Good morning! Overnight, we experienced an outage that affected our website, PowerSchool and VPN access. The issue has been resolved but it may take a little bit for the changes to take effect. This should NOT impact student email or Teams access. Thank you for your patience.
We are experiencing a temporary network outage, we are currently working to correct the issue. Service will be restored as soon as possible, thank you for your patience.
UPDATED MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT REGARDING SPRING BREAK:
Yesterday we posted a message that stated we would not be providing new remote instruction over the scheduled spring break. In that message I included a short paragraph:
"This plan could change based on requirements by the New York State Education Department or the Governor's office. I would like to say we have a plan and are going to stick with it, but as we all know, this has not been possible thus far."
Late in the day yesterday, the New York State Education Department came out with a clarification of the Executive Order that had been given by the Governor's office regarding school closure. The clarification, while contradictory at times, states at the end:
"Districts must continue to provide remote instruction for students, meals for students, and child care for essential workers every weekday between April 1, 2020 and April 14, 2020, even if the district is scheduled to be on spring break during that time."
This is extremely disappointing for our students and families, I am sure. However, we have no choice but to follow the Executive Order. You can find the order here: http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/coronavirus/nysed-covid-19-clarification-180-day-requirement-3-30-20.pdf
Over the scheduled break, we WILL continue to provide remote instruction as we have been.
With that said, our students and families' social and emotional well-being is of great importance to us. If you need to take a day to do something as a family, I would encourage you to do those things, regardless of the day of the week.
I sincerely apologize for any confusion this has caused.
We are here to assist if you need it, please reach out if we can be of help.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PORTVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
March 30, 2020
Dear Portville Central School Community,
Thank you for your tremendous patience and support as we have moved to remote learning district-wide. We have been overwhelmed and humbled by offers of assistance and kind words of support and encouragement. It is with your help and guidance as parents, neighbors, and community members that we will get through this unprecedentedly difficult time. Thank you on behalf of the teachers and support staff, administration, and Board of Education.
Many questions have been raised by the community regarding Spring Recess (4/4 – 4/19). In consultation with the building administrators and the Board of Education, we have decided to move forward with the following plan:
Meal Delivery - we plan to continue with our current delivery of lunch with next day's breakfast throughout the two week break. We are serving over 600 students daily.
Student Instruction - we plan to suspend any new remote learning material during this time period (4/4-4/19.) It is our hope that this will give students and parents time to catch up with the learning resources we have provided. This means that any work or recorded instruction done through remote learning prior to the break will be available, but no new instruction will be posted. I know we have families that have a variety of plans during the break, and in many cases it may not involve travel, but could include other family activities. Remember, our students attended school over the February break which means that our students are about 5 days ahead on instruction. We also feel that this process has been stressful for students and families, and this will give time for everyone to regroup. It will also give us time to try to address some of the at-home technological issues families are facing, giving everyone time to catch up. We are looking into getting cellular Wi-Fi devices for families who are having trouble accessing online learning.
This plan could change based on requirements by the New York State Education Department or the Governor's office. I would like to say we have a plan and are going to stick with it, but as we all know, this has not been possible thus far.
This does not mean the district will be shutting down; many of us will be working during the break. It is recognition that students and families may need more time to catch up with the overwhelming amount of instruction that has been posted thus far. We live in a rural area, I know people enjoy time to do outdoor activities they have looked forward to all year, and the great thing is they can still do many of these activities while practicing social distancing.
You should expect that there will be a continuity of instructional support from district officials, teachers, and support staff over that time period.
If you have questions or specific needs, please feel free to reach out to my office at cmcmahon@portvillecsd.org.
Thomas J. Simon
Superintendent
Portville Central School District
The Portville Central School Board of Education will be holding a special board meeting on Monday, March 30, 2020, at 7:00 p.m.
Student Work K-12
We are trying to finalize a plan for the collection of completed school work for those students that may have paper copies to turn in. We are looking at the possibility of a drop box/drop off location. Please, hang on to the work by keeping it in the Manila folder that you received. We will let you know when the plan is finalized and in place. Thank you!
Matt Gnan, PCS athletic trainer, has informational videos for our students and community members. The videos will give you helpful advice and “how to” information on keeping physically fit in areas such as stretching. The videos may help many of us who are isolated at home for an extended period. Stay healthy!
Find the videos https://twitter.com/PCSATC/status/1242531797180743680
Here are a couple of how-to videos on Zoom and Teams. Hope these will help some to understand how to use these online tools!
https://youtu.be/vo06YhA7kSs
https://youtu.be/fMUxzrgZvZQ
Hello PCS! There have been a few tweaks to the HS online schedule. Please be sure to take note of changes.
https://5il.co/e0n6
Please read this technology update and plans for the coming week:
https://5il.co/e0nu
Starting this week, there will be online instruction. Please check this schedule for HS students.
https://5il.co/e0n6
From: Lynn Corder, Elementary Principal
Re: Kindergarten-6th grade Student Work Packets
Good day!
The teachers have been busy preparing a learning packet for your child(ren). They have also reached out to each of you this week in assessing our school community needs. At this point we are ready to send home a “Learning Packet” for each grade level. The teachers have prepared one packet for each grade level for consistency across classrooms. A letter from the grade level teachers can be found inside the envelopes which explains the work.
We will be distributing the Kindergarten to 6th grade Learning Packets to families on Sunday, March 22nd at the Outdoor classroom adjacent the elementary playground between the hours of 2:00-4:00 PM. PreK materials are being mailed home. You simply need to pull up alongside the structure and we will hand you your child(ren)’s packet. I would ask that everyone not show up at 2:00 PM as it could be a long wait, we will be here for the 2 hour window so there is no rush to be early. If the line is too long at any given time, you can park in the elementary lot and someone will come to your vehicle. I ask that you don’t get outside of your vehicles and congregate around the outdoor classroom in following social distancing protocols. If you are unable to make it on Sunday, we will schedule another pick up time early next week.
The Learning Packets were designed to keep the students engaged in their learning for the next couple of weeks. I am confident you will work as a family to create a schedule that provides time daily for this home-based learning. I will be continuing to plan with our teachers through weekly video chats as we prepare for additional resources. I am confident that your child(ren)’s teacher will be reaching out to you and assisting in any way they can.
Thanks for your understanding and continued support of our PCS schools!
All grade levels 7-12 have completed student pick up of materials. We have many laptop that need to be returned to students. With the latest announcement from Governor Cuomo, we can’t have parents or students come pick up there laptops on Monday. No worries, we will get the laptops to your household. The deliveries will begin Monday morning. Have a great weekend!
Hello Portville Community! We need to inform everyone that Mr. Corder's email account has been compromised. If you receive an attached invoice, from him, please DO NOT open it! Just delete it. The situation has since been resolved but not before the email was sent. Thanks.
CORRECTION: 7th and 8th grade pickup will be at the main entrance of the school, NOT the back parking lot!
Books and assignments have been gathered for each 7th and 8th grader. Reminder parents may pick up their children’s items tomorrow, March 20, between 10:30-12:30 in the back parking lot.
Day 1 of student pickup went well! Thank you parents and students. We only have three seniors and two juniors left for pick up. Pick up of books and assignments for freshmen and sophomores will take place tomorrow (Friday) from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM in the back parking lot. Pick up for 7th and 8th graders will be from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. If your child dropped off a computer today, it will be ready for pickup tomorrow in the back parking lot from 8:00 to 10:00 or in the bus circle from 10:30 to 12:30. Encourage your child to log onto his/her computer and go to www.office.com. This will get your child to Office 365. The log in and password will be the same as it is to log onto his/her computer. Once your child has logged on they will go to the Teams icon. He/she will then be able to see communication from teachers. Remember to be patient while everything continues to improve and get worked out. Once again, thank you for an excellent job today. I will be back in touch soon.
Starting tomorrow, we will be distributing HS student resources at the school. Please read Mr. Welty's letter for details and grade specific schedules.
https://5il.co/dwwx
From: Lynn Corder, Elementary Principal
Re: School Closing Updates
Good day!
As you can imagine, we have been working as a school community to prioritize our student and family needs during this difficult time. Our first priorities were to conduct a “Deep Cleaning” of our facility, prep and deliver daily meals, and planning for continued learning at home. We are making good progress in all of these areas. Our learning plan for students was prioritized where we would focus on our High School students first as they are working towards graduation credits.
At the elementary, I have been meeting with teachers via on-line video conferencing in planning for the needs of our younger learners. Teachers have not been able to return to their classrooms which has made this a challenge. They are working from home as grade levels to prepare learning packets and on-line resources. Our plan at this point is to have packets ready to go by early next week. I am finalizing the best options for distribution to our families. Teachers are also currently calling every family in assessing their needs and the availability of on-line access at each home.
Please know that that we are eager to keep engaging our kids and families through this difficult time. I ask for your patience as we prepare learning resources and a plan for distribution.
Thanks for your understanding and continued support of our PCS schools!
This is a follow-up to Mr Welty's letter regarding home instruction. Many questions have been asked about student laptops that are currently at home and households that do not have internet access. There will be additional information coming in the next few days to address those concerns. Thank you for your patience as we work through formulating these next steps.