Dear Parents and Guardians,

Today we pause to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on this federal holiday that observes the birthday of the Civil Rights leader, minister, and winner of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. His actual birthday is January 15, celebrated on the third Monday in January each year. At the core of his message was the simple plea for opportunity. The Rev. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the chance to succeed. At TMS, we strive to help every child succeed and look for ways we can help them navigate the middle school journey. We are grateful for the tremendous support we receive from our community as the home-school partnership is an essential component for success. We hope these newsletters are a useful communication tool.

New Information in this newsletter:

• TMS Social Media Club - Happy New Year TMS Spirit Video
• End of the Second Quarter
• February Conferences: Please note that Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will be held on Thursday and Friday, February 16th & 17th. Sign-ups will open on Monday, 1/30/23 @ 10 AM and close at noon on Tuesday, 2/14/23.
  
• RULER (update)
• 8th Grade Information (update)
• Winter Coats & Shoes Available for Those in Need
  

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, 1/16/23 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School
• Wednesday, 1/18/23: 5th Grade Special Education Middle School Transition Night, 6:30pm, Commons
  
• Friday, 1/20/23 - End of 2nd Quarter, Last day of Hexter 3 (6th grade CA), TMS Dance Invitational

• Sat 1/21/23: 7th Grade Boys Basketball IESA Regionals

• Tuesday, 1/24/23 - District Spelling Bee 3:15 pm @ South LMC *Revised date.
• Friday, 1/27/23 - Report Cards Email to Parents/Guardians
• Saturday, 1/28/23: Jazz Jamboree @ Thomas Middle School, 8th Grade Boys Basketball IESA Regionals

• Monday, 1/30/23 @ 10 AM - P/T Conferences Sign-Up Opens

• Tuesday, 2/14/23 @ noon - P/T Conferences Sign-Up Closes

• Thursday & Friday, 2/16/23 & 2/17/23 - Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences - No School
• Monday, 2/20/23 - Presidents' Day - No School

Take care,

Lori, Nick, & Greg

The TMS Admin Team

STEM ASSEMBLY - CRIME SCENE SCIENCE

ABC/25 Foundation invites you to a hands-on forensic science STEM assembly, CRIME SCENE SCIENCE, presented by MobileEd!

Date: Monday, 1/16/23 (non-attendance day)

Time: Four 45 minute sessions available, sessions start at 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 5:00 PM

Sign up: abc25.org/crimescene

Location: Ivy Hill Elementary School 2211 N Burke Dr, Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Cost: Free for ABC/25 household member students! $10 per participant for non-members.

Details: Solve a mystery with science in Crime Scene Science!

ABC/25 GET BURBED CHALLENGE

Over 60 students submitted designs for the ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge T-Shirt design contest! We've narrowed it down to the three finalists and we need your help to choose which design will be featured on this year's race shirt! Vote here: https://www.abc25challenge.org/tshirt and make sure to participate in the ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge to get one of these exclusive shirts!

The ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge will be held on April 15, 2023! Save the date and follow The ABC/25 Foundation on Facebook or Twitter for more information and updates!

Angie Thanopoulos and Katie Lindgren

ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge Race Co-Directors

www.abc25challenge.org

More TMS Memberships Needed: Thomas has not yet met the goal of 25% of our households joining ABC/25. PLEASE HELP US OUT BY PURCHASING A MEMBERSHIP.

Why Join? ABC/25 stands for A Better Community for District 25. The mission of the Foundation is “To foster innovation, creativity, and excellence for the children of District 25.” By joining, you support District 25 schools and teachers with funds for innovative, creative, and excellence experiences for your students. Over 50% of the Foundation's grant money comes from membership dues. Once a school reaches 25% membership (including families and staff), that school gets an additional $2500! New this year are member benefits! Learn more at www.ABC25.org

Thank you as always for your support of ABC/25!

Angie Thanopoulos and Katie Lindgren

ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge Race Co-Directors

www.abc25challenge.org

The Second Quarter ends on January 20, 2023. Report Cards will be emailed home on January 27, 2023. Please work with your child and your child’s teachers to ensure everything is turned in for this grading period.

Format for Parent-Teacher Conferences

District 25 has set aside February 16th & 17th as our spring parent-teacher conference days.

If your child’s team is recommending a conference, it does not necessarily mean there is a concern. Mainly, it signifies that the team feels this is a good time to check in with you and your child. For all conferences, we want students to be present, so please plan for your child to join you at the conference. Team Leaders will reach out to families for team-invited conferences if they feel a need to meet and discuss your child's progress.

As always we encourage parents to check PowerSchool and communicate with your child's teachers at any time to discuss their academic progress.

More detailed information will be sent out in the next few weeks regarding parent-teacher conferences.

The start of a new year is a great time to reflect on our well-being, not only our physical well-being but also our mental and emotional well-being. We do our best in D25 to promote the academic growth of students. With daily PE classes and a wide range of extracurricular activities offered, students enjoy physical growth as well. We promote social and emotional well-being through our RULER curriculum.

RULER lessons help students learn how to regulate emotions. Students are asked to reflect upon being their “Best Self” and how using regulation strategies can help them handle tough emotions in a positive way. Being able to PAUSE in a situation, see your “Best Self” and then choose a regulation tool are all steps of the Meta-Moment.

At TMS, another key element to Ruler is that each homeroom has a class Charter. A Charter is a way to give words to describe the feelings we hope to have in regard to school. Our homeroom Charters show that students universally want to feel SAFE, ACCEPTED (or VALUED) & RESPECTED. If you are interested in taking SEL a step further, check out this link for instructions on how to write a Home Charter. District 25 staff who have done this with their own families have found it to be a powerful and positive tool for stronger family understanding and connection.

Thank you 8th Grade Parent Volunteers: At our PTA meeting this past Wednesday, January 11th, about 30 parents attended to discuss the end-of-year celebrations for our 8th graders. This year the committee will be planning an event for our 8th graders on the afternoon of June 1st from 12:30-2:45 PM. If you're interested in assisting with this event, please reach out to the PTA at thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com

Graduation Gowns, Ribbons, and Diplomas: Emails were sent from Mary Higgins regarding these items. Please reach out. to Mary (mhiggins@sd25.org) or 847-398-4260 if you have any questions.

TMS tentative Graduation Date 6/1/23: The TMS graduation ceremony is tentatively set for Thursday, June 1, 2023 at Buffalo Grove High School. This date will be confirmed in the spring.

Graduation Photos: 8th grade gown photos will be offered during the February Parent/Teacher Conference Days. Detailed information about this will be shared this week.

TMS has received a generous donation of new and gently used winter coats in a wide range of sizes. We are eager to give these to those in need.

Also, the Rotary Club is offering "Warm Soles" to children from under-resourced families. The shoe sizes are Toddler 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and Kids/Youth 11, 12, 13, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with an anticipated delivery by mid-March.

Please reach out to the TMS Office or a TMS Social Worker to make arrangements for this if you or someone in your household is in need of a winter coat.

TMS Alumni, Audrey Zagorski, is a senior at Hersey High School who serves on the Teen Advisory Council for the Ronald McDonald House near Lurie's Children's Hospital. She is hoping we can support this amazing charity with a POP TAB collection at Thomas. She has provided collection containers for each homeroom. These containers are labeled per homeroom and ready for pick-up in Admin Alley. The POP TAB collection will run through March 10th. Please see the flyer below for more details!

For many, the holidays are full of joy and wonder but, for others, the holidays and the cold winter days that follow can be the hardest. If you know someone who is struggling, you can contact 988 - the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as well as Safe2Help Illinois.

When contacting 988, a trained counselor who is part of the Lifeline network will answer. These trained counselors will listen, understand how the problems are affecting the individual, provide support, and connect the individual to resources if necessary.

Here's a link to the District 25 Social Emotional Resources.

TMS After School Support by Team is available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays! Students are invited to stay after school for academic support.

Please encourage your child to attend Office Hours/11th Hour/Homework Club and to reach out to teachers if they need help or just want a place to work on their academics after school. This support is FREE and can be extremely helpful.

Click here for more details on options for your child to get help from staff at TMS. The activity bus departs TMS at about 3:35 PM. Please see the Activity Bus Black Out Schedule below.

TMS PTA Website

MEETING DATES 2022-2023 - All meetings start @ 7 PM

• NEXT MEETING - Tuesday - 2/7/2023

• Wednesday - 3/15/2023
• Wednesday - 4/5/2023

2022-2023 PTA Officers:

• President: Suzanne Krause
• President-Elect: Megan Puzen
• Vice President: Norah Muenkel
• Treasurer: Kelly Spokas
• Secretary: Deborah Oiler

Do you have questions for the PTA? Email the PTA at: thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com

Daily attendance is expected and essential to school success. Please work with us to ensure that your child is attending school each day. If support is needed in this area, please reach out to us.

• ABSENCE REPORTING: The TMS attendance reporting options are open 24 hours a day 7 days per week. If your child is sick or unable to attend school, the parent/guardian MUST report this to the TMS office by filling out the Online Attendance Form OR calling the office at 847-398-4260 by 8 AM, the latest, on the day of the absences. Please be sure to report your child's absence so that we can account for all students each day. Advanced notification of absences is greatly appreciated.
• ARRIVAL TIME: Students should arrive at school between 7:30-7:40 AM so that they can stop at their locker and be seated in their homeroom class by 7:50 AM.
• LATE ARRIVAL/TARDIES: Students arriving late to school are unexcused unless a parent or guardian calls to report the reason for the late arrival. Oversleeping and traffic are not considered excused absences. Students must sign in at the office upon arrival at school.
• EARLY DISMISSAL: If your child has a doctor's appointment and needs to leave school before dismissal at 2:45 PM, please be sure to report this to the TMS office by filling out the Online Attendance Form OR calling the office at 847-398-4260. Students must sign out in the office before leaving school early.

Students who are absent from class are encouraged to check Schoology for assignment information. In addition, it may be helpful for students who are absent to attend Homework Club / Office Hours for a few days upon returning to school.

This is an ideal time to check in with your child and review PowerSchool and Schoology information. If you need assistance with your login information for these platforms, please click here to request the access codes and a member of the Thomas Tech team will email you. Click here for a link to the Thomas Parent Tech Resouces which includes videos on PowerSchool and Schoology.

Chromebook tourbles? Students can contact TMS Tech Support via email: thomastech@sd25.org

The Tech Office is located in the LMC.

• District 25 Covid-19 Information
• Athletic Registration Form: This is for students that wish to participate in TMS athletics. If a student is participating in a sport, we must have the physical by the first day of practice.
• DENTAL FORMS: All dental forms are due by 5/15/23 and must be dated after 11/15/21.
• HEALTH OFFICE DOCUMENTS: Health Office documents can be turned into the TMS main office or can be uploaded to the TMS Health Office Form linked here.

School District 25 has a wonderful partnership with the Arlington Heights Police Department and we are very fortunate to have two outstanding School Resource Officers that support our schools. The SROs attend various TMS events throughout the school year as they are an essential part of our Wolf Pack.

Officer Danny Malik & Officer John O'Leary

School Resource Officer

Arlington Heights Police Department

dmalik@vah.com & joleary@vah.com

M: 847-878-2949

W: 847-368-5393

All students need to show their bus pass in order to ride the bus!

Please direct bus transportation questions to the District 25 Transportation Specialist:

Laura Comastro. Laura can answer your questions and resolve issues.

lcomastro@sd25.org

847-758-4888

LATE BUSES: If the bus is more than ten minutes late, parents may call Cook County School Bus Co. at 847-439-0923 to find out if the bus is late, or missed a stop. Parents who cannot stay at the bus stop should have a contingency plan with neighbors and with their children concerning what to do if the bus is more than 10 minutes late in the morning or if the parent is not home after school.

ITEMS LEFT ON THE BUS: If a student leaves an item on the bus, the parent should contact Cook Co. School Bus Company at 847-439-0923 to locate the item and to make arrangements for it to be returned. This can be done either on the bus route the next day or by the parent going to the bus company to pick it up (1910 S. Busse Rd., A.H.).

CONCERNS AND COMPLIMENTS: Bus emergency concerns: Contact Cook County School Bus at 847-439-0923 or for the AHSD25 Transportation Manager during the school work day, 847- 758-4888. About bus drivers/bus service: Contact the Transportation Specialist at 847-758-4888. About other passengers: Contact the school office to report any issue with regard to behavior on the bus.

Additional bus information can be found at the transportation link on the District 25 website.

Our students practiced bus evacuation procedures on 10/18/22 and will have a second opportunity to practice this on 4/13/23.

TMS Office Hours:

Monday - Friday 7 AM - 3 PM

*Modified hours over breaks and closed on holidays.

Attendance Reporting:

Online Attendance Form: Click here to report your child's absence or late arrival or early dismissal. The other option is to call the TMS office at 847-398-4260 to report your child's attendance.

TMS Address:

1430 N. Belmont Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Phone: 847-398-4260

Fax: 847-394-6843