Let's Talk TPS
June 7, 2023
It's the Final Countdown
We have reached the final month of our school year - one that includes many special celebrations!
It has been wonderful to see the return of long-standing, in-person recognition ceremonies. In fact, Dr. Gorman and I were pleased to join our recipients at this year's "Governor Teachers of the Year" Bergen County luncheon last week; and we look forward to hosting these educators and professionals at the June 12th Board of Education Work Session Meeting.
The next two weeks will be filled with preparation and excitement for our upcoming graduation and moving-up ceremonies. These are milestones that will be remembered for years to come. Another significant milestone deserving of special recognition is one's retirement. This year, we have a group of 12 educators and staff members who will be recognized at the June 19th Board of Education Regular Session Meeting for their years of service to Tenafly Public Schools. We wish them a wonderful, well-deserved retirement!
Lastly, please note that the final three days of our school year (June 20, 21 and 22) are early dismissal days, and our final issue of "Let's Talk TPS" (for the 2022-2023 school year) will be released on Thursday, June 22 as we want to include many of our moving-up ceremonies. Of course, you can also view images from these special events on our district social media.
Yours in Education,
Bruce Watson
Interim Superintendent
World Language Top Performers
It's not easy to "excel" when learning a new language, but that is exactly what our middle and high school students have done, whether in French, Italian, Spanish, or Chinese. Some were nationally ranked and received Platinum, Gold, and Silver awards - even securing perfect scores on their national exams. The lists of individual awards are quite long, which is why we ask that you please visit the respective web pages (see links below) for all of the highlights. Bravo to our students and their World Language teachers and supervisors!
TMS at MathCon
TMS proudly ranked 8th in the nation for this year's National MathCON Finals. This event is exclusive to the top percentile of the over 50,000 students who competed in the online MathCON competition throughout the school year. At the live, in-person event in Chicago on May 13th, the top 628 mathletes from across the U.S. and Canada (grades 4-12) faced off in math games as they competed for the Gold. Three of our students received Bronze medals, while another four earned honorable mentions. Congrats to all!
Summer Assignments
Summer is just a few weeks away and we have begun posting our "Summer Assignments" on the homepage of our website. Be sure to visit the "District News" section from the homepage to find various summer readings and assignments by grade and subject matter. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to add to this section and will post relevant documents on our school websites too.
TMS Student to Represent at 2023 Chinese Bridge Competition
Congratulations to June Koh, grade 7, who has been chosen to be a finalist in the 2023 Chinese Bridge Competition, East U.S. Region. With a highly competitive review and selection process, the 2023 Chinese Bridge Competition committee selected June due to her excellent Chinese speech and talent show in the preliminary round. The finals will be held in Youngstown, NY on June 17th with the theme for secondary school students’ group: "One World, One Family." All competitors are required to give a “One World, One Family” keynote speech (within 3 minutes) and Chinese talent show (within 4 minutes) in the final round. We wish June all the best at the competition!
Varsity Players/Tigers of the Year
We are so very proud of these student athletes and how they represent Tenafly Public Schools!
TMS & THS Spring Concerts
The annual spring concerts for TMS and THS were simply outstanding, and our students have talent well beyond their years! Thanks to Dr. Burja, Dr. Rzonsa, and Ms. Girvan for leading the way for our middle school students, and to Mr. Millar at the high school level. You can catch a glimpse of the amazing THS performances by clicking on the respective YouTube links below:
Tenafly High School
Register by June 16th for Summer Enrichment Program
Be sure to register by June 16th for our extremely popular, four-week Summer Enrichment Program. This year’s program will run from Monday, June 26 through Tuesday, July 25 and once again includes a wide variety of classes for grades K-9, such as multiple STEM options and SAT & ACT Prep. Tenafly’s Summer Enrichment Program is available to Tenafly and non-Tenafly residents. Our highly qualified staff oversees classes that include STEM, music, the arts, foreign language, technology, a variety of creative arts, and more. For more information, visit: https://www.tenaflyschools.org/summer_enrich.
Parenting After High School Workshop: June 7th
High school graduation is almost here! Your student will become a legal adult, but you still remain their parent in this new phase. Attend this virtual Care Plus presentation (June 7th from 7 - 8 pm) to learn about the developmental stage of early adulthood and reflect on communication skills and parenting strategies for parents of adults. For the Google Meet info: https://www.tenaflyschools.org/Page/17920
TEF Tenafly 5k Run & Dog Walk Thank You!
The 25th TEF Tenafly 5K Run & Dog Walk took place on Sunday, June 4th. There were over 1350 total participants across all of the events and it was a beautiful day for a run or walk. Thank you to all who came out to celebrate the Silver Anniversary! All proceeds from the event support the Tenafly Educational Foundation. Photos courtesy of Tony Zhang.
