Last week, 14 Tamanend instrumentalists rehearsed with talented young musicians from across the Central Bucks School District in the Central Bucks Middle School Honors Band Festival. These outstanding musicians are: Madeline Braverman, Edward Carothers, Abhay Chathuruthy, Angel Giron Camacho, Hannah Kauffman, Nathan Kazmiroski, Malaika Khan, Joshua Lee, George Leigh, Dipti Malathker, Sruthi Nalluri, Alexander Painter, Kathryn Rupar, and Edras Samayoa. The Honors Band Festival Concert took place at Lenape Middle School this year and outstanding performance was given to our parents and community members. Congratulations to all Honors Band members on a fantastic festival and for representing Tamanend in exemplary fashion! Well done!

No School For Students (Teacher Professional Development)--Friday, February 17

Presidents' Day (School Holiday)--Monday, February 20

Course Verifications for Current 8th Graders Posted on Parent Portal--Thursday, February 22 (details below)

Kelly Ann Dolan Day (Three-on-Three Basketball Tournament and Fundraiser)--Saturday, February 25

Electronic Confirmation of Course Verifications for Current 8th Graders Due in Parent Portal--Tuesday, February 28 (details below)

Middle School Orientation for 6th Grade Parents--Tuesday, February 28 at 7:00 PM *There is a session for Parents/Guardians of Special Education Students that begins at 6:30 PM in the Library and a session for Parents/Guardians of PEN Students that begins at 6:30 in the Cafeteria

Monday, February 20

• NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Tuesday, February 21

• No Contests

Wednesday, February 22

• 7th Grade Boys Basketball @ Tohickon (Away; 3:15); bus leaves at 2:15

Thursday, February 23

• 8th Grade Boys Basketball @ Tohickon (Away; 3:15); bus leaves at 2:15

Friday, February 24

• No Contests

INFORMATION:

• Spring sports will begin on March 20th. Family ID opens for Spring sports registration on February 1st. This includes 7th and 8th Grade Girls Soccer, 7th and 8th Grade Softball, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Lacrosse, Track and Field, Boys Tennis, and 7th and 8th Grade Baseball. All 7th and 8th Grade students interested in playing a Spring sport for Tamanend this year must be registered on the Family ID web site no later than March 14th. Please click HERE for detailed information, deadlines, and requirements.
• There will be an informational player meeting for those 8th grade girls that may be interested in playing field hockey in the Fall--whether it be 9th, JV or Varsity for South—on Wednesday, March 1st from 3:00-3:30 in room D204 in the Athletic Lobby near the cafeteria Players attending will have to coordinate rides to South.
• Please see below for CB South ice hockey information.
• If you and would like to receive immediate updates on game schedules, cancellations, etc., visit Tamanend Athletics web page and become a “fan” to get alerts for your child’s team.

FROM CB SOUTH:

• To anyone interested in trying out for spring sports at CB South this year – make sure you are registered in Family ID. You must be approved in Family ID in order to tryout/participate. Family ID closes on February 19 at 11:55pm.
• There will be an informational player meeting for those 8th grade girls that may be interested in playing field hockey in the Fall--whether it be 9th, JV or Varsity for South—on Wednesday, March 1st from 3:00-3:30 in room D204 in the Athletic Lobby near the cafeteria Players attending will have to coordinate rides to South.
• All students attending games at CB South from now on must present their student ID when purchasing tickets/entering gates. Students will not be sold tickets or allowed inside without their IDs.
• Please see below for CB South ice hockey information.

We hope that everyone will continue to support our athletic teams during the fall season. CB South prides itself on good sportsmanship on the part of players and fans alike. Please keep the following in mind as you cheer for our teams this season:

1. Middle school aged students must be accompanied by a parent.
2. The use of profanity and vulgarity is unacceptable at athletic events. Please do not engage in inappropriate or demeaning chants during games. Students who do not comply with this expectation will be ejected from the games and will face disciplinary consequences. Let’s focus on supporting our team, not degrading the opposing school.
3. Entering/Rushing the athletes’ area of play is prohibited and dangerous to security, teachers, spectators, and the athletes.
4. Students are not permitted to bring purses, draw string bags, backpacks, food, or beverages to any athletic event in the Fall season.
5. Students are prohibited from trespassing on the property of any school in the Central Bucks School District or on any property in any other school district. Damaging school property or engaging in any other activity that inconveniences the other school’s staff is strictly prohibited and will be considered vandalism, resulting in disciplinary and legal consequences. Please do not jeopardize your good standing by engaging in this type of unacceptable behavior.
6. All Central Bucks School District and Central Bucks High School South’s polices apply to students at athletic events. Please be advised that coming to an athletic event under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance is not only extremely dangerous, but also violates School Board Policy 227. If a student chooses to attend a CB South athletic event while under the influence, law enforcement will be notified and a 5-day suspension will be imposed.

CB South’s Administration respectfully requests that parents monitor their child’s whereabouts and actions before athletic events at CB South. Please be aware of your child’s plans before the event, how they will safely get to the event, and how they will safely arrive home from the event.

We hope that you continue to show your enthusiasm and school spirit as we enter the fall athletic season. The Faculty and Administration at CB South has always considered your ability to support our teams in a positive and respectful manner as one of our key points of pride. Please join your classmates in continuing this proud tradition.

Join us for this fun event on Tuesday, April 4 at 7:00 PM at CB South. This fundraiser is organized by the Jamison Elementary PTA with proceeds benefiting Barclay Elementary School, Warwick Elementary School, and Tamanend Student Activities Fund.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a session for Parents/Guardians of Special Education Students that begins at 6:30 PM in the Library and a session for Parents/Guardians of PEN Students that begins at 6:30 in the Cafeteria.

Do you have a tendency to procrastinate? Do you sometimes feel stressed out and overwhelmed? Could you use a little help with time management? Join the enrichment book club! Over the course of 6 weeks from February 27th to April 3rd, we will meet on Mondays during I&E to read and discuss the best-selling book, Eat That Frog for Students by Brian Tracy. Don’t worry, no frogs will be harmed! “Eat that frog” actually refers to a personal productivity technique in which you tackle your biggest, most important task (you know, the one you’re most likely to procrastinate on) right away. The book is full of wonderful suggestions and strategies surrounding time management, personal responsibility, motivation, stress management, pressure to succeed, and many other topics that are critical for middle and high school students. Tamanend will provide you with a copy of the book to borrow for the duration of the book club. The enrichment book club is open to 15 students. A reminder that students must be in good academic standing (good grades, no make-up work) in order to attend enrichment activities during Tiger’s i. Email Mrs. Walter at twalterveverka@cbsd.org to add your name to the list!

Curious about origami, the Japanese art of paper folding? Join us for an origami enrichment opportunity making butterflies to decorate our school for KADMF Day! We will meet Mondays during I&E starting January 30th. Email Mrs. Walter at twalterveverka@cbsd.org to sign up! A reminder that students must be in good academic standing (good grades, not make-up work) in order to attend enrichment activities during Tiger’s i.

Join us on Thursdays during Tiger’s i in the Library for games of strategy, critical thinking, problem-solving, and a little luck. Choose from Catan, Pandemic, Azul, The Quest for Eldorado, Chess, escape room games, and 1000-piece puzzles! A reminder that students must be in good academic standing (good grades, not make-up work) in order to attend enrichment activities during Tiger’s i. Please email Mrs. Walter at twalterveverka@cbsd.org to sign up.

7th and 8th Graders will take the PSSA exams in April. As we get closer to April, we will provide exact dates. Over the next several weeks, 7th and 8th Graders will be completing PSSA skills practices one day per week during Resource. The purpose is to practice important skills that will help students prepare for the PSSA exam and for other important assessments in classes. Practicing these important skills will help students be successful, not only on the PSSA exams but in their classes as well. Here’s how this will work:

• Once a week, Resource teachers will instruct students to complete practice questions for a specific subject area (ELA, Math, or Science). On this day, students will not have the opportunity to work with another teacher or to go to the school store during Resource. Students can check the daily announcements to find out which day of the week the practice will take place. The first PSSA skills practice will take place this coming Tuesday, February 7th.
• Students will submit their completed practice questions electronically or on paper by the end of the Resource period.
• If students finish the practice before the end of the Resource period, their teachers will ask them to put their laptop away and take out a book to read silently. Students may not take out their phones or listen to music at this time. This will help prepare students for the environment during the actual test.

• Content-area teachers (ELA, Math, and Science) will receive the completed practice. They will then review the completed practice in class a few days later.

If you order online prior to January 31, 2022 the cost of the full-color, hardback yearbook is available for $40 (plus tax). This is also the deadline if you’d like to add any additional personalization to your child’s yearbook. The price of the yearbook will increase to $45 (plus tax) from February 1st- April 30th. After this April 30th date, we unfortunately cannot guarantee your child will be able to purchase a yearbook at the end of the year. Please click the link here to take you to Jostens online ordering page for Tamanend. No pre-orders will be accepted in school – all orders must be done through Jostens. If you have any questions, please email Kristen Gerth at kgerth@cbsd.org. If you have a financial concern, please contact our school social worker Mrs. Raquel Riad rriad@cbsd.org .

Program Planning for the 2023-2024 school year is underway. Program Planning is the process by which students, parents, teachers, and school counselors collaborate to create each student's class schedule for the subsequent school year. The Central Bucks Program of Studies, which explains the program planning process and describes all courses, can be found on the CBSD website as per the dates listed below. Please find a list of important dates below related to program planning:

• Tuesday, January 3--Program Planning assembly for current 9th Graders during Tiger's i (snow date is January 4)
• Thursday, January 5--CB South Curriculum Fair for current 9th Graders at CB South at 6:30 PM
  
• Thursday, January 19 through Sunday, February 5--Current 9th Grade students enter course requests in Portal
  
• Monday, January 30--Program Planning assembly for current 8th Graders during Tiger's i (snow date is February 1)
• Tuesday, January 31--Program Planning assembly for current 7th Graders during Tiger's i (snow date is February 2)
  
• Wednesday, February 1--Administrators and counselors guide current 8th Graders through choosing electives in Portal during Resource (snow date is February 2)
  
• Friday, February 10--Course verifications for current 7th Graders posted on Parent Portal
• Thursday, February 16--Electronic confirmation of course verifications for current 7th Graders due in Parent Portal
• Thursday, February 22--Course verifications for current 8th Graders posted on Parent Portal
• Tuesday, February 28--Electronic confirmation of course verifications for current 8th Graders due in Parent Portal
• Friday, March 17--Course verifications for current 9th Graders posted on Parent Portal
• Wednesday, March 29--Electronic confirmation of course verifications for current 9th Graders due in Parent Portal

If you are a Tamanend parent/guardian interested in volunteering at Tamanend this year, please click on link below to our Sign Up Genius--https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0849AFA62CA4FB6-parent Our first volunteer opportunity will start next week. Please review the volunteer requirements below before signing up. Thank you for your support!

Pennsylvania law requires all persons having direct contact with school children to obtain background checks and clearances. If you are planning on volunteer in in a Central Bucks school during the 2022-2023 school year, you will need to go to Volunteer Required Paperwork, and complete what is needed to be an approved volunteer in our school. Thank you!

Students in 8th Grade Chorus spent much of January working within their voice part sections to earn points in a variety of rhythm games and activities. Both individual and group challenges helped to improve their rhythm skills. When the dust settled, the Sopranos earned 144 points, staging an awesome comeback to catch the Tenor/Baritones in the last several rounds. Tenor/Baritones ended with 134 points, followed very closely by the Altos, who climbed back into the competition after some early setbacks and ended up with 130 points. Sopranos celebrated their victory with a Pretzel Party during I/E, enjoying pretzels, singing, and games together!

Tamanend Middle School empowers students to grow academically, socially and emotionally. Students, staff, and families work collaboratively to model the acronym ROAR.

Respect yourself, others, and property.

Own your behaviors.

Act appropriately.

Remember Kindness.

We believe that a caring, positive school culture and learning environment foster respectful, thoughtful, appropriate, and kind citizens.

In order to operationalize our mission, Tamanend utilizes a school-wide positive behavioral intervention and support plan (SWPBIS). This plan helps us establish a social culture in which students expect and support appropriate behavior from one another— creating school environments that are socially predictable, consistent, safe, and positive. This helps to reduce problem behaviors that lead to office discipline referrals and suspensions, and to change perceptions of school safety.

• Verifications for current 7th Grade students were to be confirmed in the Parent Portal Thursday, February 16th.
• Verifications for current 8th Grade students will be posted in the Parent Portal on Wednesday, February 22nd and are to be confirmed by Tuesday, February 28th. If using the Parent Portal app, select the menu and go to “More”, then “Backpack” in order to view and confirm.
• The CB South Curriculum Fair for next year's 10th Graders was held on Thursday, January 5th. CB South's Program Planning & Curriculum page contains videos from across their various departments and can help give a sense of their offerings. Paramount to the high school transition are relationships and connectedness. Tamanend and CB South counselors will continue to plan and program for relationship-building opportunities as your child transitions to high school, including the forthcoming program planning assembly with high school and middle school counselors, curriculum fair, Q&A with high school counselors during the Intervention and Enrichment time, and welcome days at the high schools. We will share more information about these exciting events soon. Please reach out to your child’s counselor for additional assistance and information as we work together to support this transition.
• MBIT’s Open House was held on Thursday, December 1st at 6:00. Please visit their website (www.mbit.org) to see all of the amazing programs that MBIT has to offer.

A reminder that in order to attend school, students need to be fever free for 24 hours without medication. A fever is considered 100.4 or higher.

Families can access the online application for Free & Reduced Meals by clicking here. The application must be submitted each year.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

CBSD is currently accepting applications for Free & Reduced Lunch. Students who qualify for the Free and Reduced School Meals Program may also qualify for a variety of needs-based assistance based on their program eligibility. Federal law requires the family’s consent before Central Bucks School District can use or share eligibility status for purposes other than the provision of free or reduced lunch. This information will only be shared if you consent to help provide needs-based assistance to your student that may be beneficial to your family. Your decision to share or not share this information will not in any way affect your eligibility status for the Free and Reduced School Meals Program; it is completely optional.

If your student(s) qualifies for the Free and Reduced School Meals Program, you will receive a notification of a document that needs your attention in the Parent Portal. The Free/Reduced Lunch Information Sharing Consent Form requests permission to use the eligibility status to qualify for various needs-based assistance and programming. You may consent for all areas listed below, decline consent to all areas, or provide partial consent. See the link below for instructions to complete this consent form.

Free/Reduced Lunch Information Sharing Consent Form Instructions

Best wishes for a wonderful start to the school year.

For supervision and safety reasons, students may not be dropped off at school before 7:10 a.m. If you are driving your student to school and arrive before 7:10, please remain in your car with your student until 7:10 a.m.

Students are not required to purchase a CBSD issued physical education uniform; however, students will be required to change into athletic attire and sneakers to participate safely and practice good hygiene. Student attire must adhere to the dress code guidelines presented in the student handbook. CB locks will still be required to purchase to ensure personal items are secured in a locker. Locks are available for purchase on MyPaymentsPlus.

If parents/guardians decide to drive students to school, please plan enough travel time to allow for safety and congestion on Stuckert Road and in our school parking lot. The speed limit in our lot is 15 mph.

Below is a map of how the student drop-off will work in our parking lot. Drop off should only happen along the sidewalk in the front parking lot up to the Main Entrance, as indicated by the yellow highlighted area on the map. For your safety and the safety of our students, please follow these directions and do not drop your student off on Stuckert Road, the Visitor's Parking area, or in the middle of the Main Parking Area.

When dropping off your child, please remember that you should MAKE A RIGHT-HAND TURN INTO/OUT OF THE PARKING LOT. Please stay to the right of the parking lot, along the sidewalk, all the way up to the Stop Sign across from the Tennis Courts. Pull up as far as you can when the cars in front of you clear, and let your child out on the sidewalk. PLEASE STAY IN A SINGLE-FILE LINE WHILE IN THE PARKING LOT.

When picking up your child, please remember that YOU SHOULD ONLY MAKE A RIGHT-HAND TURN INTO THE PARKING LOT. The line of traffic will extend back toward the baseball field (Kelly Rd.). Please stay in the line of traffic and continue moving up as the car(s) in front of you move up. If we follow this procedure, all cars we be gone by 2:40.

When the weather is poor (heavy rain, low temperatures, etc.), more and more parents/guardians choose to drive their children to school. A reminder that students are expected to be in their 1st Period classes by 7:30 AM. If a child is late to school because of CBSD transportation, their tardiness will be excused. If a student is late to school because of car trouble, over-sleeping, or they are in the car drop-off line, their tardiness is unexcused. Typically, there are few cars in the drop off line from when the doors open at 7:10 until about 7:20. After 7:20, the line begins to get very long.

If you drive your child to school and the weather is poor, please consider leaving home earlier so that your child arrives to class on time.

Thanks for your assistance!

The regular school day is from 7:30--2:30.

7:10: Students may be dropped off at Tamanend.

7:10--7:20*: 7th Graders wait in the Auditorium; 8th Graders wait in the Cafeteria; 9th Graders wait in Main Gym

7:20: Classrooms open to students

7:27: Reminder bell rings

7:30: First period classes begin

*Breakfast is available to students in all grades beginning at 7:10 in the Cafeteria.

Last year, CB middle schools began running a weekly intervention and enrichment period. The purpose of this period is to provide time, space, and support for students to receive help from a teacher, to participate in enrichment activities, and to prepare for upcoming assessments and projects. At Tamanend, we called this time Tiger's i. For the 2022-2023 school year, our middle schools will be expanding this from a weekly program to a daily program. Students' Tiger's i groups will meet during the I & E block on their schedule.

You may report your child's absence in any of the following ways:

• Phone (Attendance hotline): 267-893-2920
• Written note to be turned in to Main Office
• Through Portal. Click here to learn how to report student absences through Portal.
  

Tamanend is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive experience at our school. We work hard to ensure that we have financial supports in place for families in need. Please be aware that we can help with the following resources:

• Food--pantry with healthy snacks and personal care items available all day outside of Guidance; meals to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Guidance Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office); weekend food packages to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Guidance Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office)
• Clothing
• Internet access
• Field trips, school supplies, fees
• Holiday gifts

If your family experiences a financial hardship, please feel free to email one of the staff members below so that we may help:

Brian Caughie (Principal) bcaughie@cbsd.org

Kyle Dudley (Assistant Principal) kdudley@cbsd.org

Lauren Myrtetus (Certified School Nurse) lmyrtetus@cbsd.org

Jeff Klein (Guidance Counselor and Athletic Director) jklein@cbsd.org

Mandy Cammann (Guidance Counselor) mcammann@cbsd.org

Andrea Consoletti (Guidance Secretary) aconsoletti@cbsd.org

Please click on the link below to learn about food assistance for families in Central Bucks:

https://vimeo.com/748146211 (English version)

https://vimeo.com/748143109 (versión en español)

Any Central Bucks family who may need a little extra food assistance is welcome to join on us at Barclay Elementary School. Our 2022-23 drive-up food distribution runs from 4:30 to 5:30 PM on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. We generally have free dry goods, fresh produce, milk, eggs, and bread, and often have some frozen meat and poultry. At each event we pass out an average of 10,000 pounds of food. No advanced sign-up is necessary. We kindly ask that you do not line up before 4:30 so as not to interfere with our student dismissal, and that you do not block our neighbors’ driveways. If you do line up during our student dismissal, you will be kindly asked to leave. Also, do not pull forward until you are certain that you have enough room and will not block someone’s driveway. Our neighbors are very understanding and supportive of our work, but also need to come and go during our events.

We received a donation of brand new backpacks. If you would like one for your child, please email one of the following staff members and we will set one aside for you:

Brian Caughie, Principal bcaughie@cbsd.org

Patti Hartz, Secretary phartz@cbsd.org

Andrea Consoletti, Student Service Secretary aconsoletti@cbsd.org

Here is a list of ways Tamanend communicates with students, families, and the community:

• Tamanend website: includes important information, resources, calendar of school events, and daily announcements
• Calendar of school events (posted on our website)
• Daily announcements (Posted each school day morning on our website and in Canvas. Look for the “Tamanend Announcements” course. Students will self-enroll in this course during the first week of school.
  
• TV show (weekly, during Advisory period)
• Email blasts from Tamanend administration regarding important news, new procedures, and reminders
• Parent Portal: student information, grades, and attendance
• Tamanend Connections newsletter: useful information, important reminders, and school highlights emailed weekly during school year and posted on Tamanend website
• Twitter: @CBTamanendMS highlights of activities, events, and daily life at Tamanend
• CBSD app: highlights of activities, events, and daily life in Central Bucks
  

¡Bienvenidos a Tamanend! Yo soy Brian Caughie, Director de Tamanend Middle School. Soy hispanohablante. Pasé mucho de mi vida en España. Estoy aquí para apoyarles a todos los estudiantes y familias en Tamanend. Favor de llamarme or escribirme (en inglés o en español) si Ud. tiene cualquier duda o pregunta.

Correo electrónico: bcaughie@cbsd.org

Oficina: (267) 893-2900

Starting with the 2022-2023 school year, Tamanend is changing how we publish daily announcements. We will continue to post our daily announcements on our website. We will also be publishing daily announcements through Canvas. We believe this change will make students more connected to the many activities and events available at our school. Tamanend Students will self-enroll in the "Tamanend Announcements" Canvas course during the first week of school. If parent(s)/guardian(s) wish to receive the daily announcements via email blast, they should email Mrs. Patti Hartz.

Tamanend students make a difference in our community. Share your story about the accomplishments and good work of a Tamanend student with Dr. Caughie at bcaughie@cbsd.org so that he may highlight this good news in an upcoming edition of Tamanend Connections.

Email: tms@cbsd.org
Website: http://www.cbsd.org/Domain/25
Location: 1492 Stuckert Road, Warrington, PA
Phone: 267.893.2900