The Tohickon Golden Eagle
December 2016
Dear Tohickon Families,
We are in the midst of the holiday season and I want to take this opportunity to wish you and your family the best! Please take this opportunity to share special moments with family and friends.
There are a few notable events at Tohickon to be aware of between now and the winter break. The Winter Choral Concert will take place on December 6th and the Instrumental Concert will take place on December 14th. These concerts will both begin at 7:00 PM and take place in the main auditorium.
The high school guidance counselors will be visiting our ninth grade students on December 7th. The purpose of the visit will be to discuss the importance of doing well in ninth grade and to provide a general overview of what will be expected as students move on to tenth grade. The counselors will discuss Program Planning and provide some very important information to students.
Lastly, the seventh grade teams, Summit and Discovery, will be taking field trips this month to see "A Christmas Carol." This is an annual event that has become a tradition at Tohickon.
If you should have any questions regarding these events, please contact the main office at 267-893-3300. Once again, I wish you the best as we move through the holiday season.
Sincerely,
Kevin Marton, Principal
A SPECIAL DAY AT TOHICKON - VETERANS' DAY 2016
On November 11th we celebrated and honored our local veterans as we held our annual Veterans' Day Breakfast. This year, the event was bigger than ever. It was a special day and an opportunity to recognize all of those servicemen and women that made such a significant sacrifice for our country. During the breakfast, students were invited to eat with their relatives that served. Stories were told, questions were asked and special moments between family members were at hand.
The Tohickon Social Studies Department, at the direction of Mr. Travis Forney, planned and organized this wonderful event. We are very thankful for their efforts in making this such a special day for so many of our veterans.
RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS 2016
Tohickon held a Random Acts of Kindness recognition on November 18th. During the day, students and staff members exchanged notes and special praise towards each other. The Tohickon Teachers took the time to place individualized notes on each student's locker prior to their arrival to school. Today, two weeks later, some of those notes are still on the lockers where they were originally placed. This demonstrates how appreciative our students were for receiving the kind feedback from their teachers. Thank you to all of our staff and students that participated to make this a great day!
THE HOLIDAYS HAVE ARRIVED!
There are several upcoming events that students and parents should be aware of. The events for the month of December are as follows:
December 2nd
Model Congress at CB West
December 6th
Winter Choral Concert 7:00 PM
December 7th
Ninth Grade Counts Assembly - Program Planning Info. for Grade Nine
December 9th
Winter Dance 7:30 - 9:30 PM
December 12th
Team Discovery Field Trip - A Christmas Carol
December 14th
Winter Instrumental Concert 7:00 PM
December 16th
Team Summit Field Trip - A Christmas Carol
December 23rd
Early Dismissal for Students 10:45 AM
December 26th through January 2nd
Winter Recess - No School
PARENT COUNCIL MEETING REMINDER
TEAM HAPPENINGS!
TEAM SUMMIT - GRADE 7
Students in Mrs. Peloquin’s science class recently did a creative project. Students were each assigned an element on the periodic table. They had to research that element and create either a superhero or villain with powers based on the properties of their element. Students shared their creations with the class once they were finished.
In other Team Summit news - great job to all the students and families that donated for our community service project, Operation Eternal Gratitude! We will be delivering the donations, cards, and letters to CB South later this week. Thank you so much for your support. The servicemen and women greatly appreciate your generosity!
TEAM DISCOVERY - GRADE 7
It is hard to believe that marking period one is over and we are into the thick of marking period two! This marking period always flies by because of the Thanksgiving and winter breaks, so stay on top of your child’s progress by speaking with them daily about school and checking parent portal on a weekly basis to stay up to date with grades. Here are some highlights of what Discovery students have been doing in their classes:
In social studies, in combination with Team Discovery’s Pedals for Progress Bike Drive, students recently completed their country research project, which gave students insight into the economies of countries that could potentially receive the bikes collected on November 5th at Tohickon. We are well into our Ancient Greek unit, having just studied Types of Governments, Athens/Sparta, and the Persian Wars. In the coming weeks, we will begin work on our first District Assessment, the Citizenship document-based essay.
In science classes, students are continuing to explore the matter unit. We will be studying elements, compounds, and mixtures, as well as physical and chemical changes. We will be doing several lab activities to identify the different substances and the changes involved.
In math, the students are either writing and graphing linear equations or writing and solving equations and inequalities.
In English Language Arts classes, students, are reading A Christmas Carol; the advanced classes are reading the classic novel by Charles Dickens, while the academic students are reading a dramatic version of this classic. This timeless story will also bring us to see a professional theater performance on December 12th. It will be a field trip to remember! Also, if you are scratching your head for gift ideas for your children, remember that books are gifts you can open again and again. Ms. Levesque’s students have made a wish list of books they want to read. Ask them to share it with you!
Pictured above right are some of Mrs. Good's students working on collaborative projects using SWAY. Students were asked to extract a theme from "War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara and connect it to an outside piece of literature.
TEAM ODYSSEY - GRADE 8
This past month all Team Odyssey Science classes began work on their Research Paper core assessment. Academic Science students researched topics related to the current astronomy unit. Topics included; the international space station, black holes, galaxies, and famous Astronomers. Students in advanced science began research on their Science Fair Project. Students will use this research to develop a hypothesis, design an experiment and collect data. They will then go on to submit their project in a competition of their choice.
Here you can see Team Trailblazer students taking flight into the sky of astronomy in the telescope lab. They are attempting to learn how a telescope functions by working with two different types of lenses and adjusting them to focus the telescope image. The results allowed them to see a refracting telescope in action! Galileo would be so proud!!
TEAM EXPEDITION - GRADE 8
The members of Team Expedition joined English and Social studies classes for one day to partake in the Sibel-Trimbur Text Dependent Analysis extravaganza. Students applied their analytical skills from English class to the Declaration of Independence. Students annotated their texts in order to pull out meaning from the 1776 document, highlighting Jefferson’s rhetoric and style.
It’s hard to believe that we have already finished one marking period and are heading into the holiday months. This school year is off to a smooth start, and we are really enjoying working with our students this year. Here is a quick recap of some of things going on in ninth grade.
In social studies, we just wrapped up our study of WWI and will be heading into the Roaring 20s. As is customary, students participated in our annual trench warfare activity, in which they recreated the charge through “No Man’s Land”. No life-threatening injuries were reported.
English classes are studying the elements of fiction, with an emphasis on theme, through the reading and analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird and Inherit the Wind. Projects can be seen, lining the ninth-grade hallway.
Students got off to a rocky start (pun intended) in science with their Geology Unit, which covered rocks and minerals, volcanoes, and plate tectonics. Next, they will dive into their unit on Oceanography.
Remember that ninth-grade students will start the course selection process for tenth grade at the beginning of January. Students will attend an assembly during which guidance staff will explain the process, and classroom teachers will talk to students about their placements for next year.
ATHLETICS UPDATE
Winter sports are here! Wrestling and girls' basketball are in full swing with boys' basketball set to start after the new year. Information on boys' basketball can be found on the Tohickon athletics website under the link for 7th and 8th grade sports.
The efforts and accomplishments of our fall athletes were celebrated earlier this month at the Fall Recognition Assembly. Among those recognized were our Sportsmanship Award winners: Christian S., Roman B., Jason G., Mihika S., Abbriella K., Animish T., George L., and Abby S. Congratulations to our winners and thank you for representing Tohickon so well!
AFTER SCHOOL CLUB INFORMATION
Diversity Club Information
Tohickon’s Spanish Department & Diversity Club planned a presentation for eighth and ninth grade students learning Spanish, Diversity Club members of all grades, and Mrs. Brechter’s classes. The Sociedad Hispana of Doylestown came out to speak to the students about Spanish culture. There were presenters that emigrated to America from El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Spain. They talked to the students about the food, culture, architecture, famous people and customs from their birth countries.
General Information about After School Clubs
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. Over the course of this year, Tohickon will be running the following clubs:
Debate Club - Sponsored by Mr. Forney
Diversity Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Fox
Anime Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Bongiorno
Math Club (2nd Semester) - Sponsored by Mrs. Bellavance and Mrs. Rissing
Science Olympiad - Sponsored by Mr. Weir and Mr. Collins
Garden Club (Seasonal) - Sponsored by Mr. Neely and Ms. Mangold
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.
FROM THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT
What is MBIT? Is MBIT for me?
January 5, 2017 - OPEN HOUSE for students and parents at MBIT - Middle Bucks Institute of Technology – 7PM – 9PM. For more information, go to the MBIT website: www.mbit.org (Snow date January 12)
January 6, 2017 - All 9th grade students will attend a presentation from Middle Bucks Institute of Technology that will give our 9th graders an overview of the courses and pre-professional programs available for high school students.
Preparing for 10th Grade
January 12, 2017 - Curriculum Fairs at CB East and CB West – 6:30 PM – The curriculum fair is an opportunity for parents and students to gain more information about the high schools and the courses available. We strongly recommend that 9th grade students and their parents plan to attend (snow date January 19).
January 18, 2017 – 9th Grade Visit to MBIT – 9th grade students interested in seeing MBIT in action and learning more about the programs should sign up for the trip in the guidance office and obtain a permission slip. Students will travel by school bus to MBIT.
We will begin PROGRAM PLANNING for next year in January 2017. See important dates listed by grade on the guidance website in January.
SAP – Student Assistance Program
Tohickon recognizes students who are subject to a variety of pressures. The mission of our Student Assistance Program (SAP) is to identify students through a referral process and to intervene in an effort to promote achievement and academic success. We seek to promote healthy, safe and substance-free lifestyles by connecting these students and their families with appropriate school based or community resources. For more information, please visit the link on the Tohickon webpage under Guidance:
http://www.cbsd.org/Page/28103
Parent Portal
Online Census Verification is a feature available in Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Each year, the Central Bucks School District asks our families to fill out a census verification form. This year the form is online. This form ensures that student information is accurate and also provides our school nurse with important medical permissions for your child. If you have not already done so, please complete the census verification through the PARENT PORTAL as soon as possible.
For more information, including trouble shooting suggestions, please go to: http://www.cbsd.org/Page/26952
If you are unable to complete the online verification, please call the Tohickon Guidance office at 267-893-3310.
Haven’t set up your Parent Portal Account?
Go to www.cbsd.org
Click on “Parent Resources”
Click on “Parent Portal Information” in the left column
Select link “Need a Parent Portal Account”
Complete “Parent Portal Online Request Form”. Submit.
Do we have your E-Mail Address?
In an effort to communicate with all of our families in a fast, efficient manner, we are asking parents/guardians to enter their E-mail addresses through the parent portal. Having a contact E-mail address on file will allow us to mass E-mail all of our Tohickon families at once regarding urgent news and information. Not only will the information reach you faster than through the traditional mail service, but we will also save considerably on paper and postage costs.
How to add or update your E-Mail address?
Log on to the Parent Portal
Choose option to “Change Contact Info”
Enter E-Mail address in field and SAVE
Thank you for helping us improve our communication with our families!
Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300