To the families of Tamarac Elementary School,
I hope this update finds you well. I'm writing this as we dismiss for a half-day, the last Friday of the school year. We celebrated our 5th grade Moving Up ceremony this morning, which wraps up our Moving Up ceremonies for the year. Just a reminder that all students do have class next Tuesday, Wednesday and a half-day on Thursday, June 23rd - the 23rd is the last day of the school year. There is no school on Monday as we celebrate Juneteenth.
As we approach the end of the year, we all start looking forward to the next school year. Starting this year, we are shifting our practice on notifying parents of their child’s teachers for the next school year. Previously, parents received the name of their child’s teacher for the following year on their child’s June report card distributed to students on the last day of school. Beginning this year, families will be formally notified in August of their child’s teacher for the next school year. The primary reason for this change is that it allows the school sufficient time to staff vacancies and thoroughly review and finalize class lists to minimize confusion for families in the event changes occur after the last day of school (as is often the case). An additional consideration is that not all students have the same placement and promotion experience. For some students, receiving information about next year’s placement at home (rather than at school) is a more comfortable experience. Rest assured, children will still be prepared for a transition prior to the end of the school year (e.g., class discussions about a new grade level, special activities with different grade level teachers, field trips to different grade level classrooms, etc.), and families will have an opportunity to meet their child’s new teacher during the first month of school. We understand the importance of transition for everyone.
Next week will be days of activities for our students - a wonderful end of a school year that saw many of the things we had been missing come back to us. Let's hope that the school experiences of our students only improve going forward. School is too important for our children to be anything but the best it can be. I wish you all a wonderful summer with your families.
Sincerely, Kelly Onorato and Rich Pogue
Principals, Tamarac Elementary School