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Thomas Community Newsletter
November 16, 2023
Dear TMS Community,
Students and staff have been busy at TMS and there's so much to celebrate and be THANKFUL for:
- We continued our special tradition of honoring Veterans at an All-School Assembly.
- Students raised $1,542.53 for the ABC25 Pack The Piggies fundraiser. Wowza, thank you!
- TMS Musicians made ILMEA District 7 Honor Band!
- TMS State Champion Girls Cross Country and 2nd Place Boys Cross Country Teams were recognized at the School Board Meeting.
- Next week, November 20-24 there will be NO SCHOOL. On Monday, November 27, we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school. Therapy dogs, Comet and Pumpkin will join us as we greet the students upon return.
- Best wishes to the 8th Grade Girls Basketball Teams as they compete in IESA Regionals, which TMS is hosting on 11/18, 11/20, & 11/21. All are welcome to attend!
In this newsletter you'll find new information for:
A message from the TMS Health Office
Link to the Wrestling Parent Zoom Link tonight, 11/16/23 at 7 PM
TMS PTA Holiday Spiritwear Sale & Car Magnet Sale
Student Council Thanksgiving Book Drive
TMS SRO Presentation during PE & Health Classes 11/30 & 12/1
Take care,
Lori, Nick, & Greg
TMS Administrative Team
A Message from the TMS Health Office
Since this time of the year tends to be a season for colds, flu and other illnesses, we feel that it is an appropriate time to review these good health practices:
Please keep your students home from school for:
A temperature of 100 degrees or above. Following any illness, the temperature should remain normal for a period of 24 hours without fever reducing medication before the child returns to school.
Sore or red throat or swollen glands accompanied by fever.
Nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Do not send a child to school until 24 hours have elapsed since the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea.
Acting drowsy, complaining of headache, appearing flushed, or has a lack of appetite accompanied by fever.
There are several ways in which your student can protect themselves from communicable diseases:
Good hand washing, especially before eating and always after using the bathroom.
Getting plenty of rest!
Eating three nutritious meals each day and drinking lots of water.
Not sharing food, utensils or drinks.
Covering mouths when coughing or sneezing and disposing of tissues in a wastebasket.
Wresting Parent Zoom Meeting - Tonight, 11/16/23 at 7 PM
Congrats to the TMS Musicians who made ILMEA District 7 Honor Band!
A HUGE congratulations goes out to five of the TMS band students who tried out and made the ILMEA District 7 Honor Band! The festival took place on Saturday, Nov. 4. Students worked in rehearsals with the well-known composer and music educator, William Owens, and culminated their experience with a concert that afternoon. To make the honor band, students had to submit an audition video. Out of 66 schools participating in the ILMEA District 7 Festival, Thomas was one of only 3 schools who sent 5 or more students.
Congratulations to the following students for their hard and impressive work!!
- Isla Burney - FIRST CHAIR Flute
- Caroline Hong - Third Chair Oboe
- Andrew Rice - Fourth Chair Clarinet
- Nathan Hessling - Sixth Chair Clarinet
- Brandon Geltner - FIRST CHAIR Euphonium
This video played in the TMS Daily Announcements during homeroom: ILMEA Band Festival 2023
School Resource Officers - Danny Malik & John O'Leary
SPECIAL NOTE: On November 30 & December 1, the TMS PE & Health teachers will be attending the Illinois Association of Health & Physical Education annual conference. While these teachers are out, the SROs and TMS administrators will be presenting information to all PE & Health classes on various mandated topics such as the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act, automobile safety-including traffic regulations, highway safety, the consequences of alcohol consumption and the operation of a motor vehicle, safety in the home-including safe gun storage, social media guidance, drug prevention, decision making and healthy choices. Students will not change on these two days, but should wear gym shoes.
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 and they are an essential part of our Wolf Pack.
Please know that you can report concerns or social media incidents to the school administration and or school social workers. In addition, our School Resource Officers from the Arlington Heights Police Department are available to address your concerns and the police station is open 24-7 to report incidents that occur outside of TMS after school hours and on the weekends.
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
TMS PTA INFORMATION
Join the TMS PTA and help support the TMS community! Check out the TMS PTA Website.
TMS PTA meetings are held in the TMS LMC at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend!
- Tuesday, March 5
- Wednesday, January 11
- Tuesday, May 7
2023-2024 Executive Board Members
- President: Megan Puzen
- President-Elect: Kris Dugan
- Vice President: Nora Muenkel
- Treasurer: Diane Beardmore
- Secretary: Joclyn Katz
Are you willing to volunteer? Do you have a question for the PTA? Please contact the PTA at: thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com
Student Academic Support Is Available
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.
IMPORTANT HEALTH OFFICE INFORMATION
Student Health: Please continue to use the links and phone numbers on this page: https://www.sd25.org/Page/1451 to report your child’s absence. If your child has tested positive for COVID-19, you can notify the school nurse for guidance regarding how many days it is recommended to stay home (5 days with day 0 as the onset of symptoms or test day if asymptomatic) per Illinois Department of Public Health.
- Physical Forms: Athletes must have a current physical BEFORE they can participate in ANY practices. Physicals are good for 13 months. Physicals can be turned in at the TMS office or uploaded to the TMS Health Office form linked here.
- Dental Forms are due by May 15th, 2024 must be dated after November 15th, 2022.
Please contact the TMS Health Office if you have any questions:
Laura Toussaint - ltoussaint@sd25.org
Stephanie Musolf - smusolf@sd25.org
Daily Attendance Information
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.
Bus Information
- 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. Phone: 847-758-4888
Safe2Help Illinois
Safe2Help Illinois is a 24/7 program where students can use a free app, text/phone, and website (safe2helpil.com) to share information on school safety issues in a confidential environment. Once vetted, the information provided will be shared with local district and school officials and/or local 911 call center, depending on the nature of the information shared. Safe2Help Illinois is a long-term initiative to change the school culture in Illinois by helping students reach out when they have concerns. To learn further about Safe2Help Illinois, please see the videos below. More information can also be found on their website at safe2helpil.com.
ABC/25 Foundation
- Please consider joining the ABC/25 Foundation on behalf of TMS by clicking on this link: www.abc25.org
- The ABC/25 Foundation is excited to launch the 2023-24 school year! We have an array of thrilling developments in store, and it all begins with the unveiling of our fresh, redesigned logo and a new slogan, "GRANTING INSPIRATION TO FORWARD EDUCATION"
- Join us in our journey to support and enhance education in our community! Make sure to explore our revamped website www.abc25.org and follow ABC/25 or Facebook and Instagram for all of our latest updates!
- TMS CONTACTS: Ursula Guran & Angie Thanopoulos https://abc25.org/
- Monday, October 30th from 7-8 PM Information Session and Community Member Meeting @ Arlington Height Memorial Library.
- Come learn how your membership benefits the schools and students and become involved in our rebrand!
- Wondering if you signed up to be an ABC/25 Foundation member back in May when you registered your child/children for the 2023-2024 school year? If, so please feel free to reach out directly to Thomas' ABC/25 Foundation representative - Bliss Hansen-Finnegan at eblisshansen@gmail.com and she will let you know.