooks Gibbs, a social psychologist, award-winning presenter and resilience educator. Mr. Gibbs teaches students how to regulate emotions and solve social problems.
The parent seminar will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at the auditorium of the C.W. Baker High School. The presentation is open to the public and students are also welcome to attend. Learn more on our website.

Mock DWI

C.W. Baker High School will hold a mock DWI experience for seniors at about 1 p.m. on Friday, June 3rd. The event will be held in the lawn in front of Baker High School Athletic Entrance #2. The demonstration will include police, fire, EMS, funeral services and possibly a helicopter. We don’t want to alarm any families or community members. Please help us spread the word that this is a mock demonstration! This experience is intended to educate and warn students of the dangers of driving while impaired, especially ahead of Senior Ball, which will be held at the Oncenter in Syracuse on Saturday, June 11th.

Go Bees!

Congratulations to the Boys Track and Field team for winning the 2022 Class AA Boys Track and Field Sectional Championship. This is a first in school history and we're so proud of their hard work! Great job to all! Congratulations to Boys Golfer Aidan Farmer for making it to the next round of the State Qualifiers for golf. Aidan will continue to play on Friday! Go Aidan!

We also have three tennis players who advanced from the State Qualifiers on Tuesday to play in the State tournament today at the Utica Parkway tennis courts. The qualifiers are Antonio Marsallo for singles and Max Funiciello and Nick Licciardello for doubles. Good luck!

Our Girls Varsity Crew team is competing at Nationals in New Jersey today and Friday! Our Baseball team will face West Genesee in the Sectional Semifinals at 4:30 p.m. today at Onondaga Community College. The Girls Lacrosse team will take on Christian Brothers Academy in the Sectional Semifinals at 5 p.m. today at East Syracuse Minoa High School. Our Boys Lacrosse team will take on Liverpool at 7 p.m. Friday in the Sectional Finals at Cicero-North Syracuse. The Softball team will take on Cicero-North Syracuse in the Sectional Semifinals at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at OCC. Tickets for Sectional semifinals and finals must be purchased online. Buy tickets here.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and spends some quality time with loved ones and friends. All the best. Thank you. Go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

May 20, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I would like to start off by thanking our community for coming out to vote on Tuesday in our annual school budget vote.Thank you for approving the 2022-2023 general fund budget and additional propositions. I sincerely appreciate your continued support for our students and staff. It means a lot and it is never taken for granted. Thank you.

Thank you to all of our candidates who ran for the board and congratulations to those who were successfully voted on. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to Mrs. Denise Falso, Mr. Brian Dingle and Mrs. Joan Reeves for their years of service. Also, a very special thank you to Joan who served for 41 years! Thank you for your years and years of dedication to our Baldwinsville school district and to our community! The Board of Education plays an important role in the success of a school district. Mrs. Sam Schraven, Mrs. Tanya Rosado-Barringer and Mr. Wayne Davison Jr., we look forward to working with you!

I have a few announcements to share with you this week:

Calendar Reminders

Pending no additional changes to the school calendar, there will be no school for all students on Friday, May 27, 2022. There is no school for all students on Monday, May 30, 2022 as we observe the Memorial Day holiday. District offices will also be closed on Memorial Day.

Special Champions

I had the honor to attend and hand out ribbons at the Special Champions event on Monday at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. This was the second year for the track and field event, which featured student-athletes from all eight of our school buildings. The success of this event could be measured in the countless smiles from students, guests and volunteers! Thank you to our amazing Special Education Department, physical education teachers and student volunteers who made the day exceptional and memorable! You can read more about the event on our website and see dozens of photos on our Facebook page.

High School Diplomas for Veterans

The District wishes to recognize current residents or former students of the BCSD who left high school before completing graduation requirements for the purpose of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The BCSD may award an honorary high school diploma to a military veteran who meets the criteria according to Operation Recognition, which recognizes the devotion and sacrifice of all Veterans who left school early by presenting them with a high school diploma. Visit our website to learn more.

The graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022 will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 24, 2022 at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. Deadline to request an honorary diploma is Friday, June 10, 2022.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy the warm weather this weekend with loved ones and friends! Go Bees! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

May 13, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

It was amazing to see B’ville Go Green today for Mental Health Awareness Month! Our teachers, staff members and students wore green to help break the silence on mental health issues. Let’s keep the conversation going!

Please make sure you mark your calendars for Brooks Gibbs’ visit on May 31st. Mr. Gibbs, a social psychologist and award-winning presenter, will wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month by presenting to students, parents and community members. Mr. Gibbs teaches students how to regulate emotions and solve social problems. The community presentation, which is open to the public, will be held at 6 p.m. at C.W. Baker High School auditorium. Learn more on our website.

I have a few announcements to share with you this week:

Budget Vote

Residents will go to the polls on Tuesday, May 17th to vote for our 2022-23 school budget, Capital Improvement Project and other propositions, including picking three district residents to serve on our Board of Education. Learn more about the vote by viewing our updated electronic version of the Hive on our website. If you missed the Meet the Candidates Night or our Public Hearing, you can also watch the video on our website.

Voting will be held at the District Operations Building again this year. The polls are open from 6am to 9pm at our District Operations Building, our former Transportation Center, located on our main campus at 29 East Oneida Street. Voters will be asked to enter on Albert Palmer Lane. Once you’ve turned onto Albert Palmer Lane, the entrance to the parking lot and the entrance to vote will be on your left.

Seal of Biliteracy

It is my pleasure to announce that the following seniors have successfully completed the requirements for the Seal of Biliteracy. Earning the Seal of Biliteracy means a student has demonstrated proficiency in both English and one other World Language. Students with an asterisk demonstrated proficiency in two world languages. We are extremely proud of our students for their accomplishments! Outstanding job!

Aidan Kalin (Spanish)
Grace Branshaw (Spanish
Emileigh Atkinson-Snow (Spanish)
Jessica Carone (Spanish)
Lydia Scherfling (Spanish)
*Andrea Ilioska (Macedonian and Serbian)
*César Pérez Mariño (French and Spanish)
Milo Austin (French)
Sara O'Dell (French)
James McKenney (Spanish)
Carsyn Cronin (French)
Ashleigh Bowman (German)
Sophia Greene (Spanish)

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy the beautiful weather everyone! All the best. Thank you. Go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

May 6, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! It was Teacher Appreciation Week and it was amazing to see the outpouring of love and admiration for our teachers. They truly do a phenomenal job and deserve our gratitude every day! They say it takes a village to raise a child and it truly takes an entire district to teach a child, so I want to say thank you to all of our staff members. Each and every person in our district plays a vital role in creating the environment needed for our students to learn, grow and thrive. We appreciate you everyday...not just one day or one week! Thank you!

I have a several announcements to share with you today:

Meet the Candidates Night & Public Hearing

Please join us for our Meet the Candidates Night and Public Hearing on our Budget and Capital Project on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at the Transportation Department, 2810 W. Entry Road, Baldwinsville. The Meet the Candidates Night starts at 6:30 p.m. and our Public Hearing will start immediately following at about 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend or watch via Zoom. The Zoom link will be posted on our website.

Capital Improvement Project

Last week we asked for your questions on our Capital Improvement Project, which will bring improvements and renovations to Durgee Junior High School. Thank you to those who submitted questions. The Q&A is posted on our website.

Hive

The 2022-23 Budget Newsletter edition of the Hive has been printed and you should be receiving it in the mail soon. You can read the current digital version o our website now.

Job Fair & Open House

The District is hosting a Job Fair and Open House from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10th at the Transportation Department. The Transportation Department, which is located at 2180 W. Entry Road in Baldwinsville, was completed in the winter of 2019 just prior to the start of COVID. Visitors will be able to tour the building. We’re excited to finally be able to host an Open House! The Job Fair will feature information on several open positions in our Facilities, Food Service and Transportation departments.

COVID update

The District continues to partner with the Onondaga County Health Department to offer weekly COVID-19 surveillance testing. Each Monday, students and staff can volunteer to participate in saliva based PCR testing. If you are interested in registering your child, you can learn more here.

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and our District is going green to promote awareness. Our Mental Health Committee is asking everyone to wear green on Friday, May 13th. Post pictures on social media of Mental Health Awareness Month activities to break the silence regarding mental health! Use the hashtags #BvilleGoesGreen and #MentalHealthAwareness

Mental Wellness Committee event

The District’s Mental Wellness Committee is hosting a free seminar for parents and community members featuring Brooks Gibbs, a social psychologist, award-winning presenter and resilience educator. Mr. Gibbs teaches students how to regulate emotions and solve social problems.

The parent seminar will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at the auditorium of the C.W. Baker High School. The presentation is open to the public and students are also welcome to attend. Learn more on our website.

Musical

The “Mary Poppins” musical opens tonight at C.W. Baker High School auditorium. Tickets are still available at bvilletheater.com. So much hard work goes into a musical production and I’m beyond proud of our Durgee and Baker students and staff members who dedicated countless hours on the stage and behind the scenes. Great work, Bees!

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and I want to send out a special thank you to all the mothers, grandmothers and mother figures! Thank you for all that you do! Enjoy your day!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

April 29, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Earlier this week we celebrated Administrative Professionals Day and next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, School Principals’ Day and National School Lunch Hero Day! I love that these recognition days and weeks give us all an opportunity to say thank you to our dedicated staff members. I’m so grateful for the committed, passionate and talented staff members who keep this district not only running but excelling! Thank you to all our teachers, administrators and staff who make a difference every day!

I wanted to share a few quick updates with you today:

Capital Improvement Project

When district voters go to the polls on May 17th to vote on our school budget and other propositions, they will also be deciding on a Capital Improvement Project at Durgee Junior High School. Learn more about the project by visiting our website or watching this video. Also, we want to make sure all of your questions are answered. Email questions to our Public Information Specialist Sarah Buckshot at sbuckshot@bville.org and we will do our best to provide answers in a Q&A that I will share here next Friday! Please have your questions submitted by 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 3rd. Also, mark your calendars for our public hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10th at the Transportation Center, 2810 West Entry Road in Baldwinsville.

An Important Immunization Reminder

Students 11 years old or older entering grades 6-12 are required to have one dose of Tdap.

Students entering grades 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11th grade are required to have one dose of the Meningococcal vaccine; a booster dose is required for 12th grade if the first dose was received before 16 years old.

The District is mandated to exclude students that do not meet the criteria set forth in the New York State Immunizations for School Attendance, which you can find on our Health Services webpage. Immunizations work to keep vaccine preventable diseases out of the schools and protect children from their serious consequences.

An honor for our high school

C.W. Baker High School is one of the top public high school schools in the Syracuse area according to the U.S. News and World Report. We are ranked #12 overall, and #2 when compared to other similar sized high schools! Great work to our Baker administrators, teachers and staff members!

Prom

Our junior prom will be held Saturday evening at our high school! I hope the Class of 2023 has a fantastic time. Don’t forget to share your photos on our Facebook page! Have fun, make memories and stay safe!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Enjoy your weekend with family, friends, and loved ones! Go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

April 22, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a fantastic spring break and has re-adjusted to their schedules this week! It’s been a busy week as we kicked off the final quarter of the school year! Sunshine and warmth is on the way!

I have a few reminders to share with you today:

Report Cards

Report Cards are now available in the Parent Portal.

Calendar Updates

Pending no additional changes to the school calendar, There will be no school for all students on May 27, 2022. Additionally, the schedule for the last week of school (week of June 19, 2022) for students will be as follows:

Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High school students will follow the Regents schedule for the week of June 19, 2022.
There is no school for all students and district offices will be closed on Monday, June 20 to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday.
Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22 will be half days for PreK-7 students. Ray Middle School will dismiss at 10:30 a.m. and the elementary schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 is the last day of school for all students in grades PK-7.

Spectators

Earlier this week our Athletic Director Christopher Campolieta spoke out on Twitter and to the media about an issue regarding spectator behavior towards umpires, referees and other officials during and after sporting events. I want to share my support for Mr. Campolieta’s concerns and ask that all those who attend sporting events - home and away – act as good role models for our students.

Below is Chris’ statement that was posted on our district’s Athletics Twitter page:

We have a major, major problem with how our spectators (Home/Visitor) are treating umpires, referees, & officials (U, R, & O) I just received a report today that after a lacrosse game last week, two officials were confronted by an adult who verbally assaulted them in the parking lot after a game because of how it was officiated. If we as the adults/role models, cannot respectfully hold each other accountable to act civilized towards (U, R, & O) and understand that these are human beings trying to give our student athletes an authentic experience playing a game, I’m afraid that we may not have enough of them to continue officiating. These (U, R, & O) are everyday people just like us. They are doing their best to call a game as they see fit. Are they going to be perfect - absolutely NOT. But when I get off the phone with one of them who has been an official since 2011 and he tells me that he wants to quit because of the everyday verbal abuse from spectators, that’s an issue. Give them a break. Rather than ripping them apart, try thanking them. Thank them for giving your kids a chance to compete and to have fun. We all can do better.

Thank you Mr. Campolieta for your passion and dedication to our student-athletes! Mr. Campolieta is a true leader and role model. Respect and kindness doesn't cost a thing!

2022 Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) designation.

The NAMM Foundation has recognized the Baldwinsville Central School District for its outstanding commitment to music education with a 2022 Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) designation. This is the 13th consecutive year that the District has received the prestigious designation.

The Best Communities for Music Education awards program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders who have made music education a part of the curriculum. The designation indicates that a school district has an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education.

Music education is not only supported in our district but it is valued. Our music education programs have been enriched by talented and dedicated individuals who are passionate about music and teaching!

Yearly Physical Form

Reminder: Please submit your students' yearly physical form

All New York State public school students must submit a copy of a physical exam when they are entering the District for the first time AND/OR entering Pre K, K, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11.

According to New York State Education Law, beginning January 31, 2021 physical examinations for school are to be documented on the NYS Required Health Examination Form or an electronic health record equivalent form. To access the state form and for more information on required physicals and immunizations, visit the Health Services page on the district’s website.

Primary care providers are welcoming patients back into their offices for important comprehensive wellness exams, to evaluate vaccination status and to share important health information. Please call your provider now to schedule your well child exam.

COVID-19 Reminders

At-home test kits continue to be available at any of our school buildings upon request. Individuals who test positive on an at-home test should submit the positive test result to the health department through this link and also inform the school nurse. Isolation is required for any individual who tests positive for COVID-19. The individual must remain in isolation on days 1 through 5, and can be released from isolation on day 6 as long as a well-fitting mask is worn through day 10. Masking on days 6 through 10 is not an option, and those refusing to mask will not be permitted to attend school through the end of day 10.

Musical

Tickets for "Mary Poppins,” which is presented by Durgee and Baker students, can be purchased at www.bvilletheater.com. There is info for both live and streaming performances. Morgan Coffey (Mary Poppins) and Emily Garcia (The Bird Woman) performed “Feed the Birds” from the musical, “Mary Poppins” at Monday’s board meeting! Visit our Facebook page to watch a clip of the performance. It’s going to be a fantastic production and I can’t wait to see all of our talented students perform!

Go Bees!

Our spring sports teams are red hot right now! From dominating performances to come-from-behind wins, it’s a great time to check out a game and support our Bees! Go Bees!

Respectfully yours

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

April 7, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Spring Break! I hope everyone can spend time with family, friends and loved ones. Today is also the last day of the third marking period. My hope is that Spring Break will give our students and staff time to relax and recharge as we prepare for the final quarter of the school year. It’s been a challenging year thus far and I am so very thankful for each of you working together to support one another. Please accept my heartfelt thank you!

I have a few reminders to share with you today:

Calendar Reminders

Our District offices will be closed on Friday, April 15th. Students and staff will return to school on Monday, April 18th. Please note that Report Cards will not be available in the Parent Portal until Friday, April 22nd.

DEI Community Event

Everyone is invited to a community event hosted by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community Committee. The event, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: From Dialogue to Action!” will be held on April 21, 2022 at the C.W. Baker High School Auditorium. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Our keynote speaker will be Derrick Dorsey, Executive Director of CNY School Boards Association and former Director of Community-Wide Dialogue to End Racism at InterFaith Works of Central New York. Guests are able to select from a list of breakout sessions. Childcare will be available for BCSD students in grades K-4 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. Learn more about the event and register for breakout sessions and childcare on our website. Everyone is welcome to attend.

COVID-19 Reminders

Asymptomatic home testing of students and staff on Monday 4/18 and Friday 4/22 is encouraged to ensure a safe and healthy return from Spring Break. “Grab-n-go” at home test kits will be available over break from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 pm beginning Friday 4/8 through Thursday 4/14 inside the main entrance at each school. If you stop by to pick up test kits, please limit to 2 boxes per child. You can pick up test kits at any school building; it does not have to be at the building each child attends. At-home positive test results should be uploaded to the local health department’s website using this link.

Community Engagement Survey from Dr. Gupta

“Dear School Partners,

Every three years the Onondaga County Health Department conducts a Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan in partnership with local hospitals. To inform this process, we’ve developed a Community Survey to hear directly from Onondaga County residents. Given the challenges of the past two years, it’s more important than ever that we understand the perspective of our community as it relates to health and healthcare.

Let your voice be heard by clicking on the link below! The survey takes only 10 minutes to complete. Plus, you can enter to win one of five $50 gift cards. The survey will be open until May 13th.

Please distribute this survey to patients, clients, colleagues, friends, family, and community partners so we can get a variety of perspectives from all those we serve.

The survey is currently available in English and Spanish. If you would like materials in any of the following languages: Arabic, Nepali, Somali, or Karen, please contact Madeline Mackowski at madelinemackowski@ongov.net and she will provide those once they are finalized.

English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OCHDCHA2022

Spanish: https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/CHA2022Esp

Thank you in advance for your collaboration on this important initiative!

Warm regards,

Indu Gupta

Indu Gupta, MD, MPH, MA, FACP

Commissioner

Onondaga County Health Department”

Congratulations

I want to send out a congratulations to our Varsity Color Guard for winning the Gold Medal at the Mid York Winter Guard Championship show on Saturday, April 2nd. This marks the group's second consecutive Gold Medal finish at finals! The guard also was named the “Fan Favorite!” They sure are our favorite! Go Bees!

Artwork

Looking for something to do next week, you can check out the creations from our amazing student artists at the Baldwinsville Public Library and Beaver Lake Nature Center. Work from our students in all of our elementary schools is on display all this month at the Baldwinsville Public Library. Beaver Lake Nature is hosting the “Student Art - Naturally”, an exhibit sponsored by Region 3 of the New York State Art Teachers Association. This special art exhibit features artwork created by local students in kindergarten through 12th grade with a nature theme. We have several students featured in the show.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. I hope you all have a safe and restful Spring Break with family, friends, and loved ones.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

April 1, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

We are less than a week away from Spring Break and that’s no joke! Happy April 1st! I hope everyone had a great week. Sunshine is on the way!

I have a few announcements to share with you today:

Calendar Reminders

The third marking period ends on Thursday, April 7th and Spring Break begins on Friday, April 8th. District offices are closed on Friday, April 15th. Students and staff return to school on Monday, April 18th.

Exciting Summer Opportunities

Registration opens at 4 p.m. today for the 2022 Summer Enrichment Programs. Click the link below to learn more and to register. All programs are free of cost for Baldwinsville students.

Building Upon Success on July 18-22 & 25-29 for students currently in Grades K-6

Athletic Camp on August 1-5 for students currently in Grades K-6

Instrumental Music Camp Extravaganza on July 11-15 for students currently in Grades 3-8

STEAM Camp on August 22-26 for students currently in Grades 4-7

Filmmaking Camp on August 8-12 for students currently in Grades 6-8

Band Concert

If you missed the Durgee Junior High School/C.W. Baker High School Band Concert this week, you can watch it HERE. Great work, students and staff! Thank you!

Thank you

Monday is National School Librarian Day. Our Library Media Specialists are absolutely amazing educators who go above and beyond for our students and our staff. Thank you for creating an environment where students feel welcome and supported to learn, grow and explore!

Next week is National Assistant Principals Week. Our APs at Ray, Durgee and Baker are outstanding leaders. Thank you for your dedication to our students and support to our staff!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! Have a great weekend! Enjoy your weekend with loved ones and friends. All the best!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

March 25, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Our C.W. Baker High School auditorium was once again filled this week with proud family and friends and incredible displays of talent by our students. The All-District Orchestra Concert featured musicians from Ray Middle School, Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School. The show was absolutely incredible. If you missed it, visit our website to watch videos of the performances.

The Durgee/Baker Band Concert was rescheduled for Wednesday, March 30th. The auditorium will be open and a live stream will be posted on our website.

I hope everyone had a great week. Here are a few announcements:

COVID-19 Reminders

As our region and local community begin to see an increase in cases due to the BA.2 Omicron variant, we ask that members of our school community stay home when sick. Return to school should not occur until an individual has been fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication and symptoms have improved. It is recommended that a mask is worn for 10 days following the onset of symptoms if the individual has not tested negative or received an alternate diagnosis from a medical provider.

Scholar-Athletes

Congratulations to our varsity winter teams who qualified for the NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete Team Award. To qualify, 75% of the team’s roster must be 90% or higher. You can see the entire list of athletes on our website. Great work, Bees. We are so proud of you! Your dedication to your education and your teams is admirable! Go Bees!

Calendar Reminders

Spring Break is right around the corner. The third marking period ends on Thursday, April 7th and the break begins on Friday, April 8th, which is just 2 weeks from today! Students return to school on Monday, April 18th. Please note that there is an error on the District Calendar. Report Cards will not be available in the Parent Portal until Friday, April 22nd.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! Have a great weekend! All the best!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson. Superintendent of Schools

March 18, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Our C.W. Baker High School auditorium was filled this week with proud family and friends, and the sound of beautiful music! If you missed the All-District Chorus Concerts, which featured students in 4th-12th grade, visit our website to watch videos of the performances. We have extremely talented students and we are so proud of them all.I hope everyone had a great week. Here are a few announcements:

Superintendent’s Conference Day

There is no school for ALL STUDENTS on Monday, March 21st for a Superintendent’s Conference Day. I hope everyone enjoys the 3-day weekend!

COVID update

At-home COVID test kits are still available upon request at each school building. Positive at-home test results should be submitted to the Onondaga County Health Department using this secure link, in addition to notifying the school nurse.

Calendar

Our school district calendar for the 2022-2023 school year has been approved by the Board of Education and uploaded on our website. Check it out HERE. Hopefully this helps everyone plan for the upcoming year.

Seeking Community Members

We are seeking community members and parents to join two committees: Strategic Planning Committee and the Shared-Decision Making plan review committee. Community members must be District residents. Interested candidates should contact the Public Information Specialist Sarah Buckshot at sbuckshot@bville.org or 315-638-6180. We want your input as it is valued and appreciated.
The Shared-Decision Making plan review committee will review the District's current plan, which details how stakeholders' feedback is utilized in the District’s decision-making process. The group will meet twice. The tentative meeting dates are from 3 to 5 p.m. on March 28th and April 4th.The Strategic Planning Committee will meet to update the District's Strategic Plan, which provides a focus and direction for our District, individual school buildings, staff members and students. The committee will be made up of school board members, teachers, students, parents and community members. Tentative meeting dates are from 3 to 5 p.m. on April 18th, April 25th, May 2nd, May 9th, May 16th and May 23rd.
Musical
Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School students will present “Mary Poppins” the musical on May 6th & 7th. Tickets are now on sale for both live and streaming performances. Visit bvilletheater.com to buy tickets and reserve seats.
Marching Band
Our Marching Bees did an amazing job performing during the St. Patrick’s Parade in Syracuse last Saturday. Visit our Facebook page to watch a video of the performance. Great job, Bees! You conquered the weather like true professionals! The Marching Band’s season officially kicks off with an interest meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24th in the Baker High School Auditorium. Current 6^th graders who will be entering 7th grade next year are eligible to join the parade band. Come join the band! Our amazing band director Mr. Vanderstouw needs our amazing students! Check out this awesome video, which was released today, of the 2020/2021 Marching Band Show “The Black Parade.” I’m in awe of this phenomenal display of talent and hard work!

Kudos

While the Marching Bees were performing outside, the Baker and Durgee robotics teams were competing inside the OnCenter at the Northern New York State VEX Robotics Competition Championship on Saturday. Check out our Facebook page for photos. I’m very impressed with all the hard work and dedication of our student engineers and programmers! Great work!

I want to also send a special shout out to senior Anna Johnson who competed in the SkillsUSA Regional Competition last month and won first place in the Medical Math Competition. We are extremely proud of Anna! Good luck in the New York State Competition in April! We’re all cheering for you!

Our winter sports season has come to an end and I want to thank all of our winter athletes and coaches for an amazing season. There were triumphs and challenges, but you gave it your all and made us proud all the way through. The spring sports season starts on Monday! Let’s Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! Have a great weekend! Enjoy the sunshine today. All the best!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson
Superintendent of Schools

March 11, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

It’s been nearly two years since guests and our family members have visited our schools due to COVID restrictions! Starting Friday, March 18th, our visitor policy is returning to “pre-COVID” practices and procedures in all of our District buildings. I am extremely pleased to share that we’re all excited to welcome back guest speakers, parents and volunteers! I hope everyone had a good week, I have a few announcements to share with you today:

Calendar Reminders

Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday, March 13th. Don’t forget to spring ahead one hour on Sunday!
Friday, March 18th is Parent-Teacher Conferences and a half day for all elementary (Pre-K to 5th Grade) students. Breakfast will be served to elementary students but no lunch will be served. Ray, Durgee and Baker students have a regular full day of school.
No School for all students on Monday, March 21st for a Superintendent’s Conference Day.

Hive

You should have received the Hive in the mail next week. Please take the time to review it because it contains important information about our Capital Improvement Project. The Hive is now available online on our website.

Help for Students

If you're looking for resources on talking with children who are impacted by the War in Ukraine, our Director of Pupil & Personnel Services suggests reviewing the information from the National Association of School Psychologists.

Our Support

In light of what is occuring in Florida around the controversial Parental Rights in Education bill, which has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, I would like to reaffirm our District’s committment to providing an inclusive and equitable learning environment for ALL STUDENTS. We support our LGBTQ+ students, staff and community members. We uphold the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mission Statement, which states that we “value and embrace diversity within our schools and our community.” And we support the state Department of Education’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) framework, which “helps educators create student-centered learning environments that: affirm racial, linguistic and cultural identities; prepare students for rigor and independent learning, develop students’ abilities to connect across lines of difference; elevate historically marginalized voices; and empower students as agents of social change.”

COVID-19 Updates

Our COVID-19 website is now updated. You can read a summary of the updates HERE.

When any student exhibits symptoms of COVID-19, return to school shall occur when the student has been fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and symptoms have improved. It is recommended that the student wears a mask for 10 days following the onset of symptoms if the student has not tested negative or received an alternative diagnosis from a medical provider.
Maintain appropriate physical distancing between yourself and others if not masked when indoors. It is recommended that 6 ft of distance is maintained when feasible to prevent potential transmission of COVID-19.
Masking and testing are recommended for asymptomatic individuals following exposure, especially higher risk exposures such as presence of someone with COVID-19 in the household and for individuals who are not up to date on their vaccinations. Exposed individuals may remain in school and participate in school-based extracurricular activities by appropriately wearing a well-fitting mask for 10 days and undergoing recommended testing. Testing is recommended on the day notified of exposure and on day 5 following the exposure. At-home test kits can be obtained upon request from each school building for this purpose.

District Report Card

Brand New!!! We now have available on our District website a District Report Card -- an interactive report updated quarterly. Our goals in providing this data are to celebrate the successes of Baldwinsville students and staff, monitor and examine areas in which support, resources and help is needed, and to remain transparent in our work as a school district. You can view the district report card here.

Marching Bees

Our awesome and extremely talented Marching Band will perform in the annual St. Patrick’s Parade in Downtown Syracuse. The parade returns after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. Our Marching Bees are excited to kick off the marching season at the parade. The parade starts at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 12th.

Let’s Go Bees

Our Girls Bowling team will be competing in the State tournament this Sunday at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes in Syracuse! Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! Have a great weekend! All the best!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

March 4, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine today. I have a few announcements to share with you this afternoon.

Capital Improvement Project

When residents go to the polls in May to decide on the 2022-2023 school budget and other propositions, they will also be asked to cast their votes on a capital improvement project. The $32.8 million capital project will allow the District to make renovations and improvements to Durgee Junior High School.

The work at Durgee involves construction of a new gymnasium and STEAM space. The project also includes the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the existing technology, music and art space, media center, kitchen, cafeteria and gymnasium. The main office will be housed near the nurses office and guidance to create a safe and secure main entrance off the bus loop. Upgrades to the building’s infrastructure are also included in the project.

Learn more about what’s planned, cost and voter information on our website.

COVID-19 Update

There is no longer a universal masking mandate. Masks are not required in any of our schools, district buildings, or on school buses. If a student or staff member wears a mask, whether by choice, expectation, or requirement, they will be allowed to do so. It is expected that each individual’s right to mask or not is free from stigmatization, bullying, or being made to feel uncomfortable.

ISOLATION is required for any individual who tests positive for COVID-19. The individual must remain in isolation on days 1 through 5, and can be released from isolation on day 6 as long as a well-fitting mask is worn through day 10. Masking on days 6 through 10 is not an option, and those refusing to mask will not be permitted to attend school through the end of day 10.

Young Artists

Artwork from our students from Ray Middle School, Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School is on display at the Baldwinsville Public Library during the month of March. This annual event gives our young artists an opportunity to showcase their artistic skills and talents.

Go Bees!

Boys Swimmer Mikey White is competing in States at Ithaca College today. Eight members of our Boys Indoor Track team will participate in States on Saturday at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. Best of luck to Zachary Arria, Malik Davis, Logan Hayes, Solomon Holden-Betts, Jack McAllister, Sam Mellinger, Kyle Sheckler, and Owen Weaver. Our Girls Varsity Basketball team will play in the Section III Class AA final game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 at SRC Arena. Follow our Athletic Department on Twitter for updates. Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

February 25, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope you are having a restful and enjoyable February break! The staff and I look forward to welcoming our children back to school on Monday. Until then I hope you can enjoy some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

Earlier this week was National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day and I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to our amazing transportation staff. Our bus drivers are phenomenal people who keep our District moving. Our entire Transportation Department has gone above and beyond. Our mechanics are driving as well on top of all of their regular duties to keep us running! We appreciate all that our bus drivers do to keep our students safe and keep our district running smoothly!

Also, a huge thank you to all of our support staff, nurses, custodians, TA’s, Food Service workers, aides and substitute teachers. Thank you to all of our teachers, administrators and our volunteer Board of Education members. We have the best staff and we are truly blessed. We could not do it without you! Please forgive me if I left anyone out.

I have a few quick announcements to share with everyone this week.

COVID Update as of 2/25/2022:

As we prepare to return to school, I wanted to remind families that the state and local health departments suggest asymptomatic home testing of students and staff on Monday, February 28th and Friday, March 4th to ensure a safe and healthy return from break. If you were unable to pick up a test kit this week, please contact your child’s school on Monday.

The mask requirement remains in place at this time for schools and will be reevaluated by Governor Hochul’s office.

Go Bees!

It’s a busy weekend for our Bees! States for Boys Wrestling is being held today and tomorrow at MVP Arena in Albany. Senior Aidan Cali is competing! Go, Aidan! Congratulations to our Girls Varsity Basketball team. The team has advanced to the Sectional Semifinals. The Bees will face the Rome Free Academy Black Knights at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at Allyn Hall in the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. Our Hockey team’s incredible season is continuing on Monday as they play in the Sectional Finals vs. West Genesee at 7:45 p.m. at the Upstate Medical Arena at the OnCenter War Memorial. Go Bees!

Next weekend we have several students competing in States for Indoor Track and Field and Boys Swimming. Stay tuned for updates. Great job to all our winter student athletes. We’re very proud of your accomplishments, commitment and dedication!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

February 18, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

As we head into a much-deserved February break, I wanted to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of each and every one of our students for their hard work and dedication. This week, we hit the 100th day of school and some of the teachers noted that “we’re 100 days smarter.” I would like to add that we’re also 100 days braver, 100 days kinder and 100 days stronger!

I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing February break with loved ones! I have a few announcements to share this week:

Mask requirement:

Following February break, the mask requirement for schools will be reevaluated by Governor Hochul’s office. The requirement remains in place at this time.

I joined together with other Central New York school superintendents this week to send a letter to Governor Hochul, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Bassett and New York State Education Department Commissioner Dr. Rosa regarding the mask issue. You can read the letter HERE. In the letter, we asked the state to create an exit strategy from the pandemic so that public school children can enjoy a return to normalcy. We also asked the state to hear the voices of parents, staff and students.

The New York State Council of School Superintendents also sent a letter to Dr. Bassett, commissioner of the NYS Department of Health. You can read the letter HERE. The letter also addresses mandatory universal masking and asks the state to “provide clear guidance on universal school mask requirements.”

Testing:

The state and local health departments suggest asymptomatic home testing of students and staff on Monday 2/28 and Friday 3/4 to ensure a safe and healthy return from February break. “Grab-n-go” at home test kits will be available Tuesday through Friday over break inside the main entrance at each school from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. If you stop by to pick up test kits, please limit to 2 boxes per child. You can pick up test kits at any school building; it does not have to be at the building each child attends.

At-home positive test results should be uploaded to the local health department’s website using this link. The health department provides this flowchart that details when positive cases should isolate and when close contacts should quarantine. We ask that families refer to the flowchart as circumstances warrant, and encourage you to contact your child’s school with questions you may have.

Please join me in cheering on our student-athletes as they advance in postseason play. The Boys Basketball team plays in the Sectional Preliminary game and the Boys Swimming competes in State Qualifiers this evening. The Girls Basketball team plays in the Sectional Quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Hockey team competes in the Sectional Semifinal on Thursday. Follow our Athletic Twitter Page for updates. The Bees Pep Band will also be supporting the SUNY Cortland Red Dragon’s men’s and women’s basketball teams at 5 p.m. tonight. Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great week!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

February 11, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

This week was National School Counseling Week and I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for all of our school counselors who make such a positive and meaningful difference in the lives of our students. School counselors play a vital role in helping students achieve academic success and plan for the future. They are each dedicated to making students feel valued and safe while helping with their social and personal development. School counselors are an extremely vital part of our school community. Thank you to our amazing school counselors! We appreciate you!

I have a few announcements to share this week:

COVID Updates:

Governor Hochul announced this week that the mask requirement for schools will remain in place and will be reevaluated in early March when students return from February break. (February Break is February 21-25, 2022.) Governor Hochul suggested asymptomatic home testing on the Monday and Friday of return from break. We have test kits available upon request for all of our students and staff at each school.

We held a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Thursday and 49 shots were administered by Wegmans pharmacy. About half of the shots were second doses from our January clinic and the rest were booster shots. We’re grateful to be able to partner with Wegmans to offer these clinics.

Go Bees:

This is a big weekend for our student-athletes as the regular season wraps up. Several of our wrestlers are heading up to the SRC Arena on the OCC campus to compete in the Section 3 Division 1 tournament this Saturday. Good luck to Aidan Cali, Aaron Fredenburg, Keagan Hayes, Max Naples, Judson Ferris, Korben Haney, and Brandon Levin. Our cheerleaders compete in Sectionals on Saturday at Oriskany High School and our Girls Bowling team will compete in Sectionals on Sunday at Flamingo Bowling Alley. Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

February 4, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Snow Day! I hope everyone is enjoying their day off, and staying safe and warm.

New York State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa released a statement earlier this week calling for a “return to civility and understanding toward one another” as school districts continue to face the challenges caused by COVID-19. Rosa said “we cannot lose sight of the fact that our children are watching and learning from our behavior. For the sake of generations to come, we must all look inward, reflect on our own actions, and ask ourselves whether we are setting the example we want our children to follow.”

We may not always agree, but we can listen to each other, respect one another and seek to understand each other. I am so very grateful for the way our community united at the beginning of the pandemic and has continued to work together as one team. Let’s not forget that we are all in this together and together we are B’ville Strong.

I have a few announcements and reminders to share this week:

Report Cards: Report cards are now available in the Parent Portal.

Congratulations: Our Boys Indoor Track and Field team won the Section III Class AA championship on Wednesday! Great job, Bees!

CNY Writing Awards: Eleven C.W. Baker High School students have received a total of 15 awards in the 2022 Scholastic Writing Awards competition. Gold Key works are automatically advanced to the national level of judging and National Medalists will be announced in March. Congratulations to all the winners. Visit our website to see the list of winners.

Dictionaries: The Baldwinsville Rotary gifted our third graders with dictionaries again this year! Our teachers have great activities planned. The Rotary has donated thousands of dictionaries over the years to our students and we are very grateful. Visit our Facebook page to see photos of some of our students with their new dictionaries.

Reynolds: I visited the Art of Mindfulness mural this week at Reynolds Elementary School. This mural was created by every student at the school. Each student created a heart during Art of Mindfulness Fridays with Ms. LaChausse and Ms. Eschmann. Inside each heart the artists illustrated the love and joy others bring to them using symbols, colors, words and glitter. At the mural, Reynolds staff and students can snap a photo of themselves blowing all of that love and joy into the air. It's a fantastic project and you can see my photo on our Facebook page!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend! Stay warm!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

January 28, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! Today marks the end of the second marking period and I’m so proud of the effort and hard work put forth by our students. In the classroom, on the stage or on the court, I’m overjoyed by the achievements and accomplishments reached by our students so far this school year. I look forward to seeing what the second half of the school year will bring.

I have a few announcements to share this week:

COVID-19 Update: Update from New State State Commissioner of Education, Betty A. Rosa, earlier this week, the Appellate Division, Second Department issued a stay order which upheld the Department of Health’s mask requirement in schools (10 NYCRR 2.60). Although the court set a hearing deadline for today, the State Education Department (SED) has confirmed that this deadline pertained only to written submissions. SED anticipates that the court will issue a further ruling in the coming weeks. Until such time, the mask rule remains in effect. School districts must also abide by any commitment to mask wearing contained in their publicly posted reopening plans for the 2021-2022 school year

Report Cards: Report cards will be available in the Parent Portal on Friday, February 4th.

Pre-kindergarten: On Monday, we welcome a new group of Baldwinsville Bees to our Hive as the pre-kindergarten students arrive for their first day of school. We’re excited to be able to launch our pre-k program and I hope all the students have a great first day of school.

Communication: We want to ensure that our families are receiving all correspondence from the district. As a district we utilize the School Messenger Notification System, which allows us to send out emails and phone calls to your contact information on file. To ensure that you're receiving our communications, add "no-reply@bville.org" to your contact list in your email. This should prevent important emails from going to your spam/junk folder. You may also want to add your child's school number and the district office number to your contacts.

Here are the numbers:

District: 315-638-6043

Baker: 315-638-6000

Durgee: 315-638-6086 and 315-638-6159 (attendance)

Ray MS: 315-638-6106

Elden: 315-638-6118

McNamara: 315-638-6130

Palmer: 315-638-6127

Reynolds: 315-638-6124

Van Buren: 315-638-6121

Transportation: 315-638-6097

We suggest you regularly check our website for important announcements and check your spam folder if you're missing any emails. If you are still missing communications, please send an email to sbuckshot@bville.org for assistance.

You must opt-in to receive text messages from the district. It is easy to opt-in. Please just text the word “YES” to 68453 from your cell phone. You should receive an opt-in confirmation message. If your child's school does not have your cell phone number, please call your child's school and provide them with your current cell phone number. This update will be effective within 24 hours, after which you can text the word “YES” to 68453 from your cell phone. Please note that the District does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges.

How do you spell excitement?: I’m thrilled to announce that we have three fifth grade students who have advanced to the oral round of The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com Spelling Bee. Congratulations to Aidan Maloney Mcrae (Elden), Giacomo Moritz (Palmer) and Sonia Nadzan (Palmer). Learn more about the Spelling Bee on our website.

CNY Scholastic Art Awards: Last week we announced that our students earned CNY Scholastic Art Awards. Nineteen C.W. Baker High School students and four Durgee Junior High School students earned 34 Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention awards in photography, sculpture, mixed media, design and drawing and painting. Check out our website to watch a video of the winning artwork.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

January 21, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope that you and your student(s) had a great week! Below are a few quick district updates and points of pride from a few of our schools.

Board of Education Meeting Location Change

Beginning Monday, January 24th, all Regular Board of Education and Committee meetings will be held at the Transportation Center located at 2810 West Entry Road unless otherwise noted on our webpage.

DATE CHANGE for the Upstate University Hospital Mammography Van

Please note there has been a change to the March date of the Upstate University Hospital Mammography Van visit to our district. The van will be on the main campus (29 E. Oneida St.) on Thursday, March 17, 2022, not March 16th as previously noted. The February date of Wednesday, February 16th remains the same. Mammogram screenings are for any eligible women in the community and will be available between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on both days for those who have scheduled an appointment. Please see the attached flyer for more information to register by phone or online.

Palmer

Palmer celebrated 20+ students for their Excellence Team lunch today that demonstrated their Perseverance this week in conjunction with the Positivity Project and had a SUCCESSFUL Pre-K Screening, welcoming 29 NEW students to Palmer ES. They are excited to have them and cannot wait to see their smallest penguins grow.

Elden

At Elden, they are enjoying our One Book One School book Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez. They have been learning a word a day in Spanish such as la biblioteca, la estrella, and los hermanos. Elden families, students and staff have loved the special events such as "Hats off to Reading- wear your favorite hat day." They are looking forward to all of their upcoming events planned by our wonderful PTA.

Van Buren

Van Buren is very appreciative of our School Resource Officers and local law enforcement for assisting with our emergency drill this week. PARP continues at Van Buren through February 4th. Please contact your child's teacher if you would like to be a Mystery Reader. Van Buren students read for 2,500 minutes during the first week of PARP! Check out Twitter @CroninBee to see the winners of our winter door decorating contest.

Reynolds

Over the past three days several pre-k students were screened at Reynolds and began their journey as learners. They were excited to meet many parents and look forward to the year ahead.

Durgee

Durgee Art Club Member Miabella Hardtner’s artwork was a winner in the CNY-ART: New York Youth Gallery and will be on display inside WonderWorks at Destiny. Congratulations!

Baker

Baker High had a great showing in the Scholastic Art Awards Competition:

5 Gold Keys

5 Silver Keys

20 Honorable Mentions

Congratulations Baker High School Artists!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend and enjoy your weekend everyone with loved ones and friends! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

January 14, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a wonderful and productive week. Please see the updates below from our District. We always have several great things occurring in all of our buildings throughout the week.

Calendar Reminders

There is no school for all students on Monday, January 17, 2022 due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

McNamara News

McNamara staff and students ended the week with a COMFY COZY FRIDAY! Students have been working so hard on their mid-year benchmarking assessments that they wanted to end the week with some celebrations! Also, this morning over 30 students received shoutouts on the PA system for earning Bees Deeds! Keep up the great work McNamara Bees!

Elden News

Elden is gearing up for their upcoming Pick a Reading Partner (PARP) program at Elden Elementary School which will begin on January 18th. Their PTA has put together super fun reading activities including their big One Book One School Book Reveal! Elden would like to thank their wonderful PTA for continuing such a wonderful few weeks of reading events for everyone.

Palmer News

Palmer welcomed author Angela Dominguez for a virtual presentation about her life and writing. Angela is the author of their PARP One Book One School “Stella Has Something to Say”. The students thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her experiences as an author.

Also grades 3, 4, & 5 successfully completed NYS Computer-Based Testing Simulation this week and were able to explore the testing platform firsthand.

Reynolds News

The Pre-K teachers have had a busy week setting up their classrooms and look forward to meeting students at their screening next week!

Room 116 is enjoying watching the students internalize all that they are THANKFUL for on their weekly Gratitude Board. As they spotlight each student’s strengths and accomplishments on their student-led SHINE ON bulletin board, it is also so wonderful to see the children share their positive thoughts as they utilize their Kindness Creation Station to bring joy to others!

Van Buren Thank You

Van Buren is appreciative of their community connections. The Rotary Club of Baldwinsville continues to support Van Buren families with the backpack meal program. Many thanks also to our PTA for providing each classroom with a set of multicultural crayons through a grant from the Crayon Project. Students are celebrating PARP with a pajama theme day, and, with the forecasted weather, it will be a great weekend to cuddle up with a good book!

Durgee German Gift Exchange

Durgee German students enjoyed a holiday gift exchange with their pen pals from Koblenz, Germany.

Upstate University Hospital Mammography Van

Baldwinsville Central School District in partnership with Upstate University is bringing the Upstate University Hospital Mammography Van to Baldwinsville Central Schools at 29 East Oneida Street in Baldwinsville on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 and Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, affecting one in 8 women. It's also one of the most treatable cancers when detected early. Mammogram screenings are for any eligible women in the community and will be available between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. on both days for those who have scheduled an appointment. Please see the attached flyer for more information to register by phone or online.

Vaccine Clinic

The Baldwinsville Central School District is again partnering with Wegmans to offer a vaccine clinic. Registration is now open! The clinic is open to students enrolled in the Baldwinsville CSD and staff members.

For those registering for a two dose-series, the first dose will be administered on Thursday, January 20th and the second dose will be administered on Thursday, February 10th at Durgee Junior High School. Appointment times will be the same on both dates.

For those registering for a BOOSTER dose, you can register for an appointment on Thursday, January 20th. Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J will be available. If registering for a booster dose, please consider:

Moderna and Pfizer: It should be at least 5 months since the date of your 2nd dose in order to get the booster
J and J: It should be at least 2 months since your 1st vaccine in order to get the booster
Pfizer boosters are only available for ages 12 and up. Moderna boosters are for 18 and over

If you are interested in registering, visit this LINK to book your child an appointment. Be sure to select the type of vaccine, enter January 20, 2022 as the clinic date, and enter 13027 as the zip code. You will then book your appointment for the clinic at Durgee Junior High School.

You will also need to print and complete the attached consent form on the day of the clinic. Bring the consent form with you to the appointment. You do NOT need to bring a birth certificate. Answers to some frequently asked questions can be found below. Your healthcare provider is also a great resource.If you are unable to secure an appointment at our in-district clinic, you can also find an appointment at a local pharmacy, county clinic, or the NYS Fairgrounds using the online COVID-19 vaccine finder.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Does a parent/guardian have to be present for a student?

Yes. A parent or legal guardian must accompany the student.

Will I need to sign up for a specific time?

Yes. Please try to arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time. The appointment time will be the same for dose 2 (if registering for a two-dose series).

If I’m scheduling multiple appointments for members of my family but can’t schedule them at the same time or back to back, can we all come together?

Yes. Please try to arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled time with anyone you have registered for an appointment, even if it’s not at the appointment time.

Can my child bring something comforting like a stuffed animal with them?

Yes, of course!

What will happen when I arrive?

You will check in at registration, receive the vaccine, and then you must wait 15 minutes before you can leave. If the individual receiving the vaccine has any allergies that require an EpiPen, you will have to wait for 30 minutes after the injection.

Will I receive proof that my child has been vaccinated?

You will receive a card showing your child has been given the vaccination. Keep this card in good condition and do not lose it. If you can, take a picture of the card for safe keeping. You will need to bring the card with you when you return for the second shot.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend and enjoy your long weekend everyone with loved ones and friends! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

January 7, 2022

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Needless to say, it’s been another busy week! If any one has any questions, comments or concerns in regards to the COVID-19 update letter from yesterday,1/6/2022, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read it, please do so as it contains significant updates in regards to COVID-19. Please know we are here to help. Our first snow storm has arrived in Central New York. Bundle up and enjoy the snow outside this weekend! I can’t thank you enough for all your support and patience. Thank you. Please see the celebrations below and all the great things happening here at Baldwinsville.

Senior High All County Music Festival

Over 40 of our talented Baldwinsville musicians will perform today and tomorrow in the Senior High All-County Festival at Fayetteville-Manlius High School.

Baldwinsville orchestra students that will be performing are Nia Delardi, Emily Demarco, Lauren Gascon, Hannah Gould, Lillian Lavalette, Lauren Millard, Jayden Miranda, Isabella Nalli, Charles Richards, Ninah Roux, Keenan Smith, Jenna Speich and Julia Speich.

Baldwinsville band students that will be performing are Noah Covert, Olivia DeFazio, Gordon Flood, Graham Jackson, Liam Rausa, Finn Saarie and Trevor Stoyer.

Baldwinsville chorus students that will be performing are Miranda Barnard, Evan Burmeister, Morgan Coffey, Owen Davison, Colin Demarest, Hannah Esek, Emily Garcia, Sydney Hall, Allison Hay, Natalie Herman, Cate Johnson, Jaden Kaisa, Nat Landon, Lundy Langstaff, Madison MacLaury, Avery Medwid, Jillian Parker, Owen Penhollow, Katelyn Reynolds, Kelly Rogers, Callie Smith and Lauren Ventura .

Esports Fall Season Recap

The Fall 2021 esports season ended in mid-December. More than 50% of Baldwinsville team rosters made the playoffs in the PlayVS scholastic high school league, with exceptional success at both the state and regional levels. Congratulations to the Varsity Rocket League Team, composed of seniors Joey Pilion, Andrew Klein, and Carter Erwin, finished in 3rd place out of 60 teams in the New York State division and the Varsity Super Smash Brothers Team, composed of juniors Aaron Coe and Candor Burns, and 8th grader Jack Cerrone, finished 7th out of nearly 200 teams in the Eastern Region division.

Durgee Artists

Durgee Artists Brenna Lacey, Aiden DuBois, Olivia VanBuren and Layne Macknik won awards in the Scholastic Art Competition held at Onondaga Community College last week.

Hats off to Elden

Elden Elementary School concluded a wonderful week today with a hat day fundraiser to support families via the Red Cross for Tornado Relief. Students donated $1 to wear their favorite hat. Elden students and families did a fantastic job supporting local families last month and their student council organized this event to help expand their support.

Palmer Celebration

Palmer Elementary celebrated over 20 students during their Excellence Team Lunch (sponsored by Sal’s Pizzeria) this week as they were recognized for their Hope/Optimism in association with the Positivity Project. Also, congratulations to Cara Quinn and Sophia Anderson as winners of the Palmer Yearbook Cover competition for the 2021-22 school year. Their artwork will be showcased on the front and back covers.

Van Buren PARP Kickoff

Van Buren is kicking off PARP (Pick A Reading Partner) today with a virtual visit from author Victoria Jamieson. Mrs. Jamieson read to classes, showed students her work studio, and discussed the process of writing and illustrating books for children. Each Van Buren family will receive a copy of her book The Great Pet Escape, so that we can all enjoy it together. We're sure her presentation will inspire our students to do what they love and to pursue their dreams.

Reynold’s Art of Mindfulness

At Reynolds Elementary, the social worker and art teacher continue to team up for the Art of Mindfulness with a focus on Joy this month. Each student in the school will have made a Romero Britto pop art style heart thinking, putting meaning towards each color and symbol thinking about how to bring others joy. These hearts will be made into a school mural in February.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER! Have a great weekend and enjoy your weekend everyone! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

December 17, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

It’s been a very busy week for all of us! We as a district are so very proud of all of our students and staff members for all of their outstanding music performances this week! Your dedication and hard work is paying off! Thank you to all of our students, staff and parents for helping all of our bees achieve their full potential. Please see the updates from this week;

Plan Bee Pep Band S.U. Performance Postponed

Unfortunately Saturday’s Syracuse University Men's Basketball game has been postponed due to COVID concerns. Please stay tuned for future performance dates.

District COVID Reminders

Baldwinsville and surrounding areas continue to see high rates of COVID-19 transmission. To maximize protection and prevent possibly spreading it to others, continuation of appropriate mask use and hand hygiene remains important.

BEE Vaccinated

The district is hopeful to partner again with Wegmans to offer another vaccination clinic, more to come soon!

In the meantime, there are hundreds of vaccine appointments available at the New York State Fairgrounds in the coming weeks. Appointments are also available at local pharmacies and county sites.

“BEE”ING vaccinated means:

-A student is considered fully vaccinated two weeks following their second dose.

-A fully vaccinated student with a known COVID-19 exposure, is only required to quarantine if they become symptomatic.

“BEE”ING symptomatic after vaccination means:

-If a vaccinated student presents with a symptom(s) of COVID: fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headaches, new loss of taste/smell, sore throat, congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, the NYS Department of Health continues to require a negative lab test result or note from a medical provider to return to school. If documentation is not received, the student cannot attend school in-person for 10 days from the date symptoms started. Appointments are available at many symptomatic sites throughout the community.

Experiencing symptoms soon after COVID-19 vaccination?

For those students newly vaccinated, please refer to the Onondaga County Heath Department’s COVID-19 Post Vaccination Guidelines for Schools should your child begin to show signs or symptoms after receiving the vaccine.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your weekend everyone! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

December 10, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope this letter finds everyone happy and healthy. I know that there are many questions in regards to COVID and the “Test to Stay” initiative. Please refer to the information below as this is a very involved process. My apologies in advance for all the COVID information which dominates this week’s letter. Thank you all for your continued patience and understanding as it is sincerely appreciated. Here are the updates for this week;

Plan Bee Pep Band

Our very own Plan Bee Pep Band will be the house band for the S.U. Men's Basketball game on Saturday, December 18th. If you'd like to see them in action, tickets for the game are available using this link. They'll also be supporting our Boys Varsity Basketball team at their game against Bishop Ludden tonight (12/10) at the OCC Arena.

Mental Wellness Community Event

If you missed the webinar Raising Resilient Youth, video of the event is available on the District’s website.

Update on the Onondaga County Health Department Test to Stay (TSS) Program

Test to Stay is a strategy for asymptomatic, unvaccinated students to avoid school exclusion following an exposure to a positive case of COVID-19. Parents of students in quarantine would have the option of their student participating, which would require testing negative prior to the start of each academic day for 7 days following the exposure. Test to Stay only applies to the academic day; students would still be required to quarantine outside of the academic day. They will not be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities, including athletics, and must remain in quarantine at home outside of academic hours including on weekends.

Currently, Test to Stay is not recommended by the New York State Department of Health. This week, school district leaders have met with the Onondaga County Health Department to learn more about the Test to Stay (TTS) program being implemented across Onondaga County. No decision has been made at this time as to whether or not our district will be participating. There is a lot of information still to learn and logistics that need to be resolved. We will provide you with updates as we learn more. Test to Stay only applies to asymptomatic, unvaccinated students. Asymptomatic, vaccinated students are not required to quarantine.

COVID-19 Vaccine Related Information

Clinic Reminder - 2nd Dose for 5-11 year olds

As a reminder, students who received their first vaccine dose at the in-district clinic on Monday, November 22nd will return for the second dose on Monday, December 13th. You do not need to re-register, and appointment times will be the same as the first dose. Please complete the attached paper consent form on the day of the clinic and bring it with you. Copies will be available at the clinic if you are unable to complete the consent form ahead of time.

COVID-19 Boosters Approved by CDC for 16 & 17 Year Olds

CDC has approved boosters for those 16 years and older. Teens 16 and 17 years old can get the Pfizer booster if they are at least 6 months out from completing their primary COVID-19 vaccine series. Here is the link to the CDC page with the booster shot info:

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots | CDC

New York State Mask Mandate

As you may already be aware, today Governor Hochul announced a statewide mask mandate in indoor public places. The mandate takes effect Monday and will remain in place until January 15th. The District’s policy on face coverings will remain the same and can be found here.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your weekend everyone! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

December 3, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break with loved ones and friends. The holiday season is upon us! Please see our updates below for this week.

Extracurricular Activities Update

To ensure safety for all of our spectators at all events, the expectation is to wear masks and practice proper social distancing (3ft apart). Immediate family members are welcome to sit together as a family at all extracurricular events.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's understanding and patience as the rules for COVID are constantly changing / evolving.

Fall 2021 Mental Wellness Community Event December 7, 2021

Please consider joining us for a virtual presentation and panel discussion, December 7, 2021 from 6:30-8:00 pm. This event, titled Raising Resilient Youth includes a keynote presentation from Dr. Kevin Antshel. Dr. Antshel is a professor of Psychology at Syracuse University (SU) and Director of the SU Clinical Psychology doctoral program, a practicing psychologist and board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology.

Dr. Antshel will discuss how and why stress and anxiety are on the rise in children as well as give practical strategies for parents regarding how to support their children.

Following the event panel members will discuss these issues and answer questions. The link below includes more information on the event and panel members.

2021 Mental Wellness Fall Community Event.

Expanded Hours for County COVID-19 Testing Site

The Onondaga County Health Department has expanded the hours of operation for COVID-19 testing conducted at the Heritage Lincoln testing site, 800 West Genesee Street, Syracuse, NY.

The site continues to test Monday-Friday, although their expanded hours are now 8:30am-4:00pm. The health department is encouraging appointments for testing, but appointments are not required.

Please note, the testing site will be closed on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in observance of the holidays.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please remember to practice universal safety health precautions over the break.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your weekend everyone! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

November 23, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope this letter finds everyone happy, healthy, and doing well! I know we have faced many difficult challenges together from the beginning of the school year up until now. And I know we will be facing more difficulties and challenges in the remainder of our 2021-2022 school year. COVID-19 has continued to prove to be a challenge and a much unwanted added stress for all of us as a school community and region. The good news is we will persevere through this all together as a team.

I would like to take this opportunity to say “a heartfelt thank you” to everyone. A sincere thank you to all of our students, parents, community members, teachers, nursing staff, custodial staff, transportation department, school resource officers, cafeteria staff, all support staff members, administrators, and our voluntary members of our board of education.

I appreciate everyone’s dedication and patience during these difficult and challenging times. I do know we don’t always see eye to eye on all of our concerns and issues, however, when we work together we will persevere through it all. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s input and vantage points. Please continue to reach out to me at any time with questions, comments (both positive and negative) or concerns you may have. I truly have an open door policy. Communication is key.

We are all here for all of our children and community to help make Baldwinsville Central School District the very best school district we can be together as a team. Please remember to always be kind, respectful, and loving to one another. We are here to support everyone. Kindness and patience goes a long way and doesn’t cost a thing. Please enjoy your well deserved holiday break with loved ones and friends. Again, thank you for all you do for our children. Here are a few updates and friendly reminders;

Mask Reminder

Please remember that students should be coming to school with their own masks to wear while at school. District information regarding face coverings can be found here.

Fall 2021 Mental Wellness Community Event 12/7/2021

Dr. Antshel will discuss how and why stress and anxiety are on the rise in children as well as give practical strategies for parents regarding how to support their children.

Following the event panel members will discuss these issues and answer questions. The link below includes more information on the event and panel members.

2021 Mental Wellness Fall Community Event.

Guidance for Students with Symptoms after COVID-19 Vaccination

The district, in conjunction with Wegmans Pharmacy, held its first vaccine clinic for 5-11 year olds on November 22nd. For those students newly vaccinated here or elsewhere, please refer to Onondaga County Health Department’s COVID-19 Post Vaccination Guidelines for Schools should your child begin to show signs or symptoms after receiving the vaccination.

Calendar Announcements & Friendly Reminders

We will have our annual "Go Home Early" Drill today. All schools will be dismissed 15 minutes early to conduct the New York State Education Department (NYSED) mandatory safety drill. Please plan accordingly.
There is no school for all students on Wednesday, November 24th to Friday, November 26th for Thanksgiving Break. Our district offices will be closed on the 25th and 26th.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your holiday break!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

November 19, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope this letter finds you and your families happy and healthy as we gear up for the holiday season. Here are a few announcements and friendly reminders for this week:

Traffic Safety

As a friendly reminder for the safety of our students and the community, please be mindful to come to a full stop at the four-way stop at the intersection of East Oneida Street and Virginia Street as you enter the main campus. We have noticed an increase of rolling stops and have asked our local police and our school resource officers to monitor the intersection.

Emergency Closing Day Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey in anticipation of the inclement weather we may experience this winter. Your feedback will help guide us when making the difficult decision to use an emergency closing day or temporarily transition to remote learning.

Approximately 60% of respondents were in favor of using emergency closing days, and 40% were in favor of using remote learning days.

Based on this feedback, we plan to first use emergency closing days, but given the requirement that the district must have 180 instructional days for the school year and the multitude of unique circumstances weather in Central New York can bring us, we may also incorporate remote learning days in order to meet the 180 instructional day requirement.

When transitioning to a remote learning day, the district may provide school breakfast and lunch pick up for families at a central location dependent upon the current and forecasted weather conditions for the day.

Please monitor your email, phone, text messages and local media/news outlets for information related to any school delays or closures due to inclement weather.

Calendar Announcements & Reminders

Report cards are available today in the Parent Portal.
On Tuesday, November 23rd we will have our annual "Go Home Early" Drill. All schools will be dismissed 15 minutes early to conduct the mandatory safety drill. Please plan accordingly.
There is no school for all students on Wednesday, November 24th to Friday, November 26th for Thanksgiving Break. Our district offices will be closed on the 25th and 26th.

COVID-19 Reminders

Baldwinsville and surrounding areas continue to see high rates of COVID-19 transmission. To maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, you can help us keep our school community safe and healthy in the following ways:

BEE MASKED -- Everyone over 2 years of age should wear a mask when indoors in crowded places if not fully vaccinated. Masks are required at all times, regardless of vaccination status, inside our school buildings. The CDC provides helpful do's and don'ts about masking.
BEE TESTED -- Did you know surveillance testing is offered for staff and students during the school day? Surveillance testing helps find the virus in people with no symptoms. To sign your child up for random surveillance testing during the school day, register here.
Students or staff with symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, are required by the NYS Department of Health to provide a negative lab test result or note from a medical provider to return to school. If documentation is not received, the student cannot attend school in-person for 10 days from the date symptoms started. Appointments are available at many symptomatic sites throughout the community.
BEE VACCINATED -- Appointments for our in-district vaccine clinic for 5-11 year olds booked in minutes! If you were unable to book an appointment, there are hundreds available at the New York State Fairgrounds in the coming weeks. Appointments are also available at local pharmacies and county sites. We are grateful to Wegmans for their partnership!
BEE SAFE for the holidays -- The CDC shares safe ways to celebrate the holidays. If you are sick or have symptoms, do not attend or host a gathering.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage.

As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

November 12, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a great week and took the time to honor our country’s veterans yesterday. We are all grateful for our veterans who have served as well as our active duty soldiers who honor and protect our freedom. A heartfelt thank you to you all.

Here are a few quick announcements for this week:

COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for 5 to 11 year olds

With the recent approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old, we are excited to announce that we will be hosting a vaccination clinic in partnership with Wegmans. This clinic will ONLY be offered for children ages 5-11 years old, and a parent/legal guardian MUST be present.

The clinic is tentatively planned to take place in the Durgee Junior High School cafeteria on Monday, November 22nd from 4 to 8 pm for Pfizer dose one. The second Pfizer dose will be administered on Monday, December 13th. Appointments are required, and appointment times will be the same for dose one and two. A registration link will be sent to families of age eligible students as soon as it is available.

Calendar Announcements & Reminders:

The first marking period ends on Friday, November 12th. Report cards will be available in the Parent Portal on November 19th.
On Tuesday, November 23rd we will have our annual "Go Home Early" Drill. All schools will be dismissed 15 minutes early to conduct the mandatory safety drill. Please plan accordingly.
There is no school for all students on Wednesday, November 24th to Friday, November 26th for Thanksgiving Break. Our district offices will be closed on the 25th and 26th.

COVID-19 testing

If COVID 19 testing is needed, you can Click Here to the Onondaga County Health Department website for the most updated information regarding available testing locations.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

November 5, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a great week and has adjusted to these chilly temperatures. As a friendly reminder, don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour for Daylight Savings Time, which begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 7, 2021. We all could use an extra hour of sleep and rest for sure!

Here are a few quick announcements for this week;

COVID Protocols:

As we continue to see COVID-19 cases within the county and in our community, please remain vigilant against the spread of this virus. Our top priority is to keep our students and staff safe and healthy. Please remember our safety protocols, which were put in place to allow for in-person learning.

We strongly encourage that daily screening and temperature checks take place at home prior to attending school or a school event. As a reminder, the following symptoms are consistent with COVID-19:

Fever New Loss of Taste or Smell

Cough Sore Throat

Shortness of Breath/Difficulty Breathing Congestion or Runny Nose

Fatigue/Tired Nausea/Vomiting/Diarrhea

Muscle/Body Aches Headache

Continue to maintain appropriate physical distancing of 3 feet at all times.
Consistent and correct use of face coverings for students and staff, regardless of vaccination status when indoors or on school buses.

We also want to remind parents to make sure your children are arriving at school with a clean face mask each day.

Calendar Announcements & Reminders

In addition to the ending of Daylight Savings Time, we have a few calendar reminders and announcements for this month:

There is no school and district offices are closed on Thursday, November 11th for Veterans Day.
The first marking period ends on Friday, November 12th.
On Tuesday, November 23rd we will have our annual "Go Home Early" Drill. All schools will be dismissed 15 minutes early to conduct the mandatory safety drill. Please plan accordingly.
There is no school for all students on Wednesday, November 24th to Friday, November 26th for Thanksgiving Break. Our district offices will be closed on the 25th and 26th.

COVID-19 testing

If COVID 19 testing is needed, you can Click Here to the Onondaga County Health Department website for the most updated information regarding available testing locations.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

October 29, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! From Marching Band competitions to Sectional championships, this weekend will be buzzing with excitement!

I have a couple of quick announcements to share with you today:

Universal Pre-Kindergarten

We are excited to announce that the district is launching a Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) program on January 31, 2022. Due to space limitations, this district-wide program will be housed at Reynolds and Palmer elementary schools. All district residents are eligible for this program, regardless of our traditional elementary school boundaries. Registration begins on Monday, November 1, 2021. Visit our website for more information and instructions on how to start the registration process. Also, please share this great news with your neighbors and other district families.

Virtual Lunch & Learn

We held our first Virtual Lunch & Learn with the Superintendent meeting of the school year on Thursday via Zoom. The first meeting featured the following topics:

Opening of New School Year
Deputy Superintendent & K-12 Curriculum and Instruction
Technology
Athletics

Visit our website to watch the meeting. If you have questions, please reach out to any of our presenters. Emails are listed in the staff directory.

Asymptomatic Group Surveillance Testing Update

We have an important update to share related to the asymptomatic group surveillance testing offered through our school district in partnership with the Onondaga County Health Department. This testing is voluntary for registered participants, and is otherwise referred to as “group” or “pool” testing.

Previously, if there was a positive case in the “pool” of up to 12 tests, all in the pool would be required to stay home until a test could be run on each individual sample. A change to the county health department’s quarantine guidance this week provides school districts flexibility when a pool tests positive. If a pool tests positive there is no longer the requirement that each of the persons in the pool stay home until the samples can be tested individually. Only the person who tests positive and any close contacts of the positive case as identified through the contact tracing process will be required to quarantine for 10 days.

Asymptomatic surveillance testing helps to confirm there is no trace of the virus in a large population and serves as an early notification strategy for a person contracting the COVID-19 virus without having developed symptoms. We continue to work toward meeting our participation goal of 10% of students and staff per building. Participation is voluntary. If you would like to learn more about surveillance testing and how to register, you can read or watch a video about it here.

Let’s Go Bees!

Our Marching Bees are competing in the New York State Field Band Conference Championship at the Dome on Sunday. Also on Sunday, our undefeated Field Hockey team will be playing in the Section III Class A Finals at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School. The Bees will take on Cicero-North Syracuse. I’m so proud of our students for their hard work and dedication. Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend with loved ones and friends!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

October 22, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I hope everyone had a great week and enjoyed the warm weather while it lasted! It looks like the chilly fall weather is on the way to settle into Central NY.

I have a couple quick announcements to share with you today:

Hours Change at Testing Site:

We have been informed by the Onondaga County Health Department that there has been a change in hours for the Return to School Testing Site located at the Hamilton Street Boys & Girls Club. Starting on Monday, October 25th the hours for this location will be from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

COVID Vaccine Survey:

The Pfizer vaccine may soon be approved for children aged 5-11 years. To ensure an effective and efficient pediatric vaccination roll-out, the Onondaga County Health Department would like to gather information from parents with children in this age group.

CLICK HERE for the survey link to assess the likely demand for vaccinations among those aged 5-11 years, as well as preference for where and when vaccinations will be available. The survey will close on Thursday, October 28th.

Highlights from this Week:

The Senior Prom was held last Saturday and families shared dozens of photos. Check out our Facebook page to see our Bees in their suits and gowns.
Board of Education members were recognized Monday evening for their leadership and commitment to our district in observance of School Board Recognition Week, which is sponsored by the New York State School Boards Association. In a special video, students across the District say “thank you” to the board members for their dedication to the District and the education of all students. Each school building found its own special way to show gratitude. Watch the video HERE
Each year C.W. Baker High School recognizes the 13 top students with the highest weighted GPA's. We will recognize these students for their academic achievements throughout the year and at the Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2022. See who will be representing the Baker’s Dozen HERE.

I want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out congratulations to all of our student-athletes who have already participated in competitions for sectionals. We are so proud of your hard work and dedication. Good luck to our Boys Varsity Soccer Team and our Varsity Field Hockey Team who are set to compete tonight and Sunday. The Boys Soccer Team will play Rome at 6 p.m. this evening in the Sectional Quarter Finals at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. Tickets are not needed to attend. The undefeated Field Hockey Team will compete in the Sectional Semi-Finals at Vernon Verona Sherrill High School at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 24. Tickets for the Field Hockey game are $5 and must be purchased online HERE. Go Bees!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend with loved ones and friends!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

October 15, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. I have a couple announcements to share with you today.

Survey about potential Snow Days

Last year, the New York State Education Department provided school districts with the flexibility to switch to remote instruction when experiencing inclement weather, instead of using an emergency closing day. In our area, these days are unofficially referred to as "snow days," but inclement weather days could be any day in which weather causes unsafe conditions.

The district is required to have 180 instructional days, which remote instruction days count toward. If too many emergency closing days are used, the flex day (in May), vacation days, and/or days at the end of June may result in extending in-person instructional days to meet the 180 instructional day requirement.

As the winter months approach, we are asking you to respond to a brief survey to indicate your preference of how the district might respond to inclement weather days during the 2021-2022 school year. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

Food Service for Remote Half Days on October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th

Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all elementary school students during the upcoming remote learning days. There are four Parent-Teacher Conference Days scheduled for this month for kindergarten to fifth grade students: October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th. The District changed these days from “reduced days for in-person K-5 students” to a half day of remote learning for all K-5 students.

We will be sending home two breakfast meals and two lunch meals with all K-5 students on Wednesday, October 20th and again on Wednesday, October 27th. We are able to do this because there is no charge for breakfast or lunch for all students this school year. We are sending home the food with students to make it convenient for families by eliminating the need for a special meal distribution time.

Celebrations!

I wanted to take this opportunity to send a couple of shoutouts for celebration. Baker News won first place for Best Broadcast Journalism in the Broadcast TV Highlights category in the All American High School Film Festival. This is a tremendous honor in an international contest for a program that is only in its fourth season! Congratulations to the current and past Baker News students and teachers. Keep up the good work we are so very proud of you all!

I also want to send my congratulations to Ms. Carlie Desimone, a junior at C.W. Baker High School and a member of our Girls Lacrosse team. Carlie will be competing this weekend in the Brogden Cup in Maryland on the USA Select U16 lacrosse team. Good luck! You make us proud!

I also have a quick reminder for all of our winter student-athletes. Registration begins tomorrow, Saturday, October 16th, for all winter junior varsity and varsity sports. Winter sports begin on November 15th. Visit our Athletics webpage for more details and information on modified sports.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend with loved ones and friends!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson

Superintendent of Schools

October 8, 2021

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

I want to remind our families that there is no school for students on Monday, and our district offices will be closed for the holiday. I hope everyone has a wonderful, restful, well-deserved, long weekend!

I have a few announcements and reminders to share with you today:

COVID in our Schools

As you know, COVID cases continue to impact our community. Our number one priority is the health and safety of all of our students and staff. We need your help! Please keep your child home if your child is sick. As always, please remember to practice good hand washing skills and protect yourself when you are out in the public with universal precautions. Unfortunately, Onondaga County currently has one of the highest COVID rates in New York State. Please watch for COVID symptoms in your family members and remain vigilant against the spread of this virus.

If your child needs a COVID test and their symptoms have resolved, Onondaga County has established a "Return to School" testing site at the Hamilton Street Boys and Girls Club. The site is located at 201 Hamilton Street in Syracuse. Here are some details about the site:

? Open Monday - Friday 9 a.m. -12 p.m.

? Same day test results (in the evening) putting your students and staff back in the classroom the next day

? This is not for individuals who have been placed in quarantine or who are currently experiencing symptoms

? Pre-registration is required at the following link: Click Here

Virtual Lunch & Learn with the Superintendent

I’m excited to announce that this year we've replaced our “Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent” with a “Virtual Lunch & Learn.” Grab your lunch and log into Zoom to learn more about what is happening in our school district. This is a great opportunity to ask questions to district leaders about important topics. The first virtual meeting will be held at noon on Thursday, October 28, 2021 on Zoom. Topics for this meeting include the opening of the new school year, and updates on technology, athletics, and K-12 curriculum and instruction. If you’re unable to attend our virtual meeting at noon, a video of the presentation will be available on our website with contact information for each of the presenters. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. Please c lick here for more information, including Zoom links.

Volunteers for 2022-2023 Budget Committees

We are starting the development process for the 2022-2023 budget and we are seeking community input through budget advisory committees. The District is looking for volunteers to serve on committees to review specific areas of the budget and to provide input on the budget cost efficiency prior to the budget components being presented to the Board of Education for review.

The budget advisory committee meetings will all meet virtually via Zoom at 5 p.m. and are as follows:

? Facilities – will meet Thursday, November 4 and Thursday, December 2

? Athletics – will meet Monday, November 15 and Monday, November 29

? Transportation – will meet Tuesday, November 16 and Wednesday, December 1

? Special Education – will meet Tuesday, November 30 and Tuesday, December 14

? Instructional/Technology – will meet Tuesday, January 11 and Tuesday, January 18

Committee members will meet with the administrators responsible for these budget components.

If you are interested in serving on any of the above budget advisory committees, please email Sarah Buckshot, Public Information Specialist, by October 27, 2021 at sbuckshot@bville.org with your name, email address, a phone number, and the committee(s) that you are interested in serving.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are here to help and support you! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Please enjoy your weekend with loved ones and friends. Have a great long weekend! All the best.

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

October 1, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy first day of October and happy Friday! It’s been a busy week! I hope everyone finds some time this weekend to enjoy some fun fall activities with your loved ones and friends! I have a few announcements to share this week:

COVID Protocols:

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Onondaga County and in our community. I wanted to take this opportunity to remind families to remain vigilant against the spread of this virus. Please remember our safety protocols, which were put in place to allow for in-person learning. Those protocols include:

Maintaining appropriate physical distancing of 3 feet at all times
Consistent and correct use of face coverings for students and staff, regardless of vaccination status when indoors or on school buses.
We strongly encourage that daily screening and temperature checks take place at home prior to attending school or a school event.

Please remember to be watchful of COVID-19 symptoms in yourself and those around you. We also want to remind parents to make sure your children are arriving at school with a clean face mask each day.

Rationale for calendar change:

Last week, I announced that the Parent-Teacher Conference Days for K-5 families scheduled for October will become remote learning days for all elementary students. There are four Parent-Teacher Conference Days scheduled for October for kindergarten to fifth grade students: October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th. The District has changed these days from “reduced days for in-person K-5 students” to a half day of remote learning for all K-5 students. I wanted to briefly share our rationale for making this change;

Student Safety: We are going remote on these days to reduce the outside "traffic" in the buildings to help reduce potential exposure. This was why we went "virtual" with our open houses. We are seeing a large uptick of cases in our area with the Delta variant spreading rapidly. It is our goal to keep our students in our schools for in-person learning.
Transportation Safety: Due to COVID concerns for their children we have more parents dropping students off and picking them up rather than riding the bus. This has increased traffic flow of more vehicles on campus during drop off and pick up times, which are causing increased delays. By the time we pick up our students and drop them off for a half day, the total amount of contact hours at school would amount to an hour and half. Our students will have more educational contact time with our teachers by going virtual during these days.
Transportation: We have limited bus drivers and some drivers have been testing positive for COVID. This is a statewide issue that we’re dealing with, but it would be difficult to handle during a half-day schedule.

Senior Prom:

The Prom planned for the Class of 2022 was postponed due to COVID in the spring of 2021, and moved to this fall. The Senior Prom will now be held on October 16th from 7 to 10 p.m. on the turf field at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. Read more about the event in last week’s edition of the Virtual Times. Some parents have raised concerns over the mask requirement for the event, which will take place inside a tent. Masks are not required on campus for outdoor events in wide-open spaces, however the prom will be held in an enclosed space -- a large tent with sidewalls, and feature students dancing in close proximity. Our District has the responsibility to keep students safe. Our mask requirements for the dance are in place to mitigate the risk of any student transmitting or contracting the contagious COVID virus. While other schools have cancelled events such as this, we are hoping to keep it going, but we must take every precaution.

Transportation:

If parents or guardians are interested in transporting their children to and from school themselves to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID on school buses, they are encouraged to do so. We ask that interested parents contact their child’s principal to make arrangements.

Thank you to all of our Custodians at B’ville:

Tomorrow is National Custodian Day and we want to give a sincere thank you to our custodians who do a fantastic job keeping our buildings and grounds clean and safe. When you see a custodian please thank them for all the incredible work they do on a daily basis. We appreciate all that you do during the COVID-19 pandemic and always! We couldn’t do our jobs without you!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. I know these are very difficult and trying times. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during these challenging times. We will get through this all together as one unified team. As always, please feel free and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns you may have. WE ARE BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Have a great weekend! Go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

September 24, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It’s going to be a busy weekend here on campus for our Bees. C.W. Baker High School kicked off Homecoming this afternoon with a pep rally at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium and our varsity football team will play tonight. Tomorrow, the campus will be buzzing with activity as we host the 69th Annual Baldwinsville Cross Country Invitational in the morning and the Marching Bee marching band competition in the evening.

These events wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of our staff, students and community volunteers. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend.

I have a few announcements to share this week:

Speed on campus

As a friendly reminder, please be mindful of your rate of speed on and near our school zones. We have lots of students and staff on campus. We have noticed an uptick of speeding in these areas and have asked our local police and our school resource officers to help reduce the speeding on and around our school zones.

Again, please be mindful of your rate of speed for the safety of our students and staff. Also, please be sure to use Albert Palmer Lane when picking up and dropping off your students. I sincerely appreciate your cooperation and assistance in this matter. This will help us all with our traffic flow so everyone is safe and on time, and our parents and guardians can get to work on time.

Calendar change

I have an important announcement to share about a change to our school calendar for next month. The Parent-Teacher Conference Days for K-5 families scheduled for October will become remote learning days for all elementary students.

There are four Parent-Teacher Conference Days scheduled for October for kindergarten to fifth grade students: October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th. The District has changed these days from “reduced days for in-person K-5 students” to a half day of remote learning for all K-5 students. This change does not impact Ray, Durgee or Baker students.

Tonight’s football game

The Baldwinsville Bees will host Cicero-North Syracuse this evening at our Homecoming football game. The Class AA game is sure to be exciting with two state-ranked teams. Some say it may even be a preview of the Class AA title game. We are so excited to have football return to the fall season for our students and have fans pack our stands. It is also our Senior Night and our marching band will be performing at halftime.

We are anticipating a large turnout of spectators from both school districts, and as with any large event, there will be numerous administrators, staff and school resource officers from both school districts in attendance. Our goal is to host a fun, positive and safe evening for all. Please come and help cheer on our students!

We’re hiring

I wanted to also take this opportunity to spread the word that we are hiring. We have open positions in our food service, transportation and facilities departments. For more information or to apply, visit our website.

Have a great weekend! Go Bees!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

September 17, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We’ve come to the end of our first full week of school and it’s been amazing to watch everyone settle into their new routines and get comfortable in their new classrooms.

This is our third school year impacted by COVID-19 and we’ve continued to face challenges, but I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to parents and guardians for your patience and understanding. Thank you to students for your perseverance and courage. Thank you to our staff for continuing to be flexible and committed. As a community we continue to be B’ville Strong!

I had the opportunity to visit the 2nd Annual C.W. Baker High School Activity Fair this afternoon and I’m very impressed with the wide range of activities available for our students. There truly is something for everyone.

I wanted to remind families about our Asymptomatic COVID-19 Group Surveillance Testing. If you missed my letter from last week, visit our website to learn how to register. Please consider having your child participate in this important testing program. The health and safety of our students, staff, and community is our highest priority.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments or concerns you may have. We are BEE STRONG TOGETHER as a community team! All the best.

Have a great weekend!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

September 10, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our first week of the 2021-22 school year is officially in the books! It was so great to see how excited our students were to be together and return to our classrooms. I truly believe this is going to be a wonderful school year for all of our students, staff, and community!

I need to share some very important information with you today regarding COVID-19 testing at Baldwinsville Schools for the upcoming weeks and months. In partnership with the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD), we will work with Quadrant Biosciences and SUNY Upstate Medical University to incorporate their Clarifi COVID-19 testing program.

Asymptomatic Group Surveillance Testing

Baldwinsville will offer frequent opportunities for asymptomatic testing. The “group” approach (also known as “pool”) is surveillance testing designed to check the status of a sample population of a school. This could confirm no trace of virus or serve as an early notification strategy for a person contracting the COVID-19 virus without having developed symptoms. Initially, we will work with OCHD to test weekly with a goal of 10% of students and staff.

This testing will be on a voluntary basis and will only occur for students with two signed universal consent forms (please refer to the information below). Each week, a random draw will occur from the list of participants. Parents will be notified of their child’s participation and will receive their test results via email. It takes about 24 hours to receive results from the pool testing. If a group tests positive, each of the 12 persons quarantine until the samples can be tested individually. A second test is not needed. Quarantines could be between 12 to 36 hours as individual samples are tested. All members of the group tested will be contacted with the results. The person who tests positive will need to quarantine for 10 days from the time of the pool test.

The test used will be the Clarifi COVID-19 Saliva Test that is a very simple and painless saliva swab that the student can easily self-administer with supervision, as shown in this short video.

REGISTER: In order to begin this process, parents willing to participate will need to register with the county selected vendor “Quadrant Laboratories, LLC” which can be found here or by using the link: app.Clarifi-COVID-19.com. (You may wish to preview this video, which provides you an overview of the quick registration process.) Be sure to use the option “add a profile” for each child being registered. You will find the name of your individual school (C.W. Baker High School, Ray Middle School, Palmer Elementary School, etc.) rather than Baldwinsville Central School District as a whole. (Note: you do not need to “add a COVID-19 test” when prompted.) You will be asked to include information on Health Insurance, however you will not be billed due to the Federal Cares Act.

TWO UNIVERSAL CONSENT FORMS: Please download the Consent Form here to sign-up for pooled (grouped random surveillance testing). The Consent Form is also attached to this email. Please download, complete, sign, and print this form and return to your school.

IMPORTANT: You must register: (1) Online with Quadrant Laboratories, LLC AND (2) Submit the Universal Consent Form to your school.

Reminder of Available Resources

As a continued reminder for all community members, in Onondaga County there are a number of resources for individuals to get tested. On the Health Department’s website you can find the hours and locations for a molecular test (PCR) or an antigen test (suitable for asymptomatic individuals) and access the NYS COVID-19 Test Site Finder.

In our community, testing is provided at Upstate Medical University (including a walk-in site at Upstate Community Hospital), Syracuse Community Health Center, Quest Diagnostics clinics, many pharmacies (CVS, Kinney, RiteAid, Walmart, Walgreens), and WellNow Urgent Care centers. Your personal physician may be consulted and be able to provide testing.

Please consider having your child participate in this important testing program. The health and safety of our students, staff, and community is our highest priority. This will be a part of ongoing safeguards toward our safety efforts.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Thank you all for your patience, understanding, and continued support. It is greatly appreciated. Have a great weekend! BEE STRONG TOGETHER!

Sincerely,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

September 3, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is excited to start the new school year! Our teachers and support staff returned to work this week and we’re all eagerly anticipating the return of our students on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. We can’t wait to see all of our children in person!

We have few quick announcements for this week:

Opt-in for text messages

The District uses the School Messenger Notification System to send important notifications, as well as emergency messages such as school closings, to parents, guardians and staff. Messages are sent automatically via email and/or telephone. You can also opt-in to receive these notifications as text messages.

If the District has your cell phone number in your child's school database, it is easy to opt-in. Please just text the word “YES” to 68453 from your cell phone. You should receive an opt-in confirmation message. If your child's school does not have your cell phone number, please call your child's school and provide them with your current cell phone number. This update will be effective within 24 hours, after which you can text the word “YES” to 68453 from your cell phone. Please note that the District does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges.

COVID testing

In Onondaga County there are a number of resources for individuals to get tested. Next Tuesday, September 7th, the Onondaga County Health Department will be offering testing for asymptomatic students and staff at NBT Stadium. Registration is required.

On the Health Department's website https://covid19.ongov.net/appointments/#SEC you can find the hours and locations for COVID-19 testing. You can also access the NYS COVID-19 Test Site Finder: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you.

Testing is also available at Upstate Medical University (including a walk-in site at Upstate Community Hospital), Syracuse Community Health Center, Quest Diagnostics clinics, many pharmacies (CVS, Kinney, RiteAid, Walmart, Walgreens), and WellNow Urgent Care centers. Your personal physician should always be consulted and may also be able to provide testing. The district will be sharing information with families soon about the surveillance testing we will offer in partnership with the Onondaga County Health Department.

Back to school information

Everything you need to know for the start of the new school year can be found on our District website, on our COVID-19 website, in our Hive newsletter and in the Parent Portal. We’ve also compiled a quick reference guide for back to school. Check it out HERE.

Enjoy the last weekend of summer with your family and friends before school starts, and we can’t wait to see everyone on the opening day of school, Wednesday, September 8, 2021.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. Have a great weekend! BEE STRONG!

Sincerely,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

August 27, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The start of the school year is fast approaching and we are excited to welcome everyone back to our school buildings on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a few important updates:

The 2021-2022 bus information, class lists, schedules, and teacher assignments for students are now available in the Parent Portal. For help using Parent Portal, visit our User Guide.
We are updating our COVID-19 website with important information, resources and guidance for the upcoming school year. We’ve also added our 2021-22 School Reopening Plans, which were discussed during the Board of Education meeting on Monday evening.
For the 2021-2022 school year, the district will not require a daily health and temperature screening for entry in our school building. However, the District strongly encourages that daily screenings and temperature checks take place at home prior to attending school or a school event.
The Onondaga County Health Department is encouraging school districts to share information regarding vaccination clinics. If you are looking for information on vaccination clinics, please visit www.vaccines.gov
You should have received the Hive in the mail this week. Please take the time to review it because it contains several important forms for the 2021-2022 school year. The District calendar will also be arriving soon. Prior to 2020, important forms were delivered with the calendar. Now all forms are included in the Hive, including the No Image Request Form and Free and Reduced Price School Meals Application. Both forms need to be filled out every year. The Hive is also available online on our website.

Our athletic teams and marching band started practices this week. It’s wonderful to see our students back on our fields and courts. Best of luck to all the Bees as competitions begin!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

August 20, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your new superintendent of schools. We are only three weeks away from the start of the 2021-2022 school year and I hope you are enjoying the remainder of your summer break. We are all very much looking forward to having all staff and all students back at Baldwinsville on full-time and in person basis. As you are all aware, the COVID-19 Delta variant is spreading at a very rapid rate. I would like to assure everyone that the safety of all of our students, staff, and community is priority number one for our school district. Having stated this, please read this letter closely as it contains specific information in regards to our re-entry plan for the 2021-2022 school year.

Please understand this communication is our way of providing important information. We anticipate finalizing plans and communicating updates to you frequently as circumstances change and more guidance is released from Governor Hochul, the New York State Department of Education, the Center for Disease Control for Prevention, and the Onondaga County Health Department.

As a district, we are planning and prepared for a full reopening in person, five days a week for all students this fall. The first day of school for all students is Wednesday, September 8, 2021. Safety remains our number one priority. We are paying close attention to updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of variants from local, state and federal sources, and we are reviewing the guidance being offered to us as we prepare for students and staff to return.

Here are a few updates to frequently asked questions we have been working to address.

Will students be required to wear masks?

We have heard concerns from community members on both sides of the issue. Based on recommendations from local officials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics the Baldwinsville Central School district will require that all students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside our school buildings and on our school buses.

Will students or staff be mandated to get vaccinated or regularly tested?

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon recently imposed an Executive Order requiring all of our employees to be vaccinated or submit to a weekly COVID testing mandate. We strongly encourage all eligible students and staff members to get vaccinated. We also encourage any member of the community exhibiting COVID symptoms to get tested. We are currently working with Onondaga County to prepare for surveillance testing of students and staff. As we learn more information about the surveillance testing, we will provide an update to you.

Will remote learning be an option for students?

As communicated on August 6th in a community letter, our District will not be offering the same remote learning option that we offered during the 2020-21 school year. The District will utilize its already established process for requesting alternative instruction due to medical needs. If your child has medical needs, is unable to engage this school year through in-person learning five days a week, and you have not notified your school’s principal of your intent to request the alternative instruction application, please contact the principal ASAP.

Will I need to request school transportation for my students this school year?

As communicated on August 6th, if you plan to use our school transportation you do not need to do anything! A school bus route is being set-up / established for your student and will be communicated to you on Friday, August 27, 2021 when school schedules are released. If you plan to not utilize our school transportation system for your students and transport your own children to and from school each day, please complete this questionnaire so that we know your intent. Again, the district is only interested in knowing the names of students who will not be using our transportation system.

As more guidance is released by the county or state, we will continue to release updates before the start of the school year. Please check your email and check our website for more information.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Enjoy the remainder of your summer. See you soon!

Respectfully yours,

Jason D. Thomson, Superintendent of Schools

August 6, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are one month away from the start of the 2021-2022 school year and I hope you are enjoying your summer break. I want to update you on a few important items that we are working on for the upcoming school year. Please understand this communication is our way of providing some preliminary information. We anticipate finalizing plans and communicating updates to you more frequently as circumstances change and more guidance is released as we get closer to the first day of school.

As a district, we are planning and prepared for a full reopening, five days a week for all students this fall. The District will not be operating any Hybrid learning schedule. The first day of school for all students is Wednesday, September 8, 2021. Safety remains our number one priority. We are paying close attention to updates on the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of variants from local, state and federal sources, and we are reviewing the guidance being offered to us as we prepare for students and staff to return.

Here are frequently asked questions we have been working to address. As we await more guidance from local officials, some answers are subject to change.

Will students be required to wear masks?

We recognize this is an important topic for parents and guardians as we prepare for the school year. We have heard concerns from community members on both sides of the issue. It remains uncertain what local officials may suggest on the issue. What we do know is that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that everyone older than 2 years old wear masks, regardless of vaccination status. At this point we do not have an official policy on masks for students or staff. We will continue to review this topic as we approach the first day of school and await more guidance.

Will remote learning be an option for students?

Our District will not be offering the same remote learning option that we offered during the 2020-21 school year, but we do recognize that some families may require alternative instruction due to documented student medical needs. The District will utilize its already established process for requesting alternative instruction due to medical needs. If your child has medical needs, please contact your school’s principal by Friday, August 13th to request the alternative instruction application. Homeschooling is another option for families who want an alternative setting for learning. To learn more about home instruction, visit the OCM BOCES website.

Will early drop off for students be available?

The District plans to offer early drop-off for students similar to the 2020-21 school year to maintain reasonable school bus capacity. At the elementary schools drop-off will be held from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. At Ray Middle School, drop-off will be 7:00 to 7:25 a.m. At Durgee Jr. High School and Baker High School, drop-off will be 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. We are not planning for any early dismissal of students. Each school building will communicate dismissal procedures and times prior to the start of school. If you plan to not utilize our school transportation system for your students and transport your own children to and from school each day, please complete this questionnaire by Friday, August 13, 2021. If you are planning to utilize district transportation you are not required to complete the questionnaire.

Will students be required to pay for breakfast and lunch during the 2021-22 school year?

No. All enrolled students will receive breakfast and lunch at no charge for the 2021-22 school year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended its flexibilities granted to school meal programs to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost for all enrolled students, regardless of family income.

As more guidance is released by the county, we will continue to release updates before the start of the school year. Please check your email and check our website for more information.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. See you soon!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Interim Superintendent of Schools

June 25, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As the 2020-21 school year comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the past year. I am incredibly grateful and proud of the resiliency and flexibility of our families, students and staff.

We entered this school year with a long list of challenges and uncertainties, and an even longer list of questions: How will students adjust to wearing a face covering and social distancing? How will contact tracing work when we have positive COVID-19 cases? Will we need to close a school building or the entire district? How will students cope with cohort schedules or remote learning? Will we have music and athletic events? And the list went on.

As the school year unfolded, we did what Baldwinsville has always done so well, we worked together! We overcame and persevered. Times were tough, but we were tougher! I’m so proud to have served as your acting superintendent through the bulk of this storm. Thank you to our students, staff and especially our B’ville families! We couldn’t have done it without you!

And tonight we get to celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of the Class of 2021! Graduation will be held at 7 p.m. at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. And the weather looks perfect! Social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, and health screening requirements are no longer necessary for the ceremony. For those who can’t attend, a free live stream courtesy of the NFHS Network will be available. The live stream requires guests to sign into the NFHS Network but no fee is required. Click here to watch tonight.

As we head into the warm summer months, I hope you are able to find time to unplug, unwind and enjoy the break in a safe and healthy way with friends and family.

I will discontinue my weekly emails during the summer months, but I will keep you posted as updates become available regarding the 2021-22 school year.

Have a great summer! We look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

June 18, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! Our C.W. Baker High School and Durgee Junior High School students wrapped up classes earlier this week and Regents examinations continue all next week. We wish the best of luck to all of our students taking exams. Let’s finish this school year strong!

The last day of school for Ray Middle School and our elementary schools is Tuesday, June 22. As a reminder, middle school students will be dismissed at 10:45 a.m. and elementary students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m.

It has been an exciting week for our Baldwinsville Bees! Here’s a few of the highlights from this week and announcements for next week:

On Saturday, our Boys Lacrosse captured the Section III Class A Lacrosse title with a 14-7 win over West Genesee and our Baseball team won the Section III Class AA Baseball championship with a 13-7 win over West Genesee. Great job, Bees!

Also, on Saturday, the Class of 2021 attended the Senior Ball at Sky Armory. Parents and guardians submitted dozens of photos of our Bees in their formal wear. The photos are posted on our Facebook page.

After the Special Olympics were canceled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19, our Special Education Department decided to hold its own special event. The B’ville Special Champions Track & Field Games were held at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium on Tuesday. It was an amazing day and even the rain didn’t stop the smiles! Check out dozens of photos on our Facebook page.

The Athletic Award Ceremony to honor our varsity athletes was held on Wednesday evening. Dozens of students were honored with awards and scholarships. Photos of each of the winners are posted on our Facebook page and the list of winners is posted on our Athletics webpage on our website.

Each of our elementary schools held Fifth Grade Moving Up ceremonies recently. The ceremonies were recorded and are available on our website. Congratulations to our fifth graders and good luck at Ray Middle School!

Fifth graders also had the chance today to tour Ray Middle School, practice using lockers and participate in fun outdoor activities. Seventh graders also traveled to Durgee for an orientation day. Check out our social media pages for photos.

Our Pep Band will perform a concert this evening at the stadium. The concert will start at 5 p.m. and will be live streamed. Check it out here.

Graduation will be held Friday evening at the Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. (Rain dates on 6/25 and 6/27) Given recent changes to Department of Health requirements for outdoor graduation ceremonies, we made an announcement on Thursday evening to our Class of 2021 families that all social gathering limits, capacity restrictions, social distancing, and health screening requirements are no longer necessary. Read our announcement here.

Lastly, I would like to give a shout-out to all the fathers, grandfathers and father figures in our community. Thank you and Happy Father’s Day!

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

June 11, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It’s been an exciting week in sports for the Bees as several student-athletes earned Sectional titles, and several teams have earned a chance to compete in the Sectional championships on Saturday. Congratulations to all of our athletes! We are all rooting for you!

The school year is officially winding down as today was the last Friday of regular classes for our Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School students. As a reminder, the last day of classes for Baker is June 16 and the last day for Durgee is June 17th. Regents start on the 16th. For information on transportation during the Regents exams, please visit the Transportation Department’s website. The last day of school for Ray Middle School and our elementary schools is Tuesday, June 22nd. Ray students will be dismissed at 10:45 a.m. and the elementary schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m.

Here are a few more announcements from this week:

The Class of 2021 will be honored on our District's digital sign, which is located at the entrance to the main campus. Names of graduates and their future plans will be displayed on the sign beginning on Monday, June 14th. Visit our website for the schedule of names.

The 2020-21 school year hasn’t ended yet, but if you like to shop early, the school supply lists for the 2021-22 school year are now available on our website.

This weekend is full of amazing events for our students, including the Senior Ball and KBR event. The ball will be held at SKY Armory in Syracuse on Saturday evening, followed by Keep the Ball Rolling at Baker High School. The Baldwinsville Theater Arts production of “A Dream is a Wish” will stream tonight and Saturday night. Our baseball, girls lacrosse and boys lacrosse teams will be competing in the championship round of the Sectionals on Saturday. Girls lacrosse will compete at 10:00 a.m. at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium. Baseball will face off on their home field at noon and boys lacrosse will complete at 12:30 p.m. following the girls game at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.

Best of luck to all our students and please remember to celebrate safely and responsibly during this weekend’s festivities. Have a great weekend and go Bees!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

June 8, 2021

Dear Baldwinsville Community Members (students, parents, staff, visitors):

The New York State Department of Health released official updated guidance for in-person instruction for schools regarding its mask wearing/face covering mandate. Effective June 7, 2021, face masks are no longer required to be worn outdoors on school grounds, including during outdoor school sports.

The Baldwinsville Central School District has reviewed the updated state guidance and will relax our mask wearing/face covering requirements for outdoor activities and events. Students, staff and visitors will no longer be required to wear face coverings during outdoor activities while on school grounds. However, it is expected that all parties maintain 6 feet of physical distance when not wearing a mask/face covering.

Masks will still be required inside all school buildings, buses, and District offices.

The decision to wear a mask outdoors will be left up to the discretion of the individual.

COVID-19 is still prevalent in our community and completed COVID-19 health screening questionnaires are still required for all staff, students and visitors. Anyone experiencing symptoms is not permitted to attend school or any school events.

Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

June 6, 2021

Dear Baldwinsville Community Members (students, parents, staff, visitors):

At this time, this communication is written to clarify that there has not been any official legal change in the mask wearing / face covering mandate from the New York State Education Department (NYSED), New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) or Governor Cuomo. The June 4th letter by Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker reported by the media on Friday, June 4th was written to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine if the CDC has any objection to relaxing its mask wearing / face covering mandate. However, unless and until written guidance or an Executive Order is issued by New York State, all students, staff and visitors of the Baldwinsville Central School District must wear masks / face coverings while on school property. We recognize that the temperature is going to rise this week and we will adjust our physical education curriculum and recess/wellness time for students accordingly.

If we receive direction from New York State that changes our current mask wearing / face covering requirements at school, we will promptly communicate adjustments to our staff, students, and parents.

Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation during this difficult school year. The finish line (end of the school year) is in sight -- we appreciate your continued support!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

June 4, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We did it -- We made it to June! The school year is winding down and the summer weather is finally here!

As we near the end of the school year, I want to encourage all of our students to stay focused. We have overcome many challenges this school year, and I’m so proud of our students' determination and positive attitudes in the face of those obstacles. Let’s finish the school year strong!

The next few weeks will be filled with celebrations and special events for all of our students. I’m especially excited to announce that our Special Education Department will be hosting the B’ville Special Champion Track and Field Games on Tuesday, June 8th. The event replaces the Special Olympics, which was canceled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 concerns. Additionally, buildings are hosting orientations and field days for our students in grades 5-7 who will be transitioning buildings this fall. Our 5th grade students will also be celebrating the end of their elementary school experiences with moving-up celebrations. These events are some of the exciting experiences our staff members are coordinating to celebrate the accomplishments of our students. Please visit our social media pages for photos as events occur.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great weekend! Stay cool!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

May 27, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we enter into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, I would like to take this opportunity to share a message of gratitude and remember all the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country.

I hope everyone has a wonderful four-day weekend with family, friends and hopefully a little sunshine. As a reminder there is no school for students on Friday, May 28th or Monday, May 31st. District offices will be closed on May 31st.

Here are few quick announcements from this week:

Vaccinations: With the help of the Onondaga County Health Department, we held our third COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Tuesday. This clinic was open to students 12 years old and over. At the clinic 186 people received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. A clinic to provide second shots will be held on Tuesday, June 15th.

Moving Up Day: The 47th Annual Moving Up Day Ceremony will be held on Friday. The day is a celebration of student achievement and success. The Baldwinsville Community Scholarship Foundation and Baker staff members will surprise recipients by visiting them at their home to deliver the scholarship and yard sign. Watch our District’s social media pages for photos and videos.

Senior Art Showcase: The Baker Art Department is proud to present the 2021 Senior Art Showcase. Click here to view the show. Great work, students!

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

May 21, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you’re staying cool! Looks like the summer weather will be sticking around for a few days. Hopefully, you’ll be able to enjoy some time outdoors with family this weekend! I wanted to take a moment to share a few announcements and a huge thank you!

Budget Vote

Thank you to voters for approving our General Fund Budget for the 2021-2022 school year as well as the transportation proposition and our capital project. Your support is greatly appreciated! I also wanted to extend a congratulations to our incoming board members. The Board of Education will welcome three new board members in July. Congratulations to Anthony Germano, Frank Matus and Shelly Bligh Goeckel.

Vaccinations

I’m pleased to announce that our COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Tuesday, May 25th is fully booked. Due to the high demand, Onondaga County extended the clinic and added additional appointments on Wednesday. By this morning, all the appointments were booked. If you registered your child, you’ll receive a message from the school by Monday with more information. Thank you to our families for participating in the clinic.

We will continue to work with Onondaga County to see if another clinic is possible for our eligible students. For those who were unable to register, the county Health Department has openings to register for appointments at the OnCenter site. You can register here, and can check back at this link as more dates are posted. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of the walk-in (no appointment needed) clinic at the New York State-run vaccination site at the Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Calendar Reminders

The District will be having its annual "Go Home Early" Drill on Thursday, May 27. All schools will be dismissing 15 minutes early to conduct the mandatory safety drill. As a reminder, there is no school for students on Friday, May 28 or Monday, May 31.

Class of 2021 Events

We’re excited to celebrate the Class of 2021 with several events this year. C.W. Baker High School created a webpage to feature all the senior events. Check it out HERE.

Mark your calendars

There’s two upcoming opportunities to enjoy performances of our talented students:

The Baldwinsville Marching Band will perform in its first parade since the Rose Parade on January 1, 2020. The band is slated to perform at the Jordan Memorial Day Parade, which starts at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 31st.

Baldwinsville Theater Arts Program presents “A Dream is a Wish” on June 11th and June 12th at 7 p.m. The musical revue features the music of Disney. Tickets are available at www.bvilletheater.com.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

May 7, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to our amazing educators. Our entire staff has continued to rise to every challenge they have faced, and they have ensured that our students received the highest quality education possible.

In addition, on this weekend when we celebrate all mothers, grandmothers and mother figures, I want to say thank you and Happy Mother’s Day!

I have a few important updates to share with you this afternoon, please see below:

School Calendar Amended:

At Monday's Board of Education meeting, the Board approved the amended 2020-2021 school calendar, which identified the last day of regular session for students.

Last Day of Regular Session:

Grades 10-12 (Baker High School) -- Wednesday, June 16 (students will report for Regents exams only after this point in time)
Grades 8-9 (Durgee Junior High School) -- Thursday, June 17 (students will report for Regents exams only after this point in time)
Grades 6-7 (Ray Middle School) -- Tuesday, June 22 *
Grades K-5 (Elementary Schools) -- Tuesday, June 22 *

* Student dismissal for Grades 6-7 will be at 10:45 a.m. and Grades K-5 will be at 11:30 a.m.

Go Home Early Drill:

The District will be having its annual "Go Home Early" Drill on Thursday, May 27. All schools will be dismissing 15 minutes early to conduct the mandatory safety drill. As a reminder, there is no school for students on Friday, May 28.

Graduation Plans Announced:

The Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2021 will be held right here at home, in the Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium on Friday evening, June 25th at 7 p.m. There will be two back-up rain dates of Saturday, June 26th at 7 p.m. and if necessary, Sunday, June 27th at 11 a.m.

The District’s proposal was approved by the Onondaga County Health Department on Thursday afternoon. C.W. Baker High School will release further information in the coming weeks. Learn more on our website.

Vaccinations

The District held its second COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Thursday. Students, staff and community members received their second shots. Thank you to the Onondaga County Health Department for offering this valuable clinic to our community.

For those eligible and interested, the Onondaga County Health Department has openings to register for appointments at the OnCenter site. You can register here, and can check back at this link as more dates are posted. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of the walk-in (no appointment needed) clinic at the New York State-run vaccination site at the Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Budget Vote

Mark your calendars for the School Budget Vote on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The public will vote on the 2021-2022 General Fund Budget and additional propositions at the District Operations Building, located in the former transportation center at 29 East Oneida Street. The Meet the Board Candidates Night and Public Budget Hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11 at Durgee Junior High School and live-streamed on www.bville.org.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

April 30, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of May? I guess time flies when you’re having fun, and we sure are having fun in our District today. Did you see the human hotdog at Palmer Elementary School? If not, head over to our Facebook page to learn why Coach Ehle was covered in condiments this morning!

This week our spring athletes started competition and our teams are excelling on and off the field. Great work to our student athletes for adhering to all the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe. Go Bees!

I wanted to take this opportunity to share a couple quick announcements with you:

Budget vote

Mark your calendars for the School Budget Vote on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The public will vote on the 2021-2022 General Fund Budget and additional propositions at the District Operations Building, located in the former transportation center at 29 East Oneida Street. The Meet the Board Candidates Night and Public Budget Hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11 at Durgee Junior High School and live-streamed on www.bville.org.

Vaccinations

With end-of-year events like graduation, proms, and balls, as well as summer vacation quickly approaching, we want to remind families that the Pfizer vaccine is approved for ages 16 and up, and the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for ages 18 and up.

For those eligible and interested, the Onondaga County Health Department has openings to register for appointments at the OnCenter site. You can register here, and can check back at this link as more dates are posted. There is also the opportunity to take advantage of the walk-in (no appointment needed) clinic at the New York State-run vaccination site at the Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

April 23, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you had a wonderful week! I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few quick announcements with you.

Report Cards in Parent Portal

The Marking Period ended on Friday, April 16th. Student report cards are available in the Parent Portal as of today - April 23rd.

Budget vote

The public will vote on the 2021-2022 General Fund Budget and additional propositions on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the District Operations Building, located in the former transportation center at 29 East Oneida Street. Do you have questions about what the public will be asked to vote on? Watch our special video HERE. See our budget newsletter HERE.

Also, mark your calendars for the Meet the Board Candidates Night and Public Budget Hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11 at Durgee Junior High School and live-streamed on www.bville.org.

“Like” screening and panel discussion

Did you miss the panel discussion and free screening of ‘Like,’ a film that explores the impact of social media on our lives and the effects of technology on the brain? You can watch it now, but don't wait. The online access is only available until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 24th and limited to the first 500 views. https://distlab.indieflix.com/ocs/LIKE/Baldwinsville/watch.html

Login: baldwinsville@indieflix.com

Password: baldwinsville

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

April 16, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday!

From transitioning two more grade levels of hybrid students back to 5 days-a-week of in-person instruction to hosting Onondaga County’s first high school COVID-19 vaccine clinic, it’s been an eventful and productive week here in Baldwinsville.

On Monday, we transitioned our Hive and Buzz fourth and sixth graders back to full time. The transitions have been going smoothly and the students seem to be very happy to be learning in-person with their classmates. Our fifth and seventh graders will transition back on Monday, April 19, 2021.

On Monday evening, the Board of Education met for its regular meeting and adopted the general fund budget for the 2021-2022 school year. The public budget vote will be held on May 18, 2021 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the District Operations Building (the former transportation center) at 29 East Oneida Street. The ballot includes a proposition on the District’s Annual Bus Purchase and a proposition on a Capital Project, which includes renovations at five school buildings. Voters will also be electing three Board of Education members. The public budget hearing and the meet the candidates night will be held on May 11, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. with limited attendance at Durgee Jr. High School and live-streamed on our website. For more information on the budget and the propositions, visit our website.

On Thursday, we hosted the county’s first high school COVID-19 vaccine clinic. Students who are 16 years old or older were able to receive the Pfizer vaccine. The clinic was also open to staff and families. I am happy to report that 158 students and 16 adults were vaccinated at the Baker clinic. Dr. Gupta, County Executive McMahon, and Dr. Quoc Nguyen all visited the site and complimented us on running a well-organized event. I’m very proud of our team who worked hard to make sure students were comfortable and that the clinic was successful. The County Health Department will return on May 6th for the 2nd dose clinic.

I’m excited to announce that our spring sports will be starting next week. We’re all looking forward to our athletes returning to our fields and track! Let’s Go Bees!

Next week, our District’s Mental Wellness Committee is hosting a free screening of a new documentary, “LIKE” on Tuesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. followed by a panel discussion. "LIKE" is a film-based education program that explores the impact of social media on our lives and the effects of technology on the brain. Register and learn more on our website.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

April 9, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. It was great to have our Hive and Buzz third-graders unite in-person for the first time this school year. I had a chance to visit all of our elementary schools this week and the students were very excited to be together!

Next week, our hybrid students in fourth and sixth grade will transition back to full time beginning on Monday, April 12, 2021. Our fifth and seventh graders will transition back on Monday, April 19, 2021.

I wanted to share a few updates with you from this week:

CNY Central broadcasted a special report on the mental health of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior Colin Delaney was interviewed for the story. Colin has been a student representative on the District’s Mental Wellness Committee since his sophomore year and is one of the panelists for the upcoming screening of “Like,” a film that explores the impact of social media on our lives. We are very proud of Colin’s passion and bravery to take part in the CNY Central’s story and we encourage our families to view the report and discuss the topics. Please take time to watch the broadcast HERE and if you know your student is in need of support please contact our school staff (teachers, social workers, counselors, etc.).

On Thursday, we met virtually with interested community members for Coffee and Conversation to talk about the general fund budget for the 2021-2022 school year. If you missed it, you can watch the video on our website. Please note the budget vote will be held from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at the District Operations Building (former transportation center located on our main campus at 29 East Oneida Street). The Board of Education is expected to adopt the budget at its regular board meeting on Monday evening, April 12, 2021.

I wanted to also take this opportunity to give a shout-out to our dedicated music staff. Our District has been recognized for its outstanding commitment to music education with a 2021 Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) designation. This is the 12th consecutive year the District has received this prestigious designation!

I would also like to congratulate our staff members who have reached milestones in their years of service. Your dedication to the District and your commitment to our students deserves to be recognized. Thank you for your service!

Next week we kick off our District-Wide Spirit Week! We encourage all students -- in-person and remote -- and all staff and families to participate. Let’s show off our B’ville Pride! Share the fun and post photos each day using #BvillePride21 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. There will be a special Facebook post each day to make sharing your photos easier. At the end of the day a special video featuring some of the photos will be posted on social media.

Monday: Sports Day: Wear your favorite team or something to do with sports!

Tuesday: Pajama Day: Wear your pajamas!

Wednesday: Life is Bright Day: Wear sunglasses and/or neon colors!

Thursday: Silly Sock Day: Wear wacky socks!

Friday: School Spirit Day: Wear B’ville gear, our school colors or bees!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 26, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! We made it to Spring Break! I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few quick reminders for the coming weeks.

Some of the information below is repeated from last week because we heard from several families who did not receive my March 19th letter. We discovered that our emails were being sent directly to junk/spam folders. We contacted School Messenger and we believe the issue has been resolved. If you feel you are not receiving our emails, please check your junk/spam folder. Also all news is posted on our website.

Our Spring Break officially begins on Monday, March 29th. Also, since we have not used any “emergency closing” days, April 5th (Flex Day) will be a “no school” day for all students. School break weeks are a good time for students to recharge and refuel, and they are a great opportunity for families to spend extra time together, when possible. I know many of you will be eager to travel, but I want to encourage you again to remain vigilant, use caution and stay safe.

When we return to instruction on Tuesday, April 6th, we will begin our transition back to five days a week for grades 3-7. As a reminder, the start dates of each of the transitions are listed below:

Grade 3 In-person (5 Days) -- Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Grade 4 and Grade 6 In-person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 12, 2021
Grade 5 and Grade 7 In-Person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 19, 2021

Onondaga County announced this week that barriers are not needed in the classrooms in order for students to be seated 3 feet apart. However, our decision to not bring back students in 8th-12th grade to five days a week in-person instruction was not based solely upon the use of barriers. We also have concerns with scheduling, transportation and capacity constraints. However, with this new development from the county, we are exploring all of our options. If we are able to bring secondary cohort students back to five days a week, those parents will be contacted and surveyed.

I wanted to also take this opportunity to give a shoutout to a few of our amazing students:

Spelling Bee: The following students took part in the in the oral round of The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com | WCNY Spelling Bee on Wednesday. The Bee was held virtually and we’re proud of all our spellers:

Elizabeth Pérez Mariño, 5th grade, Palmer Elementary School
Olivia Murray, 5th grade, Van Buren Elementary School
Owen Nizar, 6th grade, Ray Middle School
Nia Delardi, 8th grade, Durgee Junior High School
Miranda Barnard, 8th grade, Durgee Junior High School

Nia Delardi went 12 rounds with the winner from Auburn. Great job, Nia! Read more about the Spelling Bee HERE.

Swimming record: In the 100 backstroke, Freshman Eva Smith took down a 21-year-old pool record at Liverpool on Thursday, and set a new Baldwinsville school record with a time of 59.66. Congratulations, Eva and well done!
Durgee musical: Baldwinsville Theater Arts presents “Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical” at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday night. We’re so proud of our students’ hard work and dedication. Buy tickets for the online musical event HERE. Great work!

As Spring Break begins, I truly hope everyone has a chance to rest, recharge and spend time with loved ones. I also urge everyone to continue to be safe. It is not the time to let our guards down regarding COVID-19. An uptick of cases in our District could impact our transition back to five days a week and our end of the year celebrations. Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to all health and safety protocols.

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a wonderful and safe break!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 19, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few quick updates with you regarding our transition back to five days a week for grades 3-7 and our upcoming Spring Break.

Over the past week, we have continued to prepare to welcome our Buzz and Hive cohort students back to five days a week. Our District expects to receive the physical barriers from Onondaga County in time to continue with our transition dates. As a reminder, the start dates of each of the transitions are listed below:

Grade 3 In-person (5 Days) -- Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Grade 4 and Grade 6 In-person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 12, 2021
Grade 5 and Grade 7 In-Person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 19, 2021

Thank you to parents and guardians who filled out our Spring 2021 Questionnaire. We’ll be using this information to coordinate transportation and prepare for our transitions back.

Our Spring Break begins on Monday, March 29th. Also, since we have not used any “emergency closing” days, April 5th (Flex Day) will be a “no school” day for all students. School break weeks are a good time for students to recharge and refuel, and they are a great opportunity for families to spend extra time together, when possible. I know many of you will be eager to travel, but I want to encourage you again to remain vigilant, use caution and stay safe.

Even as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in Onondaga County, the virus is still a concern. An uptick of cases in our District could impact our transition back to five days a week and our end of the year celebrations. Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to all health and safety protocols. We want our District to continue to move in the right direction.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 16, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On this day one year ago, I wrote to you to announce that all of our schools would close due to the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Onondaga County. Today, I write to you to announce that we will be transitioning more students back to in-person instruction five days a week.

Beginning after Spring Break, we plan to slowly transition Hive and Buzz cohort students in grades 3-7 back to five days a week. It is important to understand this plan is contingent on receiving the required physical barriers we need through Onondaga County. We expect to receive some of them on or about April 1, 2021.

At this time, our leadership teams have determined that the feasibility of in-person instruction five days a week for all K-12 students is not possible. We plan to slowly transition only grades 3-7 students at this time. Below are the start dates of each of the transitions.

TRANSITION DATES:

? Grade 3 In-person (5 Days) -- Tuesday, April 6, 2021

? Grade 4 and Grade 6 In-person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 12, 2021

? Grade 5 and Grade 7 In-Person (5 Days) -- Monday, April 19, 2021

As with all plans, this is subject to change based on new information and guidance. Please understand that if the District sees an uptick in COVID-19 cases, we will work with the Onondaga County Health Department to transition back to our hybrid schedule for grades 3-7. Again, we are hopeful this action will not be necessary, but feel we need to communicate this disclaimer for planning purposes.

It is highly likely due to scheduling, transportation, distancing, and capacity constraints we will not transition students in grades 8-12 back to in-person instruction 5 days a week before the end of the school year. We have found that the costs (challenges, disruption to student schedules, etc.) outweigh the anticipated benefits. As you know, our secondary students have been receiving significantly more in-person instruction than other local high schools. We are proud of this fact and feel maintaining our hybrid schedule at grades 8-12 is most appropriate at this time.

Spring 2021 Questionnaire:

Parents and guardians of in-person students in grades 3-7 will be asked to fill out the "Spring 2021 Questionnaire" in the Parent Portal of SchoolTool as soon as possible. The questionnaire will close on Friday, March 19. The hybrid model will no longer be an option for students in grades 3-7. Parents and guardians will have the option of selecting in-person five days a week instruction or 100 percent remote instruction for their child. Families will also be asked to make a selection on AM and PM transportation. Families are strongly encouraged to provide their own transportation of students to reduce bus density and assist with staggering entry of students into the school building. If you have any questions or issues filling out this form, please contact your child’s school.

Our plan to transition to five days in-person instruction for students in grades 3-7 was reviewed at last night’s Board of Education meeting. Attached is the District’s report on the plan, which includes more information, and health and safety requirements for in-person learning.

Please let us know if you have any questions and continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 11, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Thursday! I hope you have had a chance to enjoy the warm weather. Like most people, I am looking forward to all that comes with a transition to spring -- new beginnings! These past few days provide us all with reassurance that warmer weather and increased daylight hours are on the way. As we make this transition please don’t forget that Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 14 -- move your clocks ahead one hour!

As we continue to think about transitions, I wanted to provide you with an update regarding our District’s efforts to increase in-person instruction for students in grades 3 through 12. Our entire leadership team has been working around the clock with our transportation and facilities staff members to determine the feasibility of implementing Onondaga County’s physical distancing and barrier policy proposal. We continue to think “outside of the box” and consider all of our options.

At this point in time, we feel confident that we will be able to slowly begin a transition for students in our middle and elementary schools after the March/April Break. Please understand this will only be possible if we are able to secure partitions/barriers from Onondaga County. They have indicated to us that they expect to receive a portion of their order for all Onondaga County Schools by April 1st. I anticipate our District's transition to 5 days a week of in-person instruction will take a few weeks. Please continue to be patient!

Elementary and Ray Middle School Transition

We plan to begin by merging our Buzz and Hive cohorts for grade 3, followed by grade 4, and grade 5 for our elementary schools. At Ray Middle School we will begin with grade 6 and follow-up with grade 7. As we transition each grade-level back, we will monitor and adjust as needed. We hope to share more specifics with you next week. As with all good plans, please anticipate changes -- if we have learned anything this past year, flexibility is key to our success!

Baker and Durgee Transition

As you can imagine, the required adjustments needed for increased in-person instruction for our secondary schools, Durgee Jr. High School and Baker High School, are significant. At this time, there are key obstacles (a complex master schedule, large sections, class sizes, and space and staffing issues) that make it difficult for us to transition to 5 days of in-person learning at grades 8-12. That being stated, I feel it is important to point out that our secondary students have received more in-person instruction this school year than any other high school within the region because of our Hybrid learning model. We are very proud of that point! We will continue to exhaust all options in regard to returning all students back in-person if possible before the end of the school year. We will provide updates as they are available.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 5, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! I hope you had a chance to read my letter that I sent out yesterday evening regarding Onondaga County’s announcement of a new policy proposal for social distance rules in schools.

The reduction of social distancing from 6 feet to 3 feet with the use of partitions will help our district move Buzz and Hive cohort students back into our schools for in-person learning five days a week. I want to reiterate that this process will not happen overnight. Partitions have to be ordered and installed, and plans are still being worked out. Every department in our district is working around the clock to customize plans tailored to each individual classroom’s needs.

Your input is also very important to us during the process and we hope to address any concerns in the coming weeks. This process takes time and we appreciate your patience.

Calendar reminders

Thursday, March 11 is a remote learning day for full-time grades K-2 elementary students and Hive cohort grades 3-5 elementary students ONLY for parent-teacher conferences. Those students will follow the District's remote learning day schedule, which includes asynchronous and synchronous remote learning from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There will be a special meal pick up from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10 at C.W. Baker High School for those students. Students will receive one breakfast and one lunch. Ray, Durgee or Baker students will have a regular school day on March 11.

There is no school on Friday, March 12 for ALL students. District offices will be open.

Also, Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 14. Don’t forget to move your clocks ahead one hour!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

March 4, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As you may know, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced this afternoon that the county is changing social distancing rules and has released a new policy proposal for schools, which involves changing social distancing rules for schools.

McMahon and Onondaga County Health Commissioner, Dr. Indu Gupta, announced that students can now be 3 feet apart instead of 6 feet apart in classrooms, but schools will have to install barriers or shields to separate desks. McMahon announced that the county will pay for these partitions for any district that needs them. We are in the process of coordinating our request to Onondaga County.

This reduction in social distancing requirements will help our district move Buzz and Hive cohort students back into our schools for in-person learning five days a week. It is anticipated that a transition back to five days a week will be gradual and staggered by grade level. Specific details, including actual feasibility, and timeline are still being worked out by our leadership team.

There are still many details to work out with transportation, scheduling and staffing. Each school building and grade level presents different challenges. Discussions and planning are ongoing.

This change will not happen tomorrow. Partitions will need to be ordered and installed, and details will need to be fine-tuned. As we take a measured and thoughtful approach to this change, we will communicate the details with you.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

February 26, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The week after break always seems to feel a little bit longer, but we made it to Friday! I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy the sunshine today, and the mild temperatures this weekend!

I want to take this opportunity to clarify and update you on communications that have been a focus of recent media reports regarding reduction of social distancing requirements.

Late last week, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, shared during a press conference that NYS will allow local health departments to make a determination to reduce social distancing to 3 feet (from 6 feet) in order to get students back to in-person learning. If this less restrictive guidance is officially adopted, our goal is to begin moving Buzz and Hive cohort students back into our schools for in-person learning five days a week. The transition back to five days a week will be gradual and staggered by grade level. Specific details are still being worked out by our leadership team.

Unfortunately, it is unknown to us when the change in social distancing will occur. We know many of you are eager to have your children return to school five days a week. Our priority has always been to provide as much in-person instruction to our students as possible.

There are still many details to work out with transportation, scheduling and staffing. Each school building and grade level presents different challenges, but we are grateful to be moving in the right direction. We will communicate the details with you as soon as possible.

I wanted to also take this opportunity to give a shout-out to our athletes. Our Winter season is wrapping up soon and I’m so proud of all of our athletes for their hard work and positive attitudes. We are looking forward to our “Fall 2” season starting up next month with football, cheerleading, girls swimming, and boys and girls volleyball. We’re also excited to reinstate several of our fine arts programs. There’s a lot of exciting things ahead. Go Bees!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

February 19, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone is enjoying their winter break and is taking some time to rest, recharge and refuel before we return to instruction on Monday, which is a “Hive” cohort day.

I wanted to take a moment to give you few important COVID-19 reminders:

If your child has been diagnosed with or exposed to COVID-19 during the break, please notify his or her school nurse.
If your child has traveled during the break, please notify your child’s school and follow the state’s travel and quarantine protocols. You can read more about mandatory travel quarantine on our website.
Due to updates from the New York State Department of Health, in-person students will be bringing home new pads of COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaires. Please discard your current pad of forms, and switch to the new forms as soon as you receive them.

Important calendar change for K-5 families:

The parent-teacher conference day for K-5 families scheduled for March 11, a Hive cohort day, will become a remote learning day for full-time elementary students and Hive cohort elementary students only. Those students will switch to the District’s remote learning day schedule, which includes asynchronous and synchronous remote learning from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This change does not impact 100% remote elementary students or Buzz cohort elementary students, unless communicated by your child’s teacher. Ray, Durgee or Baker students will not be impacted by this change.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

February 12, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy winter break. I hope everyone finds time to relax and recharge. This winter break may not look the same, but the most important thing is for all us to stay safe and healthy.

There will be several athletic events and competitions over break. Fans can watch home games on the live streams on our website. The links will be posted on the homepage of our website on game day. Several other schools have also shared their live stream links with us for away games, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for details. It’s been wonderful to see our student-athletes taking part in competitions again. I’m so proud of our student-athletes for their positive attitudes during this entire process!

Our pep band and winter guard have also started practicing and Durgee Junior High School students are preparing for their musical next month. Other fine arts programs are also in the works. With every program that is reinstated for our students, we are one step closer to returning to normalcy. I know we have a ways to go, but we are moving in the right direction. And, we are doing this together!

Thank you all for your support. Have a great and safe winter break!

Go Bees!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

February 5, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! I hope you had a chance to enjoy the sunshine today!

I have a few quick announcements to share with you this afternoon:

Reports cards are available now in the Parent Portal.
Calendar reminder: Winter Break is February 15-19. There will be no instruction on those days. Offices will be closed on Monday, February 15 for Presidents’ Day.
If you plan to travel during the break, students will need to quarantine. The District adheres to the state’s COVID-19 travel guidelines, which requires travelers to quarantine for 10 days if they have traveled internationally to a CDC Level 2 or higher COVID-19-related travel health notice country or to a state that does not border New York for more than 24 hours. New York is allowing travelers to “test out” of the mandatory 10-day quarantine. Learn more on the District’s website.
Reminder: The District will conduct asymptomatic COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 in all of our school buildings. The asymptomatic testing is open to all District staff and students who are scheduled to be in-person and all athletes in grades 7-12 participating in a “high risk” winter sport. (Weekly COVID-19 testing is required for all student-athletes involved in basketball, hockey and cheerleading.) Wednesday, February 10th is a Buzz cohort day. Learn more on the District’s website.

Have a great and safe weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

January 29, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Today is the end of the second marking period, which means we made it to the halfway mark of the school year! Great work, Bees!

I have a few important updates and announcements that I want to share with you today:

High-risk and winter sports:

Governor Cuomo lifted the ban on high-risk winter sports last week pending approval from local health departments. On Thursday, we received guidance from the Onondaga County Health Department for the return of hockey, basketball, wrestling, competitive cheerleading, contact lacrosse and volleyball. Today, the Salt City Athletic Conference (SCAC) voted to move wrestling to the spring season. Section III permitted all leagues the opportunity to make such moves this year. We have been working around the clock to meet all of the protocols necessary to start winter sports on Monday, February 1st. The sports that will be allowed to play during the winter season are boys and girls basketball, ice hockey and cheerleading. These sports will start Monday pending that we meet all of the county Health Department’s requirements, including approval by our Board of Education. The school board will hold an emergency meeting at 7 a.m. on Monday to approve participation in boys and girls basketball, ice hockey and cheerleading. In order to move forward we also need the approval of our sport-specific preparedness plans by our District’s medical director. Our medical director will be reviewing the plans and it is our hope he will approve each sport’s plan prior to the conclusion of the school day on Monday. Parents are also required to sign a consent form to permit student athletes to participate. The form can be found HERE .

COVID-19 return to school testing requirement:

When your child is showing a symptom(s) of COVID-19 a rapid (antigen) COVID test is fast and convenient. Immediately knowing that your child is positive is very helpful. You can begin caring for, and containing, the virus from that point forward. Unfortunately, negative rapid test results can be wrong. For this reason, when someone has symptom(s) of COVID, a confirmatory molecular (ie. PCR) test should follow. This test may take a little longer to process and your child should remain at home until both tests are returned. The goal is to decrease exposure of others to the virus. We are advised by the Onondaga County School Specialists, from the NYS Department of Health, to require a molecular COVID test result in order to return a symptomatic student to school. Please ask your provider which test is being performed (antigen or molecular) during your visit. Our "Medical Provider Clearance To Return to School” form on our COVID-19 website has been updated.

Kindergarten registration:

Kindergarten Registration for the 2021–2022 school year is open now. This will take place virtually through the District Registrar at the District Office until February 26, 2021. Please do not go to your child’s assigned school building to register. Visit our website for more information.

Required health exam change:

Education Law requires all New York State (NYS) public school students to have a health exam when they are a new student in a school district and when they enter Pre-K or Kindergarten, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Beginning Sunday, schools cannot accept the health exam if it is not on the required form or the required health record equivalent. Download required form HERE.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate our five spellers who will advance to the oral round of The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com | WCNY Spelling Bee in March. Congratulations to Elizabeth Pérez Mariño, fifth grader at Palmer, Olivia Murray, fifth grader at Van Buren, Owen Nizar, sixth grader at Ray, Nia Delardi, eighth grader at Durgee and Miranda Barnard, eighth grader at Durgee. I also wanted to congratulate our 6 C.W. Baker High School students who recently earned Scholastic Writing Awards. See list of winners on our website. Great work, Bees!

In closing, check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates and more. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great and safe weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

January 22, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is staying warm in this frigid weather!

As our February school break approaches and winter returns to Central New York, you may be daydreaming of some place warm and sunny. However, before you book your trip, I wanted to take a moment to remind families about the District’s expectations regarding New York State travel protocols.

The District adheres to the state’s COVID-19 travel guidelines, which requires travelers to quarantine for 10 days if they have been out of state for more than 24 hours. New York is allowing travelers to “test out” of the mandatory 10-day quarantine.

Here’s the overview on how to “test out” using the state’s guidelines:

Travelers must obtain a COVID-19 test within three days of trip departure, prior to arrival back home in New York.
The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, quarantine for three days.
On day 4 after arrival home, the traveler must obtain another COVID-19 test. If both tests are negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test.
The NYS Traveler Health Form is available HERE.

I am sharing this information because families need to know that students must quarantine if they travel out of state during the break. Students can’t return to school until they have quarantined for 10 days or “tested out” of quarantine, using the protocol described above. As noted, the early release of quarantine (“test out”) requires completion of all steps listed above. Failing to complete either a pre-departure return COVID-19 test from your vacation destination or after arriving home on the 4th day will result in the full 10 day quarantine. Documentation of quarantine completion must be given to your child’s school. Students will be considered absent from school if they are missing in-person instruction during their quarantine period.

We understand traveling for Winter Break or Spring Break is a family’s decision, but as a District our goal is to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to keep our students and staff safe. As COVID-19 continues to impact our community, I would encourage all of our families to consider staying local for both of our school breaks.

I also want to take this opportunity to wish our 28 spellers good luck this weekend in the regional written bee of The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com | WCNY Spelling Bee. Visit our website to see the list of spellers and learn more about the competition. I also wanted to congratulate our 17 C.W. Baker High School students who recently earned CNY Scholastic Art Awards. See list of winners on our website. Great work, Bees!
In closing, check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates and more. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage . Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great and safe weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

January 15, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Positivity Project character strength for next week is perseverance and I can’t think of a better trait to focus on as I write this letter. I wanted to take a moment to address the state of our country after last week’s unprecedented events in Washington, D.C., and the state of our community after more than 10 months of the COVID-19 health pandemic.

If you are having difficulty processing and understanding the events that happened on January 6, 2021 in our nation's capital, you are not alone. If you’re nervous about the potential for more dangerous demonstrations during the transition of power of our nation’s highest office, you are not alone. If you’re struggling with the isolation and fear that has come with the COVID-19 pandemic, you are not alone.

From the global health pandemic to political unrest in our country, we have been tested over and over again during the past year. To persevere through these challenges, we need to work together.

Teachers and educators are so important during these historical times because they allow students the opportunity to express themselves in a safe environment. Over the past 10 months, our teachers have held open conversations with students about COVID-19 to help calm fears, and give students the ability to express concerns and disappointments associated with the pandemic. This past week and a half, in our social studies classrooms, teachers have given students the opportunity to discuss the recent events in Washington, D.C. As educators, we strive to help students develop and foster a sense of civic readiness that will encourage them to become active and informed citizens.

We all have different opinions, political views and life experiences, but our goal as educators is to give students the opportunity to express themselves and the chance to listen to the perspectives of their peers. We encourage this open dialogue to continue outside of the classroom. If there is one thing I’ve learned during the past year, it’s that we have to stick together to persevere.

When we closed our school buildings in March 2020, we repeatedly told the community that “we are all in this together.” And together we have overcome so many obstacles! We have continued to come together as a community. We have truly taken care of each other. Personally, I was reminded of this recently by Barbara Presley, of the Baldwinsville Volunteer Center, who conveyed the center's appreciation to our students, staff, and families who assisted with this year's Christmas Bureau. Barbara told us that the food and toy drives held in our school buildings this year were the biggest they have ever had.

I’m so proud of our school community. We still have many challenges ahead of us and I don’t have all the solutions, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share with our families that you are not alone and we are still all in this together. We have support services available for all of our students. Please reach out to your child’s school if you have any questions.

I also need to share two quick calendar announcements with you from this week:

Reminder: Monday, January 18, 2020 is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Schools and offices are closed.
It was brought to my attention that there is an error on our Cohort Calendar regarding Friday, January 29, 2021. The calendar features the notation D, which indicates that January 29th is a half day for students. This is an error! January 29th, a Hive cohort day, is a full day for students. The Cohort Calendar has been updated on our website. The full hard copy school (wall) calendar and the online calendar are correct.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Have a great and safe long weekend!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

January 8, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Friday! It was great to see our schools buzzing with excitement this week. I visited all eight school buildings to check in with students and staff. Everyone seemed happy and grateful to be back together after the brief remote learning period and our holiday break.

It is our hope that we can continue to keep our doors open. I’m so proud of our community for working together to keep everyone healthy and safe. I’m also grateful for our partnership with the Onondaga County Health Department. The county has agreed to return to our schools next week to conduct another round of asymptomatic COVID-19 testing. We are working with the county now to set up more testing in the future, and we’re striving to schedule a testing day on a Buzz cohort day. As soon as we have a day set up, we’ll update you.

We are also pleased to announce that our school nurses and some of our other staff have become eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We believe this is a positive step forward. We look forward to the day we can all return to school and all of our extracurricular activities can return without restrictions.

I have a few announcements for this week that I would like to share with you:

We held our Coffee & Conversation at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday on Zoom. We discussed our SRO program, delivered a Special Education update and talked about the functions of the Human Resources Department. Watch the video presentations on our District website. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of the presenters via email. Emails can be found in our staff directory on our website.
Mark your calendars for the next Coffee & Conversation on Thursday, April 8, 2021 where we’ll discuss the general fund budget.
COVID-19 testing will take place on Monday. There are a few slots available, but most schools have already reached the maximum number of tests. Check for availability and watch a video from our first round of testing on our website. Thank you to the families and staff members who registered.

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates and more. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great and safe weekend!
Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

January 3, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday break. We will resume in-person instruction tomorrow - Monday, January 4, 2021. It is a Hive cohort day.

As you may be aware, positive cases of COVID-19 began to rise again this weekend in Onondaga County, which health officials are saying is the beginning of the “Christmas Surge.” Onondaga County officials and school administrators are monitoring this surge closely.

Our goal is to safely keep our school buildings open and we need your help to do so. I would like to stress the importance of notifying your child’s school if:

you have traveled over break
your family has been exposed to a case of COVID-19, including a positive case in your household
your child was diagnosed with COVID-19
your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
you are awaiting results from a COVID-19 test for your child

In each of these circumstances, it is important that you keep your child home until all return-to-school protocols have been met. The daily health screening questionnaires completed by students and staff are essential to keeping our community healthy and our buildings safe. We rely on accurate responses to each question being thoughtful and honest each day. When in doubt families must keep their children home from school to prevent the risk of spreading COVID-19. Our school staff will continue to be vigilant observing and reporting students displaying symptoms during the school day to our school nurses.

Your child’s school can answer any questions you may have about when it is safe for your child to return. Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to health and safety protocols so that we can remain open for in-person instruction and minimize exposure of COVID-19.

We share the following scenario with you based on circumstances that have happened within our District (with details changed to protect confidentiality). The person involved did not knowingly put the District at risk; there was no malice. However, by ignoring the purpose of the screening protocol a significant number of people were impacted by having to quarantine due to exposure.

SCENARIO: Sally (elementary student) and Jimmy (middle school student) are siblings. Both had brief cold symptoms over a long weekend and were tested. By Monday all of the symptoms had improved. Both children’s screening questionnaires indicated “No” to the questions of having had recent symptoms or having been tested. The family attended school for three days before the positive COVID test results were returned unwittingly exposing their teachers, school staff and fellow students to COVID resulting in 93 quarantines. Use the daily screening questionnaire as a means to keep COVID out of our schools. In this case, the children were attending schools while they were infectious, which includes the two days prior to symptoms developing and all of the days that followed. The longer it takes to isolate positive cases the more the virus can spread.

We have updated the Frequently Asked Questions on our COVID-19 website with more scenarios and updated information on quarantines and protocols. Learn more HERE. We would also like to share that the District will partner again with Onondaga County to host proactive asymptomatic testing of students and staff in all buildings on Monday, January 11, 2021. Please be on the lookout for registration information this week.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates and more. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

December 30, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday break and I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year.

This school break is an important time for all of us to recharge and refuel before we return to instruction next week. As of today, our plan is to return to in-person instruction on Monday, January 4, which is a Hive cohort day.

I also wanted to take a moment to give you two important COVID-19 reminders:

If your child has been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the break, please notify his or her school nurse. Leave a voicemail, if necessary. Nurses are checking their messages.
If your child has traveled during the break, please notify your child’s school and follow the state’s travel and quarantine protocols.

Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to health and safety protocols so that we can safely reopen for in-person instruction on Monday, and minimize exposure of COVID-19.

Have a great holiday weekend and we’ll see you soon!

Continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. You can expect an email update from us on Sunday. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

December 18, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Another Friday is here and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. As you know, next week all of our school buildings will switch to full remote instruction for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before our holiday break starts on Thursday. In preparation, I wanted to share a few quick reminders:

Families are asked to continue to report absences to their child's school. Families should also continue to report positive COVID-19 cases, test results (positive or negative), symptoms, potential exposures, quarantines, and travel to their child’s school during remote learning and during the holiday break.
Families traveling during the holiday season, should follow the state’s travel guidelines for testing and quarantines. Read more HERE.
Families should continue to follow the Onondaga County Health Department’s isolation and quarantine guidelines if anyone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19 or if your family has been notified of an exposure to a positive individual, which can be found HERE.

Our goal is to return to our hybrid learning schedule on January 4 after holiday break. In order to do so, we all need to work together. Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to health and safety protocols so that we can safely reopen for in-person instruction and minimize exposure of COVID-19.

I wanted to take this opportunity to mention some good news from our school buildings. I’m incredibly proud of our students and staff for helping to spread cheer in our community and beyond. In every school, students and staff have collected items to help those in need. From donating gift cards for families to buy presents at Van Buren to collecting hats and mittens at Palmer, every building has made a difference in our community this holiday season. Check out our Facebook page to see photos and more.

I also want to encourage you to check out NewsChannel 9 this evening. C.W. Baker High School’s Technology Teacher Mr. Cuyler and his students are expected to be featured during the 6 p.m. news. The class made foldable desks for students to use at home after hearing that some remote learners didn’t have a suitable place to learn at home. Great work, Bees!

As we approach the end of 2020, it is my hope that we can safely return to some of the things that we love in 2021. Last year at this time our Marching Bees were preparing to head to California to perform in the Rose Parade. Although things are much different right now, we know we have exciting things to look forward to in our future, and we’re grateful to be able to look back at all that we’ve accomplished. Check out this video from the Baldwinsville Marching Band program, which was produced by Baker senior Tristan Hall.

Have a great weekend!

Please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

December 16, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Onondaga County officials conducted asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in all eight of our school buildings today. Officials tested 738 students and staff members. There was one positive staff member at McNamara Elementary School and one positive student at C.W. Baker High School. We are grateful for the county for offering testing today.

The number of positive asymptomatic cases found in our schools was low today, but symptomatic cases of COVID-19 continue to be on the rise in our community. We have been carefully assessing how this rise is impacting our students and staff and we have made the determination that all Baldwinsville school buildings will switch to remote instruction on Monday, December 21.

The active number of COVID-19 cases in Central New York has continued to grow. We have been fortunate this school year because we have not needed to disrupt in-person learning by repeatedly closing down entire schools due to positive cases. The Durgee Jr. High School closure during the beginning of the school year was the only time we needed to close a building due to a staffing shortage.

However, the number of positive cases continue to rise in our District and with those cases comes an increase in mandatory quarantines and staffing shortages in all our school buildings and departments. Again as a result, we have determined that it is in the best interest of our students and staff to switch to remote instruction for Monday (12/21), Tuesday (12/22) and Wednesday (12/23) of next week. Our holiday break begins on Thursday, December 24.

We anticipate resuming our in-person instruction after our holiday break on Monday, January 4, 2021. Should information change, we will notify families.

Students who attend full-time programs outside of the Baldwinsville Central School District will be transported to their programs through Wednesday (12/23) as long as those programs remain open for in-person learning. Students who attend half day BOCES programs will be transported from Baker High School to BOCES. Students needing transportation to Baker High School to catch the CTE bus should contact the transportation office at 315-638-6097.

We hope the decision announced today provides families with time to make arrangements for child care for next week, as necessary.

Our Food Service Department will be providing meals for all students. Families can pick up meals - 3 breakfast/3 lunch - for all enrolled students from 12 to 1 p.m. and 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 21 at the front entrance of C.W. Baker High School. Meals are free for all students. If you need delivery, please call 315-638-6064 by 2 p.m. Friday, December 18.

As the District continues to take precautions to protect the health and safety of our students, staff, and families, please continue to check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri

Acting Superintendent of Schools

December 11, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We’ve reached another Friday and I hope everyone is staying warm and healthy. I wanted to share a few quick announcements with you from this week:

The District met its yellow micro-cluster zone requirements last month when asymptomatic testing was held at C.W. Baker High School, Durgee Junior High School, Palmer Elementary School and Elden Elementary School. Although no further testing is required to remain open to in-person instruction, the Onondaga County Health Department has offered to return next week to conduct testing in all of our school buildings. The asymptomatic testing will be held on Wednesday, December 16 and is open to District staff and students who are scheduled to be in-person. Wednesday is a Hive cohort day. We will not test a student without consent from their parent or guardian. Families who give consent for their child to be tested are asked to register online. Registration is now open. See below for instructions on how to register and watch a video on the testing process HERE.
We want to remind families that if an emergency occurs after school hours or on weekends, please call 911 first. Messages to school staff, counselors, administrators or to a school resources officer on nights and weekends may not be received in a timely manner. If you need to report an emergency concerning your child or regarding another Baldwinsville student, please call 911. Officers will coordinate with school officials if more information or collaboration is needed.
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced today that the 2021 Winter State Championships will be canceled this year and high-risk sports are postponed until authorization is granted by state officials. High-risk sports include basketball, wrestling, ice hockey, competitive cheerleading, football, boys lacrosse and volleyball. The decision to postpone was reinforced by the increase in infection and hospitalization rates across the State.
COVID-19 cases in our community remain one of our top concerns and we want to remind families to keep your child home if he or she is feeling sick or if he or she has been exposed to someone who is sick. Your child’s teacher and principal will work with your family to make sure learning continues at home. We all have to work together to keep our staff and students safe!

How to register for COVID-19 testing:

Click this link (https://covid19.ongov.net/appointments/school-registration-form/).
Fill out the registration form. Enter your information. Under the patient’s name, enter your child’s name. Under phone and email, enter your contact information.
Enter your child’s information: Date of birth, sex, etc.
The form will ask you to enter the “Name of School.” In this spot, enter the address and phone number for your school:
- Charles W. Baker High School - 29 E Oneida St, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315)-638-6000
- Theodore R. Durgee Junior High School - 29 E Oneida St, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315)-638-6086
- Ray Middle School - 7650 Van Buren Road, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6106
- Harry E. Elden Elementary School - 29 E Oneida St, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6118
- McNamara Elementary School - 7344 O’Brien Road, Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6130
- L. Pearl Palmer Elementary School - 7864 Hicks Road, Baldwinsville NY 13027 (315) 638-6127
- Reynolds Elementary School - 222 Deerwood Drive, Baldwinsville NY 13027 (315) 638-6124
- Van Buren Elementary School - 20 Ford Street, Baldwinsville NY 13027 (315) 638-6121
Parents will be asked to type in their name to give consent.
Select continue.
Select your school as the testing location.
Choose an appointment time. The appointment time is only used to hold a test for the student or staff member. Testing is quick and will occur much faster than listed through the appointment times.

Registration will close as soon as we have reached the maximum number of tests. Registration is only open to students who attend school in-person. Since this testing is taking place on Wednesday, December 16, only Hive students, students who attend everyday, and staff may register. If your child won’t be in school on Wednesday, December 16, please do not register your child. This is asymptomatic testing. Participants may only register if they have no symptoms and have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 90 days.

The test kits that Onondaga County will be using are minimally-invasive, nasal swab rapid tests, which produce results in 15 minutes. The swab is placed in the lower part of the nose. The BinaxNOW test is much less invasive than the deep nasopharyngeal swabs performed at many medical facilities. The method for this particular test is to gently insert the swab into the lower part of each nostril (just half to one inch), swirl and repeat in the second nostril.

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates and more. Remember you can find our COVID-19 cases dashboard on our homepage. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Acting Superintendent of Schools

December 4, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We made it to another weekend! Happy first Friday of December! I wanted to share a few quick announcements with you from this week:

Our December Hive community newsletter was sent to the printers today. It will be arriving in your mailbox in a few weeks, but you can view it now -- in full color -- on our website by clicking here.
In the Hive, we announced some exciting news: The District will provide free meals to all enrolled students for the remainder of the school year. Check out the story for more information.
Our Holiday Greeting Card Contest concluded last week. Ayden Weston, a fourth grader at Reynolds Elementary School was crowned the winner. All the entries were amazing! Check them out on our website.
Join us for a free screening of the documentary, “The Upstanders” on Thursday, December 10 at 4 p.m. followed by a panel discussion. This webinar is brought to you by the District Mental Wellness Committee. "The Upstanders" is a film-based education program about resilience, attention, and the power of connection to end bullying. Learn more and register on our website.
We are all aware that the numbers of COVID-19 cases are rising across the region, data monitored by the Onondaga County Health Department highlights that the spread of COVID-19, fortunately, is not occurring in our schools. In order to keep our schools open to in-person instruction, we need your help! Please keep your child home if he or she is feeling sick. Please notify your school if your child travels out of state or is exposed to COVID-19. We all have to work together to keep our staff and students safe!
As the weather begins to change resulting in more snow, wind chill rates well below safe temperatures, and unsafe driving conditions, I want to remind you that the District will likely adjust emergency closing days to full remote instruction/learning days. Please watch for announcements and help prepare students to switch to remote instruction. Certainly, the District is reserving the option of using an actual emergency closing day if circumstances warrant the need.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 29, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone enjoyed the long holiday weekend. As your family prepares to return to work and school this week, I wanted to alert you to a change in the way we will announce COVID-19 cases in our District moving forward.

When we have a positive case in our District, our team immediately starts to work with the Onondaga County Health Department to investigate and help with contact tracing. We provide the health department with data, such as attendance records, schedules, bus routes and more. The health department uses that information to determine quarantines. Since September, our principals and staff members have been notifying impacted families before the health department makes contact. This means you will hear from us directly if your family is impacted by a positive case of COVID-19 in our District.

The letters that we email to the entire District are distributed to you in an effort to keep the whole District informed. We strive to always be open and transparent. However, we do realize that many of you are being overwhelmed by emails from us and your child’s teachers and principal. In an effort to reduce the number of emails you receive, we will no longer be sending individual messages when there is a positive case of COVID-19 in our District. Instead, we will post active cases to a dashboard on our District website. The chart will identify the date the positive case was confirmed, the impacted building or school, the date the student or staff member was last in attendance and details related to quarantines. We’ve added cases since November 23rd so that you can see how it works. Check it out here.

If your child is directly impacted and needs to quarantine, you will hear from us. If a school building or multiple schools are closed to in-person instruction, you will hear from us. All major announcements will be posted on our website, social media pages and sent out via School Messenger with phone calls and emails. Our goal is to keep you informed, not to inundate you with emails.

As we begin a new week, I would like to stress the importance of notifying your child’s school if you have recently traveled, if your family has been exposed to a case of COVID-19 outside of school, or if your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. In each of these circumstances, it is important that you keep your child home until all return-to-school protocols have been met. Your child’s school can answer any questions you may have about when it is safe for your child to return. Please respect all of our students and staff by adhering to health and safety protocols so that we can remain open for in-person instruction and minimize exposure of COVID-19.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I hope everyone was able to safely connect with their loved ones. We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 27, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We were notified that we have multiple positive cases of COVID-19 in our District. The new cases involve one student at C.W. Baker High School, one student at Durgee Junior High School, and one student at Ray Middle School.

The impacted student from Baker High School was last in attendance on November 18th. The Onondaga County Health Department will be contacting the 45 students and 9 staff members who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 2nd, with a return to school on December 7th as scheduled for the Hive cohort.

The impacted student from Durgee Junior High School was last in attendance on November 18th. The Onondaga County Health Department will be contacting the 10 students who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 2nd, with a return to school on December 7th as scheduled for the Hive cohort.

The impacted student from Ray Middle School was last in attendance on November 19th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 23 students and 5 staff who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 3rd, with a return to school on December 4th as scheduled for the Buzz cohort.

As you know, we cannot provide any additional information about these cases due to confidentiality and privacy constraints. At this time, the District has determined that there is no need to cancel in-person instruction at the impacted schools. The District’s custodial staff will continue its regular deep cleaning and sanitizing practices in our buildings and on our school buses.

Out of an abundance of caution, we ask that families please keep an eye out for signs and symptoms as it takes 7 to 8 days after exposure. The District is taking precautions to protect the health and safety of its students and employees. We will continue to closely monitor this situation and communicate updates, if necessary.

As always, we appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 25, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We were notified that we have multiple positive cases of COVID-19 in our District. The new cases involve two students at Van Buren Elementary School, one student at Durgee Junior High School, one student at C.W. Baker High School, and one Facilities Department staff member.

The Onondaga County Health Department determined that there are no required quarantines due to in-school exposure in the following cases:

One student at Baker High School last in attendance on November 18th

The county Health Department determined that there are required quarantines in the following cases:

One of the impacted students at Van Buren Elementary School was last in attendance on November 20th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 13 students and 1 staff member who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 4th, with a return to school on December 7th as scheduled.
The second impacted student at Van Buren Elementary School was last in attendance on November 23rd. The county Health Department will be contacting the 21 students and 5 staff who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 7th, with a return to school on December 8th as scheduled.
The impacted student from Durgee Junior High School was last in attendance on November 18th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 36 students who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 2nd, with a return to school on December 7th as scheduled for the Hive cohort.
The impacted Facilities Department staff member was last in attendance on November 13th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 5 staff who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on November 27th.

As always, we appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 24, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We were notified that we have multiple positive cases of COVID-19 in our District. The new cases involve two students and one teacher at C.W. Baker High School, one student at Palmer Elementary School, one remote learner at Van Buren Elementary School, and one Transportation Department staff member.

The Onondaga County Health Department determined that there are no required quarantines due to in-school exposure in the following cases:

One student at Baker High School last in attendance on November 4th
One teacher at Baker High School last in attendance on November 10th
One remote learner at Van Buren Elementary School

The county Health Department determined that there are required quarantines in the following cases:

The impacted student at Baker High School was last in attendance on November 18th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 62 students and 6 staff who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 2nd, with a return to school on December 7th as scheduled for the Hive cohort.
The impacted student at Palmer Elementary was last in attendance on November 12th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 13 students and 1 staff member who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on November 26th, with a return to school on November 30th.
The impacted Transportation Department staff member was last in attendance on November 17th. The county Health Department will be contacting the 24 students who are required to quarantine. The quarantine is expected to end on December 1st, with a return to school on December 2nd for students who attend school everyday, and a return to school on December 7th as scheduled for the Hive cohort.

As always, we appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 24, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It is hard to believe that our fall season is coming to a close and the Thanksgiving holiday is only two days away. For many of us it is tradition to take time this week to reflect upon what we are thankful for with our family and friends. We all know that 2020 has been a challenging year and unfortunately those challenges are growing as we enter the holiday season. Many of us will not be able to be with our family and friends this year for a variety of reasons, but I believe it is still important to share with others the reasons why we are thankful, even if this exchange is virtual this year!

Personally, I am thankful for all of the sacrifices our healthcare workers and first responders have made during this time to assist all of those in need. I’m also extremely grateful that our District has been able to keep our schools open for in-person instruction. This has been no small feat. We are able to keep our buildings open because of our devoted staff and students. From the dedication of our transportation department staff to the determination of our custodial workers, everyone has worked together to achieve our goal of safely keeping our buildings open. I’m so grateful to the commitment of our students and staff to maintain social distancing, wear face coverings, and implement hygiene practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness. Everyone has sacrificed something for the benefit of the common good! That being said, it is clear that we all need to continue to make sacrifices over this short holiday break so that we can reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remain open for in-person instruction.

We know how important it is for our students to experience as much normalcy as possible - at home and at school. But in order to continue the normalcy of attending in-person classes, participating in extracurricular activities and playing sports, we have to continue to make safe decisions at home. We may have to modify our holiday plans this year so that we can keep our friends and family healthy. Please remember we are all still in this together, and together we can keep our schools open and our community safe.

So, as my family celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday, in a very different way through Facetime, GoogleMeet, and Zoom, I’ll be sharing what I’m grateful for and I’m grateful for all of you!

On behalf of the Baldwinsville Central School District Board of Education, building and District leadership, as well as instructional and non-instructional staff members, we would like to say “Thank you!” We are grateful for your continued support. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Joseph M. DeBarbieri, Acting Superintendent of Schools

November 13, 2020

Dear parents and guardians,

Since the governor announced on Monday that our District was part of the yellow micro-cluster zone, we have been working to navigate the testing protocols required in order to keep our school buildings open to in-person instruction. Testing will begin next week.

We are pleased to announce that with the help of our school nurses, Onondaga County will be able to conduct COVID-19 testing at all four of our schools that fall within the yellow zone. Students and staff at Palmer Elementary School and Elden Elementary School will be tested on Wednesday, November 18th and testing will be held at Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School on Friday, November 20th.

We will not test a student without consent from their parent or guardian. Families will give consent by registering online prior to the day of testing. Once the registration link is available, we will send it out to Palmer, Elden, Baker, and Durgee families and staff. Registration will close as soon as we have reached the required number of tests. We are required to test 20 percent of the in-person population at each school, which is about 550 people each week.

I want to remind families that we’ve put together a list of frequently asked questions, which will be updated as more information becomes available. The FAQ document can be found on our District website.

We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

November 12, 2020

UPDATE: We wanted to share an update with our families regarding testing at Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School. We heard from Onondaga County officials this evening and with help from our nursing staff, the county will be able to conduct COVID-19 testing at both of these schools next week. We’ll send a formal update to our families tomorrow.

Dear parents and guardians,

I’m writing today to give you an update on the District’s yellow micro-cluster zone designation. We are working closely with Onondaga County to navigate the testing protocols required in order to remain open to in-person learning while our school buildings are in the yellow zone.

I would like to thank parents and guardians for taking part in our testing survey. Out of the families that responded to the survey who have students attending school in-person, 74 percent indicated that they will give consent for their child to be tested in school for COVID-19.

After reviewing the survey results and information received from Onondaga County officials, we have decided to move forward with testing in our schools. The District has been informed that priority will be given to schools with elementary-aged students. This is due to the number of test kits available and the number of county medical personnel available to administer the test. For us, this means testing will begin at Elden Elementary School and Palmer Elementary School next week.

Due to this, the county has stated that testing will not be available for Durgee Junior High School or C.W. Baker High School at this time. In-person learning will continue at those two buildings until further notice. However, without being able to meet the testing requirements next week it is possible that both schools will need to move to remote learning beginning Monday, November 23. Please know we are working with Onondaga County and our school nurses to determine the feasibility of assisting the county so that our secondary schools can test students to remain open. Although no decision has been made, we want families to prepare for the possibility of temporarily switching to remote learning if we are unsuccessful with testing our secondary students.

Registration links and schedules for testing at Elden Elementary and Palmer Elementary will be released as soon as they become available. In the meantime, we’ve put together a list of frequently asked questions, which will be updated as more information becomes available. The FAQ document can be found on our District website.

We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

November 11, 2020

Dear parents and guardians,

I’m writing today to give you an update on the District’s yellow zone designation. On Monday, November 9, Governor Andrew Cuomo identified zip code 13027 in Baldwinsville as being part of the micro-cluster in Onondaga County that is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. All eight of our school buildings are located within the zip code 13027.

We have received clarification that only four of our school buildings are located in the yellow micro-cluster zone, not the entire 13027 zip code in which all District schools are located. After further review and with additional guidance from Onondaga County, we have learned that the buildings in the yellow zone are only those located in the town of Lysander.

The four buildings located in the town of Lysander are C.W. Baker High School, Durgee Junior High School, Elden Elementary School and Palmer Elementary School. Since these four school buildings fall within the yellow micro-cluster zone, the District must test 20 percent of the in-person population at each school, each week, until we are out of the yellow zone. This is roughly 550 tests per week.

We are continuing to work closely with Onondaga County officials to explore what testing will look like for our District. Our survey to parents and guardians will be open until 11:59 p.m. tonight through the SchoolTool Parent Portal. It’s important for all parents to respond to the survey even if your child’s school no longer falls in the yellow zone. We hope to update you again on Thursday as more information becomes available.

We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

November 6, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

In effort to not overwhelm you with multiple emails, I’m writing to you today to inform you about two new COVID-19 cases and to provide you with a few announcements from this week.

The Onondaga County Health Department confirmed today we have two new cases of COVID-19 in our District. A staff member at McNamara Elementary School tested positive for the virus. District officials in conjunction with the county Health Department immediately began its investigations, which is ongoing. The staff member was last in attendance on Tuesday, November 3 and is now in isolation. Contract tracing by the Onondaga County Health Department has determined that no students or staff members will need to quarantine at this time.

The second case involves a 100% remote student who attends Palmer Elementary School. Since the student is a remote learner and was not in attendance at the school this school year, there is no need for students or staff to quarantine based on school exposure. The remote learner is in isolation.

We can’t provide any additional information about this student or staff member due to confidentiality and privacy constraints. We appreciate your support and understanding when we have a positive COVID-19 case in one of our buildings. As local health experts have said, this virus is not spreading within schools due to our mask requirements, social distancing protocols, and cleaning and disinfecting procedures. However, Onondaga County is currently facing its highest number of positive cases. It is important that we all continue to take precautions to protect ourselves and each other from COVID-19. Please remember to wear a mask in public and practice social distancing. Each person in our community must do their part to keep everyone safe.

Before I share with you updates from this week, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind our families and community members to drive safely and take precautions in our school zones. Please reduce speed in our school zones, watch out for pedestrians and do not pass stopped vehicles, especially during drop-off and pick-up at all of our schools. Be sure to pay attention. If you stay alert and focused, you can keep yourself and everyone around you safe.

I just have a few quick updates and announcements that I would like to share with you from this week:

The Board of Education is seeking applicants for the vacant seat on the school board. Residents wishing to serve on the board are invited to submit a letter of interest and resume by November 18. Learn more on our website.
Calendar reminder for next week: There is no school on Wednesday for Veterans Day. District Offices will also be closed.
The Marking Period ends Friday, November 13. Report cards will be available in the Parent Portal beginning Friday, November 20.
There’s been a change to our meal pickup for remote students. Meals will be available for pickup at Baker High School only. Pickup will no longer be available at Ray Middle School.
The New York State Education Department announced this week that Regents exams scheduled for January are canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. No decision has been made about the June and August Regents exams.
Section III Athletics announced this week that the 2020-2021 indoor track and field season will be postponed. Other winter sports are expected to start on December 14, however we are waiting for more guidance from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and the governor’s office about the status of those sports that are considered “higher risk.”
The holiday season is approaching and we’re excited to announce a holiday greeting card design contest. The contest will be open to all elementary school students and details will be announced on Monday.

Enjoy the beautiful weather and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

October 30, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

As October comes to an end, I want to send out another thank you to our families and staff! I’m so grateful for the support, hard work and positivity that has helped to keep our District moving forward.

I have a few announcements and reminders to share with you this week:

Our District continues to work with the Onondaga County Health Department and follow state guidance when we have a positive COVID-19 case in one of our schools. Fortunately, we’ve been able to keep our school buildings open for the majority of our cases. Last month, we suspended in-person classes at Durgee Junior High School for a short period of time due to the number of staff members who were quarantined by the county Health Department. If we need to close a building again or if in-person instruction is suspended by state or local officials, we want to make sure our families are prepared for remote learning. We put together a one-page Q&A document and remote learning checklist to help families. Click here to view.
Our Student COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaire is now available on our website in four languages: English, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian. Click here to view.
We held our first Coffee and Conversation of the school year on Thursday. If you missed it, watch the video on our website.
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has developed a Parent Dashboard to increase transparency and make information about school performance and other school-level data easier for parents and the public to access. The Parent Dashboard offers information on all public schools. NYSED invites all community stakeholders to explore the Parent Dashboard and provide feedback via an online survey. NYSED will use this feedback to identify the data most useful to parents and the public to make ongoing improvements to the website.
Reminder: Set your clocks back one hour this weekend. Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe weekend!

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

October 23, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

It’s a beautiful day and I hope everyone can get outside and enjoy it!

I just have a two reminders to announce today:

The Parent-Teacher Conference Days for K-5 families scheduled for next week have been changed to remote learning days for all elementary students. All K-5 students will receive a full day of remote learning on October 29th and 30th.

Our first Coffee & Conversation of the year will be held on Thursday, October 29th at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom links are posted on the District’s website.

This meeting will include the following District employees:

Superintendent Matthew McDonald
Deputy Superintendent Joseph DeBarbieri
Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction (K-6) Tony Cardamone
Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction (7-12) Renee Burnett
Director of Academic Services and Accountability Danielle Nahorney
Director of Instructional Technology Richard "RJ" DeLisle
Director of Athletics, PE & Health Christopher Campolieta

Topics for this meeting include:

Purpose/Expectations of Q&A
Opening of New School Year
Deputy Superintendent & K-12 Curriculum and Instruction
Technology
Athletics

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,
Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

October 16, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

We have made it to another weekend! Happy Friday!

I wanted to share a few quick announcements from this week:

We have started the development process for the 2021-2022 budget and we are seeking community input through budget advisory committees. The District is looking for volunteers to serve on committees to review specific areas of the budget – Facilities, Athletics, Transportation, Special Education and Instructional/Technology. Volunteers will provide input on the budget cost savings prior to the budget components being presented to the Board of Education for review. Read more about the committees and how to join on our website.
Our Food Service Department would like to remind families that breakfast and lunch is currently free for all students. The department has been working hard to expand its hot food offering in all of our schools, and is excited to announce that Durgee Junior High School has reopened their cafeteria lines, which allows students to visit the cafeteria to select their own meals.
This week I met with the presidents of our Parent Teacher Associations and I'm excited to report that they are moving forward with plans for taking school pictures. We are hopeful that our PTAs can also safely restore some of their student-centered activities during the coming months!
Our fall athletic season is in full swing and we’ve been recognizing our senior athletes during their home games. Check out our social media pages for photos and more. #GoBees

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,
Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

October 9, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Happy Friday! There's no school for students today or Monday. I hope you all enjoy the four-day weekend.
Please visit our website for more information on the positive COVID-19 case at C.W. Baker High School. We will continue to closely monitor this situation and communicate updates, if necessary.

I wanted to take a moment to share with you a few announcements from this week.

At the Board of Education meeting on Monday night, I had the honor to recognize the retirement of my colleague and friend, Jamie Rodems. Jamie retired recently from the District after serving 11 years as the assistant superintendent of management services. Jamie was instrumental with securing voter approval on numerous capital projects that have positively impacted our students and helped the District save money. We are grateful for Jamie’s dedication to the community and his fiduciary responsibilities. Jamie will be greatly missed. We wish him a wonderful retirement.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Debra Miller, who will serve as interim assistant superintendent of management services. Debra, a Baldwinsville community member, comes to us with more than 30 years of school experience.

C.W. Baker High School announced the Class of 2021 Baker’s Dozen this week. Congratulations to Calista Winders, Geoffrey Tse, Andrew Panos, Bianca Gascon, Aidan Micho, Nathaniel Hahn, Jack McManus, Lindsey Demer, Colin DeLaney, Kyle Rogers, Tristan Miranda, Tiffany Natoli and Jenna Boutilier. I am so proud of you! Keep working hard to achieve your goals!

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

October 2, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Happy October! I want to take time on this beautiful fall Friday to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication in the reopening of our District buildings and the wonderful start to the 2020-21 school year.

Through every challenge, our staff has risen to the occasion with positivity and professionalism. I’m very proud. Take a look for yourself by viewing the Virtual Curriculum Night and Virtual Open House videos listed below. It’s amazing how our staff has been able to adapt and evolve during this unprecedented year in education!

Please note, Durgee Junior High School’s Curriculum Night videos are delayed due to the recent closure, and will be available later this month. Stay tuned!

C.W. Baker High School
Ray Middle School
Elden Elementary School
McNamara Elementary School
Palmer Elementary School
Reynolds Elementary School
Van Buren Elementary School

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great weekend! Go Bees!

Sincerely,
Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

September 25, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Happy Friday. It’s looking like a beautiful summer weekend for our first weekend of fall. I hope you’re able to enjoy it with your families.
I’m pleased to announce that our Food Service Department is making sure all students have access to free, healthy meals while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create challenges for many families. All enrolled students are eligible for a free breakfast and lunch meal every school day, regardless of family income.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended flexibilities it granted to school meal programs to provide free breakfast and lunch for all children 18 and younger – whether learning in-person or remote – through Dec. 31 or until funding is exhausted. Effective Monday, meals will be free for all B’ville students on the days they are receiving in-person instruction. Learn more on our website.

I have a few other updates that I would like to share with you this week:

Our Van Buren Elementary School students and teacher returned to their classroom this week after being quarantined by the Onondaga County Health Department. Principal Cronin said the students were excited to return to the school and get back into their in-person learning routine.
Durgee Junior High School will reopen on Monday after being closed since Friday, Sept. 18 due to two positive COVID-19 cases. We anticipate welcoming back all students, including the 71 students and 10 teachers who were asked to quarantine as a precaution, on Monday. However, we are still waiting to hear back from the county Health Department regarding the protocol for their return. We will update the community as soon as information becomes available.
We are not aware of any additional cases that resulted from the exposure at Van Buren and Durgee, which implies our measures to keep our students and staff protected are working. Keep up the good work!
If your child is sent home with COVID-19 symptoms, you will be sent home with a form, which can also be found on our website, for your medical provider. In order for a student to return to school, he or she must follow the New York State Department of Health (which the District is following) protocol, which includes documentation from a health care provider following evaluation, a negative COVID-19 test result AND a resolution of symptoms.
If your child tests positive for COVID10, please contact the District so that we can immediately coordinate our efforts with the county. Please provide the school nurse with a copy of any official quarantine or isolation order.
Onondaga County has set up a testing site at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse that is open for symptomatic students and school district employees. Registration is required by emailing CovidTesting@upstate.edu or by calling 315-464-2582 and selecting option #4.
Our School Nurse Supervisor Julie Carpenter also wants to encourage our students and staff members to get a flu shot this year.
I would like to remind families that face coverings are required at our school bus stops. Families waiting with students should also be wearing a face covering. Thank you for helping us keep our community safe.
Our fall athletes started practice this week. You can feel the excitement from the athletes and their coaches. It’s so great to have our fields, courts and stadium back in use!

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

September 11, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

I’m so proud our students, families and staff for a successful start of the 2020-2021 school year. Despite all the changes and new safety protocols, I saw so much positivity spreading through our classrooms.

The Buzz and full-time students are quickly adjusting to our new health and safety practices and settling right back into the classroom routines. Also, I’ve heard great things from the teachers and families of our remote learners. I hope you have tuned into my video updates each day. They are posted on our Facebook page and website. Today’s update will focus on remote learners.

On Monday, we will welcome our Hive students to their first day of school. I can’t wait!

I want to also take a moment to address the media reports involving a photo circulating on social media of our Baker High School seniors. I know as a District we can't control how students behave outside of school, but we hope that they will make better choices. My goal is to keep our students safe and keep them in school. The administration at Baker High School is addressing our concerns about this type of behavior with students and families. The District will continue to educate all its students on safe choices and the impact their actions have on their own well-being and the safety of others. We have to work together.
I wanted to remind our families to obey the speed limit, which is 15 mph, on our main campus and at all of our school buildings. Help us keep our students safe.
We are also excited to share that Section III Athletics announced today that low and moderate risk fall sports will begin with practices on Monday, September 21, 2020. Their decision to move forward with fall athletics allows our B’ville Bees student-athletes to take part in opportunities for competitions this fall. We are excited we can provide more normalcy to our student-athletes during these unique times. I'm also excited to report that Football, Boys and Girls Volleyball, and Cheerleading will have a season starting March 1st.

There’s more positive news related to the performing arts. I met with area superintendents regarding a revised marching band season for this fall. I am meeting with the superintendents again on Monday and with Band Director Casey Vanderstouw about what the B’ville program will look like during the 2020-2021 school year. More information to come next week.

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Our months of planning on what to do when we have a positive case of COVID-19 in one of our schools was put to the test this week, and I couldn’t be more proud of our staff, students and families. The safety of our students and staff is my number one priority. Thank you for continuing to show the rest of Central New York what it means to work together and be B’ville strong!

I have a few updates that I would like to share with you this week:

Several of our athletic teams – Boys and Girls soccer, gymnastics, field hockey, Boys golf, Girls tennis, and Boys and Girls cross country – will start practice on Monday. #GoBees
Football, cheerleading and Boys and Girls volleyball has been moved to March. Our athletic director announced this week that the fall swim varsity/modified season will also be delayed until March. The decision was made as a league due to changes in regulations and several districts not having access to their team’s home pool.
We are thrilled to announce that the Baldwinsville Marching Bees will be able to return to the field this school year. Band Director Casey Vanderstouw and his team of instructors are currently finalizing safe rehearsal and performance procedures, music and drill. Details regarding upcoming rehearsal dates will be announced soon.
Last month, families were given the option to return to school in a hybrid (in-person and remote) or a 100% remote (virtual) learning environment. We understand that some families are interested in switching their decision. In our reopening plan, we informed families that selections will remain in place for a marking period at a minimum. As circumstances change, the District will make adjustments and communicate options to students and families.
Reminder: If you are looking for a "No Image List" request form or an application for free and reduced meals, please check your Hive newsletter that was mailed to your home. If you need a form, please email sbuckshot@bville.org.
Meals are available for Hive and Buzz students when they are learning remotely and for students who are 100 percent remote. The meals are free for qualified families or available for purchase. Visit our website for pickup times and locations.

Check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

September 8, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Tomorrow – September 9 -- is the first day of school for the majority of our students. The Buzz Cohort, 100% Remote and K-2 students will be starting school tomorrow. The Hive Cohort will return on Monday, September 14.

I’m very excited, and I hope you and your child are also excited!

We have several reminders for those students who are returning to in-person instruction:

Students are required to wear a face covering on the school bus and inside our schools. Bandanas and gaiter-style face coverings will not be acceptable. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Students should bring a completed COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaire to school with them. Students will receive a packet of questionnaires on the first day.
If you have questions about food service, read our Q&A from Food Service Director Brian Wright. CLICK HERE
If you have specific questions about your school, watch your building’s Q&A webinar. CLICK HERE
All of our principals have created welcome back videos for our students. Watch all videos on our website. CLICK HERE
I answered questions from two of our Van Buren Elementary School students about back-to-school for a special edition of Breakfast with the Superintendent. Watch the video on our website. CLICK HERE

Reminders for students who are starting at-home instruction:

The Distance Learning Guide is posted on our website. CLICK HERE
The Q&A Webinar, which was held this morning, can be watched on our website. CLICK HERE

Reminders for all families:

Parent technology tutorials will help families during remote instruction: CLICK HERE
OCM BOCES created tutorials for Google products: CLICK HERE
The school calendar is available online and will be mailed later this month: CLICK HERE

I hope everyone has a fantastic first day! #BeePride

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

September 4, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that two of our students passed away yesterday after a terrible automobile accident on the NYS Thruway. Maryella and Elizabeth Annal were Palmer Elementary School students.

The loss of a child is the most difficult part of any job. We all grieve differently and grief is a process. Please reach out to a loved one, trusted friend, a member of our counseling team, or myself if you need to talk. We are a big family and today it devastates me to announce that we have lost two of our own. Let's come together and support each other, our students, and families.

As I write this letter, I am grieving. The work that I have been doing since last night as Superintendent has been heart wrenching. We are now just days away from the return to school for the majority of our students. Wednesday, September 9^th is the first day for 100% remote learners, K-2 and the Buzz cohort. The Hive cohort students will start on Monday, September 14^th.

We have several updates to give you from the past week:

The District is hosting a 100% Remote Learning Webinar to allow families, who have chosen this model for the 2020-21 school year, the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the student learning experience. The webinar, which will feature a Q&A session will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Registration is required. Click here to register. The video of the webinar will be posted on our website after the webinar.
The District would like to clarify protocols for students and staff members experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (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, diarrhea) who have not been diagnosed as COVID-19 positive -- Based on updated NYSED, NYSDOH, and Onondaga County Health Department guidance, any student or staff member experiencing a symptom of COVID-19 will be required meet the following criteria (all 3 criteria) in order to return to school or work:
1. Documentation of evaluation by a healthcare provider indicating the person is diagnosed with another condition and is clear to return to school,
2. a negative COVID-19 test result, and
3. no fever (temperature less than 100 degrees F) without the use of fever reducing medicine for 24 hours and symptom resolution.

If you have questions about Food Service this school year, visit the Food Service webpage on our website to read a Q&A and view breakfast and lunch menus.
Breakfast with the Superintendent will continue during the school year and was moved to Saturday mornings. Tune in at 9 a.m. this Saturday for a special back-to-school episode.
We received word from the printers and The Hive was mailed and should be arriving to your homes soon. Inside you’ll find important forms for the school year. The school calendar will be mailed later this month, but you can check out the PDF version on our website now.
New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is expected to release guidance today, which we plan to review as we await further guidance from Section III Athletics on fall athletics.
While we haven’t received guidance from the state as it relates to the performing arts, specifically marching band, I’ve volunteered to attend a meeting on Wednesday with area superintendents to discuss our options. I will hopefully be able to report back more information next week.

We will continue to provide updates on a regular basis as we work through our reopening process. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please be on the lookout on Tuesday for an announcement with reminders for the first day of school. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

August 28, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Time is flying by, but that means we are so much closer to the beginning of the school year and the return of students to our classrooms for the first time since March 16.

The first day of school is Wednesday, September 9 for the Buzz Cohort, 100 percent remote, and 100 percent in-person students. The first day of school for the Hive Cohort students is Monday, September 14. Earlier this summer we adjusted our 2020-2021 calendar to bring back our teachers and support staff on Tuesday, September 1. We will hold Superintendent Conference Days on September 1, 2, 3 and 8 to help prepare staff for the new protocols and procedures associated with this unique school year.

The District is buzzing. Our principals, administrators and staff continue to work hard as the summer is winding down. Here are a few updates and reminders for this week:

Teacher assignments and class schedules for students will be available in the School Tool portal beginning at 3 p.m. today. Click HERE to access the portal.
Building specific reopening webinars hosted by the leadership team at each building were held this week. Visit your school’s webpage on our District website to watch the video or click HERE to watch all videos.
Students attending in-person classes will need to bring in a Student COVID-19 Health Screening Questionnaire every day. The form for the first day of school will be mailed to families and a packet of blank questionnaires will be sent home with students on the first day of in-person school. What does the form look like? It can be found on our website HERE.
The District will be sending out the traditional school calendar, but it is delayed and expected to arrive to families later next month. In the meantime, our staff will be updating our calendar on our website. Due to the many uncertainties revolving school activities, the online calendar will be your best source for up-to-date events and activities.
After further review of our District’s policy on face coverings and research on the use of some of the styles, we have decided to ban the use of gaiter-style face coverings and bandanas. Studies show they are poor at preventing respiratory particles from entering the air thereby less effective in protecting others.

Governor Cuomo gave approval this week for lower-risk sports to start practicing on September 21 and then play after that. We are looking into what this means for our District as we await more guidance from the State Education Department, New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and the Section III Athletics. We are also awaiting more guidance on extra-curricular activities and the performing arts. We want to offer these activities for our students because we believe in their value in achieving the full potential of our students, but we have to do it safely. We are going to let science guide us. We have to follow the guidelines set forth from the above state organizations. We are expecting further guidance from NYSPHSAA next week. We will update you as soon as any plans are finalized.

We will continue to provide updates on a regular basis as we work through our reopening process. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,
Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools

August 21, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Another Friday has arrived as we draw closer to the first day of school for students and staff.

We are continuing to release more information to help families get prepared for this unprecedented school year. I would like to take a moment to highlight what has been released this week and preview what’s to come next week.

We hosted three webinars via Zoom this week to allow our school community (parents, teachers, students, etc.) to ask questions as we prepare for the return of in-person and remote instruction this September. These opportunities were conducted as part of Governor Cuomo's expectations that school districts offer three Q&A sessions before August 21, 2020. Watch the videos from the three webinars HERE.
Our school librarians have compiled tutorials to help parents with technology. The tutorials guide families through how to use Seesaw, which will be used in our K-2 classrooms, and how to use Google Classroom, which will be used in our 3^rd-12^th grade classrooms. There’s a variety of other videos to help families with technology. The webpage also lists contact information for our school librarians, who will be available to assist families when school starts. Check out the tutorials HERE.
Our elementary school principals created a video to show students some changes that will be in effect for the upcoming school year. Watch the video HERE.
The District is providing building specific reopening webinars next week hosted by the leadership team at each building. This is an opportunity for students and families to ask questions specific to their school. All webinars will be live-streamed and recorded for future viewing. Register HERE.

I also wanted to clarify a media report from earlier this week. Special Education Director Rocco Nalli spoke to CNYCentral about what special education will look like this fall. Please note that the story mentions that "scheduling for grades 6-12 is expected to be released Friday," but scheduling is expected to be released Friday, August 28 -- not today. We want to get student class schedules and teacher assignments to our families as soon as possible, but as of today, we are still finalizing schedules.

We will continue to provide updates on a regular basis as we work through our reopening process. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

August 14, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

I can’t believe it is Friday already -- where has the time gone? The days and weeks seem to get faster and faster as we grow closer to opening day for our students and staff.

The District continues to work tirelessly in preparing for reopening of schools on September 9, 2020. This week’s communication is solely designated to provide information related to where the district is in our re-opening process. Please take a moment to review the information provided below.

We concluded our Re-opening Webinar Series last week. We thank our students, families, and employees for participating in the informational forums. If you missed them, you can watch them HERE. Q&A Documents for each webinar are also located on the website.
I would like to announce that the Baldwinsville Central School District will be hosting three (3) additional Webinars via Zoom for our students and families, as well as one Webinar for district employees to allow our school community and employees to ask questions as we prepare for the return of in-person and remote instruction in September. These opportunities are being conducted as part of Governor Cuomo's expectations that school districts offer Q&A sessions before August 21, 2020. The Q&A Webinar Events will be hosted by me, Superintendent of Schools Matthew McDonald, and Deputy Superintendent Joseph DeBarbieri. The webinar events will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions of the district's re-entry plan. There will be no formal presentation just Q&A. To register for any of the events, please click HERE.

The events will be live-streamed on the district's Facebook page for any person unable to register through Zoom. Additionally, video recordings will be made available following each event on our district website.

The district will be providing School specific Re-opening Webinars (8 total - one per school) hosted by each building's leadership team to inform students and families of what building schedules will look like in September. This will also be an opportunity for students and families to ask questions specific to their school of attendance. More information regarding these informational webinars will be shared in next week's communication.
I am happy to announce that following the completion of student and family selections / registrations of preferred learning options (remote or in-person/hybrid) we are able to have full-time (5 days a week) in-person instruction for grades K, 1, and 2, in all elementary school buildings. Having our primary-aged students return full-time does not change our anticipated class sizes. The number of students that chose full remote instruction at the five elementary schools has allowed us to add sections to accommodate small class sizes even with additional grades K, 1, and 2 classes. The learning environment will meet the state’s guidance of six foot spacing between students. There will be more detailed information forth coming next week from your building administrator.
Cohorts (Buzz and Hive) for grades 3 through 12 have been completed and can be found on the SchoolTool portal. Click HERE to view directions and access the SchoolTool portal. We are thrilled we are able to provide cohort information for grades 3-12 prior to our scheduled date of August 21, 2020. As you would expect, grades K, 1, and 2 will not be provided a cohort since students will now be attending in-person full-time (5 days per week).
The Baldwinsville Central School District will be providing five days/week of in-person instruction for students with disabilities that receive integrated co-teaching services in grades 3, 4, and 5. Special education programs and services will continue to be provided in the least restrictive environment. Information regarding students with disabilities in grades 6 through 12 will be provided at a later date. If you would like more information regarding your child's special education program and services, please contact Director of Special Education Rocco Nalli at 315-635-4570 or rnalli@bville.org
We have received confirmation and clarified guidance on the requirements for Testing and Contract Tracing. In terms of testing, the district will work with Onondaga County to announce locations for mobile testing sites for staff and high school students so that they can be tested before school begins. This service is 100% optional for the students and staff -- It is completely up to the individual staff member or student (with parent/guardian permission) to be tested. This offering / option may be helpful and convenient for our school community. Contact tracing of all confirmed COVID-19 cases is the responsibility of the Onondaga County Health Department. Experienced professionals from the County Health Department have already traced 3,400 within our county. They will continue to do so when schools reopen working in coordination with our school administration and healthcare team. More information about testing and contact tracing can be found on our website by clicking HERE.

We will continue to provide updates on a regular basis as we work through our re-opening process. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

August 7, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

As you may be aware, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that schools throughout the state can reopen this fall. Based on the current guidance, our reopening in Baldwinsville will include Hybrid and Remote (Virtual) learning environments for students as previously communicated. We continue to review and process changes to requirements so we can plan accordingly for staff and student return.

Today is the final day for parents and guardians to make a selection of their preferred learning environment for each student. The SchoolTool Parent Portal can be accessed here and is best viewed on a computer or tablet. Directions can be found here for completing the questionnaire. Please make your selection by the end of the day.

We held our Reopening Webinar Series over the past three weeks to include families and community members in our decision-making process for returning to school this fall. Six webinars were held and videos of each are listed on our website. We also answered the questions that were submitted during each webinar. Read the answers and watch the videos HERE. Additionally, we are planning to provide more webinar opportunities for staff, students, and families to ask questions and prepare for opening day. Please be on the lookout for these future events.

Thank you to all those in the community who participated in the webinars. It has been a great experience for us to gain your feedback. Your opinion is valuable to us and your support is appreciated. Thank you also to our panelists, moderator and staff for all of the time and work that made these webinars possible.

The District has been working closely with the Northwest Family YMCA to continue our exceptional partnership with its school-age childcare programs that encompasses before and after school care as well as full-day care options. We will continue to offer the YMCA’s programs as in past years, and are looking to expand and discuss additional opportunities. As these discussions progress, the District and YMCA will communicate all the program details.

I wanted to also take a moment to say thank you, farewell, and congratulations to two of our school resource officers who have retired. Baldwinsville Police Officer Martin Knaul has retired after 13 years as the SRO at C.W. Baker High School and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Nord has retired after 11 years as an SRO at Durgee Junior High School.

Thank you both for your service to our district. You have made our schools, our district and our community a better place. Remember, once a Bee, always a Bee!

Have a great weekend!

Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

July 31, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians:

Our administrators, leaders, teachers and staff members have been working for months to develop a plan to safely reopen our school buildings.

We received state guidelines for reopening schools in mid-July from the New York State Education Department and Health Department. After careful analysis of the guidelines, district leadership -- with input from representatives of all of the District’s stakeholders – has determined that students will be given the option to return to school in a Hybrid (in-person and remote) or a 100% Remote (virtual) learning environment. A 3-page overview of our District’s commitments and highlights of the re-entry plan can be accessed here.

For the Hybrid learning environment students will experience a three (3) days in-person and three (3) days remote learning sequence / pattern which will continue for the entire academic year or until circumstances change and the District is permitted to accommodate all students within our school buildings based on health and safety guidelines. The Hybrid sequence / pattern can be accessed here. The Hybrid model cohorts will be based on neighborhood / bus route so that families and siblings will follow the same schedule. More details will follow as plans are finalized and decisions by Governor Cuomo are made regarding reopening schools in September.

Beginning today, Friday, July 31, 2020, through Friday, August 7, 2020, parents are asked to log into their SchoolTool Parent Portal accounts to make selections of their preferred learning environment for each student. The SchoolTool Parent Portal can be accessed here and is best viewed on a computer or tablet. Directions can be found here for completing the questionnaire.

There are more decisions to be made and more details to be finalized. We are grateful for the continued support from the community.

Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald

Superintendent of Schools

July 24, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Happy Friday! The weekend weather looks beautiful, which is perfect for honoring the Class of 2020 on Saturday!

I hope you are enjoying the summer weather, too. I wanted to take a moment to send you a few announcements and reminders:

We held the first two webinars in our Re-opening Webinar Series this week. If you missed them, you can watch them HERE . Additionally, I would be remiss if I didn't give a huge shout out to my deputy superintendent, Joe DeBarbieri, who has taken the lead in providing these re-opening webinars. His vision, leadership and love for kids is always at the forefront of everything he does. THANK YOU, MR. DEBARBIERI!
We have four webinars remaining. Registration is required. Visit our website for topic and panelists information, and to register.
We sent out a back-to-school survey via email to parents, staff members, and students on July 15. View the survey report by CLICKING HERE.
A new video from our series “Breakfast with the Superintendent,” was posted. The series is geared towards our elementary students. Watch it HERE.
Members of the Class of 2020 who didn’t take part in our June 21^st graduation will walk the stage on Saturday to receive diplomas. The graduation ceremony will be identical to the June 21^st event and will be l ivestreamed on our website. Photos will be posted on our Facebook page after the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the C.W. Baker High School PTSA is hosting the “Bee Strong – Graduation Celebration” starting at 11 a.m. The event will safely bring groups of students from the Class of 2020 together for fun, food and raffle prizes.
The district continues to collaborate with the Food Bank of CNY to provide food for families throughout the community. Last week, we provided food for about 150 families. The mobile food pantry will continue to be available every other Monday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in front of C.W. Baker High School. The next date the food distribution truck will be here is August 3rd. Due to the increased participation we ask that when picking up food, families utilize Albert Palmer Lane and enter Baker High School circle from that direction to avoid traffic congestion on Oneida Street. School social workers are also available to deliver food or set up alternative pick up times if you can’t get here when the truck is available. Once distribution is over social workers will deliver food to housing developments throughout the community. To set up a delivery, alternate pick up time or get more information about alternate locations, please email klamacchia@bville.org or call 315-638-6052.

We are committed to providing additional updates on a regular basis as circumstances warrant.

Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

July 17, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,
As we close out another week, I wanted to send a personal thank you to the Baldwinsville community. These are trying times, but I know that if we work together, we will be able to not only get through them but come out better on the other side.

Here are a few announcements and reminders:

Our Re-opening Webinar Series starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 21st. Registration is required. Visit our website for topic and panelists information, and to register.
We sent out a back-to-school survey via email to parents, staff members, and students on Wednesday. The survey is also posted on our website. The survey will close on Tuesday.
The mobile food pantry truck will be in front of C.W. Baker High School from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, July 20th.
Our new video series for elementary school students, “Breakfast with the Superintendent,” launched this week. Visit our website to watch the first episode. New episodes will be available at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays. Have an idea for an episode, email sbuckshot@bville.org.
The New York Public High School Athletic Association (N.Y.S.P.H.S.A.A.) announced Thursday the delay to the start of the fall athletics season. The new start date will be September 21, 2020. Visit our website for more information.
Graduation update: We had initially planned a second opportunity on Saturday, July 25th to host a more traditional graduation ceremony for the entire Class of 2020. However, continued restrictions from New York State regarding gathering sizes and graduations are still in effect and therefore we are unable to gather the entire Class of 2020 and their families together for a traditional ceremony. However, we are still going to honor graduates who did not attend the June 21st graduation. On Saturday, July 25 at 9 a.m., students who did not attend the event on June 21 are invited to campus to receive their diplomas and walk the stage just as their classmates were able to do. These students and families are being contacted individually with details about the ceremony. Read more HERE.
Class of 2020 Celebration: The C.W. Baker High School PTSA has been working hard to host a celebration event for the Class of 2020 and has developed a plan to safely bring groups of students together for some fun, food, and raffle prize drawings following the ceremony to award remaining diplomas. The PTSA will award raffle prizes and provide refreshments for groups of students at a unique event, which will include a traditional graduation cap toss, planned for July 25. Read more HERE.

We are committed to providing additional updates on a regular basis as circumstances warrant. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

July 10, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

When our school buildings closed last March we told you that “we were all in this together” and that statement still holds true as we work to reopen. We want your voices to be heard and your questions to be answered.

As we announced earlier this week, we will be offering a series of webinars, which will include interactive polls, Q&A sessions, and surveys in the coming weeks on the topics of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Health and Safety, Curriculum and Instruction for kindergarten through 12^th grade, Special Education Services, Transportation, Athletics, and Performing Arts. The schedule for the webinars is below.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also made an announcement this week on his timeline for providing guidance to school districts. He said final guidance from the state will be available on July 13th and school reopening plans will be due by July 31st. Cuomo said he will make a decision on reopening schools, which could be regionally based, during the first week of August.

In the meantime, we will continue our work together! Register for the webinars by clicking the links below. You can also visit our website or social media pages for more information.

I’m also excited to announce a video series for our elementary school students that will launch on Wednesday, July 15th called “Breakfast with the Superintendent.” A video will be posted on our website and social media pages at 9 a.m. every Wednesday. The video will be geared towards students in kindergarten through 5^th grade. For the first week, I will be answering students' questions. Parents and guardians can submit their child's question via email to sbuckshot@bville.org or text to 315-516-0593. If possible, please send a video clip of your child asking the question, your child's first name, age and school.
We are committed to providing additional updates on a regular basis as circumstances warrant. Please check your email and our website, www.bville.org, for updates, links and more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

Re-opening Webinar Series

Health and Safety: Registration Information
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Julie Carpenter, School Nurse Supervisor (panelist)
Rick Foederer, Chief Operations Officer (panelist)
Kris Denton, Baker High School Principal (panelist)
Alex Ewing, Palmer Elementary School Principal (panelist)

Curriculum & Instruction (K-12): Registration Information
Thursday, July 23, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Tony Cardamone, Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction (panelist)
Renee Burnett, Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction (panelist)
RJ DeLisle, Director of Instructional Technology (panelist)
Christina Morgan, Ray Middle School Principal (panelist)
Jennifer Homeyer, McNamara Elementary School Principal (panelist)

Special Education Services & Supports for Students: Registration Information
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Rocco Nalli, Director of Special Education (panelist)
Karrie LaMacchia, Director of Pupil & Personnel Services (panelist)
TJ Fraher, Durgee Jr. High School Principal (panelist)
Melissa Chiodo, Reynolds Elementary School Principal (panelist)
Jenna Wolken, School Psychologist - Ray Middle School (panelist)

Social Emotional Learning / Mental Health Services: Registration Information
Thursday, July 30, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Danielle Nahorney, Director of Academic Services and Accountability (panelist)
Karrie LaMacchia, Director of Pupil & Personnel Services (panelist)
Thomas Coughlin, Elden Elementary School Principal (panelist)
Bill Allan, Assistant Principal - Baker High School (panelist)
Meredith Riggs, Social Worker - Baker High School (panelist)

Transportation & Food Services: Registration Information
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Dana Nelson, School Transportation Director (panelist)
Brian Wright, School Lunch Director (panelist)
James Rodems, Assistant Superintendent for Management Services (panelist)
Tiffany Turner, School Business Official (panelist)
Julie Carpenter, School Nurse Supervisor (panelist)

Athletics & Performing Arts: Registration Information
Thursday, August 6, 2020
6 to 7 p.m.
Moderator / Panelists:
Joseph DeBarbieri, Deputy Superintendent (moderator)
Chris Campolieta, Director of Athletics, PE & Health
Tony Cardamone, Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction (panelist)
Renee Burnett, Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction (panelist)
Jennifer Terpening, Assistant Principal - Baker High School Principal (panelist)
Cindy Cronin, Van Buren Elementary School Principal (panelist)

Download webinar series information

July 7, 2020

Dear Parents & Guardians,

The uncertainty surrounding back-to-school plans is on everyone’s mind, and we wanted to let you know that as a district, we are committed to working together to plan and prepare for students return in September. Student health and safety is our number one priority. The District will continue to provide the community with updates through the summer.

School districts are still awaiting guidance from the Governor’s Office, the New York State Education Department and the Onondaga County Health Department on returning to in-person instruction. In the meantime, we have started conversations with transportation, food service, curriculum and instruction, special education, facilities, nurses, and union officials. Our meetings have been productive with lots of passion for students being demonstrated. These discussions will continue throughout the summer.

We need to wait to hear from the state before we can make final plans for the return to our school buildings, which we know can be frustrating for families who anticipate a need to make arrangements for the fall. We share your frustration and we want you to know that we are moving forward with preparations for the start of the 2020-2021 school year.

Some of those preparations include the purchasing of enhanced filters for our heating and ventilation systems and more sanitation equipment for all of our buildings. We’ve also purchased more personal protective equipment (PPE) for our staff.

The district has been researching and reviewing reopening documents created by schools and districts in other states to help guide us through our process. Additionally, a team of administrators will take part in a regional meeting of school leaders on Wednesday, July 8th to discuss re-entry plans, the process and the challenges we need to face in order to bring our staff and students back to a safe and healthy environment in September.

As we explore our options, we want your voices to be heard and we want to make sure that you have answers to all of your questions. In order to do this and allow all interested community members to participate, we will offer a series of webinars including interactive polls, Q&A, and surveys in the coming weeks on the topics of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Health and Safety, Curriculum and Instruction for kindergarten through 12^th grade, Special Education Services, Transportation, Athletics, and Performing Arts.

An announcement on the dates and times of the webinars will be coming soon. Your feedback and ideas are very important to us.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald
Superintendent of Schools

Joseph M. DeBarbieri
Deputy Superintendent

Joan Reeves
President, Board of Education

	Baker High School 29 East Oneida Street Baldwinsville, New York 13027 (315) 638-6000		Durgee Junior High School 29 East Oneida Street Baldwinsville, New York 13027 (315) 638-6086
	Ray Middle School 7650 Van Buren Road Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6106		Elden Elementary 29 East Oneida Street Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6118
	McNamara Elementary 7344 O'Brien Road Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6130		Palmer Elementary 7864 Hicks Road Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315)638-6127
	Reynolds Elementary 222 Deerwood Drive Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6124		Van Buren Elementary 20 Ford Street Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315) 638-6121

Baldwinsville Central District Office	315-638-6043
Athletics	315-638-6053
Business Office	315-638-6055
Communications/Publications	315-638-6180
Curriculum and Instruction	315-638-6044
Facilities	315-638-6100
Food Service	315-638-6063
Human Resources/ Title IX Officer	315-638-6047
Registration	315-638-6044
Special Education	315-635-4500
Superintendent	315-638-6043
Technology	315-638-6103
Transportation	315-638-6097