Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, March 21st, 2021
Happy Sunday Ram Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and caught up on rest from last weekend's time change and the return of students to campus. It was awesome to finally have large groups of students back on campus this week; 6th graders finding their teachers and classrooms for the first time, while 7th and 8th graders were reuniting and reconnecting with classmates they hadn't seen in person in over a year. There was excitement on campus; kids laughing, instruments playing together in harmony, students lining up for PE classes, and lots of nervous teenage energy - it finally felt like school was back in full swing at Twin Peaks!
We are excited to be returning to campus with our A/B Student Cohorts starting Monday, March 22nd! This means we will potentially have just under 400 6th-8th graders on campus each day next week, Monday-Thursday. Friday's schedule will remain asynchronous. I sent a Reopening Update email home on Friday afternoon with detailed information for you and your students to review - you can find a link to that communication by CLICKING HERE!
Additionally, our ASB has put together some Reopening FAQs for students and families that can be accessed by CLICKING HERE, and Lunch Guidelines for Students that can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Students returning to campus will need to be temperature screened, wear a mask, and check in through our attendance kiosks. If you are dropping off your student at school, please do so no earlier than 8:00am; the first period of the school day will begin promptly at 8:30am. Parents dropping off students should use the parking lot lane closest to Tierra Bonita Ave. and leave the parking lot lane closest to the school available for school buses. Please have students remain in their vehicles until they have cleared the temperature screening process.
Because we will need to know which students are physically on campus versus virtual each period, students entering campus will use their student ID to check-in at a kiosk as they enter campus. To access the attendance kiosks, students can use either their student ID cards, Student Vue SmartPhone app, or a printout of their student ID/QR code to check-in electronically. We will also be using this system as a contact-free way for parents to check-out your student early if the need arises. Please click HERE to access the how-to video made by ASB that shows students what to bring to school and how the new kiosk check-in system will work. Students who need an ID card can stop by the library at morning break, lunch and after school to pick up their ID Card.
Also, beginning Monday, March 22nd, morning meals will be distributed in the TPMS parking lot from 7:00-8:00am. You may pick up both breakfast and lunch at that time. The afternoon curbside meal distribution from 11am-1pm will remain the same. All meals will remain free until the end of the school year. We will also offer free meals to students on campus daily. During inclement weather, the food pickup location will move to the front of the multi-purpose room/gym so our food service workers are better protected from the elements.
Students who still need to pick-up a school-issued Chromebook will be able to pick one up at the library window when they return to campus or at the library . Click here to access the Chromebook Agreement form. Click here for the Spanish version of the form. Additionally, students are encouraged to bring their own earbuds or headphones with them to class; we will have extra Chromebooks, earbuds and masks available for students who may need to borrow one for a day.
With increased traffic coming back to campus this week, please be mindful that we have many students who walk or ride their bikes, scooters or skateboards to campus. Please make sure to slow down around campus and when walking, only cross the street at designated crosswalks. Also consider having a pick-up spot away from campus after school to alleviate the congestion around campus, or come a few minutes after 2:15pm when the traffic has died down a little bit.
Students who have signed up to remain virtual will continue to access their classes through Zoom and Canvas as they have all year. Schedules for virtual students will largely remain the same, and the majority of your classes, with the exception of your PE teacher, should not have changed. The bell schedule and school start and end times will also remain the same for all virtual students.
Counselors will be working with our RAM teachers and current 6th and 7th grade students over the next two weeks to help them select courses for next school year. Students - please make sure to pick up a paper copy of your Course Request Form in front of the main office or print one off from the TPMS website if you haven't done so already! The link to the TPMS webpage with all of the the CRF documents can be found if you CLICK HERE! Please make sure to get your Course Request Form completed, signed and submitted before Monday, March 29th.
Finally, this past week we were unfortunate witnesses to tragedy in Atlanta, Georgia that targeted members of our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. This growing trend of violence towards members of the AAPI community over the past year is extremely troubling and must be condemned. As a school leader, I hope we can work to build our Twin Peaks School Community to be accepting and inclusive of all. To support our AAPI families and others that may be feeling the weight of the recent incidents, I have included some links to resources below:
Race Talk: Engaging Young People in Conversations about Race and Racism
Teaching Tolerance: Discussing Race, Racism, and other Difficult Topics with Students
I hope you can join us for the next PUSD Community Conversation on Racial Equity being held on Tuesday, April 20th from 6:00-7:30pm. For more information and to sign up to attend, please CLICK HERE.
In Partnership,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
1(858)748-5131 x2806
UPCOMING EVENTS:
3/24: iReady Parent Information Night, Zoom 6-7pm
3/25: Lip Synch Battle Broadcast during RAM
3/26: Late Start - Asynchronous Friday Schedule, 9:30am
3/29: Course Request Forms Due for all students!
4/2: Late Start Friday - Asynchronous Friday Schedule, 9:30am
4/6: TPMS Foundation Meeting, Zoom 7:30pm
4/8: PUSD School Board Meeting, Zoom 6:00pm
4/12-16: Spring Break - NO SCHOOL
4/19: First day back with classes form Spring Break!
4/20: Community Conversation on Racial Equity, Zoom 6-7:30pm
TPMS Lip Sync Battle
It’s time for… the one, the only 3rd Annual TPMS Lip Sync Battle! It’s singing, and dancing, and lip syncing all rolled into one giant ball of awesome! Don’t know what it is? No worries! Lip Sync Battle is a fun event where you can dance and lip sing to your favorite song or a mashup of your favorite songs! The full Lip Sync Battle will be broadcast during RAM on Thursday, March 25th for all to see and YOU will get the chance to vote on your favorite performance. Submit your Lip Sync Video for your chance to win the title of Lip Sync Battle Ultimate Champion AND a very special grand prize! Look on your grade level google classroom, or on your teacher's RAM Canvas pages for more information! CLICK HERE for more information!
SCHOOL REOPENING UPDATES: Cohort / Change of Program Requests, ASES - Before & After School Care and Homework Center Hours
WAIVER FORMS: If your student(s) is planning on returning to campus as part of our Cohort A or Cohort B we need your signed waivers turned in PRIOR to their return to campus. Please click here to access a copy. You can send it by email to tpmswaivers@gmail.com or you can drop it off in front of the school office.
COHORT REQUESTS: We have reached a point in the balancing of our on-campus cohorts that we are unable to accommodate any additional requests at this time based on the lack of available space in classrooms. Families who are still in need of a cohort or platform change will be placed on a waitlist and requests will be considered based on available space. The only exception to this would be families who signed up for on-campus learning, but now wish to remain in virtual learning for the remainder of the school year because this change would create space in our on-campus cohorts.
If you would like to request a a cohort adjustment and be added to our waitlist, please complete the Google Form linked HERE. If your student is interested in switching form on-campus to virtual learning for the rest of the 2020-2021school year, please contact our Counseling Assistant Ms. Myers at dmyers@powayusd.com.
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE / ASES: Our ASES Program (After School Education & Safety Program) has openings for before and after school care for working families. Unlike ESS which charges for this service, ASES is grant-funded and is available free of charge to PUSD families. For more information, please contact the ASES Program Supervisor, Margo Selensky, at mselensky@powayusd.com or complete the ASES program request form linked HERE!
HOMEWORK CENTER: As we re-open school this week, we are also making plans to open up our Homework Center after school from 2:15-3:15pm in room #406. The Homework Center will be supervised and available to students Monday-Thursday on a first-come, first-served basis. Students should come prepared to work on independent work during this time as tutoring is not currently available.
SCHEDULE QUESTIONS: If you have questions about the school calendar, please click HERE to access the most updated version. If you have questions about the bell schedule, please click HERE to see our Monday-Thursday schedule, Virtual Friday schedule and the times for teacher's office hours.
CJSF CANNED FOOD DRIVE
The annual TPMS Food Drive started last Friday and ends April 2nd. We are asking families to collect food for the San Diego Food Bank if you are able to do so. This year there are so many families in need and TPMS is trying to help. We understand that not everyone is in a position to donate this year.
If you are able to donate, you can drop off food in the TPMS parking lot between 8am and 3pm on three Friday’s: March 19th, March 26th, or April 2nd.
If you are not available on these dates, please email Mrs. Larson at eparker@powayusd.com to set up a time.
Thank you so much in advance for your donation!
NO PLACE FOR HATE
Twin Peaks Middle School is proud to continue our work to create an inclusive school community by promoting unity and respect, and to reduce bullying, name-calling and other expressions of bias. With the help of the students in our Leadership elective, we created four lessons to share with our students, staff and families. The lesson for this month focuses on KINDNESS VS EMPATHY. Ram teachers will share the interactive Nearpod with our students to complete at their own pace. We encourage you to view the lesson and have a conversation with your student about kindness & empathy and their role in making Twin Peaks Middle School a No Place for Hate school.
TPMS Golf is Back!
We are excited to bring students back onto TPMS campus to get some swings in and to work on their Golf skills. This session will be about skill development and preparing students for the golf season next year. Practice days will correspond with the cohort you selected for on campus learning. If you have chosen virtual then we will assign you a practice day. Please fill out the interest form and you will receive an email in regards to registration!We do have a limited amount of spots available so we are looking for students who can be committed to the assigned practice days and times. Please fill out the survey form LINKED HERE as soon as you can because spots are limited! More info will be emailed out as we get closer to practices starting!
A Cohort practice- Monday 2:30-4:00
B Cohort practice-Thursday 2:30-4:00
Registration- 3/15-3/26
Practices will begin on Monday 3/29
LA SELECCIÓN DE CURSOS (CRF)
Le invitamos a reunirse con las consejeras de Poway High School para una sesión informativa sobre la selección de clases para el otoño. Vea más información aquí.
8th Grade Course Request Information
Important Counselor Information
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Jennifer Bishop now has a PUSD email and can be reached at jbishop@powayusd.com. She is the counselor for students with last names A-Le, and will be with us until April 30th. She can be reached by phone at (858) 748-5131 ext. 2813.
Volunteer and Career Opportunities at Twin Peaks MS #TeamPUSD
Morning Volunteers Still Needed!
Do you or someone you know have an hour to volunteer in the mornings to help us with safety screening students as they arrive at school? As we prepare to have more students back on campus very soon, our need for morning screeners has increased, and if you have the time - we need you! If you're interested in volunteering from 8-9am to help support our morning check-ins, please complete the form linked HERE! Thanks in advance for your consideration!
Instructional Assistants needed!
Do you or someone you know enjoy working in an educational environment and possess a passion for helping our students learn and grow? Twin Peaks Middle School is looking for great candidates who can join our Special Education Team as an Instructional Assistant! We have several openings that we need to fill immediately, so if you or someone you know might be interested, please apply using the link below! Starting Pay is $15.51 an hour and positions that are 20 hours or more per week have FULL BENEFITS. We have opportunities for sub positions as well. Click here to apply!
STUDENT VOICE - We Need to Hear From You!
Student Engagement Feedback Form: In previous newsletters we have spoke of the need to encourage students to turn their web cameras on during class time. We received several emails with some great suggestions, so we wanted to open it up and encourage students to provide us with your feedback! Students - please take a moment and complete the feedback form LINKED HERE. Thanks in advance for your time and feedback!
Climate Change Video Challenge
Climate change is happening now, all around us, and we have an opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our present and future in a fair and just way for all Californians. With this goal in mind, the California Coastal Commission invites California middle and high school students to present a video response to the question: What does climate justice look like to me?
Entry deadline is March 31, 2021.
Visit the website to find all the details on how to enter; helpful background on climate change, climate justice, and climate solutions; and additional resources for educators. https://coastal.ca.gov/climatechallenge/
Caring Connections Counseling (CCC)
The CCC Parent Counseling Resource page is now updated. Please click HERE to view all the resources available on Crisis Counseling, Food and Diaper Assistance, Parenting Support, Mental Health Support, and Self-Care.
GATE for 2021
District Leadership from PUSD held an informational meeting on February 16, 2021 discussing updates to the GATE program within PUSD. At this meeting it was announced that PUSD was ending the GATE program at all PUSD schools and discontinuing GATE testing.
A recording of the meeting has been uploaded to the PUSD YouTube Channel. You can find out more information at the PUSD GATE website HERE.
What does this mean for Twin Peaks? The only change this makes to Twin Peaks is that we will no longer offer our one class of homogenous GATE humanities. Everything else remains the same at our school. We will continue to serve all our student needs in all classes and we will continue to offer the accelerated math track.
Poway Unified and all schools in PUSD, including Twin Peaks, have moved to a more integrated and inclusive approach toward meeting the needs of students. For years, we have been working with our teaching staffs across the district to develop differentiation strategies to meet the needs of each and every student in our classrooms, including those who are identified as GATE. Poway Unified School District’s mission is to empower world class learners. In order to do this, all learning environments must be safe, inclusive, innovative, and equitable. For these reasons, Poway Unified has decided to end the GATE program. Poway is not testing new students for GATE. All middle schools will no longer offer homogeneous GATE classes. Twin Peaks Middle School will continue to focus on ensuring all classrooms challenge students appropriately.
Tutoring Available
The National Honor Society (NHS) at Poway High School provides tutoring for any student in need of it. Please complete this Google Form if you are interested: https://forms.gle/bSXPRCkeEUM4FmVC7
TPMS Library is Now Open for Curbside Pickup & Dropoff
Shop Amazon through TPMS Foundation
Twin Peaks Middle School
Email: chamilton@powayusd.com
Website: http://tpms.powayusd.com/index.html
Phone: 858.748.5131
Twitter: @TwinPeaksRams