The Taft Times
Friday, August 28, 2026
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Tuffy's ROARS:
Respect, Ownership, Active Ally, Responsibility, Safety
 
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Taft Office Phone: 508-278-8643
Taft Office Fax: 508-278-8646
TaftMainOffice@uxbridge.k12.ma.us
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Summer 2026 |
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Wed: Aug 19
Countdown to Kindergarten - Taft Playground - 6 to 7:15pm |
Thur: Aug 27
Kindergarten Open House
(5:00-6:45pm) |
Mon: Aug 31
First Day of School for
1st Grade - 3rd Grade Students |
Mon: Aug 31
Preschool Open House
(4:45-5:45pm or 6:00-7:00pm)
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Tues: Sep 1
First Day of School for Kindergarten Students |
Wed: Sep 2
First Day of School for Preschool Students |
Sep 4th-7th
No School
Labor Day |
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Thur: Sep 10
Meet the Teacher Night
1st through 3rd Grade Students
(5:00-6:45pm) |
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Welcome Back Taft Tigers! We are very excited to welcome back our Taft students for the 2026-27 school year! The finishing touches on our new front entrance construction will be completed this weekend, so our students will have a wonderful, fresh new entrance to greet them on their first day. Our hallways are ready, our teachers are prepared, and we cannot wait to see our students' smiling faces.
Welcome Back Schedule:
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Monday, August 31st: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students
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Tuesday, September 1st: Kindergarten students
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Wednesday, September 2nd: Preschool students
Daily Arrival and Dismissal Times:
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Arrival: 8:25 AM to 8:35 AM
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Dismissal: 2:55 PM to 3:05 PM
New Arrival Procedures:
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Kindergarten and 2nd grade students: Enter through Door 15
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1st and 3rd grade students: Enter through Door 16
New Dismissal Procedures (by last name):
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A-F: Pickup at Door 16
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G-L: Pickup at Door 15
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M-Z: Pickup at Door 14 (by the playground)
***Important: Please bring your ID for student pickup***
Officer Deveau and I will be out at arrival and dismissal to ensure everything goes smoothly and that we're all following the new procedures. Thank you for your patience as we implement these changes to better serve our students and families!
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Mark Your Calendars: Fall Open House Events!
We had an amazing Countdown to Kindergarten event as well as the Kindergarten Open House. We hope all our Kindergarten Tigers were able to join us. Other exciting events coming up include:
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Preschool Open House – Monday, August 31st, 4:45-5:45pm or 6:00-7:00pm
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Meet the Teacher Night (Grades 1-3) – Thursday, September 10th, 5:00-6:45pm
These events are a great opportunity to meet teachers, explore the school, and help your child feel confident and excited for the year ahead. We can't wait to see you there!___________________
Reminder: New Drop-Off Procedures Starting This Fall
As a reminder, Granite Street drop-off will return to preschool-only use starting this fall. This shift, approved by the Uxbridge Public Safety Committee, addresses years of growing congestion and safety concerns on Granite Street.
Quick Recap:
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Preschool families will continue using the Granite Street loop on days preschool is in session, with a placard issued at the fall Open House.
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Kindergarten through Grade 3 families will use the McCloskey lot for morning drop-off (62 Capron Street), walking the same path many families already use for afternoon pickup.
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The school bus remains the fastest, most convenient option, no walking or parking required. Contact Transportation Coordinator Melanie Chabot at mchabot@uxbridge.k12.ma.us to explore your route.
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Siblings and mobility needs: Families dropping off a preschool sibling may still use the loop for K-3 children, and accommodations are available for families for whom the McCloskey walk presents a hardship. Contact the main office to arrange.
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Kids Club Before and After Care is unaffected by this change.
To help families visualize these changes, we've created three maps: one for Student Arrival in the morning, one for Dismissal, and one for the Half-Day Preschool Program. A special thank you to the Martino Family for their help in creating these maps, they will be an incredibly helpful resource for our school community!
   These maps are also attached and able to be downloaded for a full visual of routes, parking, and pathways. More details will follow before the first day of school.
Questions? Reach out to the Taft Main Office at 508-278-8643 or TaftMainOffice@uxbridge.k12.ma.us.___________________
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Every Day Counts: Taft's Push to Improve Attendance
This year, Taft is making a renewed push to improve daily attendance for all of our students. Research shows that attendance matters as early as preschool, even in high-quality programs, and children who miss 10% or more of the school year arrive at kindergarten with lower levels of school readiness. Even more importantly, chronic absence that continues from preschool into the early grades is a strong early warning sign that a child may be off track for reading proficiently by the end of third grade, a critical milestone for long-term school success. Attendance Works
This school year, our Taft Leadership Team will be focused on strategies to help lower our chronic absenteeism rate, and we'll be sharing updates and ideas throughout the year. We'll also be looking to our Taft families as partners in this effort; every school day your child attends makes a difference!
A few reasons why attendance matters:
- Regular attendance builds the routines and habits that support long-term academic success
- Missed days, even excused ones, add up quickly and can impact reading and learning milestones
- Strong attendance early on helps set the foundation for success throughout school
Helpful Resources for Families:Thank you for partnering with us to help every Taft Tiger show up, stay engaged, and thrive!
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Tuffy's ROARS Store - An Exciting PBIS Reward!
Tuffy's ROARS Store is an exciting part of our PBIS programming at Taft! Throughout the year, students earn Tuffy Bucks by demonstrating our school values - Respect, Ownership, Active Ally, Responsibility, and Safety. When the ROARS Store opens, students can spend their hard-earned Tuffy Bucks on a variety of fun enrichment experiences, extra recess time, or tangible items.
It's a wonderful way to celebrate positive behavior and give our students something to work toward!
Help Us Stock the Store!
We're looking for community support to help stock our ROARS Store with exciting items and experiences. If you'd like to contribute, please consider purchasing one or more items from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/D2S685ECX58Y?ref_=wl_share
Thank you for helping us make the ROARS Store a success and for supporting our students' positive behavior!
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Have a great weekend,
Mr. L, Mrs. Cataldo, & Mrs. Newhall
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