PS 33 Edward M. Funk Elementary School
PS 33Q's Covid-19 Communication Page
Welcome to our COVID response page.
Below you’ll find all the critical information about how PS33Q is changing the way we operate to reduce the risk of COVID infection.
We are doing everything we can to make sure staff, students, and families are safe.
Please check back regularly, as we will update the information here as conditions change.
The NYC Department of Education website also has important information and resources for you.
Last updated: January 4, 2022
Below you’ll find all the critical information about how PS33Q is changing the way we operate to reduce the risk of COVID infection.
We are doing everything we can to make sure staff, students, and families are safe.
Please check back regularly, as we will update the information here as conditions change.
The NYC Department of Education website also has important information and resources for you.
Last updated: January 4, 2022
**Since the NYC DOE Health Screening is updated from time to time, we are strongly encouraging you to use the online Health Screening on your phones or tablets rather than the paper form. The online Health Screening is the most up to date screening to enter our school building. Using the online form will also ensure for a quicker arrival during these colder months and inclement weather. **
https://healthscreening.schools.nyc/
https://healthscreening.schools.nyc/
1/4/2022 9:15 AM
Dear P.S. 033 Edward M. Funk at 91-37 222 STREET Family:
I am writing to notify you that a member or members of our school community have tested positive for COVID-19 and may have exposed others while at school.
Below you will find guidance on next steps that will help keep our school community healthy and safe. The information below reflects the expertise of the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Test & Trace Corp (T2), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE).
What Happens Now?
●Students and staff who shared classroom space with the individual who tested positive will receive at-home tests with guidance and directions.
●The Situation Room will monitor our school for any further interventions.
●Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test will not return to the school until they are no longer infectious.
●All areas visited by the person with COVID-19 will be deep cleaned and disinfected.
●If your child is feeling sick, keep them at home.
How do we stay healthy?
Vaccination is the most important tool we have to protect ourselves from COVID-19. All New Yorkers age 5 or older are eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19. People who are between 5 and 17 years old are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine only; all older ages are eligible for all three vaccines. We encourage all eligible students to get vaccinated. Find a vaccine site today at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/.There is no cost to be vaccinated.
Please remember to follow these important actions to prevent COVID-19 transmission:
We will continue to closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively update you on any measures we are taking. To ensure we can reach you via text and email, please create a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) as soon as possible by visiting schools.nyc.gov/nycsa.
To help New Yorkers quarantine, the NYC Test + Trace Corps partners with community-based organizations to connect individuals to resources like food, medicine, and health care. To connect with resources, you can call 1-212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).
For additional information on COVID-19, visit schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus or call 311.
Sincerely,
Vincent Gatto
Principal PS33Q
Dear P.S. 033 Edward M. Funk at 91-37 222 STREET Family:
I am writing to notify you that a member or members of our school community have tested positive for COVID-19 and may have exposed others while at school.
Below you will find guidance on next steps that will help keep our school community healthy and safe. The information below reflects the expertise of the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Test & Trace Corp (T2), and the New York City Department of Education (DOE).
What Happens Now?
●Students and staff who shared classroom space with the individual who tested positive will receive at-home tests with guidance and directions.
●The Situation Room will monitor our school for any further interventions.
●Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test will not return to the school until they are no longer infectious.
●All areas visited by the person with COVID-19 will be deep cleaned and disinfected.
●If your child is feeling sick, keep them at home.
How do we stay healthy?
Vaccination is the most important tool we have to protect ourselves from COVID-19. All New Yorkers age 5 or older are eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19. People who are between 5 and 17 years old are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine only; all older ages are eligible for all three vaccines. We encourage all eligible students to get vaccinated. Find a vaccine site today at https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/.There is no cost to be vaccinated.
Please remember to follow these important actions to prevent COVID-19 transmission:
- Stay home if sick (except to get essential medical care, including COVID-19 testing).
- Wear a face covering to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Practice healthy hand hygiene: Wash your hands often or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer; avoid touching your face; and cover your cough or sneeze with your arm, not your hands.
We will continue to closely follow directions from public health experts and proactively update you on any measures we are taking. To ensure we can reach you via text and email, please create a New York City Schools Account (NYCSA) as soon as possible by visiting schools.nyc.gov/nycsa.
To help New Yorkers quarantine, the NYC Test + Trace Corps partners with community-based organizations to connect individuals to resources like food, medicine, and health care. To connect with resources, you can call 1-212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).
For additional information on COVID-19, visit schools.nyc.gov/coronavirus or call 311.
Sincerely,
Vincent Gatto
Principal PS33Q
January 3, 2022 Letter to Families
We hope you had a restful holiday and were able to spend time with your loved ones. As we welcome students back into our classrooms from a well-deserved winter break, our highest priority continues to be the health and safety of our students, families, and staff. To this end, we are putting additional health and safety measures in place to ensure students and staff are safe and that our schools can continue to be open.
The following updates were made in partnership with our City and State public health colleagues and are based on federal and scientific guidance.
Home Test Kits
Our goal is to ensure that students safely remain in school as much as possible, and we have updated our policies to ensure we meet this goal. This means that if there is a positive case in a classroom:
To further ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff, the in-school surveillance testing program is expanding to double the number of individuals tested in each school, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, in grades 1 and up. The random in-school surveillance program continues to provide public health experts with an accurate look at the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools. We encourage all families who have not yet submitted consent, regardless of whether their child is vaccinated, to consent to in-school testing through their NYC Schools Account (schoolsaccount.nyc) or return a signed paper form to the school. Additional information on testing for students and the printable version of the consent form in multiple languages can be found on our COVID-19 Testing for Students page.
Testing is a critical part of keeping schools open and communities safe. Thank you to those families who have already consented to testing, and for your cooperation by participating in our in-school testing program!
COVID-19 Testing Sites
We will continue to update you as the situation changes and hear your feedback on these updated policies and procedures. We thank you in advance for partnering with us to keep our children and staff safe in school.
**For translated copies visit https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/messages-for-families
We hope you had a restful holiday and were able to spend time with your loved ones. As we welcome students back into our classrooms from a well-deserved winter break, our highest priority continues to be the health and safety of our students, families, and staff. To this end, we are putting additional health and safety measures in place to ensure students and staff are safe and that our schools can continue to be open.
The following updates were made in partnership with our City and State public health colleagues and are based on federal and scientific guidance.
Home Test Kits
- Beginning January 3, schools will distribute free, take-home COVID-19 rapid test kits to any student or staff who exhibit COVID-like symptoms or have been in a classroom where a positive case has been identified.
- If your child was exposed to COVID-19 at school, please help your child take the first test on the day they receive the home test and help your child take the second test five days after exposure or at the first indication of symptoms.
- Your child may continue to attend school as long as your child receives negative test results and does not experience any symptoms of COVID-19.
- If your child has COVID-like symptoms or feels ill before the fifth day, please have your child isolate and take the second home test immediately.
- If your child tests positive on either home test, your child must isolate for 10 days following the first positive result. Please contact your child’s school immediately to inform them and for further guidance.
- If your child had symptoms of COVID-19 at school, please help your child take the first test immediately and help your child take the second test 24 hours later.
- Your child may not attend school until they receive negative results on both of these home tests taken within 24 hours of each other and have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication OR if your child receives a negative test result from a PCR COVID test.
- If your child tests positive on either home test, your child must isolate for 10 days following the first positive result. Please contact your child’s school immediately and report the test results.
- Any student who tests positive on a take-home test should immediately report it to the school and begin isolating. Students who test positive must isolate for 10 days and can return to school on Day 11. No negative test is required to return to school.
- As a reminder, all students, staff and visitors must pass the DOE health screener in order to enter school buildings. Additional questions will be added to the health screeners for those students and staff who receive at-home rapid test kits to share their negative result. No other proof of a negative result is required in order for these students to enter the school building.
Our goal is to ensure that students safely remain in school as much as possible, and we have updated our policies to ensure we meet this goal. This means that if there is a positive case in a classroom:
- For students in kindergarten through grade 12, unvaccinated or not yet fully-vaccinated students who were in close proximity to a positive case will no longer have to quarantine and will continue attending school if they do not have symptoms and do not have a positive test result from a COVID test. Instead, all students and adults in that classroom will receive a take-home rapid test kit and take two tests over the course of five days.
- For students in 3-K and Pre-K, the quarantine policy will remain the same, meaning that any 3-K or pre-K student who was in close proximity to a positive case will still have to quarantine for 10 days.
To further ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff, the in-school surveillance testing program is expanding to double the number of individuals tested in each school, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, in grades 1 and up. The random in-school surveillance program continues to provide public health experts with an accurate look at the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools. We encourage all families who have not yet submitted consent, regardless of whether their child is vaccinated, to consent to in-school testing through their NYC Schools Account (schoolsaccount.nyc) or return a signed paper form to the school. Additional information on testing for students and the printable version of the consent form in multiple languages can be found on our COVID-19 Testing for Students page.
Testing is a critical part of keeping schools open and communities safe. Thank you to those families who have already consented to testing, and for your cooperation by participating in our in-school testing program!
COVID-19 Testing Sites
- The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) continues to open new testing sites throughout the five boroughs. We strongly encourage that all students get tested for COVID-19, through a PCR, lab-based rapid test, or a home test kit on a continuous basis, regardless of vaccination status. For a list of testing sites, including sites with at-home rapid tests, call 212-COVID19, visit nyc.gov/covidtest, text "COVID TEST" to 855-48, or call 311 to find a nearby testing site.
- Additionally, many pharmacies and doctors’ offices are offering COVID-19 testing. Please check with your pediatrician’s office or local pharmacy to see if you can schedule a test.
We will continue to update you as the situation changes and hear your feedback on these updated policies and procedures. We thank you in advance for partnering with us to keep our children and staff safe in school.
**For translated copies visit https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/messages-for-families
December 28, 2021 Letter to Families:
We hope you had a restful holiday and were able to spend time with your loved ones. As we look ahead to the New Year, our highest priority is to continue to ensure the health and safety of our students, families, and staff. Schools will be open, as scheduled, beginning January 3 for all students. We are putting additional health and safety measures in place to ensure students and staff are safe and that our schools can continue to be open.
You will notice that this letter is coming to you jointly from outgoing Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter and incoming Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. The Department of Education’s leadership is changing, but one thing remains the same: our unwavering commitment to safely providing our students with a top-quality education that leads to their long-term success.
The following updates were made in partnership with our City and State public health colleagues and are based on federal and scientific guidance.
COVID-19 Testing Before Returning on January 3, 2022
New Quarantine Policy
Our goal is to ensure that students safely remain in school as much as possible, and we have updated our policies to ensure we meet this goal. This means that if there is a positive case in a classroom:
Increased In-School Surveillance Testing
To further ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff, the in-school surveillance testing program is expanding to double the number of individuals tested in each school, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, in grades 1 and up. The random in-school surveillance program continues to provide public health experts with an accurate look at the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools. We encourage all families, regardless of whether their child is vaccinated, to consent to in-school testing through their NYC Schools Account or return a signed paper form to the school. Additional information on testing for students can be found on the DOE website: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/covid- information/covid-19-testing-for-students
Testing is a critical part of keeping schools open and communities safe. Thank you for your cooperation by consenting to and participating in our in-school testing program!
We know that nothing is more important to you than keeping your children in school, learning in healthy
and safe environments. The changes we are announcing today aim to keep students in our classrooms with the least amount of disruption as possible, while putting their safety front and center.
We will continue to update you as the situation changes and hear your feedback on these updated policies and procedures. In the meantime, please feel free to share your feedback at FACE@schools.nyc.gov. We thank you in advance for partnering with us to keep our children safe in school.
In partnership,
Meisha Porter David C. Banks
New York City Schools Chancellor Incoming New York City Schools Chancellor
We hope you had a restful holiday and were able to spend time with your loved ones. As we look ahead to the New Year, our highest priority is to continue to ensure the health and safety of our students, families, and staff. Schools will be open, as scheduled, beginning January 3 for all students. We are putting additional health and safety measures in place to ensure students and staff are safe and that our schools can continue to be open.
You will notice that this letter is coming to you jointly from outgoing Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter and incoming Schools Chancellor David C. Banks. The Department of Education’s leadership is changing, but one thing remains the same: our unwavering commitment to safely providing our students with a top-quality education that leads to their long-term success.
The following updates were made in partnership with our City and State public health colleagues and are based on federal and scientific guidance.
COVID-19 Testing Before Returning on January 3, 2022
- To keep our school communities safe upon everyone’s return to school buildings, we strongly encourage that all students get tested for COVID-19, through a PCR, lab-based rapid test, or a home test kit, before returning to school on January 3, regardless of vaccination status. For a list of testing sites, including sites with at-home rapid tests, call 212- COVID19, visit http://nyc.gov/covidtest, or text "COVID TEST" to 855-48, or call 311 to find a nearby testing site. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) continues to open new testing sites, so please check back often for updates.
- Additionally, many pharmacies and doctor’s offices may be offering COVID-19 testing. Please check with your pediatrician’s office or local pharmacy to see if you can schedule a test.
- Beginning January 3, schools will distribute free, take-home COVID-19 rapid test kits to any students or staff who exhibit COVID-like symptoms or have been in a classroom where a positive case has been identified.
- Students who have a take-home test kit will need to take the test two times over the course of five days (each kit includes two tests).
- Students who may have been exposed to COVID in the school should take a test that evening and then again on Day 5.
- If a student begins to show symptoms of COVID before Day 5, you should use the test kit immediately.
- Anyone who tests positive on a take-home test should immediately report it to the school and begin isolating. Students who test positive must isolate for 10 days and can return to school on Day 11. No negative test is required to return to school.
- Remember, all students, staff and visitors must pass the DOE health screener in order to enter school buildings. Additional questions will be added to the health screeners for those students and staff who receive at-home rapid test kits to share their negative result. No other proof of a negative result is required in order for these students to enter the school building.
New Quarantine Policy
Our goal is to ensure that students safely remain in school as much as possible, and we have updated our policies to ensure we meet this goal. This means that if there is a positive case in a classroom:
- Students who were in close proximity to these students will no longer have to quarantine and will continue attending school if they do not have symptoms and do not have a positive test result from a COVID test.
- Instead, all students and adults in that classroom will receive a take-home rapid test kit. The test kits contain two tests.
- Those who have a take-home test kit will need to take two tests over the course of five days.
Increased In-School Surveillance Testing
To further ensure the safety of our students, families, and staff, the in-school surveillance testing program is expanding to double the number of individuals tested in each school, including both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, in grades 1 and up. The random in-school surveillance program continues to provide public health experts with an accurate look at the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools. We encourage all families, regardless of whether their child is vaccinated, to consent to in-school testing through their NYC Schools Account or return a signed paper form to the school. Additional information on testing for students can be found on the DOE website: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/health-and-wellness/covid- information/covid-19-testing-for-students
Testing is a critical part of keeping schools open and communities safe. Thank you for your cooperation by consenting to and participating in our in-school testing program!
We know that nothing is more important to you than keeping your children in school, learning in healthy
and safe environments. The changes we are announcing today aim to keep students in our classrooms with the least amount of disruption as possible, while putting their safety front and center.
We will continue to update you as the situation changes and hear your feedback on these updated policies and procedures. In the meantime, please feel free to share your feedback at FACE@schools.nyc.gov. We thank you in advance for partnering with us to keep our children safe in school.
In partnership,
Meisha Porter David C. Banks
New York City Schools Chancellor Incoming New York City Schools Chancellor
NYC DOE Consent For Covid-19 Testing
Visit the NYC Department of Education Covid-19 Testing for Students and Staff page for more information
Visit the NYC Department of Education Covid-19 Testing for Students and Staff page for more information
Please complete your Daily Health Screening Prior to coming to school daily. You may access it at NYC DOE Health Screening.
You will be required to show proof your child has passed the health screening every day upon entry.
You will be required to show proof your child has passed the health screening every day upon entry.
Signs you will see around our school building, click image to view larger.
