Tamanend Connections

We hope that this edition of Tamanend Connections serves as a welcome and reference for the 2023-2024 school year. You can reference current and past editions of this newsletter under "School Links" on our website. The next edition of the newsletter will be sent out on Thursday, August 31. Our regular weekly newsletters will be sent out beginning Friday, September 8.

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! I am Brian Caughie and I am honored to serve the Tamanend community as Principal. I am excited to partner with you and your family to provide the best middle school experience possible for your children.

The middle school years represent a crucial time for learning, growth, and development. Middle school is filled with high energy, new opportunities, and excitement. At Tamanend, students, teachers, support staff, parents, and community stakeholders come together to create an environment in which each child can learn, grow, and find success. Our motto is "Tamanend Together". As a community, we work together--Tamanend Together--to build strong relationships, celebrate successes and address challenges.

Our entire staff has been working hard to prepare for the 2023-2024 school year. This year we will continue to focus on academic growth and achievement for every student by providing extra support, instructional interventions, and enrichments. Our grade-level teams and Student Services Department will collaborate to help students navigate mental wellness and behavioral issues. We will reinforce the tenets of our school-wide positive behavioral support system "Earn Your Stripes". We are very excited to welcome everyone back to Tamanend for the 2023-2024 school year. We look forward to working together for a school year filled with growth, accomplishments, and celebrations.

Tamanend is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive experience at our school. We work hard to ensure that we have financial supports in place for families in need. Please be aware that we can help with the following resources:

• Food--pantry with healthy snacks and personal care items available all day in the Library; meals to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Student Services Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office); weekend food packages to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Student Services Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office)
• Clothing
• Technology fees
  
• Internet access
• Field trips, school supplies, fees
• Holiday gifts

If your family experiences a financial hardship, please feel free to email one of the staff members below so that we may help:

Brian Caughie (Principal) bcaughie@cbsd.org

Kyle Dudley (Assistant Principal) kdudley@cbsd.org

Lauren Myrtetus (Certified School Nurse) lmyrtetus@cbsd.org

Jeff Klein (School Counselor and Athletic Director) jklein@cbsd.org

Mandy Cammann (School Counselor) mcammann@cbsd.org

Meghan Piergangeli (School Counselor) mpierangeli@cbsd.org

Raquel Riad (School Social Worker) rariad@cbsd.org

Andrea Consoletti (Student Services Secretary) aconsoletti@cbsd.org

As Principal, I look forward to working with you and your family this year. We are fortunate to have phenomenal staff and faculty members who are here to support your children. We hope that your child can join us for our open house on Friday, August 25 (details below). During this open house, students can informally tour the building, meet other students, find their lockers, decorate their lockers (if they wish), and find their classrooms.

Best wishes and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Sincerely,

Brian D. Caughie, Ed.D.

Principal

Tamanend Middle School

MyPaymentsPlus Opens for Technology Fee Payments--Monday, August 14 (details below)

Middle School Student Schedules Released on Parent Portal--Friday, August 25 at 8:00 AM (details below)

Tamanend Open House--Friday, August 25; 8:00--10:00 reserved for 7th Graders; 10:00--4:00 open to all 7th, 8th, 9th Graders (details below)

Deadline for 7th and 8th Graders to Register for Fall Sports--Tuesday, August 29 at 8:00 AM (details below)

Welcome Back Newsletter--to be released Thursday, August 31

First Day of School for Students--Tuesday, September 5

First Regular Newsletter for 2023-2024--to be released Friday, September 8

7th Grade Back to School Night--Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 PM

Tamanend Student Picture Day--Friday, September 15

8th & 9th Grade Back to School Night--Thursday, September 21 at 7:00 PM

Early Dismissal--Friday, September 29

Welcome Back Dance--Friday, September 29 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Deadline to Complete Annual Student Information Update in Portal--Saturday, September 30 (details below)

On Friday, August 25, Tamanend will be open for students and families.

8:00 AM until 10:00 AM is reserved for 7th Graders and other students who are new to our school. Any student (7th, 8th or 9th Graders) may attend any time from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. During this open house, students can informally tour the building, meet other students, find their lockers, decorate their lockers (if they wish), and find their classrooms. Students from the National Junior Honors Society (NJHS) will be available to help students navigate the building.

Please note that the Parent and Student Portals, which provide schedule information, will open on August 25 at 8:00 AM. This is where students will be able to find their class schedules.

Student schedules will be available on the Portal starting Friday, August 25 at 8:00 AM.

Click here to view the 7th Grade School Supply List and Welcome Letter

Click here to view the 8th Grade School Supply List and Welcome Letter

Click here to view the 9th Grade School Supply List and Welcome Letter

Reminder: Students should purchase a lock for their Gym locker on MyPaymentsPlus.

Please note: We have a limited amount of school supplies available free of charge at Tamanend. Please feel free to stop by Tamanend's Main Office Mondays through Thursdays from 8:00--4:00 if you would like to select supplies for your child.

7th Grade BTSN will be held Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 pm

8th and 9th Grade BTSN will be held Thursday, September 21 at 7:00 pm

We hope your child is looking forward to a new school year. Family ID is currently open for FALL SPORTS registration. All 7th and 8th Grade students interested in playing a Fall sport for Tamanend this year must be registered on the Family ID web site by 8:00am on Tuesday, August 29th. Information that pertains to practices/tryouts and seasons will only be distributed to those who are registered on Family ID. For those new to middle school sports, there will usually be practices/games Monday through Thursday during each season, with an occasional Friday practice/game. Practices begin between 2:45 and 3:00 and typically end between 4:30 and 4:45. Student athletes are bussed to and from away games and are to be picked up upon return to Tamanend. Student athletes are to be picked up at the end of each practice as there is no late bus. Additional information will be communicated by me and individual coaches as the season approaches.

All student athletes must have completed PIAA physicals uploaded to Family ID prior to the start of the Fall sports season. The PIAA physical forms can be found HERE. Additional items are outlined and explained on the Tamanend Athletics web page.

• Voluntary summer workouts will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00-4:30, beginning Monday, August 14th, on Tamanend's back fields. Cleats and water are all that is required to participate. Please keep in mind that there is no requirement to attend these workouts, and family activities, vacations, etc. should not be rearranged in order to attend. Questions should be directed to Coach Cape (jcape@ymcabhc.org) or Coach Kollock (wkollock@cbsd.org).
• Helmet/equipment distribution is scheduled for Wednesday, August 30th. 8th Graders are to report to Tamanend’s gym between 4:00 and 4:30, and 7th Graders are to report to Tamanend’s gym between 4:30 and 5:00. That day’s voluntary workout time will be adjusted accordingly and communicated as the time gets closer. Players unable to attend on the 30th will get their equipment at the beginning of the school year.

A breakdown of the sports we offer, by season, may be found below:

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Klein at (jklein@cbsd.org).

Jeff Klein

School Counselor

Athletic Director

Note: Families can't pay for the laptop 1 to 1 agreement until August 14. This message is a preview.

Dear Central Bucks Families:

We hope that you had a relaxing summer. Our team is gearing up for the 2023-24 school year which includes handing out student laptops.

The Technology and Innovation Department is excited to kick off our student device distribution. All Central Bucks’ students will either receive a device this year or continue to use the device that was issued last year. Below is a chart that lists the device that will be issued by grade level as well as the cost of the usage fee. The distribution date will be sent to you by your school.

Even if your child has his/her own device, we are asking that you participate in our program to allow for a consistent learning platform for our students. All students in a grade level will receive a device equipped with: internet filtering, software, tech support for break/fix, and access to instructional tools and resources used by our teachers. You can learn more on our FAQ page: https://www.cbsd.org/Page/38121

First Steps for Families:

The first step prior to distribution is to enroll online and pay a usage fee. The usage fee covers the at-home and in-school use of a device, a charger, and insurance for accidental breaks. We have different pricing structures for elementary students as they will pay $15 a year and secondary families will pay $60 in 7th grade and $60 in 10th grade. Each payment for secondary will be good for three years. We have prorated payments for all secondary students who are new to Central Bucks.

Who has to pay the fee?

All students in grades 3-6, 7, 10 and new families* must complete the steps below prior to receiving a device.

*New students to Central Bucks in secondary will pay a prorated fee. 8th and 11th grade students will pay $40. 9th and 12th grade students will pay $20. These students will complete the user agreement and bring a check made out to CBSD Schools to the device pick-up.

What steps does a family need to take prior to device handout?

1. Beginning on August 14th, all families in grades 3-12 should visit: https://www.cbsd.org/1to1
2. Parent/Guardian and Student will click on and read the 1:1 Handbook.
3. Parent/Guardian signs the user agreement and pays* the user fee via MyPaymentsPlus (MPP). Upon submitting the fee and MPP agreement, you are confirming that you have reviewed the information with your child.

The Fee Table (see below):

*Please note that the fee is reduced for families who are economically disadvantaged. You will see the balance as $0 when entering MPP. All families still need to complete steps 1-3 even if the balance is $0. Additionally, new procedures for Free and Reduced guidelines are being established and sent out next week.

**If you were not given a bag last year, the school can provide one for you. Students in grade 3 will receive a new bag this year.

More Questions?

If you are able to submit a Help Desk ticket for technical questions do so here.

Thank you for your support with the handout this year. We hope that you have an amazing year with your child. On behalf of the Technology and Innovation Department, good luck on the first day of school.

Sincerely,

CB Technology & Innovation Department

We would like to take this opportunity to update everyone on Tamanend's cell phone policy. It is important that cell phones be turned off and put away during the school day so that students can focus on learning and interacting appropriately with their peers. For some students this will be a change, and will will work through this together.

Cell phones and other electronic communication devices must be turned off and kept out of sight during the hours of 7:30 am and 2:30 pm, including at lunch time and between classes. Students will not be permitted to use their cell phones during the school day, unless instructed by an adult for educational purposes. You can read the entire school district policy by clicking this link: Active Policies - 20 Welden Drive | Doylestown, PA 18901 | Phone 267-893-2000 BoardDocs® Plus and searching for policy #829.1.

We understand that periodically, parents must get important messages to their children. Parents may call the Main Office at 267-293-2900 to relay important information. In addition, students may use the Main Office phone to contact their parents to convey important messages. We greatly appreciate your support of this policy. It is very important that we work together to help students focus on learning and limit distractions and disruptions caused by cell phone use during the academic day.

For the 23-24 school year, students will not permitted to carry their backpacks throughout the day. They will be required to use their lockers to house their backpacks, lunches, and other materials. Students will have access to their lockers at designated times throughout the day. Locks are built into our lockers. Students will have the opportunity to practice opening their lockers during our open house on August 25 and on the first day of school.

On Monday, June 5, 2023 we instituted a new morning drop-off/traffic pattern at Tamanend. We will continue with this pattern for the 23-24 school year as we found it reduce wait time for buses, car riders, and staff entering our parking lots in the mornings. This is an explanation of the traffic pattern we will continue to follow. In the morning only, car riders will use the “bus loop” and ONLY busses and staff members will be allowed to enter the Main entrance. Car riders should pull up as far as possible in the unloading zone, but may drop off their children anywhere along the sidewalk. We will continue to encourage drivers to enter the school property from the Kelly Road side so that they may make a right-hand turn on to the property. For the afternoon, parents picking up their children will utilize the Main entrance and busses will utilize the “bus loop”.

Any discussion of traffic patterns provides a good opportunity to remind everyone in our community about the importance of driving safely around our school. We have many students who walk to and from school. Some of our students must cross Stuckert Road in the mornings and afternoons. Please remember the speed limit on our property and in the school zone on Stuckert Road is 15 miles per hour. Please be mindful of the stop sign on Stuckert Road at the intersection with Herblew Road. Thank you in advance for driving safely and for watching closely for our students who walk to school.

TAMANEND MORNING TRAFFIC PATTERN--

Tamanend Middle School empowers students to grow academically, socially and emotionally. Students, staff, and families work collaboratively to model the acronym ROAR.

Respect yourself, others, and property.

Own your behaviors.

Act appropriately.

Remember Kindness.

We believe that a caring, positive school culture and learning environment foster respectful, thoughtful, appropriate, and kind citizens.

In order to operationalize our mission, Tamanend utilizes a school-wide positive behavioral intervention and support plan (SWPBIS). This plan helps us establish a social culture in which students expect and support appropriate behavior from one another— creating school environments that are socially predictable, consistent, safe, and positive. This helps to reduce problem behaviors that lead to office discipline referrals and suspensions, and to change perceptions of school safety.

You can read more about Earn Your Stripes here.

Here is a list of ways Tamanend communicates with students, families, and the community:

• Tamanend website: includes important information, resources, calendar of school events, and daily announcements
• Calendar of school events (posted on our website)
• Daily announcements are posted here each morning on the Tamanend website.
  
• TV show (weekly, during Advisory period)
• Email blasts from Tamanend administration regarding important news, new procedures, and reminders
• Parent Portal: student information, grades, and attendance
• Tamanend Connections newsletter: useful information, important reminders, and school highlights emailed weekly during school year and posted on Tamanend website
• Twitter: @CBTamanendMS highlights of activities, events, and daily life at Tamanend
• CBSD app: highlights of activities, events, and daily life in Central Bucks
  

Daily announcements are posted each morning on the Tamanend website. You can access them through the website here. If you prefer to have the daily announcements emailed to you directly each morning, please email Mrs. Patti Hartz at phartz@cbsd.org to be added to the daily announcement email distribution list.

¡Bienvenidos a Tamanend! Yo soy Brian Caughie, Director de Tamanend Middle School. Soy hispanohablante. Pasé mucho de mi vida en España. Estoy aquí para apoyarles a todos los estudiantes y familias en Tamanend. Favor de llamarme or escribirme (en inglés o en español) si Ud. tiene cualquier duda o pregunta.

Correo electrónico: bcaughie@cbsd.org

Oficina: (267) 893-2900

Pennsylvania law requires all persons having direct contact with school children to obtain background checks and clearances. If you are planning on volunteer in in a Central Bucks school during the 2022-2023 school year, you will need to go to Volunteer Required Paperwork, and complete what is needed to be an approved volunteer in our school. Thank you!

Students eat lunch with their grade-level classmates. 7th Grade lunch is after 4th Period. 8th Grade lunch is after 5th Period. 9th Grade lunch is after 3rd Period.

Families can access the online application for Free & Reduced Meals by clicking here. The application must be submitted each year. If your child received free or reduced lunch last year, you must re-apply for the 23-24 school year if you wish to be eligible for this program.

We received a donation of brand new backpacks. If you would like one for your child, please email one of the following staff members and we will set one aside for you:

Brian Caughie, Principal bcaughie@cbsd.org

Patti Hartz, Secretary phartz@cbsd.org

Andrea Consoletti aconsoletti@cbsd.org

Students are not required to purchase a CBSD issued physical education uniform; however, students will be required to change into athletic attire and sneakers to participate safely and practice good hygiene. Student attire must adhere to the dress code guidelines presented in the student handbook. CB locks will still be required to purchase to ensure personal items are secured in a locker. Locks are available for purchase on MyPaymentsPlus.

For supervision and safety reasons, students may not be dropped off at school before 7:10 a.m. If you are driving your student to school and arrive before 7:10, please remain in your car with your student until 7:10 a.m.

We will run a special schedule on the first day of school. 7th Graders should report to the Auditorium upon arriving at school.

The regular school day is from 7:30--2:30.

7:10: Students may be dropped off at Tamanend.

7:10--7:20*: 7th Graders wait in the Auditorium; 8th Graders wait in the Cafeteria; 9th Graders wait in Main Gym

7:20: Classrooms open to students

7:27: Reminder bell rings

7:30: First period classes begin

*Breakfast is available to students in all grades beginning at 7:10 in the Cafeteria.

You may report your child's absence in any of the following ways:

• Phone (Attendance hotline): 267-893-2920
• Written note to be turned in to Main Office
• Through Portal. Click here to learn how to report student absences through Portal.
  

Tamanend is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive experience at our school. We work hard to ensure that we have financial supports in place for families in need. Please be aware that we can help with the following resources:

• Food--pantry with healthy snacks and personal care items available all day outside of Guidance; meals to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Guidance Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office); weekend food packages to take home (students and/or parents and guardians can contact Mrs. Consoletti in the Guidance Office or Mrs. Myrtetus in the Health Office)
• Clothing
• Internet access
• Field trips, school supplies, fees
• Holiday gifts

If your family experiences a financial hardship, please feel free to email one of the staff members below so that we may help:

Brian Caughie (Principal) bcaughie@cbsd.org

Kyle Dudley (Assistant Principal) kdudley@cbsd.org

Lauren Myrtetus (Certified School Nurse) lmyrtetus@cbsd.org

Jeff Klein (Guidance Counselor and Athletic Director) jklein@cbsd.org

Mandy Cammann (Guidance Counselor) mcammann@cbsd.org

Andrea Consoletti (Guidance Secretary) aconsoletti@cbsd.org

Tamanend students make a difference in our community. Share your story about the accomplishments and good work of a Tamanend student with Dr. Caughie at bcaughie@cbsd.org so that he may highlight this good news in an upcoming edition of Tamanend Connections.

Email: tms@cbsd.org
Website: http://www.cbsd.org/Domain/25
Location: 1492 Stuckert Road, Warrington, PA
Phone: 267.893.2900