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April Update
From Twin Hills Middle to the Homefront
Principal's Pen
Happy April Panther Families-
Spring is here and we are on our way to the end of the year with lots to look forward to in the next two months. Please read all the way through for lots of details.
Career Day: We are excited to host our first ever Career Day on Thursday, April 4th. This will be an opportunity for students to visit various businesses and occupations to gather more information about possible career choices.
Color Run: Hopefully you've seen our social media posts. We are excited for the big day on April 12th. Please read below for more details and ways to support!
Spring Dance: We can't wait to have our ALL grades LAST dance of the year! It will be Friday, April 19th from 6-8pm and will include our first ever PHOTO BOOTH! More information will come home soon. Your child will receive a copy of the admittance permission slip in their advisory classes. We can't wait for the fun!
8th Grade Celebration: Save the date for our 8th grade celebration party! This is a party to honor all of our hardworking 8th graders. Parents are invited and encouraged to come. No siblings please. We want this night to be focused on fun with your 8th grader!
8th Grade Promotion: Save the date for our 8th grade promotion ceremony! It will be held on June 5th at 3:00pm. The ceremony will be outside and should run about an hour. This allows for plenty of time afterward to have dinner and celebrate your hardworking student! Better make those dinner reservations soon! Our audience chairs will have seating available for approximately 4 people per 8th grade student. If you have more than four attending in your family, we ask that you bring extra chairs to sit along the side and back.
Apple Blossom Parade and Festival: Join the Twin Hills District for fun as we walk along in the parade on April 27th at 10am.
Math Placement Test for Analy: Our 8th graders will be taking their math placement test for Analy during the week of April 29-May 3rd. This will be done during their math period and should only take one period.
Olympics: The Olympics are on May 17th! We are excited to continue the tradition and have a friendly day of competition here on campus. Your child will be meeting this week with their Olympic Teams during advisory.
Olympics is a fun day for our kids, and we welcome parents to join us to watch the excitement. Please no siblings (non-Twin Hills kids). Here is a link to a Google Form sign up if you would like to help out and volunteer on the 17th. We need lots of parents to help make this a great experience.
Each Olympic team will be designing a t-shirt. These shirts will be available to purchase and then worn on Olympic Day. Look for an order form coming home with your child later this week. Forms and payment are due by April 12th. Don't miss out! Please contact the office if you need financial support.
Just a reminder, please stay connected for up to date information. Find us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) for updates regularly. Also, feel free to browse our website for more detailed information. As always, please call the office anytime with questions or concerns. We're here for you and want to help!
Sincerely,
Shawna Whitestine
Panther Pride Awards!
Our Panther Pride Awards are given when we catch any student doing something positive for themselves or someone else! After students receive the award, they enter it into a raffle box that we draw from daily. The winner is announced at lunchtime and is able to choose a prize from a fantastic reward menu! Raffle winners this month were...
6th grader- Rylan K., Jake M., Tarynn V., Emerissa J., Paige G., and Emma G.
7th grader- Timothy A., Autumn T., Evelyn M., Jon M., and Abby G.
8th grader- Kacey K., Sonia N., Kaitlyn L., Alex W., and Blake R.
Congrats to our winners! Keep up the hard work, Panthers!
Fantastic and Inspirational Trip to Washington DC with 7th and 8th Graders
It was 5 days, over 45 miles of walking, 35 spectacular stops, 49 students, 11 adults, over 50 hours of learning, and priceless memories made! Thanks to our students for their perseverance and good choices. We want to send a special shout out to our dedicated chaperones and parent volunteers! You made the trip easier and therefore... way more enjoyable! We appreciate you more than we can ever say! Next up... 2026 DC trip!
Disaster Drill Success
A special shout out to our students, families, and especially my staff and our partners at Gold Ridge Fire for a very successful disaster simulation drill last month.
State Testing Coming this Month
Our time frame for state testing will open April 8th and run through May 21st. Please do not plan family trips during this time frame. We realize emergencies happen, but if it can be avoided we appreciate it.
Schedule for tests is listed here:
April 8-19: 7th grade PE testing
April 22-26: 8th grade Science testing
April 29-May 3: All grades taking the English Performance Task
May 6-10: All grades taking the Math Performance Task
May 13-14: All grades taking the English CAT Test
May 20-21: All grades taking the Math CAT Test
Our First Ever Color Run is Almost Here!
We hope that you've been seeing our emails and social media posts about our Color Run. It's going to be great, and we hope you can be a part of it.
Any donations are greatly appreciated! You can use this link to help fundraise for individual students or scan the code to donate directly.
We also would love your help with all the fun on April 12th! Here is a link for volunteer opportunities! You don't want to miss this!
Visit from Japanese Exchange Students
We enjoyed having a visit from some Japanese exchange students in March. These students were greeted with a sign and were able to shadow some of our students for their morning classes. They enjoyed playing basketball with our students, and we even had a meet and greet with juice and cookies during break.
Sebastopol World Friends offers a program to 7th or the 8th grade students (at the time of application) attending a middle school in Sebastopol or living in Sebastopol.
Each group cycle lasts 2 years; in the first year, Takeo students visit and stay with their Sebastopol counterparts, and in the second year, Sebastopol students visit Takeo. They homestay at each other’s houses for approximately 10 days in spring, experiencing their respective cities, cultures and lifestyles. A typical exchange group consists of approximately 18 student ambassadors per city.
Sebastopol and Takeo student ambassadors are paired with one another or matched in small groupings.
If you have a current 5th and/or 6th grader and are interested in this opportunity for them, please reach out to info@sebastopolwf.org. Here is a link to their website.
It's Fiesta Time!
As you all know, our Twin Hills Apple Blossom Ed Foundation does amazing things for our kids, AND they certainly know how to throw a great party! Please check out the flyer below for more details. Here is a direct link to purchase tickets.
https://www.eventbee.com/v/spring-fiesta-auction/event?eid=235918443
Counselor Corner
Excel Summer School Opportunities
The Twin Hills Union School District is partnering with Sonoma State University to offer the popular EXCEL for Youth summer program FREE on the Apple Blossom campus. Students entering fourth through eighth grades are welcome to sign up for these exciting and engaging classes . Available spaces will be offered to Apple Blossom, Twin Hills, Orchard View, and SunRidge Schools on a first-come, first-served and proportional basis. If you are registering more than one child, please complete a separate form for each.
Please direct any questions to Melissa Jones, Apple Blossom teacher at 707-823-1041.
Session 1 July 15th-19th 9:00 am-12:00 pm
Junior Crime Fighters (Grades 5-8)
Pokemon and Anime Art (Grades 4-6)
Stop Motion Animation (All Grades)
Junior Crime Fighters (Grades 5-8)
Pokemon and Anime Art (Grades 4-6)
Stop Motion Animation (All Grades)
Session 1 July 15th-19th 1:00 pm-4:00 pm
Digital Art and Photography (All Grades)
Fencing and Archery (All Grades)
Manga and Anime Art (Grades 6-8)
S.T.E.A.M. Lab (Grades 4-6)
Digital Art and Photography (All Grades)
Fencing and Archery (All Grades)
Manga and Anime Art (Grades 6-8)
S.T.E.A.M. Lab (Grades 4-6)
Session 2 July 22nd-26th 9:00 am-12:00 pm
Edible Science (Grades 4-6)
Inventor's Workshop (All Grades)
Mission IMPROV! (Grades 6-8)
Edible Science (Grades 4-6)
Inventor's Workshop (All Grades)
Mission IMPROV! (Grades 6-8)
Session 2 July 22nd-26th 1:00 pm-4:00 pm
Artsy Animals (Grades 4-6)
Coding with Scratch (grades 5-8)
Poppins and Pan the Musical (All Grades)
Artsy Animals (Grades 4-6)
Coding with Scratch (grades 5-8)
Poppins and Pan the Musical (All Grades)
Spotlight on Classes
6th Grade Ancient History
6th graders are currently learning about the world religions of Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Students are pictured playing the Hanukkah game Dreidel.
6th Grade Earth Science
Our 6th graders have been studying earthquakes in earth science. This week they had a challenge to build a structure using hard pasta noodles and marshmallows that could hold up in a simulated earthquake (i.e. a skateboard with bungees)!
7th Grade Life Science
Our 7th Graders have been learning all things genetics! Here is a fun culminating game of Jeopardy!
7th Grade World History
Some of our 7th grade historians are learning how to write their names in Arabic
8th Grade Physical Science
Our 8th grade chemistry unit has been full of labs and experiments. Here they are learning about Ionic and Covalent Bonding.
Lunchtime Fun and Friendships
Twin Hills Apple Blossom Education Foundation News
Our amazing THABEF can use your ideas, support, and contributions!
Come be a part of the team!
Join us for our monthly meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 13th @ 4pm at Apple Blossom.
Zoom is also available: https://twinhillsusd-org.zoom.us/j/86852621847
Check out their newsletter below!
To donate while you shop:
ESCRIP
Please visit Escrip.com and add our group ID 500548660 to your account. Don't forget to visit Fircrest or Oliver's to help support THABEF.
AMAZONSMILE
Use the link below to go add THABEF to your Amazon smile account
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/68-0101000
SPORTS BASEMENT - BASEMENTEERS
Sign up at sportsbasement.com , community and join basementeers. Choose Twin Hills Apple Blossom Educational Foundation as your beneficiary
Second Cup of Coffee
Sorry April's Second Cup had to be cancelled. But please join me in May for an informal open discussion. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas to make Twin Hills a better place!
Can't make it in person?
Join us on Zoom!
https://twinhillsusd-org.zoom.us/j/83394279736?pwd=dTlKR3lUNUowazZHZE9YUW9CdXVpUT09
Meeting ID: 833 9427 9736
Passcode: 993787
Friday, May 3, 2024, 09:30 AM
Room 11 on Campus
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Upcoming Dates
Apr. 4- Career Day 9:00-11:30
Apr. 8- 3rd Quarter Report Cards mailed home
Apr. 8-12- Spirit Week Check the calendar for details
Apr. 8-19- PE testing for 7th Graders
Apr. 10- THABEF Meeting at Twin Hills Middle
Apr. 11- District Board Meeting @ 4:30
Apr. 12- Color Run 2pm-3:15pm
Apr. 19- Spring Dance 6-8pm
Apr. 20- Spring Fundraiser for THABEF @ 5-10pm
Apr. 22-26- Science Testing for 8th graders
Apr. 23- PAC meeting at 3:30
Apr. 25-26- 7th and 8th Graders learning CPR in PE
Apr. 27- Apple Blossom Parade @ 10am
Apr. 29-May 3- ELA Perf. Task for all grades
Twin Hills Charter Middle School: Home of the Panthers!
THCMS is committed to excellence. Our mission is to provide all students with an education that is academically challenging in an atmosphere of mutual caring and respect. We will provide the foundation for a life of continuous learning and prepare students to be positive contributing citizens.
Email: swhitestine@twinhillsusd.org
Website: https://www.twinhillsmiddleschool.org/
Location: 1685 Watertrough Road, Sebastopol, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 823-7446
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twinhillsmiddleschool
Community News
Summer Exploration Program for Middle School Students
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke and LSE. The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard.
The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure! To learn more, you can reach out to our Head of Growth, Khushi Malde, at khushi.malde@lumiere.education or go to our website.
Apply by April 13th or May 12th for our Summer 2024 cohort using this application link!
Expanding Your Horizons Sonoma County
Design a game! Build a dome! Build an electric motor! Learn about Medicine, Ecology, Chemistry, Light and more!
Expanding Your Horizons Sonoma County is an annual 1-day conference cosponsored by Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma State University, Community Foundation, and Soroptimist. EYH encourages 7th and 8th-grade girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Participants will attend hands-on workshops by women experts in these fields and occupations.
This year's event will be held at the Santa Rosa Junior College on April 20th. Registration is open now and closes on April 17 or when it is full. The full-day program includes lunch. While the focus is for girls, boys are welcome. Expanding Your Horizons is powered by Techbridge Girls. Techbridge Girls’ mission is to re-engineer the way STEM education is taught by equipping and galvanizing gatekeepers – out-of-school time (OST) educators and STEM professionals – with gender-responsive, culturally relevant curriculum and equity training that empowers them to act as an advocate for BIPOC girls pursuing their STEM aspirations.
We encourage students to register before Spring Break to ensure their spot! EYH also offers a workshop for parents, guardians, teachers, and chaperones.