Tarkington Middle School

4-11-22 7:26 AM UPDATE: Please note, the internet is back online for the entire district; however, ALL district phone lines are down. AT&T is working on the issue. Please use email to contact the school while the phone lines are being repaired. Email addresses for all personnel can be found on the district's website at https://www.tarkingtonisd.net/ by choosing the specific campus from the "School" tab. Once you're at the selected school's site, use the "Menu" tab to choose the "Faculty and Staff" list. Thank you, again, for your patience!

PLEASE NOTE! 6:51 AM on April 11, 22 Due to power outages yesterday, several TISD campuses and offices are currently experiencing phone system and internet outages; however, we are working to get those systems back up and online as quickly as possible. AT&T will be here sometime this morning to provide support. Please watch the website and social media for updates. We'll share them as we receive them. Thank you for your patience!

Tarkington ISD's District of Innovation Committee will be meeting to renew the local innovation plan on Monday, April 11, 2022 at 5 PM in the TISD Board Room. Committee members will be voting on renewing the plan and the public is welcome! Our current plan can be found on our website at https://5il.co/ssk0

Proud Senior, Brylee Holmes, one of many 2022 seniors, was the first student who introduced herself to me when I arrived at the high school for a tour on Friday AND made a point to find me and introduce herself to me again at the fundraiser on Saturday! She exudes a positive spirit and has served as homecoming queen. I'm sure she is one of many leaders in TISD, and I can't wait to meet you all. Dr. Elna Davis Superintendent

The M Club fundraiser in Tarkington this weekend was AMAZING! Funds raised will help EVERY senior with college/career plans after graduation. The love in the arena for the students was inspiring. The generosity of our community took my breath away. Tarkington ISD not only has great friends in our board members, but also has friends in life-long residents devoted to our success. I learned from a board member in Grand Prairie that the way you spell LOVE is T-I-M-E. There was so much love in the arena as you gave your time, talents, and resources for our students! In action, I saw Longhorns for Life! Dr. Elna Davis Superintendent

REMINDER... HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL SATURDAY! The M Club would like to welcome everyone out once again to the J Bar Arena located at 1780 CR 301 N in Dayton for its annual Crawfish Boil and Fish Fry benefitting the Tarkington Student Foundation's Scholarship fund for Tarkington High School graduates. It's an All-You-Can-Eat-Event with both a live and silent auction, lots of activities, and plenty of hometown socializing all for the sake of our local seniors, the Class of 2022! Early-Bird meal tickets for adults are $25 and students $10. Meal tickets purchased at the gate will be $30 for adults and $15 for students. In addition, the M Club is also raising funds with a gun raffle. Raffle tickets are $20 each or 6 for $100, and winners do not have to be present to win. Five guns will be raffled: Kimber .308; Benelli 12 ga; Citadel 12 ga; Remington 12 ga; and a Mossberg 22 LR. Good luck and happy hunting to the winners! Sponsorships are available and appreciated: $250 sponsorship includes 3 event tickets and a half-size poster at the event -- $500 sponsorship includes 6 event tickets and a full-size poster at event. Meal and raffle tickets are being sold by all seniors in the class of 2022 starting March 1, 2022 . You can also find them at Cannon's Grocery in Tarkington & Lone Star Cleaners in Cleveland. For all tickets or more information, contact any member of the THS senior class or Susan Trahan at strahan@tarkingtonisd.net or 281-806-8769.

Tarkington ISD is currently accepting teaching applications for the 2022-2023 school year for elementary and secondary teachers. Please see our district website at tarkingtonisd.net and choose the Employment tab just below the scrolling pictures for more details. If you have questions about your online application and/or degree certifications, please feel free to email Renee Padgett at rpadgett@tarkingtonisd.net or Celeste Bradberry at cbradberry@tarkingtonisd.net and we'll be happy to help! #itsagreatdaytobealonghorn #teachingisaworkofheart

TISD Family, Friends, and Community, Please join us on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 4 PM in the THS Commons as we show our appreciation to one of our own, Dr. Marc Keith, as he retires after 40 years in education! Dr. Keith graduated from Tarkington High School in 1978, and spent some of his early years here as a teacher, coach, and administrator. As Providence would have it, he returned home in 2018 as our Superintendent and led our community through the turbulent times of a pandemic where his commitment to -- and understanding of -- our rural technology limitations, students' academic and social needs for classrooms, and our teachers' needs to teach safely, all helped to return our community back to the focus of "doing what's best for students," where we all agree it should always be! Dr. Keith's family will also be joining us for refreshments and fellowship. For those of you who may have memories to share, we've started a memory album and are compiling photos into a slideshow. Please scan and share them with us using the contact information below if you would like them added. Include names, dates, etc. If you have any photos, questions, or would like further information, please contact Renee Padgett at rpadgett@tarkingtonisd.net or LaLa Clopton at lclopton@tarkingtonisd.net We look forward to seeing you all there!

On behalf of the sponsors for TMS and THS FFA, a special "thank you" to Dr. Marc Keith --a former TISD FFA member himself--for serving as last night's guest speaker at the FFA Ricebelt District Convention held in the TMS auditorium.

The M Club would like to welcome everyone out once again to the J Bar Arena located at 1780 CR 301 N in Dayton for its annual Crawfish Boil and Fish Fry benefitting the Tarkington Student Foundation's Scholarship fund for Tarkington High School graduates. It's an All-You-Can-Eat-Event with both a live and silent auction, lots of activities, and plenty of hometown socializing all for the sake of our local seniors, the Class of 2022! Early-Bird meal tickets for adults are $25 and students $10. Meal tickets purchased at the gate will be $30 for adults and $15 for students. In addition, the M Club is also raising funds with a gun raffle. Raffle tickets are $20 each or 6 for $100, and winners do not have to be present to win. Five guns will be raffled: Kimber .308; Benelli 12 ga; Citadel 12 ga; Remington 12 ga; and a Mossberg 22 LR. Good luck and happy hunting to the winners! Sponsorships are available and appreciated: $250 sponsorship includes 3 event tickets and a half-size poster at the event -- $500 sponsorship includes 6 event tickets and a full-size poster at event. Meal and raffle tickets are being sold by all seniors in the class of 2022 starting March 1, 2022 . You can also find them at Cannon's Grocery in Tarkington & Lone Star Cleaners in Cleveland. For all tickets or more information, contact any member of the THS senior class or Susan Trahan at strahan@tarkingtonisd.net or 281-806-8769.

Looking to join the Longhorn family? Be sure to visit our Job Postings found on our website at tarkingtonisd.net. Under the banner picture is a maroon tab for "Employment" that will open a listing of all available career opportunities! Need help or have questions with the online application? Please call 281-592-8781, and Mrs. LaLa Clopton will be happy to help! Don't see the career you're looking for posted? On the right side under the "Menu" box, be sure to "Sign Up for Job Alerts," and you'll get a weekly update of all job postings! If you're a current college senior graduating in Spring/Summer 2022 and interested in teaching, the "Job Alerts" is perfect for you! Please share.

All TMS Boys & Girls Basketball games have been rescheduled for the same times on Monday, February 7th due to inclement weather.

Our latest information from AT&T is that the phone lines should be working by 10 PM tonight. They are working on a "remote cable repair."

Looking to work part-time or even volunteer to help your community? Tarkington ISD is in need of substitute teachers, bus drivers, custodians, and food service workers. If you're interested and/or able, please contact the school for more volunteering details or complete an application online at https://tarkingtonisd.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

Just an update....the district's phone service provider, AT&T, is still working on the area lines, and our phones are still not working. AT&T was supposed to have our service back on by today, Wednesday, January 12. As soon as our phones are working or AT&T provides us with an update, we'll make that announcement. Please use email to contact us. Email addresses are located on the district's and the campuses' webpages

Just an update....the district's phone service provider, AT&T, is still working on the area lines, and our phones are still not working. AT&T supposed to have our service back on by today, Wednesday, January 12. As soon as our phones are working or AT&T provides us with an update, we'll make that announcement. Please use email to contact us. Email addresses are located on the district's and the campuses' webpages.

Please note, all phone lines are down in the district. AT&T is working on the issue and has estimated that repairs can be completed as early as today or as late as Wednesday. Please use email to contact the school while the phone lines are being repaired.

Dear TISD Families, Of Tarkington ISD’s student enrollment of 1,800+ students, approximately 60% benefit from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and receive a free or reduced-fee breakfast and lunch every day. To qualify for this program in the past, families have had to complete an application but due to the pandemic and subsidies from other government agencies, ALL students at TISD are receiving free meals for the 2021-2022 school year; however, because several other government agencies provide services to families based on the NSLP application (such as summer feeding programs, etc.), it is still very important to complete the application to ensure your family qualifies for other forms of assistance and/or programs. In addition, families who qualify based on the 2021-2022 application will remain eligible for the first 30 days of the 2022-2023 school year. In an effort to support our students who may qualify for these other programs, TISD would like to remind families that this form is available online via the SchoolCafe link (https://www.schoolcafe.com/) found on our website (https://www.tarkingtonisd.net/), and we will also be mailing out hard-copy application forms to families who have not already completed one for this year. If you have questions on creating an account or completing the online application, please call Karen Blum at 281-592-8781 x219 or email her at kblum@tarkingtonisd.net If you complete the paper application, please return it to the front office at any campus or the administration building. Only one application per family is needed.

Tarkington Independent School District 2021 Commitment to Education: Community Award Honorees – Jimmy and Susan Rollins On behalf of the TSF and TISD Board, Drs. Geralyn Franklin and Marc Keith presented Jimmy and Susan Rollins with the 2021 Commitment to Education: Community Award. This award is presented annually to community leaders who promote and support the education of our youth inside and beyond the classroom. Jimmy Rollins has lived on Tarkington Prairie for more than 25 years, operating J Rollins Construction during much of this time. His wife Susan Wood Rollins attended Tarkington Schools from the third through the tenth grades and has resided in Tarkington for the past 20 years. They have six children, two of whom graduated from Tarkington, and 15 grandchildren, a number of whom have attended local schools and one who is in the eighth grade currently. One of their daughters-in-law teaches fourth grade in the district. Jimmy and Susan operate J Bar Ranch & Arena where they regularly have events featuring roping, barrel racing, and cutting. On Thursday evenings, they host the Liberty County 4-H Equine Team for their practices. As founding members of the M Club of Tarkington, the staunchest supporters of the Tarkington Student Foundation and its scholarship program, Jimmy and Susan have helped raise more than $437,000 since 2015 to provide scholarship funds to all Tarkington graduates pursuing education beyond high school. The M Club’s fundraising success would not have been possible without them hosting the Annual Crawfish Boil since 2017. The M Club’s 6th Annual Crawfish Boil will be held at J Bar Ranch & Arena on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Jimmy and Susan give of their time and money to support local school and community events and groups like youth baseball teams. Susan has served on several Tarkington ISD campus improvement committees. She is involved now with Dairy Day and the Trinity Valley Exposition and particularly enjoys her work with the Dairy Day Queen’s Contest to raise money for their educational scholarships. Jimmy and Susan love Tarkington Prairie and its people and are committed to ensuring the future remains bright. They look forward to continuing to invest in Tarkington’s youth by supporting education and related activities that lead to today’s youth understanding and appreciating the importance of giving over taking and being accountable for their actions.

TMS One Act Play Cast & Crew won 1st place and are District 23-AAA Champions! They were also awarded the Outstanding Crew Award. Many individual awards were also won: *All Star Crew - Alyssa Haltom, Corey Stewart, Mikayla Havert, Levi Harrison, Brayden Bartosh, Hunter Alexander, Mikaela Shirley **Honorable Mention - Peyton Stewart, Layla Good, Faith Herndon, Lyvia Boie, Kadence Alexander, Daisi-Addison Toro, Aniah Hyde, Lily Stokes ***All Star Cast - Justice Berg, McKenna Gallien Congratulations TMS 2021-2022 One Act Place Cast & Crew! Your hard work has paid off!