Be in the know.
Upcoming Events
SAVE THE DATE:
8th Grade Recognition Assembly: June 10th
8th Grade Celebration: June 10th
Field Day: June 11th
Last Day of School: June 11th
Ice Cream Social: Thurs Aug 20th 6-8:15
First day of school for 6th Grade: Tues Aug 25th
First day of school for 7th/8th Grade: Wed Aug 26th
Parent Welcome Back Coffee: Wed Aug 26th, 10-11am
Community Grant 2025-26 Projects!
This year, the Tumwater PTO’s Community Grant program was able to fund 15 projects, thanks to generous donations from our Rising Tides campaign. The projects this year supported science, technology & design, art, drama, PE, Spanish, student services and other amazing programs at TMS!
In total, Tumwater PTO awarded over $15,000 to support these specific asks of Tumwater staff:
Subscription to JR Scholastic Magazine for all 7th grade Social Studies
Subscription to Science World Magazine
Various balls for Recess
Gimkit Subscription for Spanish
Blooket and Wordwall for Spanish
3 Stationary Bikes for PE Fit Lab
Microbits & Motobit Invention kits for 6-8th grade Design Students
Year Long gatherings for the NBA Program (No Being Absent)
WINCO gift cards for families to use over the holiday breaks
An expanded digital audio production module
Alesis mixer for the sound cabinet in the band classroom, along with two speaker cables.
Whiteboards & Markers science teachers
Kona Ice for the Science Expo
Purchasing rights for next year’s spring musical
Clay materials for a special project in Art
5/28 Community Meeting Minutes
We had very busy final Community Meeting of the Year, please review the minutes for all of the notes from the meeting!
A few highlights:
8th Grade Celebration: “Cruising into High School”. We are still looking for volunteers and sponsors for the party!
Art Lit: We had two successful Art Lit lessons this year for all grades. Huge thanks to all of the volunteers who made this a success! Many middle schools do not have enough volunteers to make Art Lit happen, so thank you to everyone involved!
TEMPO: Raised almost $30K this year to spend on professional music coaches to come in to work with all instruments, Band & Choir Uniform and Parade Tshirts, 1000s of pages copied, Support for 2 parades, 3 festivals, and 100s of Volunteer Hours!
Staff Appreciation: Catered 808 Grinds for lunch and stocked the staff lounge with all the generous snacks & drinks provided by the families! Thanks to all the donations that allowed us to spoil the teachers and staff this year! Much appreciated!
We approved a budget revision for this school year and adjusted the budget for next school year
See link for full recap of the meeting:
Final Community Meeting TONIGHT! 5/28
Join us this evening in the TMS Library at 6:30pm for our final Community PTO Meeting of the year!
We’ll be introducing the 2026–2027 Board Members, sharing important updates, and voting to approve the 2026–2027 PTO budget.
Incoming 6th grade families are welcome — spread the word! We’d love to see you there! 💙
PTO Board Meeting Minutes
Huge thanks to everyone that donated during Teacher Appreciate week! The PTO was able to provide teachers & staff with a catered lunch as well as stocking the staff lounge with donated snacks & drinks. THANK YOU!
We are still in need of a Secretary & a Co-Volunteer Coordinator for next year. This is a great way to get involved at Tumwater! Please reach out to president@tumwaterpto.org if you have any interest!
We are also looking for a Co-Art Lit leader (learning year) and a lead for the 8th Grade Celebration next year. Sign up now!
Join us for our final Community Meeting of the school year, 5/28 at 6:30pm in the TMS library. We will vote in new board members, approve the budget for next year and review key dates for next year. Join us!
Please see link for our most recent Board Meeting Minutes.
Community PTO Meeting Thursday!
Join us this Thursday, April 2nd, for a PTO Community Meeting. Hear from Principal Smith, who will provide updates as we head toward the end of the school year. We will also hear from Committee leaders and Board members, who will also share opportunities to get involved this year (now!) and next year.
6:30-7:30 in the Tumwater library.
PTO Board Meeting Minutes & Grant Review
The PTO Board had their 2nd Grant Review of the year. Thank you for supporting Rising Tides with generous giving, so we can continue to support our teachers and staff with projects throughout our school.
This time we were able to fund 5 Grant Requests:
Clay for 8th Grade Art Classes, special project
Purchasing Rights for next years Spring Theater Production
Support for upcoming STEM expo
Whiteboards for 7th Grade Science Classes
Alesis Mixer for Band Classroom.
Are you looking for ways to get involved at Tumwater next year? Join our PTO Board for 2026-27 school year! We are looking for a Secretary, Co-Volunteer Coordinator, and a Social Media Manager. We are also looking for Committee Heads for Art Lit (learning year), OBOB, Welcome Events, & 8th Grade Celebration. Reach out to president@tumwaterpto.org if you are interested!
The second half of the school year is always busy and there this year is no exception. There are many ways to get involved! See below for some upcoming events.
5th Grade Parent/Caregiver TMS Information Night, THIS THURSDAY! 6-7:30pm
Band Concert 3/10
Choir Concert 3/17
Tempo Play-a-thon, 4/6, 12:30-3:45pm
Art Lit Training 4/9, 6:30pm. Classes will be taught April 21 - May 7th
8th Grade Celebration 6/10
Field Day 6/11
For a recap of full meeting notes, please see link here: Minutes
PTO Community Meeting Thursday 1/22
Please join us this Thursday, January 22nd, at 6:30pm at the Tumwater Library for our 2nd PTO Community Meeting of the school year!
We will hear a Principal update from Matt Smith and will hear from our special guest, Sunset High School Principal Elisa Schorr, who will be there to answer all your questions about the transition to High School.
This is a great opportunity to stay informed, connect with other families and get your questions answers.
We hope to see you there!!
PTO Board Meeting Minutes & Grant Approvals
The PTO Board had their first Grant Request Review on November 20th!
The Board approved Grants totaling $8,366, which will directly impact students at Tumwater! Thank you for all of your support in the Rising Tides Campaign to fund many impactful things.
Please see full minutes here in link. We will have an additional Grant Review in February.
New Community Grant Approvals:
One year subscription to Scholastic Junior Magazine for all 7th grade Social Studies
Recess Equipment (new balls)
One year Spanish Gimkit Subscription
Blooket & Wordwall Subscriptions for Spanish students
3 Stationary Bikes for PE Fit lab
Microbits & Motobits for Design students
Parent Speaker - THURSDAY Dec 4th!
We are excited to bring international speaker and education consultant Patrick Green to our community on Thursday, December 4th from 7:00-8:30pm to provide a workshop for our parents about Digital Wellness and Screen Time.
The Truth About Screen Time: In this fast-paced, interactive experience, we separate fact from fiction while looking at the latest studies on issues such as technology addiction, gaming, cyberbullying, and anxiety. We will explore practical parenting strategies and mindsets for talking with your child and promoting healthy digital habits and positive online behavior. You will leave with a toolkit of resources to help you connect with your child and create a healthier and more balanced digital world for your family.
Sponsored by our Tumwater PTO. We look forward to welcoming you on Thursday.
Community Meeting Minutes & Notes
The Tumwater PTO held it’s first Community Meeting last week, thank you for everyone that attended! Please see link to the minutes from the meeting as well as a few highlights!
Highlights:
Update from Vice Principal Duitsman, Tumwater has had a very smooth start to the year!
We met our Fundraising Goal for RIsing Tides, thank you to everyone that participated!! Our first TMS Board Grant Review will be Nov 20th.
We are currently looking for a Social Media / Communications expert to help the PTO with Parent Square communication and Social Media posts, please email president@tumwaterpto.org if you have interest!
We are also looking for an OBOB co-lead. OBOB school battles will happen in February and we would love to find another co-lead ASAP.
8th Grade Celebration planning is underway. The first committee meeting will be Nov 13th at 7pm at Market of Choice. Reach out to celebrate8@tumwaterpto.org with questions or interest.
Save the Date: Our first parent speaker event of the year will be a big one! We will hear from Patrick Green, December 4th, 7-8:30pm. He will speak on Digital Wellness and the Truth About Screen-Time. Join us at Tumwater for this informative sesssion!
Save the Date: Parent Speaker Event 12/4
December 4th, 7:00-8:30 pm
Patrick Green's Digital Wellness Parent Workshop
In this fast-paced, interactive experience, we separate fact from fiction while looking at the latest studies on issues such as technology addiction, gaming, cyberbullying, and anxiety. We will explore practical parenting strategies and mindsets for talking with your child, promoting healthy digital habits and positive online behavior. You will leave with a toolkit of resources to help you connect with your child and create a healthier and more balanced digital world for your family.
Patrick Green, who recently published “Classroom Management in the Digital Age”, and “50 Ways to Use YouTube in the Classroom” just completed his 20th year in education and is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Innovator, Google Education Trainer, Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified Educator, and YouTube Star Teacher.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our TMS parent community, join us on Dec 4th!!