Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills
Happy Sunday Ram Families,
It was great to finally get to meet some of you this past Friday at our first ASB Family Movie Night of the year! A big THANK YOU to Ms. Keller and our ASB students for all of their work in making this first "live" event of the year a success. We are looking to schedule more of these events in the coming months; next up will be our Holiday Family Movie Night - date TBA!
As I continue to visit Zoom classrooms, one of the growing concerns I see and and talk to teachers about is how to get students to engage in their virtual classrooms. The sea of black screens with student names on them rather than a student face has unfortunately become a consistent feature in many of our Zoom classrooms. As a district, we are unable to mandate that students must turn their camera on, and sometimes it may be necessary for a student to not have their camera on during class (impact on connection speed, lack of a working device, etc.). This is certainly an area where we need our parents' help and support - please encourage your students to turn on their cameras during class whenever possible! Your student having their camera on during class provides our teachers with an opportunity to build a connection with your student, allows them a chance to build community with the class, and strengthen peer-to-peer connections. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
This Wednesday night at 6pm we will be hosting a Community Forum on School Reopening. Please follow the YouTube Link that will be posted Wednesday morning on the TPMS Website under announcements to join the live stream. We will review our Reopening Plan, including schedule options and safety protocols, in addition to answering common questions and concerns we have received from our parent community. We will also have a chance to hear from a few our our teachers about the blended/simultaneous teaching model. We hope that you can join us for this informative event!
Just a couple final reminders...
1. Monday 10/26 is a non-student day for Parent-Teacher conferences; we will resume virtual learning on Tuesday, 10/27 with periods 1, 3, and 5.
2. The PTSA Book fair starts tomorrow and runs through November 8th. The positive impact of pleasure reading on a student's academic achievement ability is well documented (see HERE), so please consider buying a book or five to encourage independent reading with your student!
Stay safe and be well,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
UPCOMING EVENTS:
October 26th: Non-Student Day / Parent-Teacher Conferences
October 26th to November 8th: Book Fair
October 28th: Community Forum on Reopening, 6pm
November 6th: End of Quarter 1
November 9th: First Day of Quarter 2
November 11th: Veteran's Day observed
Community Forum on School Reopening
For the most updated information on our reopening options, please review the slides FOUND HERE. If you have questions or concerns you would like our Reopening Task Force to consider, please submit them HERE.
School Reopening and ASES Program Request Form
Change of Learning Platform Request:
If you would like to be considered for a change of learning platform, please complete the form that is linked HERE by Friday, October 30th. For example, if you originally chose "in-person learning" but would now like to stay 100% virtual, please complete the form. If you originally chose virtual but would now like to be considered for in-person learning, please complete the form. If your status has not changed, you DO NOT need to complete the form! Please remember that movement between learning platforms can only be granted on a space-available basis. Not sure what you chose in July? Email Mrs. Parker at kparker@powayusd.com to double-check!
ASES Program Request Form:
As we continue with our reopening plans for Twin Peaks Middle School, we are pleased to begin the phased reopening of our ASES program. The After School Education and Safety (ASES) program provides FREE quality before- and after-school academic and enrichment opportunities for middle school students. If you are interested in accessing the ASES program for the 2020-2021 school year, please take a few moments to complete the questions found on the form linked below:
Request Form for ASES Program Priority Enrollment
Students who are interested in the in-person ASES program for the 2020-2021 school year MUST complete this survey. Availability of the in-person ASES program will be extremely limited due to necessary operational adjustments in response to public health guidelines. Priority for enrollment of students will be based on the following considerations:
1. Students experiencing homelessness or foster youth, as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (as required by CA Education Code)
2. Students who qualify for the Free or Reduced Meal Program
3. Students whose parents/guardians are "essential critical infrastructure workers"
4. Students who previously enrolled for the 2020-2021 ASES program and are currently participating in the ASES Virtual Program.
Please remember that this request form does NOT constitute acceptance into the ASES program. This is NOT a registration form. You will be contacted directly by your school's ASES Supervisor to receive information on specific program hours and to complete the registration process for the in-person ASES program when a date is confirmed for the program to relaunch on your student's campus. Tentatively, we are looking at opening up our ASES program on Monday, November 9th.
Thanks in advance for your immediate attention in completing this request form - please respond by Friday, October 23rd at 4:00pm.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact our ASES Supervisor Margo Selensky at MSelensky@powayusd.com
TPMS Book Fair is Coming!
The fall book fair will start on October 26th, 2020. The 26th is a non-student day so that gives you plenty of time to shop and browse the book selections. This year there are two ways to shop online! Every purchase benefits Twin Peaks and helps encourage a love of reading. Free shipping on book orders over $25! Click here for more details! Click here for a list of books available this fall!
TPMS Club Information
Hi Ram Families! Is your student looking for a sense of community and opportunity to socialize during this time of virtual learning? Our Fall clubs have been approved and are open for students to join! CLICK HERE to view a list of the clubs that are being offered this Fall at TPMS. At the bottom of the document, there is a form that students can fill out to sign up for the clubs they are interested in. Students will be added into a Canvas Course for their club where they’ll be able to access all club information and communicate with their club advisors and peers. Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity for your student to get involved and meet students with similar interests!
TPMS Robotics Team
CALLING ALL STUDENTS!! The TPMS Robotics Needs You!
As part of their work this year, TPMS Robotics team needs to collect data from our own TPMS students on how active they are in and out of school. To do this, we ALL our students to take this google form survey linked HERE! Thanks in advance for your help and support!
Good Mens Project Returning in Semester 2
Adult volunteers interested in helping to start our inaugural Good Women's Project, please email Principal Mills at stmills@powayusd.com.
Science Olympiad is Recruiting
Science Olympiad is looking for new members that want to learn more about science and have fun. We learn about topics and then take part in a science competition in February. Subjects to study include astronomy, fossils, and electrical circuits. For more information about our club, check out www.tpmsso.com. Find us on the ASB club rush document, or email tpmsscienceolympiad@gmail.com for more details.
Builders Club Wants You
8th Grade Yearbook Recognition Ads Now Available!
Families of 8th Graders who want to order a space for an 8th Grade recognition ad in the yearbook—the time is here!
8th grade Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones. In addition, revenues from recognition ads help our school to create a better yearbook.
- Ads are only $30!
- The deadline to purchase an ad is December 18, 2020
Ordering and creating your ad will be online this year. Click this link or view/download the form here. Please email questions to cellington@powayusd.com .
Rams 8th Grade East Coast Trip INFO MEETING!
Don't miss out on the trip of a lifetime! All parents of current 8th grade students are invited to attend the virtual information and registration meeting for the 2021 RAMS EAST COAST TRIP to Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and New York on Tuesday, October 27th at 6:30 PM on Zoom. Click on the image to the left for more information! The trip will take place from June 19 – 25, 2021. Registration will begin at the meeting and space is limited. This trip WILL sell out. Please contact Kodi Keller at kokeller@powayusd.com with questions.
TPMS Library is Now Open for Curbside Pickup & Dropoff
Coffee Talk with the TPMS Admin & Counseling Teams
November 18th: 11:30am (English), 5:00pm (Spanish)
January 27th: 11:30am (English), 5:00pm (Spanish)
Information on how to attend and submit questions will be posted on the TPMS website HERE.
Tuesday Lunch with the Principal
Wellness Wednesday with the Counselors
Come hang out with the counselors to learn more about self-care, ways to de-stress, connect with other students, or just say hi! If you’re interested, please ask your RAM teacher for the Zoom Link. We look forward to seeing you there! Remember, this takes place every Wednesday!
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