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Thomas Community Newsletter
December 5, 2023
Dear TMS Community,
We hope everyone is staying warm during this chilly holiday season.
In this newsletter you'll find new information for:
- Winter Lunch Menu
MAP Testing - Monday & Tuesday, December 11th & 12th *Modified Daily Schedules
- Photos from the ABC25 Pack The Piggies Assembly that raised $1,542.53
- eLearning Information
- Congratulations to the TMS Musicians on making the ILMEA District 7 Honor Band
- TMS Spelling Bee - 12/20/23 - TMS LMC
Pack The Place - TMS vs SMS 12/20/23
Student Council Thanksgiving Book Drive - Wowza, thank you!
TMS SRO Presentation during PE & Health Classes 11/30 & 12/1
Winter Break - No School - 12/25/23 - 1/8/24 *School resumes 1/9/24
Take care,
Lori, Nick, & Greg
TMS Administrative Team
Congrats to the TMS Musicians who made ILMEA District 7 Honor Band!
A HUGE congratulations goes out to 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!!
- Io Shigefuji - Jazz Band
- Isla Burney - FIRST CHAIR Flute - Festival Band
- Caroline Hong - Third Chair Oboe - Festival Band
- Andrew Rice - Fourth Chair Clarinet - Festival Band
- Nathan Hessling - Sixth Chair Clarinet - Festival Band
- Brandon Geltner - FIRST CHAIR Euphonium - Festival Band
This video played in the TMS Daily Announcements during homeroom: ILMEA Band Festival 2023
School Resource Officers - Danny Malik & John O'Leary
Many thanks to our SROs for the presentations they gave the students on November 30 & December 1 during PE & Health classes while the teachers attended the Illinois Association of Health & Physical Education annual conference. The SROs covered 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.
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!
- Wednesday, January 17
- Tuesday, March 5
- 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.