May Newsletter

Posted Date: 05/01/25 (07:30 AM)

We are a Community School united in our relentless commitment to academic and personal growth for every student.

A NOTE FROM MR. PLATT

Tiger Families,

April has come and gone! With warmer days on the horizon and the end of the school year right around the corner, we are working hard to ensure we are squeezing every last drop of this amazing year!

In May, we will finish State Testing and complete our I-Ready Diagnostic. This is an important opportunity for our kiddos to show the amazing growth that we know they have made! The best thing you can do to support your students through these tests is to ensure they are getting a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast. As always, school attendance is critical. Every Day Matters! School attendance is the single greatest predictor of long-term success in school. This is even more important during state and district testing.

The planning process for our Summer Music Concert (June 5th) is underway, and the Boots and Bling Auction was a massive success! Our PTC has been working long hours, and I am so grateful for their support. The funds raised at this year's auction will be used to maintain our current programs as well as create a fund to support our PE program!

Class Placements: In May, we spend a great deal of time creating class rosters for next year. We consider many components when creating the rosters. One of those is the Student Information Sheet. While we don’t accept parent requests for specific teachers, we do consider the information on the Student Information Sheet. If you would like to fill out a Student Information Sheet, please contact the office, and we will email you one. Please have it turned in to the office by Monday, May 8th. Classes will be loaded into ParentVue in August.

Warm regards,
Sam Platt
Principal, Tumalo School

Important Dates

May
5/7-Kindergarten to Moonfire and Sun Garden Center

5/8-5th grade visits OMS

5/9- Family Movie Night @ 6:00- Flyer below- Volunteers needed, please get in touch with the front office if you would like to help. Thank you!

5/12- 5/14-5th grade to Camp Tamarack

5/14-PTC Meeting @ 4:30- Library- Everyone welcome!

5/19- 4th & 5th grade Marketplace @ 1:30-3:15

5/21-Family Night at the Bite- Flyer below

5/26- No School- Memorial Day

5/29-2nd grade to Oregon Zoo

5/30-Tumalo Skate Night @ Bend Pavilion -5:30- Flyer below

Daily Schedule

Redmond School District will continue our School Improvement Wednesdays. This valuable professional development time allows teachers to improve their skills and provide higher-quality instruction to their children.

Mon, Tue, Thur, & Fri:

K-5th grades 8:45-3:25 pm

School Improvement Wednesdays:

K-5th grades 8:45-2:25

Please try to take advantage of School Improvement Wednesdays to schedule doctor and dentist appointments after 2:35
Drop off

Buses begin dropping off at 8:45 a.m. in the back of the school. Staff will be there to greet students.
Parent drop-off begins at 8:45 a.m. in front of the school. Please follow the traffic flow for a safe drop-off.

Pick up

Kindergarten will be escorted to their pickup location at 3:20 pm (2:20 pm on Wednesdays)
Parent pick-up begins at 3:25 p.m. (2:25 on Wednesdays). in front of the school. Please follow the traffic flow for a safe pickup.
Grades 2-5 will be dismissed at 3:25 p.m. and escorted to their pickup location. Wednesday pickup will be one hour earlier.
Bus drop off will be one hour earlier.
If you plan to send your student home with another family, we need to hear from you to give us permission to do so.

Volunteering
Parents interested in volunteering at Tumalo School can go to the Redmond School District website to complete the online application here https://redmondschools.org/. Once processed, these are good for a year. Please call if you need to know your expiration date. Doing this early is helpful in the event you want to attend a field trip, etc.

News from Mrs Hoyt

Happy May, Tumalo Families,

While there is still plenty of fun and learning to be done this school year, it is hard to believe that this school year is on its way to being over.

As in all years, this year has brought its challenges and adversities, and its blessings and successes.

I am looking forward to all of our annual end of the year traditions here at Tumalo:

2nd Grade is headed to the zoo
5th Graders are headed to Camp Tamarack for outdoor school
The Kindergarten ABC countdown, where they count down the days to the end of school from A-Z
5th grade Blast from the Past, where students dress up and give speeches about a historical figure that they have studied and researched
Our 3rd annual Spring Concert
Our always creative and fun Field Day (cross your fingers for warm weather!)
Our 5th graders ziplining their way into middle school!
My favorite end of the year tradition - the Senior Walk. Previous Tumalo Tigers who are graduating high school this year will come walk the halls of Tumalo in their graduation gowns and let the students applaud them. The rest of us will greet them with questions and congratulations, and hugs and high 5’s.

Enjoy your Spring Tigers. This year has almost ended, so enjoy all the moments while they last.

Best,

Meredith Hoyt

School Counselor

Nurse Megan News

Happy May, Tumalo Families!

Spring on the High Desert is here, and it seems that it is coming in spurts… will it be warm? Will it snow? Spring likes to keep us guessing.

With the transition of seasons, I like to remind families about the importance of layers, extra clothing, hydration, nutrition, and sun protection.

Layers and extra clothing- We all know that here in Central Oregon, it may give us a dusting of snow in the morning and be warm and sunny by the afternoon. Sending appropriate layers with your child/ren can help keep them comfortable during the school day. And as another reminder- I know I sound like a broken record- throwing a change of clothes in your child’s backpack is always a good idea! This can save you from having to make an unexpected trip to the school, whether it’s a bathroom accident, a bloody nose (I am seeing a record number of nosebleeds recently…), or the fact that your child went puddle jumping at recess.

Water- I see so many students with complaints of headaches as we transition into warmer weather. The culprit is often mild dehydration. Please double check with your student/s before they head off to school to be sure they have a water bottle with them. It never hurts to check in the evening to be sure they are drinking enough water during the day. Please also avoid sending sugary drinks, such as soda or energy drinks, with your student to school. These are great treats on occasion, but discouraged during the school day.

Sun Protection- As the weather warms up, please know that you are welcome to send sunscreen as part of your student/s daily necessities. With younger children, please help them apply it in the morning before school, but Oregon does allow students to bring sunscreen to school and use it without a permission form. On days when you know that your student may spend an extended time outside, you can always prepare them with lightweight long sleeved clothing and a sun hat.

Happy Spring!

Nurse Megan

LIBRARY NEWS

Hello Tumalo Families!

During the month of April, we had several special events take place at school. Our author visit from Heather Fox and Jonathon Stutzman was a memorable day for all. Students learned that inspiration and ideas for stories can come from our everyday lives. We are never too young to learn to love an activity that may steer us in a direction as adults. We will continue to harness our creativity with poetry and story starters at library time.

All of a sudden, the month of May was upon us…….and it is a very busy time in the library. We will be working hard to locate and return all books that have been borrowed. Our last day for checking out will be Friday, May 23rd. The Memorial Day weekend gives extra time to enjoy and find any missing books. All library books need to be returned to the library by Friday, May 30th. Despite best efforts, books do vanish from time to time, and if you have searched all the likely places, please reach out to me to make arrangements for replacing the book. Some titles can be replaced with a similar book, even used in good condition, or at a fee. I am happy to work with anyone to clear your student’s record so they can continue to borrow materials and do not have any fines following them as they progress toward graduation.

Jennifer Hitchcock
Librarian

Tech Times

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung in STEAM!

Some classes made an elevated “nest” to hold as many eggs as possible, built boats that tested how much weight before sinking, made mini basketball hoops, paper airplanes to explore aerodynamics design, and lastly, some have gotten into text formatting of kites and bees!

~Mrs. Van der Zwiep

News From the Gym

Hi Tiger families,

Happy, beautiful springtime!!! It’s time to get out and enjoy some sunshine and outdoor activities! Research has shown that spending time outside together—even just 5 minutes—can yield amazing benefits, such as stress reduction, mood improvement, increased concentration, and a boost in overall well-being. What are some of your family’s favorite outdoor activities?

In PE, we have been outside learning golf skills! From driving to putting, from pars to eagles, students have had the opportunity to grab a club and swing away! A huge thank you to Nate Kitt (and his coaches) from cojga.org (Central Oregon Junior Golf Association) for providing the coaching and equipment for our students to learn a life-long sport. Please see the flyers attached to this newsletter for after-school junior programs they offer.

In older PE news, congratulations to all the ninja kids who pushed their comfort zone! I LOVED watching their tenacity, trying to get up that wall or swing over the obstacles. All 3rd-5th graders had a chance to get timed in our Ultimate Ninja Competition. Congratulations to these top 4 finalists in each grade. It was exhausting just watching you all! My favorite part: How they all cheered each other on :)

And extra special congratulations to our top 3 winners: 1st place: Zane Cutter (5th), 2nd Place: Sienna Davis (3rd) 3rd place: Nellie White (3rd). So proud of everyone!

Thank you to everyone for remembering to wear their safe shoes on PE days. Congratulations to Mrs. Black’s class for earning the Golden Shoe this month!

Coming up in PE:

2nd-5th Grade Inline Skating Unit
5th Graders will be practicing for their annual District Track Meet on 6/3
Tumalo Skate Night at the Pavilion in Bend, Friday, May 30th
Field Day: June 11th–whole school together this year! 11:50-2:15

Keep movin’,

CJ Johnson

SCHOOL LUNCHES

We are pleased to inform you that Redmond School District will be implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) district-wide for the 2024-2025 School Year. District-wide CEP increases school meals’ accessibility, promotes food security by financially supporting families, reduces the stigma associated with school meal benefits, simplifies the payment system, enhances convenience, and increases participation.

What does this mean for you and your child(ren)?

All Redmond School District (and Redmond Proficiency Academy) students will be eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no charge each regular school day of the 2024−2025 school year. To be reimbursable, these meals must meet certain criteria, including at least 1/2 cup of fruit or vegetables. You may still want to keep a balance on your child(ren)'s school meal account in the event that they would like to purchase extra entrees or individual milk. All students are still welcome to bring food from home.

Note that this will also mean that RSD Nutrition Services will no longer accept or process school meal benefit applications. Your child(ren) will be able to participate in this no-cost school meal program without having to apply.

If we can answer any questions or be of any further assistance, please contact Redmond School District's Child Nutrition Department at 541-923-8238 or nutrition@redmondschools.org

For RSD Breakfast/Lunch Menus click here

May 2025