November 25, 2020

Dear Parents and Students,

            On this day prior to Thanksgiving I want to express how very thankful I am for you as parents and students for your continuing support of our staff, patience with the ever changing twists and turns associated with COVID-19 compliance issues, and your diligence in making sure we do everything we can to continue our instruction and activities.  It is nothing short of remarkable that we find our district closing in on the completion of half a school year with relatively few positive COVID-19 cases compared to other school districts.  That is a tribute to you as parents and students as well as our incredible staff.  Together we have all worked hard to assure the maximum educational opportunities during this pandemic.  What a wonderful community we have here in Johnstown.  We indeed have much for which to be thankful as Johnnies.

            While we have indeed been successful together in learning how to best live with this virus in Johnstown, we must not allow ourselves to become complacent in this effort.  With the colder weather and holiday times upon us we will be tempted more than ever to loosen our guard against this virus. Our schools have proven to be very safe places because of the safety protocols we have put in place and practiced.  The few cases we have experienced originated from outside of our schools.  As I have said since the beginning of this pandemic, our success at maintaining in-person instruction and activities will be dependent upon what our students, parents and staff do 24 hours a day/7 days a week.   To maintain our success we must all be diligent, especially during the holidays and winter months ahead.  Please continue to treat everyone you are with as if they have COVID-19.  That means wearing a mask and staying 6’ away from others, regularly washing/sanitizing your hands, covering your cough, not touching your eyes, nose or mouth and disinfecting high touch areas of your home and workplace.  When you are with small groups of people make sure you are outside or in a well ventilated area.   These are things we can all do while still enjoying restful and enjoyable holidays.  And by making these practices habits we can assure that our students and staff do not become so negatively impacted by this virus that it causes us to move to full remote instruction.  We need not be fearful…just diligent as we continue to live cautiously with this virus.   I thank you in advance for your cooperation and help as we strive together to provide our students with as normal of an educational experience as possible during this pandemic.  My fellow Johnnies we can do this! 

SPECIAL NOTE

I must inform you of yet another challenge that has arisen as we prepare for the second semester of this school year.  Our Progress Book and DASL software does not allow us to make necessary changes to set up the new classes and returning students for second semester prior to having first semester grades submitted and report cards run.  We had originally planned to have grades submitted and report cards run the week of January 4^th; but, this software barrier is causing us to expedite the process.  Therefore, we are forced to have all grades submitted prior to our Christmas break this year so that we can work over break to have the second semester changes and set up complete before students and staff return January 4^th.  In order to allow staff the time to complete grade submittals, and physically move some classrooms necessary to create additional sections for second semester, we are going to not have students in the buildings on December 17^th and 18^th.  Please prepare now for your children not to be in school these days.  I thank you for your support and understanding regarding this necessary change.

Make this a great Thanksgiving!

Dale L. Dickson

Superintendent