Be in the know.
February 2022 Community Meeting Minutes
The February Community Meeting included two guest speakers and updates from Principal Jill O’Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. Highlights include:
Information about Sunset High School.
Information about a proposed Beaverton School District bond.
An update on school activities and clubs.
A report on additional grants that your support funded.
Approval of an amended budget.
Read the full minutes & click through the slideshow to learn more. Remember to check out the action items for parents/guardians.
We look forward to seeing you at our next Community Meeting on Thursday, 4/7.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)
January 2022 Board Meeting Minutes
Your Tumwater PTO Board and a volunteer staff member reviewed Community Grant Applications and awarded funding to two additional projects. Read the latest meeting minutes here.
Spread the Love to TMS Staff this Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is around the corner & it’s time to show our hard-working TMS staff SOME LOVE!
Sign-up now to contribute to a fun, non-perishable snack spread. Please bring your donations to the Staff Appreciation cart outside the TMS front doors on Thursday, February 3, 2022.
No time to shop? Simply submit a note of encouragement & appreciation to any or all staff. Notes will be posted in the staff lounge on Valentine’s Day.
Thanks for spreading the love!
SAVE THE DATE: February Community Meeting to Include Vote to Amend 2021-22 Budget
SAVE THE DATE: Join us for February’s Community Meeting on Thursday, 2/10 at 6:30pm via Zoom. Pop in to hear school & PTO updates with principal Jill O'Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. The tentative meeting agenda can be found HERE.
VOTE TO AMEND 2021-22 BUDGET: This meeting will include a community vote to amend the 2021-22 budget. Check out this comparison to see the proposed changes.
This amended budget would move $2000 out of School Socials and Science Fair (both impacted by Covid restrictions) and into the Community Grant budget (see blue highlighted line items).
SPECIAL GUEST: Sunset High School Principal, John Huelskamp, will be joining us for a 20 minute presentation and Q&A regarding the transition to high school and what parents can expect this spring. To maximize efficiency, please submit any questions you may have for Mr. Huelskamp in the form below.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS: In an effort to communicate effectively & efficiently, the Tumwater PTO will be taking questions BEFORE our community meeting on 2/10. 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 2/10.
All parents are automatically members of the Tumwater PTO and all are encouraged to attend.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)
Tumwater PTO: 2021 in Review
WHAT A YEAR! As we wrap up 2021, let's take a look at the awesome accomplishments of Tumwater PTO, made possible by YOU-- the dedicated & generous community of Tumwater Middle School.
Here's a round-up of 2021:
Incorporated Our Organization/Applied for 501(c)(3) Status: Thanks to a small group of committed volunteers, the Tumwater Parent Teacher Organization was officially incorporated in the State of Oregon and filed the massive Form 1023 with the IRS. This work included drafting bylaws, identifying officers, and multiple filings. Shout out to parent Rachel Arnold for her heavy lifting through this process.
Set-up Internal Processes and Infrastructure: Your PTO Board members spent last summer figuring out all the exciting details, like treasury software, insurance, volunteer software, reimbursement and grant procedures, and preliminary budgets. Hannah Wood Donohue (President), Kelly Kinzer, (VP), Eva Novick (Secretary), Heather Vonk (Treasurer), Jyothi Murala and Kristi Nelson (Volunteer Coordinators) and Peng Ge (Member at Large) are committed to making this year a success.
Launched Website and Social Media: Huge thanks to parents Melissa Manos (logo) and Laxmi Karumbu (website) for their contributions to our initial launch last August.
Raised Nearly $35,000 Through Our Inaugural Rising Tides Campaign: The commitment and generosity of this community was overwhelming! A sincere thank you to every single Rising Tide donor (over 250!) and especially to parents Kelly Kinzer and Ava Palmquist for being the wind in this campaign's sails.
Held Two Well-Attended Community Meetings: With an average attendance of 53 parents, our meetings are off to an amazing start. Huge thanks to those that give up their most precious commodity -- their time -- to attend. We'll see you all again on 2/10/22.
Spread the Love to our TMS Staff/Community: From a pre-service breakfast to "Winter's Night In" gift bags (and apples and pies in between), our Staff Appreciation team of Breanna Smith, Cherie Peck, and Cindy Pierce knocked it out of the park this fall. Thank you to every donor who answered the call to make magic for our staff. Another shout out to the generous parents who quickly filled our Holiday Outreach sign-up.
Fulfilled Four Community Grant Requests: We are thrilled to have already approved $8157 in funding for four grant requests: TMS Onstage, Night Sky project (8th grade), Wind Turbines (7th grade), Book Club Books (all grades).
Completed our First Successful 8th Grade Send-off Fundraiser: Huge shout out to chairs Amber Ferschweiler, Sarah Sullivan, and their team of 8th grade parents for braving the cold, frigid rain and successfully raising over $1400 in our first ever pie sale.
Initiated Student Enrichment & Welcome Committees: So many opportunities are being made available to our students, thanks to the parents who've stepped into leadership positions, including Melissa Manos (Art Lit), STEM Fair (Poulami Mitra), OBOB (Vandana Kapoor) & Jessica Baker (Welcome Activities). Look for more volunteering info in 2022!
It is the combined effort of so many that has lifted this organization from nothing into something special. None of this would be possible without the commitment & generosity of the TMS community.
Thank you to all who have contributed to our success in 2021 and we look forward to raising these Rapids even further in 2022.
8th Grade Pie Fundraiser a Success
The 8th Grade Send-Off team pulled off their first fundraiser, selling 220 pies and raising nearly $1400 for the 8th grade year-end party. Huge thanks to all who purchased a pie and/or donated their time to make this effort a success.
If you are interested in joining this exciting committee, email Amber (amber.fer@frontier.com).
Thank You to December Staff Appreciation Donors
Our entire TMS staff were given a "Winter's Night In" gift bag this week, thanks to the generosity of the TMS community and our Staff Appreciation team.
Items inside included $5 coffee gift cards, popcorn, candy, hot chocolate & a Columbia pass.
Shout out to Breanna Smith, Cindy Pierce, and Cherie Peck for leading the Staff Appreciation effort, as well as everyone who donated.
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!