Frequently-Asked Questions
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What Will Tamarack Look Like?
Brookwood and Atfalati Ridge have the same floor plan as Tamarack. While the layout will be similar, school colors, mascot and partnerships will reflect the unique character of Tamarack.
- View the construction progress, campus site plan, building floor plans and more here.
- School colors come from the shades of the tamarack tree through the season, with forest green being our main school color.
- The river otter is our school mascot.
- We are currently working on our interior graphics and school logo—soon to be revealed!
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When Will Tamarack Open?
Construction will be completed by August 2023, after which we will hold our grand opening on Wednesday, August 23, at 3:30 p.m. Tamarack is the last major project of the 2017 Hillsboro School District Bond, so we are planning a big celebration and hope you can attend!
The first day of school for students will be Tuesday, Sept. 5, for grades 1-6, and Wednesday, Sept. 6, for kindergartners. View the 2023-24 calendar for more key dates (calendario en español).
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What is the School Schedule?
Tamarack school hours are 8 a.m.-2:20 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. On Wednesdays, school hours are 8 a.m.-1:50 p.m. to enable teacher professional development (academic seminar)
Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. If your child does not need to eat, they can wait in the gym with their classmates.
At 7:50 a.m., students are dismissed from the commons/gym to go to class. Attendance is taken promptly at 8 a.m.
Please also view information on what will happen when inclement weather impacts the school schedule.
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How Do I Enroll My Child?
Enrollment is now open for the 2023-24 school year! View more information about the enrollment process.
If you need additional assistance, please email Principal Christy Walters.
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Will There Be Preschool at Tamarack?
We certainly hope to set up preschool at Tamarack, although details are still being ironed out.
Feel free to email the preschool team for more information. In the meantime, here is a current list of preschools in the district (as of 2022-23). An announcement about the 2023-24 school year offerings will be made soon.
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Where's Information About Early Kindergarten?
Children must be five years old on or before September 1 of their entry into kindergarten. Requests for early entry for those born after September 1 may be made by May 1.
More information is at: https://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Page/2265
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How Do I Sign Up to Volunteer?
Now is a great time to fill out our District Volunteer Application, which is required for parents/caregivers to volunteer in classrooms and to support field trips. Once complete, your eligibility to volunteer is valid for two years. It takes a bit of time, as a background check and fingerprinting are required, so starting as early as possible would be a good idea. View more information on the volunteering page: https://www.hsd.k12.or.us/domain/62
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When is Kinder Orientation?
We will host a Tamarack Kindergarten Orientation on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Brookwood Elementary, 3960 SE Cedar Street, Hillsboro, OR 97123 Thank you to Brookwood for hosting us while Tamarack continues under construction!
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How Will I Be Notified/Updated?
Primary Contact
Currently, Principal Christy Walters is the primary contact for school information until an office manager is hired.
Teaching staff will be posted after July 1. Teachers begin their contracts in late August and will shift to be your main contact for class-related information for the school year.
In-Person
Dates are being determined soon for opportunities to meet personally with Principal Walters and/or staff between May 24 and August 23, in addition to the kinder orientation on May 24.
Electronic Communications
Principal Walters will begin sending a newsletter once access is available to parent/guardian email addresses; these come from your students' contact information in our student information system. This is expected to take place after Tamarack students have been re-rostered from the neighboring school and a school list can be downloaded (and regularly updated) from the system.
For this reason, please be sure to have an up-to-date email address in our student information system (see the ParentVUE/StudentVUE page for access and online verification). Emails are how most school-specific information will be regularly disseminated. However, the school website will be your primary default source of information as we begin to populate and use it more. This includes inclement weather and emergency notifications that will be displayed as a banner at the top of the main page.
Other communications also follow the general district notification process.
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Where Do I Find School Meal Information?
You can find information about school meals, menus and payments here: https://www.hsd.k12.or.us/Page/133.
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What are Gender-Inclusive Restrooms?
Some parents have requested more detailed information on the school's "gender-inclusive" restroom design. Please note that this design is required by the City of Hillsboro's current building code and has been applied to new construction, including at Atfalati Ridge and Brookwood Elementary Schools. The District must follow the City's building codes as well as Washington County's land use codes for construction permitting and inspection. In this design, boys' and girls' restroom stalls are not in exclusive, separate rooms; however, the stalls remain separated by walls in an inclusive room.
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Kindergarten and pre-K classrooms each have their own private restroom.
- The first floor hosts one student restroom and the upper floor has two.
- These restrooms are designed in a "U" shape, with walls between the boys side and the girls side. Individual stalls with doors are installed on each side.
- In between each side are two larger, gender-neutral, ADA (wheelchair)-accessible stalls.
- Sinks are open to the main hall and are shared by the students.
Here is the design for the first-floor student restroom (the second-floor restrooms are similarly-designed with two fewer stalls on each side):
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