Superintendent Willett's Bulletin

Superintendent's Message

10/8/2024

Tolland Family,

I hope this message finds you well. As you may be aware, we recently received a safety concern regarding Tolland High School. The school safety and security team, in collaboration with law enforcement, immediately took action to address the situation. 

The safety of our children is our highest priority, and out of an abundance of caution there will be an increased police presence at THS and our other schools today and through the remainder of the week. A scheduled lockdown drill for today will be postponed, and as is our common practice our security teams will be reviewing yesterday’s event.

We understand that concerns may linger, and we encourage you to talk with your children about their feelings. Our counselors and staff are available to provide support. Should you have any questions or wish to discuss any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at 860-870-6850 extension 1 or come to the next Superintendent Community Forum (see information in the Superintendent Bulletin). 

Wishing you peace and health,

• Superintendent Willett

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SECURE BUILDINGS & LOCKDOWN DRILLS

Please note there will no longer be a lockdown drill at THS on October 8th at 9:00 AM

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Superintendent Community Forum Meeting – Zoom

Come, ask questions, and share your thoughts and ideas! 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87375511973?pwd=eTZGUEZzNDlaYkl6N3lxdnA3UlprZz09

Meeting ID: 873 7551 1973

Passcode: 5sC9ud

4:00 – 5:00 pm

October 24, 2024

January 23, 2025

February 27, 2025

March 27, 2025

April 24, 2025

May 22, 2025

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CIDER MILL ROAD RACE THANK YOU!

Thank you from the PTOs and the Cider Mill Road Race Committee to the amazing TPS staff and admin for being part of of the Cider Mill Road Race event this last weekend ! It was a blast having everyone together for a gorgeous morning of fun, family, friends, and fitness !! It was great to see all of the families and TPS students out on the courses! 

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Snow Procedures-Updated

Click Here

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Dad's & Kids Evening Playgroup

The Tolland Family Resource Center would like to welcome all dads and other important male role models of the family, to join us for monthly play groups just for you and your young ones!

WHERE: Birch Grove Primary- FRC classroom

            247 Rhodes Road, Tolland CT

WHEN: Tuesday, October 8th – Building Night

       Tuesday, November 5th – Sensory Night

        Tuesday, December 3rd – Game Night

TIME: 6pm-7:30pm

REGISTER: Email LViolette@tolland.k12.ct.us for enrollment

OR GO TO https://forms.gle/1Nmn6ZQG64nWVQLWA to register

You may bring a light dinner to enjoy before we begin our play.

This playgroup is free to all currently enrolled FRC families.

All new families to the FRC family will have a $25 annual fee that allows you access to all FRC programs from July 1st, 2024-June 30th, 2025.

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Free COVID test kits 4 per household available to ship to your address starting 09/30. 

https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/testing/index.html

Tolland County health report showed a large spike in cases of COVID in the past 2 weeks. 

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**Public Health Vaccine Clinic**

Eastern Highlands Health District will be on campus 

at Tolland High School

1 Eagle Hill Road 

Wednesday

October 30, 2024

3-6pm

They will have vaccinations available for students at no charge. 

Vaccinations available will be influenza and COVID. 

**

There will be a limited quantity of adult influenza vaccine available at this immunization clinic. 

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World Language Honor Society Applications Are Now Open

Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

Société Honoraire de Français

Attention to all students who have completed Spanish 2 and French 2. I am excited to announce that applications for the World Language Honor Society are now open. If you meet the requirements, we encourage you to apply and become part of this prestigious society. To apply, simply contact Ms. Canty and it is important to note that students must ensure their application is complete before submitting.This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your passion and commitment to language and to join a community of dedicated language learners. Don't miss out on this chance to be part of the World Language Honor Society! The new extended deadline for applications will be Tuesday, October 1. 

Ms Canty

hcanty@tolland.k12.ct.us 

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Help Wanted

School Psychologist

Part-time LPN

Full-time Special Education Paraeducators 

Click Here to Apply

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SUBSTITUTES ARE NEEDED DISTRICT WIDE

We need teacher, paraeducator, custodial, nurse, and food service substitutes.

You can choose what position, where and how often. Paper applications are available at the BOE office or can be printed from our website:

https://www.tolland.k12.ct.us/DistrictOffices/human_resources

Do you know someone that might be interested such as a college student (there is plenty of work over the winter break and/or mid May through end of year) or retired family member?

Please send them our way. 

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Please click below for the Transportation / Bus Routes:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e0Y2iKrk23ayBoxbAX7a5a6FyCVURtQY/view?usp=sharing

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Use FIRSTVIEW the Bus Tracking App for Parent/Guardians

https://sites.google.com/tolland.k12.ct.us/tps-firstview/home

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2024-2025 School Calendar

Click Here

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Tolland High School Open House

Semester 2 - Thursday, February 13, 2025 (Snow Date-Thursday, February 20, 2025)

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Free & Reduced Meal Application

Click Here

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School Picture Dates

THS - September 9 - retakes are October 21

TMS - September 9 - retakes are October 21

TIS - October 18 - retakes are December 4

BGP-October 18 - retakes are December 5

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NOTE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE(S)

Welcome Back Students and Families to the 2024-2025 School Year. My how far we have come!

I wanted to take this opportunity to give some quick reminders to families to more easily navigate the school year. 

Medications- all students who take a scheduled medication at school, or have the need for an emergency medication must have a current medication order on file with the school nurse. These orders are good for one year only and must be kept up to date. Please speak with your student’s school nurse for any specific medication questions you may have. Students are not allowed to carry their own medications with them during the school day in MOST instances, with the exception of of epi pens and inhalers. Those medications DO require a medication order to be given to the school nurse. 

Required Physicals- ANY student new to Tolland Public schools, EVERY 6th grader, and EVERY 9th grader must submit a new physical from a qualified medical provider. This must include the third page which is an oral health assessment. The oral health assessment may be completed by either their medical or dental provider. If you would like a blue form, please reach out to your school nurse. Otherwise you may submit the form your provider uses OR you may use this link https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/sde/school-nursing/forms/health_assessment_record.pdf

Illness and Attendance- please keep your student’s school nurse up to date if they are missing school due to an illness. Please do not send your student to school who has a fever that persists, who has vomited with the past 24 hours or is generally not well enough to be in school. General guidance for all respiratory illnesses (including COVID)  is to stay home until you are fever free 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications, practice good hand hygiene, practice distancing as much as possible, use a mask for up to 5 days after symptoms begin. For any respiratory illness where a cough persists, consider using a mask to be mindful of others you will be around. 

School attendance is important. Students need to attend to reap the benefits. Students missing school for reasons other than illness has a great impact on your student, as well as their classmates. Please reach out to your school administration, school counselor, and nurse if you are experiencing any difficulty with school attendance for your student. The school nurse will be able to direct you to needed resources that may improve your student’s attendance. Your student’s school nurse works closely with the attendance team at each school to help determine when an attendance letter needs to be sent. The letter sent home often does not reflect all school time missed. Encourage good attendance this school year. 

We welcome your students back!

Tolland Public School Nurses

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Community Workshops

2024-2025

Tolland Public Library- Program Room

6:00 PM 

 November 6, 2024

 Social Media Cell Phones

 March 2, 2025

 Dyslexia

 May 7, 2025

 TBD

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Notice from Tolland Food & Nutrition Services - MEAL MAGIC!

Dear Tolland Families,

The Tolland Food & Nutrition Services Department is excited to inform you that beginning with the 2024-25 school year, there will be a new software program for school meal purchases called Meal Magic.  This new software requires a new biometrics scanning system for identification purposes at the point of sale.  Therefore, we will need to rescan all students’ fingers for use with the new system.  The rescan will occur at the beginning of the new school year.  See additional information about biometrics below.

Meal Magic has a family portal where parents can create a free account to access the student meal information.  On this portal, there are instructions and videos that walk you through your new account.  Just click here to be directed to that portal system:  https://tolland.familyportal.cloud/  The identifying piece of information that you will need to link your child to your parent account is their student identification number.  If you do not have this number, it is the 5 digit number on the end of your student’s Tolland email address or you can contact us for the number.

The Meal Magic Family Portal will replace the My School Account system that is currently in use for online payments.  You can use the Meal Magic Family Portal to view balances, see account and purchase histories, make deposits, transfer money among family members, and set parental controls.   

You may still send in cash or a check made payable to “Tolland Food Services” to your child’s school if you choose not to make online payments to the account.  Once you have created an account and accessed the system, you will see that your student’s balance has been transferred from the old system.

Tolland Public Schools have been using a finger scanning ID system for many years and have found it successful in allowing the students to optimize their time in the cafeteria.  Here are some pieces of information for you about this system:

• Nothing in the process of purchasing lunch will change for the students. However, each student will need to have their finger rescanned. This will be done in school with as little disruption to instruction as possible.

• Being part of the system is voluntary and you may OPT OUT if you don’t want your child to participate.  Also, if you have already OPTED OUT your child, you will not need to contact us again.  Those students who have already opted out of participation will continue to be opted out in the new system.

• There are no images of any fingerprints taken. The initial finger scan is converted to an encrypted string of numbers - the template. The template is only associated with the student’s name, student ID number, grade and school.  

• All templates are located behind the school district’s firewall with all the security protections currently in place for all our data. The vendor providing the software for the finger scanning does not host or have access to any of our data.

• The templates are only being used to identify students who are enrolled in our system.

How does finger scanning ID work? 

We will be using finger scanning ID similar to many smart phones. Using a finger scanner, the software scans certain unique points on the finger to create and store individual numerical templates that identify each student. When the student returns, the software again scans the finger and looks for a numerical template match in the database. When a match is found, the student is identified. This all happens in about a second. 

What about the privacy of our students?

The software scans the finger for identification. It does not store a copy of the fingerprints. Instead, the software creates a template of the unique points on the finger. The template is converted to a unique number and is stored in the school district’s database with the same high level of security of all our records. 

It is important to understand that we are NOT fingerprinting students. In addition, fingerprints cannot be recreated or delivered to any agency - governmental or otherwise.

It is important to us that your child’s experiences in school are educational and rewarding. This way of identifying our students is safe, easy, accurate, efficient and secure. If you have any questions or do not want your child to participate and opt out of the system, please contact me at the number or email below.

Sincerely,

Kim Mecteau

Food & Nutrition Services Director

860-870-6854, ext. 2

kmecteau@tolland.k12.ct.us

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Interested in Student Accident Insurance?

Click Here

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We would love to have you volunteer in our Tolland Public Schools!

Please contact the Central Office with any questions. For those already volunteering, and those new to the game, the BOE will now do background checks every three school years. If you will be volunteering for the first time in the upcoming school year, please complete the volunteer form After you have submitted your application, please call 860-870-6850 extension 1 to provide your social security number. You can check with the school secretaries to verify your status.

Please note these procedures are required for safety and legal reasons. A person will not be permitted to join trips, work in classrooms, or do other work associated with the students in the schools without completing this process. Doing paperwork in advance and in a timely manner will prevent applicants from missing important events and avoids unnecessary disappointments and exclusions. 

Click Here to Volunteer

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Public Service Announcement - Firearm Safety in the Home 

Information Message - Please click below

Click Here

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SEAC Parent Meetings

Check out this video

Do you have a student receiving special education services through an 504 or IEP in the Tolland Public Schools? Consider being a part of SEAC! Save the dates:

Library Program Room-Tolland Library

6:00 pm

October 3, 2024

January 2, 2025

April 3, 2025

RELATED:

INFORMATION FROM THE UNIFIED SPORTS & ACTIVITIES NIGHT

See the information on area sports and activities for students with exceptionalities (presentations - and flyers shown at the end as well):

https://vimeo.com/894742285?share=copy

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Please check out our COMMUNITY NOTICES link below

Check out the many important activities!

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Please see this important information regarding Medication Administration on field trips:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tie3f5oIfl972l86NY1X2OaJy8Ir4ttbdxsRGyzOqc4/edit?usp=sharing

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Annual Notifications:

https://tps.sharpschool.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=891651&pageId=48325998 

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