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Thomas Community Newsletter
January 15, 2024
Dear TMS Community,
On this MLK Day, we hope that everyone is staying warm and gearing up for eLearning. The TMS staff is ready to greet our students on Tuesday, 1/16/24, at 8 AM via Zoom. Please see below for eLearning reminders and a copy of the middle school eLearning schedule. All students are required to attend school via Zoom on eLearning days unless a parent reports them absent.
In this newsletter you'll find new information for:
- eLearning Information for 1/16/24
- Quarter 2 Report Cards Information
- ABC25 Membership still needed for TMS... Please consider joining ABC25!
- District 25 Pre-Registration is now OPEN
Upcoming Events:
- TMS PTA Meeting Wednesday, 1/17/24 @ 7 PM in the LMC or via Zoom
- TMS Dance Invitational @ TMS - 1/19/24
- TMS Student Council Events @ TMS - Pack The Place 1/23/24 & Souper Bowl now - 2/7/24
- TMS Jazz Jamboree @ TMS - 1/27/24
Take care and stay warm!
Lori, Nick, & Greg
TMS Administrative Team
Quarter 3 and Report Cards Information
Quarter 3: Tuesday, 1/16/24 marks the start of Quarter 3 for all classes and Hexter 4 for 6th grade Creative Arts classes.
Report Cards Information: Report cards will be emailed home on Friday, 1/19/24. Quarter 2 report cards include grades from Quarter 2 and 6th Grade Creative Arts Hexters 2 and 3.
Creative Arts Information: On Wednesday, 1/17/24, the Creative Arts teachers have asked to have the students return to their Creative Arts Quarter 2 and Hexter 3 classes for one last day. This will only apply for Creative Arts classes and the Creative Arts teachers have made plans to take attendance accordingly. This one-day change will allow the students to finalize their Creative Arts projects for 2nd quarter. On Thursday, 1/18/24, students will attend their Quarter 3 and Hexter 4 Creative Arts classes. Questions: Please contact your child's Creative Arts teacher directly.
TMS Dance Invitational Friday, 1/19/24
TMS is excited to host the upcoming Dance Invitational competition on January 19th from 5-7:30 PM. There are 9 schools from the surrounding area who are participating, so it will be quite the event!
Best wishes to our dancers and many thanks to our Coaches Mrs. Mularczyk and Ms. Wharton for organizing this event and to all of the parent volunteers for helping with this event.
Pack The Place Green Out Event Tuesday, 1/23/24
Show your TMS pride! All are welcome to come on out to TMS and join us for this event as we cheer on the TMS Girls Volleyball Teams while they compete against South Middle School.
The Student Council students will be selling concessions and TMS swag.
District 25 Pre-Registration is now OPEN
Pre-Registration is NOW open to families with incoming new and kindergarten students for next year, 2024-2025! Please begin the registration process by visiting www.sd25.org/Registration and clicking on the 2024-2025 Pre-Registration drop down.
Please help ... More TMS Memberships in ABC25 are needed!
Parents, please consider making a $40 donation to ABC/25 by becoming a member! CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER!
TMS needs to increase our ABC/25 memberships up to 25% so that TMS can benefit from the 2,500 school grant!
Thomas has not met the 25% goal yet! That seems like a lot but we have a lot of events in 2024 that can help garner interest.
Upcoming ABC Events:
Need something to do on the non-attendance day on 2/19? Support ABC25 Foundation and the whole school district at our member benefit events:
Fermilab's Mr. Freeze STEM Show
February 19, 2024 (non-attendance day)
Two Shows - 11:00am & 12:00pm
Ivy Hill Elementary School
FREE for ABC/25 members
$10 per person for non-members
More details and how to register or pay here:
https://abc25.org/fundraising/
- Saturday, June 1 ABC/25 Fun Fair Fundraiser Save the Date @ Thomas Middle School (1st day of summer break). Mark your school's PTA calendar. Note: this will be after the 24-25 registration start date so those who join would count towards the next year's membership.
Not a member, join today to get your family in for free! All fundraising goes directly back into the classroom! https://abc25.org/donate/
TMS PTA is selling 2023-2024 yearbooks
For a short time, the TMS PTA is selling 2023-2024 yearbooks on CheddarUp. Before you purchase one for your child, please read the below:
- One yearbook comes with each PTA membership. If you are a PTA member and you have one child at Thomas, you are all set.
- If you are a PTA member with multiple TMS students, you had the opportunity to purchase extra yearbooks at spring registration. Don't remember? No worries! There will be a list of all yearbooks purchased outside of the TMS Commons. Please ask your student to check the list.
- If you have further questions, please take a look at the PTA website for more information. Reach out to your PTA Exec Officers at thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com with questions.
The yearbook aims to include all the special highlights and memories from the school year. Copies will be distributed for signing during class on the last few days of school. It's always such a fun day and a special keepsake for students, don't miss out!
Thank you,
Megan Puzen
TMS PTA President 2023-2024
School Resource Officers - Danny Malik & John O'Leary
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 - Join Zoom Meeting
ID: 83447356270
Passcode: 292513 - 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!
- Click here for the Bus Safety Guidelines and Rule as well as details on lost items on the bus.
- Bus Company Questions: Contact Cook Co. School Bus Company at 847- 439-0923
- Please direct bus transportation questions to the District 25 Transportation Specialist: Laura Comastro as she can answer your questions and resolve issues.
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.
North Cook ROE/ISC | Movie for Parents on Anxiety
We'd like to make our parents aware of a resource provided by the North Cook Regional Office of Education/Intermediate Service Center. They are offering a film-based program designed to raise awareness around anxiety. The film, Angst, includes interviews with kids, teens, educators, experts, parents and a very special interview with Michael Phelps. We recommend this film for parents with middle school students.
Please click here to view the trailer and/or the full-length film.
The TMS Office will have modified hours over winter break and will be closed on 12/26 & 1/2.
Please be sure to call before coming into the office.