Thomas Community Newsletter
December 15, 2022
As we celebrate this holiday season, we are so proud to share the that TMS Community once again, proved to be generous and kind. Can you believe our Student Council Be The Good Challenge raised $3386.55. Please take moment to view this video that highlights our Be The Good Challenge Event and truly showcases how special our TMS school community is! Big thanks to Mrs. Fahnoe & our student leaders for organizing this event.
LAST CALL FOR YEARBOOK ORDERS! All orders are due by 12/17/22. The TMS PTA will not accept late orders. For the past several weeks, yearbook lists have been posted outside the Commons hallway for students to check to confirm their order was placed.
New Information in this newsletter:
- TMS Yearbook Sales 12/2 -12/17 *FIRM ORDER DEADLINE is 12/17!
- TMS Spirit Week 12/19-12/22
- TMS Spelling Bee Winners
- Congratulations All-Illinois Junior Honor Band Students!
- TMS 7th & 8th Grade Boys Basketball Pride of the Wolf Pack Tournament Winners!
- Ruler Information
- Mental Health Resources
- Hersey Showstoppers Choir Event
- ABC25 Nothing Bundt Cake Fundraiser
LOOKING FOR A GREAT GIFT? Please consider having your family join the ABC/25 Foundation! We need more TMS $25 Memberships in order to qualify for the $2,500 TMS school grant. If your family is not yet a member of the ABC/25 Foundation, join today by visiting abc25.org/donate.
Wishing you and your loved ones good health and an abundance of happiness this holiday season!
Take care,
Lori, Nick, & Greg
The TMS Admin Team
Contact the PTA at thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com if you have questions or concerns.
Congratulations All-Illinois Junior Honor Band Students!
Please help us wish congratulations to the following students for their acceptance into the All-Illinois Junior Honor Band! This is like the "state" competition for 'individual events' in the band world.
- Henry Ulrych - Clarinet
- Emilee Colton - Percussion
- Elliott Woody - Percussion
- Brandon Geltner - Euphonium Alternate
Hundreds of students from all over the State of Illinois submitted audition recordings to apply for membership in this prestigious group. The 2-day event will be held at the University of Illinois on January 20-21 where students will work with the famous band director Dr. Kevin Geraldi. Congratulations to these fine musicians!!
TMS Spelling Bee Winners!
On December 13th TMS was buzzing with our D25 Spelling Bee! Congratulations to all the students that courageously participated in this event. Three winners will move on to the next level and compete at South Middle School on January 11th!
Ryan Morgan, Vishnu Adiga, and Emilee Colton! Best wishes to each of you!
Way to go TMS Boys Basketball!
Thank you, Mr. Keller and Mr. Kuch for hosting this tournament!
How does RULER work in the school?
We infuse RULER into all parts of our school by leading school-wide activities, introducing routines that build emotional awareness in all classes and integrating RULER into academic projects and lessons. [It may be helpful to explain when and how the lessons are delivered, such as through advisory, health, etc.]
The acronym RULER stands for the following emotion skills:
Recognizing emotions in oneself and others through facial expressions, body language, voice, and behavior
Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions in oneself and others
Labeling emotions with accurate words from a nuanced vocabulary
Expressing emotions differently depending on the context, situational expectations, and culture
Regulating emotions with effective strategies and supporting others in their regulation of emotions
ABC/25 Foundation Updates
More TMS Memberships Needed: Ursula, the ABC/25 Foundation President (and 2006 Thomas Alumni) has shared that Thomas is currently at 21.65%, needing only 32 more households to join to meet the 25% goal.
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
The ABC/25 Foundation has a new fundraiser during the month of December with Nothing Bundt Cakes! ABC/25 will receive 20% of all cake sales when our flyer is presented!
Thank you as always for your support of ABC/25!
Angie Thanopoulos and Katie Lindgren
ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge Race Co-Directors
8th Grade Information
Calling all 8th Grade Parent Volunteers! At our next PTA meeting, on January 11th, we will be discussing the end-of-year celebrations for our 8th graders. If you’d like to have input or hear the discussions of the various options, please attend our PTA meeting on January 11th, at 7 pm in the LMC. If you are unable to attend in person, you can still join via Zoom. We will also be assessing how many 8th-grade parents are willing to volunteer to plan and organize the events, so if you can’t make it either in person or via Zoom, please reach out to the PTA to let us know you are eager to help out! Planning the end-of-year events is a big task, and we will need many parent volunteers! We hope to see many of you on January 11th!
Hersey Families: Please SAVE THE DATE for the Class of 2027 - 8th Grade Elective & Career Pathway Night on December 21st from 6:00 - 8:00 pm (in person) at John Hersey High School. See the link below for further information. 8th Grade Elective & Career Pathway Night
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. Information about this will be shared following the winter break.
Mental Health Resources
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 t 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.
Student Academic Support Is Available
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
MEETING DATES 2022-2023 - All meetings start @ 7 PM - Attend in-person or via Zoom!
- NEXT MEETING - Wednesday - 1/11/23 *8th Grade Parents, please consider attending!
ID: 84539033721
Passcode: 025903
(US) +1 386-347-5053
Passcode: 025903
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://sd25-org.zoom.us/j/84539033721?pwd=WE1nL0RvU2JLTXJUdllJZEh1L0h6QT09
Additional Meeting Dates:
- 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 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.
PowerSchool & Schoology Information
Chromebook tourbles? Students can contact TMS Tech Support via email: thomastech@sd25.org
The Tech Office is located in the LMC.
IMPORTANT HEALTH OFFICE INFORMATION
- 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.
Crossing Guard Opening
There is a new crossing guard job for the corner of Harvard and Maude! Click here to apply!
Salary:
- Starting salary is $19.32 per hour.
- No benefits available.
- This position is located at the corner of Harvard and Maude.
- Morning (8:30 am - 9:00 am)
- Afternoon (3:30 pm - 4:00 pm)
AHSD25 School Resource Officers
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
Bus Information
All students need to show their bus pass in order to ride the bus!
Please direct all bus transportation questions to the District 25 Transportation Specialist:
Laura Comastro. Laura is the best person to answer your questions and resolve any issues.
847-758-4888
Additional bus information can be found at the transportation link on the District 25 website.
Our students practiced bus evacuation procedures on Oct. 18th. The video below was included in our morning announcements to help students learn these procedures as well. Students will have a 2nd opportunity to practice this in the Spring.
TMS Office Information
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