The following is a message from North Albany Middle School Principal, Andrea Piper:
As we prepare to welcome an additional 52 in-person learners back to our building (for a total of 106 on-site) for the fourth quarter, which begins April 26, there are some important scheduling and COVID-19 safety measures I’d like to share to make this transition as smooth and as safe as possible.
Assigned days
All of our grade 7 students who opted for in-person instruction for the fourth quarter will report five days a week. The bell schedule, for both on-site and remote seventh-graders, will remain 8:03 a.m.-3 p.m. Our doors will open at 7:55 a.m.
Transportation and building entry
- CDTA tripper service for grade 7 will be scheduled to arrive at school between 7:46-7:50 a.m. and depart school between 3:08-3:11 p.m. Please stay tuned to all district communication channels for more information about specific schedules
- The grade 6 in-person school day remains the same, and there will be no changes to the current CDTA tripper service for sixth-graders
- Students will remain 6 feet apart while waiting to enter the building through the red door, located in the back of the building where the buses will drop off. Students will be greeted by our security staff for our routine security checks and temperature checks
COVID-19 safety
- Please remember to complete the daily health screener for your student each day before they come to school. If your student is sick and will be out, please call and let us know
- All students, faculty and staff are mandated to wear masks at all times – except when eating lunch and breakfast
- Social distancing guidelines of 6 feet remain in place
- We will have sign-in/sign-out procedures for all spaces, including bathrooms, for contact tracing
- Hand sanitizing stations are readily available and there will be frequent breaks for handwashing
- Grade 7 will transition to classes throughout the day; Grade 6 will remain in the current cohorts
- Students should follow the social distancing stickers in the hallways to ensure 6 feet of social distancing remains in place during transitions; lockers will not be available
- Students will be expected to wipe down their desk each period as they enter the classroom. The school will provide wipes for students to use for this purpose
Meals
- Grab-and-go breakfast will be provided upon arrival for students to eat during first period
- Grade 6 and self-contained special education classroom lunches will remain unchanged
- Grades 7-8 will be provided school lunch (or they may bring from home) in the cafeteria at the times outlined below:
- Period 5: 11:13 a.m. – 11:56 p.m.
- Period 6: 11:59 – 12:42 p.m.
- We will follow all social distancing guidelines and students will be seated three to a table. Students must remain seated, for the duration of the meal, unless excused for the bathroom
Academic schedules
- Remote and in-person schedules will remain the same as the previous three quarters
- All schedules can be accessed in schooltool, and hard copies will be provided to students upon arrival on Monday, April 26.
What to bring to school
- As stated above, students are required to wear a mask. If they do not bring one from home, we will provide one
- A book bag or backpack
- Fully charged Chromebook and charger
- Ear buds or headphones
- Clear water bottle
- ID and lanyard (we will provide these on the first day back)
- Pens/pencils
Orientation
We have scheduled an orientation for returning students and their families on Wednesday, April 21 from 6-7:30 p.m. Access the live Google Meet here.
Most importantly, everyone at North Albany Middle School is incredibly excited to welcome more students back to campus. We are working hard to ensure the return to in-person instruction, for those who opt for it, will be a positive experience.
We are all in this together and a successful fourth quarter will require the collaboration of students, families, staff and faculty – both remote and on-site. I am proud of all that we’ve already accomplished during this challenging year and confident the next 10 weeks will make me even more proud of our school community.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out (apiper@albany.k12.ny.us).
