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Hawk News: Division Specific Parent Coffees, Character Values at TEA and FUNdraising for a new school year!!

Posted Date: 08/25/25 (05:00 PM)
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August 25, 2025   
Important Dates
8/28 - BaseCamp BASH
9/02 - First Day of School
9/02 - TAP 1st Day Coffee
9/06 - TMC Pool ParTEA
9/09 - LS Back to School Night
9/17 - US Back to School Night
 

Hawks Quote of the Week
 
"Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." 
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Monday TEA Families,

We couldn’t be more thrilled to see you and your students either later this week at the BaseCamp BASH or bright and early on Tuesday morning. We have some important reminders, information and invitations in this week’s edition of the Hawk News, so please read on.

  1. Back to School paperwork is available in Blackbaud and needs to be completed by Thursday, August 28th, UNLESS your student will be riding the bus, in which case it needs to be completed TODAY - Monday the 25th!!!

  2. School begins promptly at 8:30am on Tuesday the 2nd. Buses will be running on their regularly planned schedule, which can be reviewed in the Student/Parent Handbook HERE. Students in 7th through 12th grade need to come to school with the crew trip backpacks already packed for GEAR check. 

  3. Please be patient during drop off and pick up during the first weeks of school - we generally have more traffic in the roundabouts at this time. 

  4. We are excited to host Division specific parent coffees immediately after drop off in order to allow parents to connect with and ask questions of TEA administration, as well as connect with each other. Please RSVP to attend one of the following dates:

    1. Lower School Coffee Talk: Friday, September 5th

    2. Lower School Coffee Talk: Friday, September 19th 

    3. Upper School Coffee Talk: Friday, September 26th
       

  5. Finally, we are excited to share a TEA Acronym cheat sheet – brilliantly suggested by our New Family Ambassador, Katie Parzybok, to help ALL of us keep track of the many acronyms that we use at TEA.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to use the comment section below!!

 

At TEA, character values are a critical part of how we create community and build connection. They are woven into our academics, adventures, and daily interactions with one another. Each month, we highlight a theme that helps us name, practice, and reflect on the habits of heart and mind that matter most. These themes have been part of TEA for years, and each season we find new ways to bring them to life. Students explore them in class, in the field, and in community gatherings. We also invite you, as parents and caregivers, to join in by using the questions below at the dinner table to spark reflection and storytelling with your child.

Here are this year’s themes and prompts:

October – Collaboration

  • How do you know when you’re being a good teammate?

  • Can you think of a time you worked with someone and it made the project better?

November – Stewardship

  • What’s something you take care of at home or school?

  • Why does caring for our environment and community matter?

December – Craftsmanship

  • When have you felt really proud of the effort you put into something?

  • What makes work feel “finished” or “high quality”?

January – Advocacy

  • How can you speak up for yourself or others respectfully?

  • Who is someone you admire because they stand up for what’s right?

February – Responsibility

  • What are your most important responsibilities at school and at home?

  • How do you remember to follow through on them?

March – Perseverance

  • When was something hard for you, but you kept going?

  • What helps you not give up when things are tough?

April – Empathy

  • How can you tell how someone else is feeling?

  • What does it look like to show care when a friend is upset?

May – Gratitude

  • What is something (big or small) you feel thankful for today?

  • How does it feel when someone thanks you?

By engaging in these conversations at home, you help reinforce the values we are practicing at school, making character growth a shared journey across our community.

 

Join us in celebrating our first-grade crew leader, Ms. Vero! She will participate in the Queen Lili’uokalani Canoe Race, the world’s longest long-distance canoe race, this Saturday, August 30th. Ms. Vero has been paddling outrigger canoes and racing for 14 years with the Kawai’ulu ‘O Tahoe Outrigger Canoe Club, located at the west end of Donner Lake. This year, they formed a coed, mixed-age team with three couples—one in their 30s, two women in their 50s, and men in their 60s—taking on this challenge. You can find more information about the race here and stream the event to watch Ms. Vero and her team here.
 


CLICK HERE to view the full Welcome Back Fundraising Flier
And don't forget to sign up for one of our upcoming communiTEA gatherings...
  
Click on the links below to learn more and SIGN UP!
 


Your $75 TAP donation, collected during the enrollment process each year is separate from any other donation to TEA. The TAP executive committee believes we are incredibly fortunate to have such amazing staff, and our goal is to show them our gratitude throughout the year in various ways. Your donation will go towards three gratitude gifts for staff throughout the year (see the beautiful TEA jackets above), food and beverage stocked in the teacher lounges, and goodie bags for faculty and guides returning from field trips. Additionally, your donation also contributes to providing snacks for students during school-wide community events like the All School Olympics in the spring, one of our most loved school-wide events. Stop by our TAP booth at the Basecamp BASH to view some of the amazing gifts we have given to faculty and staff over the years!!


We hope to also see you at TAP’s First Day of School Coffee right after drop off, September 2. Sign up HERE.

 
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