Dear Secondary School Families:
Hello October! It’s a wonderful time of year in upstate New York. It is also a fun time of year for our students. We have many exciting events in store for our students and families next week. Rain or shine it’s going to be an awesome start to the new month - some sunshine will definitely help though! Spirit Week, Open House, a guest speaker with a powerful message, the College Caravan, pep rally, and of course homecoming are some of the events in store for the week ahead. I hope everyone enjoys the early fall weather and changing leaves. Be well and have a great weekend!
Open House - Wednesday, October 6: Our virtual open house program is ready to go! We are hopeful the weather will be much more cooperative for the program than it was for last year's event. The Secondary staff has worked hard to prepare short informational videos. In addition, teachers have set times they will be available for Google Meet sessions with parents and guardians:
Open house videos: We expect that teacher videos will be sent out to families by Wednesday. The videos will contain important information from your child’s teachers and may be viewed at a time that is most convenient for you!
Google Meets: On the evening of October 6, we will hold 15 minute Meet sessions with parents/guardians from 5:15-8:15pm. Please click on the link below to view the entire schedule. Mr. White and I hope you will join us to kick off the program at 5:15 pm.
MEET LINKS: Open House- October 6, 2021
Character Education: The Secondary School has identified five tenets of character that we will be focused on with students throughout the year.
Respectful
Responsible
Honest
Social Intelligence
Citizenship
If your child comes home with a “Bengal Award” it is because he/she has been recognized by a staff member for demonstrating one or more of the five tenets of outstanding character. Any student who receives a Bengal Award will be enrolled in a monthly drawing for some fantastic prizes! This is a new program that we are excited to kick off during the month of October. In addition, I am pleased to announce that we will be holding a character education assembly on Tuesday, October 5. Mr. Rich Johns will be presenting a “Respect Always” assembly to students in grades 6-8. Coach Johns will discuss his personal inspirations and emphasize the themes honesty, teamwork, empathy, kindness, love and acceptance. He introduces students the 99 and the 1, a personal character assessment plan. Speaking about mindfulness, he strives to have everyone constantly draw ‘reflection’ towards themselves to be as kind as possible. Here is a link with more information for parents/guardians about Mr. Johns.
https://actwithrespectalways.com/coach-rich-johns
Student Dropoff/Pickup **IMPORTANT**: A reminder for parents/guardians of students being dropped off and picked up each day. Please make sure you are dropping your child off in the designated zone directly in front of the Secondary school (inner loop). Many of our students and staff park in the lot in front of the auditorium closest to Route 351. We nearly had a very close call this week due to an individual speeding through the auditorium parking lot. Please plan ahead for possible delays and use the main entrance of the school leading and the inner loop/front parking at 7:15am (dropoff) and 2:12pm (pickup). Your cooperation and understanding are greatly appreciated!
PSAT: Tamarac will be offering the PSAT on Tuesday, October 26th. The PSAT serves as a preparatory exam for the SAT and as the test of entry for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. It is optional but all juniors (and sophomores who have completed or are currently enrolled in Algebra 2) are eligible to take the exam.
We would like to encourage eligible students to take the PSAT. If you are interested, you must register in advance. Registration will take place in the High School Counseling Center from September 20th - October 15th. A fee of $18.00 is required at the time of registration. Please bring the exact cash amount or a check made payable to Brunswick Central School District. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Collins (pcollins@brunswickcsd.org) or Mrs. Ryan (kryan@brunswickcsd.org).
Homecoming - Friday, October 8: We are looking forward to an exciting Homecoming game on Friday, October 8. In addition to Spirit Week, a pep rally, contests such as pie eating, relay races and tug of war, we are planning something new and very special for our seniors. The senior homecoming breakfast will be held on the morning of Friday, October 8 in the high school cafeteria. A huge thank you to our senior class advisors - Ms. Carroll and Mr. Burton and our Booster Club for organizing!
College Caravan: The College Caravan is back! 20 schools are expected to be joining us on the morning of October 6. This will be a tremendous opportunity for our juniors and seniors to meet face to face with college representatives and begin planning for life after Tamarac. Students will need to leave class at their designated time and head to curb/parking in front of the school where our college reps will have tents and tables set up (weather permitting). Thank you to Ms. Collins and our counseling department for organizing!
Polar Plunge: Calling all Tamarac students in grades 9-12! The Polar Plunge is right around the corner and we need participants! The plunge is a great fundraiser for many things, like the Special Olympics, the unified basketball team, and the Youth Activation Committee. What is the Polar Plunge you ask? It is an event where we travel to Lake George and jump right in! Every student who joins in on the plunge will raise money towards the Special Olympics. The fundraiser will take place on Saturday, November 13th. If you are interested in participating, registration will soon be available. There will also be an information meeting October 12th approximately at 2:15 pm in room 109, Señora Rolston’s room for those planning to attend. Transportation will be provided. We hope to see you there!
PTSA: A friendly reminder to please consider joining the PTSA (Parent-Teacher-Student Association). This organization does so much to support our students and programs throughout the district. Membership is only $5! https://brunswick.memberhub.com/w/
Hannaford Pharmacy Flu/COVID Clinic: Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 7 from 10am-1:00pm in our multi-purpose gym. Please see the attached links for additional information and the necessary consent form.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YSVF5_dSkki5ZpPQOmJ3FJPkZOfrr1_T/view?usp=sharing
IMPORTANT INFO FROM THE SECONDARY HEALTH OFFICE
COVID ATTENDANCE GUIDE:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15mVsKFnWWMX6X8KgaiNs23zpHImqeTff/view?usp=sharing
PLEASE go into Family ID and complete your child's Emergency Card (which is not the same as their athletic registration) as soon as possible. Embedded in that is an Over the Counter (OTC) form that MUST be printed and medications checked/signed and uploaded back into Family ID OR printed and medications checked/signed and returned to the office with your student. We are NOT able to administer OTC medications without this.
Do not send your child to school if they are sick with any of the COVID symptoms (cough, sore throat, headache, fever, diarrhea/vomiting, runny nose, loss of smell/taste, etc). If they complain of any of these we are obligated to send them home.
Be sure that there is a responsible adult available to pick a sick student up from school within 30-40 minutes of a call from the nurses office. We are not able to isolate sick children for any longer than 30-40 minutes at the very most.
PLEASE be sure that if your student is playing a sport that you have signed the COVID TESTING PERMISSION in their athletic registration. We are required to test UNVACCINATED athletes and MUST have your permission to do so.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Health Office at 518 279-4600 Ext. 2426.
Sincerely,
Ken Rizzo
Secondary School Principal