The Tohickon Golden Eagle
November 2014
TOHICKON REMEMBERS MR. LAMAR
Dear Tohickon Families,
On Friday, October 24, 2014, the students and staff held a memorial assembly for Mr. Ron LaMar. Mr. LaMar was the Tohickon Band Director from 2002 through 2014. Mr. LaMar passed away this past June. His loss was felt, not only by the Tohickon community, but by the entire Central Bucks community and beyond.
Mr. LaMar began his career in Central Bucks in 1996 as the Band Director at Central Bucks West. Mr. LaMar took over a program that was small and struggling. The band program at the time Mr. LaMar was hired had only 36 students. In 2002, when Mr. LaMar left for Tohickon, the Central Bucks West Band had mushroomed to 134 students. Then, he was hired as the Tohickon Band Director in 2002, where he spent twelve fantastic years!
The memorial assembly held on October 24th, included students, staff and former staff members of Tohickon Middle School. Mrs. LaMar, Mr. LaMar's wife, along with members of the LaMar family were in attendance. Mr. Skari (Tohickon Principal from 2002-2009) and Dr. Wychock (Tohickon Principal from 2009-2014) were also in attendance for the ceremony. The ceremony included speeches, musical performances, slide show/video presentations, and thoughtful messages from twelve of Mr. LaMar's former band students. The event concluded with the presentation of a plaque to Mrs. LaMar and another to be hung outside of the Tohickon Auditorium.
This is the first of two ceremonies to be held in honor of Mr. LaMar this year. The second ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 13th, in the Central Bucks West auditorium. This second assembly will be held for community members, former students, colleagues and all others that would like to attend.
We will miss Mr. LaMar and continue to honor him in every way we can!
Sincerely,
Mr. Kevin Marton, Principal
Tohickon's Pink Out Day
T5 Grade 9 Assembly
On October 22nd, Tohickon Middle School's 9th graders attended an assembly hosted by Bucks County Detective, Matthew Weintraub, and Nova Representative, Steve Doerner. The assembly was part of the T5 Program at Tohickon. The program focused on drug awareness and making the right decisions when placed in bad situations. Mr. Weintraub concluded the assembly by answering several questions posed by students. It was a pleasure having Mr. Weintraub and Mr. Doerner as guest speakers at Tohickon.
Veterans' Day
The staff and students at Tohickon Middle School are proud to announce their continuing support for our country's veterans. On November 11, 2014, we will be having two unique events to recognize and honor our service men and women.
During the morning of November 11th, we will be having our annual Veteran's Breakfast in the Tohickon Library between the hours of 8:30 and 9:30 AM. Invitations have gone out for veterans that are relatives of students and staff in our building. This breakfast is a great opportunity for staff, students and parents to spend time with family members who have served our country.
During the evening of November 11th, we will be having our annual Wall of Honor event. Prior to November 11th, students and staff members will be working diligently to collect, organize and create a massive display of pictures throughout the first floor halls of Tohickon. The pictures will include past and present relatives of students and staff members dating all the way back to the the Revolutionary War. Tohickon will be opening its doors to the public during the evening of November 11th, from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, to view the wall. All are welcome!
Please join the Tohickon staff and students as we recognize and honor the men and women who have bravely served our wonderful country!
November Parent-Teacher Conference Information
The Tohickon staff is presently scheduling parent/teacher conferences for Monday, November 24th, from 12:00 - 8:00 PM, and Tuesday, November 25th from 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM.
If your child’s teacher has a concern about his/her progress, you will be contacted to schedule a conference. You may also initiate a conference by contacting the office during the week of November 17th through 21st between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Please call 267-893-3300 during this time to schedule the date and time for your conference.
Parent/guardian requests for conferences will be established in the order in which they are received. Every attempt will be made to schedule your conference at the time you desire. Also, if convenient, you may arrange for a telephone conference in lieu of a face to face conference.
Please be reminded that teams are also available on a regular basis during team planning time to meet with parents/guardians who have concerns or desire a conference.
Thank you for your interest and cooperation.
Mark Brown to Meet with Seventh Grade Students at CB East
Community Service Update
Tohickon students take part in many different community service opportunities. During the month of October, the Tohickon cheerleaders and football players held their Second Annual Family Movie Night. The football players and cheerleaders advertised the event to not only their families, but also to students at our three local elementary schools. In order to gain admittance into the event, families donated canned food items that would be given to the Doylestown Food Pantry. The event was an overwhelming success, and Tohickon was able to donate 400 pounds of food and $200.00 to the Doylestown Food Pantry.
The Tohickon football players and cheerleaders were not alone in collecting food for those in need. The 9th grade students participated in their annual Top Eagle’s Contest. Top EAGLES stands for the top energetic, academic, generous, loving and enthusiastic students. This year’s contest ran as a competition between East and West since our ninth grade students will split between the two high schools next year. CB West won the competition collecting 52 food items. Overall, the 9th grade students collected over 850 boxes/cans of food that will be given to local food pantries in the Bucks County area. Since CB West won the competition, the ninth grade teachers will dress in West colors on Halloween in order to salute the winning team. The new “Top Eagles’ Trophy” will be presented at the fall recognition assembly on Tuesday, November 4th.
Finally, the month of November will be a month devoted to helping others during the holiday season. During November, students at Tohickon will be working hard to create baskets that will be provided to families for the Thanksgiving holiday. These baskets will be filled with donations from the Tohickon community in order to make many families' holiday a little brighter. Information regarding the Thanksgiving food baskets will be provided through students' homerooms.
Tohickon Wellness and Garden Update
This week, our garden will be closing for the season. Students and volunteers have been working hard to maintain the garden all summer and the last harvest day will be Friday, October 31st.
Our next Wellness Committee meeting will be on Thursday, November 6th. Items to be discussed will be scheduling "Student Days," when the Wellness Committee will provide healthy ideas /snacks for the students, and "Staff Days," when we will be providing for the staff members. We began by having a Harvest Bread Bake for the staff, during the week of October 20th, and we distributed Apple Crisp bags to students on Wednesday, October 29th.
Finally, Tohickon has recently teamed up with Del Val College to work together with volunteers and learn more about managing different types of plants and maintaining the landscaping and outdoor resources that we currently have. We look forward to working out more details in the future.
Boomerang Nominees
The asset for September was "Time at Home." Our September nominees were Nick R. and Gabriella C. pictured here with Mr. Marton. Congratulations!
Team Discovery's Pedals for Progress Bike Drive
Team Discovery will be hosting its 11th annual Pedals for Progress Bike Drive on Saturday, November 1st, from 1-4 PM. Pedals for Progress is a non-profit organization based out of New Jersey that collects used bicycles and sewing machines and ships them to people in need all over the world. It uses a win-win model; unwanted bikes are kept out of landfills and people in need of a primary means of transportation are provided with an efficient and environmentally friendly way to get to important places like work and school. Please consider donating any used or unwanted bikes by dropping them off at Tohickon on Saturday, November 1st.
Impact Testing for All Winter and Spring Athletes
Tohickon will be holding ImPACT testing for all students involved in the following winter sports: cheerleading, girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball and wrestling. ImPACT testing is a means of concussion baseline testing. All testing will occur during normal practice times once final rosters are set.
Report Cards No Longer Printed
Effective with the 2014-2015 school year, secondary school parents will be able to view, print, and/or save their child’s report card directly from the Parent Portal. Printed report cards will not be sent home with students. Parents will be able to view report cards for middle and/or high school students for the 1st marking period on November 12th at 8:00 AM. For parent convenience, we will announce future report cards dates at the conclusion of each subsequent marking period in the school newsletter and post them on the school website.
To access your son/daughter’s report card:
1. Log onto Parent Portal.
2. Click on REPORTS on the left-hand menu.
3. Click on REPORT CARD.
This document can be printed.
If you need help setting up a Parent Portal account, please contact the guidance office at 267-893-3310. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, please contact the guidance office.
From the Nurse's Office
As we enter the colder months, please encourage your sons and/or daughters to wash their hands frequently in order to help prevent the spread of viruses.
Guidance Department
Guidance Office: 267-893-3310
Mrs. Schute will be working with those students with last names from A-Hi.
Mr. Stryker will be working with those students with last names from Ho-R.
Mr. Striano will be working with those students with last names from S-Z.
How to Make Changes to Student Information
Please note the following procedures for submitting address changes and/or changes to mailing addresses, guardian(s) or other household information. This information is also available on the Central Bucks School District Website - www.cbsd.org.
Any changes to the current information we have on file (you can view the census information through the Parent Portal) should also be noted on the Census Verification form that your child brought home the first week of school.
Change of Address
All student address changes within Central Bucks must be validated at the Central Registration office by appointment only. We can not make changes at the middle school.
Student Change of Address Procedures:
Download the Change of Student Address Within Central Bucks form or obtain the form from the school your student currently attends.
Call or email Central Registration for an appointment. Central Registration 267-893-2111. CentralRegistration@cbsd.org
Complete the form and bring it to your scheduled appointment along with the following REQUIRED documentation: Property Deed/Agreement of Sale (follow up with deed) OR Current Lease Agreement AND one of the following: current utility bill, current tax bill/receipt, current bank statement. Your student’s records will be updated to reflect the new address upon receipt of the required documentation.
Change in Household Membership
All student household membership additions, deletions or changes must be documented on the Household Membership Change form. This would include the following: Parent/Guardian changes, Sibling changes and Mailing changes.
Student Household Membership Change Procedures
Download the Household Membership Change form or obtain the form from the school your student currently attends. Complete the form and return to your student’s school or mail it to the address below:
Central Bucks School District
Educational Services Center
Central Registration
16 Welden Drive
Doylestown, PA 18901
If you have any questions, please call Central Registration (267-893-2111)
or email your questions to CentralRegistration@cbsd.org
To view the CB Cares Backpack Newsflash please click the link below:
Just by doing your routine shopping, you can help Tohickon in our efforts to raise money for special programs and various items to support our school and students. Tohickon has registered in fundraising programs sponsored by Giant Market, eScrip.com, Target and Amazon.com. We also collect Boxtops for Education, and recycle newspaper, printer cartridges and clothing. Check out the details below. It’s easy to do, and a wonderful way to support our school! Thank you, in advance, for your participation in these programs!
GIANT A+ School Rewards Program
Tohickon Middle School has the opportunity to earn cash through Giant A+ School Rewards Program. All you have to do is: Log on to giantfoodstores.com/aplus to register online OR dial 1-888-448-4642 to register your card over the phone. After you register your card, each shopping trip at Giant using your BONUSCARD earns CASH for our school! Each month, the amount of CASH awarded will be updated on the Giant website. Attending to this simple process makes a HUGE difference to our school. We need your support. Please be sure to register your card to benefit Tohickon Middle School using ID #05868. Thanks to our Tohickon families, we raised $5,300 from this school rewards program to provide picnic tables for our new pavilion last year.
Target
We’ve covered grocery shopping, how about something different? Just register your Target credit card or Target Visa card, and Tohickon will earn one percent of your purchases made at Target and one-half percent of Target Visa purchases made elsewhere. Go to www.target.com/tcoe and click on “Have a REDcard - find a school” and enter Tohickon - our ID # is 118247. Don’t have a Target credit card? You can apply online at the same site!
eScrip.com
Just register online at www.escrip.com. Tohickon’s Group ID # is 150239570. You can split your donation among several different schools or organizations, so if you’re already registered with another group, consider adding Tohickon! While you’re logged onto the www.escrip.com site, you may want to consider registering your debit and/or credit card so that Tohickon will benefit from purchases made with those cards at retailers like Office Max, Eddie Bauer, Barnes and Noble, and Payless Shoes. Choose “my escrip” from the menu at the top of the screen, log in with your password, go to “Account Administration,” and select “Credit and Debit Cards.” Be sure to check out the complete list of participating merchants and contribution rates.
Amazon.com
An easy way to support Tohickon’s programs is just a few clicks away! If you purchase anything through Amazon.com, our school can earn up to 15%! To ensure Tohickon receives credit for purchases, you will have to access the link on the Tohickon website under "School Links" then click “Support Tohickon.” Once you’ve done that, shop as you normally would. It’s that easy!
Box Tops for Education
Tohickon continues to collect Box Tops for Education. Box Tops coupons are found on a large variety of products. Please clip the coupons from participating products and send them to the school. All coupons can be turned in to homeroom teachers. Talk to your family and friends and ask them to clip Box Tops coupons also. All money raised from this continuous collection will supplement club and activity programs, including volunteer activities. For more information on Box Tops for Education go to www.boxtops4education.com.
Paper Retriever/Project WRAP
Did you know that every person in the United States throws away about two pounds of paper per day? Did you also know that Tohickon Middle School earns money every month for recycling paper in the green and yellow paper retriever bin? What can you do to help? Tohickon Middle School wants your paper! Please help us by depositing your household paper in the paper retriever bin every week. If 200 families put their paper in the paper retriever bin each week, our school would collect more than 2,800 pounds or 1.4 tons of paper per week. Deposit your school paper, office paper, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, junk mail and envelopes in the paper retriever recycling bin every week. Our school and the environment thank you! As the weather changes and you find yourself cleaning out your summer clothes and preparing for winter, please remember that we have a clothing “drop-off” right next to our paper retriever bin. Both bins are located in the back of Tohickon. They not only provide you with one stop “drop-off,” they provide the building with some additional funds.
Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300