Dear TMS Community,

As we step into May and enter the last month of the school year, please take some time to review all of the information in this newsletter, especially the messages from the TMS PTA. The month of May brings many celebrations to TMS and PTA volunteers are essential in our ability to provide the students and our community with these engaging activities and special opportunities.

In this newsletter you'll find new information for:

• Important Message from the TMS PTA

• PTA Meeting & Illinois Youth Presentation - 5/7/24 @ 7 PM

• Science Olympiad State Meet

• TMS Spring Play

• Library Art Show Announcement

• TMS ABC Countdown

• ABC25 Fun Fair - Saturday, 6/1/24

• PTA Plant Sale Pick-Up Volunteers Needed - Wednesday, 5/8/24

• Glenbard Parent Series Virtual Event - And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School - 5/1 @ noon *Join Mrs. Naumowicz as she introduces Guest Speaker Judith Warner author of this book.

• Pride of the Wolf Pack Golf Outing - SAVE THE DATE - 7/26/24

• Pride of the Wolf Pack Assembly - Monday, 5/6/24 during Advisory

• TMS Retirements & Celebrating the TMS Class of 2020/High School Senior Class of 2024

Upcoming Events:

• Staff Appreciation Week 5/6-5/10 *Luncheon on Friday, 5/10
• Monday, 5/6: Pride of the Wolf Pack Assembly
• Monday, 5/13: Staff Recognition Event & Senior Class of 2024 Celebration
• Tuesday & Wednesday, 5/14 & 5/15: 7th Grade Sunrise Lake Trips
• Wednesday, 5/22: 8th Grade Great America Field Trip
• Thursday, 5/23: 8th Grade Party @ 12:35 PM & Graduation @ 7:30 Forest View Education Center
• Friday, 5/31: Last Day of School 6th & 7th Grade & Early Dismissal @ 1:50 PM

Take care,

Lori, Nick, & Greg

TMS Administrative Team

Volunteers for 2024/2025! There are a few key PTA positions open, and without them, some of the things your kids love most might not be possible. Think activity nights, Kona Ice, teacher appreciation week... the list goes on!

• President-Elect: Be the right-hand to our current President and learn the ropes for next year!
• Membership/Directory Chair: Help keep our PTA community connected! Directory Spot won't be updated without this person.
• Reflections Chair: Unleash the inner artist in our students!
• Staff Appreciation Co-Chair: Show our amazing staff some love!
• 8th Grade Committee Co-Chair: Make those last middle school memories unforgettable!

Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet other parents, get inside info on middle school, and make a real impact on your child's experience.

Email thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com for further information.

Congratulations to the Cast & Crew of the Spring Play! The students did an incredible job performing on stage and the sound & lights crew were fantastic!

Many thanks to our Director, Nora Fergus and Assistant Directors, Kim Malinowski and Kaitlin Fajks, on the successful production of the Spring Play. The many hours of preparation and all the love and support given to the students is greatly appreciated.

Super special thank you to Michelle Gledhill, Costume Supervisor, and Gaby Mularczyk who supervised the painting of the set. Appreciation also goes to all the parents for their support of this event. Many people gave of their time and all were essential to the success of the show.

On Saturday, April 20, 2024, the Thomas Middle School Science Olympiad team competed in the Illinois State competition held at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. At this competition, TMS students competed against 22 other schools in their division (46 schools total) from all over Illinois. Placing 13th overall, and earning medals in a total of 7 events, our TMS team did amazing and had a blast! Here is a link to a video created to highlight our students that participated in the Science Olympiad State event this past weekend.

Click here to watch a video of this event!

Monday, 5/6: Administrative Assistants and Nurses

Tuesday, 5/7: Teacher & Teacher Assistants

Wednesday, 5/8: Custodians

Thursday, 5/9: Kitchen Staff

Friday, 5/10: All Staff PTA Luncheon P. 6,7, 8 in the Staff Lounge

On Monday, 5/13/24, TMS staff will celebrate special milestones of 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years and our retirees: Jim Grant, Maureen McDermott, & Diana O'Grady!

In addition, this year we'll be celebrating the TMS 8th Grade Class of 2020/High School Senior Graduates Class of 2024. We have over 110 High School Seniors that have signed up to return to TMS to see the staff. How great is that! Please contact jhallmark@sd25.org if you know a high school senior that would like to sign up for this event.

On Monday, May 6th, the students and staff will come together for one of our most special and cherished traditions. Our annual Pride of the Wolfpack Breakfast and Assembly honors and celebrates what it means to Be the Good and highlights the achievements of current and former TMS students. The POTWP gives scholarships to graduating seniors that attended TMS and exemplify the values of our community. During the assembly the students will have the opportunity to hear from special guest honorees about how they have found a path to success and find inspiration from their stories. We look forward to this event every year to celebrate the strong and rich community that makes up the Thomas Middle School Wolfpack.

We will be holding our first ever ABC/25 Foundation Fun Fair on Saturday, June 1st, 2024, at South Middle School.

Schedule:

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | ABC/25 Members Only Access

10:30 AM - 1:00 PM | Public Access

1:00 PM | Mascot Race

Get ready for a day of fun, games, and excitement at ABC/25's Fun Fair! Events and activities include: climbing wall, obstacle courses, dunk tank, games, concessions, a sensory-friendly area, and more!

This is NOT a drop-off event. All children MUST be accompanied by an adult. Please also leave all four-legged friends at home.

Worried about rain? We've got you covered! In the event of inclement weather, we will set up the activities indoors.

Parking is available on side streets along South Middle School and at the garage on Highland Street.

District 25 is a partner in the Link Together Coalition which gives our community access to the Glenbard Parent Series. Please check out the various Glenbard Parent Series presentations that work to engage top experts, parents and school staff to become proactive and informed in pursuit of the mutual goal to strengthen our communities. Programs are free and open to the public. No registration required.

The advanced placement process will occur in May after the school year's testing windows have closed. Percentiles on the most recent CogAT and the highest of three MAP scores will be converted to a standard score (or z-score) before averaging, which provides a standardized way to compare data. The district will also calculate local percentiles for both assessments at this time. Families will receive placement information in mid-May. Only families of students who are new qualifiers to Advanced Math (grades 4-7) and Advanced Language Arts (grades 6-8) will receive letters. If a student is enrolled in an advanced course this school year, they will automatically be enrolled for next year. Please review the FAQ document for answers to more specific questions regarding the placement process. If you still have questions after reviewing, please contact Katie Paulson at kpaulson@sd25.org.

Thanks,

The last day of school for 8th grade students is Graduation Day - Thursday, May 23rd with dismissal at 2:45 PM.

The last day of school for 6th & 7th grade students is scheduled for Friday, May 31, 2024. There will be adjusted dismissal times District-wide. Those times are as follows:

• Middle School dismissal at 1:50 pm
• Elementary School dismissal at 2:35 pm

Daily attendance at school is expected and essential to school success. Please work with us to ensure that your child is attending school each day. If support is needed, please reach out to us.

• ABSENCE REPORTING: The TMS attendance reporting options are open 24 hours a day 7 days per week. If your child is sick or unable to attend school, the parent/guardian MUST report this to the TMS office by filling out the Online Attendance Form OR calling the office at 847-398-4260 by 8 AM, the latest, on the day of the absences.

Pre-Registration is NOW open to families with incoming new and kindergarten students for next year, 2024-2025! Please begin the registration process by visiting www.sd25.org/Registration and clicking on the 2024-2025 Pre-Registration drop down.

Join the TMS PTA and help support the TMS community! Check out the TMS PTA Website.

The PTA is seeking the following positions for the 2024-2025 School Year:

• President-Elect: Be the right-hand to our current President and learn the ropes for next year!
• Membership/Directory Chair: Help keep our PTA community connected! Directory Spot won't be updated without this person.
• Reflections Chair: Unleash the inner artist in our students!
• Staff Appreciation Co-Chair: Show our amazing staff some love!
• 8th Grade Committee Co-Chair: Make those last middle school memories unforgettable!

TMS PTA meetings are held in the TMS LMC at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend! Our last meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, 5/7/24. There will be an Illinois Youth Survey Presentation at this meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

ID: 86165445408
Passcode: 410221

2023-2024 Executive Board Members

• President: Megan Puzen
• President-Elect: Kris Dugan
• Vice President: Nora Muenkel
• Treasurer: Diane Beardmore
• Secretary: Joclyn Katz

Are you willing to volunteer? Do you have a question for the PTA? Please contact the PTA at: thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com

• Physical Forms: Athletes must have a current physical BEFORE they can participate in ANY practices. Physicals are good for 13 months. Physicals can be turned in at the TMS office or uploaded to the TMS Health Office form linked here.

• Dental Forms are due by May 15th, 2024 must be dated after November 15th, 2022.

Please contact the TMS Health Office if you have any questions:

Laura Toussaint - ltoussaint@sd25.org

Stephanie Musolf - smusolf@sd25.org

• All students need to show their bus pass in order to ride the bus!
• Click here for the Bus Safety Guidelines and Rule as well as details on lost items on the bus.
• Bus Company Questions: Contact Cook Co. School Bus Company at 847- 439-0923
• Please direct bus transportation questions to the District 25 Transportation Specialist: Laura Comastro as she can answer your questions and resolve issues.

Social media concerns, incidents that occur after school hours/on the weekends, or outside of school can be reported to the SRO or you can contact the Arlington Heights Police by calling 911 or the non-emergency phone number (847) 368-5300. You can also go directly to the Police Department located at 200 E Sigwalt Street in Arlington Heights. It is open 24 hours. The SROs can be contacted as well:

• SRO: John O'Leary joleary@vah.com Cell Phone: (847) 344-2330
• SRO: Chris Seebacher cseebacher@vah.com Cell Phone (847) 368-5393

Safe2Help Illinois is a 24/7 program where students can use a free app, text/phone, and website (safe2helpil.com) to share information on school safety issues in a confidential environment. Once vetted, the information provided will be shared with local district and school officials and/or local 911 call center, depending on the nature of the information shared. Safe2Help Illinois is a long-term initiative to change the school culture in Illinois by helping students reach out when they have concerns. To learn further about Safe2Help Illinois, please see the videos below. More information can also be found on their website at safe2helpil.com. Video for Middle School Students

The TMS Office will have modified hours over winter break and will be closed on 12/26 & 1/2.

Please be sure to call before coming into the office.