Montessori Magnet School will remain in distance learning for all students through Nov. 5 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the school community.
Montessori shifted to distance learning Friday after reporting 13 positive COVID-19 cases from Oct. 22-28 and another 102 individuals excluded from school as contacts as a result of those cases. That included seven new cases and 65 contacts reported Thursday.
Students should plan to log in to their Google Classroom daily while on distance learning. The instructional day will begin at 10 a.m. Monday; teachers will post the schedule for the rest of the week in their Google Classroom.
At this time, Montessori will plan to return to in-person instruction on Monday, Nov. 8.
Parents and guardians, please email your child's teacher if you need a Chromebook at home. We will make arrangements for pickup Monday morning.
Material pickup, COVID-19 testing Monday
Math and ELA instructional materials for the week and Chromebook chargers will be available for pickup for all grade levels Monday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Parents and guardians can pick up materials at the following locations, which are the same as the regular daily afternoon student pickup locations for each grade:
- Prekindergarten-Grade 2 -- Exterior door by the staff parking lot
- Grade 3 -- Main building entrance on the Austain Street side
- Grade 4 -- Exterior gym door
- Grade 5 -- Exterior library door
Please note that families with students in multiple grades will need to pick up materials at each location.
COVID-19 testing clinic, pre-registration
Montessori conducted COVID-19 testing for school employees Friday, and will host a COVID-19 testing clinic for students Monday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Testing will be conducted in the cafeteria. Please pull up in the Tremont Street bus loop. A staff member will greet you to take your name and direct you where to wait until your turn.
You must pre-register for this testing clinic. On-site registration is possible, but registering in advance will speed up the process for you when you arrive.
To register, create your student profiles at app.Clarifi-COVID-19.com. Please note that you can register multiple student profiles under each account.
The district is partnering with Quadrant Biosciences and SUNY Upstate Medical University to use a saliva pool test. This very simple and painless COVID-19 test involves a saliva swab that the student can easily self-administer, as shown in this short video.
A few additional notes in preparation for the saliva swab:
- Students must wait at least one hour after brushing their teeth or using mouthwash before testing
- Do not eat or drink anything 30 minutes before testing. This includes gum, mints, cough lozenges, etc.
Follow these links for more helpful videos:
• How to create a student profile in the web app
• What are the kids saying about the saliva test?
Once all samples have been collected, we will send them out to be analyzed. Results will be returned within 24-48 hours and will be available for parents and guardians by logging back into your account at app.Clarifi-COVID-19.com.
This information will help us confirm our current plan to return to in-person instruction on Monday, Nov. 8, or determine if additional testing or distance learning days may be needed.
We apologize for the inconvenience these distance learning days may cause for your family. This is a necessary step in our efforts to ensure the health and safety of the entire school community during the pandemic, and we appreciate your cooperation as we continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.
If you have any questions, please contact school at (518) 475-6675.
Meal pickup Monday and Wednesday
Montessori also will offer meal pickup for multiple days on Monday and Wednesday next week. Pickup will be available from 9:30-11 a.m. both days.
