The Tohickon Golden Eagle
February 2019
THE SECOND SEMESTER BEGINS
Dear Tohickon Families,
The second semester began on January 29th. It is very hard to believe that half of the school year has concluded. The main events during the month of February are eighth to ninth grade course selection, the Relay for Life Kick Off Assembly, Math Midterms, the Annual Dodgeball Tournament and 6th Grade Parent Orientation.
Eight to ninth grade course selection will take place on February 4th and February 5th. Students will proceed down to the library during their science classes to meet with the guidance counselors. During the meeting, the counselors will walk them through the process of selecting electives for the 2019-2020 School Year.
The Relay for Life Kick Off Assembly will take place on February 5th. During the assembly, cancer survivors are invited to come and speak to students about the event and the importance of participating. The Eighth and Ninth Grade students attend the assembly since they are the grade levels that participate in Relay for Life.
The Math Midterms are scheduled for Friday, February 8th. The midterms are administered in several math classes. It is important for students to eat well and get a good night's sleep prior to taking the exam.
The annual Dodgeball Tournament is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 8th. This year, the Plumstead Police Department registered to participate. We are hopeful that we have a good turnout, as the proceeds from the event go to benefit the Student Council and our Spring Musical.
Lastly, 6th Grade Orientation is scheduled to take place a few weeks earlier than usual on Tuesday, February 19th. The event will begin with an open house at 6:30 PM in the cafeteria. The math, science, English and social studies coordinators will be present for the open house event.
As we move into the month of February and the second half of the year, I wish all of our families a wonderful month!
Sincerely,
Kevin Marton, Principal
Important February Events
There are several upcoming events that students and parents should be aware of. The events for the month of January are as follows:
February 4th and 5th
- 8th Grade Students select Ninth Grade Electives
February 5th
- Relay for Life Kickoff Assembly
February 6th
- Bucks County DA to speak to Ninth Grade on dangers of drug use
February 8th
- Math Midterms
- Dodgeball Tournament 6-9PM
February 19th
- Sixth Grade Parent Orientation (Open House begins at 6:30 PM)
February 21st
- Evening Parent Council Meeting beginning at 7PM
PENN ENGINEERING SAYS "THANK YOU" TO OUR NINTH GRADE STUDENTS
The executives at Penn Engineering treated our entire ninth grade class to a pizza lunch on Friday, January 25th. The purpose of the lunch was to say "thank you" for the wonderful, thoughtful cards that our ninth grade students sent shortly after the Penn Engineering facility suffered a significant fire. Mr. Felton worked closely with the company leaders to organize the lunch. We are hoping to develop an ongoing partnership with Penn Engineering as we move forward.
MRS. ANDREA BELLAVANCE NOMINATED FOR PENNSYLVANIA TEACHER OF THE YEAR
We are honored to have a 2018-2019 PA Teacher of the Year Nominee at Tohickon MS. Mrs. Andrea Bellavance, a 7th Grade Mathematics Teacher, was nominated for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. This is a very prestigious nomination and we are thrilled to have one of our Tohickon Teachers recognized in this way. We will be closely monitoring Mrs. Bellavance's progress, as the path to win this award involves an extensive process with multiple steps. If you happen to see Mrs. Bellavance, please wish her the best!!!
TOHICKON STUDENT WINS PETE & C TECHNOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR
In November, Mrs. Fox and Mr. Powell nominated Mila A. for the PETE & C Technology Student of the Year. To be nominated, you had to be a Pennsylvania student in grades 6-12 who is doing unique or outstanding work to promote or participate in educational technology endeavors. During the last week of January, we received a letter from PETE & C saying that Mila had been selected for the award. This is a very impressive feat, and Tohickon & CB is very lucky to have Mila! She’s a Tohickon iTeam member, an honors student, and overall great ambassador for the Central Bucks School District. Tohickon is very proud of her!
2018-2019 PSSA TESTING DATES
The 2018-2019 PSSA Dates have been selected. We will be administering the PSSA Test as follows:
ELA TESTING DATES
April 16th (AM and PM)
April 17th (AM only)
MATH TESTING DATES
April 30th (AM and PM)
SCIENCE TESTING DATES
May 2nd (AM and PM)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Tohickon Guidance Office at 267-893-3310.
FOR PETE'S SAKE CANCER COLOR RACE/WALK 5K AND 1 MILE FUN RUN
On Sunday, April 14th, 2019, there will be a 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run at Central Bucks East. The purpose of the event is to enable cancer patients and their loved ones to strengthen, deepen, and unify their relationships by creating unforgettable and lasting respite vacations. Use the following link to register or to make a donation: https://takeabreakfromcancer.org/event/cancercolorrace/
TEAM HAPPENINGS!!!
Grade 7
Hello from 7th grade! Both teams recently celebrated students with a mid-year awards assembly. Students were recognized for academic excellence, leadership skills and being and all-around good person! We can’t believe that we are half-way though the school year. This is a good time to replenish school supplies like pencils, paper, erasers, tissues, etc. The school store is available to purchase school supplies during the first resource of each week. As a service learning project for Martin Luther King Day seventh graders wrote Valentine’s to the residents of a local nursing home in Doylestown. We are sure they will enjoy the messages from the students. Stay tuned for another seventh grade service learning project for Hope Lodge and Relay for Life. More information will be sent home via email in February.
Team Odyssey - Grade 8
Happy New Year from Team Odyssey! Many exciting things are happening for Team Odyssey students lately. Students in Advanced Science and Social Studies have been working hard on science projects and their National History Day projects. Program Planning is coming up and students will have the opportunity to make selections for 9th grade courses. This is a very important process for upcoming 9th grade students. Be sure to discuss selections with your child. Next month, on February 21st, all 8th graders will visit the Franklin Institute. We will visit exhibits that align with the science curriculum here at Tohickon. We will also be viewing a movie in the IMAX Theater called Dream Big: Engineering Our World. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress or course selection for 9th grade please reach out to your child’s teachers.
Team Expedition - Grade 8
Team Expedition is moving right along with another community service project. Students are working in their advisories to create an event that supports their community in some way. Last year students raised over $400 via a floor hockey tournament; can’t wait to see what they come up with this year. Students in English class are working with the Daniel Key’s classic, Flowers for Algernon. Infusing psychology and ethics into their analysis of the text. Mr. T’s class is doing a full analysis of the Constitution and will complete this study with a mock congress activity. Math continues to work with numbers and shapes. In science, students are did a deep dive into molecules and atoms, working with various modules to create depth of knowledge.
Ninth Grade Team
It’s hard to believe that we have already finished two marking periods and are heading into the second half of the school year. Here is a quick recap of some of the things going on in ninth grade.
In English, students have finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird and writing their theme essays. Now, we are turning our attention to Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night. Wiesel was just fifteen, the same age as our ninth-graders, when he and his family were evacuated from their village and sent to a concentration camp in Poland. His first-hand account helps students to better understand the horrors of the Holocaust. Both books provide a nice tie-in to what students are learning about in social studies.
In social studies, we are studying the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression. These units include a strong dose of politics, economics and culture. The stock market, banks, music and speakeasies all come into play. Coming soon to a “theater” near you – WWII.
In science, we have been learning about some odd quirks of anatomy that can be explained by evolution from common ancestors. Whales, for instance, still have tiny vestigial remnants of leg and hip bones even though their ancestors lost the ability to walk on land millions of years ago. We’ve also been learning about the structure of DNA and how random genetic mutations, along with natural selection, account for the vast diversity we see in all of the species on Earth. In the next few weeks we’ll be looking at fossils of human ancestors, including the famous “Lucy”, as we attempt to reconstruct the evolutionary family tree of hominids.
Ninth graders are in the midst of the course selection process for next year. Be sure to talk to your son or daughter about his or her choices for next year.
Tohickon Club Update
In order for clubs to run, a teacher must be willing to sponsor the club after school and there must be a reasonable level of student interest. For these reasons, Tohickon clubs may be different from year to year. Throughout the year, Tohickon expects to be running the following clubs:
- Diversity Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Fox (bfox@cbsd.org)
- Art Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Bongiorno (abongiorno@cbsd.org)
- A.C.E. Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Fox (bfox@cbsd.org)
- Math Club and Math Counts Team- Sponsored by Mrs. Bellavance and Mrs. Rissing (abellavance@cbsd.org)
- Morning Math Help Club - Mrs. Bellavance and Mrs. Rissing (abellavance@cbsd.org)
- Fitness Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Dobrowolski (ndobrowolski@cbsd.org)
- Garden Club (Seasonal) - Sponsored by Mr. Neely (jneely@cbsd.org)
- Film/Moviemaking Club - Sponsored by Mr. Powell (mpowell@cbsd.org)
- Running Club - Sponsored by Ms. Lewis and Mrs. Parisi (alewis@cbsd.org)
- Writing Club - Sponsored by Mr. Sibel (zsibel@cbsd.org)
- Student/Parent Book Club - Sponsored by Mr. Sibel (zsibel@cbsd.org)
- Magic: The Gathering Club - Sponsored by Mr. Geller (zgeller@cbsd.org)
- Ultimate Frisbee Club - Sponsored by Mr. Altmire (jaltmire@cbsd.org)
The number of clubs may increase as the year progresses. We will continue to keep you updated in our monthly newsletters, listing all active clubs. If you are interested in joining one of the clubs at Tohickon or have any questions, please see the club's sponsor in order to sign up.
Parent Council Meeting during evening in Feburary
The next Parent Council Meeting will take place on Thursday, February 21, at 7:00 PM in the Tohickon Library. We have decided to offer an evening meeting for parents that are unable to attend during the school day.
From the Nurse's Office
This is a reminder that it is Cold and Flu season and that the health office does not have cold medication to administer without a physician order and a signed Medication Dispensing Form (CB-418). This medication should be administered prior to coming to school. Here is a friendly reminder that the best way to prevent the spread of cold and flu symptoms is by washing your hands often and to cover your cough with your arm! Your children may carry a personal supply of cough drops for their use during the day but no other medication is allowed. Also, Chapstick or other brands of lip balm should never be shared with others. If you have any questions feel free to call the health office at 267-893-3315.
Sports Update
Winter Sports continue at Tohickon…
- 9th Grade Girls Basketball (Runs through Feb. 1st). Head Coach - Pat Costello (Contact - pcostell@cbsd.org)
- 7th Grade Boys Basketball (Begins Jan. 14th and runs through Mar. 4th). Head Coach - Matt Dickter (Contact - dickter422@hotmail.com)
- Varsity Boys Basketball for 7th and 8th Grade Students (Begins Jan. 14th and runs through March 8th). Head Coach - Zach Sibel (Contact - zsibel@cbsd.org)
- 9th Grade Boys Basketball (Runs through Feb. 8th). Head Coach - John Altmire (Contact - jaltmire@cbsd.org)
- Cheerleading - Continues through the winter season. See contact information below.
In addition to sports announcements being placed on The Morning Show (Monday and Thursday), the Daily Announcements, Sway (for 7th and 8th Grade Students), ALL coaches are expected to communicate directly with students through the Remind App. Any late cancellations due to weather will be communicated on the loud speaker between 1:00 and 2:00 PM of that day.
In order to participate in a sport at Tohickon, the following needs to be done prior to tryouts:
Register for child's desired sport via Family ID on the Tohickon Website under Athletics.
Hand in section 5 and 6 of the PIAA Physical if your child did not play a fall sport. This needs to be dated after June 1, 2018. If they played a fall sport, section 7 of the PIAA physical for needs to be completed and handed in. Students will not be permitted to tryout unless both are completed prior to the tryout dates.
All physicals can be handed in to Mr. Costello in room 122 or emailed directly to pcostell@cbsd.org. Physicals will not be accepted at tryouts; they need to be handed in at least three days before the tryouts.
Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Costello if you have any questions and/or concerns. Please contact Mr. Costello via email.
FROM THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT
Middle School Orientation for parents of sixth graders will be held on Tuesday, February 19th 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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PROGRAM PLANNING INFORMATION for 2019-20
9th Grade
Students enter their course requests in the portal by Sunday evening, February 3rd
Counselors will meet individually with all 9th grade students during Science classes to review their course requests. All students will meet with a counselor before the end of February.
Verifications will be sent home on March 6th
Signed verifications are due back March 13th
No changes to course requests will be accepted after March 13th
8th Grade
Program planning assembly – January 31st
Teachers review Honors vs Academic criteria in class
Students select electives during Science classes February 4th & 5th
Verifications will be sent home February 26th
Signed verifications are due back March 5th
7th Grade
Teachers review Honors/Academic and Reading/World Language recommendations in class
Students who would like to Add or Drop Chorus, Band or Orchestra for 8th grade must stop by the guidance office by February 4th to request the change
Verifications will be sent home February 8th
Signed verifications are due back February 13th
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Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300