March 10, 2020

Good evening,

I’m calling with a Pine Bush update on the coronavirus. So far, we still have no known cases in our district, but that hasn’t stopped false rumors from spreading on social media.

We did establish space in the high school today (and in the remaining schools tomorrow) where we can keep kids who are ill separated from those who are not, while waiting for a parent to come pick them up. This was an express recommendation by the Department of Health. So as a reminder, if
your child is sick, keep her or him home.

You can count on me to relay any news of a known coronavirus infection to you using our mass notification system, School Messenger. If you are not getting my emails or texts from School Messenger, you can go into your account and change your settings to begin receiving them.

We were informed earlier today that if a known case is found in our district, we will be required to close for 24 hours while our public health partners evaluate the situations and determine if we must remain closed for a longer time frame.

Finally, I know we have parent-teacher conferences coming up later this week. Those are still on. However, if for any reason you would prefer to speak with your child’s teacher by phone and not come in person, then please let us know of your preference in advance by calling the school, and the teacher will call you on the number you give us for that purpose. If you come to the conference, remember that I have asked staff not to shake hands or give high fives, and to select a different greeting.

I know many people are growing fearful because this virus is spreading quickly. We still want to be sure we are all doing everything we can to protect the elderly and others with underlying health issues. In the meantime, until we find a case in our own district, we are moving forward with common sense efforts to keep ourselves from getting sick or spreading this new disease.

Thanks for your understanding and support during this very dynamic time.

Tim O. Mains, Pine Bush Superintendent

This message was sent to parents, guardians and staff members via School Messenger on March 10.