The CCHD will take the lead and will work with the school to investigate the situation and determine who may have had contact with the confirmed positive cases. The District is assisting the Health Department in the contact tracing process by providing names, addresses, and phone numbers of any person who may have had contact. Based on this information it will be determined as to which individuals need to be placed into mandatory quarantine. The District will work jointly with the Cayuga County Health Department to communicate with those individuals directly. Throughout the entire process, the District will continue to communicate with state and local health departments.

While we have taken many precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we recognize how difficult and concerning this is to hear about in our own school community. Please understand that due to privacy and confidentiality constraints, we are unable to share additional information on any individual.

Over the February break we have cleaned and sanitized the areas of concern and we assure you that protecting the health and welfare of our students, faculty, and staff is our primary concern.

The Cayuga County Health Department has indicated that the District can be open for in-person learning on Monday, February 22, 2021.

Respectfully,

Shaun A. O’Connor
Superintendent of Schools

The post Weedsport Elementary School students test positive for COVID-19 appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Swimming and Diving-Christina Jackson

“Christina has been the leading diver for the Warriors all season long. She recently completed her highest diving score in her career at Geneva. She has been consistently ranked in the state all season. “

Boys Bowling-Donovan Dennis

“New to the sport, Dononvan has been a key member of the team this session. He has raised his average 24 pins since day one and continues to improve.”

Girls Bowling-Lily Komarnisky

“Lily has improved her average score 13 pins since the start of practice. She works very hard and is a great teammate and friend to all.”

The post Weedsport names student-athletes of the month appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, Mindy Ervay, said to prepare students for the changes in the way we live and work, the district needed to keep pace with what it means to be scientifically literate and what it means to collaboratively problem solve.

She said that teachers at the middle school recently introduced students to a new science program called, “Amplify Science,” that will not only engage them, but challenge them to think through and solve real world problems using science knowledge and reasoning skills. 

“We needed a different approach to daily teaching and learning,” she said.

“Students in grade 6 started this program this school year, and Amplify will expand into grades 7-8 over the next two years. By 2024, all K-12 students will have been introduced to revised science standards.”

New York State last updated its science standards about 25 years ago. The New York State Education Department (SED) revised its standard based on the fact that students are growing up in a very different world than 15 years ago.

“Seismic changes in the labor market mean that we are living and working in a knowledge-based economy —one that demands advanced literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills, whether for application in the private or public sector,” SED said during its introduction to the standards.

“Information moves through media at lightning speeds and is accessible in ways that are unprecedented; technology has eliminated many jobs while changing and creating others, especially those involving mathematical and conceptual reasoning skills. One characteristic of these fast-growing segment of jobs is that the employee needs to be able to solve unstructured problems while working with others in teams.”

To learn more, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VM5H-MRauE&feature=emb_logo (3 minute overview video)

And check back for future updates to see our students in action.

The post Weedsport implementing new science standards appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

My youngest son is a senior at Weedsport, and this month he’ll begin his last season on the basketball team. Winter sports has been in the news lately as many districts have weighed the possibility of playing or not. I know there are families in our district who think we should be participating and those who think we shouldn’t.

Believe me, I understand both sides. Since the pandemic began, our goal at Weedsport has been to create the safest environment possible for our students and staff.

So, how did we arrive at a decision play winter sports?

Weedsport participated in low-risk sports during the fall and looking back, we consider that a success. We now have five months of transmission data to look at, and we’ve found very little transmission of COVID at school. Regional research also shows that COVID transmissions are very rare in school districts. And another positive factor is the availability of COVID vaccines. We’ve had many staff members vaccinated and many more are still scheduled.

When the Governor gave school districts the green light to play sports, we immediately consulted with the Cayuga County Health Department, who also gave us the approval – but with stipulations.

We now have many health and safety protocols put in place for indoor sporting events which includes mask wearing, hand sanitizing, spacing out seating during games, limiting the number of people inside, and more.

I firmly believe you can never have too many protocols in place, but if we do have a COVID outbreak and cases begin to rise, we will cancel winter sports.

It’s been one of my dreams to watch my youngest son play ball his senior season and I still look forward to it each day. But for as much as that means to me, the health and safety of our school community – which includes my son – comes first.

-Superintendent Shaun O’Connor

The post Superintendent’s Blog: Winter sports at Weedsport appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/

Sign up for your account and cancel whenever you would like. A monthly subscription is 10.99 and a yearly subscription is 69.99.

Not only will this provide you access to all Weedsport home games, but also will provide access for other schools across the area, state, and country who use the NFHS network.

Once you have your account simply search for Weedsport and click on the event. Games will be available live and on demand.

For away events this year- check out our athletic web page and streaming tabs where we will do the best we can to let you know how you can watch an away event.

A huge thank you to the Weedsport Sports Booster Club who helped in the purchasing of the cameras for both gymnasiums.

Below is also a live link for all home swim meets. An effort will be made to post links to away events via our athletic website. If away events cannot be streamed, an effort will be made to record it and post it to the athletics website.

https://ensemble.cayboces.org/hapi/v1/contents/permalinks/Weedsport_Swimming/view

Please forward any questions regarding streaming to Athletic Director Zac Young at zyoung@weedsport.org.

Go Warriors!

The post Feb. 4 athletics update appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Under the “fiscal stress monitoring system,” the New York State Comptroller assesses the financial health of school districts by using a variety of factors, including year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits. It then assigns them a score between 1-100 percent. A score of between 65-100 percent signifies “significant fiscal stress,” anywhere between 45-64.9 percent qualifies as “moderate,” and 25-44.9 percent earns a district a “susceptible” designation. Districts below 25 percent do not make the list.

For the fiscal year ending in 2020, the state gave the district a score of 45.

District leaders attribute the classification to a decrease in fund balance and a lack of cash on hand. In October 2019, Weedsport made $234,000 in technology purchases which were to be covered by the Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA). The SSBA, approved by the state in 2014, was issued to finance enhanced educational technology and infrastructure.

The district paid for the initial technology costs out of its fund balance, but when the SSBA funding is released, district leaders expect the fund balance to return back to an acceptable level.

Superintendent Shaun O’Connor said over the past two years, the district has seen its foundation aid frozen and is currently dealing with the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic aid reductions. He said the district is also limited in the amount of revenue it can generate because of the property tax levy cap.

“Nevertheless, as we enter uncertain economic times due to the pandemic, we are gradually trying to reduce our deficit and our reliance on reserves to balance our budget,” he said.

“The goal is to continue to monitor expenses while looking for cost saving opportunities, and begin preparing for potential aid restrictions in future budgets. With the possibility of federal funding levels falling short in upcoming years, we are preparing to bring this to current budget discussions, to reduce the future dependency the District could have on reserves to offset the loss of money.”

The New York State Comptroller says local governments (including schools) may use some fund balance in order to keep tax rates low and/or maintain services in the face of short-term economic fluctuations, or just to reduce an unnecessarily large fund balance. Even though this results in lower fund balances, spending down of fund balance can be an acceptable practice as long as it is done in conjunction with long-term financial planning and does not reduce fund balance below the critical point.

The post Weedsport continues to take steps to increase reserve funds following state audit appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Varsity and JV basketball began Monday, Feb. 1. Modified boys and girls basketball is scheduled to begin on Monday, Feb. 22.

Please sign up on Family ID if you are interested in playing Varsity, JV, or Modified basketball, Varsity or JV volleyball, Varsity football or Modified basketball as soon as possible. Other sport seasons are listed below.

Family ID instructions- https://www.weedsport.org/athletics/family-id/

• Boys and Girls Basketball (Varsity and JV)
  Registration open now
  Practice begins 2/1
  Last day of season- 3/13
• Boys and Girls Basketball (Modified)
  Registration open now
  Practice begins 2/22
  Last day of season- 3/27
• Girls Volleyball (Varsity and JV) and Football (Varsity)
  Registration opens 2/8
  Practice begins 3/15
  Last day of season- 4/25
• Girls Volleyball and Football (Modified)
  Registration opens 3/5
  Practice begins 4/5
  Last day of season-5/3
• All Spring Sports (Varsity and JV)
  Registration opens
  Practice begins 4/19
  Last day or season- late June
• Modified Spring Sports
  Registration opens 3/30
  Practice begins 5/3
  Last day of season- late June

The post Family ID is open for JV and varsity volleyball, varsity football and modified basketball appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Weedsport district leaders plan to closely monitor state budget information as they create a proposed spending plan for the upcoming school year. Updated news and information will be posted to the budget section of the district website.

School aid for the 2021-21 school year will ultimately be shaped by the prospects of additional federal funding and Gov. Cuomo’s budget negotiations with the state Legislature ahead of the April 1 deadline for a new state budget. The release of the Governor’s budget is the starting point for that process.

Again, please see the budget section of the district website for an ongoing display of the process over the next few months.

The post Governor Cuomo outlines 2021-22 school aid plan, boosted by federal aid appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

With that said, I’m excited to welcome back our students and staff for in-person learning on Jan. 19. Our school community has shown they have untapped wells of resilience during the last year. They’ve adapted, adjusted, and continued to push forward. And for that, you have my deepest respect and gratitude.

We’ve just finished two days of asymptomatic testing and I’m very happy with the turnout and the results. With the vaccine now circulating throughout the state, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But we are by no means out of the high grass yet. Infection rates continue to be high along with the number of hospitalizations around the region.

There are many reasons for optimism but we must remember to keep our guard up and remain vigilant.

As Superintendent of Schools, and on behalf of our school nurses, I urge anyone that might be symptomatic, please stay home. And, if someone in your house is symptomatic and awaiting Covid-19 test results, please do not enter the school environment. Schools continue to be one of the safer places in the community because everyone has done his/her part to keep it that way.

We must continue to draw from the well of resilience we all have and do our best to safeguard our students and staff. Spring is right around the corner – both literally and figuratively – and now is the time for renewed strength and dedication as we make the long and sustained push back to normalcy.

-Superintendent Shaun O’Connor

The post Superintendent’s Message: Welcome back to in-person learning appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.

Please contact Donna O’Bryan at 315-834-8140 or dobyran@weedsport.org to request weekend meals. You may also call the Elementary School Office at 315-834-6685 or Jr.-Sr. High School Office at 315-834-6652. All meals are available to ANY child under 18 living in the District, regardless of school enrollment.

The post Weekend Meals for all children in the district appeared first on Weedsport Central School District.