Thompson Friday Forecast

From the Principal...Steve Morrill

Physical Education Reminder

We have been given the gift of beautiful weather this fall. Cooler weather is on the way! Please remind your son or daughter to bring in cold weather clothing such as a sweatshirt to store in his/her locker as PE classes will continue to be held outside for as long as possible.

Breakfast/Lunch at Thompson

Students are able to order a free lunch to eat at school and/or breakfast to take home every day. OrganicLife continues to provide us excellent service! Some of the menu items have changed for next week due to supply chain issues. I anticipate that these changes may continue in the coming months.

Thank you to our PTO!

One of the many initiatives of our fabulous PTO is to support our teachers by funding grant requests. The group is very deliberate in their decision making when awarding grants. Our Thunder News Club recently received wireless microphones to improve the quality of their Thunder News broadcasts. And the LRC added popular Manga books with the support of the PTO. Thank you! Please consider supporting their Write-a-Check campaign. All are welcome at their monthly meetings and more information can be found on their website.

Grades are posted in the Home Access Center (HAC)

Just a reminder that first quarter grades are now posted in the Home Access Center. As we continue through the second quarter, I would like to take this time to remind our parent community to continue to monitor your student’s academic progress using HAC. If you have any questions about school work, please contact your child’s teachers.

Have a great weekend!

~Steve

HOPE Club Spiritwear

Thompson's HOPE Club (Helping Others Protect Each other) wants to invite students to order HOPE spiritwear that can be worn throughout the year. In February, Thompson will be hosting HOPE Week which is a time that we come together as a school to spread kindness and understand the importance of HOPE. The deadline to order is October 31st. Once the spiritwear is ready, HOPE club members will distribute it to students. Please contact Mrs. Jolaoso or Ms. Walker if you have any questions about the spiritwear or if you would like more information about the club.

HOPE Spiritwear

Special Education Parent/Family Survey

If you are a parent with students entitled to special education services, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Your voice is critical and this is a great way to share feedback on your experience with special education services in D303. If you have multiple children receiving special education support, we ask that you complete a survey for each child. Responses to this survey are anonymous. Thank you.

Halloween Costumes

On Friday, October 29th Thompson will be recognizing Halloween. As is our tradition, students (and staff) will be allowed to dress in their Halloween costumes. This day is always full of energy and fun while the focus remains on learning. We would like to remind the students to dress appropriately and to follow the guidelines listed below:

Costumes must be school appropriate
Costume/Hair/Make-up must be completed prior to the arrival at school or entering the bus. No spray cans are allowed on the bus or at school.
Costume accessories, if applicable, should not depict or display anything hurtful, harmful or have the opportunity to be utilized as a weapon.
The student’s identity should be visible and easily recognizable (i.e. no masks.)
The classroom learning environment should not be compromised due to a student’s costume.

Summer CTE Camps Survey

The Northern Kane County Regional Vocational System is a consortium of school districts U-46, District 300, District 301, and District 303 working together on career and technical education and college and career readiness throughout the region. The districts are currently considering the possibility of offering summer camps aligned to these opportunities giving students exposure to different career fields. Career fields include robotics, computer science/programming, automotive technology, architecture, engineering, manufacturing, welding, construction, video and music production, culinary arts, veterinary science, and health science.

In order to plan and offer the very best in camp opportunities for our students, we need to hear from you and your students. We would like your feedback on these possible summer opportunities. Please take a moment to complete the survey below by October 31st and share your thoughts with us.

CTE Summer Camp Parent Survey

Parent Volunteer Communication from the District

In District 303 we believe that families are the strongest partners we have to support our students’ education. We are excited to welcome volunteers back into District 303 buildings to assist with a variety of classroom and school activities.

As a public school district, we are required to comply with the Governor’s Executive Order relative to COVID-19 mitigation steps in all district buildings. These steps will keep our students, staff members, and volunteers safe while they are in our schools. Given that, all volunteers must:

Provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test received within 72 hours of arriving to volunteer
Bring documentation to the front office upon arrival
Wear a properly fitting mask at all times while in the building
Complete the Volunteer Information Form prior to the first time you volunteer

Our students and staff members appreciate your willingness to volunteer your time!

Volunteers Needed To Share Career and Education/Training Experiences

College and Careers plays an integral role in the classroom experience for each of our 7th and 8th grade AVID classes. On Fridays we are looking for volunteers to share their career and education/training experiences via Zoom during either 4th (11:15 - 11:40 am) and/or 5th period (12:15 - 12:40 pm) each week. If you would like to present to our students, please complete this Google form.

From Your PTO

PTO DUES - ELIMINATED

At the September PTO meeting, it was voted and approved to eliminate membership dues for the Thompson Middle School PTO. Instead, we are focusing on the Write-A-Check Campaign. (Read below for more information.) Any dues already contributed will be added to the Write-A-Check Campaign. We encourage all families to give what they can, when they can. Not having dues allows more flexibility in how our community can show its support.

As a result, all families and TMS staff members are welcome members of the PTO. Everyone is welcome to participate in PTO sponsored events and activities.

WRITE-A-CHECK CAMPAIGN

Please donate to the Thompson Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) via our Write-A-Check Campaign!

This campaign, which is instead of selling cookie dough, magazines, wrapping paper, etc. throughout the year, is our main fundraiser for the year. All money goes directly to the students and staff and funds supplies, educational resources for the classroom, events, staff grants, and much more!

It is as simple as paying online via PushCoin. Donations via check (made out to Thompson PTO, memo Write-A-Check) can be dropped off in the main office.

DOUBLE YOUR DONATIONS WITH CORPORATE MATCHING!

Did you know that many business organizations offer a matching gift program as part of their employee benefits package?

These programs allow you to invoke your organization's philanthropy for the benefit of Thompson Middle School! Through corporate gift matching, your employer can multiply your donation to our Write-A-Check Campaign!

Please check with your company's Human Resources department to see if they offer gift matching. If your employer does offer this program, your Human Resources department should provide you with a matching gift form to include with your donations.