Colonial School District’s Return to Face-to-Face Instruction

Hello friends and neighbors,

I want to share with you the latest information about Colonial School District’s plan for bringing students back for face-to-face learning.

Below you will find the district’s schedule of anticipated return dates just released last night. These dates are tentative and district officials will continue evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on our community and make adjustments deemed necessary. Any changes will delay the timeline, not move it up.

Families who have requested to return to in-person learning will receive all relevant information, including transportation details, prior to their return date.

As always, you can reach out to my office with any questions by emailing nicole.poore@delaware.gov.

Thank you,

Nicole Poore
Senator, District 12

COLONIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT FACE-TO-FACE RETURN TO SCHOOLS UPDATE

Anticipated Student Return Dates
For Students Who Have Opted in
For In-Person Learning

Phase 1 – 10/22/20

  • Integration A at Southern, George Read, and William Penn; Communication and Social Learning (CASL) at Southern, Intensive Learning Center (ILC) at Southern

Phase 2 – 10/29/20

  • Leach, Adult Integration at Leach, Colwyck Pre-K Program

Phase 3 – 11/9/20

  • All Elementary Schools, Intensive Learning Center (ILC) at Gunning Bedford, Communication and Social Learning (CASL) at Gunning Bedford, Integration B at George Read, Identified Classes at William Penn High School

Phase 4 – 11/30/20

  • Middle Schools, Wallace Wallin Intensive Learning Center (ILC), William Penn High Integration B

The majority of William Penn High School will continue virtual learning throughout the remainder of the first semester (January 29, 2021). The anticipated decision for the 2nd Semester will be communicated to families prior to winter break.

If you are a family with students remaining in the Colonial Virtual Academy, the district will continue to provide high-quality learning experiences for your child.

Please keep in mind that the timeline listed above is based on information available now and can change at any time. The district will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our community, the availability of staff, and its building preparedness to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Bring a Water Bottle!

When students return to face-to-face instruction, they will be asked to bring in a non-glass water bottle, filled with water every day.

Please put your child’s name on the bottle with a label or tape.

If needed, there will be small water bottles in the classroom to supplement their supply.

The Nutrition Services Department will continue providing milk with all school breakfasts and lunches each day.

Expectations for in-person learning for students in grades K-8:

  • Parents must complete a COVID-19 self-screener for their child each morning
  • All students must wear a face covering at all times unless eating.
  • Students must be spaced 6 feet apart in classrooms with approximately 15 to 25 students per room.
  • Students will remain in the same seat/desk in one classroom throughout the day and staff will rotate into the classrooms, this includes lunchtime.
  • Students will continue to use technology on a daily basis and are expected to bring devices to and from school.
  • Students must follow all safety protocols regarding handwashing, use of hand sanitizer and social distancing.
  • All bus riders must wear masks, sit socially distanced, and sanitize hands before boarding.
  • There will be no in-person clubs or sports for K to 8 students.
  • Students may not have the same teacher for in-person that they have had for virtual learning.
  • If the school nurse determines that your child is sick, they must be picked up as soon as you are notified.
  • Students will be required to follow all Division of Public Health (DPH) guidance on self-quarantining if necessary.

A Mask Is A Must At Feeding Sites

When visiting Colonial School District’s mobile feeding sites, please remember faces masks are REQUIRED for anyone over the age of 5.

Social distancing should also be practiced when approaching the buses, so stay 6-feet away from anyone other than your family. WE can help stop the spread of COVID-19 if WE all work together! For bus schedules and times for food pick-up, check our website at www.colonialschooldistrict.org.

Register for Testing

Students returning to face-to-face instruction will need to complete a daily health screener prior to coming to school. Students/Families do not need to send screener results to their teacher or school nurse.

This screener will ask the following two questions:

  • Have you had close contact (within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes) with a confirmed COVID-19 case?
  • Have you experienced any COVID-19 symptoms over the past 48 hours?

If a student answers “yes” to either of these questions, they must NOT attend school at their building. Families should contact their primary care physician to discuss the next steps and follow up with their school nurse.

Free COVID-19 testing opportunities are listed below:

How to Wear A Mask

The video below explains how to properly wear a face mask.

Please have your child practice wearing a mask for a long period of time because that will be required in the classroom at all times except when eating or drinking.

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May 2017 NewsBlast from Senator Poore

May 2017 NewsBlast from Senator Poore

IN MEMORIAM: Delaware remembers Cpl. Stephen Ballard, Lt. Steven Floyd, and all our fallen heroes

The recent tragedies involving two of our brave law enforcement officers made for an especially solemn Law Enforcement Memorial Day event on Legislative Mall this past Wednesday.

Losing even one officer is too many, but the loss our state has seen in recent days and months has been difficult to process for all of us. Our brave men and women in law enforcement go to work each and every day fully cognizant of the danger they face, and yet they do it anyway, because service and selflessness are in their blood.

All told, Delaware has lost 43 law enforcement officers in the line of duty over the years, each one a true hero. Their names are etched in the Law Enforcement Memorial adjacent to Legislative Hall because we can never forget their sacrifice. But the best we can honor our fallen officers, is by making an effort each and every day to show our gratitude to the hundreds of brave men and women protecting our communities across the state each and every day. Even a simple “thank you” goes a long way in letting our officers know they are on our minds, and that their service is appreciated.

May God bless the families of our fallen, and may He continue to watch over all our law enforcement officers and their loved ones.

DELAWARE CITY: The Fort Delaware Ferry season is officially underway

I had a wonderful time Saturday morning helping to kick off the summer tourism season in Delaware City.

Joined by Rep. Valerie Longhurst, DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin, Delaware River and Bay Authority Executive Director Tom Cook, Delaware City Mayor Stanley Green – and most importantly some excited children – we cut the ribbon officially kicking off the initial run of the Delaware River and Bay Authority’s Forts Ferry at Fort Delaware.

Those of us who live in this area know how impressive and important Fort Delaware is to our local economy—but the truth is that Fort Delaware’s success impacts everyone in the state, from Claymont to Delmar.

Consider these numbers: our tourism sector is the fourth-largest private employer in Delaware. It employs more than 41,000 Delawareans and attracts 8.5 million people to the state year in and year out. That brings another $3 billion into our economy each year.

But it’s not just jobs and economic growth: our tourist economy raises almost $500 million in state and local revenues. That’s almost an eighth of our entire state budget. Every time somebody takes the ferry to Fort Delaware they’re supporting the local community, but they’re also supporting everything from schools and police to infrastructure, health care, and a clean environment.

To put it another way, without our tourism sector, each household in Delaware would need to pay an extra $1,400 in taxes each year.

We have the top state park system in America, and Fort Delaware is at the top of the list. Besides being an impressive monument to our history, the staff at Fort Delaware offer great programming, like reenactments and ghost tours, that help visitors experience what life was like in the Civil War. It offers a triple threat of history, nature, and adventure, and it’s made a perfect day trip for countless families in Delaware and beyond.

DNREC: Dragon Run project receives Governor’s Award

A critical drainage project in Delaware City has been recognized by Governor Carney as a 2017 winner of the Governor’s Agricultural and Urban Conservation Awards.

The Dragon Run Tide Gate repair, which I was proud to help secure funding for, was a critical infrastructure project that replaced an old 36-inch diameter tide gate with three 48-inch tide gates to provide enhanced tidal flood protection to the northeast section of Delaware City. The project represented a partnership between DNREC, the New Castle County Conservation District, the Delaware City Refinery, Pennoni Consulting and Merit Construction engineers.

“Much of the work we do at DNREC is accomplished through partnerships with…Delaware’s three conservation districts, and these awards highlight the beneficial outcomes of these relationships,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “This year’s honorees are wonderful and diverse examples of how we can learn from the success of others and can all be better environmental stewards by taking thoughtful and important actions to protect and enhance our water and air quality.”

Also receiving special recognition at the awards ceremony was Eason Li, a 6th grader from Newark who attends The Independence School. Eason was Delaware’s state-level winner in the Delaware Association of Conservation Districts’ annual conservation poster contest, qualifying his creative and informational poster for entry representing Delaware in the National Association of Conservation Districts’ (NACD) conservation poster contest, themed “We All Need Trees.” His poster, which was displayed with other national winners at the NACD’s annual meeting in Denver, was framed and presented to him, along with a check for $200 from the NACD Ladies Auxiliary, which sponsors the poster contest.

TRAFFIC UPDATE: Howell School Road to close Monday for drainage upgrade

The Delaware Department of Transportation has announced that their contractor, Mumford & Miller Concrete Inc., is scheduled to begin work at 9 a.m. on Monday on the installation of new drainage connections and the connection of Old Howell School Road to Howell School Road. The work is anticipated to be complete by mid-June, pending weather. As a detour, SR 896 traffic will be routed from Porter Road eastbound to Wrangle Hill Road southbound onto Red Lion Road southbound and then returned to Howell School Road. During the construction, visitors will still have access to the entrance of Lums Pond State Park. Detour signage will be posted for motorists.

We were proud to support a bill designating April 4th as “Equal Pay Day” in Delaware, in which we recommit to the battle for equal pay for women. April 4th symbolizes the point in the year when the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year. We still have a long way to go.

New Delaware Democratic Leadership

New Delaware Democratic Leadership

Sen. David McBride, D-Hawk’s Nest, has been nominated by the Senate Democratic Majority to serve as Senate President Pro Tempore when the Senate reconvenes for the 149th General Assembly on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.

Joining McBride in leadership will be new Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington. Henry began serving in the Senate in 1994 and has served as Majority Whip since 2012.

Rounding out leadership will be new Majority Whip Nicole Saville Poore, D-New Castle. Poore joined the Delaware State Senate in 2012.

“Serving in leadership is a responsibility I take seriously and I’m grateful to my colleagues for putting their faith in me,” Poore said. “As a caucus we must come together to take on some foundational challenges facing our state – our budget, public education, and public safety in our towns and cities. I look forward to playing my part to help us find common ground on those issues and so many more.”