Thompson Friday Forecast

From the Principal...Steve Morrill

It has been an exciting first few days of school. Thanks to each member of our Thompson community (students, parents, and staff) for collectively getting the year started with enthusiasm, focus, and high expectations! Our staff is certainly excited to be back and our students have more than matched that energy. I have heard many at Thompson mention that school feels much more normal this year. As I have interacted with students over these last few days, I have noticed excellent behavior, attentive classrooms, and eager learners; our students are ready to learn!

We appreciate your understanding regarding the challenges that accompany the beginning of each school year and we ask for your patience as we refine and tweak our bus schedule for efficiency. Our goal will always be safety while attempting to prevent anyone from missing their bus home after school.

The beginning of each new school year offers many learning opportunities. I encourage you to capitalize on conversations with your middle-schooler. One way you can do this is by choosing your words carefully. For example, instead of asking your child, “What did you do at school today?" ask "What did you learn today?” Changing the question ever so slightly might really change the response you receive and the subsequent conversation.

As I have said in many other settings, I am honored to have the opportunity to be your principal. If I can ever be of assistance, don’t hesitate to call the main office 331-228-3100.

Enjoy your weekend!

~Steve

i-Ready Diagnostics and PSAT

Students will be taking the first i-Ready Math and Reading Diagnostic Assessments of the school year next week! They will take the Math i-Ready Diagnostic on Tuesday, August 16th and the Reading i-Ready Diagnostic on Thursday, August 18th. We will run a building wide schedule where students will test from 8:40-10:40am and then have a schedule that has them attending classes for the remainder of the day.

We will also be offering makeup sessions on Wednesday, August 17th and Friday, August 19th. If students miss these make-up days, we will have students work in completing these assessments the following week during PE, explore/music, and tutorial classes. These tests are given to gather baseline academic data about students in order for us to develop targeted instructional plans of action. A similar assessment will take place in the winter and again in the spring. The results of these assessments are mailed home to families.

Planning ahead...All 8th grade students and 7th graders enrolled in the AVID class will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday, October 12th from 8:40 am - 12:25 pm. Please call the main office if you have any questions.

Student Arrival/Departure Information

The Thompson staff is excited for the 2022-2023 school year as we welcome students back into the building. Please take a few minutes to read over the Thompson arrival/dismissal procedures for the year. Please also remember that students can only be picked up or dropped off in the front of TMS or on the northside of Indiana St (heading West). There are several No Parking signs posted on the southside of Indiana St (heading East), which makes it a police enforced zone and vehicles can be ticketed. This is in effect during arrival and dismissal times which are 7:45-8:45 am and 3:00-4:00 pm. Thank you for your cooperation.

Arrival Procedures

Students who are arriving via buses will be dropped off in the back of the school and will enter through door 15. There will be supervisors outside assisting students if needed. Students who are either getting dropped off or are walking will enter through the front of the building (Door 3) or the side of the building (Door 5).

Students getting dropped off in the front parking lot will enter through door 3. It is important to remember that there is no parking or idling in this area. Please pull up to Door 3 and drop your student(s) off at the sidewalk. When exiting the parking lot you must turn right.

If you are dropping your student(s) off on Indiana Street, your student(s) will enter through Door 5. Please remember that students need to be dropped off on the sidewalk on the north side of Indiana Street; parents are NOT allowed to enter the staff parking lot as there are cones at both entrances preventing entry.

Departure Procedures

Students riding a bus will exit through Door 15. Students being picked up out front will exit through Door 3; please be sure not to idle in the middle of the parking lot due to safety concerns. It is important that students are picked up from the sidewalk outside of Door 3. When exiting the parking lot you must turn right.

If you are picking up your student(s) off of Indiana St. your student will exit through Door 5. Students are to be picked up on the north sidewalk on Indiana Street. Please remember parents are NOT to pull into the staff parking lot or park on the south side of Indiana if heading East.

Again, parents/families are not allowed to park in the front parking lot unless they have a meeting that has been previously scheduled. Please call the main office ahead of time to schedule an appointment as we are limiting visitors during arrival/dismissal times.

If your student(s) are walking to and from school please be sure the student(s) cross the street at locations where crossing guards are present. We have several crossing guards to help direct traffic and keep students safe. Please be respectful and understanding of the job they are performing. They will be located at the following locations:

Front entrance of Thompson Middle School
Corner of Indiana St. and 7th St.
Corner of 7th St. and Route 64
Corner of Oak St. and 9th St.
Corner of Indiana St. and 9th St. (Currently this is a vacant position, if interested please apply via the D303 Website)

Fox Mill 5K & 1-Mile Color Run/Walk - September 10, 2022

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!! Visit www.foxmill5k.com to register and follow us on Facebook (Fox Mill 5K & 1M Family Color Run/Walk) for the latest news and announcements.

**NEW THIS YEAR!!** In order to keep costs down and participation high, we are offering only one style of tee (cotton) and are making these an OPTIONAL purchase at registration for $10. Hard cut off for tees is August 22. If you choose not to make a purchase, we encourage you to wear a tee from one of our previous races to show your support.

When: September 10, 2022 (8:00am 5K; 9:30am Color Run)

Where: Farmstead Park

In keeping with our theme of “running for a reason” and giving back to our community, all proceeds will be put equally towards the four prior race beneficiaries:

Fox Valley Food for Health in memory of Tricia DePasquale (2015)
Cameron Pepera Memorial Scholarship Fund in memory of Cameron Pepera (2016)
Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute in honor of Mike White (2018)
Kayla’s Hope Foundation in memory of Kayla Lehmann (2019)

We hope to see you there!

Please contact Beth Ites (elizabeth.ites@gmail.com) for questions or for sponsorship opportunities.

Food Services

The elementary and middle schools food service vendor is OrganicLife. Breakfast and lunch will be offered to students. Click here for more information, view menus (coming soon), and obtain a free or reduced lunch application. Students will not have to pre-order meals this year and there will be more choices offered for lunch. Lunch and breakfast will no longer be free for all students; the prices are listed below.

Middle School Breakfast - $1.75
Reduced Breakfast - $0.30*

Middle School Lunch - $3.10
Reduced Lunch - $0.40*

Milk - $0.60 (when purchased separately from meals)
Other a la carte items (besides milk) - prices vary

Organic Life, the K-8 Food Service provider is looking for candidates to serve as Cashiers, Food Service Workers & Lunchroom Supervisors for the 2022-2023 school year in School District 303. Please contact Patricia Burton at 331-228-5242 or patricia.burton@d303.org for more information.

Fall Sports

Fall sports will be starting the week of August 8th. Please click on Activities for information regarding specific sports. All athletes must have a current physical and an agreement to participate in interscholastic athletics form on file with the main office in order to tryout/practice for sports at Thompson. Forms can be found on this webpage.

The cost to participate in a fall sport is $120 and can be paid through PushCoin. We are looking forward to a great sports season!

Early Release Days

Early release days this year will be on Wednesdays and approximately once per month. Students will be dismissed from school at 2:52 pm. The following are the eight 2022-2023 Early Release Days for Middle School:

August 31
September 28
October 26
November 30
January 25
February 22
March 22
April 26

These dates can also be found on the Thompson calendar on our website.

Fee Waivers

SCHOOL FEES WAIVER: The school fees waiver will ONLY be a PAPER application since there is financial documentation required for income verification. A family can only qualify for a free waiver of fees; there are no reduced fees. The application is on the district website. Questions regarding school fee waivers - Wendy Sedwick at 331-228-4927

FOOD WAIVER: Only one application needs to be completed for each household. Please include ALL family members that live in the household (even those not attending a school). Applications are posted on the district website. In addition, paper applications are available at the schools and the Administration Building as in years past. Unlike the school fees, families can qualify for Reduced. Questions regarding food waivers - Patti Townsend 331-228-6529

Families directly certified by the State of Illinois for the 2022-2023 school year will receive FREE FOOD and their FEES will be WAIVED. If your family is qualified by the state, do NOT need to complete either application. You should have received an approval letter in the mail in July.