Dear Tohickon Families,

I hope everyone is having a happy, healthy, enjoyable summer! We are a little less than four weeks away from the start of the 2023-2024 School Year, which begins for students on Tuesday, September 5. Throughout the summer, Dr. Fash, the support staff, and I have been preparing for the start of the year, finalizing schedules and getting the building ready for our students. The summer is a great time for us to get a lot of work done and also a good time to reset as we prepare for the upcoming year.

We are looking forward to seeing all our students, especially those that will be new to us. There is always a mixture of excitement and apprehension as the elementary students transition to the middle level. We are, however, well aware of this and set things up in a manner where our new students will feel comfortable and at home immediately at Tohickon. To accomplish this we do a number of things such as making sure that our two seventh grade team classes are close together, providing additional time for our students to find their classes and, generally, helping them every step of the way until they learn the daily routines.

Students that are returning to us will notice a few notable changes. Members of our 20th Anniversary Committee, which includes several of our parents, have been working throughout the summer to enhance aesthetic aspects within the building. They have lined the first floor hallways with collages of years past and have updated older pictures, such as those in the auditorium/lobby area. Also, we have hired several new staff members in the areas of Math, English, Special Education, FCS, Technology Education, Art and Integrated Technology. We have also hired several new support staff members. Once again, we will be providing lockers to all students and backpacks are not permitted to be carried during the day, so the use of the lockers will continue to be an important space for storage.

The key calendar dates to be aware of in the near future are as follows: Schedule Pick Up Day (August 25), Back to School Nights (September 14 – Grade 7, September 21 – Grades 8/9), our first Parent Council Meeting (September 21) and Laptop Pick Up Day for seventh grade students (time TBD – Information forthcoming).

Schedule Pick Up Day will take place at Tohickon MS on Friday, August 25, between the hours of 8AM and 2PM. All schedules will "go live" on Infinite Campus at 8AM that morning. During this visit, students and family members will have an opportunity to pick up schedules, tour the building, try out lockers and meet several staff members. We will also have current students present to assist and provide direction where it is needed. Several teachers volunteer their time for this event in order to welcome and meet new students. This is a great day to get used to the building and excited about the upcoming school year.

Dr. Fash and I hope that you enjoy the remaining weeks of summer, spending time with family and friends! As always, the Tohickon Staff is looking forward to the upcoming school year with great excitement and anticipation. The beginning of every school year is a special time and a unique opportunity to help our students feel welcome and at home in a place they will be coming to every day. If you should have any questions as the school year approaches, please feel free to contact the main office at 267-893-3300.

Sincerely,

Kevin Marton, Tohickon Principal

We're thrilled to welcome the following new

Tohickon Staff Members:

· Allison Barnhart - English

· Colleen Zaba - Math

· Diane Rosenberger - Personal Care Assistant

· Eric Sauchinitz - Building Computer Specialist

· Gabrielle Miller - Art

· Holland Zimmerman - Health/PE

· Joseph Rugerri - English

· Lauren Witts-Falcone- Special Education

· Lori Ricci - Educational Assistant

· Moira Pfeiffer - Family & Consumer Science

· Riana Jones -Special Education

· Shelli Trimbur - ELD

· Sophie Zeidman - Special Education

Once the new year begins, please feel free to contact these team members, should you have any questions that pertains to their area of specialization. The team, subject area and specialized leaders are as follows:

2023-2024 Teams and Team Leaders

• Team Infinity 7A (Grade 7) - Mrs. Kelli McMahon (kmcmahon@cbsd.org)
• Team Summit 7B (Grade 7) - Mrs. Jennifer Reese (jereese@cbsd.org)
• Team Odyssey 8A (Grade 8) - Mrs. Andrea Bellavance (abellavance@cbsd.org)
• Team Expedition 8B (Grade 8) - Mrs. Nichole Taylor (nstaylor@cbsd.org)
• Freshman Team - Mr. Michael Weir (mweir@cbsd.org) & Ms. Alison Lewis (alewis@cbsd.org)

**Please keep in mind that math and world language will continue to be cross-teamed in eighth grade.

2023-2024 Subject Area Coordinators

• English - Mr. Joseph Ruggeri (jruggeri@cbsd.org)
• Math - Mrs. Colleen Zaba (czaba@cbsd.org)
• Science - Ms. Ashley Gresko (agresko@cbsd.org)
• Social Studies - Mr. James Neely (jneely@cbsd.org) and Mr. Scott Felton (sfelton@cbsd.org)
• Special Education Facilitator - Nichole Taylor (nstaylor@cbsd.org)

2023-2024 Specialized Area Leaders

• Director of Athletics – Mr. Ken Hall (khall@cbsd.org)
• Dean of Students - Mr. Ken Hall (khall@cbsd.org)
• Building Technology Coordinator - Mrs. Bridget Fox (brifox@cbsd.org)
• Building Technology Coach - Mr. Connor Simpson (csimpson@cbsd.org)
• Head School Nurse - Mrs. Sheila Kelly (shkelly@cbsd.org)
• Guidance Coordinator - Mrs. Diane Schute (dschute@cbsd.org)

7th grade supply list 23-24.pdf (cbsd.org)

8th Grade Supply List 2023-24.pdf (cbsd.org)

9th grade supply list 23-24.pdf (cbsd.org)

A HUGE Thank You goes out to our amazing 20th Annivesary Parent Committe working hard to bring the Tohickon halls to life this summer. As part of the ongoing project, Dr. Fash, Mrs. Mirsky, Mrs. McNeil, Mrs. Dickson, Mrs. Badiali, Mrs. Jones, and Mrs. Kanyok have been flooding the hallways with collages of pictures celebrating the last 20 years at Tohickon.

All Students are required to purchase and use a district issued gym lock. This lock may be used for all three years of their time at Middle School ( grades 7-9).

Office hours are 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Parents should notify the school as early as possible regarding absence, lateness, doctor's appointments, vacation requests, etc. by logging into the parent portal and entering the absence. Any time a student arrives to school late, they must bring a parent note in with them explaining why they are late or a parent needs to enter it in the parent portal. Any late arrival without a note will be marked as unexcused.

After 7:30 AM, a student is tardy. Students must report to the office for attendance accounting when arriving late. Such reasons as missing the bus, oversleeping, car touble, long drop off line, etc. are not valid excuses for lateness. Every unexcused tardy, from the third time (and all succeeding times), will result in an administrative consequence. Late time may be accumulated and count toward illegal absences from school. Unexcused lateness in excess of half the school day will be considered an unlawful absence.

Appointments during the School Day: Students may be excused for short periods of time during the day for medical appointments. A note from parents should be taken to the main office prior to the start of the school day on the day of the appointment or a parent/guardian should enter all requests through the parent portal before 8:00 AM. In order to take part in any after-school event (including dances and sports events), students must attend school for at least half of that day. At the middle/high school levels, students need to report to school by 10:30 AM.

Early Departures: Whenever a student needs to leave school before 2:30 PM, parents/guardians are asked to enter the dismissal time in the parent portal before 8:00 AM or the student must bring a note to the main office upon arriving to school. They will receive a pass to leave class, which must be turned into the main office before being dismissed for their appointment. Parents/guardians must pick up students at the main office, door number 1 and be prepared to show your ID. If possible, inform the office in advance if you get a last-minute appointment so that we can advise the student who can leave class quietly, without the disruption of calling into a classroom. Requests after 2:00 PM will not be accepted.

Lockers: Lockers will be provided to all students and they are not permitted to carry backpacks during the day. The use of lockers will become an important space for storage of school materials and coats.

Homework may be requested after the student has missed three consecutive instructional days (snow days and weekends do NOT count). If the request is received by 8:30 AM, it will be available for a parent to pick-up in the main office at 3:00 PM the same day. Have your student follow their Canvas page for classwork and homework assignments. Students should also have a “study-buddy” in each class to call to find out what assignments are missed.

In accordance with Central Bucks Transportation policy, students will not be permitted to travel on another student’s bus. Requests to travel on another student’s bus will NOT be approved. Only in an extreme emergency (parent travel is NOT considered an emergency) will requests for alternate transportation be granted.

When visiting Tohickon, please bring your photo ID. All visitors are required to enter and leave through the main office, sign in and wear a visitor’s badge while in the building.

The use of cell phones/electronic devices during the school day is strictly prohibited. All cell phones/electronic devices should be in the “power off” position and kept out of sight during school hours. If a lesson requires the use of an electronic device, the teacher will provide students with an opportunity to obtain and return their device from their locker. Under no circumstances are cell phones allowed to be carried from class to class. Students found with their phones/electronic devices will have them confiscated. The items may be picked up in the main office at 2:30 PM and it will result in an administrative consequence.

Please do not call or text your student during the school day. If you need to get a message to your student, please call the main office.

If the school nurse determines that your son or daughter should be sent home due to illness or injury, she will contact a parent/guardian directly. Students are not permitted to call their parent/guardian for pick up in these cases (i.e. use of cell phone.). If you receive a text or call from your child that they are sick, please direct them to go to the nurse. It is up to the nurse to determine if a student is ill enough to go home from school.

Please make sure your student’s name is on items they may bring to school. We have many sweatshirts, coats and lunchboxes in our lost and found, which is located in the back of the cafeteria and in large red totes placed on each floor. If items are identifiable, they will be returned to students. If not, students are urged to check lost and found. At the end of the marking period, items are donated to charitable organizations.

Drop-off items (i.e. lunches, homework, sports gear, etc.) are held in the main office and brought to students in the cafeteria at lunch time. They may check the office between classes or before and after lunch. To avoid class disruptions, we do not to call into classrooms or call down students individually for forgotten items.

Students involved in sports will receive pertinent information from coaches. Announcements are made regarding changes in schedules for games, practices, etc. as provided by the appropriate coach. In order to take part in any after-school event (including dances and sports events), students must attend school for at least half of that day. At the middle/high school levels, students need to report to school by 10:30 AM

Physical forms are available online and must be completed after June 1st of the appropriate school year. Physicals are necessary for any student who wishes to participate in a sport. Students will not be permitted to attend try outs for a sport until physical forms are submitted through Family ID. Family ID information should also be completed and instructions can be found under the “Athletics” tab on the Tohickon website.

Tohickon Middle School is proud to announce 9th Grader PEN Students Sanat Nayak and Carl Stoltz have won the winning entry design in the 2023 NASA “Dream with Us” Design Challenge. The challenge, which opened in March, tasked students with designing sustainable aircraft and marketing it to NASA. Sanat and Carl’s design was a commercial aircraft flying under the airline “Environmental Airlines.” What really set their work apart was an impeccable design, as well as a 3D printed rendering of their work. Entries were judged by the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute on criteria such as aerodynamics, synergistic technologies, fuel economy, and more. We are so proud of Sanat and Carl and wish them the best of luck as they continue their PEN endeavors in grade 10.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE NURSE’S OFFICE

PLEASE go online and complete your student information update. This needs to be done every year.

Action Care Plans were sent home in June. These are for children with chronic medical conditions so if you receive an action plan, please have it completed and returned prior to the start of the new school year. If your child is moving on to high school, please forward them to the appropriate school and to the Attention of the School Nurse. ALL medication requires a Medication Dispensing Form completed and signed by YOU and YOUR physician.

Information for Incoming 7th Graders

All 7th graders are required to have a Tdap and meningitis vaccination PRIOR to the first day of school on September 5, 2023. There will be a 5-day grace period before your child will be excluded if they are non-compliant.

Also, all 7th graders are required to have a Pennsylvania state mandated dental exam. Please forward the completed dental exam form to the nurse’s office. The exam may be any date after September 1, 2022.

You may check the parent portal to see if your child is missing any of the required immunizations. Please feel free to reach out with any concerns you may have or want to discuss prior to the start of the new school year.

Any required paperwork may be sent via email to the school nurse, Sheila Kelly shkelly@cbsd.org,

Students will begin arriving at Tohickon around 7:10 AM. The buses arrive on the South Side of the building, where the bus lanes are located. Students will enter through the doors on that side. When students arrive, there will be teachers to help guide them to the right location. All seventh grade students proceed straight down the hallway to the Tohickon Auditorium, when they arrive. Car riders should be dropped off along the curb in front of the school. Please use caution when dropping students off next to the curb. Do not allow your child to walk through traffic or parked cars, as this is a very busy time of morning. Following the signs in the parking lot allows us to avoid dangerous situations.

Students generally dismiss at 2:30 PM. However, for the first week, we allow the seventh grade students to depart at 2:25 PM. This gives them a five minute head start to find their bus and seat. Car riders should be picked up at the main entrance in front of the building.

Attendance Policies & Information

The Compulsory Attendance Law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires that an absence excuse submitted by the parent or guardian be on file for every day of the student’s absence. Our new attendance procedures allow parents to submit this absence request via the parent portal. These requests serve as the excuse for the absences. We will no longer be accepting voice messages to excuse absences. If you do not have a parent account, you can find the instructions on our website in the attendance tab.

Tardy Students

A student is considered tardy if they are late to school or class. Students are expected to be in their seats by 7:30. There has been increasing traffic in the morning due to buses and car line; please be sure to add extra time to your morning commute. If your student is late, please be sure to enter the reason in the parent portal Student who are tardy more than three times will receive an after-school detention.

Vacation Requests

We are no longer requiring Vacation Forms. These requests can be made through the parent portal. Please be sure that your student is communicating with their teachers ahead of time, so they can get a plan together for missing work, instruction, and assignments. Please remember that a maximum of five days per student per school year can be approved.

Appointments

Please use the portal to report times when your child may be arriving late or leaving early. When picking your child up from school, please come to door #1 and have your ID ready. Please make sure to communicate the absence in advance to avoid having to call into classrooms during instructional times. Please enter student appointments by 8:00 am if possible. This allows us to get passes to students during their advisory.

*All medical Notes can be sent to cstevens@cbsd.org.

Tohickon Athletics

Registration for Fall Sports is open for all incoming 7th and 8th graders that would like to play a sport at Tohickon. Fall sports include: Cheerleading, Field Hockey, Girls Tennis, Football, Boys Soccer, and Coed Volleyball. Registration is completed online. Directions can be found at: Sports Registration Directions. Registration deadline for football is August 11th. Registration deadline for all other sports is September 5th. We are looking forward to many students participating in sports this year. Please encourage your child to get involved. Reach out to Athletic Director Ken Hall at khall@cbsd.org with questions.

We are looking forward to having a great group of highly energetic girls represent Tohickon this fall. Our goal is to have 20 girls on the team. NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Please discuss this opportunity with your child. If you have any questions about the program, please reach out to our fall cheer coach, Amy Fry-Daly, at afry@cbsd.org Sports Registration Directions

7th Grade, Thursday, September 14th from 7:00 - 9:00 PM

• Seventh Grade Parents will meet in the auditorium at 7:00 PM for a brief 10-15 minute introductory presentation from Mr. Marton and Dr. Fash. Following the presentation, parents will attend their child's classes.

8th & 9th Grade, Thursday, September 21st from 7:00 - 9:00 PM

• Eighth and Ninth Grade Parents will proceed directly to their child's classes at 7:00 PM.

Student Services Office: 267-893-3310

• Mrs. Heather Tobin (htobin@cbsd.org) - Secretary
• Mrs. Diane Schute (dschute@cbsd.org) will be working with those students with last names from A-Le.
• Mr. Joseph Stryker (jstryker@cbsd.org) will be working with those students with last names from Lf-Z.
• Mr. Jesse Everhart (jeverhart@cbsd.org) Psychologist
• Mrs. Kailtin Wolfinger - (kwolfinger@cbsd.org) Social Worker

We pride ourselves on communication at Tohickon! There are a number of ways we communicate with our parents. They are as follows:

• Monthly Newsletter - The newsletter typically comes out via email on the first of each month, running from August through June. The newsletter is designed to be informational and substantive. There is always a chronology of upcoming events listed. All present and past Tohickon newsletters can be found on the Tohickon website.

• School Website - The Tohickon website is a great place to find important information. The most recent newsletter and daily announcement links are always located on the front page. All information pertinent to parents and students can be found in the "Parent/Student" section of the website.

• E-Mail Blasts - Email blasts at Tohickon are used when an important message needs to be sent to parents quickly. PLEASE do not delete these messages, as they are most likely very important.

• Twitter - Messages and pictures are sent to the community frequently to highlight unique events happening in school. Follow us on Twitter @CBTohickonMS

• Parent Council Meetings - These are great opportunities to hear what is going on and to provide feedback to Mr. Marton and Dr. Fash. The Tohickon Administration values your opinion and wants to hear your thoughts on given topics. Parent Council Meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of each month, and meeting dates are as follows: September 21st, October 19th, November 16th, January 18th, February 15th, March 21st, April 18th, May (Teacher Appreciation Activities). Meetings are typically held in the Tohickon Library. The meetings begin promptly at 9:00 AM and usually conclude between 10:00 and 10:30 AM. There is no meeting in December or June and the May meeting is traditionally reserved for the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon.

• Teacher Websites/Canvas - All teachers are expected to maintain an updated school website/ Canvas homepage. These sites are useful for finding out what is going on in class, tracking assignments, etc.

• Parent Portal - All grading and assignment information can be accessed using the Parent Portal. If you are having any trouble accessing your child's information, please contact the student services department at 267-893-3310.

CHIP is short for the Children's Health Insurance Program, Pennsylvania's program to provide health insurance to uninsured children and teens who are not eligible for or enrolled in Medical Assistance.

CHIP is brought to you by leading health insurance companies. You'll have a choice of major insurance companies with networks of physicians, specialists, and care facilities near you. Your kids may even be able to keep visiting the same doctors they see today.

Just by doing your routine shopping, you can help Tohickon in our efforts to raise money for special programs and various items to support our school and students. Tohickon has registered in a fundraising program sponsored by eScrip.com. We also collect Boxtops for Education and clothing. Check out the details below. It is easy to do and a wonderful way to support our school! Thank you, in advance, for your participation in these programs!

Just register online at www.escrip.com. Tohickon’s Group ID # is 150239570. You can split your donation among several different schools or organizations, so if you’re already registered with another group, consider adding Tohickon! While you’re logged onto the www.escrip.com site, you may want to consider registering your debit and/or credit card so that Tohickon will benefit from purchases made with those cards at retailers like Office Max, Eddie Bauer, Barnes and Noble, and Payless Shoes. Choose “my escript” from the menu at the top of the screen, log in with your password, go to “Account Administration,” and select “Credit and Debit Cards.” Be sure to check out the complete list of participating merchants and contribution rates.

Tohickon collects Box Tops electronically! Box Tops for Education will still be worth 10 cents per clipping, but will no longer be printed on products anymore. Instead, please use the following easy steps to submit your Box-Tops!

1. Go grocery shopping & keep your grocery store receipt.

2. Download the "Box Tops for Education" app in the Apple App store or Google Play store

3. Scan your grocery store receipt using the "Box Tops for Education" App.

4. Enjoy earning cash for Tohickon!

Traditional Box tops are being phased out of production, but you can still send any remaining unexpired clips to Tohickon.

All money raised from this continuous collection will supplement club and activity programs, including volunteer activities. For more information on Box Tops for Education go to www.boxtops4education.com.

Please help Tohickon raise funds by registering below:

support.rxfundraising.com/TohickonMS

Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org/tohickon
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-3300
Twitter: @CBTohickonMS