Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, April 17th, 2022
Happy Sunday, Ram Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well, rested and relaxed after our spring break and enjoying your Easter Sunday with family and friends. We are excited for students and staff to return to campus on Monday, April 18th for our final 6 weeks of the school year!
The final month and a half of school will certainly be busy! We have a lot of events and activities planned for the end of the school year including Olympics for all 3 grades, end of the year grade-level activities, the 8th Grade Harbor Cruise, and of course our Promotion ceremony for our matriculating 8th graders. Please keep an eye on our "Upcoming Events" section below to stay connected with the dates and times of these events!
If you missed What I Wish My Parents Knew at Poway High School last month, you have a second opportunity to attend this week at Westview High School. On Tuesday, April 19th, WVHS is hosting "What I Wish My Parents Knew" from 6:30-8:45pm. This is an opportunity for our TPMS families 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.
Next Tuesday and Wednesday, 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. 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.
A charged Chrome book is also incredibly important for your student's success during testing. Only a school-issued Chrome book will support the CAASPP testing platform, so please make sure your student has checked one out from the library before next Tuesday. Please help remind your student to charge their Chrome book each night and to bring their charging cord with them to school.
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 Community Conversation on Racial Equity and Inclusion scheduled for this past Thursday has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 1st via Zoom. If you are interested in attending, please click on the flyer below to register and be sent the Zoom link to attend. These virtual community conversations are open to all PUSD families in the Poway HS feeder pattern; please consider attending to be a part of the conversation and to support the inclusive work PUSD is leading in our community.
As a reminder, if you are planning on picking up your student early from school, please make sure to follow the following steps:
- Please call in to the attendance hotline at (858)668-2730 and provide the name of your student, what grade they are in, and who will be checking them out (name of parent/adult)
- Students will be sent a pass to report to the office at the time requested for pickup
- Students who self-report (come on their own) to the office, will be returned to class after waiting 5 minutes in the office.
- Please have your picture ID ready to show our staff when you pick up your student.
Please, help us to expedite this check-out/pick-up process by calling ahead and encouraging your student to remain in class until they are ready to be picked up. We want to make sure that students are not missing instructional time in class rather than waiting in the main office.
Finally this week, I hope you and your family can join us for a few hours this coming Saturday, April 23rd for our TPMS Campus Cleanup Day. This is an opportunity for students to earn some volunteer hours and provide some much needed TLC to our campus. Check-in will start at 8am and we hope to have enough projects to stay busy until noon - please bring work gloves, your gardening tools, sunscreen and a water bottle. Please see the flyer below with additional information.
Wishing you and your family a restful and relaxing Easter Sunday!
In Partnership,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
1(858)748-5131 x2806
Instagram: @principalmills_twinpeaks
TPMS Band Performance @ PPAC
UPCOMING EVENTS:
TPMS NEWS AND EVENTS - bit.ly/tpmsevents
April 19th: What I Wish My Parents Knew, 6:30pm @WVHS
April 21st: Late Start 9:15am
April 22nd: PTSA Meeting, 6:15pm @TPMS Library
April 23rd: Campus Cleanup Day, 8am-noon
April 25th: Special Assembly Schedule, regular start/finish
April 26th & 27th: ELA CAASPP Testing Days
April 26th: Community Conversation on Racial Equity, 6:30pm @Zoom
April 28th: Late Start 9:15am
April 28th: PUSD Foundation Golf Tournament, @RB Inn
April 30th: TPMS Music Fundraiser @Poway Community Park Auditorium, 5:30-8pm
May 3rd & 4th: Math CAASPP Testing Days (minimum days)
May 5th: Late Start 9:15am
May 12th: Late Start 9:15am
May 19th: Late Start 9:15am
May 26th and 27th: 6th Grade Olympics
May 31st: Yearbook Distribution
What I Wish My Parents Knew
TPMS Parents are encouraged to attend What I Wish My Parents Knew being held at Westview High School this Tuesday, April 19th, from 6:30 to 8:45pm. 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 the PUSD 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 April 19th; for more information, you can check the WVHS website or call the WVHS front office for additional information.
COME CELEBRATE EARTH DAY @TPMS!
PUSD Conversation on Racial Equity & Inclusion
Please join us on Tuesday, April 26th from 6-7:30pm as PUSD hosts our next Community Conversation on Racial Equity and Inclusion via Zoom. If you are interested in attending, please click on the flyer below to register and be sent the Zoom link to attend. These virtual community conversations are open to all PUSD families in the Poway HS feeder pattern; please consider attending to be a part of the conversation and to support the inclusive work PUSD is leading in our community.
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.
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
Starting on Monday, March 14, students and staff in TK-12 schools will no longer be required to wear masks while indoors on school campuses, although they are still 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. Please 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