TMS Community ROAR Report
Be the Change at TMS
Email: janine.smith@fcps.org
Website: https://education.fcps.org/tms/
Location: 408 East Main Street, Thurmont, MD, United States
Phone: (240)-236-5100
Twitter: @JanineSmithFCPS
November Newsletter
Be the Change
Greetings Panther Families,
Thurmont Middle School invites you to participate in our school’s 2022-2023 Family Survey. Your feedback is important to us! Your responses will remain anonymous and will be combined with the responses of other families.
To access the survey online, go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Family_22-23
Important: If you have more than one child enrolled in FCPS, please complete one survey per child. If you require a paper survey, please contact Ms. Newman @ 240-236-5100. The survey will remain open until Tuesday, November 22 at 11:59pm EST.
We thank you in advance for your feedback!
Be the Change,
Janine Smith~Principal
Chris Bittner~Assistant Principal
Anita Shank~Assistant Principal
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
Important Calendar Date Reminders
- Tuesday, November 8th-Schools Closed: Election Day
- Wednesday, November 9th-Leo Club Meeting-2:30 Media Center
- Wednesday, November 9th-PBIS Roy Rogers Fundraiser 5:00pm
- Monday, November 14th-Campus Life Meeting-2:30 pm
- Wednesday, November 16th-SGA Meeting-2:30pm
- Wednesday, November 16th-TMS Talent Show 6:00pm
- Monday, November 21st-Book Club Meeting 2:30pm-Media Center
- Monday, November 21st-Campus Life Meeting-2:30pm
- Wednesday, November 23rd-School Closed-Thanksgiving Break
- Thursday, November 24th-School Closed-Thanksgiving
- Friday, November 25th-School Closed-Thanksgiving Break
- Wednesday, November 30th-2-Hour Early Dismissal-Mid-Term
- Wednesday, November 30th-8th Grade Parent Night-Life After Middle School 6:00pm
- Thursday, December 1st-Community Food Distribution 3:30pm
- Thursday, December 1st-PTA Meeting 5:00pm
- Thursday, December 1st-Internet Saftey Night Presentation 6:00pm
Please Continue to Reinforce with Your Student our TMS Norms.
22-23 School Year Updates
Mid-Term for Term 2: Mid-term for Term 2 is on Wednesday, November 30th.
If your child has missing assignments or needs to complete a re-assessment, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible.
The deadline to submit missing assignments and re-dos/reassessment for the first half of the term is Wednesday, November 23rd, one week prior to the mid-term date.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher.
All students also have access to free online tutors 24 hours a day using the TutorMe link in Schoology.
Holiday Turkey Distribution:
- Date: Tuesday, November 22
- Time: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
- Location: Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, 21 Stadium Drive, Frederick, MD 21703
- Other events activities include community resources, raffles, music and much more!! Open to all Frederick County families
- To receive a turkey, you must attend in person and show a driver's license (or other form ID) to prove that you are a resident of Frederick County.
For questions or concerns, please contact:
Mike Grogan: mgrogan@cityoffrederickmd.gov or 240-409-9005 OR
Dajah Gee: dgee@cityoffrederickmd.gov or 240-344-3065
Lunch Monitors at TMS: TMS has two daily Lunch Monitor positions available. The hours are Monday-Friday (10:15 AM-1:15 PM). The pay rate is 15.36/HR. Please contact Ms. Anita Shank at anita.shank@fcps.org if you are interested or know of anyone who would be interested in applying for these positions.
Position: Lunch Monitor (2 positions)
Hours: Monday-Friday (10:15 AM-1:15 PM)
Pay Rate: $15.36 /HR
Attendance Matters: The Thurmont Middle School Staff wants students to attend school every day. Absences mean that a student misses skills and concepts essential to academic success. Please take a moment to view our TMS Attendance Brochure.
What Can You Do:
- Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day.
- Help your student maintain daily routines.
- Seek out help for any issues that may be interfering with your student’s attendance at school, such as mental health, physical health, or peer issues.
- Work with school personnel to develop a plan to improve your student’s attendance.
- Know the school’s attendance policy – incentives and penalties.
- Check on your child’s attendance to be sure absences are not adding up.
No amount of make-up work can replace the quality of learning achieved in the classroom from direct instruction and interactions with the teacher and classmates.
FCPS November Textbook Review: At designated times throughout the year, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) publicly displays textbooks that are being considered for future use. In accordance with FCPS Regulation 500-38, Textbook Review, Selection, and Approval, these materials are made available for public review at the main branch of the Frederick County Public Library, and also available as digital texts when applicable. Reaction forms are provided at the display and also available online. The review schedule and lists of textbooks are posted on the FCPS website here: http://www.fcps.org/academics/textbooks-for-review.
For November 2022, textbooks will be on public display from Monday, October 31 through Monday, November 7, 2022, at the C. Burr Artz Public Library, 110 East Patrick Street, Frederick, MD 21701, during normal operating hours. The current list of textbooks available for review and information about how to access digital texts are provided here.
FCPS and the Board of Education welcome the involvement of stakeholders in the textbook review, selection, and approval process.
Attendance Information:
If your child is unable to attend school due to an illness or doctor's appointment, or any other reason, please email a note to our attendance secretary, Ms. Shannon Ingram at tms.attendance@fcps.org.
For early dismissals:
- Parent/Guardian will come to the office to sign student out
- Please bring your ID
- Allow adequate time to locate student for an early dismissal
- If you allow someone else to sign your student out, please note the name you authorize in your note to the school. They will be required to show ID to pick up student.
Don’t forget, when going to a medical appointment, remember to get a doctor's note from their office. We will update your student's attendance accordingly.
FCPS Bus Delay Information:
A quick and easy resource to check if your child's bus is delayed is to visit https://apps.fcps.org/transdelay/ This site is updated in real-time to reflect any bus delays.
Volunteering at TMS:
Are you interested in volunteering at TMS? If so, all volunteers must complete the virtual training linked here. Please note this must be completed to chaperone field trips. Please reach out to Shannon Ingram with questions/concerns.
Tutor Me
TutorMe.com, a new, free student online tutoring and homework help service, is now available in any subject for students in grades 6-12.
TutorMe.com is a secure, online resource easily accessible through the FCPS Clever Portal and offers on-demand assistance. The TutorMe.com service provides assistance that aligns with the FCPS curriculum, including knowledge of new curriculum tools being implemented. The service maintains rigorous standards, providing high-quality, diverse tutors, screened for excellence (including a criminal background check). The service is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. More information is available at the vendor website, www.tutorme.com and this Student Support Document.
Recording Volunteer and Community Service Hours:
TMS students can earn a meritorious certificate for completing 25 or more volunteer/community service hours during middle school. Information about volunteer and community service hours are available HERE on our FCPS website. The RECORDING FORM HERE should be completed and turned in to Ms. Desonier through email or Schoology messages at the conclusion of each volunteer project. There are specific guidelines about the types of projects that qualify as service learning projects so please contact Ms. Desonier at madelyn.desonier@fcps.org or 240-236-5185 if you have any questions!
FCPS Regulation Review
All schools are required to share the following FCPS Regulations:
Regulation 500 - 32: Replacement of Lost or Damaged Instructional Materials
Regulation 400 - 73: Responsible Use of Digital Technology
Regulation 400 - 48: Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation Complaint Process for Students
Regulation 500 - 05: Grading, Reporting, and Intervention-Secondary
TMS PTA Needs YOU!
2022-23 PTA Board of Directors:
Christy Donnelly-President
Danielle Bloxham-Treasurer
Amanda Knott-Secretary
PTA Meetings 5:00-6:00pm
December 1 General Meeting
January 5 Board Meeting
February 2 General Meeting
March 2 Board Meeting
April 6 General Meeting
May 4 Board Meeting
Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/amx-ffxy-adk