To the families of Tamarac Elementary School,
Greetings from the last day of school. We did it, made it, survived it, overcame it - the most challenging, different, difficult and memorable school year is a wrap. The smiles we saw, without masks, on our student's faces at both the kindergarten and 5th grade Moving Up ceremonies earlier this week said it all - we did it. Now, we are all looking forward to next school year, with the hopes that all we dealt with this school year will be in the past. No more teaching 5th grade in the gyms, no more Art (and music and library) on a Cart, no more lunches in the classroom every day; in fact, I never thought that I would miss having cafeteria duty in a noisy, often uncomfortably hot, cafeteria, but I did. Like everyone else, I know it will be nice to have our school look like it used to in early 2020. Report cards and student class placements for next year were sent home today. All of our students in attendance had a chance to meet their teacher for next year, so they have a sense of how the next school year will start. Kindergarten and pre-K class assignments will be sent out in the near future. We hope that we are nearing the end of sign-ups for both of these programs, but we will accommodate any interest from families throughout the summer. The sooner we know, though, the better.
I can't begin to thank the teachers and staff of this building for all the work they did to make this school year such a success. We were open every day (with a few exceptions) for in-person instruction, while our remote instruction classes were also very successful. They really stepped up to provide quality instruction, in unprecedented ways, day in and day out. The students also really did their part, from mask-wearing to social distancing, to sometimes rarely leaving their classrooms during the school day. They were troopers, and I couldn't be prouder of them and the learning that they accomplished. When your kids look back on this time, they will probably be surprised at how much they remember of their classmates and teachers from this year - spending so much time together, it was hard not to be impactful.
Finally, parents, thank you for your support as we tried something that we had never tried before. You trusted us with your children, to keep them safe as well as to educate them, in a school year like no other. You were patient and understanding as we implemented measures and guidelines to keep everyone as healthy as we could. You tolerated quarantine sessions and online learning when it became necessary, even when we knew it was far from convenient. Your support was crucial, to us and to your children; it is probably a big reason why we came through this with flying colors.
So thank you. Enjoy your children this summer. Do things we haven't been able to do for a while - your kids have earned it, and so have you. See you in September.
Sincerely, Richard Pogue
Principal, Tamarac Elementary School