Twin Peaks Middle School

Happy Sunday Ram Families!

I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying your weekend! We had an amazing Start With Hello Week highlighted by spirit dress-up days, activities in the quad each day at lunch, and our annual Club Fair on Friday. A big THANK YOU to all of the students who showed their RAM Pride and participated in a dress-up day, lunch activity or the Club Fair... check out some pictures from Friday's lunch time event below!

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and thanks to the generous support of our TPMS Foundation and PTSA, and through the extraordinary efforts of our TPMS Counseling Team, all 7th and 8th grade students had a chance to attend a suicide prevention presentation this past week by the With Hope Foundation - the Amber Craig Memorial Foundation. On Wednesday night we held a parent/guardian workshop hosted by With Hope that mirrors the student presentation; once it is formatted and ready for posting, we will share the link out on the TPMS website.

This Thursday and Friday we will be hosting our Breaking Down the Walls workshops for our 7th Graders. Students have been assigned to one of four workshops on Thursday or Friday so that they can participate with their peers. 7th grade teachers have already adjusted their lessons for these days so that students, and staff, can participate without taking on any additional work. The workshop lists will be posted in front of the main office and library starting on Wednesday so students can see which workshop they have been assigned to. For an informational video about Breaking Down the Walls, please CLICK HERE!

Our after school ASES fall sports are now in season and both our cross country and flag football rosters are now full. Best of luck to our Ram atheletes as you represent TPMS this season! Please remember to always participate respectfully and show good sportsmanship to your team mates, your coaches and most importantly, your opponents.

Tanner Mizel, a PhD candidate at the University of San Diego, is conducting a case study on the lived experiences of disabled students in inclusive classrooms. If you’re a parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the extensive support needs program and would like to contribute to the study, or for more information, click here. For further information about the research project, you can contact Tanner Mizel (tmizel@sandiego.edu) or Dr. Suzanne Stolz (sstolz@sandiego.edu).

Finally this week, we have a few special schedules coming up in the next few weeks and I want to make sure they are on your radar! Next Monday, September 30th is a NON-STUDENT DAY, which means teachers are at school working and students stay home. ASES will not be open on Monday, Septemeber 30th. The following week, Monday and Tuesday, October 7th and 8th, are minimum days for students, which means school starts normally at 8:30am, but dismissal is at 12:35pm. Buses will run their normal routes these days but will be adjusted for the early dismissal, and ASES will be open its regular hours on both minimum days.

In Partnership,

Steve Mills

Proud Principal

Twin Peaks Middle School

stmills@powayusd.com

1(858)748-5131 x2806

Instagram: @principalmills_twinpeaks

TPMS NEWS AND EVENTS

September 24th: Boys only Choir Practice

September 25th: Late start - 9:30am

September 26th: No choir practice today

September 26th-27th: Breaking Down the Walls

September 30th: Teacher Professional Learning, Non-Student Day

October 3rd: RAM Rep Meeting

October 4th: Band Night at PHS, 5:30pm

October 7th & 8th: Minimum Day Schedule - Professional Learning Days

October 8th: Kebab Shop Fundraiser

October 21st-25th: Red Ribbon Week

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and thanks to the generous support of our TPMS Foundation and PTSA, and through the extraordinary efforts of our TPMS Counseling Team, all 7th and 8th grade students had a chance to attend a suicide prevention presentation this past week by the With Hope Foundation - the Amber Craig Memorial Foundation. On Wednesday night we held a parent/guardian workshop hosted by With Hope that mirrors the student presentation; once it is formatted and ready for posting, we will share the link out on the TPMS website.

We are beginning our No Place For Hate work for the year. The first step is to invite everyone at our school to sign the Resolution of Respect. This year, Mr. Fawcett’s TPMS TV students worked hard on creating a segment for this coming Monday on TPMS TV. During this segment, Homeroom students and staff will be invited to sign the Resolution of Respect.

This is a reminder that on Tuesday, September 24th, there is only choir for the boys and there is NO CHOIR practice at all on Thursday, September 26th. Choir will resume on schedule October 1st, 2024.

Reminder - if you haven't sent payment for choir please do so - you can pay via VENMO to TPMSPTSA or send cash or check in with your kids! It is $25 per kiddo if you do not need a t-shirt and if you do need a t-shirt it is $35! We will be ordering t-shirts soon!! Thanks so much!

Calling all proud families of 8th graders here at Twin Peaks! 8th Grade Recognition Ads are open and ready for purchase. Go to www.jostens.com and click on Recognition Ads to start the process of celebrating your 8th grader in this year’s yearbook! Deadline is February 1st so don’t delay!

Want more information about Yearbooks? Go to http://tpmsyearbook.weebly.com/

CJSF (California Junior Scholarship Federation) is inviting 8th grade students with a minimum GPA of 3.5 to apply this trimester. (GPA of 3.5 is not an automatic acceptance to CJSF as eligibility is point based).

CJSF is a statewide organization founded for the purpose of fostering high standards of scholarship, service, and citizenship in the middle grades.

Applications can be picked up in the counseling office outside Mrs. Baskin’s office starting Monday, September 9th. Applications and a copy of Trimester 3 grades (from 7th grade) are due Monday, September 23rd to Mrs. Baskin.

Yearbooks are available for $55. Reserve yours now!

Pay by card: Go to www.jostens.com or use the QR code

Pay by cash/check: Download the order form from our webpage

http://tpmsyearbook.weebly.com/ or pick up a form in the office. Return the form and cash or check to the school office.

Want more information about Yearbooks? Go to http://tpmsyearbook.weebly.com/

Final forms were due to the front office over a week ago and our sports programs have already started. We appreciate all our participation for the fall and are looking forward to the rest of the year. If your student is interested in a winter or spring sport those can be turned into the front office. Go RAMS!

If you are a member of the Armed Forces, a Reservist, or Veteran, please take a few moments to complete our TPMS Military Families Survey LINKED HERE. Thank you in advance for your time in completing this survey and thank you for your service to our country!

If your student who is a legal dependent between the ages of 13-18 with a parent/guardian in the armed forces, they are eligible to apply for the Military Child of the Year Award. Recipients will represent a branch of the armed forces — the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Space Force — for their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement, and other criteria while facing the challenges of military family life. All Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year Award recipients will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., and recognized at the April 2025 gala, during which senior leaders of each branch of service will present the awards. They also will receive $10,000 each, a laptop computer, and other donated gifts. Submissions close on December 2, 2024.

September 2024 Parent Education Courses:

• Gender Identity and Expression Part 1 - All Grades In Person
• Taming Your Child's Tantrums and Meltdowns - TK-5th Grade via Zoom
• Navigating Autism and Supporting Your Child - TK-5th Grade via Zoom

Please note, scholarships are available to parents who may be in need. Parents can contact the Caring Connections Center for more information.

In response to community requests and a desire to address a student safety need, PUSD has partnered with local enforcement to provide mandatory safety classes for all ebike riders. If your child rides their ebike to and from school, attending one of these one-hour classes with a parent or guardian will be a requirement to park their ebike on campus. To provide students ample time to comply, this new requirement will be enforced starting January 6, 2025.

Once you register your ebike at the meeting, you will receive a sticker to place on your ebike and TPMS will receive a notification that you attended the safety class. We appreciate your partnership in taking this important step toward keeping our students safe.

Please note - this class is only required if your student is riding an ebike! If your student is riding a regular bike to school, then our previous registration policy applies. If you registered last year and you have the same bicycle with the TPMS permit still visible, then you are good to go! If you are a new bicyclist to TPMS or have a new bike, please follow the permitting process LINKED HERE on our school webpage.

All children in PUSD are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch meals regardless of income for the 2024-2025 school year. Please see the PUSD Food and Nutrition Website for more information. Breakfast is served 30 minutes before school starts daily, if your student can not make it before school, they can receive a free breakfast at morning break! Click here to view the school menus.

Parents/Guardians are still encouraged to complete a meal application online to receive other benefits such free or reduced-price after-school care, discounts on SAT and AP testing fees, reduced internet and utility bills, and food-buying assistance during summer breaks. Meal applications also help ensure that our school receives its fair share of state funding. The website to apply is www.myschoolapps.com. Paper meal applications (for parents that can’t complete one online) are available in the TPMS front office.

*PUSD Food and Nutrition Department is cashless. Parents/Guardians can add money to their students account at MySchoolBucks.com or bring a check to any window to enter in their account for any a la carte items their students would like to purchase.

The Twin Peaks Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) is a membership-based, volunteer organization dedicated to making each school year a rewarding and enriching experience for all students. As a volunteer organization, PTSA is integral to the success of many campus events. We fund, organize and provide volunteers for a variety of PTSA programs and important school activities which serve to enhance your student’s middle school experience. We realize that volunteering may not be in the cards for everyone, but your membership and donation will ensure our programs continue to stay funded.

If you would like to contact PTSA please email: ptsaprestpms@gmail.com. Thanks so much!

All Executive Board meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:15pm in the TPMS Library unless listed otherwise. Association Meetings will be held in September, February, and April. Board meetings are open to PTSA Board Members and Committee Chairs while Association Meetings are open for all members of the Twin Peaks Middle School PTSA:

October 17th

November 21st

December 19th

January 16th

February 13th (Association Meeting @6:15pm; Board Meeting to follow)

March 20th

April 24th (Association Meeting @6:15pm; Board Meeting to follow)

May 15th

June TBD

To join the PTSA for the 2024-25 school year, please CLICK HERE!

Our 2024-2025 Executive Board:

President - Melissa Atkinson

Executive VP - Sonnie Humphreys

1st VP of Ways and Means - Rachel Czarzasty

2nd VP of Membership - Shelly Mead

3rd VP of Volunteers - Alicia Tamayo

Secretary - Mikki Trusheim

Treasurer - Steph Cole

Historian - Alicia Gormican

Financial Reviewer - Phil Trom

Twin Peaks Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing educational excellence for ALL students at Twin Peaks Middle School. Their purpose is to bridge the widening gap between the amount of money actually provided by the State of California and the Poway Unified School District and the amount necessary to fund technology upgrades, educational programs and resources necessary to support the school.

The Foundation typically meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the TPMS Library. Here are their monthly meetings dates for the 2024-25 school year:

October 15th
December 10th

February 11th
March 18th
May 13th

Please visit the TPMS Foundation Web Page by CLICKING HERE!

You can always shop Amazon and earn money for Twin Peaks! Just click on the Amazon link below, then start spending!

Nondiscrimination Philosophy and Policy Statement

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is an equal opportunity employer/program and is committed to an active Nondiscrimination Program. PUSD prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, nationality, immigration status, ethnicity, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For more information, please contact: Title IX/Equity Compliance Officer, James Jimenez, Associate Superintendent of Personnel support Services, Poway Unified School District, 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128, 1-858-521-2800, extension 2121, jjimenez@powayusd.com. For students, you may contact Title IX Coordinator/504 Coordinator Jamie Dayhoff, Director of Attendance and Discipline, Poway Unified School District, 1-858-521-2840, jdayhoff@powayusd.com.

Website: http://tpms.powayusd.com/index.html
Phone: 858.748.5131
Twitter: @TwinPeaksRams