Thomas Community Newsletter
October 16, 2022
Dear TMS Families,
Congratulations to the TMS Girls Cross County Team for earning 2nd place in the IESA STATE meet this weekend and to Alex Izenstark for achieving 4th place! We are so proud of these athletes for their dedication, determination, hard work, and perseverance! ! Check out this video celebrating our outstanding athletes!
We are excited about the PTA Fall Fest on Tuesday, 10/18/22 from 4:30-6 PM. Monday, 10/17/22 is the last day for students to purchase $5 tickets for this event. Also, if your child wishes to participate in the Bubble Soccer activity, please be sure to complete the online waiver. Tickets and waivers will not be available after 10/17/22. All students will be dismissed from school on Tuesday at 2:45 PM as we will no run any after-school activities aside from Fall Fest. Students who purchase tickets to attend Fall Fest will leave school at 2:45 PM and return at 4:30 PM.
This is a short week for students with NO SCHOOL on Wednesday - Friday. Wednesday is a School Improvement Institute Day for staff only. Thursday and Friday we will hold Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences at TMS. Please click here to learn more about signing up for conferences. The Meet The Teacher sign-up link will close on Tuesday evening. Please consider helping the PTA with the SignUpGenius for PTA Fall Parent Teacher Luncheon Request for Donations for Thursday, 10/20/22.
In this Newsletter, you'll find NEW information on the following:
- SignUpGenius for PTA Fall Parent Teacher Luncheon Request for Donations - Thursday, 10/20/22
- U.S. DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day - Saturday, 10/29/22 from 10 AM - 2 PM
- Zoom Parent Informational Meeting for TMS Wrestling Team - Tuesday, 11/1/22 @ 6 PM
- TMS Veteran's Day Breakfast & Assembly Information - Friday, 11/11/22
- Ruler Information
- District 25 short survey (linked here)
Take care,
Lori, Nick, & Greg ~ The TMS Admin Team
Zoom Parent Informational Meeting for TMS Wrestling Team
WHAT IS THIS? A parent meeting for any 6th-8th grade TMS student who is interested in joining the TMS Wrestling Team.
WHEN IT IS? Tuesday, November 1st @ 6 PM
HOW TO ATTEND: Log into Zoom via this Zoom link
District 25 Survey
This past Tuesday, 10/11/22, Dr. Bein emailed all families asking for your feedback and thoughts on the following prompt: Please share your thoughts, feelings, or questions about your sense of belonging, value, and inclusion in the District 25 community.
There is still time to give your feedback, and to review and rate other responses!
Please take a few minutes to complete or revisit this short survey (linked here). If you already completed the survey, please spend a few more minutes reading and rating other responses from around the community. This survey is completely anonymous.
*Please note, any targeted comments or comments that name individuals will be removed.*
Ruler Information
We are excited to be sharing the RULER approach to social and emotional learning with our students! Our staff knows and practices the skills of emotional intelligence and is prepared to teach and model these emotional intelligence skills.
During our Monday Advisory Ruler lessons, teachers will be leading instruction to support the development and refining of the RULER skills. In middle school, students learn about emotions and emotional intelligence within the context of their real-world experiences: personally, at school, in our communities, and in our understanding of the world around us. Each lesson addresses a developmentally appropriate topic such as healthy and unhealthy relationships, conflict resolution, coping skills, and identifying personal values.
Over the course of the year, we will be providing ongoing communication to you about RULER in these Community Newsletters. Please click here for additional Ruler information located on the D25 website.
U.S. DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day
We wanted to let you know about an event occurring on Saturday, October 29th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, and Mount Prospect Police Departments will be participating in the U.S. DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day. This event will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the following locations, on October 29th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:
Arlington Heights Police Department – 200 E. Sigwalt St., Arlington Heights, IL
Buffalo Grove Police Department – 46 Raupp Blvd., Buffalo Grove, IL
Mount Prospect Police Department – 911 E. Kensington Rd., Mt Prospect, IL
(Sites cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps - only pills or patches.) The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Attached is additional information on the event, along with a list of year-round locations for safe medication disposal in Wheeling Township. For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 29th Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Christina (cpaskon@omniyouth.org)!
Thank you!
Kris Zerfass
Prevention Specialist, Project Coordinator
Link Together Coalition
OMNI
847-772-8353
OMNI
1111 W. Lake Cook Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
TMS PTA Spirit Items
Parent Tech Resources on Our Website
Traffic and Dismissal Updates
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Families are encouraged to talk with their students about their expectations for their child during arrival and dismissal. Everyone is asked to PLEASE be safe and recognize that drop-off and pick-up at a school as large as TMS takes at least 5-10 minutes. If you're short on time, please consider dropping your child off on Douglas Street or Olive Street. Please DO NOT park or drop off students north of Belmont Avenue and Thomas Street as that increases congestion. You can actually park on Thomas Street, just a couple of blocks east of Belmont Avenue. You are not permitted to drop off or pick up on Thomas Street between Arlington Heights Road and Belmont Avenue.
DISMISSAL: *NEW* Effective October 3rd, students will be allowed to walk on the west sidewalk along Belmont Avenue. TMS will have a staff supervisor at the Belmont parking lot entrance/exit to assist students in crossing as they walk on the sidewalk on the west side of Belmont. While this pathway was closed thus far this school year due to previous years of students dangerously jaywalking across Belmont Avenue, we are hopeful that students have established safe routines for utilizing the crosswalks.
CROSSWALKS: Students are required to use the crosswalks when crossing the streets. This is the safest way to cross the street. Students are asked to wait a bit longer, BEHIND THE YELLOW LINES, and cross in groups at both Belmont Avenue and Arlington Heights Road, and Thomas Street. Students should wait until the crossing guard Mr. Vito tells them to cross the street. Please discuss this with your child and remind them that they need to demonstrate patience and respect while waiting for the crossing guard behind the yellow line until they are given permission to cross.
ARRIVAL: Students should arrive at school between 7:30-7:45. Please plan for adequate time so that the morning is peaceful and students are not rushed.
Many thanks to all the parents, students, and community members who demonstrate patience and grace while properly making their way through morning arrival and after-school dismissal.
Bus Information
Starting October 3rd, all students will need to show their bus pass in order to ride the bus.
All bus transportation questions should be directed 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.
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.
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.
Lunch Money Payments & Lunch Account Spending
Please note that your middle schooler has the ability to independently make lunch purchases. It is difficult for staff to monitor what students are purchasing as we have several cashiers checking out students during lunch. Parents are encouraged to monitor their child's lunch account to ensure healthy choices are being made and personal daily spending expectations are not exceeded.
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.
- PHYSICAL FORMS: All 6th graders will need a physical form. Physicals must be dated on or after 8/17/2021 and are due by 10/14/2022. We are unable to accept a doctor's note for a physical at a future date. The physical must be turned in by October 14th, 2022 or the student will be excluded from school.
- 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.
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
TMS PTA
MEETING DATES 2022-2023:
- Tuesday - 11/15/22
- Wednesday - 1/11/23
- 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
TMS Office Information
Monday - Friday 7 AM - 3 PM
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