Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, April 2nd, 2022
Happy Sunday, Ram Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and getting ready for our final week of classes before spring break. Please remember there will be no school from April 11-15th - classes will resume on Monday, April 17th.
This past week at TPMS, our Science Olympiad team competed in State Finals competition virtually from the TPMS campus. Our team, led by Coach Dale Waldren, Teacher-Advisor Mr. J. Smith, and a small army of parent volunteers, had students compete in all 23 events that were being fielded at this year's California State Science Olympiad competition! A huge THANK YOU to all of our parent volunteers for their time and dedication this year that supported our team of young scientists! Please check out some photos of the events below.
This week at TPMS, we have 3 different band and orchestra concerts taking place (see "Upcoming Events" below) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday! Our leadership students have their annual Disneyland trip on Monday, and our School Site Council and Foundation both meet on Tuesday in the library (3:30pm and 6:00pm respectively). On Wednesday, our TBES/TPMS Joint Equity Council meets online from 4-5pm (please CLICK HERE to attend). Finally on Thursday, we have our late start at 9:15am, followed after school by our Quarter 3 Character Counts Awards celebration on Zoom. We're excited for another busy week of learning and laughter at TPMS!
Congratulations to our 10 Character Counts Award Winners for Quarter 3! These students were nominated by their teachers for displaying one or more of the Pillars of Character - Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship - and represent the top 1% of all TPMS students! Our winners, listed on the flyer below, will be honored in a special Zoom celebration attended by the teacher who nominated them and any family members they would like to invite. Winners receive a special recognition certificate from the State Assembly, a Character Counts t-shirt, and a goodie bag of treats! Please see the flyer below with this quarter's winners!
PUSD has acquired and Twin Peaks will be distributing free COVID take-home test kits for all students this Thursday, April 7th in Ram classes. If you would prefer that your student NOT receive a take-home test kit, please complete the opt-out form LINKED HERE by 3pm on Wednesday, April 6th. Parents, please discuss with your student the expectation that these tests should not be done on campus, on the way home from school, or administered to another student. Please use these test kits if your student displays any COVID symptoms during the break or before we return to campus on Monday, April 17th.
PUSD New Student Enrollment is now open! Please see the section below with links and information for new PUSD families to register their students for the 2022-2023 school year. Continuing student registration will reopen in May for continuing PUSD families. If you have questions or concerns about registering for next school year, please contact our amazing Counseling Assistant, Mrs. Myers at dmyers@powayusd.com
Our next TPMS Newsletter will be our Easter edition coming out on Sunday, April 16th. Until then, I hope you enjoy the opening day of Major League Baseball and the Masters Golf Tournament - what a great week! Wishing you a restful and relaxing spring break and a wonderful Easter holiday.
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
April 4th: Band/Orchestra Concert, 7pm, MPR
April 5th: School Site Council Meeting, 3:30-4:30pm Library
April 5th: 7/8th Grade Band Concert, 6-9pm, PCPA
April 6th: 7/8th Grade Orchestra Concert, 3:30-5:30pm, PCPA
April 6th: TBES/TPMS Equity Council, 4-5pm @ Zoom
April 7th: Late start Thursday, 9:15am
April 7th: Character Counts 3rd Quarter
April 8th: Day of Silence
April 12-16: SPRING BREAK
April 27th & 28th: ELA CAASPP Testing Days
April 30th: Music Fundraiser Poway Community Center, TBD
May 3rd & 4th: Math CAASPP Testing Days (minimum days)
TPMS SCIENCE OLYMPIAD - STATE FINALS!
Storming the Castle!
Taking-Off for a 21 second flight!
Former TPMS Teacher Mr. May!
Rocket & Ping-Pong Parachute
2022 National Tournament
Now that's a bridge!
CHARACTER COUNTS AWARDS - QUARTER 3
New Student Enrollment Open!
New Student Enrollment for Poway Unified School District is an on-line process. Packets are completed digitally using any computer, tablet or smartphone with an internet connection. (Please contact your assigned school of residence to schedule an appointment if you do not have access to a device/internet or need assistance with completing the online enrollment packet.)
Please visit the PUSD website for directions and access to the online enrollment portal.
TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN AND/OR KINDERGARTEN LOTTERIES: Should a site be determined near capacity in grades TK or K, a lottery process may be necessary to determine student placement. Only enrollment packets received between April 1, 2022 and April 5, 2022 11:59 p.m. at these sites will be eligible to be included if a lottery process is necessary. If needed, lotteries will take place the week of April 11th.
As required by State law, all children entering Kindergarten must be five years of age on or before September 1, 2022. If your child's 5th birthday is between September 2, 2022 and February 2, 2023, they will be enrolled in Transitional Kindergarten. For first grade enrollment, California law requires a child to be six years of age on or before September 1 to be legally eligible for first grade. (EC Section 48010)
New Student Enrollment Support
Our Bilingual Parent Liaisons at Caring Connections are available to assist families who might be in need of support with the registration process. Please feel free to reach out to Cristina Appel at gcastilloappel@powayusd.com or 858-668-4088 if support is needed. Drop-in hours are available:
Friday, April 1st:8:00 am -3:00 pm
Wednesday, April 6th: 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Thursday, April 7th: 8:00 am-7:00 pm
We look forward to welcoming your student(s) to our district!
Yearbooks are Still Available
Yearbooks are still on sale until May 13th. The books are $50 and can be purchased online by CLICKING HERE or with an order form on campus if paying with cash or check.
A Message From Our Library
A huge thank you to our PTSA and parent volunteers for helping to make our Scholastic Book Fair so successful! We are so happy that we can provide our students with books that they love to read!
CAASPP Testing Updates
When we return from spring break at the end of April, we will begin our school-wide testing or CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress). These tests are incredibly important for our school and our community - student performance on these exams is a factor in determining school rankings, which influence local home values.
In order to allow our students the best opportunity to be successful on the CAASPP, we are focusing our efforts around 4 testing days in their Ram classroom. This will allow students an opportunity to focus their efforts on the tests they will be taking without having to attend their regular classes. It is critically important that your students are present and ready for our 4 school-wide testing days - April 26th & 27th and May 3rd & 4th.
All students will need to have a set of wired earbuds or headphones for their Chromebook to use during testing. Please work with your student(s) to identify a set of earbuds or headphones that they can use and operate comfortably prior to our first test day on 4/26. We will have individual sets of wired earbuds available for students who do not have their own.
8th Grade Families
Promotion is just around the corner and it's time to celebrate our 8th graders. If you would like to purchase a yard sign for your 8th grader, please fill out the google form before April 18th. Generic signs are $6 and customized signs with your graduate's name are $13. Signs will be delivered to the school during the first week of June.
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.
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.
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