Tuckahoe Families,
Happy first day of school! We look forward to a great year. Please see below for this week’s updates and reminders.
Important Dates
Monday, August 18 First Day of School
Kindergarten Parent Send Off (Trinity) 9 – 10 AM
August 29 Student Holiday
September 1 Student Holiday
September 4 Back to School Night (details coming soon)
Parent and Student Handbook
Please take a moment to review the TES Parent and Student Handbook. This document should serve as your guide to navigating the HCPS and TES procedures and policies used to manage an effective learning environment for everyone. The signature page is a part of the e-collect process this year. Thank you for taking the time to read this document thoroughly.
Change of Transportation Form
Families must complete this Change of Transportation Form each time your child must go home in a way that is different from their usual mode of transportation. Changes to transportation will not be made unless your child’s teacher receives this form on the day of the requested change. If the change of transportation is permanent, please call the main office at 804-673-3765 so the front office staff can assist you.
Student Absence Due to Travel
When family plans require a student school absence parents must notify the principal and teacher. Families may request that the absences be excused by using the Approval Request for Student Absence Form a week prior to the trip.
Up to 10 days per year may be excused by the principal for reasons other than student illness, serious illness in the family which reasonably necessitates absence of a pupil, death in the family, or special and recognized religious holidays. These absences still count toward chronic absenteeism.
School Lunch Account Information
MySchoolBucks enables parents and guardians to easily pay for school meals, track balances and review purchased items. MySchoolBucks is for all students, in pre-K through grade 12. To use the service, go directly to the MySchoolBucks site and create an account. MySchoolBucks can be accessed using a browser on a computer, phone or tablet, or by downloading the app for Apple or Android devices. Please note that the app has some restrictions and does not display all menu options.
Student information Systems Timeline
Families are strongly encouraged to access PowerSchool Parent Portal, Schoology, and Online School Payments to become familiar with them. Click here for more information and directions for creating accounts.
Smart Student IDs
All HCPS students are expected to wear their student ID badge daily in a visible place for essential operational services such as riding the bus, attendance tracking, purchasing meals, and checking out library books.
Support to Succeed
This summer, HCPS updated policies related to student learning with the understanding that making mistakes and the opportunity to learn from them is an important part of the process. What does this mean for your child?
Kindergarten and first-grade students already benefit from ongoing, developmentally appropriate assessments and are unaffected by this change.
In grades 2–5, if your child earns a “D” or “F” on a test, they will have the chance to receive remediation from their teacher, and take a retest or an alternative assignment to show what they’ve learned. The higher of the two grades will be used, up to a 70%.
Please note that the policy refers to tests and significant projects, not homework or daily assignments or certain diagnostic assessments. Teachers will discuss this policy at Back to School Night.
Cell Phones and Electronic Devices
To limit distractions during the instructional day, students are not allowed to have their cell phones or unauthorized electronic devices out at any time during the school day. The only exceptions are for students who use a phone or smart device to monitor/address a health concern or as an approved assistive technology device outlined in an individual learning plan.
Transportation
Bus routes and schedules for the 2025-26 school year were available in PowerSchool last week. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself and your children with their bus number and bus stop location, and remind students to wear their Smart Student ID each day. This is also a good time to download the Edulog Bus App to receive real-time updates on bus locations and time-sensitive messages from the HCPS Transportation Department.
I look forward to a great start to the new school year.
Sincerely,
Sonia Ford, Principal