The Tohickon Golden Eagle
March 2018
Dear Tohickon Families,
The month of March will begin with Sixth Grade Orientation and the Spring Musical. We will hold our first ALICE Drill with students during the second week. As the month comes to a close, we will conclude the Program Planning Process for the 2018-2019 School Year. Lastly, Parent-Teacher Conferences will take place on March 29th.
The Sixth Grade Parent Orientation will begin at 7:00 PM. Upon arrival, parents will have an opportunity to visit with subject area coordinators and special area teachers. The main program will begin at 7:30 PM in the auditorium. During this presentation, Mr. Marton, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Costello and the guidance counselors, will discuss the key pillars of Tohickon, important aspects of the schedule and the various ways that the school communicates information.
The Spring Musical this year is Oklahoma! This year's musical is scheduled for its first showing on March 8th at 7:00 PM, followed by a performance on March 9th at 7:00 PM and two performances on March 10th, a matinee beginning at 2:30 PM and an evening performance at 7:00 PM. The students and staff have been hard at work since November. If you have an opportunity, please come out to see the show and support our students.
During the month of January, all students participated in an orientation on ALICE. ALICE, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate, is a new set of federally endorsed protocols for an intruder on campus that the Central Bucks School District has adopted. On March 16th, students and staff will participate in their first ALICE Drill. You can find more detailed information about ALICE below.
Lastly, the 2018-2019 Program Planning Process will conclude for all grade levels this month. The signed verifications for Eighth Grade Students are due back by March 6th and March 14th for grade nine.
If you have any questions about these events or any listed below, please contact the main office at 267-893-3300. I hope you have a great month!
Sincerely,
Kevin Marton, Principal
MARCH EVENTS
There are several upcoming events that students and parents should be aware of. The events for the month of March are as follows:
March 1st
- Bucks County World Language Tournament at Quakertown High School
March 6th
- Sixth Grade Parent Orientation beginning at 7:00 PM at Tohickon
March 8th
- Spring Musical beginning at 7:00 PM
March 9th
- Spring Musical beginning at 7:00 PM
March 10th
- Spring Musical Matinee at 2:30 PM
- Spring Musical beginning at 7:00 PM
March 14th
- Operation Helping Hand Food Drive at Tohickon
March 15th
- Parent Council Meeting in Library beginning at 9:00 AM
March 16th
- ALICE Drill during the Advisory Period
March 23rd
- School Dental Exams during the day
- Tohickon Jam Jazz Fest after school
March 29th
- Parent-Teacher Conferences - No School for Students
March 30th
- School is Closed
ALICE DRILL TO BE CONDUCTED ON MARCH 16TH
As you know, Central Bucks has adopted a new set of Federally endorsed protocols for an intruder on campus situation, known as ALICE. The acronym stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
Now that students have been introduced to our ALICE Protocols, the next step is to practice these procedures with planned drills. Our first drill will have students practicing how to secure a door and construct a barricade using items from their classroom. We will be conducting this "practice" drill on Friday, March 16th, during an advisory period. We will be clear in our announcement that this is only a drill. We want to be sure that students have time to ask questions and debrief so we are providing time for this to occur.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
The Tohickon Staff will be scheduling Parent/Teacher Conferences shortly. Spring Conferences are scheduled to be held on Thursday, March 29th from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
If your child’s teacher has a concern about his/her progress, you will be contacted to schedule a conference. You may also initiate a conference by contacting the office during the week of March 19th through 23rd between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Please call 267-893-3300 during this time to schedule a conference. If the line is busy, please hang up and call again. This year we are requesting that your child be present during the conference.
Parent requests for conferences will be established in the order in which they are received. However, every attempt will be made to schedule your conference at the time you desire. Also, if convenient, you may arrange for a telephone conference in lieu of a personal conference.
Please be reminded that teams are also available on a regular basis during team planning time to meet with parents who have concerns or who desire a conference.
Excitement builds over the opening of Oklahoma! - The Spring Musical
Over 65 students came out for this year’s Musical production, Roger and Hammerstein’s “Getting to Know Oklahoma!” Our amazing actors have spent the last three months learning lines, rehearsing choreography and preparing to put on the show of a life time!
We are so proud of all the time and effort these students have put in to make this years performance one of the best ever. Tickets for “Oklahoma!” can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com, search "Tohickon". We can’t wait for show time, hope to see you there!
COMMUNICATION FOR SPORTS, CLUBS AND AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
We are always looking for ways to improve communication at Tohickon. Beginning Monday, March 5th, announcements for sports, clubs and/or after school activities will take place on a daily basis as follows:
- Grade 9 - Announcements will be reviewed by the classroom teacher during period 5.
- Grades 7 and 8 - Announcements will be reviewed by the classroom teacher during period 6.
These announcements will be read at some point during the period listed above. The announcements will only take a few moments, but will be given in a face to face manner where clarification questions can be asked.
Lastly, all announcements shared during these time periods will be posted on the Tohickon website, under "Daily Announcements" by noon each day. We are hopeful that this will be an improvement to how we currently communicate.
BOOMERANG AWARD WINNER
Congratulations to Jayden M., our January 2018 Boomerang Youth Recognition Award Winner!!! The asset for the month was "Service to Others."
Jayden is a very caring individual who is always willing to help friends, family or community members. His service is sometimes in the form of an organized event but is often something that he chooses to do on his own with his family.
Jayden often finds ways to help others through church, scouts and school; his service is always appreciated thanks to his dedication and fun personality.
Congratulations Jayden!!!
UPCOMING PSSA TESTING DATES
- PSSA ELA: April 10-12
- PSSA Math: April 17 & 18
- PSSA Science: April 24 & 25
- Algebra 1 Keystones: May 15 & 16
To prepare for the assessments, students are encouraged to go to bed early, eat a healthy breakfast and bring water, a calculator, and two #2 pencils. Students may not bring any unapproved electronic devices: cell/smartphones, smart-watches, ereaders, tablets, etc.
ADVISORY PRESENTATIONS ON FEBRUARY 22ND FOCUS ON DRUG AWARENESS AND VAPING
On Thursday, February 22nd, Mr. Thomas Gannon, Bucks County District Attorney, presented to grades eight and nine as part of the Advisory Program. This Drug Awareness presentation is an annual event at Tohickon that provides students with an important understanding of the negative impacts of drug use.
Also on February 22nd, at the same time that our eighth and ninth grade students were meeting with the District Attorney, members of The Council of Southeastern Pennsylvania spoke to our seventh grade students about the dangers of vaping. This, like the drug awareness presentation was also part of our Advisory Program.
We are hopeful that these presentations will be effective in building awareness and deterring involvement in these activities!
Tohickon Sports Update
The Spring Athletic season will kick into high gear on Monday, March 19th. It is our busiest time of the year as we will be fielding a 7/8 girls Lacrosse team, a 7/8 boys Lacrosse team, a 7/8 Track team, 7th, 8th & 9th grade softball teams (numbers permitting), 7th, 8th & 9th grade baseball teams (again, numbers permitting), and a 7th & 8th grade girls soccer team. Field space and weather are always an issue in the Spring, so wish us luck! If your son or daughter is considering playing a Spring sport, please make sure that their physical, or recertification, is up to date and that you have filled out all of the pertinent information on Family ID. These both can be found on the Tohickon website under Athletics. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to email our Athletic Director, Pat Costello at pcostell@cbsd.org.
Tohickon Club Information
We, at Tohickon, have always expressed to parents and students the importance of getting involved in school activities, clubs, events, etc. Club offerings have greatly expanded during this school year. At this point, I am proud to announce the following club offerings for Tohickon:
Afternoon Math Club – Sponsored by Andrea Bellavance and Kim Rissing (abellavance@cbsd.org)
Art Club – Sponsored by Alison Bongiorno and Samantha Schollenberger (abongiorno@cbsd.org)
Band Enrichment Club – Sponsored by Sarah McGahey (smcgahey@cbsd.org)
Chess Club – Sponsored by Alison Lewis (alewis@cbsd.org)
- Dance Club - Sponsored by Melinda Fuller and Natalie Dobrowolski (mefuller@cbsd.org)
Diversity Club – Sponsored by Bridget Fox (brifox@cbsd.org)
Garden Club – Sponsored by Jim Neely (jneely@cbsd.org)
Morning Math Help Club – Sponsored by Andrea Bellavance (abellavance@cbsd.org)
Iron Chef Club – Sponsored by Susan Furfari (sfurfari@cbsd.org)
Orchestra Enrichment Club – Sponsored by Jennifer Repper (jrepper@cbsd.org)
Reading Olympics Club – Sponsored by Bridget Fox, Jennifer Reese and Alison Lewis (brifox@cbsd.org)
Running Club – Sponsored by Alison Lewis and Angela Parisi (alewis@cbsd.org)
Science Olympiad Club – Sponsored by Joshua Collins and Michael Weir (jucollins@cbsd.org)
Sewing Club – Sponsored by Susan Furfari (sfurfari@cbsd.org)
Student/Parent Book Club – Sponsored by Zach Sibel (zsibel@cbsd.org)
Technology Club - Sponsored by Matthew Powell (mpowell@cbsd.org)
If you would like to sign your child up for one of these clubs or have any questions about time, place, etc., please use the email listed next to each club. We are thrilled with the expansion of these clubs and are hopeful that we will have many students interested in participating. As the school year marches on, more clubs may be added, so keep a close eye on the monthly newsletter for updates.
Parent Council Meeting Reminder
The monthly Parent Council Meeting will take place on Thursday, March 15th, at 9:00 AM in the Tohickon Library. State Representative Marguerite Quinn will be present to provide us with updates from Harrisburg. Rep. Quinn will focus on education and impacts on our local community.
FROM THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT
9th Grade
Verifications will be sent home on March 7th
Signed verifications are due back March 14th
No changes to course requests will be accepted after March 16th
8th Grade
Verifications will be sent home February 27th
Signed verifications are due back March 6th
7th Grade
Program Planning Process is complete
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Middle School Orientation for parents of sixth graders will be held on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:00 PM at Tohickon Middle School. Plan to attend and learn everything you ever wanted to know about middle level education and more. If you have any questions, please call 267-893-3310.
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OPERATION HELPING HAND
You can help someone who really needs it. 1 in 10 people in our community don't know where they will get their next meal. Bring in a donation on Wednesday, March 14 and you will help change that.
Bring your donation to school on Wednesday, March 14, 2018.
Fruit juice (100%)
Breakfast cereal
Peanut butter
Canned chicken
Soup
Applesauce (no sugar added)
Canned fruit (no sugar added)
Canned vegetables (low sodium)
Canned tuna
Beans (dried or canned)
No time to shop? No problem! Financial contributions are welcome. Just $10 can feed a family of four. Checks should be made payable to United Way of Bucks County, memo line: Operation Helping Hand/School Name.
If you or someone in your family needs help, call United Way of Bucks County’s First Call for Help at 215.949.1660 ext. 7 or visit www.uwbucks.org
Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300