TuES News Family Newsletter

Happy August, Tuscarora,

We everyone is enjoying summer break; there are just a few short weeks until our staff return, followed by our students returning Wednesday, August 21 at 8:30 AM.

Why might I make that first day bold including the time some may ask who are new to our community. Those who attended school at Tuscarora know that attendance at school EVERY DAY and ON TIME is not only important, but critical to the overall academic journey of every student at Tuscarora. Also, there is this Attendance Trophy that floats between our elementary feeder schools (Ballenger Creak ES, Carrol Manor ES, Orchard Grove ES, and Tuscarora ES) each month, remaining at the school who had the best overall attendance for the previous month. Guess where that trophy is currently? AT TUSCARORA – woohoo!

The Battle of Ballenger Creek continues this school year with our feeder elementary schools and we are excited to see where it leads us this school year. Our “why” for this challenge begins with our students. Student attendance during the first month of school often predicts what the school year attendance will look like; those students who miss two to four days the first month of school go on to miss nearly a month of school over the course of the school year. This type of chronic absenteeism negatively affects student academic performance and has an influence on whether a student reads proficiently by the end of third grade; by sixth grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a leading indicator for dropping out of high school.

As a mother of four, my main responsibility (until recently with our 16 year old driver – that is another story for another time) has been to make sure my children are at school whether it is walking, riding the bus or taking them myself so their regular, predictable attendance allows them to grow on their educational journey. This includes establishing night and morning routines in our home to include making sure all items are in their back pack and by the door before bedtime, assigning a lights out/screens off time to go to sleep, setting an alarm clock/phone/watch to wake up with enough time to be ready for the day, and getting on the bus/walking to school/getting in the car to arrive when the doors open for the start of the school day (meaning they will be in their classroom/first period prior to the late bell). It is not easy, but doing this from the start makes it easier. How can your family upgrade your weekly routine to promote regular, predictable, on-time attendance at your home?

Finally, when I arrived at Tuscarora in 2021, there was a lot still going on with students returning fully in person following the Covid-19 Pandemic. That school year, 2021 – 2022, our chronic absenteeism for all students was 25.5%; just over a quarter of the school was absent throughout the school year. The following school year, 2022 – 2023 our school improvement goal was to reduce this by 5%. While we did not make the 5%, we had anticipated, we had reduced chronic absenteeism for our school to 21.6%, which was still a celebration. During our 2023 – 2024 school year we kicked off our Battle of Ballenger Creek Attendance Challenge and the first full month of school, September, Tuscarora Elementary School not only won with 96.1% of students at school on time every day within our feeder, but that month with 96.1% was the highest attendance for the entire school year amongst all four feeder schools. At the close of the school year, we won the May challenge, but for the entire school year our students were at school close to 10% more than they had been two years earlier; we closed with our overall chronic absenteeism score at 15.6%. Attendance matters for the success of our students engaging in their curricular studies with their teachers every day. I look forward to this continued journey this school year, reducing chronic absenteeism more and keeping the trophy at TuES!

Here is to a fantastic year,

Carrie Zimmerman

Every student deserves a safe and supportive space to learn and grow. In Frederick County Public Schools, one of our core goals is the safety and well-being of all students. FCPS fosters an environment of respect, responsibility and trustworthiness.

In order to get your student(s) to and from school each day, we need to know what this will look like. Confirm how your student(s) arrives at school and how they depart from school on a regular basis while at Open House, Monday, August 19 4:00 - 5:00.

Clarification about each modality is listed below:

A walker is a student who walks on/off school property to/from their home or care provider.

A car rider is a student who arrives/departs from a vehicle that enters/exits the school through the car rider line; the driver ALWAYS remains in the vehicle.

A bus rider is a student who arrives/departs using FCPS transportation and the Tuscarora bus loop. Bus Information will be available on or before August 10.

Please visit the TuES Family Handbook for additional specifics to our arrival/departure times, procedures and how to make a change if needed.

Any family members looking for something part time in the middle of the school day? We may have something that will suit you SO WELL. Our cafeteria has a lunch position shift from 10:30 - 1:45 Monday through Friday when school is in session.

What an opportunity to get your student(s) to school, have a little time in the morning, work at TuES where your student(s) are serving lunch, and then a little more time at the end of the day before dismissal at 3:30.

Ms. Lilybeth Rosas, our TuES Site Assistant, is interested in having you join our team. Check it out today so we can get you in the building this school year!

Welcome back, everyone! The PTA is already planning for the new school year.

At our last meeting in May, we re-elected Alex Gray as our President, and welcomed Lindsey Junkins as our new Secretary! We still need a Treasurer and Vice President, as well as various committee chairs, so if you are interested in joining us, please reach out to Team.Tuscarora@gmail.com

Are you looking to meet up with school friends over the summer? Do you have questions about the school or PTA? Come to our PTA Playdate on the school blacktop and playground on Tuesday, August 13 from 5:30-6:30pm. Come hang out, see old friends or meet new friends, ask questions and grab a popsicle from the PTA!

Our PTA restaurant fundraisers are back! We'll be hosting Tuscarora Tuesdays every third Tuesday of the month at various restaurants. The full schedule will be out early in the school year.

Keep an eye out for new after school clubs for our Timberwolves! Have a specific club you'd like to see? Or one you would be willing to facilitate? Let us know!

Membership is one of the most crucial ways to make the PTA a success. Without our membership dues, we would not be able to subsidize field trips, host events like Movie Nights or the Spring Carnival, show our appreciation for teachers, or support the food drive for Tuscarora Families. We need YOU to join! Whether that be as a regular participant in our meetings, a committee chair, offering an hour of your time for an event, or just paying the dues as a member, every level of involvement allows us to create a fun and engaging Timberwolf community.

Check out our NEW WEBSITE for more information and to join as a member. Starting this school year, anyone who joins the PTA will also have access to a members only directory! Anyone who joins before the first day of school will also be entered into a raffle for a $20 Red Robin gift card!

Our first meeting of the year will be Tuesday, September 3, in the Media Center. We hope to see you there!

“It is unlawful for students to possess or use any weapon on school property. Students who have or use a weapon on school property will be suspended from school, and the police will be notified of the incident. A weapon is any object designed to harm another physically or an object which is used in a way that can physically harm another. This school is committed to providing each of you with a safe environment, and we will do all we can to carry out that responsibility including, if necessary, conducting searches of student lockers.”

Email: TUES.Attendance@fcps.org
Website: https://edu.fcps.org/tues/home

Phone: 227 - 203 - 1260
Location: 6321 Lambert Drive, Frederick, MD 21703
Twitter: @TuES_Pack