January 7, 2025

Be Respectful. Be Compassionate. Be Great.

"Accept the Challenge 2024-2025"

It's the Start of Something New!

January marks the beginning of our 2nd semester of school. The start of the second semester often brings renewed motivation. Students can approach it with a positive mindset, knowing that they have a chance to reset, improve, and push forward.

For families, the second semester is an opportunity to continue supporting their child's education, reinforce habits learned earlier in the year, and stay engaged with school activities and events.

If there were challenges in the first semester— whether academic or personal— the second semester provides students with a fresh start and a chance to improve their grades, study habits, and time management skills.

As students build on what they’ve learned in the first semester, the support and involvement of their family members can make a significant difference. Sit down with your child and help them set specific, achievable goals for the second semester. These could be related to grades, mastering specific skills, or completing homework on time. Break larger goals into smaller, manageable steps. Regularly check in with your child about their assignments, projects, and grades in our Student Progress Center. Keep track of due dates and encourage them to stay on top of their workload. Encourage your child to reach out to their teachers if they need help understanding a concept. Attend parent-teacher meetings to stay informed about your child’s progress and challenges. Go online to compete our Resolve A School-Related Problem form if you ever have a question, or need support.

We wish everyone a smooth and joyful transition back to school. Let’s make it a year to remember!

#AcceptTheChallenge2025

Academic Calendar

A/B Schedule for High School

Wednesday, Jan. 8 is an A Day for High School Students.

Tangischool App has a Fresh Look for 2025!

Go mobile with our Tangischools App! Follow your schools for important announcements and calendar events. Gain quick access to our Family Toolkit in the palm of your hand. Use the app for a quick way to pay a fee, check on student progress, view our monthly meal menus, or reach out for support.

The Tangischools app is available for download in the Google Play and App Store.

New Year, New Phone?

Update your contact information as soon as possible.

Log into the Student Progress Center to get started.

Update Contact Info

Weather Update and School Reopening

As we face a week of frigid temperatures and expected rain later in the week, we want to assure you that we are closely monitoring weather conditions. The safety of our employees and students are our top priority.

At this time, we plan to open schools on Wednesday, January 8 and resume classes for the remainder of the week as scheduled.

We encourage families to make decisions regarding their children’s attendance based on their individual circumstances and to prioritize safety. Additionally, parents should ensure that children are dressed appropriately for the cold weather in accordance with our district dress code as they catch the bus and travel to school. School specific colors and dress code information can be found on this website in our Family Toolkit.

Should there be any changes to our schedule due to the weather, we will provide timely updates to keep everyone informed. Please continue to monitor social media and your email for the latest updates. If your contact information has changed, here is some information on how you can update it in Student Progress Center. If you do not have a guardian account, visit this website to learn more.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Stay safe and warm!

LITERACY

New Law Affecting our 3rd Grade Students

Beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year, a new Louisiana law took effect requiring third-grade students who are significantly underperforming in reading to repeat the grade. This legislation aims to address literacy challenges by ensuring students have foundational reading skills before advancing to fourth grade.

3rd Grade Literacy Proficiency

If you have a child in grades kindergarten - 3, be on the lookout for a report on your child's DIBLES Assessment scores for the middle of the school year to be sent home. The DIBELS assessment measures the reading fluency of each student individually, which helps parents and educators identify where the child needs help the most. By detecting the risks and monitoring development, we can work together with the child to ensure that he or she is on track to reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade. If you do not receive this report, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Third grade students who are reading "well below level" as tested by the end-of-the-year DIBELS assessment in April will face retainment and must repeat third grade the following school year if unable to increase their DIBELS scores by June.

Now is the time to intervene with your child's reading abilities.

Reach out to your child's teacher for help and support.

Encourage Reading at Home

Reading at home strengthens a child's literacy skills, including vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. It lays a foundation for success in school and helps children excel in subjects across the curriculum.

Sensory Writing

Reading and writing are both equally important early literacy skills for your young learners. Children can develop their writing abilities by pretending to write, as well as actually writing letters to represent words and syllables.

Tip: If holding a pencil or crayon isn't a skill your child has yet mastered, try having them write with their fingers to start. Use shaving cream to practice letter formation and recognition. Spread the shaving cream on a table top, baking pan, or mat. Children can practice forming letters, shapes, and lines.

Learn More About This Activity

Need Help with Homework, Test Prep, or Understanding Class Work?

Homeworkla.org provides free online tutoring, test preparation, job search assistance, and more. All services can be accessed from a Louisiana public library, from your home computer, or from your mobile device.

Connect with a tutor, submit a paper for review, drop off a math question, take a practice quiz, and prep for SAT/ACT exams, all in one place.

Visit HomeworkLA.org

Free Tutoring? Yes Please!

The Steve Carter Tutoring Program, sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Education, provides $1,500 vouchers for eligible K-12 students to access high-quality tutoring in Literacy and Math. Purple Ruler, in partnership with the program, offers an opportunity to raise your child's grades.

If you have any questions regarding the Louisiana Tutoring Initiative, please contact 877-390-0556 between 7am and 4pm Monday – Friday (CST)

Questions: tutoring@la.gov

Increase the Literacy Skills of Children in our Community. Become a Partner in Literacy.

If you are a local business owner who is interested in joining our literacy campaign, reach out to us!

Become a Partner in Literacy

We need your help to fund the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Southeast Louisiana.

The Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books each month to children from birth to age five, free of charge, through funding shared by local community partners in Tangipahoa parish.

Through United Way, we are able to give back to create a better, stronger community with opportunity for all.

Make a Contribution

Please make sure to select Tangipahoa Parish as the receiving organization. Thank you for your Literacy Partnership!

MATH

Make Simple Moments an Opportunity for Learning

Cleaning out and organizing is a task that many of us take on in January. Use these moments as a chance to engage in sorting and comparing activities with your children. Practicing these basic skills will help to build the foundation to higher mathematical concepts in the future.

Examples:

sort art supplies into containers
arrange shirts by short sleeve and long
line up items to show tallest to shortest
arrange books on a shelf by height
stack blocks by biggest to smallest

Digital Footprints: What Do Your Footprints Say?

Just like there are safety hazards indoors and outdoors, there are also safety hazards online, including people who seem friendly, but could be dangerous. Caregivers should aim to supervise the online activities of their children, and teach them to practice important safety habits while interacting in a digital environment. Below are some tips to go over as a family to ensure that everyone is stepping in the right direction.

Be Careful About

What you share online:

Never share passwords with anyone other than your parents. Passwords are personal and should be protected as much as you protect the keys to your house.
Never share personal information such as your name, address, email address, phone number, or what school you attend with people you do not know personally.

Where you share:

Never share your location when online. It is best to wait until you are home to share pictures of an event or activity on social media.
Never share that you are home alone. Posting that you are home without adult supervision is a safety hazard and may put you at risk for unwanted visitors.

With whom you share:

It’s best to only share information with close friends and family members. Social profiles are not always an honest representation of the person using the account and it is best to avoid interacting with people you do not know personally.

Be Smart About

Sites you visit:

Never guess the URL of a site you are looking for. Instead, use a search engine such as Google to search for the website.
Never click on sites that seem questionable. Only use information from reputable sites.

Emails you open:

Never open an attachment on an email unless you know the sender personally and know why they have sent the attachment.
Always check the sender’s email address to make sure it is a legitimate address and look at the other names included in the message. If you do not know anyone in the list, it is likely spam and should be deleted.

Links you click:

Always think twice before clicking on links sent in email or through other messaging platforms. If the link has a lot of strange characters in it such as % or $, it is likely a suspicious link and should not be opened.
Look for secure web addresses that begin with https. These are safe and have been encrypted so that no one can steal your information.

Educate your children about their digital footprint, and encourage them to think before posting pictures, videos, comments, and replies. Let them know that their teachers, coaches, college admissions officer, and even future employers may view their posts, now and in years to come. Most importantly, encourage your children to be the very best version of themselves with others, whether that be that in person OR online.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

Self-Awareness in a Digital Environment

As you teach good digital citizenship skills to your children, be sure to highlight the social emotional and well-being aspects of interacting in an online environment.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) can shape children into strong digital citizens by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to protect their own data and reputation, as well as teaching to them ways to be considerate of others.

Self-Awareness

Self Awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset” will help to ensure that our children develop a healthy online presence.

Principles to Explore:

Reflect on the kinds of online activities they engage in that bring them both positive and negative feelings.
Reflect on what it means to be their best selves when using technology.
Identify ways to make the most of social media while still caring for themselves and others.
Define what the positive use of technology looks like in their lives.
Analyze the benefits and drawbacks of representing different parts of their real self online.

Take the time to explain to your children the importance of knowing how to identify their emotions, perceive themselves, recognize their strengths, and build self confidence. #CharacterDevelopment

Social Media can make us kinder, stronger, and healthier.

Social media, when used thoughtfully and positively, has the potential to contribute to our well-being

Kindness

Encouraging Positive Interaction: Social media provides a platform for spreading kindness through supportive messages, encouraging words, and acts of kindness. People often share uplifting content, inspirational quotes, and success stories that motivate others.

Strength

Supportive Communities: Social media allows people to join groups or online communities that focus on shared interests, hobbies, or challenges (e.g., fitness, mental health, parenting). These groups provide a sense of belonging and help people feel stronger and more resilient in facing life's difficulties.

Health

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Many influencers, fitness experts, and health professionals use social media to share workout routines, healthy eating habits, mindfulness practices, and wellness tips, motivating their audiences to lead healthier lifestyles.

CHILD NUTRITION

See what our cafeterias are serving this month. Grades 5 - 12 have a daily sandwich line in addition to our regularly scheduled meals. High school students also have the option of an additional salad line on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

See the Menu

Studies show that eating healthy meals can help to boost moods, enhance concentration, improve academic outcomes, reduce absences, and improve memory. When our bodies are happy and healthy, our minds are able to better focus and perform.

MAGNET SCHOOL

Become a Magnet Student

Applications are open now! TPSS Magnet School Programs offer specialized courses that align with student interests while meeting all academic goals. Our magnet schools promote diversity and provide unique opportunities for students to grow. Apply today and give your child the chance to explore their passions in a supportive environment!

Learn More

VIRTUAL LEARNING OPTION

VLO is the Way to Go!

Have you heard about our Tangischools Virtual Learning Option?

We are now taking applications for the 2025-2026 school year! If you have considered trying a new approach to education, watch our recorded Coffee Talk to see if this could be a good fit for you and your family.

virtual.tangischools.org

LA MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM

LMEP Family Search Form

In order to better serve your children's academic needs, our program wants to identify students who may qualify to receive FREE additional educational services.

Please go online to complete our form. We have an electronic form, or you can print the form to fill out on paper.

Complete the Form

STAY SAFE

Encourage your children to use the free anonymous P3 tip reporting system. This is a vital tool in keeping schools and students safe. Students can report about a wide range of concerns, from mental health issues to threats of violence through the P3 app or through the Crime Stoppers website. Tips are delivered to multiple school administrators and law enforcement making sure nothing slips through the cracks. The P3 mobile app can be downloaded to iPhone or android devices.

Speak to Crime Stoppers to make a report:

1 877 668 2421

Submit a tip online:

SUBMIT A TIP

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Make an Impact as a Tangi Substitute Teacher

Become a substitute teacher with TPSS! Not only will you make a difference in students' lives, but you'll also enjoy flexible workdays, the ability to choose your workplace, and bi-monthly pay.

Apply Now

DATES & SPECIAL EVENTS

Let's Start off 2025 Strong!

Jan. 8: Students Return to School

Jan. 20: MLK Holiday - TPSS Schools & Offices Closed

Feb. 15: Save the Date: TPSS Krewe of Champions Parade

Mar. 3 - 7: Mardi Gras Holidays

Mar. 14: End of 3rd Nine Week Grading Period

Mar. 17: PD Day for Teachers (no school for students)

Apr. 18 - 25: Spring Break

2024 - 2025 Academic Calendar

A/B Calendar for High School Students