Dear Tumwater Families,

I aspire to be a journal writer. It sounds like a fulfilling thing to do, but I have a collection of beautiful journals waiting to be filled by a more idealized version of myself. A friend gifted me a "sentence-a-day" journal on New Years Day 2020. I started off earnestly, taking a few minutes to write a sentence or two each day. Two years ago today I wrote "Last night the Governor announced schools are closed through April 1st. After a hectic day (including a live-streamed concert and snow), as I watched buses pull out I wondered when I would see these kids again and how our lives will be changed." It turned out to be my last day of in-person learning with students at my former school, as I moved to TMS before hybrid learning began. I look back at my words and am wistful for how naive I was to what the next two years would bring.

As they headed to the buses a few days ago, I heard a student gleefully exclaim "COVID is over!" Although it is tempting to think so, we've learned a lot over the last two years and know better. We are living with COVID differently because of all we've learned, as well as the availability of vaccines, and medical treatment.This weekend, we're at a different turning point as guidelines on masking and other protocols are relaxed. It is serendipitous that the TMS Monthly Learner Profile is Balanced. By definition it "understanding the importance of balancing different aspects of ourselves" and "recognizing our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live."

Students and staff will be making individual choices on their path to being well-balanced, including masking and social distancing. I call on all members of our community to be respectful of other's choices and be mindful that we don't always know one another's stories and experiences. For example, I'm choosing to wear a mask at school this week to reduce risk of carrying home any illness to a family member undergoing surgery this week. My choice may be different after Spring Break. Similarly, I expect that other staff and students may choose to not wear a mask in some situations, but do wear one in others. Respecting personal choice without asking for an explanation will be our norm.

Tonight my journal entry will reflect cautious optimism and hope for a healthy future for all!

Warmly,

Jill O'Neill

Principal

March 14-18 Spirit Week

• Monday - March Madness Day (wear your favorite college gear)

• Tuesday - Tumwater Tuesday (wear TMS shirt)

• Wednesday - Twin Day

• Thursday - Wear green

• Friday - Superhero vs. Supervillain Day

March 21- 25 No School - Spring Break

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.

This month, our Learner Profile focus is on being balanced.

Definition: We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives - intellectual, physical, and emotional - to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

Students:

Take a personal inventory about how you spend your time every day. How much time do you spend sleeping, eating, completing homework, exercising, watching TV, going to school, playing video games, with family activities, etc. You might be surprised by how much time you spend doing each thing.

Reflect on the following:

• Where can you be more active?

• Where is there time to spend learning a new skill? Or exploring a hobby?

• How can you adjust your lives to be more balanced?

There have been several significant changes to BSD's COVID-19 protocols that go into effect Monday, March 14. Please read the FAQ on the district website. Some of the changes our students, staff, and visitors will experience at TMS include:

Masks are optional for students, staff, and visitors. All members of our community are expected to treat others with respect, including their choice to wear or not wear a mask. Students and staff may have compelling reasons to continue mask wearing. We invite you to watch this video with your child(ren): Either Way, It’s OK. To be clear, we will not tolerate bullying of any kind and will follow disciplinary action as outlined in Board Policy JFCF.

Morning Arrival is shifting slightly. Our doors will continue to open at 8:45, but now students who arrive before 8:55 will be asked to wait in the Commons or Library. Breakfast is available from 8:45 - 9:10. Classroom hallways will open at 8:55 and students will have until 9:15 to eat breakfast, visit their lockers, socialize, and be in class ready to learn on time.

Indoor and outdoor dining will both be able to students (weather permitting) however students will no longer be required to social distance during breakfast and lunch. Rather than 2 students per round lunch table, up to 8 students will now be permitted to sit together. Similar to our masking rule, students who prefer to distance themselves are invited to do so in our outdoor seating area.

Lunch / Recess. Up to this point, each grade was divided into two cohorts and alternated 17-minute time periods for Lunch and Recess. Beginning Monday, all students in a grade will have lunch at the same time. After eating lunch, students will now have the choice to stay inside, go to the library, or enjoy recess outside. Students will spend at least the first 10 minutes in the Commons as encouragement to eat lunch.

For additional updates, please visit the BSD COVID-19 Protocol webpage.

After outstanding, competitive play by all tournament teams, the Rapid Readers team emerged victorious and will go on to compete in the Regional OBOB Tournament April 9th. Congratulations and best wishes to 6th graders Max Hyatt, Fayyad Ahmed, Story Greene, and Jack Peterson at the next level of competition!

This event would not have been possible without volunteers and the organizational leadership of co-chairs Vandana Kapoor and Kristi Nelson. Thank you to the many volunteers who shared their time and love of reading with our students!

Last weekend, five Tumwater students competed at the state MATHCOUNTS competition in Salem. These mathletes have been practicing diligently for the last several months. Attending the competition is a huge achievement in itself, as these students each had to prove themselves in the school competition as well as the chapter competition.

Out of many mathletes from across the state, four are chosen to represent Oregon at the national competition. Congratulations to Anshul Mantri for qualifying for the state team! Look for the national MATHCOUNTS competition to be aired on ESPN in early May to see Anshul in action.

Photo (left to right):

Rishan Chakraborty, Keshav Karumbunathan, Ashvant Daniel, Anshul Mantri, and Audrey Hou.

The following people from Tumwater Middle School shared their STEM projects to deepen their understanding and propose new solutions for what the earth is asking of us on Friday, March 11, 2022 at the virtual BSD Middle School Expo.

Plant Growth Optimization System- Anushka Nishar

Marigold Project- Eric Zhao

pH Color Indicator- Daaniyaal Uddin

Arduino-based Smart Solar Tracker- Andrew Ma

Product Recalls That Matter- Ved Shah

Offshore Opportunities with Wind Turbines- Anjali Sanjeepan

Mechanical energy to electrical energy- Xerxes Wadi

Familial Birth Order and Effects on Chronoception- Shriya Marla & Clara An

Energetic, Exciting, Electrifying Electrolytes- Achyutan Veeraraghavan

Liquid Sugar- Aadhav Jawahar

Finding the Presence of GMOs using PCR- Kavin Ramadass

An Optimized Solution to Enhance the Lifetime of a Lithium-Ion Battery in Electric Vehicles- Anusha Jeyakumar

After listening to over 80+presentations from 5 BSD middle schools, an OHSU doctor shared their amazement in the quality and dedication our student scientists had given to test their ideas. A chemist commented that student scientists know what is happening in the world NOW, and how people can work together to be part of the solution. A retired engineer is eager to help support people with their projects and mentor them when needed now and in the future. A number of the Tumwater participants will advance to the virtual Northwest Science Expo on April 29, 2022.

Thank you to Dr. Susan Duncan, TMS Science Teacher, for chairing Tumwater's Science Fair and to all our science teachers for fueling curiosity and helping students with their research and experiment design.

Beaverton School District wants to know what you think about school resource officers. A school resource officer is a police officer who works in schools. The leaders in the school district are trying to make decisions about how to make sure students feel safe at school and whether school resource officers help do that.

You should have received a link to a survey through ParentSquare on March 7th. If you need help finding the survey on ParentSquare, please email info@seechangenw.org to have the link emailed to you. You don’t have to take this survey if you don’t want to, but your opinion is very important.

When you fill out the survey, you’ll also have an opportunity to express interest in participating in a focus group to share your opinions verbally. The number of focus groups is limited, so consultants will use random selection with consideration for diversity and geographic representation.

Dear BSD Families,

We understand that it can be challenging to access current information regarding your child’s schooling in your own language. We do our best to send out messages about important updates, especially during these challenging times. However, you can access the BSD website — and specifically, our return-to-school page — at any time. Below, we’ve included a link that will take you to our website, where you’ll find it already translated into your language. Please know, the translation is generated by Google Translate. It’s not perfect, but we do hope it’s helpful.

If you need additional assistance, please contact our Multilingual Department at 503-356-3755.

View the BSD website in Arabic قم بزيارة الموقع الإلكتروني للقطاع التعليمي لمدارس بيفرتون باللغة العربية

View the BSD website in Chinese 请浏览中文版的BSD网站

View the BSD website Japanese BSDウェブサイトを日本語で見る

View the BSD website in Korean. 한국어로 된 BSD 웹사이트를 보십시오.

View the BSD website in Russian Посмотрите веб-сайт школьного округа Бивертон на русском

View the BSD website in Somali Ka fiiri bogga BSD ee ku qoran af-Soomaali

View the BSD website in Spanish Vea la página web del Distrito Escolar de Beaverton en español

View the BSD website in Vietnamese. Xem trang mạng BSD bằng tiếng Việt