Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, Dec 5th, 2021
Happy Sunday, Ram Families!
I hope this message finds you all well and getting into the spirit of the holiday season! To all of our Ram families that are celebrating Hanukkah this week, we would like to wish you and yours a happy, healthy Hanukkah and new year!
TRAFFIC ALERT!! If you drive your student(s) to school, please consider leaving a few minutes earlier in the mornings over the next few weeks - in addition to our normal traffic congestion in and around TBES and TPMS, there there will be road construction taking place on Espola Road, impacting a major thoroughfare to Twin Peaks Road. Thank you in advance for making sure to get your students to school in plenty of time to start their first period of the day - please try to arrive no later than 8:20am every morning to ensure your student is able to start the day on-time!
Recently you received an email with information about altering the start times for PUSD schools. Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, PUSD will need to implement a new state law that requires a change in school start times. The law states that middle schools must start no earlier than 8am; high schools must start no earlier than 8:30am; there are no parameters in the legislation for elementary schools, however they will also need to be adjusted to accommodate the later middle and high school times. PUSD has 39 schools; please note changing school start times is a complex decision involving many factors, including transportation schedules, sports schedules, fiscal considerations, services provided at schools (such as lunch), and possible personal impacts on staff and families.
If you would like to provide any thoughts or feedback on the following options being considered by the Board of Education, please CLICK HERE to access the survey, due by December 9, 2021. The two options staff will present to the Board for consideration are:
Option A
7:30am - 1:45pm Elementary schools
8:15am - 3:00pm Middle schools
9:00am - 4:15pm High Schools
OR
Option B
7:45am - 2:00 pm Elementary schools
8am - 2:45pm Middle schools
8:40am - 3:45pm High schools
Your input is valued and will be taken into consideration, along with all other criteria that the Board of Education must consider. The Board will vote on a final option at the December 16, 2021, Board meeting.
Some good news for our newest Rams - 6th grade camp is a GO for this year! All members of the 6th grade class will have the opportunity to participate in 6th grade camp at the Cuyamaca Outdoor School! TPMS Camp dates are scheduled from March 7-11th, 2022 and students are strongly encouraged to attend! Look for a 6th Grade Camp packet coming home with your 6th grader next week. All forms and fees are due February 1st. More information will be available on our website soon!
Please make sure to check out the ""Upcoming Events" section below for information on student events like the ASB's Winter Dance on 12/10 and parent meetings happening this month including our joint Equity Council with Tierra Bonita ES on 12/8, the TPMS Foundation on 12/14 and the PTSA on 12/16 - all meeting virtually this month.
Finally this week, we celebrated one of our own Twin Peaks staff with a bit of a surprise - Nicole Pablo, one of our amazing school counselors, was selected as the 2021 San Diego County Middle School Counselor of the Year! Nicole was selected for this award because of her passion for supporting students, her advocacy for her fellow counselors, and her leadership in PUSD for making our counseling work at the middle school level more data driven and responsive to student needs. Congratulations Ms. Pablo on your well-deserved award - we are so proud of you! Please see the pictures below of PUSD Superintendent Dr. Phelps, members of the PUSD Cabinet, and PUSD Board Members Dr. Cindy Sytsma and Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff surprising Nicole with the exciting news this past Thursday at our TPMS Staff Meeting.
In Partnership,
Steve Mills
Proud Principal
Twin Peaks Middle School
1(858)748-5131 x2806
Instagram: @principalmills_twinpeaks
Congratulations Nicole Pablo - San Diego County Middle School Counselor of the Year
UPCOMING EVENTS:
TPMS NEWS AND EVENTS - bit.ly/tpmsevents
December 8th: Joint Equity Council w/ TBES, Zoom 4pm
December 9th: Late Start Schedule, 9:15am start
December 10th: ASB Winter in Paris Dance, 6-8pm Main Quad
December 13th: Jazz Band Concert @7pm
December 14th: 6th Grade Band Concert @7pm
December 14th: TPMS Foundation Meeting, Zoom @6pm
December 15th: Orchestra Concert @6:30pm
December 15th: TPMS PTSA El Ranchito fundraiser, 7am-9pm
December 16th: Late Start Schedule, 9:15am start
December 16th: TPMS PTSA, Zoom @6:15pm
December 16th: 7/8 Grade Concert @7pm
December 19th-31st: Winter Break
January 3rd: First Day Back to school
El Ranchito Taco Shop Fundraiser
Volleyball Sign-Ups
Volleyball registration forms will be available in the front office from 11/29-12/10. Registration forms need to be returned to the front office or Room 201 by Friday 12/10 before students can attend the skill evaluations the following week. Skill evaluations will be held on12/14, 12/16, 1/4 and 1/6, players will meet at the lunch tables to check in! Volleyball practices will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting January 11th from 3:30-4:30. All information about Volleyball season will be on the registration packet! We hope to see your student come out for the team!
6th Grade Butter Braid Fundraiser
Thank you for all who participated in our Butter Braid fundraiser, we raised over $5,000 for our 6th graders!! The Butter Braid delivery date is Tuesday, December 14th in the Multipurpose Room (Gym in the front). Pick up will begin at 3pm and go until 4:30. Please arrange to pick up your frozen items then. They will need to be delivered to the purchasers or stored in a freezer within 2 hours. Please email Danielle Rubacky drubacky@powayusd with any questions.
TPMS Yearbook Info
Yearbooks are available for $45 until January and then they go up to $50. So get yours now!
Pay by card: Go to www.jostens.com or use the QR code
Pay by cash/check: Download the order form from our webpage
http://tpmsyearbook.weebly.com/ or pick up a form in the office. Return the form and cash or check to the school office.
Calling all proud families of 8th graders here at Twin Peaks! 8th Grade Recognition Ads are open and ready for purchase. Go to www.jostens.com and click on Recognition Ads to start the process of celebrating your 8th grader in this year’s yearbook! Deadline is January 31st so don’t delay!
Want more information about Yearbooks? Go to http://tpmsyearbook.weebly.com/
COVID-19 Updates
On October 1, 2021 Governor Newsom announced the COVID-19 vaccination would be added to the list of required vaccines for school. There is no immediate impact to staff or students: the mandate does not take effect until either January 1 or July 1, 2022 depending on full FDA approval for children ages 12 and over. All staff and 7th through 12th grade will be phased in first, then K-6 later, pending full FDA approval. PUSD will need time to assess and determine how to proceed with the requirement and how take into account any exemptions.
The PUSD School Board met on 10/18 and provided new protocols to allow a limited number of visitors and volunteers back on campus. PUSD is slowly expanding volunteers on campus – effective October 18, 2021, we may now have a limited number of volunteers present in learning spaces with students during the school day. All volunteers must be vaccinated or provide a negative PCR COVID test; this process is currently being reviewed and will be updated shortly. Outdoor celebrations will have designated visitor areas (i.e. Friday Flag, Jog-a-thons). Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we calibrate with the district and CDPH to make the necessary adjustments.
Please make sure your students are coming to school with a comfortable facemask that they can wear when they are indoors on campus, preferably a cloth mask that can be washed and reused. We are having to handout an increased number of facemasks each day to students who forget theirs and our supply is dwindling quickly. Please review with your students the expectation that masks are to be worn whenever they are indoors on campus (classroom, offices, library, gym, locker room, etc.) and must cover their mouth and nose.
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