Dear Pine Bush Parents and Staff,

Here are the latest changes in the ongoing saga we all know as the Coronavirus Emergency.

A new Executive Order by the governor called for postponing school elections and budget votes until June 1 or later. That means we will most likely be conducting that election without voting machines, relying only on paper ballots.

In addition, the governor’s deputy secretary for education made it clear that schools choosing to take vacation time or apply emergency (snow) days during the governor’s mandated closure could risk losing state aid.  The Pine Bush Board of Education had already amended our school calendar by removing any reference to “Spring Break.”  That said, we are still trying to give both staff and families some respite through the use of “Flexible Fridays,” which will begin this week.

We still have a few Chromebooks left that can be borrowed, but you must place your order tomorrow or Wednesday for a scheduled pickup on Thursday.  Any students who’ve not yet completed assignments posted last week or the week before can still submit those to their teachers by this Friday. If you completed a paper packet, we are suggesting you take pictures of the pages with your phone and try emailing those to your teachers, since we don’t want to exchange potentially contaminated paper back and forth. 

We do have several things in the works that we hope will provide assistance to parents once we begin direct virtual instruction next Monday.  Our tech coaches are busy making “how to” videos, showing parents how they can check the Google classrooms for their students to monitor their progress on the work being assigned. We have also developed a Tech Support Google form that students (or their parents) can complete and submit should a student encounter technical difficulties during this extended closure. That form has already been posted to our website.

Finally, if you want to take a break to enjoy some good news, check out yesterday’s feature story about wrestler, Tommy Askey, Pine Bush’s first state wrestling champion in 30 years. It will make you smile. Heck, it might even make you grin!

Tim Mains, Pine Bush Superintendent