Tumwater News
April 15, 2022
Principal 's Message
Dear Tumwater Families,
As many woke up surprised by snow on Monday morning, I felt very grateful that our school attended Outdoor School the previous week under sunny skies and warm temperatures! Thank you to the many volunteers who joined us on Tumwater's first-ever field trip - one that included 341 sixth graders, 14 staff members, and 27 volunteers venturing to 3 parks and camps over 3 days. We could not have a successful experience without our volunteers - thank you!
Next week is Volunteer Appreciation Week and we want you to know how much we value your involvement in your child's learning and in our school community. Although volunteer opportunities have been limited this year, we are thankful for the generosity of our volunteers through the formation of our PTO, leading fundraising efforts, planning student celebrations, assisting in the lunch area and library, running the OBOB tournament, building theater sets, working with student musicians, serving as AVID Tutors, chaperoning field trips, and so much more! Registered volunteers are invited to join us for a Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, April 22nd at 9:30 in the library. Student leaders will provide refreshments, present a brief program, then lead guests on a tour of the school. If you are approved as a TMS Volunteer and would like to attend, please RSVP here by 12:00 pm Thursday, April 21st.
This week we hosted our first in-person band and choir concerts. Congratulations to our student musicians and Music Director Paul Swardstrom for stellar performances. It was wonderful to welcome families to our building and celebrate the hard-work and growth of our students. Special thanks to TMS Parent Volunteer Michael Allen Harrison for accompanying our Advanced Choir and performing a solo for us!
We look forward to many more opportunities to welcome families and community members into our school!
Warmly,
Jill O'Neill
Principal
Upcoming Events
April 19 Early Release, dismissal at 1:50 pm
April 19 Service as Action Project: Courtyard Beautification, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
April 21 THPRD Middle School Track & Field Meet at Westview HS, 5:00 - 7:45 pm
April 22 8th Grade Panoramic Picture, 9:20 am
April 22 Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, 9:30 am
April 27 Wacky Wednesday Spirit Day
Be sure to check the calendars on ParentSquare and our school website (scroll to the bottom of the home page) for the school all school events.
Learner Profile Corner
This month, the learner profile focus is on caring.
Definition: Students will develop empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Students, reflect on the questions below:
Do you use kind words, help people without being asked, and try to always show you care about others?
Think of a time when someone was caring towards you. How did that make you feel?
How could you show someone that you are caring?
This month, try to practice random acts of kindness. Small actions, like holding the door for someone, smiling and saying hello, or helping when you see a need, shows that you are aware of others and want to be of service to them.
Order your yearbook now for $18.
Online pre-order for yearbooks ends Friday, April 15th.
Order online at ybpay.com
No guarantee of yearbook availability after pre-order window closes.
Cell Phone Policy Change
Since the first day of school, our policy on cell phones has been "off and away." Staff have reminded students of the policy and strove to help students self-manage their devices. However, we are seeing an increasing disruption to learning and students sense of safety due to students using their cell phones for social media activity, recording videos, taking pictures/videos of others without consent, and using cell phones in restrooms. We are also finding that students are not fully engaged in classroom discussions, activities, or presentations because of these distractions. Therefore, beginning Monday, April 18th we are modifying the implementation of the "off and away" rule. Teachers will review the changes to the policy in classes on Monday.
What stays the same?
- Students needing to contact a parent/guardian will be directed to the office to either use their cell phone or an office phone.
- Student cell phones should be powered off and put away in a pocket, backpack, or locker from 9:15 am - 3:50 pm.
- The policy applies to all electronic personal communication devices (handheld videogames, tablets, etc.)
What changes?
- If a student's cell phone is in use and/or is out (on desk, in hand, etc), the student will be directed to the office where the phone will be kept for the rest of the school day.
- Office staff will give the student a receipt for the phone and place it in a locked location.
- At dismissal time, the student will turn in the receipt in order to pick up their phone from the office.
- Parents/guardians will be notified for repeated patterns of behavior.
How can families help?
- Ensure your child knows how to power off their phone, rather than just silence the phone.
- Refrain from texting or calling your child's cell phone during the school day.
- Consider setting device limits through your provider for use during the school day.
- Monitor your child's device for social media activity and stored pictures/videos.
- Evaluate whether accessories such as wireless headphones or smart watches are necessary for school or serve as a distraction for your child. If there is not an educational reason for the wireless headphones, please ensure they are left at home.
Digital Citizenship
During Advisory the week of April 25th our students will engage in Digital Literacy lessons focused on relationships and communication. Students will reflect on how to build positive relationships, avoid risky online talk, and understand why some topics and conversations can best lend themselves to certain mediums. Here are the lesson topics each grade level will study:
- 6th Grade - Chatting Safely Online. Essential question: How do you chat safely with people you meet online?
- 7th Grade - My Social Media Life. Essential Question: How does social media affect our relationships?
- 8th Grade - Sexting and Relationships. Essential Question: What are the risks and potential consequences of sexting?
These lessons and family resources linked below are intended to help our students understand the power of words and actions, as well as to be thoughtful and reflective as they communicate online.
Family Activity: Click here
Tips for Parents/Guardians: Click here
Guest Bus Passes
BSD Transportation is now accepting school-endorsed notes for students riding as guests on routes as they did prior to the pandemic. If your child needs to ride a bus home with another student, please send a signed note to school with your child. Before school or at lunch, they should turn the note in to the front office where they will receive a Bus Guest Pass to use on that date. We ask that students pre-arrange these passes before the end of their lunch period and will not provide them after school as office staff will not have enough time to verify parent/guardian signatures.
6th Grade Solar Cars Project
6th Grade Science teachers and students are excited to end this year on a high note with a hands-on engineering project that you can help make a reality. After extensively studying solar panels this spring, students will build their very own solar cars!
Students will learn about the fascinating transfer of solar energy to kinetic/mechanical energy. Students will sketch their ideas and re-iterate their design many times to reach optimal speed. They will also experiment with different sized wheels, axels and gears in order to get their car to travel straight, fast and far.
Hands-on projects engage our student scientists in active science inquiry and design thinking. Innovative ideas like this Solar Car project captivate student's imagination and inspire them to further investigation!
Tumwater PTO has approved a grant partially funding this project and the Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) is partnering with us in a Beaverton's Choice campaign to fund the balance, with a matching grant opportunity. The BEF Building STEAM 4 All Program will match your contribution to this project dollar-for-dollar to the goal amount. A special thanks to our partners in this program: Dave Gettling Technology Fund , First Tech Federal Credit Union, Genentech Foundation, Hoover Family Foundation, Intel Corp., Meyer Memorial Trust , PGE Foundation, Spirit Mountain Community Foundation, The Spirit of New Seasons Market Awards, and Timothy B Campbell Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
Learn more and contribute here. Please help us reach our goal and widen our donor pool by sharing on your social media.
Thank you PTO, BEF, and all our generous donors!
National Bike to School Day
BSD will celebrate National Bike to School Day during the week of May 2nd -6th. Wheel Fairies will be out visiting all schools during the week to attach small prizes to any wheels found in the school racks.
Oregon Blue Book Student Essay Contest
Calling all civic minded kids!! Oregon State Archives wants to hear from you for the Oregon Blue Book Student Essay Contest. The theme for the 2023-2024 Oregon Blue Book is, “Oregon Students Share Their Pandemic Experience.”
Elementary and middle-school aged students are encouraged to submit written or video essays. Written essays must be 100-300 words and will include an illustration to go with the essay. Video essays must be two minutes or less. Contest rules and submission information can be found here. The contest is open until Thursday, October 20, 2022. Winners will be announced in January 2023.
T-Shirt Design Contest to benefit cancer research
Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) is a non-profit organization on a mission to make childhood cancer universally survivable. One in every 5 children with cancer does not survive, even with 40 years of ongoing research. To overcome this stalemate, cc-TDI is embarking upon a bold scientific course of discovery to send more targeted drugs into clinical trials for those childhood cancers that have the most dire outcomes. For more information about cc-TDI, check out our website!
The cc-TDI Junior Board raises awareness about this critical cause and raises funds for research by hosting events and fundraisers. You’re invited to participate in an online T-shirt design contest that will morph into a fundraiser selling the designed-shirt to benefit cc-TDI's research. All the funds go toward cc-TDI.
Contest Rules:
Students 9-18 years old can design their own T-shirt online.
Submit original artwork to cc-TDI T- Shirt Design Contest Submission Form by May 21, 2022.
Submitted designs become the legal property of cc-TDI
The Junior Board and Development Committee at cc-TDI will select the top five entries and showcase them online for voting.
Online voting will take place June 4 - 18.
Winners will be announced June 22
The top 3 designs will each receive Amazon gift cards as prizes.
1st Place: $50
2nd Place: $25
3rd Place: $25
Designs will be printed on merchandise and sold beginning June 22
Design Guidelines:
The design should not…
Use inappropriate language
Display religious and political viewpoints
Be a photo of a paper drawing
OBOB Regional Champions!
Congratulations to the Reading Rapids, Tumwater's School OBOB Champions and the 1st Place finishers in the Regional Competition held virtually on April 9th. Although there will not be a state competition this year, we're looking forward to watching this team of 6th graders compete again over the next few years.
Kudos to team members Max Hyatt, Fayyad Ahmed, Story Greene, and Jack Peterson.
Want to participate in OBOB next year? Check out next year's reading list here.
USA Hockey National Tournament
Congratulations to TMS 8th Graders Enzo Sinha & Jinri Lee who participated in the USA Hockey National Tournament this past week in Kalamazoo, Michigan with the Portland Jr. Winterhawks. Not only were they representing the state of Oregon in the tournament, but they finished in 3rd place. See tournament results here.
History Bee and Science Bee
Kudos to TMS 6th Grader
Jai Shah who won participated in Regional competitions through the International Academic Competitions. He won 1st place in the Science Bee and won 2nd place in the History Bee. He will now compete in the National Championship to be held in June in Orlando, Florida.
TMS does not sponsor this competition, however qualifying tests were offered at TMS earlier this school year. Learn more about the IAC here.
Broadcom Masters
The Behavioral Science Project completed by TMS 8th Graders Clara An and Shriya Marla for the BSD Middle School Science Expo was selected to represent Tumwater Middle School at the Broadcom Masters, "the nation's premier middle school STEM competition."
Congratulations, on this opportunity made possible by the team's strong science and presentation skills, as well as their collaboration and planning
Science Olympiad State Competition
Two Science Olympiad teams affiliated with TMS recently competed in the state competition held in Eugene on April 9th. View tournament results here.
Tumwater Triumphant team won 2nd Place. That's a fantastic achievement for a first-time team consisting of only 6th and 7th graders! Team members include 6th graders Abhiram Sanka, Andrew Ma, Anuva Shah, Audrey Hou, Jai Shah, Owen Yin, and Rishan Chakraborty as well as 7th graders Ainesh Yarlagadda, Anshul Mantri, Claudia Zhuge, Hannah Ho, Riddhiman Chowdhury, Riley Thammakhoune, Taafeef Khayer, and Vedanti Patil
Tumwater Thunder is also a rookie team in the middle school division. The kids showed great team spirit and hard work. Their teamwork paid off and they earned 3rd place overall. Team members include 6th graders Asmitha Ananthan, Mihir Giani, Keshav Karumbunathan, Rohin Raghavan, Sanjana Santosh, Gautam Selvanathan, and Thilan Wijeratne; 7th Graders Isha Agarwal , Ishita Grandhi, Isha Kanabar, Aditya Kumar, Shriya Raghavendra, Shyam Ravidutt, Pushti Thakore; and 8th grader Ahana Naskar.
Science Olympiad is not a school-sponsored club, however a limited number of clubs may affiliate with TMS. Founded in 1984, Science Olympiad is one of the premier science competitions in the nation, providing standards-based challenges to 5,500 teams at 400 tournaments in all 50 states
April 2022 Tumwater PTO Community Meeting Minutes
April 2022 Tumwater PTO Community Meeting Minutes
The April Community Meeting included updates from Principal Jill O’Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. We also discussed planning for next school year. Highlights include:
- An update on school activities and events
- An update on state testing and summer school
- A report on additional grants that your support funded
- A discussion of volunteer opportunities, including on next year’s PTO Board
- The Treasurer’s Report
- A discussion of what went well this year and ideas for next year
Read the full minutes & click through the slideshow to learn more. Remember to check out the action items for parents/guardians.
We look forward to seeing you at our next final Community Meeting of the year on Thursday, 6/2. We will be voting on the 2022-23 budget & Board.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)
8th Grade Celebration Donations Still Needed!
The 8th grade celebration planning is well underway but donations are greatly needed to support this fun event for our students. Thank you to the 58 families who have donated so far! We still have a long way to go to meet the funding needs for this event. Please consider making your $25 donation sooner than later so that we can properly plan for food and activities. Consider sponsoring another student as well if you are able. Donations can be accepted at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=RTR7ENJH4TTAC. This is through PayPal, and you will have multiple payment options. If you have any questions or would like to pay by check, please email amber.fer@frontier.com.
The 8th grade celebration will be held on Friday, June 17th from 12pm-3:30pm. We will have music, a photo booth, games, lunch, and other fun surprises! Parent volunteers are needed! If you would like help with planning this fun event please reach out Amber at amber.fer@frontier.com. Many volunteers will also be needed on the day of the event. Look for volunteer sign ups in your email several weeks before the big day. Mark your calendars now!!
Thank you for your support!
CURRENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AND REMINDERS
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TUMWATER COURTYARD CLEANUP ON TUESDAY
Tumwater is looking for volunteers to help clean up and beautify Tumwater’s courtyard as part of a service project by the Student Leadership Team. This volunteer opportunity is happening on Tuesday April 19th from 2:00-4:00 pm (don’t forget it’s an early release day!) Please bring your own gardening tools and gloves with you. Here is the link to the opportunity: Tumwater Courtyard Cleanup
Tumwater is also requesting donations of flower starts to fill the empty flower beds. Please drop donations off in the office or bring them with you on the 19th.
FUTURE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES & EVENTS
Art Literacy: Be on the lookout for volunteer signups for Art Literacy. No previous art experience required and training will be provided.
Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 17-23! Stay tuned for more details on a great event being planned by the Student Leadership team to show their appreciation for our amazing volunteers! You won’t want to miss it!
Spring Social: Our first all-school spring social will be happening on May 20th and we’ll need volunteers to help at this daytime event.
8th Grade Celebration: Save the date for the first annual 8th Grade Celebration on Friday June 17 from 12 - 3:30 pm. We’ll need many volunteers, so please ensure that you are in our TMS volunteer database and be on the lookout for the email requesting volunteers closer to the event.
Tumwater Middle School
Building the knowledge and skills that empower students to change the world.
