Dear Parents/Guardians & Students,
As you know tomorrow, Thursday, October 1 is the beginning of in person instruction for High School students. At Health Professions High School ONLY the students whose families have chosen in person, blended instruction will be permitted in the building on their scheduled day. As a reminder, our 233 SENIORS will only come to HPHS on Mondays, our 216 JUNIORS will only come to HPHS on Tuesdays, our 214 SOPHOMORES will only come to HPHS on Wednesdays and our 287 FRESHMAN will only come on Thursdays.
Students that will attend in person at HPHS will be here from 1:50pm to 3:50pm Monday through Thursday. Students will only enter the building through the 15 street entrance. Students will be greeted by members of the school community who will conduct random temperature checks before sending students to class. Students will have the opportunity to grab lunch and take it with them to their classroom.
From 1:50pm to 2:50pm, students will be engaged in school wide social & emotional activities such as transitioning back to live in person instruction, study skills, life in our community, nation & world in the age of the COVID pandemic, etc. From 2:55pm to 3:50pm, students will have the opportunity to choose to attend small group tutoring with their teachers or engage in a socially distancing club activity.
Fridays will be a little different. The only students that are permitted to come to HPHS on Fridays are the 198 students, grades 9-12 who are Multilingual Learners and or students with IEP’s. These 198 students will be here from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Students will only enter the building through the 15 street entrance. Students will be greeted by members of the school community who will conduct random temperature checks before sending students to class. Students will have the opportunity to grab breakfast and take it with them to their classroom. On Fridays, students will also be able to grab lunch on the way home from school.
The Chancellor has informed schools that NYC will be randomly testing a selected group of staff and students in schools once per month beginning in October. The number of children and staff to be tested each month will depend on the size of the school population. In order for NYC to administer a COVID-19 test to your child, we need your consent. We strongly encourage you to sign and return the attached consent form as soon as possible. Monthly testing of randomly selected staff and students is a vital part of NYC’s efforts to prevent COVID-19 transmission in our buildings, because it helps identify positive COVID-19 cases when symptoms are not present. As with other health and safety measures, we are required to keep our staff and students safe. The success of this testing initiative relies on the partnership and cooperation of staff and students.
I am attaching the Chancellor’s message along with the COVID-19 Testing Consent Form for you to sign. Please have your child return it to my office, room 210, when they come to school on their in person day.
All staff, students, and visitors over the age of two years old entering a NY City DOE building MUST wear a face covering. Acceptable face coverings are cloth based face coverings such as homemade, sewn or quick cut masks and disposable surgical masks that cover both the mouth and nose.
I know this is new for all of us, we must work together to make sure we all remain safe and healthy. Thank you for your continued support.
Robert A. Gentile
Principal