Fall 2022 Message from Dr. Ferris
Dear Sayville Families,
A new school year is upon us and I am thrilled to be joining the Sayville community as your incoming Superintendent of Schools. Our teachers will be hard at work during our September 1st and 2nd conference days, preparing for the arrival of your children. As we get ready for the upcoming school year, we will focus our work with your children on caring and learning. We strongly believe that the most vibrant and productive classroom settings infuse a deep sense of caring about student well-being while maintaining a commitment to joyful, engaging, and thoughtful learning experiences for all students at every level.
In addition to preparing our schools for high-quality learning experiences, our security team was diligently working this summer, analyzing, and updating our safety protocols and procedures. We met in August with Homeland Security and the 5th Precinct to assess our security program, ensuring that all our schools are safe and ready for the beginning of the school year.
Finally, after two years of COVID-19 mandates and protocols, I am happy to report that we will start this school year operating under mostly pre-pandemic conditions. This means a “Return to Normalcy” for all our students and staff members as follows:
- Masks are no longer required for participation in school.
- All desks and classroom arrangements will be made by our teachers with no restrictions.
- All cafeterias, libraries, and other large spaces will operate under normal conditions.
- All after-school and extracurricular activities will operate under normal conditions.
- We will no longer be required to contact-trace, quarantine, or mandate testing for students exposed to other individuals testing positive for COVID-19.
- Students testing positive for COVID-19 may return to school if they are symptom free after 5 school days and do not need to test prior to returning to school.
- Upon return to school, it is recommended (not required) that a child testing positive for COVID-19 wear a mask for up to 10 days.
For more information regarding COVID-19 protocols, please refer to our website: Sayvilleschools.org.
As we return to school under these more normal conditions, our entire faculty and staff extend a warm welcome to you, your families, and your children. On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, we are excited to greet every single student with open arms and smiling faces. Building principals will send out follow-up emails or mailings to all parents regarding pick up, drop off, and other school procedures and relevant back to school information. Schedules and class assignments will be available for students and families to review on the Parent Portal by 3 p.m. on August 30th.
Please enjoy the remaining moments of summer. We look forward to seeing you all on September 6, 2022!
Sincerely,
Dr. Marc Ferris
Superintendent - Sayville Public Schools