Black Bear Bits
March 5, 2021
Important Dates
3/11-12: No School Teacher Training
3/17: 2nd Grade Supply Pickup 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
3/22-26: No School Spring Break
3/29: All grades-Spring Teacher Assignments begin
3/29: PreK-1st Grades begin Hybrid Learning
Letter from the Principal
Hello Black Bear Families,
Our school staff wish you all well during this time. We have celebrated Classified Staff Appreciation together this week. Our school is successful because of the support staff we have that include our office, instructional assistants, food service, custodial and supervision personnel. We were also busy this week communicating with families about class placements for the rest of the year for in-person hybrid and 100% online distance learning choices for all of our students. We have been fortunate to be able keep all of our attendance area students with Tualatin Elementary teachers. This includes our 10 kindergarteners that we have shared a teacher with Byrom and Bridgeport Elementary Schools. We are also happy to announce that all of our teachers were able to stay at the same grade level they are currently teaching. Changes to class assignments start on Monday, March 29th. A special thanks to all our Black Bear families and community members for all your input, feedback, questions and patience during this time of transition.
The results of our student placement was focused on creating balanced AM and PM cohorts at every grade level as much as possible. One additional limitation for this process is that our guidance is to stay within a 35 square foot per person ratio. Our classrooms have a capacity for about 14-16 students depending on which room teachers are in across our school. Although student last names for A-L and M-Z were the driving factor in determining balanced in-person hybrid classes, we also took into consideration specific family hardships, individual student needs for support, and overall numbers in each class or grade level. I fully understand the impact these final decisions may have on families and their schedules. We are still in the process of hearing from families as situations change, but we are not able to accommodate all requests for changes. We are committed to working with our families to do what we can when we are able to.
The Tualatin Elementary staff understands the impacts a change in teacher can have for our students and families. As teachers and support staff, we also share the emotions that come with a student moving to another classroom part way through the year. Please know that every staff member is prepared to welcome new students into their classrooms and have a wonderful finish to this school year. We are committed to establishing new relationships with students and families experiencing these changes and continuing to build upon the relationships where no changes are happening. I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher, our office, or me with any needs. This may be a challenging transition and we stand ready to serve and work together as a community. Thank you for your partnership as we continue this unusual school year.
We will be sharing details for what students will experience at school, and what parents may expect for in-person hybrid learning starting on March 29th for our young learners. This will include details for parents regarding arriving at school and dismissing from school. We will also include details for what “a day in the life of a Tualatin Black Bear student” will be like as we are together on the school campus.
Warm regards,
Mr. Kingery
2021-22 Kindergarten Registration Now Open!
Kindergarten online enrollment for the 2021-22 school year is now open! A child must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2021 to enter Kindergarten for the 2021-2022 School year.
Parents/guardians will need the following to complete the enrollment process:
- child's birth certificate,
- Proof of address (current resident electric, gas, or garbage bill, rental/lease agreement or property tax bill)
- immunization record
Go to the Enrollment page to complete the online enrollment process. Please be sure to have the above documents available before you begin the online enrollment.
TTSD Preschool
The Tigard-Tualatin School District, in partnership with Community Action, offers free preschool classes for qualifying families.
Please complete the Preschool Program Interest Form and send the completed form to:
- preschoolinfo@ttsd.k12.or.us or
- deliver to your neighborhood Tigard-Tualatin Elementary School or
- mail to Early Learning Coordinator TTSD
6961 SW Sandburg St, Tigard, OR 97223
!!!Memory Book Deadline!!!
March 21st will be the last day of memory book sales, the last day to send in photos of your student, and the last day to send in 5th grade tributes.
You can purchase your memory book for $20 and 5th grade tributes for $10. Go to http://www.tualatinelementarypta.org/, pay by Venmo @TualatinElementary-PTA, or send a check by mail to the school (20405 SW 95th Ave, Tualatin, OR 97062).
Please keep sending in those photos to tualatinschoolphotos@gmail.com
Spring Conferences Cancelled
Spring conferences originally scheduled for March 11 and 12 have been cancelled. Those days will be teacher workdays for elementary schools with no school for students.
Your student’s teacher will reach out to you in the coming weeks to get to know you and your student. Please watch for that communication.
The TTSD Book Bus is Rolling PLUS OBOB Info!
Your child now has a school library Canvas page. On this page you can request library print books that you can pick up from the school or you can have them delivered on Wednesday's on the Book Bus to your bus stop. We also have ebooks that you can read on your device. If you want to return your library books you can drop them off in our library book drop at the front of the building during school office hours.
Also on Wednesdays we will begin OBOB for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. We will meet from 2:00 to 2:30 and discuss this years books and play Kahoots! We will form teams after we have practiced for a couple weeks. The link to join can be found on the Canvas web page.
If you have questions about library please contact Kathleen Cunnington at kcunnington@ttsd.k12.or.us.
Social Emotional Learning-Relationships
What are some activities that you have enjoyed while practicing social distancing?
Target Skills:
* The Importance of Friendships
* Friendship Qualities
* Being Yourself
* Making Friends
Here are the Family videos for next week: Physical Distancing
English Family Video (Having Fun while Physically Distanced)
Handout for families to use at home:
Update to Food Service Routes
Meals are available for ALL children ages 1-18 regardless of income status.
Delivery Routes - buses will make two rounds of deliveries in case people miss the first delivery time. Routes listed in PDF will deliver lunch and breakfast
Tualatin Elementary School
Email: jkingery@ttsd.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.ttsdschools.org/tualatin
Location: 20405 SW 95th Ave
Phone: 503-431-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TualatinElementaryGarden/
Twitter: @TuES_BlackBears