Hello, SGI Families and Staff Members!
It appears that summer will be arriving a few days early this year. Temperatures on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are predicted to be quite high. With some area schools making the decision to adjust their schedules as a result of the heat, I wanted to let everyone know what steps we are taking here at SGI.
First, we are fortunate to have stand-alone air conditioning units for our classrooms in spaces without central air, our Middle School has central air, and several locations in other buildings, such as the Library Media Center and Auditorium at the High School have air conditioning. We have moved air conditioning units into the Gymnasium at SHS for Regents exams. We are also putting air conditioning units in our cafeterias at SES and CES. With those options, we feel well-equipped to handle this heat wave and can move students to cooler spaces in our buildings as needed. Furthermore, our Director of Facilities, Dave Seiflein and his team have been watching the forecast since last week and preparing to run our building ventilation systems in the most efficient way to bring cooler air into our buildings overnight while mitigating the amount of warm air brought in during the day.
Using the heat index guidelines, we will also be adjusting the duration of time that students spend outside at any one time if temperatures become oppressive, and we will ensure that students have plenty of water to drink. Shaded areas on our campus also provide an opportunity for outside time while keeping kids out of the sun.
Unfortunately, our buses do not have air conditioning. As a result, Transportation Supervisor Ann Rugg will be making sure that roof hatches and windows are open on our buses so that we get as much air movement as possible while transporting students.
I have had a few people ask about moving to half days. One thing to remember is that some of our families may not have air conditioning at home, the Bialasik family included. As a result, while we don’t have full central air in our buildings, the stand-alone units that we do have may offer a cooler option than some houses in our District have. Also, as a reminder, all schools will be closed on Wednesday for Juneteenth.
What can you do? Ensure that your child is wearing light, cool, and loose-fitting clothing this week so that they can be as comfortable as possible. Have your child bring a water bottle to stay hydrated during the day. Our staff will make sure that children can refill their water bottles throughout the day as needed. Talk to your children about being cognizant of how they are feeling when playing outside. If they start to feel overheated, it might be time to take a break, catch their breath and have some water.
Of course, if situations dictate that we need to pivot to a different plan from the one above, we will do so and communicate that plan to our families. Thank you for your support as we welcome summer to the SGI District!
Sincerely,
James Bialasik
Superintendent of Schools