Good evening. This is Interim superintendent Al Buyck. As you are aware, we are dealing with an issue of smoke and haze in our area that originated from a wildfire in Nova Scotia. This has resulted in several air quality advisories for a wide area of the United states. Even though Nova Scotia is over 900 miles away, it is still causing us issues right here in Harpursville New York. I have been in contact with all of the school districts in the Broome Tioga BOCES region, as well as the Broome County Health Department. We are all sharing our plans and suggested actions.
As a precaution today, we ceased outdoor student activity and advised everyone to avoid strenuous activity. We are planning on doing the same thing tomorrow, June 7 and June 8. We will also be doing the following:
- Keeping all windows closed.
- No outside PE or Recess.
- Making sure students have access to adequate water breaks.
- Checking in on students who we know are compromised with their breathing.
- Minimizing or postponing outdoor field trips if necessary.
I want to assure you that we are taking this seriously and making student and staff safety our top priority. We will continue to monitor the air quality information and will adjust our plans if that becomes necessary. I appreciate your understanding.
Please stay safe and take whatever precautions you have available to you in your homes.