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2022 8th Grade Celebration Sets High Bar
TMS celebrated its first 8th grade celebration last Friday, a culmination of months of fundraising and planning by the event committee.
Students enjoyed a summertime theme, with a magician, pizza, and a variety of activities including a DJ, glow bingo, karaoke, inflatable fun, a candy walk, airbrush tattoos, board games, basketball, and a shaved ice cart.
Earlier in the day, 8th grade families attended a recognition ceremony, with several student speakers and student awards.
Thank you to the community partners who supported this event, including the Pearson family, Walmart, Pacific Sleep, Infinity Images, as well as the 8th grade families who donated to this event, and any community member who participated in this fundraising.
Finally, massive thanks to co-chairs Amber Ferschweiler and Sarah Sullivan, along with their planning team, Sherri Kulink, Ana Pacheco, Hong Huynh, Dianne Jenkins, Holly Minisce, Kimberly Pearson, Helen Leiser, Katherine Rule, and Debbie Herron.
The hunt is on for next year’s co-chairs! If you are interested in leading the 2023 8th grade celebration, please contact Hannah (president@tumwaterpto.org).
THANK YOU 2021-22 Volunteers
The success of our PTO events & programs is directly related to the time, effort & contribution of our community volunteers. In a year of continued COVID chaos & restrictions, our parent community stepped up to make magic happen for these middle schoolers.
While we value EVERY hour from EVERY volunteer, a special thank you is due to the following everyday heroes who stepped into a larger leadership position this school year. We couldn’t have done this without these MVPs.
INCORPORATION: Rachel Arnold
WELCOME EVENT: Jessica Baker
RISING TIDES CAMPAIGN: Ava Palmquist & Kelly Kinzer
STAFF APPRECIATION: Breanna Smith, Cherie Peck & Cindy Pierce
SCIENCE FAIR (virtual) : Poulami Mitra
OBOB: Vandana Kapoor & Kristi Nelson
MATCHING FUNDS: Julie Gupta
8TH GRADE CELEBRATION: Amber Ferschweiler & Sarah Sullivan
ART LIT: Melissa Manos
WEBSITE: Hannah Wood Donohue, Eva Novick & Laxmi Karumbu
SOCIAL MEDIA: Hannah Wood Donohue & Kelly Kinzer
OUTGOING VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR: Jyothi Murala
2021-22 BOARD MEMBERS: Hannah Wood Donohue, Kelly Kinzer, Heather Vonk, Eva Novick, Kristi Nelson, Jyothi Murala & Peng Ge
UBER-VOLUNTEERS: We’d also like to take a moment to thank these specific volunteers who gave over 20 hours to Tumwater Middle School so far this year. Thank you for putting TMS on your back & carrying us to the finish line!
Mahwich Aqeel
Michelle Brown
Michael Harrison
Joyce Keefe
Melissa Manos
Elaine Nelson
Kristi Nelson
Eva Novick
Marcus Pasquarella
Heather Vonk
Emma Winkel
Hannah Wood Donohue
HUGE THANKS to everyone who gave even one hour to Tumwater Middle School in our inaugural year. Your time, energy, & bravery in facing middle schoolers did not go unnoticed.
June 2022 Community Meeting Minutes
The June Community Meeting included updates from Principal Jill O’Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. We also discussed successes from this school year and planning for next school year. Highlights include:
Discussion of end of year events.
Two last volunteer opportunities: eighth grade celebration and field day.
Approval of a new Music Booster committee to support band and choir.
Approval of next year’s PTO Board.
Approval of next year’s PTO 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 next school year. Please let us know if you would like to volunteer or if you have ideas for new traditions or activities.
Questions? Email the PTO Board (board@tumwaterpto.org)
2021-22 Community Grant Program Funds Eight TMS Projects
The Tumwater PTO fulfilled eight community grants in 2021-22, totalling $12,564 of direct support of the students & classrooms of Tumwater Middle School.
This community grant program is roughly just over 30% of the Tumwater PTO budget and provides funds to enable purchases that inspire, inform, and support educational inquiry and innovation at Tumwater Middle School.
Huge thank you to every staff member who applied for funding, Tiffany Lace & Janay Cookson, our TMS Staff representatives who helped the Board review the applications, and of course, every single Rising Tides donor. Your contribution made these innovative projects possible.
2021-22 COMMUNITY GRANT PROJECTS
Rental fees & performance rights to “Matilda” were provided by TMS PTO.
TMS Onstage ($2400)
Seed money to begin the TMS after school theater program; a supplement to the $3500 in funding from this summer's BEF Choice project. Applicant: Mikaela Gladstone-Saucedo
Wind Turbines ($1057)
7th Graders in Mrs. Tran-Parta's science class had the opportunity to build wind turbines; remains a resource to all students to use Vernier measurement equipment and the turbines for future science inquiry labs. Applicant: Tiffany Tran-Parta
8th graders taking shots of the Space Station using PTO-funded tripods.
Night Sky ($950)
An 8th grade project to support the Astronomy unit; tripods facilitated students in taking photos of the night sky. Applicant: Brian Torres
Book Clubs ($3750)
Supported all Language Arts classes in expanding their selection of fiction & non-fiction titles for book clubs and helped build our fledgling collection, impacting every student in the school. Applicant: TMS Language Arts Department
D&D Club added collaborative, hands-on & screen-free gaming & design experience after school.
D&D Club ($750)
Supported a dice-making project for the students of the Tumwater MS Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) Club to design and cast a set of gaming dice using safe, professional quality materials. Applicant: Rob Hillhouse. **Additional funding for this project was provided by Beaverton Education Foundation.
Temperature Probes ($2400)
32 Go Direct Temperature Probes for data collection and graphing over time; initially for 7th grade science, but will remain a resource for all TMS students in the future. Applicant: Patrice Lampkin
Japanese Chop Design ($107)
A cross-curricular activity between 7th grade social studies and technology where students designed and created their own Japanese chop (signature stamp) for use during the Japan simulation. Applicant: Heather McCollum
6th graders building their solar-powered car.
Solar Sprint ($1150)
A hands-on engineering project for all 6th graders that includes designing, building and testing a car made using a solar panel. Applicant: Jen Brooks **Additional funding for this project was provided by Beaverton Education Foundation.
More info regarding the Tumwater PTO community grant program can be found at https://tumwaterpto.com/grant-request.
Volunteer for Field Day on Tuesday, 6/21
Our final volunteer event for the school year will be helping staff run field day on the last day of school (Tuesday 6/21). There are shifts available for each grade level, as well as shifts for those who want to volunteer for the full day. Links to the volunteer opportunities are shown below.
Volunteers must have their COVID vaccine record/exemption approved by the district in order to view, sign up and volunteer for these shifts. If you have any questions about volunteering for this event, please send our Tumwater PTO Volunteer Coordinator, Kristi Nelson, an email at volunteer@tumwaterpto.org.
If you are unable to view these volunteer opportunities . . .
Or if you get an error when you click on the link, then it is very likely that you do not have your COVID vaccine record/exemption approved by the district. Only volunteers with an approved COVID vaccination/exemption are allowed to volunteer in person, thus the opportunities are not visible to volunteers missing this approval.
You can now check your profile to see if your vaccination status has been approved. Click on MY PROFILE → Qualifications. Select “Tumwater Middle School” as the organization, and the qualifications should state if you have an approved COVID vaccination status.
More info can be found at www.tumwaterpto.org/volunteer.
Volunteers Needed for 8th Grade Celebration on 6/17
Volunteer shifts are now available for the 8th Grade Celebration, scheduled for Friday, 6/17.
As a reminder, all volunteers must be in our TMS volunteer system. If you log into mIP and are unable to see these shifts, then you have not requested your profile be moved to the TMS system or have not completed the vaccination/exemption process. More info can be found at www.tumwaterpto.org/volunteer. Questions regarding mIP can be directed to Kristi (volunteer@tumwaterpto.org).
Candywalk Donations: Sign-up to make the candywalk more fun by donating one (or five!) sweet treats.
Haven't donated yet? There's still time via Paypal.
Questions about the celebration? Email Amber (amber.fer@frontier.com)
NEW DATE: Final Community Meeting on 6/9 to Include Board & Budget Vote
NEW DATE! Join your PTO leadership in the final community meeting of the year on Thursday, 6/9 at 6:30pm in the TMS Library. Principal O’Neil and your PTO Board will be on hand to offer Tumwater & PTO updates, and community members will vote in next year's officers and approve next year's budget.
2022-23 Proposed Board Slate:
President: Hannah Wood Donohue
Vice President: Kelly Kinzer
Secretary: Eva Novick
Treasurer: Heather Vonk
Director of Volunteers: Kristi Nelson
Member at Large: Peng Ge
2022-23 Proposed Budget:
Your PTO Board, together with Principal O’Neil, went line by line through this year’s budget to discuss the value of each item and to craft a proposed 2022-23 budget that aligns with our TMS goals & aspirations.
Significant changes from the previous year’s budget include:
Increased income goal; adding in matching funds
Increased community grant & evening event budgets
Addition of printed student planners
**Please note: this is a rescheduled date due to the conflict with the Matilda production.
A zoom link will be provided for those who would like to listen in only. As a reminder, all TMS parents & guardians are automatically voting members of the Tumwater PTO. Looking forward to seeing you on 6/9!
Questions? Email Hannah (president@tumwaterpto.org).
May 2022 Board Meeting Minutes
Your Tumwater PTO Board worked on plans for the 2022-2023 school year. Read the latest meeting minutes here.
Volunteers & Cakes Needed for Student Social on Friday, 5/20
Our first TMS Student Social is on the calendar for Friday, 5/20 from 2:20-3:40pm.
Students will have free choice to participate in the many planned activities, including arts & crafts, board games, dancing, basketball, cakewalk, & musical chairs.
Food will be available in the Commons. Volunteers will have staff support in supervising various stations.
Check out the remaining open volunteer shifts below:
DONATE TO THE CAKEWALK: Cakes, cookies, & donuts are needed for the cakewalk. This is ALWAYS a popular destination, so the more goodies, the longer we can play! Sign-up here to bring a store-purchased & packaged baked good.
Art Lit Discovers Frida Kahlo, Volunteers Needed
The time has finally arrived and we are in need of Art Literacy volunteers!
We have an AMAZING Art Literacy lesson planned for the students of Tumwater to finish off this school year. They are going to get to put their unique spin on a self-portrait, just like our artist Frida Kahlo did. But only classes that have someone to run the lesson will get to participate...and we want that to be EVERYONE!
Training Session - Tuesday May 3rd from 6-7:30
Please join us TUESDAY, May 3rd from 6-7:30 for a training you are going to LOVE! Create a frameable piece of art, for FREE! We just ask that you volunteer to teach (at least)one 1 lesson of Art Lit at Tumwater the week of May 9th-13th and/or May 16-19th. The artist is edgy and the art is STUNNING! Get out of your head and into your heart and help us make this happen for all the kids at Tumwater Middle School!
Sign up here: 2022 Tumwater Art Literacy Training
Art Literacy Volunteer Shifts
The weeks of May 9th and May 15th will have special bell schedules to accommodate state testing. Since the class periods are longer, they are the ideal time to teach art literacy lessons, which will be happening during their science classes!
Please ask your child who their science teacher is and what period they have them! (or, surprise them the day of - you can find their class schedule in ParentVue.) A few of the class periods span across two days, and some are divided across the lunch period. Those are noted in each volunteer opportunity.
Feel free to sign up for as many shifts as you can! We need at least one1 person for each class to teach the lesson. If a class is without a volunteer, the lesson will not happen.
Sign up here: Frida Kahlo Art Literacy (listed by teacher) **Pro tip: Filter by Tumwater Middle School
All volunteers must be eligible within our TMS volunteer database. Head to www.tumwaterpto.org/volunteer for requirements.
Huge thanks to all our Rising Tides donors and our Art Lit chair, Melissa Manos, for making this opportunity a reality.
QUESTIONS? Please reach out to our fabulous Art Lit chair, Melissa Manos at melissa@mkmdesigns.biz or our Volunteer Coordinators, Jyothi & Kristi, at tumwaterpto.volunteer@gmail.com.
Tumwater PTO Receives 501(c)3 Status
We are proud and excited to announce that Tumwater PTO has received 501(c)3 status from the IRS, after a months long wait.
Huge thanks to Rachel Arnold, our parent volunteer who did the heavy lifting in submitting the initial IRS application last summer.
What does this mean for TMS PTO? Now that we are officially recognized as a 501(c)3, we will be registering with Benevity and other matching fund programs as soon as possible. Look for more info soon as we complete that process.
Why is this a big deal? Having a 501(c)3 status is necessary in order to take advantage of many nonprofit discounts & programs, such as Benevity and Google for Nonprofits. Additionally, it allows us to take advantage of our donor base’s employee matching fund programs, which is a huge boost in our fundraising process.
What took so long? The IRS receives over 95,000 applications a year. With COVID-19 restrictions & delays, the backlog was especially high this past year.
Is my Rising Tides donation from last fall now tax exempt? Yes. All donations are retroactively tax-exempt. Please email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com) if you are in need of a donation receipt.
Thank you to all our donors for your patience these past months. We are excited for this awesome step in developing this organization.
April 2022 Community Meeting Minutes
The April Community Meeting included updates from Principal Jill O’Neil and your Tumwater PTO Board. We also discussed planning for next school year. Highlights include:
An update on school activities and events.
An update on state testing and summer school.
A report on additional grants that your support funded.
A discussion of volunteer opportunities, including on next year’s PTO Board
A discussion of what went well this year and ideas for next year.
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, 6/2.
Questions? Email Hannah (tumwaterpto.president@gmail.com)