Twin Peaks Middle School

Happy Sunday Ram Families!

I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying your weekend after a spirited Red Ribbon Week at TPMS! THANK YOU to all of our students and staff who participated in our spirit dress up days and lunchtime activities to show your commitment and pledge to living a drug-free life! Students, staff and parents enjoyed music in the quad on Friday at lunch to close out the week courtesy of our TPMS Jazz band! Kudos to our ASB students for hosting an amazing Red Ribbon Week and "Bravo!" to our Jazz Band musicians for their epic performance!

IMPORTANT REMINDER: There is no school for all secondary schools in PUSD on Monday, October 28th - teachers have professional learning and conference preparation time on 10/28. Tuesday, October 29th through Friday, November 1st will be minimum day schedules, with an 8:30am start and a 12:35pm dismissal all four days. Wednesday, October 30th is NOT a late start day due to the minimum day schedule - school will start at 8:30am on 10/30/24. Our ASES program will remain open in the morning and in the afternoon as normal, and conferences will be taking place on campus from 1-3:30pm each day.

Calling all Spooky Rams! The Twin Peaks ASB will be hosting their 2nd Annual TPMS Haunted House this Wednesday, October 30th from 5:30-7:30pm. Entry will be $2 for all TPMS Students and $3 for any other guests. Tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the event. All guests under the age of 18 will need a permission slip, which can be found on the TPMS ASB Activities Canvas page, or in Room 911. Parents are also welcome to come and enjoy this event being held in the 100 Building (South gate nearest MPR).

Thursday is Halloween, and we want our Rams to show their TPMS spirit and enjoy the day by wearing a costume if they chose to. Please remember that all costumes need to be school-appropriate and follow the guidelines below:

Halloween Costume Guidelines: Celebrating Halloween in today's social climate must be done with a sensitivity toward the subjects of violence, death, race, ethnicity, religious preference, physical and mental conditions, and sexual orientation. Please remember that costumes may not suggest racial attitudes that reinforce stereotypes about, mock or mischaracterize a culture, group of persons, an individual person or a religion. More specific guidelines include:

1. Costumes may not include full face masks or cover the entire face.
2. Costumes may not be violent or suggestive in nature.
3. Costumes may not have anything simulating a weapon.
4. Costumes must not be so distracting as to disrupt the learning environment

If you have any questions or concerns about these guidelines, please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Trash on Campus: A student behavior that we are currently addressing at TPMS is the daily littering and trashing of our campus. Since the beginning of the school year, this problem has gotten progressively worse; to start the year, we allowed students to eat in the quad during the school day, but after a few weeks, students were leaving their trash on the ground and in the bushes around the quad and would refuse to pick it up when asked. As a result, we restricted food and drink in the quad. Rather than earn the quad back by cleaning up after themselves, students have continued to trash the quad and our lunch table areas, even smearing food on the student painted murals that decorate the lunch area and our Exercise Science Lab. This is unacceptable and students' attitudes towards taking care of our campus must change.

Due to the continued trashing of our campus each day, the ASB Winter Dance, held in December, has been canceled. I met with ASB student leaders this past Thursday to discuss the situation with them, and they visited Homerooms on Friday to discuss the situation with our students. The why behind this decision is pretty simple - if students cannot take care and respect our campus during the school day, then optional after school events like dances will not be held.

The solution is also incredibly simple and completely in the hands of our students - throw your trash away in the trash cans! Starting this past Friday, students now have until November 7th to earn back the winter dance; this means students will need to make a concerted effort to keep our campus clean if they want to have a winter dance. Parents - I need your help! Please discuss with your students the importance of cleaning up after yourself and throwing away / recycling their items appropriately. If any parents would like to come and volunteer during lunch to see how students are treating the campus and to help encourage them to clean up after themselves, please send me an email and let me know when you are available - we would love to have you!

Our PTSA Reflections Art Contest is now accepting student submissions for this year's theme - Accepting Imperfection, in the following categories: Film Production, Writing, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts, and Dance Choreography. The deadline for submissions has been extended to November 9th, so please make sure to get your films, songs, poetry, short stories, photos, and dance routines ready to submit! Please see the PTSA Reflections Art Contest section below for a link to the application form that is required with your submission.

PUSD middle schools are currently going through a pilot process for adopting a new English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for grades 6-8. Please visit our Curriculum Adoptions page for more information and directions on how to provide feedback. Community members can provide feedback until Friday, November 1st, 2024.

CA Healthy Kids Survey: Every 2 years the State of California asks our students, staff, and parents questions about our school, drug use, violence, and other health-risk behaviors. Parents - your participation is voluntary, but strongly encouraged! We want to make sure all of our stakeholders' voices are heard, so please take a few minutes to provide your responses to the survey LINKED HERE! 7th grade students will be taking the survey in their PE class over the next two weeks. Please complete the survey before Friday, November 8th! Questions or problems with the survey? Please see the letter below with more details and information.

Finally this week, don't forget that this Thursday is your last chance to order your TPMS spirit gear before the winter break! Place your orders for your TPMS spirit gear through the online spirit store LINKED HERE before this Thursday, 10/31!

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

October 28th: PD Day - No School for Students

October 29th-November 1st: Minimum Days for Conferences

October 30th: 8:30am start! ASB Haunted House @TPMS, 5:30pm

November 6th: WEB Fundraiser at Dirty Dough

November 6th: Late Start 9:30am

November 11th: Veteran's Day - NO SCHOOL

November 12th: Military Appreciation Lunch (both lunches)

November 13th: Late Start 9:30am

November 14th: AVID Fundraiser at Panda Express

November 25th - 29th: Thanksgiving Break

Calling all Spooky Rams! This year, Twin Peaks ASB will be hosting our second annual TPMS Haunted House on October 30th from 5:30-7:30 PM. Entry will be $2 for all TPMS Students and $3 for any other guests and tickets will be sold at the door on the day of the event. All guests under the age of 18 will need a permission slip, which can be found on the TPMS ASB Activities Canvas page, or on the window outside Room 911. In the meantime, we need your help! We are looking for some donations to help with the cost of creating the Haunted House of our dreams (or nightmares...). Please review our DONATION REQUEST LIST and sign up if you'd like to help out and donate an item!

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.

Back by popular demand, the TPMS Online Spirit Store is open for business, but hurry! In order to ensure that spirit wear will be delivered before Winter Break, the online store will only be open for a short time - closing on October 31st. Get your TPMS T-Shirts, hoodies, pajama pants and more today by visiting https://bit.ly/ramspirit !

Attention TPMS 6th Graders! Are you interested in joining our ASB team starting in Trimester 2? ASB Applications for 6th Grade Representatives will be available starting October 14th in Room 911. Applications are due no later than October 29th, with elections happening the following week. Visit Mrs. Crow in Room 911 during lunch or break to pick up an application!

Attention all Basketball players! Basketball season here at TPMS is fast approaching. Registration for basketball will be available Monday October 21st until Friday November 1st. 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 basketball 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! Thank you!

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

Monday Nov 4th

Wednesday Nov 6th

Wednesday Nov 13th

Teams Posted Friday Nov 15th

The San Diego County Office of Education and Computers2Kids are hosting an event for families to purchase affordable computers on Saturday, November 2, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Morse High School, 6905 Skyline Drive, CA (Drive Thru Event). See flyer below or click on this link for details.

Hello!

If you are interested in contributing your time and talent to support students with special needs, please consider applying to become a member of the Poway Unified School District Community Advisory Committee (CAC). We are accepting applications through October 25, 2024, so please act quickly. Please apply here: https://forms.gle/ueBMMyGMCEgA4xB77

The CAC is an active group of parents and district staff who care about students with special needs and the families and educators who support them. For more information on the CAC, our meeting dates and past minutes, please go to: https://www.powayusd.com/apps/pages/community-advisory-committee

We hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you,

2024-2025 PUSD Community Advisory Committee

¡Hola!

Si está interesado en contribuir su tiempo y talento para apoyar a los estudiantes con necesidades especiales, considere postularse para convertirse en miembro del Poway Unified School District Comité Asesor de la Comunidad (CAC). Aceptamos solicitudes hasta el 25 de octubre de 2024, así que actúe rápidamente. Por favor aplique aquí: https://forms.gle/ueBMMyGMCEgA4xB77

El CAC es un grupo activo de padres y personal del distrito que se preocupa por los estudiantes con necesidades especiales y las familias y educadores que los apoyan. Para obtener más información sobre el CAC, las fechas de nuestras reuniones y las actas anteriores, visite: https://www.powayusd.com/apps/pages/community-advisory-committee

Esperamos saber de usted pronto.

Gracias,

2024-2025 Comité Asesor Comunitario del PUSD

PTSA's Reflections Art Program:

“Accepting Imperfection” is the theme for the 2024-25 Reflections Art Program, which has been bringing the arts to life for more than 10 million students since 1969. This amazing program increases community awareness of the importance of arts in education. Encourage the arts and recognize student artwork through the PTA Reflections Program.

Art Categories:

· Film Production

· Writing

· Music Composition

· Photography

· Visual Arts

· Dance Choreography

Using this year's theme, "Accepting Imperfection" as the inspiration for their art, participants must create an original entry (may not be aided by an adult or any other person, unless they are entering in the Special Artists Division of the contest) and submit it via the Online Entry Form linked below. The entries will be judged locally by the TPMS PTSA's Reflections Art Committee. Those who score high enough to earn an Award of Excellence will advance to Palomar Council PTA and followed by Ninth District. The final artworks submitted to California State PTA by districts are then considered for Outstanding Interpretation, Awards of Excellence or Awards of Merit. Outstanding Interpretation and Award of Excellence entries then go on to represent California in the final National PTA judging round.

Deadline to enter: November 7th.

Student Reflections Entry Form

Questions? Email Melissa Atkinson at MelAtkinsonPTA@gmail.com

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/

PUSD is collaborating with Elizabeth Hospice who will be providing a FREE Bereavement Parent Workshop on Wednesday, November 6th from 6pm- 7pm via Zoom. If you may benefit from this workshop and are interested in attending please RSVP as soon as possible. This is an informational workshop to support parents and families who may be experiencing grief and loss of a loved one. Click here for more information.

If you are a member of the Armed Forces, a Reservist, or Veteran, please take a few moments to complete our TPMS Military Families Survey LINKED HERE. Thank you in advance for your time in completing this survey and thank you for your service to our country!

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.

We are pleased to share that Valley will be hosting the Spanish Teen Positive Parenting Workshop Series for FREE In Person at Valley Elementary School! This webinar series is designed for parents and will address raising responsible teenagers while improving family communication. The webinar is offered for Spanish speaking parents and open to any parent and family across our school sites. The English series is scheduled for the new year in January 2025.

FREE SPANISH Teen Positive Parenting Workshop Series In Person

Valley Elementary School

Thursday, November 7th, Wednesday, November 13th and Thursday, November 21st from 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Click here for the flyer!

*Childcare provided for school-aged children

Fee-Based Parent Education Courses:

Taming Your Child's Tantrums and Meltdowns TK - 5th Grade - Click here for more information

Gender Identity and Expression Part II - All Grades - Click here for more information

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