Thank you for a wonderful 1st week! We were thrilled to welcome our students and staff back for another wonderful school year. The halls were busy, and it was a joy to see our students' smiling faces again. The excitement at the beginning of the year is the best!

This year our theme is "Together We ROAR".

ROAR represents our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) expectations:

We hope to continue to build campus pride and teach our Wildcats to work together and with their teachers to have a successful year. Likewise, we look forward to partnering with our families to ensure the success of all our students.

Communication is key for this partnership so we will reach out every week with updates and important information in this newsletter. We will also highlight events and daily activities on Facebook and Instagram so please follow us. Finally, please remember that this year, SDOC schools are not using Remind or Class Dojo to communicate with families. The new platform is called ParentSquare. Through this system, you can receive messages from the school and your student's teacher. ParentSquare also allows you to send messages directly to your child's teachers. You can set up your account to receive emails or text messages or you can download the app and receive notifications on your cellphone. Please read the section below about the platform and how to set up your account so you do not miss any information from your student's teachers or school wide messages.

Important reminders, the weekly newsletter, and other school information will be sent out through ParentSquare and will be posted on our social media accounts. Please connect with us through all these platforms to stay informed and learn about all the wonderful things happening at TAESIS!

Facebook: ThackerAve

Instagram: thackeravenue

ParentSquare: Thacker Avenue Elementary for International Studies

#Together We ROAR

Arrival and dismissal routines are getting better each day and with more after school programs starting this week, we expect things to go even better this week!

Families, please help with the following to ensure student safety and to help arrival and dismissal routines be even more efficient.

-If your student is a car rider, please help him/her learn their tag number and remind them to pay attention during dismissal.

-Please pull all the way forward on the car rider line so we can load/unload more students at one time.

-Do not park and walk/pick-up your student at a walker gate. If you drive on campus, you must drive through the car rider line.

-Do not drop off your student anywhere except the car rider line. Students should not be dropped off by the front office or main gate and have to cross traffic and the line should not be held up.

-Please do not park at Outrigger Apartments. The complex has called to complain about non-residents using their parking spots and warned that they will be contacting road patrol to give tickets.

-The car line should not form before 3 pm (2 pm on Wed). We cannot block cars trying to leave our parking lot or hold up traffic on MLK or Thacker for an extended time. KPD will be patrolling the area and will ask you to move your car until we open the car rider gates.

Morning Drop-Off/Breakfast: 7:50 am - 8:15 am

First Bell/Report to Class: 8:15 am

Tardy Bell: 8:20 am

Dismissal: 3:15 pm (2:15 pm on Wednesday)

Student drop-off begins at 7:50 am. Please do not leave your student unattended in front of any school buildings or gates before this time.

Gates will close at 8:15 am when the first bell rings. Students that arrive after this time must enter campus through the front office.

Students that arrive after the tardy bell will be marked Tardy for the day.

·      Kindergarten to 5th Grade Walkers enter campus through the gate located at the corner of the administration building (front office).

·      VPK/Pre-K Walkers enter campus through the gate located at the corner of building 3 (the building after the front office).

·      Car riders should follow the roadway through the parking lot and students should exit their cars in front of buildings 3, 4, and 5.

·      Bus/Van Riders will be dropped off at the transportation loop in front of building 12.

·      Drivers: Please be sure to pull all the way forward so we can unload multiple cars at one time and get more cars into the loop.

·      Walkers: No riding bikes, scooters, etc. once you enter the main gates.

Please ensure that your student has the correct dismissal tag on their backpacks. If a change from this routine must be made for a day or the remainder of the year, please leave a note in your student's agenda or send an email to your student’s homeroom teacher.

Student pick-up begins at 3:15. The car rider gate will open at 3:00 pm. Please do not start forming the car rider line before this time as this prevents visitors from being able to park and enter the main building. We also cannot have cars lined up on MLK Blvd or Thacker Avenue for an extended time.

·      Walkers/Bikers without tags will exit from the gate located at the corner of the main building.

·      Red tag walkers will exit from the gate on the side of building 3.

·      Car riders will wait in front of buildings 3 & 5 for pick-up.

·      Bus/Van Riders - Will be picked up at the transportation loop in front of building 12.

All campus visitors should enter through the front office. Please note that the front office remains locked throughout the day. When visitors arrive at the front office, they should ring the doorbell on the doors on the side of the building. The doors facing the parking lot are exit only. A staff member will answer your ring and open the door once you indicate the reason for your visit. Please have your ID ready if you are checking out your student or need a visitor's badge.

Florida law restricts the use of cell phones during the school day. Students must turn off cell phones and place cell phones and ear buds/headphones in their backpack when they arrive at school. These items must remain stored away during the school day and should not be used until students exit campus.

Attached is the district cell phone policy that was established for reference.

Our first drill of the year went very smoothly. We will hold our next drill this week. It will be a Lock Down drill.

Teachers will review the purpose and directions for this emergency drill to prepare the students. Please also take time to discuss safety drills with your students and let them share any feelings they have about them. Please remind them to always remain quiet and follow directions at all times as well.

After this drill, we will continue to run various drills each quarter.

This year SODC has partnered with ReaXium for all the latest information about bus transportation. Download the app today and set up your account to get real time information about your student's bus route and location.

Information about the app can be found via this link:

Step by step instructions for creating your account can be found via the button below.

Below is a reminder of the Dress Code for Thacker Avenue Elementary.

Bottoms: Navy blue, black, or khaki pants, walking shorts, slacks, skirts, skorts, jumper, or similar clothing made of twill, corduroy, or blue denim fabric. (A small logo is acceptable)

Shirts: White, navy-blue, red, or black shirts with collars such as a polo, oxford, or dress shirt (A small logo is acceptable)

Spirit Shirts: TAESIS spirit shirts can be worn on Fridays only.

We are continuing to grow our AVID program and engage with students about College & Career Readiness so this year we are going to allow staff and students to wear college shirts on Wednesdays. Note: Shirts should include the school's name or logo.

This year the official communication platform for SDOC schools is ParentSquare. SDOC schools will no longer be using Remind or ClassDojo to communicate with families. Please review the attached flyer for instructions for setting up your account and to select your notification preference - email, text, and/or app notification. Once you setup your account, you will be able to send and receive messages directly with teachers and the school.

Messages from the district will be labeled SDOC and messages from Thacker Avenue will be labeled TAES.

Stay informed and sign-up today!

In addition to ParentSquare, school information will also be posted on our social media sites. Please follow us online for the latest news, updates, and pictures from classroom and campus events!

Facebook: ThackerAve

Instagram: thackeravenue

Please see below for order information for the 25-26 Thacker Spirit Shirt.

We are currently out of the smaller sizes but have another shipment coming in soon. Pre-order today before we sell out again! Larger sizes are available for immediate pick-up.

Shirt Orders:

Order Link: https://tinyurl.com/TAES25-26SpiritShirt

Below is the link for the 2025-2026 School Supply List.

Please note that Thacker was able to purchase Composition Notebooks for all students through a grant so families do not need to provide them this year.

Any requests to change a student's dismissal procedure should be made prior to 2:00 pm (1 pm on Wed) to ensure there is enough time to notify your student's teacher.

Changes must be made by a parent/guardian either in writing or by calling the front office. We will not make changes to a student's dismissal based on a student request.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can reach out via the following links: