Thomas Community Newsletter
March 15, 2023
At this time, TMS has a 19% parent completion rate for the 5Essentials Survey. Please take this survey if you have not already done so. We need just 1% more to receive the Parent Survey Data.
March Madness brings so much to celebrate!
- Congratulations TMS 8th Grader - Ryan Morgan - 1st Place in the Knights of Columbus Spelling Bee and also selected as the TMS "Student of Choice" at the Illinois Principal Association Student Recognition Breakfast.
- Congratulations to the 6 TMS wrestlers who competed at the State Meet. We are so proud of Tony Klikas who took 5th place in State and Stone McKone who placed 6th in State.
- Best wishes to the 8th Grade Girl's Volleyball Team and the TMS Science Olympiad Team as both of these talented groups are off to compete in State this Friday/and or Saturday.
- Congratulations to Andrew Rice for qualifying for Nationals in both the Geography Bee and History Bee, and to the following students who qualified for Nationals in the Geography Bee: Dylan Widmayer 7th grade. Nicholas Schmidt 7th grade, Joseph Cosgrove 6th grade, and Marty Burns 8th grade.
- Many thanks to the TMS PTA for an AMAZING 3V3 Event! We are grateful to all who helped put this fun-filled event together for our students.
- TMS DEN Club Choose to Snooze Week March 20-24 *See below!
- March is Women's History Month
- Ramadan 2023 begins at sundown March 22- April 21. See more information below.
Important Upcoming Dates:
Tonight - Wednesday, 3/15/23 @ 6 PM in the TMS LMC and via Zoom - TMS Parent Presentation with Tom McSheehy from Teaching Heart Institute: Guiding Adolescents in Learning to Deal with their Emotions in Healthy Ways *Click here to Zoom Meeting ID: 841 3498 1814. Passcode: 783880
Tonight - Wednesday, 3/15/23 @ 7 PM in the TMS LMC and via Zoom - TMS PTA Meeting * Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 869 3738 9703
PTA Flower and Vegetable Sale SAVE THE DATE 3/10/23-4/7/23
Friday, 3/17/23 - PTA Spirit Wear Orders Due
- Monday - Friday, 3/27/23-3/31/23: Spring Break - No School
Thank you for your partnership,
Lori, Nick, & Greg
The TMS Admin Team
Andrew Rice
TMS State Wrestlers
TMS Science Olympiad State Team
Illinois 5Essentials Survey for Parents
5Essentials Survey | Click here to take it
If you have not already, please take a few minutes to complete the 5Essentials Survey. Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at our school and guide improvement. A report will be generated only if we have 20 percent parent participation.
TMS CURRENTLY ONLY HAS a 19%! Please help us get to at least 20%! Please be the 1% more that takes just a few moments to complete this survey!
Survey Link: https://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/?target_name=parent
*Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.*
IAR State Testing on Tuesday, March 14- Thursday, March 16th & 8th Grade ISA Testing
Ramadan 2023 begins sundown March 22- April 21
Teaching Heart Institute Parent Presentations by Tom McSheehy
When: March 15, 2023 @ 6 PM in the TMS LMC and via Zoom
Parent Presentation Title: Guiding Adolescents in Learning to Deal with their Emotions in Healthy Ways
Description: The after-effects of the pandemic continue to felt and seen in our adolescents. More and more adolescents are dealing with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. One of the most important skills that you can teach your child is how to deal effectively with their intense emotions like anxiety, anger, hurt, and sadness. Come learn some simple, quick activities that parents can do to support their children in learning to identify, feel, tolerate, and manage their emotions so they thrive, not just survive, through challenging times in their lives.
When: April 11, 2023
Parent Presentation Title: Title The Challenges and Gifts of Being Highly Sensitive
Description: 15-20% of adolescents are highly sensitive (HS). They feel and experience everything intensely which can make living in this world an overwhelming experience to them.
Adolescents who are highly sensitive are often misunderstood, judged, and labeled, and they can think that something is wrong with themselves. Adolescents who are highly sensitive can be more susceptible to suicide. Learn about highly sensitive children and how to support their social emotional growth. This presentation can be meaningful for parents who have highly sensitive children or parents who don’t have them.
D25's Parent Academy
On Friday, the District launched its new Parent Academy newsletter and page on the website.
The goal of Parent Academy is to provide learning opportunities for parents to better understand ways to support their students’ academic success and personal well-being. We welcome parents and families to engage in various activities and events to explore topics related to mental health, well-being, equity and inclusion, and academics. Please visit the website (www.sd25.org/ParentAcademy) for archived newsletters, further resources and information, or to submit an idea/topic for the next Parent Academy newsletter.
Summer U 2023
RACE TO REGISTER for the ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge on April 15, 2023!
Be sure to watch the video to see the winner of this year's race shirt! Follow us on Facebook for all events and updates!
Angie Thanopoulos and Katie Lindgren
ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge Race Co-Directors
8th Grade Information
8th Grade Social Work Update: Mrs. Toni Giovannini at tgiovannini@sd25.org.
Graduation Ribbons and Diplomas: Emails were sent from Mary Higgins regarding these items. Please reach out to Mary (mhiggins@sd25.org) or 847-398-4260 if you have any questions.
TMS tentative Graduation Date 6/1/23: The TMS graduation ceremony is tentatively set for Thursday, June 1, 2023 at Buffalo Grove High School. This date will be confirmed in the spring.
ABC/25 Foundation Updates
More TMS Memberships Needed: Thomas has not yet met the goal of 25% of our households joining ABC/25. PLEASE HELP US OUT BY PURCHASING A MEMBERSHIP.
Why Join? ABC/25 stands for A Better Community for District 25. The mission of the Foundation is “To foster innovation, creativity, and excellence for the children of District 25.” By joining, you support District 25 schools and teachers with funds for innovative, creative, and excellence experiences for your students. Over 50% of the Foundation's grant money comes from membership dues. Once a school reaches 25% membership (including families and staff), that school gets an additional $2500! New this year are member benefits! Learn more at www.ABC25.org
Thank you as always for your support of ABC/25!
Angie Thanopoulos and Katie Lindgren
ABC/25 Get Burbed Challenge Race Co-Directors
Student Academic Support Is Available
Please encourage your child to attend Office Hours/11th Hour/Homework Club and to reach out to teachers if they need help or just want a place to work on their academics after school. This support is FREE and can be extremely helpful.
Click here for more details on options for your child to get help from staff at TMS. The activity bus departs TMS at about 3:35 PM. Please see the Activity Bus Black Out Schedule below.
TMS PTA
MEETING DATES 2022-2023 - All meetings start @ 7 PM
- Wednesday - 3/15/2023 - Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 869 3738 9703
Passcode: 801904 - Wednesday - 4/5/2023
- Tuesday - 5/9/23
2022-2023 PTA Officers:
- President: Suzanne Krause
- President-Elect: Megan Puzen
- Vice President: Norah Muenkel
- Treasurer: Kelly Spokas
- Secretary: Deborah Oiler
Do you have questions for the PTA? Email the PTA at: thomasmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com
Mental Health Resources
Save the Dates for TMS Parent Presentations on Mental Health Topics with Tom McSheehy - Wednesday, March 15th @ 6 p.m. and Tuesday, April 11th. Specific meeting topics will be shared soon.
If you know someone who is struggling, you can contact 988 - the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as well as Safe2Help Illinois.
When contacting 988, a trained counselor who is part of the Lifeline network will answer. These trained counselors will listen, understand how the problems are affecting the individual, provide support, and connect the individual to resources if necessary.
Here's a link to the District 25 Social Emotional Resources.
Daily Attendance Information
Daily attendance 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 in this area, 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. Please be sure to report your child's absence so that we can account for all students each day. Advanced notification of absences is greatly appreciated.
- ARRIVAL TIME: Students should arrive at school between 7:30-7:40 AM so that they can stop at their locker and be seated in their homeroom class by 7:50 AM.
- LATE ARRIVAL/TARDIES: Students arriving late to school are unexcused unless a parent or guardian calls to report the reason for the late arrival. Oversleeping and traffic are not considered excused absences. Students must sign in at the office upon arrival at school.
- EARLY DISMISSAL: If your child has a doctor's appointment and needs to leave school before dismissal at 2:45 PM, please be sure to report this to the TMS office by filling out the Online Attendance Form OR calling the office at 847-398-4260. Students must sign out in the office before leaving school early.
Students who are absent from class are encouraged to check Schoology for assignment information. In addition, it may be helpful for students who are absent to attend Homework Club / Office Hours for a few days upon returning to school.
PowerSchool & Schoology Information
Chromebook tourbles? Students can contact TMS Tech Support via email: thomastech@sd25.org
The Tech Office is located in the LMC.
IMPORTANT HEALTH OFFICE INFORMATION
- District 25 Covid-19 Information
- Athletic Registration Form: This is for students that wish to participate in TMS athletics. If a student is participating in a sport, the TMS Health Office must have a copy of the physical by the first day of practice or tryouts.
- DENTAL FORMS: All dental forms are due by 5/15/23 and must be dated after 11/15/21.
- HEALTH OFFICE DOCUMENTS: Health Office documents can be turned into the TMS main office or can be uploaded to the TMS Health Office Form linked here.
AHSD25 School Resource Officers
School District 25 has a wonderful partnership with the Arlington Heights Police Department and we are very fortunate to have two outstanding School Resource Officers that support our schools. The SROs attend various TMS events throughout the school year and they are an essential part of our Wolf Pack.
Please know that you can report concerns or social media incidents to the school administration and or school social workers. In addition, our School Resource Officers from the Arlington Heights Police Department are available to address your concerns and the police station is open 24-7 to report incidents that occur outside of TMS after school hours and on the weekends.
Officer Danny Malik & Officer John O'Leary
School Resource Officer
Arlington Heights Police Department
dmalik@vah.com & joleary@vah.com
M: 847-878-2949
W: 847-368-5393
Bus Information
All students need to show their bus pass in order to ride the bus!
Please direct bus transportation questions to the District 25 Transportation Specialist:
Laura Comastro. Laura can answer your questions and resolve issues.
847-758-4888
LATE BUSES: If the bus is more than ten minutes late, parents may call Cook County School Bus Co. at 847-439-0923 to find out if the bus is late, or missed a stop. Parents who cannot stay at the bus stop should have a contingency plan with neighbors and with their children concerning what to do if the bus is more than 10 minutes late in the morning or if the parent is not home after school.
ITEMS LEFT ON THE BUS: If a student leaves an item on the bus, the parent should contact Cook Co. School Bus Company at 847-439-0923 to locate the item and to make arrangements for it to be returned. This can be done either on the bus route the next day or by the parent going to the bus company to pick it up (1910 S. Busse Rd., A.H.).
CONCERNS AND COMPLIMENTS: Bus emergency concerns: Contact Cook County School Bus at 847-439-0923 or for the AHSD25 Transportation Manager during the school work day, 847- 758-4888. About bus drivers/bus service: Contact the Transportation Specialist at 847-758-4888. About other passengers: Contact the school office to report any issue with regard to behavior on the bus.
Additional bus information can be found at the transportation link on the District 25 website.
Our students practiced bus evacuation procedures on 10/18/22 and will have a second opportunity to practice this on 4/13/23.
TMS Office Information
Monday - Friday 7 AM - 3 PM
*Modified hours over breaks and closed on holidays.
Attendance Reporting:
Online Attendance Form: Click here to report your child's absence or late arrival or early dismissal. The other option is to call the TMS office at 847-398-4260 to report your child's attendance.
TMS Address:
1430 N. Belmont Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Phone: 847-398-4260
Fax: 847-394-6843