New Homework Packet Delivery

Wednesday, April 15^th

 To ECS Families:

We will be delivering a new round of student work on Thursday, April 16^th.  We will also be dropping off the contents of desks and lockers that we were unable to drop off on Monday.

• We will be following the same delivery procedures that we have been using.
• Busses will depart the school at 12:15 PM.
• West Valley and Franklinville students’ pick will be in the Ellicottville BOCES Parking Lot from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
• Salamanca student’s pick-up will be the Green Gables parking lot from 2:30 PM -4:00 PM.
• Cattaraugus / Little Valley and students from all other districts can pick up items at the HS Gym Foyer Entrance located next to the bus garage from 1:00 PM– 3:00 PM.

Please note: assignments being distributed will be for new material and some of it will be graded.  More information will be coming regarding collection procedures and grading policies in the near future.  For the time being, students with paper packets should store completed work in the folder it was delivered in.  Students working on computers should store all completed work on the hard drive of their computer.

We also need to collect the memory sticks from the last delivery so that they can be reused.  Students should ensure that they have saved a copy of all their work on their hard drive or have a printed copy before returning the memory stick.  Do not try to turn in work on the memory stick.  When the busses drop off new materials, the driver will have an orange bucket for you to put the memory stick in.

Bob Miller

Updates for Desk/Locker Deliveries

Saturday, April 11th.

Dear ECS Families,

Desks and lockers have been packed up and the contents will be delivered on Monday, April 13^th. 

• Deliveries will be made to the permanent residence of In-District students, regardless of whether the student normally rides the bus.
• We will be following the same procedures we used to drop off homework packets.
• Busses will depart the school at 12:15 PM, so please be on the look-out, as we will not make a delivery if there is not someone there to receive it.

 If you are a non-resident family, we are setting up 3 pick-up locations:

• West Valley and Franklinville families can pick up their items in the Ellicottville BOCES Parking Lot from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
• Salamanca families can pick up their items in the Green Gables parking lot from 2:30 PM -4:00 PM.
• Cattaraugus / Little Valley and families from all other districts can pick up items at the HS Gym Foyer Entrance located next to the bus garage from 1:00 PM– 3:00 PM.
• Please remember, for safety and security reasons, each family may only pick up their family’s items.

We will contact families that were not at home for delivery or who did not pick-up their items at a drop-off location on Tuesday, April 14th to make arrangements for delivery / pick-up of items.

We tried our best to match up other items from lockers with students, however there may be some mistakes.  If you receive an item that is not yours or your child is expecting an item, but did not receive it, call 699-6052 and leave a message, or send an e-mail to bmiller@eville.wnyric.org.  We will contact you on Tuesday, April 14^th to make arrangements for delivery / pick-up of items.

Thank you.

Bob Miller
Superintendent

Updates for Monday, April 6th

Dear ECS Families.

Earlier today, Governor Cuomo announced that schools will now be closed until April 29^th.  During this time, the State has directed schools to continue providing instruction every week day, including the days that would have previously been considered Spring Break.

As the closure continues, we are in the process of packing up desks and lockers and sending everything in them home to students.  We anticipate we will be delivering these items on this Friday with busses the same way we did with work packets. 

We are also planning on sending home items from the MS/HS Gym locker rooms.  If your child has items in one of these locker rooms that is in something such as a duffel bag, please e-mail me (bmiller@eville.wnyric.org) or call 699-6052 to provide a description of the duffel bag.  Otherwise, we will open duffel bags to try and identify owners.  Additionally, if a student has a lock from home, we may have to cut the lock to gain access to the items.  In the end, we may not be able to identify some items, but we will do our best. 

As we get closer to Friday, we will be sharing more information about these deliveries.

In the near future, we will be sending out another round of work packets and memory sticks for students.  We are still working out the plans for these packets as well as a fair grading system moving forward.  In the meantime, we have been asked what students should do with the work they have already completed.  For the time being, please simply keep completed work in the folder in which it was delivered or on the hard drive of the laptop computers.  Please do not save work on the memory sticks as we will need to collect and reuse them. 

We are still providing breakfast and lunches for those families that have requested them.  If your family is not receiving meals and would like to, please either register on the District Website or call Mrs. Williams at 699-2318 extension 1403.

At this time, the Easter Candy and Cupcake fundraiser orders and deliveries have been postponed.

If there is anything else you need or if you have questions, please call the District’s direct line at 699-6052 to leave a message.

Please know that the District is grateful for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.  We are looking forward to the days when we will be able to return to our normal schedules.  In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy.

Thank you and have a good evening.

Bob Miller

UPDATES for Sunday, March 29^th

Good evening ECS Community.

As per Governor Cuomo’s latest Declaration of Emergency, the school will remain closed until April 15.

During this time, students should continue to work on the packets that were provided last week. 

The school will continue to provide meals for families that would like them.  However, we are going to be switching to a three day per week plan starting tomorrow, Monday, March 30^th.  Meal packages on Monday and Wednesday will contain Tuesdays’ and Thursdays’ meals respectively.  If your family is currently not receiving meals and you would like them, please register via the lnk below or by calling Mrs. Williams directly at 699-2318 extension 1403.

Need to Contact the School?

Ellicottville Central School has set up a direct number where you can call and leave messages while the school is closed due to COVID-19.  Calling this direct number will ensure that your message is received, as only essential staff will be at the school during the closure.  Messages will be checked daily on weekdays.  Please leave a short message of why you are calling, your name and your number.  Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

 This direct number to leave a message is 716-699-6052.

NEW! ECS March 25 Delivery Details

March 20, 2020

Dear Ellicottville Central School Community,

I’m writing this letter to share important information about how we are addressing the COVID-19 situation.  Staying current with this is proving to be very difficult, as the guidance being provided to schools is changing daily, and, at times, hourly. 

Please know that the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community continues to be our #1 priority.  This is why we have secured the building and allowed just a very limited number of people access.  While access is limited, we do have essential staff working to put together meals, instructional materials, and supplies for your children.

 Currently, our “meal plan” is under way and serving students Monday through Friday.  These meals are being provided free to all ECS students.  If your child / children are not currently receiving meals and you would like them, there are two ways to register for this:

• You can register via the District webpage: ellicottvillecentral .com.  The link is right on the front page “Registration for Meal Service During School Closure.”  This registration form works with both computers and smartphones.
• You can call Mrs. Williams at 699-2316 extension 1403. When leaving a message, please be sure to clearly state your name, the number of meals you need and a number where you can be reached during the day.  If you require delivery of the meals, please let Mrs. Williams know that as well.

 We are also busy assembling instructional materials that will be sent home either next Tuesday or Wednesday (a robo-call will be made next week to verify the day).  In general:

• Students in grades PreK-6 will be receiving packets with “paper” materials.
• Students in grades 7 – 12 will receive a USB memory stick that will contain all work for grades 7-12. Students will need to locate the materials they need on these memory sticks.  Providing memory sticks in this matter eliminates the need to try and distribute them by grade-level. 
• We have looked throughout the building for laptops for 7-12 grade students that were left on campus. We have several and we are in the process of sanitizing them so that they can be distributed next week with all other work.  Please do not come to the school sooner to pick these up.
• We are NOT looking for you (parents) to teach new instructional materials. All work will be review, supplemental or enrichment.  Our goal is to keep students engaged in learning and maintain the skills/knowledge they have learned so far this year.  We will resume instruction of new material when students return to school.
• Students will not be graded on the work they complete at home.
• Students will not be asked to take quizzes or tests.
• We realize that not everyone has reliable internet service, and that is why we are providing the memory sticks. Please keep these safe, as we will need to “swap” memory sticks when providing materials in the future.
• If a student absolutely needs to access the internet, we have set up the school such that students (parents) can pull up in front of the school in the bus loop, remain in their car and access the school wi-fi. We simply ask that students upload/download materials as needed and complete the work at home, as opposed to lingering in front of the school.  We are also stressing that students should stay in their cars.
• Establish some sort of daily work routine for students that includes breaks and times for some physical activity.
• Provide quiet spaces for children to work that are free from distractions.
• Please feel free to reach out to teachers, counselors and administrators via e-mail if you need help or have questions. In general staff e-mail addresses follow this pattern:  Bob Miller = bmiller@eville.wnyric.org
• If you cannot reach a teacher via e-mail, please contact my office at 699-2368 and we will help you.
• One exception: The college level courses some students are taking through JCC, GCC and Syracuse University may have different requirements, which will be provided by your child’s teacher.

During this time, you may also feel your child needs to speak to her/his counselor or the school psychologist.  These e-mails are:

Tammy Eddy = teddy@eville.wnyric.org

Dan LaCroix = dlacroix@eville.wnyric.org

Joe Prior = jprior@eville.wnyric.org

You may also call the school, and we will get a message to one of these people accordingly.

Please be assured that all other student materials and belongings left at the school are safe and secure.  At this time, we do not have the capacity to retrieve personal belongings.

We truly appreciate all of the support that you have already provided during this unprecedented time.  We are in this together and we are committed to working with you to make sure that your children remain safe as we provide meals and instructional materials.

I will continue to try and reach out to you on a regular basis through a variety of ways.  Robo-calls, postings to the school website, posts on the newly created facebook page at Ellicottville Central School District (https://m.facebook.com/Ellicottville-Central-School-District-103028054671383/), and letters via US Mail will all be used to keep you informed. 

Sincerely,

Bob Miller

Superintendent

Child Care Needs Survey

If you are a parent or caregiver who needs child care, please complete this parent need for child care survey. Based on the information you provide about your job, employer, number of children, and financial need, OCFS may be able to help you find the child program you need. It may be a challenge to find child care due to COVID-19 related program closures, however the staff at OCFS are trying their best to support families to find the high quality child care that they need.

A Message from Mr. Ploetz, MS/HS Principal