Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, 2/28/21
Happy Sunday Ram Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying some amazing San Diego weather this weekend! Please read below to find out the latest updates on school reopening, the winners of our Character Counts Awards for quarter 2, and some inspiration and motivation thanks to a robot on the surface of Mars.
As a follow up to our Superintendent’s communication on Monday, February 22nd we are excited and preparing to welcome back our students to Twin Peaks Middle School as early as mid March. As case rates in San Diego continue to reduce and the likelihood of San Diego being placed in the Red Tier increases, we want to assure parents we are preparing for the reopening of our campus for students to return in the hybrid model (mix of virtual and in-person learning). We are excited to welcome back to TPMS our Rams who are ready to return to campus, and those students who wish to remain virtual will continue to be supported by their teachers in the same virtual schedule we are currently operating under.
As you know, safety is our top priority; as we prepare for our reopening, here is the link to the PUSD Reopening Guidebook that describes our district protocols and important information on how we are keeping our students and staff safe. Over the past several weeks we have been increasing the number of students on campus and have been successful in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 by following the guidelines set forth by the CDC, CDPH, and San Diego Department of Health and Human Services. To access the most recent version of our TPMS Reopening Plan, please CLICK HERE.
Over the next few weeks, I will send out reopening updates via email, and share any additional details and information in these weekly newsletters. We are currently making plans to host a WEB orientation for our 6th graders after school during the week of March 8-12th; look for details via email this week with information on how to sign up your student to participate. We are also finalizing details for a parent forum to provide an opportunity to review and discuss site-specific reopening details the week following the next PUSD School Board meeting on March 11th.
One of the highlights of this last week was getting to honor 10 of our Rams who received Character Counts awards. Students, their parents, and the teachers who nominated them joined in a Zoom celebration to honor these amazing young people for their outstanding citizenship, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility, caring and respect of others. It was an awesome way to honor these student leaders, and allowed our teachers to share some personal stories of the impact these students had on them and their classes. Please see the graphic below and join me in congratulating these students for this outstanding recognition!
Finally, I was inspired, like so many of you were, by watching the landing of Perseverance on the surface of Mars 10 days ago. To say that the logistics of the mission to get Perseverance onto the planet's surface are overwhelming is an understatement. But as the images started to come back to Earth this past week of the rover, and I watched the video of the landing from Perseverance's on-board camera, I was reminded that even things that might seem completely impossible, daunting, and overwhelming, can still be successfully achieved through team work, creative thinking, and PERSEVERANCE! Thank you students and parents for partnering with us through this difficult school year, for providing creative and thoughtful solutions to our challenges, and persevering through all of the obstacles to be in a position where we can finally reopen our schools.
With Gratitude,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
1(858)748-5131 x2806
UPCOMING EVENTS:
3/2: TPMS Foundation Meeting, Zoom 7:30pm
3/5: Late Start - Asynchronous Friday Schedule, 9:30am
3/9: Flippin' Pizza Fundraiser, 11975 Carmel Mountain Rd, 11am-8pm
3/10: 5th Grade Parent Night @TPMS, Zoom - 6-7pm
3/12: Late Start - Asynchronous Friday Schedule, 9:30am
3/16: 8th Grade Parent Night @PHS, Zoom - 5-7pm
3/18: PTSA Meeting, Zoom 6pm
3/19: Late Start - Asynchronous Friday Schedule, 9:30am
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
CHARACTER COUNTS AWARD RECIPIENTS
PUSD Thought Exchange Survey
Earlier this week we launched our new District wide survey through ThoughtExchange. We are excited about collecting your input on both a District and individual school level. Your responses will shape future budget decisions and program priorities.
It’s easy to participate, right from your smartphone, and you’ll not only be able to share your own thoughts, but also see and rate the thoughts of others. This is all done anonymously!
Click here to participate: my.thoughtexchange.com/445950426
The survey period is open from now until Friday, March 5th. If you do not have access to the internet, we are happy to provide you with a device to take the survey in our school office.
5th Grade Parent Night
AVID Information Night
Follow this link to view the flyer and obtain information about how to receive the Zoom invite to attend this event on March 11th. In addition, check out the AVID newsletter to get more information about this awesome elective opportunity!
Flippin' Pizza Fundraiser
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!
Reflections Art Program Update
PTSA would like to acknowledge and thank all of our Reflections participants for 2020-21. This year's theme was "I Matter Because..." and the program was held completely virtually. We received 20 entries and 5 of them advanced to Palomar Council PTA, and then to Ninth District PTA. You can view the entries and award categories on our website. Click on the student's name to view their entry. Thank you to all who participated and supported this program!
Important Counselor Information
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Mrs. Melissa Baskin (School Counselor for students with last names A-Le), will be taking Child Bonding Leave starting next Monday, February 22nd until April 30th . Please join us in welcoming her counseling sub, Jennifer Bishop, back to Twin Peaks! She is a former Twin Peaks Instructional Assistant and has recently completed her Master’s in Counseling & Guidance degree and PPS credential at Point Loma Nazarene University. We are still getting all of the details sorted with her email address and log-ins. If you need to communicate with Ms. Bishop regarding your student or if you have any questions or concerns please call Mrs. Baskin’s office number at 858.748.5131 ext 2813 and leave a voicemail until her PUSD email is activated , she will return your call promptly.
School Reopening Update
All TPMS families received an email on February 12th titled "Cohort Assignment Notification" letting you know if your student is signed up to remain virtual, in cohort A or in cohort B. We know that for some of you, circumstances have changed and the cohort assignment you originally requested does not work. For others, you have decided to remain virtual, and for some we didn't get the cohort assignment correct from surveys #1-99... we apologize for any confusion, and want to make sure we have students assigned correctly no matter what the circumstances. If you need a cohort adjustment from what was emailed to you, please complete the Google Form linked HERE at your earliest convenience.
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.
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.
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.
ASB Announcements
TPMS Online Store
Back by popular demand, the TPMS Online Spirit Wear store is officially open for business. All orders must be placed by Friday, March 12th, so don’t wait – get your TPMS spirit wear today! Visit bit.ly/ramspirit to place your order!
Hey Parents! Want to know what’s going on at Twin Peaks? Bookmark bit.ly/tpmsevents on your home computer and have daily access to the resources and links to fun activities that are being shared with your student every week on their teacher’s Canvas pages and on the Grade Level Google Classroom pages!
Global Uplift Project
Hello TPMS Families! This year, our school is partnering with The Global Uplift Project to help raise money to build a school for children in need in Malacatoya, Nicaragua. CLICK HERE for a video that will tell you more about the project. If every TPMS family could donate just $1 – that’s less than the cost of a soda these days – we could raise over $1000 to help reach our goal. Please consider joining us in making the world a better place. Visit bit.ly/tpmsTGUP to make a donation today!
HOW CAN PARENTS AND STUDENTS GET INVOLVED?!
THE RACIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGE: The Poway Unified School District and Twin Peaks Middle School Racial Justice Challenge strives to create a world that celebrates diversity and provides students with the opportunity to share their voice and their gifts with their community, and the world.
The Challenge: Here at Twin Peaks, we know that we have many students with immense artistic and creative talents that deserves to be shared and celebrated. Students are challenged to create a performance piece or work of art to convey a message that honors Black History Month or any topic that celebrates Racial Diversity. We’ve created an immersive website for students to explore these topics and gain inspiration if they choose to participate in this challenge. CLICK HERE to visit.
- TPMS/TBES Joint Racial Equity Council: Twin Peaks MS is partnering with our neighbor elementary, Tierra Bonita ES, to continue the racial equity work that was started by PUSD earlier this school year. The goal of this group is to provide feedback and guidance as we implement the guidelines and suggestions of the PUSD Racial Equity Plan. Parents who are interested in being a part of this council are encouraged to join - our next meeting is scheduled for March 17th! Please CLICK HERE to access the Equity Council Sign-up form.
- 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!
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 FOUNDATION RED ENVELOPE FUNDRAISER
The TPMS Foundation would like to encourage you to participate in giving a gift to the school during the 2021 Red Envelope Fundraiser! This year the project we are raising funds for is to upgrade the remaining water fountains with hydration stations. We have four water fountains that still need to be upgraded with hydration stations so students can easily refill thier water bottles. Our goal is to raise $10,950 to pay for this project.
Since the new year is 2021, we are asking for a $41 donation (20 + 21). For ease of use you can donate via Pay Pal here. Or if you were mailed a Red Envelope and you don’t want to donate online, please return the Red Envelope to the office or to your RAM teacher. Thank you for your support and help to start a great New Year!
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.
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/
TPMS Library is Now Open for Curbside Pickup & Dropoff
Career and Volunteer Opportunities at Twin Peaks MS #TeamPUSD
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!
Morning Volunteers 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 each week, our need for morning screeners will certainly increase, 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!
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