TGMS Weekly Updates

Congratulation to Mrs. Bethanne Falther, Toll Gate Middle School, 6th grade teacher, for being nominated and winning Teacher of the Month for December from the Ohio Lottery Partners in Education!

The Partners in Education Teacher of the Month award recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers for their excellence in the classroom, leadership, creativity and community involvement and dedication on behalf of Ohio students.

The Ohio Lottery will continue to recognize Academic All Stars and Teachers of the Month throughout the school year. For more information about the program and to submit a nomination, go to https://ohiolottery.com/SupportingEducation. We are now accepting submissions online!

Recognizing a TGMS Academic All-Star!

Congratulations to Matthew Clapp, a 6th grader at TGMS! Partners in Education and the Ohio Lottery recently recognized Matthew as an Academic All Star.

The Partners in Education Academic All-Star Award recognizes K-12 students who have exhibited academic achievement, community involvement, citizenship and leadership in and out of the classroom.

For more information about the program and to submit a nomination, go to https://ohiolottery.com/SupportingEducation. We are now accepting submissions online!

Dear Families,

In accordance with Ohio SB 288, your child will receive instruction on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention this year. This is a sensitive topic, and we wanted to notify you and provide some important information.

● In accordance with the law, beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, schools are required to

provide developmentally appropriate instruction in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention to students in

grades K through 6.

● To learn more about this mandate, here is a link to the Ohio Department of Education and

Workforce Child Sexual Abuse Prevention page.

● As a parent or guardian, you may opt your child out of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention lesson.

For your preview, here is the link to the Fight Child Abuse resource. Fight Child Abuse was selected from an approved list of resources set by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. This approved curriculum was used to design the lesson for our students. Students will be watching videos 1 and 2. 5th-grade students will be completing these activity sheets 5th Grade.pdf. 6th-grade students will be completing these activity sheets 6th Grade.pdf.

If you wish to opt your child out of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention lesson, please send an email to Kelli_Saksa@plsd.us by Friday, January 31. Your child will be provided with an alternative environment and activity for this portion of the day. Please let me know if you have any additional questions, and I will be happy to answer them.

Thank you for your partnership.

SchoolStore.com is here! Students brought home a packet of information explaining a fast and simple way to help raise funds for essential tools our students and teachers need to succeed. SchoolStore's program is 100% online so there is no selling or handling of money or products. Just 12 minutes of your time is required and there is a nice prize program available to make this a fun experience.

Participation is easy - take a look inside the packet that your student will bring home - scan the QR code or go to schoolstore.net and sign up using our school ID: 370911, then return the envelope with the student prize code for your child to get their own activity tracker. The turnaround time is quick - all student envelopes must be returned by the week of January 31.

For a more details see the flyer attached below.

Just a reminder that our students will go outside for recess each day provided the temperature is 25 degrees or above (including the wind chill factor). Please remind them to dress accordingly. Thank you!

We are thrilled to announce a unique collaboration between the Pickerington Community Arts Committee and Pickerington Schools, designed to foster a stronger sense of community and underscore the vital role of the arts in our lives. This exciting partnership culminates in 'Artful Ascent’, our first student art exhibit.

'Artful Ascent' will showcase the vibrant and imaginative artwork of Pickerington students from kindergarten through high school. This diverse exhibition will offer a captivating glimpse into the creative journeys of our young artists, demonstrating the remarkable growth, dedication, and artistic skill of both our students and their instructors.

We invite you to come celebrate the accomplishments of our featured student artists during the opening reception on Tuesday 21, January 2025, at the Pickerington Public Library, 201 Opportunity Way, from 6-7:30pm. Come chat with the artists, meet their instructors and share in the delight of artistic technique and creativity.

Artfully,

Pickerington Schools District Arts Department & Pickerington Community Arts Committee