YS 9.29.23

The DOE has updated guidance for schools for COVID-19 and other illnesses.  One change is that schools will not send notification letters when members of the school community test positive for COVID-19 and that tests are available upon request.  Here is the latest guidance from the DOE:

Stay up to date on all vaccines

• Vaccines are the best way to prevent your child from getting many illnesses and spreading them to others.
• Many vaccines are required to attend school. Your child could be at risk for being sent home from school if they do not have the required vaccines.
• Additional vaccines such as those for COVID-19, influenza, and HPV are highly recommended to protect children and others.
  • To find a COVID-19 or flu vaccination site, visit vaccinefinder.nyc.gov.
  • Make sure your child gets the updated COVID-19 vaccines when they become available in the early fall, even if they have had COVID-19 or previously been vaccinated
• Please talk to your child’s health care provider if you have questions about vaccinations.
  • If your child does not have a provider, you can locate a clinic that administers vaccines at the Department of Health Immunization Clinics

Stay Home When Sick

Rest can help you and your child get better sooner, and it helps prevent the spread of germs.

• Children with diarrhea should stay home until the diarrhea has stopped (stools are formed).
• Anyone with a fever should stay home until 24 hours after being fever free or until their doctor says it is okay to go back to school or daycare. They should stay home for at least 5 days if they are diagnosed with COVID-19.
• If your child is having difficulty breathing, call your doctor right away.
• If your child has symptoms of COVID-19, please see guidance(Open external link).
  • Get tested, if your child is positive, have them stay home and separate from others for at least 5 days, and talk to their health care provider about treatment. See more information on isolation(Open external link).

Please call your school or school nurse to let them know if your child has a confirmed diagnosis of an illness that can spread to others.

You can also help us avoid the spread of illness at your child’s school. Here are a few simple actions you can take to keep your child and other students healthy:

Consider wearing a mask, especially in a crowded indoor setting particularly if your child has a medical condition that puts them at risk for severe COVID-19, or if they are around others who are at increased risk for COVID-19, such as grandparents or other older adults.

• Masks are an important layer of protection to stop the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
  • Always wear a mask when sick and unable to separate from others, and, if you have COVID-19, for 10 days after your symptoms began (or 10 days after you test positive for COVID-19, if you have no symptoms.) See additional information about isolation for COVID-19(Open external link). 
  • Always wear a mask for 10 days after being exposed to someone who has COVID-19. See guidance on what to do following a COVID-19 exposure(Open external link).
  • Masks will also be required when entering the school medical room when the nurse suspects the student has respiratory symptoms
  • Wear a high-quality mask, such as a KN95, KF94 or N95 for the best protection from COVID-19.

Cover Your Cough

Use a tissue to cover coughs and sneezes. If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze, or cough into your sleeve, not your hands. Teach your child to cover up their coughs too!

Wash Hands Often

Washing your hands with soap and water stops the spread of germs. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer. You and your child should always wash hands before...

• coming into contact with small children
• touching food
• eating

…and after...

• using the bathroom
• helping your child use the toilet
• wiping your nose or your child’s nose
• coughing or sneezing
• changing a diaper

See a Health Care Provider Regularly

If your child has a chronic condition, they may need to see their health care provider more often. The health care provider will manage your child’s condition with a treatment plan. This can reduce your child’s symptoms and lower the chance of an emergency room visit. Schools also offer services that can support an outside health care provider’s care. Learn about services at school for students with conditions like asthma, allergies, and diabetes.

If you don’t have a health care provider, call 311 or the 24-hour Contact Center for NYC Health and Hospitals (H+H) at 844-NYC-4NYC to be connected to care. Care is available in NYC regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Find a Health Center(Open external link).

Health Insurance

Children with health insurance are more likely to have a regular health care provider and get the health care services they need.

Health insurance helps with the cost of health care provider visits and prescribed medicine. Make sure you and your family are covered. Almost all NYC children can get Child Health Plus health insurance for free or at a low cost. Your child may also be able to get insurance through your job, Medicaid, or the NY State of Health Marketplace.

• Your school can help you and your family explore options and sign up for health insurance. Reach out to the Parent Coordinator at your school to get connected to an insurance navigator.
• You can also enroll online through the NY State Health Marketplace, or call their help line: 1-855-355-5777.
• Students and their families who qualify for Child Health Plus, Medicaid or the Essential Plan can sign up for insurance all year long.

For answers to frequently asked health insurance questions, read Get Covered NYC! More information on free and low-cost insurance options(Open external link) are available.

Federal law requires the NYC Department of Education to provide: the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and DOE student email addresses of 11th and 12th grade students to military recruiters who request this information; and/or the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of 11th and 12th grade high school students to institutions of higher education that request this information. While we are committed to protecting the confidentiality of our students, we must comply with the law.

Parents of high school students under the age of 18 and students who are 18 years of age and older may opt out of releasing information to the military and/or institutions of higher learning.

For parents of 9th and 10th grade students, the opt-out form can be completed and saved in advance.  If you previously submitted an Opt Out, that request is still valid, and you do not need to submit it again.  (If you are unsure whether or not you previously submitted the form, please go in and complete the Opt Out in your NYCSA.

Opt Out can happen two ways:

• In your NYCSA, go to the FORMS section.  Complete the Military Opt Out by October 23, 2023
• Print the Military Opt Out Letter and Return it to Room 201 by October 23, 2023

Families are asked to go into their NYCSA to the Forms section and provide Media Consent.

Official DOE Language (abridged)

The use and disclosure of the image, quotes, name, the participation in interviews, and the taking of photographs, recordings, and videos of the Student named above by the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) and NYC DOE-invited members of the press for NYC DOE-sponsored events. I grant the NYC DOE and invited members of the press the right to disclose, edit, use, and reuse the Student’s image, quotes, name, and interviews, and photographs, recordings, and videos of the Student for the NYC DOE’s nonprofit and public press purposes. This includes use in print, on broadcasts, in online spaces (such as the NYC DOE website and social media accounts and those of the press), and all other forms of media.

I understand that when the school hosts a public event, individuals at the event may take their own photographs, videos and audio of the event, that such recordings may capture me or my child, and that they may also be made public.

Helpful Information & Context from LaGuardia

We like to support and promote positive things about our students whenever we get the opportunity.  This happens in a variety of ways, which is why we support families giving Media Consent.  Here are some examples of how LaGuardia uses information about students within our community:

• morning announcements, website, bulletin board, the Yellow Sheet (Weekly Bulletin)
  
  • examples:  Sports Team Results; special recognition; photos of performances, exhibits, school life
• In printed programs, identifying artists in gallery exhibits
• through classwork; example:  posting model student work on bulletin boards

If a third party (non-LaGuardia or non-DOE) wishes to use your student’s image, quotes, name, and interviews, and photographs, recordings, etc., separate permission is required and the use of a different DOE form is used.

For more information, please contact Dr. Stricklin-Witherspoon, AP Engagement

   At LaGuardia Arts, we believe in creating as many opportunities as possible for our students to own their future. That’s why we offer the optional PSAT/NMSQT® (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) to our 11th Grade students. Whether your child is thinking about attending a two- or four-year college, is going straight into the workforce, or isn’t sure what they want to do after high school, the PSAT/NMSQT can help make their path clearer. Results from the PSAT/NMSQT provide insights into your child’s academic strengths, along with areas they can work on while still in high school. Taking the PSAT/NMSQT can also help your child to: 

• Enter the National Merit® Scholarship Program if they meet program requirements specified in the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide.
• See where they are and set a target for where they want to be.
• Practice and prepare for the SAT®.
• Find out what AP® courses they’re ready to take.
• Plan and pay for college.
• Connect to their future career.

This fall the PSAT/NMSQT will be administered in a new digital format—followed by the SAT in spring 2024—that will provide an overall easier testing experience for students. Your child can take the optional PSAT/NMSQT on 10.14.2023 using their own device.

Watch this video to see what students can expect from the digital PSAT/NMSQT.

If you would like for your child to take this optional test, please have them submit $10.00 in cash to 233 by 10.6.2023. 

To contact a LaGuardia Staff member about this trip, please email lagtravel23@gmail.com

Hello LaGuardia Families,

Thank you again for showing interest in and attending last night’s meeting! We are blown away with the response to the opportunity to see Austria, Germany and Switzerland this Spring. There was a massive RSVP list to this trip, meaning twice as many families wanted to attend than zoom was capable of holding! We understand not everyone was able to join the meeting and have compiled all information in one spot.

In an effort to make sure everyone has the opportunity to hear about the trip before spots are taken, there is an automatic waitlist.  That means your student has not missed out! Every traveler will automatically join a waitlist for this tour while considerations for the selection process are being had amongst LaGuardia deans, guidance team and principal.

You can watch the recording with the link below, or see the attached PDFfor all details covered in the meeting. In addition to this, the Q/A from last night’s sign in is also attached.

Zoom Recording Link:https://zoom.us/rec/share/Z_0i7GpMPe9EVX8f446NMRIaQHx3bIaVTKaX0Th2tN1IRZObwWRq4vDpSO8SPV0b.umYG3Wx1WBi3EUk2

Passcode: F3f^Cm.v

The $100 discount expires this week and overall, the price will increase on Oct. 1! If your student is at all interested, make sure they are on the waitlist before midnight of September 30^th so you are locked in for the best pricing.

Here is the link to join the waitlist and sign up for further communication regarding this trip: www.eftours.com/2651722MA

EF’s helpful, friendly Traveler Support Team is also available at 1-800-665-5364, Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM, to help with enrollments and answer any questions you have.

You can also view the Parent Guide to Travel from EF Educational Tours, your travel partner. It covers everything from details about EF to options for high school and college credit to payment plans and what to expect on tours. We recommend you take a look.