Timber Wolf Times

Dear Trailside Families,

We are just two full weeks away from the end of the third quarter and spring break. Please check in with your students to make sure they are up to date with turning in assignments and make up work. The rigor in both instruction and assessment has increased over the past quarter and will continue for the fourth quarter. As we are recovering more and more from the learning loss, students should be experiencing more challenging learning. This is a good thing. Along with more challenging learning and assessments, we will also see less A's and more B and C grades. Please understand that our focus should be on the learning and not on grades.

All my best,

Bridget M. Beichler

At Trailside, our school wide expectation is that phones are off and away in lockers throughout the day. We have found that with phones off and away, we have minimized learning interference and behavior incidences. We have very little discipline associated with phones, texting, social media posting, picture taking, etc. during the school day compared to other middle schools. While this may not be the most popular expectation, we do feel that it is in the best interest of each student and for their learning. We are asking parents to support our school expectation by directing your student to keep their phone off and away and not to be texting your student during the learning day. If you have an emergency and need to reach your child, please call the main office. Students also know that they can access the house phone if they need to contact home.

Ear pods and headphones are very popular and also expensive. We are experiencing an increase of students wearing ear pods during the day and connecting to their phones. We are also having more students report lost ear pods. We will be speaking with students about the expectation of head phones and ear pods should only be used in the classroom for specific instructional activities. We appreciate your supporting our expectations.

Mask Breaks will be discontinued after spring break. Students who are wearing masks, will be allowed to take an individual mask break when necessary.

3/24/2022 Newsletter Updates Counseling

Please see the Student Assistance Services Newsletter for March on information on finding the right treatment service, as well as various educational and support resources pertaining to substance use and trends in teens.

Compass & SEL Learning

Please find below what your student discussed in Compass the week of March 21st and some questions to discuss with your student.

6th Grade

• In this week’s lesson, your child created a storyboard (a visual plan for a video) that will inform their peers about the benefits of using emotion-management strategies.

• Ask to see your child’s storyboard. If they can’t bring it home, ask them to describe it to you.

7th Grade

• This week, your child practiced a strategy called positive self-talk to help them reframe unhelpful thoughts.

• Ask your child to explain what “negativity bias” is. Share with each other one or more good things that happened today.

8th Grade

• In this week’s lesson, your child learned some strategies for managing stress. These strategies include: slow breathing, reframing unhelpful thoughts, positive self-talk, and progressive muscle relaxation.

• Ask your child what makes them feel stressed and how they cope with that stress. Share your own stressors and helpful ways you manage stress.

What’s Happening in the Library?

Our Read Across Trailside Week caught many students reading. The following students’ names were picked from all the entries. Congratulations to all the students who were selected.

8th grade

Ashleigh Allen,Nate Clements, Owen Horne, Emily Pisarev,Katie Smith.

7th grade

Sarah Bikindu Makanka,Jackson Boswell,Jaideep Chawan,Owen Dayton,Evie Dorroh,Deetya Enugala,Nandini Kosoor,Justin Ludwig,Isabella Regal,Eliza Reif,

6th grade

Yusuf Ali,Adam Boukdir,Max Lausten,Calvin Quinn,Dominic Ruby

This month the Library is hosting a Women’s History display for Women’s History month. This display includes books about notable women who have made an impact across the USA and the world.

Our 6th grade classes have been enjoying Breakout box activities in March. Last week the history classes concluded their American Revolution Breakout box with Ms. Levesque. The lesson featured the Culper Spy Ring and Anna Smith Strong who was an integral part of the Culper Spy Ring. She was known for signaling members that there was information to be passed to General George Washington by hanging out her laundry in different configurations. Visit this link for more information on Anna Smith Strong and other women who spied during the American Revolution. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/revolutionary-spies

Earlier in the year, Mrs. Kling led a science based lockbox activity in the library for the 6th grade classes. Next up is 6th grade math who will be participating in a breakout box activity in their classrooms that was created by Mrs. Kling. We have gotten great feedback from teachers and students on these activities and we look forward to creating more breakout boxes for other subjects and grade levels.

We received our second large shipment of new books this year. We continue to try to diversify our library collection by adding books about different cultures and ethnicities. The demand for Graphic Novels among our students is high and as such we have expanded our Graphic Novel selections by ordering graphic novels that appeal to, and are age relevant for our students.

Do you have any beads or rainbow loom supplies that your children no longer show interest in that you would like to donate to the library for our makerspace area? We’ve noticed that our students enjoy crafting and creating and we would love to offer bracelet making in our makerspace area in April or May. Although we do have some limited supplies, we have learned that these types of activities are very popular and we would like to be able to offer the opportunity to more students. We are in need of plastic beads, elastic bracelet string, rainbow loom rubber bands, C & S clips (for the rainbow loom bracelets), and any looms for the rainbow loom. We have also created a Trailside Library Wishlist on Amazon for anyone who would like to make a donation that way.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1DCUYNGNY58FJ?ref_=wl_share

EARLY DISMISSALS

Please report early dismissals via ParentVUE or by sending an email to TMSattendance@lcps.org. We ask that you notify us at least 2 hours in advance of the dismissal time. Dismissals after 3pm are highly discouraged due to the end of day dismissal and the congestion of the parking lot at that time.

Yearbook News

Calling all Trailside Siblings! We will be featuring sibling pairs or groups that are currently attending Trailside Middle School. Please contact either Ms. Sunshine @ Sunshine.Ricketts@lcps.org or Ms. Levesque @ Anida.Levesque@lcps.org if you would like for your children to be featured in the yearbook. We can either take the pictures at school or you can email us a picture. Please include the following information:

Grade level & Children’s names.

Spring Break: April 11-15th

Teacher work day, no school for students: April 18th

Friday, April 29th,7th grade dance 7:00-9:00 PM

Saturday, April 30th, 8th grade dance 7:00-9:00 PM

The SCA will be holding a Virtual Talent Show again this year. See the attached information: Virtual Talent Show. They have until April 19, 2022 to submit their entries. Please make sure you follow the criteria and submit your entries to the person listed in the information. Let's showcase our talented students!

The SCA is hosting a spring collection to support Loudoun County Animal Shelter and Friends of Homeless Animals. See the attached information: Animal Shelter Service Project. There are links included should you prefer to donate via Amazon and also specific items the shelters can use. Boxes will be in the house office area to collect other items included in the slides that students bring in. The collection will finish on April 4, 2022. Thanks for your support!

We will not be doing a mass order of HPE gear for next year, if you would like you child to have HPE; you must pre-order .

• To Pre-Order a PE Uniform: https://tinyurl.com/TMS-PE-Uniforms
• To PAY for a Pre-Ordered PE Uniform: https://tinyurl.com/TMS-PE-Uniform-PAYMENT

SCA Spirit Days

A very easy and simple way to support our school is to link your Harris Teeter VIC card to our school. Our school code is 2529. Out of over 1100 parents, we have 62 links to our account.

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Email: bridget.beichler@lcps.org
Website: https://www.lcps.org/Trailside
Location: 20325 Claiborne Parkway, Ashburn, VA, USA
Phone: 571 252 2280
Twitter: @TrailsideMiddleSchool

https://trailsidetimberwolves.itemorder.com/sale

Arrival: 8:10-8:30 AM

Late Bell: 8:35 AM (students are tardy if arriving after the bell and will need to report to the main office for a tardy pass)

Dismissal: 3:23 PM

We have planned to have only 850 yearbooks processed based on order requests from past years. Please know pre-ordered yearbooks have increased over the past weeks. If you wish to have a yearbook, please order one today!

Only 800 copies have been ordered, if you wish to secure a yearbook, please order ASAP! Supplies are running out