Twin Peaks Middle School
Weekly RAM Newsletter
From the desk of Principal Mills - Sunday, Dec 12th, 2021
Happy Sunday, Ram Families!
I hope this message finds you all well and getting ready for our final week of instruction before the Winter Break. You can feel the buzz of the holidays in the air and the frenzy and excitement of the season beginning to build in our students - I hope you and your family are enjoying the build-up to the Winter Break and appreciate the excitement this next week is sure to bring your students.
As a reminder for all families, this Friday, 12/17/21 is a MINIMUM DAY for students, with a 12:40pm dismissal time. This also means that there will be no afternoon ASES supervision on Friday, December 17th. Please make sure to make arrangements for early pick-up if needed; bus transportation times will be the same in the morning for pick-up, but will be adjusted for the minimum day release at 12:40pm.
We held our first dance on campus this past Friday since 2019 - "A Winter in Paris", hosted by the TPMS Associated Student Body and Leadership class, was a huge success! Students had a great time getting to show off their dance moves, play games, decorate cookies, eat pizza and ice cream, and just get to enjoy being a kid for a few hours. Thank you to our ASB students for their hard work in getting the event planned and organized, set-up and decorated, and of course cleaned-up! A BIG THANK YOU to all of our parent volunteers for making this event possible - we couldn't have done it without you!
We have a busy final week of school before the winter break at TwinPeaks - here are a few of the important events to make sure are on your radar!
- Butterbraids pickup is Tuesday, December 14th from 3-4:30pm in the MPR.
- The PTSA El Ranchito Fundraiser is this Wednesday, 12/15! (see the flyer below!)
- Band and Orchestra Concerts are this week - see the lineup below in "Upcoming Events"
- It's Winter Spirit Week! See the Dress-Up Themes below and show your Ram Spirit!!
Looking to the New Year and 2022 - the TPMS Spelling Bee is back!! It will be held on Wednesday, January 26th in the TPMS Theater starting at 4:30pm. All students can participate in this once-a-year event to represent Twin Peaks Middle School at the regional level competition. Please see the section labeled "Scripps Spelling Bee" below for more information - deadline to sign-up is Friday, January14th.
We will be re-starting our Men of Honor Program (formerly Generation Z) in February, 2022 for 7th and 8th grade boys who are in need of mentoring and want to learn how to improve themselves through personal responsibility. Participants will need to commit to the 10-week program held Wednesdays after school form 3:30-4:30pm. This program is staffed by parent and community volunteers and is free to participate; if you are interested in signing-up, please see the "Men of Honor Program" section below and click on the link to apply.
Finally this week, a BIG THANK YOU to all of our Ram families that donated money or gifts for this year's Adopt-a-Family program. We were able to support so many of our Ram families in need with gifts for kids and gift cards for food this holiday season. We could not have done it without the support and our organization of our PTSA and coordinator Ms. Valerie Hughes and her army of parent volunteers - THANK YOU for your leadership! It's been awesome to see our amazing counselors and office staff delivering bags of gifts to families this week, and the genuine appreciation and thankfulness from the recipients to have something to give their children for Christmas this year. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all the best for a healthy and prosperous New Year!!
With Gratitude,
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
December 13th: Bundle Up Day-wear your favorite winter gear!
December 13th: Science O Meeting, 3:15-4pm, Room 709
December 13th: Jazz Band Concert @7pm, PCPA
December 14th: Grade Level Colors - 6th white, 7th green, 8th red
December 14th: 6th Grade Band Concert @7pm, TPMS MPR
December 14th: TPMS Foundation Meeting, Zoom @6pm
December 15th: Holiday Headgear Day
December 15th: Orchestra Concert @6:30pm, TPMS Little Theater
December 15th: TPMS PTSA El Ranchito fundraiser, 7am-9pm
December 16th: Late Start Schedule, 9:15am start
December 16th: Pajama Day
December 16th: Science O Meeting, 3:15-4pm, Room 709
December 16th: TPMS PTSA, Zoom @6:15pm
December 16th: 7/8 Grade Concert @7pm, PHS Gym
December 17th: Wacky Sweater Day
December 19th-31st: Winter Break
January 3rd: First Day Back to school
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. All orders must be picked up at this time. We do not have the freezer space to hold any orders. Please email Danielle Rubacky drubacky@powayusd with any questions.
El Ranchito Taco Shop Fundraiser
ASES PM Closed this Friday
Please remember that this Friday, December 17th is a minimum day and students will be released from school at 12:40. Our afternoon ASES program will not be open this Friday. Please make sure you make other arrangements for your student to be picked up after school that day. Our Morning program will still be open on Friday, so if your student is in the morning program we will be open regular hours before school.
SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE
Students who are interested in participating can sign-up by CLICKING HERE to access the Google sign-up form. Once you sign-up, a practice packet and pledge form will be emailed to the email address provided. If you have questions or concerns, please
YOUNG MEN OF HONOR PROGRAM
If you are interested in applying to be a part of this year's program, please complete the form LINKED HERE before Friday, January 14th. If you have questions, please email Principal Mills at stmills@powayusd.com.
Holiday Wellness
As the Holidays approach, self-care is needed now more than ever for our staff and students. We want to continue to provide our school community with tools for self-care and mindfulness. In collaboration with our PureEdge partners to support social emotional learning, and our PUSD Mindful Moment, we are sharing some of our favorite Brain Breaks with you to ease the stress of the season.
- Video library of Pure Edge Brain Breaks for all ages and adults in English and Spanish
- SDCOE Virtual Wellness Center
- Compassion and Fatigue for Teachers PDF
Mental health and wellness is a top priority in Poway Unified School District and we hope that you are safe and well.
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