Twin Peaks Middle School

Happy Sunday Ram Families!

I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying our first chilly winter weekend of the season! It was a busy full moon, 4-day school week at TPMS that saw our library host the PTSA Fall Book Fair, ASB host our annual Veteran's Day lunch, Zoology students visit Sea World, flag football wrap up their season with a win, and the end of the 1st trimester of the school year! Congratulations students on a successful first 12 weeks of school! We only have one more week of instruction - 5 more days - until a well deserved Thanksgiving Week Break! Please remember there is NO SCHOOL the week of November 25-29th in observance of Thanksgiving.

This past Tuesday, we took time during our lunch to honor and celebrate our military families, including active duty military, their students, spouses of our staff, and of course, all of our military veterans. It's one of the events I hold close to my heart each year as I would have been attennding a lunch like this when I was a middle school student. Taking some time to provide our military families with lunch and some time playing cornhole together is the least we can do for the incredible sacrifice they have made, and contiue to make, in service to our country. Check out the picture of this year's attendees below!

Trimester 2 starts this Monday, November 18th. Students with wheel elective classes will start their new elective classes on Monday, and the Homeroom lunch splits will also change startig tomorrow. During Trimester 2, 7th graders will be split between both lunches. Please CLICK HERE to see the Homeroom lunch splits by teacher for Trimester 2. Please remember that there will not be a hard copy of report cards sent home; Trimester 1 grades will be available through StudentVue and ParentVue after November 23rd.

A BIG THANK YOU to our CJSF students and advisors for hosting this year's Annual CJSF Food Drive! The food drive and Homeroom competition will end this Tuesday, November 19th, so please bring in those final cans and donated goods to contribute to your Homeroom totals! The homeroom to receive the most points will get a prize... questions or concerns? Please reach out to our dedicated CJSF advisors Mrs. Wilcox, Mr. Kaufman, or Mrs. Baskin.

Another BIG THANK YOU to our PTSA for hosting this year's PTSA Fall Book Fair! A special SHOUT-OUT to Mikki Trushiem, past PTSA President and current Secretary, for all of her legwork in getting this fall book fair set-up, staffed, and for keeping track of all the finances! More KUDOS to our Librarian Mrs. Uyloan, and Library Media Tech Mrs. Johnson, for all of their help and support this week! We had a constant stream of parent volunteers making the work manangeable -THANK YOU to all of our amazing parent volunteers who made this event possible.

Finally this week, with the holiday season quickly approaching, it's time to think of how we can support those in our community who may not have the reosurces to provide for their families. We are excited to be sponsoring 4 PUSD families as part of this year's GIVING TREE PROGRAM - please see the information and links below to select how you can help support our local families in need. Thanks in adavnce for your consideration and support of this amazing program!

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

November 20th: Late Start 9:30am

November 21st: PTSA Meeting, Library @6:15pm

November 25th - 29th: Thanksgiving Break

December 5th: Choir Concert, 7pm, Little Theater

December 10th: Choir Concert w/ PHS, 7pm, PCPA

December 12th: Jazz Band Holiday Concert, both lunches, Quad

December 13th: Choir Concert, Christmas in the Park, 7pm, Old Poway Park

December 16th: Jazz Band Concert, 5pm, PCPA

December 17th: Orchestra Concert, 6pm, PHS

December 18th: 6th Grade Winter Concert, 9am, MPR

December 19th: 7th/8th Grade Band Concert, 6pm, PHS

December 20th: Band/Orchestra Concert before school, Quad

December 23rd - January 3rd: Winter Break

Our PTSA is hosting a Trail Mix bar for our staff this Tuesday, 11/19 and they could use yourhelp in a few last minute donations... please CLICK HERE to sign-up to bring something in! Donations can be dropped off in the TPMS main office anytime before 4pm on Monday, 11/18.

TPMS is participating in a Regal Fundraising Campaign to help support our PTSA. Get your Regal Movie Ticket Bundles to support Twin Peaks Middle School PTSA for $30.00 per order! Bundle Includes: 2 Movie Tickets redeemable at any Regal location nationwide. Click here to purchase or for more information.

Volleyball season here at TPMS is fast approaching. Registration for Volleyball will be available Monday November 18th until Friday December 6th. Registration packets and liability forms will be available in the front office or on the TPMS website under the sports tab. Registration packets and liability forms need to be completed before your student attends skill evals. Info about skill evals will be listed below and team info will be on the TPMS website along with half sheets available in the front office by the registration packets. If your student participated in a sport already this year and also marked volleyball, your registration packet should be good to go but please email mamiller@powayusd.com to double check. Please reach out with any questions! Responses may take a couple days with a high volume of interest! We encourage all players to attend as many days of skill evals as they can .Thank you!

Skill Evals will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays due to gym availability but practices will be switched to Tuesdays and Thursdays for the season.

Skill Eval Dates: 3:15-4:30 in TPMS Gym

Monday Dec 9th

Wednesday Dec 11th

Monday Dec 16th

Wednesday Dec 18th

Teams Posted Friday Dec 20th

6th Grade Camp is just around the corner! Our dates for camp are Monday, February 10 to Friday, February 14, 2025. Here are some other important dates to have on your radar:

• Wednesday, December 11th: we will have a presentation to kick off camp in our MPR. Please feel free to attend this meeting as well, it starts at 11:45am sharp and goes until about 12:15pm.
• Thursday, December 12th: permission slip packets and detailed information will be handed out.
• Forms and money will be due by Friday, January 10, 2025.

***The cost of camp is $455. If you have questions about the cost of camp as set by the Poway Unified School Board, please reach out to Ms. Ana Moreno at (858)748-5131 ext 2808***

It's that time of year again when we ask our Ram Family to give back to the community through the PUSD Giving Tree Program. We are again sponsoring four families for the holidays and need your help!

There are three easy ways to participate:

1. Browse the Sign-Up Genius and shop for clothes and grocery/gas gift cards.Deliver items to school or organizer. CLICK HERE!
2. Order online through the Amazon Wishlist. No pick-up or drop-off needed! CLICK HERE!
3. Want to contribute but don't have time to shop? Donate via Venmo @TPMSPTSA and the PTSA elves will shop the wishlists.

Deadline to drop off items is Friday, December 6th.

Thank you for your support!

With fire season upon us we want to assure parents and guardians that we have appropriate response systems in place when emergencies arise. Our first priority will always be the safety of our students and staff on campus.

When Twin Peaks becomes aware of any incidents in the geographic area of the school site, we will focus first on the safety of our campus while working with law enforcement, emergency responders, and the District for guidance and support for communication. Communication with parents is part of the response plan, but will be secondary to immediate safety. As soon as we can, we will message families with details of school-wide incidents such as lockdowns or evacuations. Please ensure your contact information is up to date in ParentVue in the “My Account” section.

Finally, we have been asked by first responders to remind our families NOT to come to campus in times of emergency – there have been several instances when officers, firefighters, and their ability to respond to the emergency have been hindered by parents rushing to the scene. Should an emergency occur, we will send out messages about dismissal or reunification procedures for families when first responders indicate it is safe to do so.

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/

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/

Please complete the free/reduced-price meal application! Although school meals are free for all students, the application for free and reduced-price meal eligibility is still very important. School funding depends in part on the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. If income-eligible families do not apply, we risk losing important educational funds for our school.

Students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals may also qualify for discounts on testing fees, before and after school care, and home internet! Income qualifications change annually, so a new application is needed every school year. For school year 2024-2025, children from a family of four are eligible if the total gross (pre-tax) household income is less than $4,810 per month, or less than $57,720 per year. Household income information is confidential and applying online is quick and easy. Apply online at MySchoolApps.com, or pick up a paper application in the school office.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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