Telra Telegram - January 16, 2025
- Ronak Bhatt
- Jan 16
- 4 min read
Spelling Bee is next week!
A beelated welcome back to school! We hope everyone is having a great start to 2025. This is a bittersweet moment for Telra, as our beeloved Kate Waters will have her last day with us on January 23. Mrs. Waters has been an integral part of our school since we opened in 2021. Her attentiveness and warmth helped shape Telra into the community it is today. While we'll all miss her terribly, she promises not to bee a stranger. And we are happy for her in that she'll bee moving onto a non-school role that is the right evolution for her considerable professional skills. Please stop in or drop her an email at kate.waters@telra.org to wish her the best!
-Dr. Bhatt
Key dates - no school Monday 1/20 for MLK day
Flag football - interested?
Key dates
1/18 - Boys Basketball
1/20 - MLK Day - No School
1/22 - AMC 8 Exam
1/23 - Mrs. Waters last day at Telra
1/23 - School spelling bee (starts at 4:30)
Goodbye from Mrs. Waters
As Dr. Bhatt has shared above, next Thursday, 1/23 is my last day as Director of Operations at Telra! The past (nearly) four years have been an incredible experience, and I’ve truly enjoyed my time at Telra—supporting our amazing teachers, students, and families, connecting with the kids, building friendships, and sharing plenty of laughs along the way. I’m definitely going to miss the Telra community, but I’m excited for what’s next! If you see me out and about, don’t be a stranger— please come say hi! -Mrs. Waters
Telra's Electric School Bus is here!
Roll out! Telra's electric school bus is here, powered by Energon cubes and set to transform our roads this week! Give us a wave if you spot us cruising by—join the ride to a safer, zero-emission future!
We're in testing phase with the bus right now. Expect that it will rotate among a few different bus routes over the next few weeks.
Telra Annual Use fund (𝜏au)
Thank you to the generous families who have helped us get to 7% of our goal since we launched the Telra Annual Use fund (𝜏au).
We are now in 2025 which means many corporate matching programs have reset and it's a new tax year for you to claim deductions.
The launch video explains why 𝜏au is the top fundraising priority for the school, and how it can help us elevate your child's educational experience to world-class.
You can do your part to help us keep field trips, school buses, clubs, technology, and other benefits of the Telra experience free of service fees (not to mention helping us attract and keep great teachers). Visit the 𝜏au home page where it's quick and easy for you to support the cause. Your children spend more than 7 hours each day with us. Won't you help us make Telra into all it can be?
Spelling Bee - Thursday 1/23
Our classroom bees are complete and our schoolwide Spelling Bee is next Thursday, January 23!
K-3 School Bee
Date: Thursday, January 23
Time: 4:30pm
Details:
- Grade level champions determined by participants' longevity in the competition.
- The top 3 students will receive invitations to the Open Bee.
Open School Bee
Date: Thursday, January 23rd
Time: 6:00 PM
Details:
Invitations extended to three finalists from each 4-8 class, along with the Top 3 contenders from the K-3 bee. Grade level champions are determined by participants' longevity in the competition.
The overall school champion and runner-up will be crowned during this event.
We would love for our Telra families, to attend and cheer for our talented spellers on Thursday. See you there!
Volleyball Club with Coach Gigi
Volleyball with Coach Gigi is back! There are 24 slots for each club, sign up links are below. Confirmation emails will be sent out directly by Coach Gigi!
6th - 8th Grade Volleyball Club - sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/FRKs21N01k
2nd & 3rd Grade Volleyball Club - sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/E6PUincAMW
Upcoming basketball games
Last week's games saw Telra's first win. What will happen this week? Come cheer on the teams and find out!
Boys 14U - Saturday at 11am - Crestdale Middle School
Boys 12U - Saturday at 3pm - Crestdale Middle School
Flag football
Experience the fun, teamwork, and excitement of flag football at Telra. If you're in grades 5-9 and might be interested in participating in an intramural co-ed flag football league, let us know in the form below. If we get enough interest, we'll launch the program this spring!
PowerSchool data breach
If you have been following the news, you may have heard that PowerSchool, the large student information services provider, suffered a data breach in late December. All public schools in North Carolina, including Telra, are required to provide information to PowerSchool. While some schools and districts make extensive use of PowerSchool, it has always been Telra practice to provide PowerSchool with only the minimum information required by State law.
We will keep you posted as we learn more, but for now, legal advisors and NC DPI are telling schools that PowerSchool will be taking responsibility and handling future communications directly with affected parties.
We were informed over the last week that some data from Telra Institute students and staff may have been compromised in the PowerSchool data breach. If you are affected, you should be receiving an individual communication (directly from PowerSchool) in the coming weeks. .