September 13, 2021  

September 14 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm   Virtual PTO meeting  

September 15 7:50 am -11:45 am   Early Release  

September 23 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm     Open House Grades 7/8  

September 30 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm     Open House Grade      

Dear TMS Families,  

Welcome back to the 2021-22 school year. I am so excited to be starting our year  in person! A new school year brings many new opportunities for students, staff and  parents. For staff, it is a time to be at one’s peak performance-rested, relaxed and  raring to go. For students, it is a time to reflect on last year’s performance and  decide what changes, if any, are needed. For parents, the beginning of a new school  year is the opportunity to make a resolution to become actively involved in their  child’s education in school. Research shows that the most successful students have  parents that are actively involved in their education. That involvement can be as  simple as making sure all homework is complete and done well. Parents do make a  difference in their child’s education and we are excited to partner with you to help  facilitate a successful year for your child.   

While we are adjusting to our back to school schedules, remember that our day  begins at 7:50 when students are released from the buses with classes beginning  promptly at 8:00 a.m. Our day ends at 2:30. Students should arrive at school on  

time to begin their day no earlier than 7:45 a.m. If you are driving your child to  school or picking up, please remember to utilize the designated drop off/pick up  lot. This is the first lot on the left as you come up the school driveway. Utilizing  this lot for drop off and pick up will provide a safe situation for all. In an effort  to reduce traffic and get our students into classes on time, I encourage you to  have your children take the bus. There is a map in the Digital Backpack of the  traffic flow pattern. We appreciate your partnership in this safety endeavor.  

Chromebooks: Students of Tolland Public School have been issued a school  chromebook. This is to be brought to school every day charged. Please be sure  that your child charges their Chromebook nightly so they are prepared for school.  We have a process for borrowing Chromebooks when they are forgotten or not  charged. However, due to the limited outlets in our classrooms, we do not have  charging stations in the classroom. We need your help to remind our students to  charge and bring their Chromebook to school each day. Our students that are new  to Tolland will receive their Chromebooks in the next week.  

Breakfast: Breakfast will begin, September 13, 2021. We will continue our  breakfast program again this year at no cost to students. Students will have the  opportunity to eat breakfast in the cafeteria between 7:40-8:00 am. Only  students that intend on having breakfast should be dropped off at 7:35. Students  will be expected to enter through the cafeteria entrance and remain in the  cafeteira and should only come early if they intend on having breakfast. Students  will be dismissed from the cafeteria at 7:50 for homeroom. Students that ride  the bus will exit their bus and go directly to the cafeteria to be served. This  process is slightly different from last year. I ask that everyone be patient as we  work out the obstacles that we may encounter.  

Late Bus: The late bus picks up at 4:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Students  must sign up in the main office prior to noon. The bus company then determines  the route the bus will follow to get our students home as quickly as possible. Our  late bus will begin on September 20, 2021.  

TMS Digital Backpack: TMS students do not receive paper flyers from the  school for general information.  

Field trip permission forms, parent sign-off forms, and class specific items are  handed out in classes, but school-wide announcements and informational items are  distributed through our Digital Backpack email list. The Digital Backpack link goes  

home weekly through the Superintendent’s Bulletin, and is always available on our  website under the Quick Links heading.  

Please be sure to check our TMS website on a regular basis.  (www.tms.tolland.k12.ct.us). This site has updates for TMS, links to teachers’  assignments and the Digital Backpack, calendars, health and sports forms, PTO  information, and more.   

Athletics We continue to search for a boys soccer coach at TMS and hope to have  this position filled soon. Our girls soccer and cross country teams have had  tryouts and are beginning practices.  Sche https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/palumbo/FMfcgzGljljqnJHvZtCffj ZTHwcwWqzq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 duled games can be found on our  school calendar on our website. If you have questions please follow up with the  coach. Our Athletic Supervisor, Mr. Tim McCluskey ( tmccluskey@tolland.k12.ct.us )  will begin on September 27. We look forward to welcoming him to Tolland Public  School.   

Mrs. Grande  

Please also see the attachments:  

Technology Trouble Shooting Guide  

Cider Mill 5K  

Celebrate Tolland