TMS Community ROAR Report
November Newsletter
Be the Change at TMS!
Email: janine.smith@fcps.org
Website: https://education.fcps.org/tms/
Location: 408 East Main Street, Thurmont, MD, United States
Phone: (240)-236-5100
Twitter: @JanineSmithFCPS
Be the Change
Greetings Families,
Thurmont Middle School invites you to participate in our school’s 2023-2024 Family Survey. Your feedback is important to us! Your responses will remain anonymous and will be combined with the responses of other families.
To access the survey online, go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SysSur-Family_23-24
Important: If you have more than one child enrolled in FCPS, please complete one survey per child.
If you require a paper survey, please contact Christine Newman at 240-236-5100.
The survey will remain open until Tuesday, November 21 at 11:59pm EST. We thank you in advance for your feedback!
Be the Change,
Janine Smith-Principal
Chris Bittner-Assistant Principal
Anita Shank-Assistant Principal
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
Important Calendar Date Reminders
- Wednesday, November 8th-Report Cards Issued
- Wednesday, November 8th-TMS Roy Roger's Fundraiser
- Thursday, November 9th-PTA Meeting
- Friday, November 10th- School Picture Make-Ups
- Monday, November 12th-Wyld Life 2:30-4:30pm-Ms. Thomson's Room
- Tuesday, November 13th-Leo Club 2:30-3:30pm-Media Center
- Wednesday, November 15h-SGA Meeting 2:30-3:30pm-Ms. Thomson's Room
- Friday, November 17th-Feeder Chorus Tour
- Monday, November 20th- Wyld Life 2:30-4:30pm-Ms. Thomson's Room
- Wednesday, November 22nd-School Closed-Thanksgiving Break
- Thursday, November 23rd- School Closed-Thanksgiving Break
- Friday, November 24th- School Closed-Thanksgiving Break
- Monday, November 27th- Wyld Life 2:30-4:30pm-Ms. Thomson's Room
- Wednesday, November 29th- SGA Meeting 2:30-3:30pm-Ms. Thomson's Room
- Wednesday, November 29th-Life After Middle School Presentation 6:00-8:00 TMS Cafeteria
- Friday, December 1st-2 Hour Early Dismissal-Mid-Term 2
Counselor Corner
TMS Counseling Team Contact Information:
Sherry Bueso- Grade 6 School Counselor 240-236-5107/ sherry.bueso@fcps.org
Stacie Varanyak- Grade 7 School Counselor 240-236-5113/ stacie.varanyak@fcps.org
Rebecca Krauss- Grade 8 School Counselor 240-236-5108/ rebecca.krauss@fcps.org
Debbie Wivell- Behavior Support Specialist 240-236-5155/debbie.wivell@fcps.org
Jane Nicholson- Registrar 240-236-5106/ jane.nicholson@fcps.org
Diana Merritt- Career Coach 240-236-5163 /diana.merritt@fcps.org
Assistant Principal Caseload
Ms. Shank: 8th Grade & 7th Grade M-Z
Holiday Assistance
If you are in need of holiday assistance, please reach out to our Community Liaison, Ms. Crystal McKenzie at 240-236-5210.
Rescue Mission at 429 West South Street, Frederick, MD 21701 will provide meal distributions on November 18th, however, prior sign up needs to occur. Please sign up with Valerie Moore at vmoore@rescuemission.org 301-695-6633 ext. 216 if you are interested. The due date for this support is November 15th.
TMS Picture Make-Up Day
Mark your calendars for Friday, November 10, 2023
School Make Up Pictures will be taken by Classic Photography on Friday, November 10, 2023 from 8-10 a.m. ONLY. School picture day is when students have their photographs taken by a professional photographer. All in-person students will be photographed for school records (i.e. yearbook, gradebook, and other school system applications).
Please click here to see the prices of packages and backgrounds available: ORDER FORM. Pictures will be coming home with students on Tuesday, November 7. If you would like a retake, please send the package back to school with your student.
Payment must be made either online (after proof is received) or by cash or check (made payable to Classic Photography). Any questions or concerns, please contact Classic Photography at 1-800-869-9515 x112.
Life After Middle School
Service Learning
Have you volunteered outside of the school day to a non-profit organization?
If so, please return this form to Ms. Desonier
I will keep track of your service learning hours.
If you have 25 hours by May of your 8th grade year, you can earn an award.
All hours will transfer to high school.
More information can be found here on the FCPS website.
There are also forms located in Ms. Desonier’s room (250) in the office and in the Media Center.
Attendance = Opportunity
Good attendance requires a strong partnership between home, school, and students; communication is an important component of that partnership. To that end, parents/guardians and students will hear from the school when there are concerns about attendance. We may do any/all of the following:
- Meet with the student (to understand what is impacting their attendance and offer supports to help).
- Call and/or meet with a parent/guardian (also to understand what is impacting their child’s attendance and collaborate on solutions),
- Send letters to notify families of attendance.
We understand that a student’s attendance at school can be impacted (positively or negatively) by many factors; it is our goal to understand what is affecting it and work with the family to affect positive change. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the school if you are struggling with your child’s attendance - we are here to help!
Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation
Children need a trusted adult to turn to when they feel threatened. It is important that your child is encouraged to contact their school counselor, administrator or teacher to report bullying because it may not stop without help. If your child feels uncomfortable reporting bullying and harassing behaviors, parents are encouraged to report it to FCPS staff.
To report bullying, use the FCPS Bullying, Harassment or Intimidation Reporting Form, available on the FCPS.org website.
If bullying happens outside of school, families can call:
- 211 for community resource information
- Law enforcement if threats or physical harm occur
Learn more about bullying, harassment, and intimidation in the FCPS Students and Families Tab, found at www.fcps.org. Information is also available in Bullying - Harassment - Intimidation Complaint Process for Students linked here.
School Meals
FCPS is using a new portal for school meal related information. Go to the parent portal at http://linqconnect.com/ where you can:
- Apply for meal benefits (FARM)
- View menus, meal prices and a la carte prices
- Add money to student accounts
- Transfer funds between students
- View student meal transactions
- Set low-balance notifications
Breakfast is FREE to ALL TMS Students this year!
Mental Health Association Newsletter
23-24 School Updates
Mid-Term 2: Mid-term for term 2 is on December 1st . If your child has missing assignments or needs to complete a re-assessment, please encourage them to speak with their teacher(s) as soon as possible. If you have questions or concerns, please contact your child’s teacher(s). All students also have access to free online tutors 24 hours a day using the TutorMe link in Schoology or on our school’s website.
Student Information Cards:
Important Reminder:
The school needs your child's updated Student and Health Information Cards to reach you when there is an emergency, question or concern.
FCPS requires The Health Information Card to be updated annually.
In addition, below are links to the fillable forms if you wish to print them off at home:
Health Information Card- English
Health Information Card- Spanish
Students may drop off completed Health Information Cards to the Front Office.
Attendance Information:
If your child is unable to attend school due to an illness or doctor's appointment, or any other reason, please email a note to our attendance secretary, Ms. Shannon Ingram at tms.attendance@fcps.org.
Students Reporting Security Concerns:
"See Something, Say Something" and "Don't repost it. Report it" - Encourage students to report security concerns to a trusted adult (parent, school staff member, school administrator, SRO, or a local law enforcement agency). Students may also anonymously report concerns using the Safe Schools Maryland Tip Line at 833-MD-B-SAFE. In an emergency, call 911. Additional resources can be found on each school's website and the FCPS website.
FCPS Bus Delay Information:
A quick and easy resource to check if your child's bus is delayed is to visit https://apps.fcps.org/transdelay/ This site is updated in real-time to reflect any bus delays.
Volunteering at TMS:
Are you interested in volunteering at TMS? If so, all volunteers must complete the virtual training each year linked here. Please note this must be completed to chaperone field trips. Please reach out to Shannon Ingram with questions/concerns.
Community Liaison: If you are in need of assistance with school supplies, hygiene products, food, or other community resources for housing, please reach out Crystal Mckenzie, our TMS Community Liason at Crystal.McKenzie@fcps.org. We are here to support and assist all of our families!
If you are in need of a new bed, please access the following link from Sleep Heavenly Peace.
Tutor Me
Our school is proud to announce that we’ve teamed up with TutorMe to offer 24/7 online tutoring to all students!
TutorMe is a place where our students can build the connections they need to learn and thrive. Through TutorMe, students connect with a tutor who’s an exact match for what they’re looking for – whether you’re stumped by an algebra equation, craving a confidence boost, or looking for an extra challenge. There’s more to TutorMe than live online tutoring. Through the TutorMe Writing Lab, you can submit drafts of any written assignment and receive detailed feedback from expert writing tutors in just a couple hours. Reference the TutorMe Support Guide to get started. TutorMe Student Support Guide (English) ESP. Guia de Apoyo- TutorMe (Spanish)
TMS PTA Needs YOU!
2023-24 PTA Board of Directors:
Christy Donnelly-President
Jennifer O’Connell-Secretary
Elizabeth Day-Treasurer
Meeting Dates:
November 9th- BOARD MEETING
December 14th GENERAL MEETING
January 11th NO MEETING
February 8th GENERAL MEETING
March 14th BOARD MEETING
April 11th GENERAL MEETING
May 9th – GENERAL MEETING- Voting of new board members
Digital Membership: https://fspta-00023696.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true
We need YOU to become a member of our PTA! Please be on the lookout for the online membership link for you to join. We are excited to grow our amazing TMS PTA!
Hello TMS community!
We hope the beginning of the year has gotten off to a wonderful start! We're hoping to make this the best year YET, and we need your help!! The PTA is working to organize some fantastic events for students, families and staff. You decide what you're able to commit- maybe it's an hour of time, or maybe it's making a few phone calls to get some donations! No task is too small, and all help is appreciated! Please take a look and pick the committee you'd like to help with!
Click HERE to join PTA! You can use the QR code or by visiting https://fspta-00023696.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true
Thank you, in advance, for the time and effort you put into our students, school, and staff. It is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
PTA
Principal - Thurmont Middle School