Thomas Timberwolves
August 30, 2021 Updates
Hello, Parents and Guardians,
With seven school days completed, we are off to a fantastic start to the school year. We hope you and your child(ren) are finding your stride and developing routines that allow for smooth mornings and successful school days. We are extremely impressed with how quickly the students have jumped into school mode in such a positive and energetic manner. We are grateful for the ability to have daily in-person interactions with the students. We look forward to continuing to build connections with the students as we get acclimated to the rigors of the school year. Thank you for the tremendous support you've given your child(ren) and for the kindness you've shown our staff.
Speaking of staff, please take a moment to click here and meet the newest members of the Wolf Pack. We are thrilled to have such an energetic and enthusiastic crew of professionals joining us this year.
An important part of school success comes from the home-school connection. This Tuesday, 8/31 we are hosting 6th Grade Curriculum Night and look forward to sharing detailed information with you. On Thursday, 9/9 we will host 7th & 8th grade Curriculum Night. These events provide an excellent opportunity to gain insights into your child's day and to connect with our staff.
On the first day of school, we practiced our Crisis Drills (Lockdowns, Shelter in Place, Evacuation, & Relocation). With the cooperation and assistance from the students and members of our local law enforcement, the drills were a success.
In this newsletter you'll find information on the following items:
- MAP Testing 8/30 & 8/31 - Revised Daily Schedules
- Curriculum Nights - 6th Grade 8/31 & 7th & 8th Grade is 9/9
- BRAVE ENOUGH Summer Reading Author Alan Gratz Author Visit 9/8 - Revised Daily Schedule
- TMS Virtual RULER Parent Presentation 6:15 PM & PTA Meeting 7 PM - Tuesday, 9/14
- New Lunch Assignments
We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming 4-day weekend in celebration of Labor Day. There is no school on Monday and Tuesday, 9/6 & 9/7.
Thank you and take care,
Greg, Nick, & Lori
Thank you TMS Student Council for the welcoming sidewalk chalk messages!
NWEA MAP TESTING
The NWEA MAP test is a computer-administered assessment that aligns with the Illinois math and reading standards. District 25 uses the information from the MAP assessment in a few ways: to help determine academic intervention groups, as an essential part of the advanced learning placement, and to identify student strengths and needs for the next school year.
TMS students will be taking the NWEA Fall MAP assessments on Monday, August 30th, and Tuesday, August 31st.
Students should bring their Chromebooks and earbuds for the testing sessions. It is important for students to eat a healthy breakfast, and get a good night's sleep before testing so they can perform their best. Please see below for the adjusted bell schedule.
Curriculum Night - Parent & Guardian Event
6th Grade Curriculum Night: Tuesday, 8/31/21 @ 7 PM - Click here for details
7th & 8th Curriculum Night: Thursday, 9/9/21 @ 7 PM - Click here for details
- For both events, please join us at 6:45 PM for a brief Administrator Welcome in the Large Gym. We ask that you please sit 3 feet apart from other parents. This session is optional.
- A hard copy of your child's schedule will be given out in homeroom.
BRAVE ENOUGH To Take A Stand Theme
Over the past few years, our summer reading program theme has been carried throughout the school year as our mantra. You'll find it on staff t-shirts, posted on Twitter & around the building, and much more. This shared language gives motivation and focuses for our time together.
- 2020-2021 Embrace the Journey
- 2019-2020 Say Something
- 2018-2019 Believe There is Good ~ BE THE GOOD In the World
TMS Parent RULER Webinar
- An overview of the RULER program will be provided.
- Specific information on how the RULER approach will be implemented at TMS will be shared.
NEW LUNCH ASSIGNMENTS
The hope is for lunch to take place outdoors as much as possible. However, we do have to plan for indoor lunch as well and in order to provide 3 feet of social distancing indoors during lunch, we created 3-4 additional lunch spaces (classrooms) per grade level per day. Students can pick up a free lunch, and weather permitting, all students head outdoors to eat lunch. To start the school year, we had homerooms assigned to the additional lunch spaces.
As with the homeroom placements for lunch, we recognize that not having all students in the lunchroom together for lunch can create a challenging situation for some students. In an attempt to help create a more supportive environment for students, last week an optional student lunch survey was available for students to participate in. As a result, this week we are going to trial new lunch assignments. Again, these new assignments are based on the optional student input shared on the survey.
We will carefully monitor this new structure and re-evaluate how it's working at the end of the week. We will consider changing the lunch structure upon returning to school after the long Labor Day weekend. For this week, students should report to the new lunch assigned spaces and wait for the supervisor to advise them on when they can pick up the free school lunch.
Please click here for more details on food services and lunch.
A Note for Students With Food Allergies
- Please note that students who choose to pack a meal from home are invited to take a bag with milk that will also contain a fruit, vegetable, and grain at no charge.
- If your child has food allergies or food intolerances, please work with them to identify what they can consume from this bag, should they decide to pick it up.
- All of these bagged items will be wrapped. If a student chooses not to consume all items, those may be placed on a table in the eating area so as to not be wasted.
- As a reminder, lunch is free this school year for all District 25 students.
Thank you,
District 25 Food Services
T-Wolves running Cross Country are giving their best! First meet is this Thursday, 9/2 at SMS
TMS ACTIVITY BUS INFORMATION
Students who are regular bus riders and attend school-sponsored after-school activities will have access to the Activity Bus. This includes only those activities supervised by a TMS staff member. Here are the details on how this works:
Students are not permitted to ride the Activity Bus without a bus pass. Please make sure your child has a regular bus pass if the Activity Bus is the planned transportation home.
Students can only ride the Activity Bus for their regularly assigned bus route.
A school bell rings at 3:25 PM as a reminder for students to pack up and report to the Activity Bus at the main entrance.
Buses leave the school at 3:35 PM and run an abbreviated route.
Students should be supervised by a TMS staff member during the entire after-school activity period.
Students who leave campus are not permitted to return to campus in order to ride the Activity Bus.
The Activity Bus has begun, however, it will NOT run on certain scheduled days. Please be sure to reference this schedule before having your child stay after school.
Health Office Reminders
Sixth-Grade Parents: We have received many physicals for your students. Thank you!
Just a reminder for those who have not turned in a state-required physical, they are due by October 15, 2021, to avoid school exclusion.
Please send completed forms to ltoussaint@sd25.org or you can drop them off in the office.
Please Speak With Your Child About Mask Wearing...
- MASK SUPPLIES: Please make sure your child brings 2-3 masks to school each day in the event that a replacement mask is needed. While we have extra masks on hand, it's helpful for the students to have back
- MASK WEARING: Please speak with your child about proper mask wearing that includes covering the nose.
- MASK BREAKS: These are provided as needed for students throughout the school day.
SHIELD TESTING | OPT-IN
District 25 is planning to begin the SHIELD testing program in our schools for the students who have opted-in on September 8, 2021. In order to opt-in for your child to participate in SHIELD testing, fill out this form and turn it into our front office or email it to Laura Toussaint at ltoussaint@sd25.org.
The SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is able to detect COVID-19 and its variants in symptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and asymptomatic individuals. For more information in the form of a Q&A on the COVID-19 SHIELD test in our schools, click here.
Here is one common question we are being asked:
Can I opt my child in to be SHIELD tested for when they are a close contact, only, thus opting them out of being tested weekly?
No, in order to guarantee a student's participation in the SHIELD testing program when they are a close contact, they must already be an opted-in participant. We are working with a 3rd party provider, and that provider needs time to get a student entered into the program. We cannot guarantee that someone could be entered on day 1, 3, 5, or 7 in order to test-to-stay.
6th GRADE - SAVE THE DATE - LOCKER SET-UP - 9/11/21
On Saturday, 9/11/21 from 9 AM-noon we will open up TMS to give the 6th grade students and one parent an opportunity to set up lockers.
Can't make 9/11/21, no worries! On Monday, 9/13/21 all 6th graders will have an Advisory on locker set-up.
BE ALERT! ROAD CONSTRUCTION NEAR THOMAS MIDDLE SCHOOL
Suggested alternates:
- If possible, consider using Douglas Avenue as a drop-off and pick-up point. Middle schoolers can walk through Greenslopes Park and cross Belmont Avenue at the corners of Thomas Street or Olive Street.
- If possible, utilize Olive Street and consider meeting your child/dropping them off at Olive Street and Belmont Avenue. Having them walk a short distance to TMS might be faster than traffic on Belmont Avenue.
- For 6th Grade morning drop-off, you can only turn east out of the TMS parking lot. So, when heading east on Thomas Street, consider turning north on Belmont Avenue instead of south to avoid additional congestion on Belmont Avenue. Then detour over to Dryden Street.
TMS PTA
Do you have questions for the PTA? Email the PTA at: thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com
Congratulations to the 2021-2022 PTA Officers:
President: Amy Hoffman
President-Elect: Suzanne Krause
Vice President: Melissa Teuscher
Treasurer: Kelly Spokas
Secretary: Deborah Oiler
CAP POSITIONS AVAILABLE
The Arlington Heights Park District runs a before and after school student supervision program at all District 25 Elementary Schools and they are in need of and currently hiring CAP supervisors/activity leaders!
For more about the positions and to apply, click the link here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/ahpd?keywords=cap
If you have any questions about the job, you can email the AH Park District's CAP and Day Camp Supervisor, Katie Waszak (kwaszak@ahpd.org).
For information on the CAP Program, CLICK HERE or read below.
GENERAL D25 BUS INFORMATION
If your child is a bus rider, the bus information and bus passes are sent to you by Laura Comastro from our transportation department.
Her contact information is:(847) 758-4888 or lcomastro@sd25.org
Please direct all transportation and bussing questions to Laura Comastro.
NOTE: Students will not be required to show their bus pass until October.
Illinois State Report Card - Thomas
Thomas Middle School
Email: tmsadmin@sd25.org
Website: https://www.sd25.org/Domain/9
Location: 1430 N Belmont Ave, Arlington Heights, IL, United States
Phone: 847.398.4260
Twitter: @AHSD25Thomas