The Tohickon Golden Eagle
November 2015
Dear Tohickon Families,
The month of November has arrived! There are several important events that will take place during the month including the end of the first marking period and parent-teacher conferences. Additionally, we will be having our annual Veteran's Day Breakfast on Wednesday, November 11th. Lastly, our annual Veteran's Wall of Honor Tour will take place during the evening of November 11th.
The first marking period concludes on Thursday, November 5th. The following Monday, November 9th, we will be holding parent-teacher conferences from 12:00 - 8:00 PM. If your child's teacher had a concern about his/her progress, you would have been contacted to schedule a conference. You can still initiate a conference by contacting the main office during the week of November 2nd through 6th between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Please call 267-893-3300 during this time to schedule the date and time for your conference.
On November 11th, we will be hosting Tohickon's Annual Veteran's Day Breakfast. This is a very special event where we recognize the service of our veterans. The breakfast takes place between 8:30 and 9:30 AM in the Tohickon Library. Family members are welcome to accompany veterans as they enjoy food, engage in conversation and share some of their incredible stories.
During the evening of November 11th, between the hours of 6:30 and 8:00 PM, all are invited to attend Tohickon's Wall of Honor Tour. During the weeks leading up to Veteran's Day, students and teachers post hundreds of pictures featuring veterans of past wars dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Please join us for this very special evening!
If you have any questions about the details of our November events, please feel free to contact the main office at 267-893-3300. On behalf of the staff at Tohickon Middle School, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Mr. Kevin Marton, Principal
Cyberbulling Assembly - District Attorney Matt Weintraub presents to 9th Grade Students
SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS
The Holiday Season Approaches
There are several upcoming events that students and parents should be aware of. The events for the month of November are as follows:
November 2nd
Picture Retakes
November 3rd
Election Day (Regular School Day for Students)
November 5th
End of the First Marking Period
November 9th
Parent Teacher Conferences (12:00 - 8:00 PM) - No School for Students
November 11th
Tohickon's Annual Veteran's Day Breakfast in the Tohickon Library
Tohickon's Wall of Honor Tour 6:30 - 8:00 PM
November 19th
Parent Council Meeting 9:00 AM
November 24th
Early Dismissal for Students 10:45 AM
November 25-27
No School - Thanksgiving Break
Parent Council Meeting Reminder
TEAM HAPPENINGS!
TEAM SUMMIT - GRADE 7
Team Summit is kicking off a community service project! We are going to collect items for OEG. Operation Eternal Gratitude (OEG) is a military support group who initiates projects to help support deployed military personnel as well as their family members. OEG has engaged in many service related assignments ranging from sending care packages to the Middle East to giving holiday gifts to military children. We are working with the OEG group at CB South. Students at Tohickon will be asked to bring in items that the military personnel need. (Please see the Team Summit website for a list of items.) Team Summit students will be responsible for making posters, boxes, and collecting the items. Students will also write letters to the service men and women in their English classes. We hope that you can help us with this project!
TEAM DISCOVERY - GRADE 7
It was a beautiful and busy day here at Tohickon on Saturday, October 24th, as Team Discovery hosted its 12th Annual Pedals for Progress Bike Drive. With 109 bikes and nearly $1,200 collected, it is safe to say the event was a huge success! Discovery students have worked hard on the drive for last five weeks, gaining real life skills and invaluable knowledge. In Social Studies, they researched the countries that P4P partners with to gain an understanding of the living and economic conditions of the areas to which the bikes are sent. In English, they completed journaling activities, exploring what it would be like to live in an impoverished part of the world without easy access to school and hopefully gaining empathy for those who are less fortunate. They also developed advertising plans and designed flyers. For Math, the students put those plans into action and kept a photo journal of their advertising efforts. Those efforts paid off and are the reason our drive was so successful! Thank you to the entire team of students for their hard work, and to the nearly 40 student volunteers, the Team Discovery teacher volunteers, and our custodian, Jim. They all worked tirelessly on Saturday breaking down the bikes to prepare them for shipping. Also, thank you to all of the parents who assisted the students with their advertising and to EVERYONE who donated!
T5 is our school wide program in which students learn what it means to have integrity, be respectful, responsible and accepting of others, as well as how to communicate effectively. In 8th grade, we have a different theme for each month. For instance, October focuses on kindness and cooperation, while November’s focus is on anxiety. The second day of each lesson is a team building activity that also practices some of the skills from the T5 lesson. Two examples of the team building activities we do in 8th grade are tug-of-war and a quiz bowl.
The pictures below are of September’s team building activity. The T5 class had to create a class name and decorate them with everyone’s name. Similar signs are posted outside of everyone’s room on the 8th grade floor.
The 9th grade students spent the last month working on their Oral History projects. For this assignment, the students had to find someone to interview about a historical event. In addition to conducting the interviews, they had to research their topics and then write scripts which were recorded as MP3 files. Some of their topics include: the 1930s, WW II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
The final product is a Power Point slide that contains a picture of the person they interviewed and a QR code that allows the viewer to listen to the story. Ninth graders then have the opportunity to share their research with their peers using multi media.
Our living history projects will be available for public viewing at our open house on Veterans Day night, November 11th from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Please feel free to stop by and see the students work. We hope to see you there.
Update from the Math Department
Does your son or daughter need extra math help? If so, the math department has two excellent options for your child.
· Every day before school from 7:00 to 7:20 AM there is early morning math help with Mr. Ellmaker, in room 118. There is no appointment necessary. Students from any math class, in any grade, can receive extra help with homework or review for a quiz or a test.
· The math department also offers peer tutoring every Monday during Resource in room 128 with Mrs. Campbell. The peer tutors are 9th grade National Junior Honor Society members who can help your child with any math homework or concept. If your child is interested in attending peer tutoring, please have him or her ask their math teacher for a pass to attend.
Is your son or daughter looking for some extra challenging math and logic problems? If so, he or she should consider attending Math Club. Tohickon’s Math Club is part of the National Math Club, funded by the Mathcounts Foundation. The goal of Math Club is to build confidence in students of all skill levels by giving them the opportunity to engage in unique math activities in a relaxed social setting. Tohickon’s Math Club meets twice a month on Thursdays after school from 2:30 to 3:30 PM in room 128. Math Club is open to all seventh and eighth grade students. Currently the club has 25 members and is led by Mrs. Bellavance and Mrs. Rissing. Our meeting dates for the remainder of the school year are: 11/12, 12/3, 12/17, 1/14, 1/28, 2/11, 2/25 and 3/10. All new members are welcome!
Art Department Happenings!
In Mrs. Thomas’ 8th grade Modern Art and Design class, the students used their observation skills to attempt to accurately render a contour line drawing of a previously selected modern artist painting. For the preliminary drawing, the students needed to draw on prior knowledge and observation skills to attempt a copy the painting. Midway, each student provided constructive feedback geared to help another peer accurately render the artwork from sight. Many found that the drawings were not to scale. After attempting to mimic the subject matter and style of the Modern Master, they progressed to learning how to execute a proper Grid Enlargement. This lesson closely aligns itself to skills used in Math class. This grid enlargement will prove to help render the Modern Master’s painting in correct proportion. When using the grid enlargement, like a puzzle, students analyzed each piece of the grid to estimate the size, place, angles and curves. Students are using sticky notes as a valuable tool to help isolate individual pieces of the puzzle grid. This technique helps to focus their observation on parts and not the whole painting. It truly helps the students to break the task into smaller, more manageable segments of work. After they finish using a grid enlargement to capture their Modern Master’s painting in correct proportion, the students will discuss and formulate an answer to “What does STYLE mean in art?” New art vocabulary will be introduced. Each student will need to select blended, textural or flat color and the necessary ways to utilize the brush to make dots, dabs, slashes, outlines and/or smooth marks. There will be several teacher demonstrations that utilize painting and color theory skills to help the students select the appropriate techniques. In the coming weeks, each student will emulate the style of a Modern Master and create a painting that clearly expresses his or her understanding of proportion, style, color theory and a variety of painting techniques. Stayed tuned!
Community Service Update
Tohickon Athletics and Community Service joined forces on Friday, October 9th, for the third annual Family Movie Night. Tohickon’s fall athletes invited Tohickon, Groveland, Pine Run and Gayman families to watch Hotel Transylvania in the auditorium. The cost of admission was one non-perishable food item per person. The student athletes and community service volunteers provided the people power for this event by collecting, sorting and boxing the food, selling concessions and greeting the guests. At the end of the night, approximately 300 pounds of food and $125 from concession sales were donated to the Doylestown Food Pantry.
In November, homerooms will be collecting food items for our annual Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive. Homerooms will be collecting all of the items needed for a Thanksgiving dinner, including food and paper products. This collection will begin during the second week of November.
Message from the Athletic Department
Winter sports start in November at the high schools. CB East will hold its concussion seminar and baseline testing on Monday, November 2nd, and CB West will hold its session on Wednesday, November 4th. Both sessions begin immediately after school. Freshmen winter athletes should take the activities shuttle for this. All students must attend the seminar, but students only need to take the test if they have not yet taken it this school year.
All Central Bucks School District Volunteers
Volunteers must have their clearances on file with the CBSD Human Resources Department prior to starting volunteer work. The new Pennsylvania State mandate does allow until July 1, 2016 to obtain background checks. However, in the best interest of the safety and security of our students, we are asking volunteers to comply with submitting background checks prior to volunteering in the 2015-2016 school year.
Click link to learn more: http://www.cbsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=355
If you have already submitted paperwork you do not need to take any further action at this time.
This online process is ONLY for those who have not submitted clearances/certifications as of October 1, 2015.
Tohickon Wellness Update
This year Mrs. Furfari has been able to bring more food from the garden to the table, in FCS class, than ever before. The meals that they are making look and taste amazing.
Got Milk Day will be on Nov. 19th and we will be serving samples of fresh milk from the local Penn View Farm.
Please check out the informative Health and Wellness link, on our Tohickon webpage, where you can find pictures of our events and other helpful links to parent resources and anxiety information.
From the Nurse's Office
Information for Parents of 7th grade students:
Hearing Screening was completed with 7th students as mandated by the state of PA during October. If a student does not pass the screening, parents are mailed a referral for further evaluation by your child's physician.
Over 150 students who did not submit the state mandated 7th grade dental exam report were given reminder notes to take home. Please return the reports as soon as you are able. The exam reports were requested by October 15. School dental exams will be offered to all students who have not compiled with this state mandate. Our school dentist will do exams in February.
7th grade students are required to have Tdap and meningitis vaccines for entry into 7th grade. Students not in compliance risk being excluded from school. Maintaining compliance with state mandated immunizations or requesting an exemption is asked of parents. You can check your child’s immunization compliance on Parent Portal. Our nursing staff e-mailed parents of students who are not in compliance and will be mailing notices home.
General Information:
Because head injuries and concussions may impact your child’s ability to learn, please contact the school nurse and your child’s guidance counselor if your child is injured. Physician documentation to guide the transition back to school post head injury is necessary. Please contact school staff so we can review the CBSD concussion protocol with you and your child prior to him/ her returning to school.
Parents should provide a physician note if students require crutches, wheelchairs, elevator keys, physical education excuses, or other accommodations while in school. Students should stop by the nurse’s office upon return to school. Please know that we want to support your child as he/ she recuperates.
Your child is measured for height and weight yearly as mandated by the Pennsylvania School Health program. Height, weight, age, and gender were used to determine his/her Body Mass Index (BMI) and percentile. This screening process will start in November and continue into the Spring Semester. Each student is given a pass to come to the nurse and is screened privately. Your child’s height, weight and BMI results will be available on the Parent Portal. If you do not have access to a computer and would like a paper copy sent home, please call your school nurse with this request. In addition, during this visit your child will have their vision assessed. If your child does not pass the vision screening, a referral will be mailed home.
Guidance Department
Guidance Office: 267-893-3310
Mrs. Schute will be working with those students with last names from A-Hi.
Mr. Stryker will be working with those students with last names from Ho-R.
Mr. Striano will be working with those students with last names from S-Z.
How to Make Changes to Student Information
Please note the following procedures for submitting address changes and/or changes to mailing addresses, guardian(s) or other household information. This information is also available on the Central Bucks School District Website - www.cbsd.org.
Any changes to the current information we have on file (you can view the census information through the Parent Portal) should also be noted on the Census Verification form that your child brought home the first week of school.
Change of Address
All student address changes within Central Bucks must be validated at the Central Registration office by appointment only. We can not make changes at the middle school.
Student Change of Address Procedures:
Download the Change of Student Address Within Central Bucks form or obtain the form from the school your student currently attends.
Call or email Central Registration for an appointment. Central Registration 267-893-2111. CentralRegistration@cbsd.org
Complete the form and bring it to your scheduled appointment along with the following REQUIRED documentation: Property Deed/Agreement of Sale (follow up with deed) OR Current Lease Agreement AND one of the following: current utility bill, current tax bill/receipt, current bank statement. Your student’s records will be updated to reflect the new address upon receipt of the required documentation.
Change in Household Membership
All student household membership additions, deletions or changes must be documented on the Household Membership Change form. This would include the following: Parent/Guardian changes, Sibling changes and Mailing changes.
Student Household Membership Change Procedures
Download the Household Membership Change form or obtain the form from the school your student currently attends. Complete the form and return to your student’s school or mail it to the address below:
Central Bucks School District
Educational Services Center
Central Registration
16 Welden Drive
Doylestown, PA 18901
If you have any questions, please call Central Registration (267-893-2111)
or email your questions to CentralRegistration@cbsd.org
To view the CB Cares Backpack Newsflash please click the link below:
Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300