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TES preparing for school year

Contributed

While summer brings with it a time for relaxation for many, the campus and halls of Tallassee Elementary School are filled with hard work in order to get the school ready for the 2016-17 school year. During the week you can find floors being waxed, carpets being cleaned, AC units being serviced, and walls being painted. For Tallassee Elementary, school and those things that come with it are a year round event.

“We have been working very hard over the summer. We were able to paint the Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade halls this summer after doing the other half of the school the previous year. Floors are currently being stripped and waxed by our custodial staff and Jeff Baker and his crew are taking care of the carpets as we speak. Our parking lots are being resurfaced and re-lined and should be ready by the beginning of school. That is a project that has been long needed and along with that endeavor there is some work that is being included that will help a few drainage issues that we have had recently,” stated TES principal Dr. Jose Reyes, Jr.

While there are quite a few ongoing jobs designed to improve and maintain the schools facilities, there are quite a few academic and administrative duties transpiring as well. In order to prepare for the school year, staffing must be complete, class assignments and daily schedules created, summer camps held, and professional development completed by teachers.

“There has been a great deal of labor that can be seen in the process of getting school ready but there has also been a lot of behind the scenes work as well. Staffing is almost complete and we expect very few additional changes. I am extremely pleased with the staff we have put together over the last couple of years. I can’t say enough about how well our newest staff members have performed to go along with the veteran talent we already had. We have had a couple of great summer camps with our 21st Century and Jump Start to Kindergarten programs. Both have helped tremendously in order to get some of our newest students some early academic exposure and to provide our returning students with opportunities to maintain what they have already learned while at TES. Our teachers have taken many opportunities to improve their craft, specifically our exemplary attendance at the AMSTI offerings this summer. We were well represented. It has just been a great summer for us,” Reyes added.

As school approaches, parents look for direction and information in order to make sure that all runs smoothly for their child just prior to and during the first week of school. Tallassee Elementary School has provided much of that information via social media in order to ensure that all parents and students are informed and ready for the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 10.

“We have the information that parents need out there for their convenience,” Reyes said. “Currently, our TES website has Open House information for parents and we have the school supply list for each grade. Mrs. Lott does a great job getting this on our page and both are under the Highlights section. Ms. Beacher will also send these lists to our local Wal-mart the middle of July to help as well. Getting this out early gives parents a chance to get everything in order. I also would encourage all new enrollees to go ahead and take care of the enrollment process prior to the first day of school - especially our new Kindergarten students – to ensure a smooth transition. We had a great year last year and I look for our successes to continue. We have a top-notch academic program in place and were thrilled with our extracurricular classes that we added last year that included Quest (Math and Science Enrichment), Computer Applications, and Art. My hope is that we will add a LEGO robotics class this year for our upperclassmen and I am currently working on that as we speak.”

As you can see, life is busy at Tallassee Elementary School as work never stops in preparation for a new year. Teachers get back to work officially on Tuesday, Aug. 2. Students not currently residing in the Tallassee City Schools district but who are interested in becoming a part of the TES family can contact Reyes via email at jose.reyes@tcschools.com concerning non-resident enrollment information.

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