Be in the know.
OBOB Deadline Friday, 12/17
The Battle of the Books is here!
Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) is an exciting quiz style tournament of reading based on questions from the official list of 16 book titles selected by the Oregon Battle of the Books Committee.
At TMS the competition is open to all students who form a team and submit their permission slips by Friday, December 17th. Teams are made up of four members with the option of a fifth person as an alternate.
Battles will take place during the school day. Each team will participate in two battles and the top-scoring teams will be entered into a single-elimination tournament. The tournament winners will then move on to compete in the regional virtual battle against other schools in our area.
Team entry forms are available in the Student Information Center outside the main office. Only one entry form is needed for each team, but an individual permission slip from each team member must be attached. Permission slips can be printed at home or a copy can be picked up at school.
Visit the Cedar Mill Library for more OBOB events and practice questions to be posted later this month.
OBOB is made possible through your generous Rising Tides donation.
Donations Needed for Staff Appreciation “Winter’s Night In”
This holiday season we want to bring love and joy to our Tumwater Staff by giving each a "Winter's Night In" gift bag.
Please review the sign-up genius and sign up to donate items for the Staff Appreciation team to collect and assemble into gifts.
Donations will be received at the Tumwater main entrance by 10am on Friday, December 10th.
Thank you for spreading joy this holiday season!
Pie Pick-up THIS Tuesday, 12/7 from 4-7pm
Your delicious frozen Willamette Valley pies and cobblers will be in your hands on Tuesday, 12/7 just in time for the holidays. Pick up will be between 4-7pm. Look for the tables in the upper parking lot at the east end near the turn around.
This will be a drive thru event except for student walkers who would like to take their pies with them (with parent permission). All pies do need to be picked up during this window so feel free to designate a fellow Tumwater parent to help out if needed.
We appreciate your patience in advance as we navigate this inaugural distribution event and once again thank you for your support of our 8th graders.
Happy Holidays!!
Pie Distribution Volunteers Needed 12/7
The PTO needs volunteers to help distribute frozen pies on December 7th for the 8th grade celebration fundraiser. Duties will be handing out pies outside the school to people who have pre-purchased them.
Pie distribution will occur between 4 - 7 pm, and we will split the time between two shifts (4:00-5:30pm and 5:30-7:00pm.) Please click the link below to sign up for this opportunity:
8th Grade Celebration Pie Distribution Volunteer
This is a great evening volunteer opportunity and will greatly support our 8th grade fundraising team.
PLEASE NOTE: All volunteers must have an approved COVID vaccination verified by district staff. See www.tumwaterpto.org/volunteer for more info.
Questions? Email Amber (amber.fer@frontier.com)
November 2021 Checklist for Parents
Miss our November meeting? Glance through this list to see action items for parents!
LOOK OVER VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS: including instructions on how to 1.) join the TMS database & 2.) upload vaccine info: www.tumwaterpto.org/volunteer
UPLOAD STUDENT VACCINE INFO INTO PARENTVUE: Yes, it is a legit pain clicking through everything again, but it's a huge help to our school nurse & contract tracing efforts.
LOOK FOR DECEMBER’S SIGN-UPS: Staff Appreciation & Community Outreach
CO-CHAIR OBOB: Email Jyothi & Kristi (tumwaterpto.volunteer@gmail) if interested
8TH GRADE FAMILIES: JOIN THE SEND-OFF TEAM! Email Amber (amber.fer@frontier.com) if you are interested in joining the team & be on the lookout for pie delivery volunteer shifts on 12/7.
DONATE: We will always accept your contribution! Head to www.tumwaterpto.org/fundraising for more info.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG: One email a day whenever we post! Sign-up at www.tumwaterpto.org.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA & LIKE EVERYTHING: Yo yo, are you following @tumwaterpto on both Insta & Facebook? Here's a huge help: LIKE ALL THE THINGS. We don't care if you actually like them , but any interaction helps spread the word. It's call organic reach (google it), which means our message is at the mercy of the algorithm. It's so easy to help us out this way!
SAVE THE DATE: Our next Community Meeting is Thursday, 2/10/22. Yes, 2022. We only have five community meetings in a school year, so don't miss a moment! We promise to 100% respect your time by always being prepared & efficient.
And are you reading the TMS newsletter? SO HELPFUL!
Thanks, all!
November 2021 Community Meeting Minutes
We are thrilled with the continued community support and participation. The November Community Meeting included a guest speaker and updates from Principal Jill O’Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. Highlights include:
An update on school clubs.
A report on the grants that your support funded.
Read the full minutes & click through the slideshow to learn more.
We look forward to see you at our next Community Meeting on Thursday, 2/10.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)
Grading at Tumwater
Wondering how to interpret your student’s report card? Log on to ParentVue, click on “Grade Book” and then select a specific class. If you’re on the app, it should default to “standards view.” On a computer, click on the “standards view” tab. This view provides a list of all of the assignments a teacher used in order to determine the final grade, which is called a “summary judgment.” This view also provides insight on which criterion(s) your student is proficient in and where they’re still developing their skills. If you’re used to letter grades, 6.0-8.0 translates to an A, 4.5-6.0 translates to a B, 3.0-4.5 translates to a C, 2.0-3.0 translates to a D and less than 2.0 translates to a F.
Here is the slide deck Ms. Hayward used when explaining grading at Tumwater during the November PTO Community Meeting.
November Community Meeting this Thursday, 11/18
Join us for November's Community Meeting this Thursday, 11/18 at 6:30pm via zoom. Pop in to hear school & PTO updates with principal Jill O'Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. Here is the tentative agenda.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: Kristin Hayward, our MYP Coordinator & Synergy Teacher Leader will be with us from 6:30-6:50pm to go over how parents can navigate Parentvue, explain how students can use the MYP rubrics to set growth goals, and clarify how summary judgements will lead to the semester grade this January. **This discussion will not go over specific teachers or students, but is intended for general parent knowledge.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS: In an effort to communicate effectively & efficiently, the Tumwater PTO will be taking questions BEFORE our community meeting on 11/18. This will ensure that our meeting agenda and topics will clarify any lingering questions for our parent community.
You can submit your questions at https://forms.gle/JPNSHmo6p6FKZ4eH7
Zoom info will be sent on 11/18.
All parents are automatically members of the Tumwater PTO and all are encouraged to attend.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)
November 2021 Board Meeting Minutes
Your Tumwater PTO Board and two volunteer staff members reviewed Community Grant Applications and awarded funding to several exciting projects. Read the latest meeting minutes here.
Get Your Holiday Pie to Support the 8th Grade Send-Off
Tumwater Middle School’s 8th grade class is hard at work planning a fitting celebration to their middle school experience and they need your support. They have partnered with Willamette Valley Pie Company to earn funds for their event and bring you your holiday pies.
Willamette Valley pies have all-natural ingredients and no GMOs. The two crust pies are trans-fat free and dairy free, and all pies are low in added sugar. All pies are handmade using Oregon fruit in Salem, Oregon. You can learn more about Willamette Valley Pies including ingredient lists at https://www.wvpie.com/.
Ready to order? Online ordering and payment couldn’t be easier at https://tumwaterpto.org/store/p/pie. Share this link with family and friends, just have them list your student’s name when ordering for ease at pick up. Last day to order will be Friday, November 19th.
Pie pick up will be on Tuesday, December 7th at the school between 4-7pm.
Prices for pie range from $12- $32, and include Cobblers ($12), large Fruit Pies ($18), Pumpkin Pies ($15), and cases of Mini Pies ($32 per case of 6). And there are so many flavors to choose from!
The thaw and serve specialty pumpkin pie is sure to be a hit at your holiday gathering and no one needs to know how easy it was for you! Or bake a Caramel Apple Streusel pie and don’t forget to add ice cream!
Please contact Coordinator Amber Ferschweiler at amber.fer@frontier.com with questions, or for help with your order.
Whoever eats the most pie wins!
Lunch Volunteers Needed
We wanted to share about a current volunteer opportunity to support our amazing Tumwater staff during the lunch period.
Lunch Volunteers
Lunch volunteers will assist in the Commons area during lunch periods by greeting and helping students, reminding students about social distancing as needed, and cleaning tables between lunch periods. Currently students are assigned to one of six 17-minute dining periods and volunteers will work alongside administrators, counselors, and other staff to help keep lunchtime running smoothly.
To ensure a smooth transition between lunch periods, it is requested that volunteers plan to stay for the entire six-block lunch period. The timing of the shifts are as follows:
Monday - Wednesday 11:20am - 1:40pm (Non-Advisory Day)
Thursday-Friday 11:40am - 1:45pm (Advisory Day)
This is an urgent volunteer need starting Monday, November 1st, 2021! Although volunteer openings are only shown in the system for the next two weeks, this will be an ongoing need and additional shifts will be added in the future.
Please follow this link for the lunchtime volunteer opportunities.
A few other items to note:
Volunteers will be required to wear masks and may be stationed outside to monitor recess. Volunteers may also be standing and walking around for the majority of the shift. so please dress appropriately.
Only volunteers with approved documentation of their COVID vaccination will be allowed to view and sign up for volunteer shifts. At the moment, only 50% of our volunteer base has this approval. If you haven't done so already, please upload your vaccine documentation into the system so you can be approved by the district to volunteer onsite. Instructions can be found at https://tumwaterpto.org/volunteer
When you arrive, go to the front office to check in. Look for the “Welcome Tumwater Volunteers” sign and follow the instructions for signing into the computer and getting your volunteer badge.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Jyothi & Kristi at tumwaterpto.volunteer@gmail.com.
Thank you Staff Appreciation Donors
Our "Apple of Our Eye" Staff Appreciation event was a huge success, thanks in part to the generous donations of this Tumwater community.
Last week’s apple-themed event included a Covid-friendly spread with enough individual apple beverages & apple-flavored snacks for the staff to enjoy for days to come.
Huge thanks to all who donated & special shout out to Staff Appreciation chair Breanna Smith and her team, Cherie Peck and Cindy Pierce.
