To the families of Tamarac Elementary School,
I hope this message finds you well and readying yourself for our April recess, as well as Easter and the end of Passover celebrations. I hope this upcoming week is a chance for our students to rest and recharge, and for families to have time to be together.
When we return to school on April 12th, we will be jumping into the 4th quarter, with an eye on the end of the school year. Many things are still in the "to be determined" phase, but I do hope that our last quarter of school will look more like a traditional quarter of school and less like the pandemic model we have had to adopt. We are also approaching the next school year as if it was the start of the 2019 school year, with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, and our school looking much like it did on March 16th, 2020 - our last day school looked and felt like "school".
We do have state testing in English Language Arts (ELA), math and science coming up when we return. This testing is only for students receiving in-person instruction only (we have no mechanism for remote instruction students to take the tests). These tests, as always, are not used as an assessment of an individual student but of our building, and our teaching practices, as a whole. I've always asked students to simply do their best and give the assessment the seriousness they would to any test - nothing more, nothing less.
We are also planning to host, in some manner, meetings with incoming kindergarten parents and students, as well as moving up and end of the year celebrations. How these events will look will be determined by conditions on the ground at the time. Hopefully, the guidance will favor the type of events we have had in the past. To help make this happen, we must continue with vaccinations for adults, masks, hand washing and physical distancing for everyone, and an abundance of good sense for the choices we make.
The building is buzzing now, as it's lunch time. I would like to thank the PTSA for their generous gift of Easter treats for our building - it is these little things that help keep our building feeling like it is supposed to, despite everything that is different. So, as we ease into our recess, take time for your children and your families. Come back refreshed and ready to learn. See you on April 12th.
Sincerely, Rich Pogue
Principal, Tamarac Elementary School