West Morris Central H.S. Gears Up For Return To School On Aug. 25

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Students heading back to West Morris Central High School this fall are expecting to have a full in-person experience as it was in pre-pandemic times, with some modifications, as they return for their first day on Aug. 25.

What will that landscape look like for students going back to school?

“We expect to have a mixed population of fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at any given time in our building this school year,” Principal Timothy Rymer wrote in a recent letter to families.

As part of that, Rymer said there will be “layers of preventative measures” at West Morris Central High School “to protect all staff, students and visitors on campus.”

That measure will include mandatory masking, per Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 251, with it required in schools except for specific circumstances, as well as on school buses, whether or not a student or school staff member is vaccinated.

Before heading back for the school year, parents are asked to fill out this questionnaire with more information about their child or children’s vaccination status, which Rymer said will only be used for contact tracing purposes.

Though a daily health check won’t be mandated in the 2021-2022 school year, if students are sick, parents should keep them out of school. COVID-19 diagnoses should immediately be reported to the school nurses Susan Moor at smoor@wmrhsd.org or Pam Cavallo at pcavallo@wmrhsd.org.

When will students need to quarantine if they’ve been a close contact of someone with COVID-19?

For unvaccinated students that will be 10 days, where they won’t be allowed to school or to participate in extracurricular activities. Vaccinated students who are asymptomatic won’t need to quarantine.

Students who are quarantined for COVID-19, whether they’re ill or a close contact, will have an excused absence and can go to school remotely. Absences for any other reason will be “unexcused” unless they are “excused" by the school. Students who are unexcused can’t participate in remote classes on days that they’re out.

Families with questions should refer to the school's COVID-19 guidance document here.

Parents should also know:

• School lunches will be served, with students eating inside and outside, in a socially distant way. This is one of the only times when students are “actively eating during the lunch period,” that they may be unmasked. There will be prepackaged items available throughout the school during lunch periods. It’s recommended that parents prepay for lunches to lessen cash transactions here or with MySchoolBucks.
• Visitors who come to the school will need to sign in for contact tracing purposes, with meetings done remotely whenever possible. Parents who need to drop off items should leave them on the shelves by the entrance, with items labeled with the student’s information.
• Teachers will keep a record of each student’s seat on a daily basis for contact tracing.
• High-touch areas will be routinely cleaned throughout each classroom and school.
• Hand sanitizers and disinfecting wipes will be accessible to both students and staff throughout the high school.
• Back-to-school night on Thursday, Sept. 23 will be virtual.

For more information, see Rymer’s full letter here.
For the links to documents for the 2021-2022 school year click here.
For more questions, contact West Morris Central High School at 908-879-5212.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.