FROM THE DESK OF MR. LUPO Tolt Middle School

Tolt Middle School
October 2014
425-844-4600
3740 Tolt Avenue
Carnation, WA 98014
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Important Phone
Numbers
Main Office:
425-844-4600
Attendance Office:
425-844-4606
Counseling Office:
425-844-4607
Office Hours
7:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
2014-2015 Calendar
Table of Contents
From the Desk of Mr.
Lupo
CHS Football Games
Tolt Sports
Magazine Drive
FROM THE DESK OF
MR. LUPO
Start of the Year
Thank you to all who showed up for our Curriculum Night on
September 11th! It was great to get to meet so many parents. I am
really trying hard to get to know kid's names and talk to as many
as possible during the common times, especially our new 6th
graders -there are so many! Hopefully your kids have made a
comment about that and take notice. I believe it is important to be
visible and accessible to kids and it is always been one of my
major goals as a Principal, no matter what building or district I
have worked in. Building relationships is important in an
educational setting, because students have to "Know you care,
before they care what you know."
Going forward I encourage parents to be in contact with your
child's teachers and help to keep that line of communication
open. It is best to do this through email, but if phone calls are how
you communicate, call and leave a message with the teacher and
they will get back to you during their prep or after school. Many
teachers are sending out messages through Skyward Family
Access or have links to their own Edublogs, so look for those
when you access the Tolt website. It is important for parents to
work together with teachers to clarify questions and solve
problems or miscommunications before calling the counselor or
Attendance
administration. This helps build a positive and collaborative
working relationship.
Bus Arrangements
Counseling
Food Services
Conferences
TSA
Library Connections
Nurse's Corner
Boxtops/Soup Labels
PTSA
Calendar of Events
Quick Links
Register Now
Family Access
Tolt Middle School
Website
Learning Resource
Center
Check grades weekly
with your student at:
I am always impressed with the way kids settle into the school
routine. Our new 6th graders have picked up things really quickly
with very few hiccups and our veteran students are hitting the
ground running this year while providing good role modeling for
the younger students. The education and school work expectations
are starting to become apparent, so parents please keep asking
your kids about their day, asking what they did or learned each
period. This will usually jog their memory if they have
homework. Also ask to see their planner and whether they have
been keeping track of their assignments and due dates. Have the
student get on their Skyward access account and show you their
grades. It is important that we work on getting students to be
responsible for their own learning, so they can build a reliable
work ethic and learn how to set priorities. That sense of
responsibility is a cornerstone of what middle school is
about. Kids at this age struggle with managing their time and
completing tasks, be it homework or putting away the
laundry. This is that junction point in life were those skills
become important and we need to teach them how to be more
responsible for themselves, not just school work wise, but even
socially with their peers and how they treat each others when
disagreements crop up. As parents and teachers it is our role to set
these guidelines and then give children a place to practice that in
the community while we monitor their progress over
time. Believe me, it isn't easy and change will not happen
overnight, but the work is important not only for your child's
future well being, but also for their larger role in society. My word
of advice is stay the course and make sure they do the required
assignments on their own; the lesson they learn is much more
important than the grade on the paper. The only way we learn is
from the mistakes we make and we had to make the mistake to
learn.
tms.riverview.wednet.edu
Click: Online
Grade Check
CHS Football Games
Tolt Students have their own section for seating at the Cedarcrest
Football games. The section is located right next to the CHS
student section, so kids can dress up in the school colors and help
support the Red Wolves. All TMS students are expected to be
ACTIVITY BUS
SCHEDULE!!!
Mon. & Wed. bus
leaves Tolt @ 4:45
Tues. bus leaves Tolt @
4:15
1st stop
is Stillwater Church
2nd stop is CHS
3rd stop is 2nd &
Stevens
TMS is collecting GM
Boxtops and Campbells
Soup Labels.
Help our school earn
extra $$$$
Turn them into your 6th
period teacher. The
class that turns in the
most will receive hot
cookies!
seated in the stands and not playing in the area around the
concession stand or in front of the bleachers near the track. I will
be at the games helping the CHS Administration and Staff with
supervision and will be making my presence known to those Tolt
students who are playing around and not following the rules. We
have a number of spectators comment to us about the problems of
middle school and younger students running around and how it
makes watching the game a challenge. Like it or not we need to
enforce the rules so that the games are enjoyable for all of us to
watch!! Reminder to parents: Due to safety concerns, all students
in middle school or younger must be accompanied by their
parents/guardians to and during games at Cedarcrest High
School. Students at these games without their parents could be
denied entry or removed from the event. We do not believe that
having one parent in charge of several kids is in the best interest of
safety, but if that is the case please make sure that the students are
seated in the bleachers and following the basic rules of spectator
behavior. Again, this will make attending these events more
enjoyable for everyone.
Tolt Sports
Hey, Thunderbirds! Have you caught any volleyball action yet
this season? Bring a friend and come out to watch a volleyball
match. There are games in the gym after school on October 6th,
8th and 9th and an activity bus on each of these days for your
transportation needs. If you miss that week, there are matches the
following week. Get out and get involved in your school's
activities and come support the Tolt Thunderbird volleyball teams!
Our season 2 sports will begin on Monday, October 27, 2014.
Wrestling for boys and basketball for girls are the sports offered
during season 2. Please be sure all paperwork is in if your student
would like to participate. If your student has already participated
in a season 1 sport, you do not need to fill out the paperwork
again. All forms can be found on the Tolt website or picked up in
the main office.
Tolt Magazine Drive Starts Oct. 2!
Thursday, October 2nd is the start of the Tolt Middle School
Annual Magazine Fundraiser. All money earned through the sales
of magazine subscriptions goes entirely to support Tolt Associated
Student Body activities. These funds help provide the school with
resources for athletics, like paying for uniforms and officials, after
school socials, student reward incentives like Tolt Bucks and
student of the month celebrations, the transition event for
5th graders in the spring, school assemblies, and many other
activities that enrich the middle school experience. Families can
order magazines as well some great photo memory products by
going directly to the Great American website, or by completing
their student's order form. The sale officially runs from October 223, 2014.
Thank you for your help with supporting Tolt students!
Clarification of Excused
Absences/Attendance
The administration and staff at TMS, along with the Riverview
School District and the State of Washington believe that regular
attendance is key to student's educational success. For this reason
the powers that be have defined what are considered excused
absences/tardies. It is important for parents to understand that for
the educational process to be most effective it is imperative to
have your child at school on time and ready to learn. Please notify
our attendance Secretary, Tammy Helms (844-4606) when you
have one of the six (6) following absence excuses so that they can
be entered into our system correctly.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Illness (please call the attendance secretary to report an
absence)
Unavoidable Doctor/Dental Appointments
Family Emergencies/Funeral
Court Summons/Detention
Vacations/Trips
Prearranged Absences
o To be obtained for absences of 3 or more complete
school days
o Excused pre-planned absences will be based on the
above criteria.
Bus Arrangements and Information
Alternate bus arrangements will only be allowed with a signed
note from the parent/guardian. Students need to bring those notes
to the Attendance Office before school or during their lunch at the
latest on the day they need their bus pass. Students will not be
allowed to make phone calls to arrange an alternate bus route;
district policy states that students must have written permission to
ride a different route, phone calls from a parent cannot be accepted
as a substitute, but an email will be taken provided it is in
time. This request could still be denied by Transportation if the
alternate bus route is full and would exceed bus capacity limits.
Added Activity Bus
Tolt Middle School received a generous donation from the Irwin
Realty Group to fund a Thursday Activity Bus to go along with
our Monday and Wednesday buses for the 2014-15 school
year. This should be helpful to parents and the bus runs on the
same 4:45 p.m. schedule during the Sports Season as the Monday
and Wednesday buses. We still have a Tuesday club bus that
leaves at 4:15 p.m. and that has not changed.
Counseling Office
As school counselors at Tolt Middle School, we support students
with personal/social concerns, academic challenges and career
awareness. We want to take this opportunity to inform you of a
program we present in your child's 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
classrooms. We started presentations the week of September
22nd, with the first lesson from a program called Student Success
Skills. The purpose of the Student Success Skills curriculum is to
teach students skills in four areas:
1) Creating an encouraging classroom
2) Learning cognitive/memory strategies
3) Handling stress and anxiety
4) Building healthy optimism
You can find more information on the program at
http://www.studentsuccessskills.com.
We encourage you to check with your students to find out what
they learned from our classroom presentations and how these skills
will help them in middle school and beyond!
Food Services/Lunch Money
We always have few struggles with students who do not have
enough lunch money or their account is low. Students are notified
orally by the lunchroom staff when their account is low, and this
information is also posted under the food service tab on Skyward
Family Access. I realize that information does not always get
back to you as a parent, so be asking regularly if they need lunch
money or check your child's account on Skyward Family
Access. You can also go into Family Access and set up email
reminders to come to you if the lunch account goes below
$6.50. Regular lunch costs $3.25 so try to calculate when you
would need to replenish money on the account and use eFunds to
do that with your debit or credit card.
Conferences Approaching
Parent/Teacher conferences are just around the corner. They will
be held Friday, November 21st, Monday, November 24th, and
Tuesday, November 25th. Each of those days will be a half-day
dismissal from Tolt at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, November 27th
will also be a half day with dismissal at 11:40 for Thanksgiving
Break. This year we have coordinated with the High School and
Elementary Schools so the evening conferences are not all on the
same night. Tolt will be having evening conferences on Tuesday,
November 25th. Conferences will still follow the arena
conference format as it is the only way we can meet with the
number of parents that are requesting conference time. More
details about conferences will be in next month's newsletter.
TSA (Technology Student Association)
Tolt Middle School students can join the school's Technology
Student Association, or TSA, which offers Tolt students a chance
to explore media arts and engineering skills. Meeting roughly
twice each month after school, students can solve technology
problems and prepare for competitions in state and national
conferences.
At the state competition in Bellevue last March, Tolt TSA students
brought home plaques in nearly every event they competed
in. Students competed in areas of animation, promotional design,
manufacturing prototypes, video production, problem solving, and
video game design. They also competed in digital photography,
website design, desktop publishing, prepared speech, and general
technology knowledge.
TSA also offers students the opportunity to travel to the east
coast each June to compete at the national TSA conference. This
year's competition takes place in Dallas, TX. The sixth year of the
Tolt TSA will begin in October, with its membership drive taking
place all month. Interested 6th, 7th, and 8th graders can contact
Mr. Klune for membership information. The first meeting will
happen October 7 from 3 pm to 4 pm in L911. Students will be
able to take the activity bus home after at 4:15 pm. Fees that cover
membership for the local, state, and national chapters are $25.
Library Connections
October 12th - 18th is Teen Read Week - "Turn Dreams into
Reality"
Come to the LRC to find a book to help you out! We've got books
about careers, how to be a successful student, inspirational stories,
and all sorts of how-to books. (Have you dreamed of making a
duct tape purse or wallet? Baking some fabulous
cupcakes? Going on a camping trip? Starting a band? One of our
books can show you how!)
Overdue books: Parents/Guardians, please encourage students to
renew library books to avoid late fees. Students can log in to their
library account online to see when their books are due.
Maker Space: Parents/Guardians - Are you a maker? Are you
interested in the maker movement? We're interested in starting up
a maker space. We aren't quite sure what it would look like and
are in the very beginning stages. If you're interested in being
involved, please contact us in the library.
Book Fair coming! Help support our library! Please take time to
stop by our book fair during conferences. Your support helps us
purchase more books for our library. Please contact us at the
library if you are interested in helping either with the book fair or
just in general.
Library contact info: 425.844.4637 or
[email protected]
Nurse's Corner
Many students have already missed school for illnesses and it is
important to remind our children how to stay healthy. The
following facts may help us talk with our kids:
• Up to 80% of infections are transmitted by our hands
• Germs can live on hands and surfaces for a long time
• Regular hand washing can prevent the spread of illness
• Many of us don't wash our hands as often as we should
• When washing hands, we should use warm water, lather
with soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds (or the time it takes
to recite the ABC's twice), and either air dry or use a paper
towel. The paper towel can be used to turn off the faucet
and to open the door.
• Kids should always wash their hands after using the
bathroom and before eating
• If soap and water are unavailable, a hand sanitizer that
contains at least 60% alcohol may be used.
• For a fun video about hand washing see
http://www.cdc.gov/CDCTV/HandsTogether/index.html
How can enterovirus D68 infection be prevented?
There is no vaccine for enterovirus infections. These tips help
prevent the risk for infection:
Wash your own and your child's hands often with soap and
warm water. (There is some evidence that hand washing is
better than alcohol hand sanitizers at killing
enteroviruses).
• Wash for at least 20 seconds. Children should sing their
ABCs twice in a row while washing their hands to ensure
the proper length of time
Follow this link to view the full article.
•
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME OR
WHEN YOUR CHILD MIGHT BE SENT HOME
•
•
•
•
•
•
Students with a fever of 100 degrees F or higher should
stay home for at least 24 hours and not attend school until
fever-free, for 24 hours, without fever-reducing
medications.
Students with a cough or sore throat, especially with a
fever, should stay home from school until at least 24 hours
after flu-like symptoms have resolved
Vomiting or diarrhea, until symptom free for 24 hours
Pink eye, with or without drainage, until treated
Lice, nits (lice eggs), or scabies until treated and nit/lice
free
Body rash
Hearing/Vision Screening
Tolt will be holding vision and hearing screening for all 7th grade
students on Wednesday, October 22 during students' Social
Studies classes.
Thank you for talking with your children and for helping us keep
students healthy!
Laura Collinwood BSN, RN, NCSN
[email protected]
425-844-4662
Boxtops/Campbell's Soup Labels and the
Golden Ticket!
Be sure to have your child send in General Mills Boxtops and
Campbell's Soup Labels and deliver them to their 6th period
teacher. We will have a quarterly contest and the class that brings
in the most items will receive hot, fresh, chocolate chip cookies
delivered to their class!
We normally make close to $1000.00 by submitting our boxtops one dime at a time! All the money goes to the ASB, which
benefits all students.
Costco currently has specially-marked packages to earn 6 or 8
boxtops. In addition, some boxes have a Golden Ticket worth 100
bonus box tops! These extra tickets will increase the chance of a
class winning cookies!
Keep collecting, submitting, and earning $$$$ for TMS and be on
the look out for the Golden Ticket!!!
PTSA
Welcome Back from Tolt PTSA! Here is what is going on:
•
•
•
There's still time to join your Parent Teacher Student
Association! Your membership makes it possible for
PTSA to support the teachers, school and students with
grants, fun programs, scholarships and more. If you've
already joined or renewed for this year, thank you! If not,
please go to the Tolt PTSA website or pick up a form in the
office.
Reflections National Arts Contest at Tolt begins in
October. Look for more information coming soon!
PTSA Afterschool Enrichment: Our Fall session is off to a
great start! We still have some room in our upcoming CPR
class, set to run on October 28th and 29th. This is such an
important class to take. Please check out our online form
here or email Pamela Parks at [email protected]
(425) 844-9471)
Don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook for the latest
updates: www.facebook.com/toltptsa
Calendar of Events
10/3
Early Release @ 1:15 p.m.
10/4
10/10
10/17
10/22
10/23
10/24
10/29
10/31
REF Annual Golf Classic
No School
Early Release @ 1:15 p.m.
Vision and hearing screening
Student of the Month celebration
No School
Picture retakes
Early Release @ 1:15 p.m.
For information on Tolt Sporting Events, please visit our website!