Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, March 20th, 2022
Happy Sunday, Ram Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying the first day of Spring! We had another busy week of learning and laughing at Twin Peaks - here are some of this week's highlights:
- We celebrated See Something Say Something Week with Spirit Days - thanks to our WEB students for their efforts in planning the week!
- We had our Day of Awesomeness on Thursday - thanks ASB for all of your work in setting this day up!
- Our Science Olympiad team is moving on to state competition! Congrats to Mr. Smith and Mr. Waldren and their students on this amazing accomplishment!
- The TPMS Volleyball Team beat BHMS to regain the trophy and are League Champs once again! Congrats to our players and coaches on a fantastic season!
This upcoming week is also filled with a lot of activities and opportunities for parents and students... here are some events that should be on your radar:
On Tuesday, 3/22, Poway High School is hosting "What I Wish My Parents Knew". This is an opportunity for parents to hear insights from students, community leaders and school administrators on a wide range of issues impacting our students. TPMS parents, especially 8th grade parents, are encouraged to attend - please see the "What I Wish My Parents Knew" section below with additional information.
On Wednesday, 3/23, we will be hosting our 5th Grade Parent Night for new and incoming TPMS students. The main presentation will be held via Zoom from 6-7pm, and we will have a Spanish-speaking session starting at 5pm in room #103. To register for the Zoom event, please CLICK HERE - a Zoom invite will be emailed out on Wednesday morning.
The end of Quarter 3 is this Friday, March 25th. Please encourage your student to check in with their teachers about any missing assignments that can still be turned in before the end of the week. Final quarter grades will be posted and available on ParentVue next week.
Finally this week, we are excited to hold our Spring Dance - "A Night at the Carnival" this Friday, March 25th. Tickets will be on sale this week, Monday-Thursday, March 24th for $10 in the TPMS Quad during lunch. WE WILL NOT BE SELLING TICKETS AFTER THURSDAY OR AT THE DOOR - PLEASE BUY YOUR DANCE TICKET BY THURSDAY! Make sure to bring your Student ID card with you to purchase your tickets! We can’t wait to dance the night away and enjoy some fun carnival games!
In Partnership,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
1(858)748-5131 x2806
Instagram: @principalmills_twinpeaks
UPCOMING EVENTS:
TPMS NEWS AND EVENTS - bit.ly/tpmsevents
March 22nd: TPMS Soccer @ MV, 4pm
March 22: What I Wish My Parents Knew, 6:30pm @PHS
March 23rd: 5th Grade Parent Night, Zoom @6-7pm
March 24th: Late start Thursday, 9:15am
March 24th: 6th Grade SPED Parent Night, Zoom @5-6pm
March 25th: Spring Dance 5:30-8:30pm, Main quad
March 28th-April 1st: Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
March 29th: Soccer vs BM, TPMS Field
March 31st: Late start Thursday, 9:15am
April 7th: Late start Thursday, 9:15am
April 12-16: SPRING BREAK
What I Wish My Parents Knew
TPMS Parents are encouraged to attend What I Wish My Parents Knew being held at Poway High School this Tuesday, March 22nd, from 6:30 to 8:45 PM in the Performing Arts Center. We will offer a series of interactive workshops, two of which you will select to attend, on topics identified by students as their greatest challenges today, including:
- Managing Stress and Anxiety
- Handling Academic Pressure
- The Challenges of Social Media
- Addressing Drugs, Alcohol, and Vaping
- Establishing Guardrails
- Communicating With Your Teens
Facilitators will include principals from 7 PUSD secondary schools, and various representatives from our community. This program has been presented to more than 6,000 of our parents since we began these workshops in 2012. Please come and get involved in our discussion on March 22 you can check the PHS website or call the PHS front office for additional information.
TPMS Rams are District Champions in Volleyball
Both Varsity and JV brought home the wins last Thursday defeating BHMS! Varsity took the court first and won their first game with a score of 25-10. They won the 2nd game with a score of 25-12. JV took the court next and won the first game with a score of 25-11. In the second game, our RAMS came from behind to win with a score of 25-23! Thank you to our coaches Mr. Kaufman and Mrs. Faulkner. Thank you to everyone who stopped by the gym to show support for our teams!
Scholastic Book Fair
We’re so excited to invite you to our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair! Hosted by our TPMS Library, this event is an opportunity for students to build their home libraries and further their love of reading. As always, all purchases benefit our school.
After missing out on many beloved traditions, our spring Book Fair will be a familiar, welcome, and safe event for our students. The fair will take place from March 28-April 1, and will be open before school, lunch, and after school. Students will also visit the fair with their Language Arts teachers. Click here for a list of books!
Click here to watch a book trailer video.
We are also in need of parent volunteers! Shifts are short and always fun! Click Link to Volunteer at our Book Fair
Attention 7th & 8th Graders!
We're SO excited to be hosting 7th and 8th grade Olympic Field Days this year during the last week of school!! Each grade level will have a different t-shirt design, and each RAM class a different color. Please fill out your grade-level T-shirt order form and return, along with $10 (cash or check to TPMS) to your RAM teach no later than Friday, April 1st. (Financial assistance available, when necessary).
- 7th Grade order form: CLICK HERE
- 8th Grade order form: CLICK HERE
Community Track Meet
8th Grade Harbor Cruise is back!
8th graders will have the opportunity to attend our annual end-of-the-year Harbor Cruise field trip on the evening of Monday, June 6th. We are excited to bring back this activity for our promoting students, but want to remind our Rams that participation in this event is a privilege that can be lost.
In accordance with our Student Handbook and Student Participation Guidelines, if a student has been suspended, earned multiple referrals, or a U in citizenship in any class during 3rd or 4th quarter, they will not be able to attend this event (page 12):
Pilot Process for New Social Studies Curriculum
Poway Unified School District welcomes you to participate in the following curriculum opportunity: Secondary History Social Science Textbook Adoption
PUSD secondary schools are currently going through a pilot process for adopting a new History Social Studies (HSS) curriculum for our middle schools and high school United States History Course. Please visit our Secondary History Social Science Adoptions page for more information and directions on how to provide feedback. This opportunity will be available through April 1st, 2022.
March 2022 Parent Education Courses
- Discover Your Personal Core Values – All Grades In Person
- Help Your Children Manage Stress and Anxiety – TK -5th Grade In Person
- Effective Strategies to Advocate for Your Child in Special Education - All Grades NEW Course Online via ZOOM
- Parenting Well Through Life Changes - All Grades NEW Course Online via ZOOM
- Nurturing Sexual Intelligence in Our Children – All Grades In Person
- Managing Parental Stress – All Grades In Person
The TPMS Choir is Back!
Any questions, please email TPMSchoirdirector@gmail.com
Sign up using this google form! https://forms.gle/NgqTSA8DeMXEmQxW7
COVID-19 Updates
On February 28th the Governor announced that starting on Monday, March 14, students and staff in TK-12 schools would no longer be required to wear masks while indoors on school campuses, although strongly recommended. At Twin Peaks MS, we value and respect individual choices on our campus. Some of our staff and students will continue to wear their masks, and some will choose not to. As a community, we need to respect the choices that each individual makes. I am requesting that over the next couple days, you speak with your child(ren) on your family’s expectations regarding masking, as well as, how to respect the decisions made by others. Our teachers will have similar conversations in their classrooms. Our counseling team is also available to support any students experiencing anxiety or difficulty with this transition in masking requirements.
Please Note: Staff and Students who have tested positive for COVID 19 will continue to isolate per the CDPH and SDCOE Decision Tree. If an individual tests negative on Day 5, they may return to school on Day 6 as long asymptomatic or symptoms are resolving and a mask must be worn that fits snugly over the mouth and nose while indoors and when around others outside. If one chooses not to wear a mask, they are required to return on Day 11.
Please continue to self-screen and take your temperature each morning before you come to work. If you feel sick or show any symptoms of being sick, please stay home. If you need to schedule a test, you can do so for you and your family members at Pharmatech LINKED HERE. Please continue to wear your masks indoors with students and require them to keep their masks up over their mouth and nose. If you are an unvaccinated adult on campus, you are asked to wear your mask at all times when indoors. If you have concerns about a student not wearing their mask properly or consistently indoors, please reach out to a member of our admin team so we can review the mask expectations with that student and their family.
For staff who have tested positive for Covid-19, per the California Department of Public Health updated guidance on isolation and quarantine as of December 30, 2021, PUSD staff may return to work when:
- 5 days from symptom onset (or if no symptoms then 5 days from positive PCR COVID-19 test date) AND
- Symptoms are not present or are resolving AND a negative COVID test (antigen test is preferred) taken on day 5 or later. (If unable to test or choosing not to test, and symptoms are not present or are resolving, isolation can end after day 10)
- Fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication) AND
- Wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings
STUDENT CLOSE CONTACT
The updated CDPH K-12 guidance gives school districts the option of using the three quarantine model or the Group-Tracing Approach to Students Exposed to COVID-19 in a K-12 Setting. PUSD will be using the Group Tracing approach. Per the K-12 Guidance 2021-2022 Questions and Answers, tracking results from all exposed students is not required.
Parents should notify schools of positive results.
- Schools will notify group of students who spent more than a cumulative total of 15 minutes (within a 24-hour time period) in a shared indoor airspace (e.g., classroom) with someone with COVID-19 during their period of infectiousness.
- Notification will occur to "groups" of exposed students (e.g., classmates, teammates, cohorts, etc.) rather than contact tracing to identify individual "close contacts" (e.g., those within 6 feet).
- Notifications should be provided to all individuals, including those who are vaccinated and/or recently infected.
Please click HERE to access the updated Covid Guidelines and Protocols on the PUSD website.
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Twin Peaks Middle School
Email: chamilton@powayusd.com
Website: http://tpms.powayusd.com/index.html
Phone: 858.748.5131
Twitter: @TwinPeaksRams