Tamanend Student Picture Days--Tuesday, December 8 (Hybrid 1 in school; 1:30--5:00 for 100% online students) and Friday, December 11 (Hybrid 2 in school; 1:30--5:00 for 100% online students). Or any time by appointment by calling 215-345-1851 or emailing candcphotostudios@verizon.net.

Tamanend Holiday Spirit Week--Wednesday, December 16 through Wednesday, December 23 (details below)

Tamanend Parent Council--Thursday, December 17 at 9:00 AM (virtual, on Teams)

Tamanend Trivia Night--Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 PM (virtual, on Teams)

Deadline for Submitting Freshmen Baby Photos for Yearbook--Friday, December 18 (information below in this edition of the newsletter)

Early Dismissal--Wednesday, December 23

Winter Break--Thursday, December 24--Friday, January 1

Student Picture Re-Takes--Thursday, January 21 or by appointment at studio until January 29

The Tamanend Middle School yearbook advisors opened a website to upload 9th Grade baby pictures for the 2020-2021 yearbook. We are inviting you to include a photo memento in your child’s yearbook that he or she will have as a special reminder in their last year at Tamanend. Submitting your child’s baby picture is a great way to honor your child in the yearbook at this special time in his or her life. The cost is $5. Here are the directions for uploading your photo:

DEADLINE FOR UPLOADING PHOTOS IS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18

1. Be sure to SAVE THE PICTURE AS YOUR CHILD’S FIRST AND LAST NAME prior to uploading the picture! (We will unfortunately delete any baby pictures not saved correctly with a first and last name, as we do not want to mislabel a student’s picture in the yearbook with a wrong name)
2. Please visit the website https://images.jostens.com/upload.jsp
3. When asked to type a User ID, please type 415873954
4. Click on “Choose File” and upload your picture
5. Under “Contact Information” you will enter your student’s e-mail address, your student’s first name, and your student’s last name
6. Under “Image Information” you will enter your student’s first name, your student’s last name, and you will choose grade 9.
7. Agree to the Terms of Use by checking the box
8. Finally, click Upload Chosen Image

Click here if you would like to learn more.

Reading Olympics is a celebration of reading that encourages participants to read an amazing variety of young adult literature. This year's reading list includes classics as well as some brand new titles - the expectation is that each participant will read AT LEAST 5 titles from the list.

Click here to access the 2020-21 Bucks County Reading list.

Due to COVID-19, the county-wide middle school Reading Olympics competition will be held VIRTUALLY in the spring (date TBA - typically late March or early April).

Our first Reading Olympics meeting will be held virtually on Teams on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. To register to join our team, please complete this Form by the end of the school day on Friday, December 11th. We will be using the REMIND text messaging system to keep in touch for meetings and other important reminders. Please text 81010 with the class code @23k49h to join our Reading Olympics Remind group.

Please go to your Library Canvas Course to access more information for Reading Olympics!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently revised their recommendations around the length of time that an individual should quarantine after exposure to a positive COVID-19 case. The district integrated these changes into our Health and Safety Plan. These changes will dictate the time that students are unable to attend school in-person and participate in school-sponsored activities and athletics following exposure and/or travel outside of Pennsylvania.

• Students must remain at home for 10 days—7 days with evidence of a negative COVID-19 test—from the date of last close personal contact with a positive individual. The COVID-19 test must have been administered at least 5 days after the exposure.
• The commonwealth has revised their travel restrictions to reflect the CDC’s new guidance. Pennsylvanians who are returning home after travel are required to either quarantine for 10 days without testing, or to quarantine for 7 days with a negative test on or after day 5 of quarantine. Please note, out of an abundance of caution, our health and safety plan protocols require all students and employees to refrain from in-person instruction and school-sponsored athletics and activities during the commonwealth’s travel quarantine period regardless of age.

Please find a revised flow chart that contains this new guidance for your reference below. If we continue to stay home when we are sick, wear face coverings consistently and appropriately, wash hands regularly, and stay six feet away from others as much as possible, we will all do our part to help one another stay heathy.

Hello! Are you looking for a way to connect with other kids from school while you are learning from home in the virtual setting? Mrs. Cammann is hosting a Wellness/Snack Break Social time each day from 10:35-10:55 during the virtual and hybrid learning models. Students are invited to join in to share some conversation and be connected with students across all grades. On Wednesdays, we will have games and trivia during this time! You are welcome to participate daily or pop in occasionally - no pressure. Maybe you will even get to know some new faces! Just click the link below to take part, socialize, and participate, while using our Tamanend ROAR to respect and include each other in this group. Enjoy your snack and unwind with us at 10:35 any day. Hope to see you there! Click here to join the meeting

Dental exams are required for all 7th Graders by October 15, 2020. Any exam given since September 1, 2019 is acceptable. Please email your dental form to our certified school nurse, Mrs. Lauren Myrtetus at lmyrtetus@cbsd.org or mail it to us at 1492 Stuckert Rd. Warrington, PA 18976.

It’s a great time to order your child’s 2020-2021 Tamanend Yearbook! If you order online prior to January 31, 2021 the cost of the full-color, hardback yearbook is on sale for $35 (plus tax). This is also the deadline if you’d like to add any additional personalization to your child’s yearbook. The price of the yearbook will increase to $37.50 from February 1st-March 31st, and finally to $40 for any yearbooks ordered up until April 30th. Please click the link here to take you to Jostens online ordering page. No preorders will be accepted in school – all orders must be done through Jostens. If you have any questions, please email Kristen Gerth at kgerth@cbsd.org.

Tamanend Student Picture Days are scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th (for Hybrid 1 students) and Friday, December 11th (for Hybrid 2 students). 100% online students may come to Tamanend for their student pictures on Tuesday, December 8th from 1:30--5:00 or on Friday December 11th from 1:30--5:00. Additionally, parents/guardians of 100% online students can call C&C Studios at 215-345-1851 or email candcphotostudios@verizon.net to schedule their appointment. Once your appointment has been made, we will email you the paperwork (Picture Order Form and Covid-19 Consent Form) needed to be filled out brought in at the time of your appointment. Please note that parent(s)/guardian(s) of Hybrid students may also make an appointment to have their child's picture taken at the studio if they don't wish to wait until the in-person dates in December. The last day for appointments at C&C Studios is Friday, January 29.

Should you wish to make an appointment for any other children that may attend high school or elementary school please feel free to do so. All scheduled appointments will be given ample time to provide the utmost customer service and the time allotted will be based on the number of students per family being photographed.

Please note that in-studio appointments will not be available for purchase online.

All questions will be answered directly by C&C Studios at 215-345-1851 or email candcphotostudios@verizon.net. For a copy of our Covid-19 Safety Protocol, please email us at the above email address and we send you one.

Picture order forms were distributed to Hybrid students. Order forms are now available in our Lobby for pick up and will also be available on our student picture days.

Join us for the Tamanend Parent Book Club. This year, we will be reading It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (2015) by Danah Boyd. The book describes how social media impacts teenagers and how they connect with the world around them. This book club will follow a "no-pressure" format in which the facilitator will present a summary of the chapter and open the floor for discussion. We will share resources and ideas with the goal of helping the entire Tamanend parent community navigate the challenges and joys of raising adolescents. The first meeting will be held on January 7 at 6:30 via Teams. Click here to read more about the Parent Book Club. Click here to join the meeting.

Are you interested in global issues and news? Do you want to get involved in helping people in your community and around the globe? Join the Tamanend UNICEF Unite Club. This club was started this year and the purpose of this club is serve as a space to discuss global issues, engage students, help students use their voice to enforce positive change, make better thinkers and communicators, and much more. Students will have the opportunity to learn about child protection, education, water, sanitation and hygiene which may align with certain areas of study, allowing for a more insightful, understanding life outside of the classroom. The club will also provide students with an opportunity to gain leadership positions on campus. Through fundraising, awareness, and community service, we will be able to help the millions of children who need our help. Please fill out this interest form https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=j0gLqp78hUGl4zhCIN8jyiSa13bnl15Kgt4n4oFy81FURjJUTThYNlM2M0xTN0pWNFU5MzNWUE9OQy4u if you are interested in the club. Meetings will be once every two weeks virtually A date for our first meeting will be sent out to those interested soon! If you have any questions feel free to contact Kalidindi.H055@student.cbsd.org , EORINSKI@cbsd.org , or AHIGGINS@cbsd.org.

The Tamanend UNICEF Unite Club has some important information to share on how you can make an impact in a child’s life this holiday season. Click this link https://events.unicefusa.org/event/unicef-clubs-holiday-inspired-gifts-guide and consider buying an item that will go to a child in need. $10 can buy 20 jump-ropes, $12 can buy 5 basketballs, $18 can buy 5 school backpacks, $20 provide 100 bars of soap, and $55 buys a child 2 months worth of food. All items helps children in refugee camps, child-solider rehabilitation centers, and schools (through the George Harrison Fund). These items can bring communities together in helping them play, keep clean, and keep healthy. So add this to this years holiday list! Our club name “Tamanend UNICEF Unite Club”. We you a healthy and happy holiday season!”

Do you want to improve your speaking and analysis skills? Do you like exploring legal issues of everyday events? Or, just want to spend some time hanging out with Mr. Sterner and Mr. Heisey? We are pleased to offer the Mock Trial Club at Tamamend for any interested 9th graders. It’s a great way to learn about the legal profession and debate your way through an actual case as either a lawyer or a witness, as well as build your skills for future participation and competition at CB South. Please e-mail Mr. Heisey (jheisey@cbsd.org) or Mr. Sterner (dsterner@cbsd.org) if you are interested. Thank you!

While we can’t currently run Tamanend Today, our live weekly TV show, we are still seeking interested students who enjoy broadcast media and video production. We have some ideas for production until we can go live again, and we would like your ideas for when we can go live. Until then, join us and be a part of producing meaningful, pre-recorded broadcasts and features. If media production is your thing, please reach out via e-mail to Mr. Sterner (dsterner@cbsd.org) or Mr. Landis (mdlandis@cbsd.org) to be part of our Tamanend Today Club! Thank you!

Do you like having an impactful voice through writing, art, and/or photography? Then please join us as part of Roaring Voices Review, Tamanend’s own literary magazine. Please let Mrs. Mancini (lmancini@cbsd.org) or Mr. Sterner (dsterner@cbsd.org) know if you are interested via e-mail, and we will alert you to our first meeting. Thank you!

Teachers will be taking attendance every class period during hybrid learning. If your child is unable to participate in hybrid learning during all or part of the day due to illness or medical appointment, please report your child's absence in any of the following ways:

• Email: tamanendattendance@cbsd.org
• Phone (Attendance hotline): 267-893-2920

Please note for Hybrid students: If your child is participating online from home due to illness on a day he or she is scheduled to be in the building, please contact Attendance. Your child will receive Attendance credit for participating online that day if he/she is logging on to Teams calls and participating in classes.

A reminder that students should check their Outlook email daily for important reminders and information from teachers. This is another great way to stay connected.

“The greatest gift parents can give their children is to help them discover their purpose and passion”, states Peter Benson a leading authority on childhood and adolescence and the author of Sparks. This can be an overwhelming challenge in today’s difficult world. Over the past 2 years, school counselors from all building levels in CBSD have developed a K-12 Guidance Plan. Brainstorming, stake-holder involvement, creative planning, goal setting and implementation continue to be part of this. The Plan includes what is currently part of our academic, social/emotional guidance curriculum and in this evolving process we will try to meet the variety of needs of our students and school community. We invite you to share in our continued learning on how to inspire passion and purpose. Articles, videos, and documents will be shared in your school newsletter on a regular basis. Look for the SPARKS picture like the one above. We hope you find this information beneficial to you and your family. We appreciate your time and involvement in the education of all our students.

For comments or questions, please contact Ginny Barrett at vbarrett@cbsd.org.

The Innovation and Technology Department has created this webpage to explain the many ways to access technology support.

https://www.cbsd.org/Page/63431

Families can access the online application for Free & Reduced Meals by clicking here. The application must be submitted each year.

If you are experiencing a financial hardship, please know that the staff members listed below can help you and your family. We can provide assistance with food, clothing, field trips, student fees, internet access, and other issues. Please don't hesitate to contact us:

Brian Caughie, Principal bcaughie@cbsd.org

Kyle Dudley, Assistant Principal kdudley@cbsd.org

Lauren Myrtetus, Certified School Nurse lmyrtetus@cbsd.org

Jeff Klein, Guidance Counselor jklein@cbsd.org

Mandy Cammann, Guidance Counselor mcammann@cbsd.org

The Boomerang Youth Recognition Award, it is a district-wide monthly program which recognizes and honors youth in our community for exemplifying and living by one of the chosen Developmental Assets®. These Developmental Assets were identified as a set of skills, experiences, relationships and behaviors that enable young people to develop into successful and contributing adults.

Nominations for November's Boomerang Asset are due by Monday, 12/14. The chosen for November is Asset #15: Positive Peer Influence- Recognizing a young person models responsible behavior for their peers. Please submit your nomination through this link.

Here is a list of ways Tamanend communicates with students, families, and the community:

• Tamanend website: includes important information, resources, calendar of school events, and daily announcements
• Calendar of school events (posted on our website)
• Daily announcements (scrolling on TV screens during school day and posted on our website)
• TV show (weekly, during Advisory period)
• Email blasts from Tamanend administration regarding important news, new procedures, and reminders
• Parent Portal: student information, grades, and attendance
• Tamanend Connections newsletter: useful information, important reminders, and school highlights emailed weekly during school year and posted on Tamanend website
• Twitter: @CBTamanendMS highlights of activities, events, and daily life at Tamanend
• CBSD app: highlights of activities, events, and daily life in Central Bucks