The Last Full Month of School
Dear Tohickon Families,
The final stretch has begun. The month of May is full of activities such as the Washington D.C. Trip, Math Keystone Exams and Relay for Life.
The ninth grade students will embark on their annual trip to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 5th. This is always a highlight for the ninth grade team. Students are dropped off at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning and proceed across The Mall throughout the day. Students, parents and teachers all meet together at Union Station around 4:00 PM to enjoy dinner together. This is a great day for students to bond with each other and see, first hand, some of the historical sites that they have been learning about in their Social Studies' classes.
The Math Keystone Exams will be held on May 18th and 19th. Students will be tested in Algebra. The test will include some, but not all, of our seventh, eighth and ninth grade students. Similar to the PSSA testing, the Keystone Exams will be administered during the morning hours over the two days. We wish our students the best of luck!
The marquee event for the month of May is Relay for Life. Relay for Life is an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. This event will take place on Saturday, May 21st and includes several thousand eighth and ninth grade students, along with parent chaperones and staff members from all five Central Bucks Middle Schools. This is a huge event and, without a doubt, the cornerstone of our Community Service Program at Tohickon Middle School. Mr. Senavaitis, the program coordinator, has been diligently organizing and managing every conceivable detail since February. The support that we receive from students, staff, parents and the community is always tremendous. We are greatly looking forward to this special day!
The final weeks of the 2015-2016 school year are upon us. If you have any questions about any items listed in this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact us at 267-893-3300. As always, I wish our students, staff, and parents a safe and happy month!
Sincerely,
Kevin Marton, Principal
May Calendar of Events
There are several upcoming events that students and parents should be aware of in the month of May. They are as follows:
May 3rd
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon in Library 10:30 AM-1:00 PM
Relay for Life Chaperone Meeting - Tohickon Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 4th
Relay for Life Chaperone Meeting - Tohickon Auditorium - 7:00 PM
May 5th
May 11th
Eighth Grade Field Trip to Philadelphia
Tohickon Instrumental Concert - 7:00 PM
May 18th &19th
Keystone Exams - Math
May 20th
Dorney Park Trip
May 21st
Relay for Life
May 23rd - 26th
Tohickon Book Fair
May 24th
Tohickon Select Strings to perform at CBSD Board Meeting - 7:15 PM
May 25th
Sixth Graders to Visit Tohickon for Orientation
Principal Awards - 7:00 PM
May 30th
Memorial Day - No School
We Appreciate You!!!
Tohickon Staff Members Volunteer at Hope Lodge
During the evening of April 14th, members of the Tohickon Staff provided dinner for the residents at Hope Lodge. Tohickon Staff Members contributed all different types of foods for this very special evening. A number of Tohickon Staff Members volunteered to attend the event and serve the meal. The residents of Hope Lodge were very grateful for the dinner that was provided. A special thanks to Ms. Jones and Mr. Senavaitis for organizing this event.
Regarding the visit to Hope Lodge, Ms. Jones writes: "Because some of our Relay for Life earnings go to the ACS Hope Lodge in Cheltenham, we have a special relationship with that facility and its residents. On April 14th, members of the Tohickon faculty and staff traveled to Hope Lodge for our annual dinner. The year’s theme was picnic food, so staff members whipped up chicken, tuna, and green salads, as well as fried chicken, ham, and all the fixins. The sixty-four residents, cancer survivors and their caregivers, truly appreciated the home-cooked meal and the friendly faces after a long day of treatment and therapy at the area hospitals. "
Choral Students Dazzle at the Spring Arts Festival
TEAM DISCOVERY - GRADE 7
Congratulations to Team Discovery’s Taylor M. on winning the state level of the Library of Congress’s Letters About Literature contest for the middle school age bracket! Taylor’s letter to Ned Vizzini about his novel It’s Kind of a Funny Story will be entered in the state level of the competition. Taylor will be honored at a luncheon at Pennsylvania State University on top of winning a cash prize! Ms. McMahon’s students each wrote a letter to an author of a book that impacted them back in November as a part of her class and were encouraged to submit the letters to the contest. The winners were just announced in the beginning of April and Taylor was very excited to be chosen as a winner.
On, Thursday, June 2nd, Team Discovery seventh graders will be traveling to the Philadelphia Zoo for our annual field trip, which correlates to the students’ study of animals and their habitats in science class. The students will explore the zoo in a group of 6-8 kids with a parent chaperone, taking pictures for a digital scavenger hunt. Zoo groups will put together a power point and brief presentation of their findings in school the following week. This experience is typically one of the fondest memories the students take with them from seventh grade.
This year, we will be using an online registration (MyPaymentsPlus) to complete the permission slip and to pay for the trip. To access this system, you need to go to MyPaymentsPlus.com and create an account. Once you have created an account, you need to access the 7th Grade Team Discovery trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. You will use this form to complete the on-line permission slip as well as to pay for the trip. The cost is $28 and covers transportation and the cost of admission.
The students on Team Summit have been utilizing the new touch-screen laptops provided by the district. Students use the computers in math class to review concepts on a program called Study Island. They use a website called Quizizz.com, to review for upcoming assessments. In the English classrooms, students worked in collaborative groups after reading the novel Coraline. They research topics that connect to the book and presented their findings to the class. Students have also reviewed vocabulary using a site called Kahoot and for drafting essays. Recently one of the classes wrote a compare and contrast essay about mythical heroes. By accessing their CB email accounts students emailed their essays to their teachers directly, instead of printing a paper copy. In another class, students are using a program called One-note, where information can be stored in a virtual notebook, keeping notes and papers organized. Students and teachers love the new laptops!
TEAM TRAILBLAZER AND EXPEDITION - GRADE 8
During the third week in April, the eighth grade set up a photo booth in the hallway during resource. The photo booth contained lots of fun items for the students to dress up in! The purpose of this activity was twofold: First, it allowed students to have some fun and to get a little silly during their off time during the first week of PSSA testing. Second, it gave students an opportunity to help out their local community by donating canned goods for a print out of the picture they took with their friends. The canned goods were donated to the local food bank and the pictures turned out great!
NINTH GRADE TEAM
Our warm winter turned cool in April as students studied the Cold War. Comparing Soviet and U.S. strategies led to discussions and debates about nuclear weapons, spies and containment. As exciting as that sounds, it pales in comparison to Bert the Turtle teaching the students how to “Duck and Cover” under their desks in case of a nuclear explosion.
In Science, we study how the physical Earth and the lifeforms on Earth have changed over time. On Earth Day we celebrated by taking some time to experience Earth’s beauty by going on a hike of a scale model of the Appalachian Trail. Students hiked the scale model (1km = 1m) trail that was laid out on the Tohickon campus during their science classes. Students certainly appreciated how difficult it would be to hike the entire real Appalachian Trail!
English classes are continuing their study of literature while reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Book Thief, and Night. We are paying particular attention to the power of words and their impact, both positive and negative, on an individual and on the world at large. This unit of study ties in nicely with social studies as the rhetoric of leaders, propagandists, and politicians continues to affect our world.
We are looking forward to our annual class trip to Washington, D.C. and hoping for good weather. Be on the lookout for end-of-the-year information pertaining to Freshman Day and the Freshman Dance; both will be held in early June.
Tohickon After School Club and Activity Update
One of Tohickon’s newest clubs is the Diversity Club. Led by Mrs. Bridget Fox, our school librarian. Tohickon’s Diversity Club tries to promote understanding and foster respect for all individuals that we encounter throughout our lives. We have inspiring discussions about current social issues and we try to find ways to break down the barriers of oppression and privilege, and challenge stereotypes and prejudices, while maintaining diversity in thoughts and ideas. Some of the activities we have done include building a Diversity Village gingerbread town and writing affirmative sayings and placing them in random books in the hopes of brightening someone’s day.
General Information about After School Clubs
In order for clubs to run, a teacher must be willing to sponsor the club after school and there must be a reasonable level of student interest. For these reasons, Tohickon clubs may be different from year to year. Currently, Tohickon is running the following clubs:
Debate Club - Sponsored by Mr. Forney
Diversity Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Fox
Anime Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Bongiorno
Math Club - Sponsored by Mrs. Bellavance and Mrs. Rissing
Science Olympiad - Sponsored by Mr. Weir and Mr. Collins
Garden Club (Seasonal) - Sponsored by Mr. Neely and Mrs. Fox
If you are interested in joining one of the clubs at Tohickon or have any questions, please see the club's sponsor in order to sign up.
Share Good News About Tohickon Students!
Community Service
On April 29th Tohickon hosted its annual Red Cross blood drive. Earlier this month, a representative from the Red Cross met with members of the NJHS who were interested in helping publicize the event. The students learned the importance of blood drives and how to encourage family members to participate. Thank you to all of these students for their help with this huge project!
Message from the Athletic Department
This spring, there are over 250 seventh and eighth grade students involved in spring sports. April marked the beginning of games and meets for all of these students. In May, each varsity level team will compete for the opportunity to win a district championship. Tohickon girls’ track and soccer hope to defend their district championship titles for another year!
In June, spring sports will conclude and information will be distributed for next year’s fall sports. Look for a paper to come home after Memorial Day outlining what is needed to participate in fall sports. In addition, there will be a player/parent meeting for all current sixth and seventh graders interested in playing football for Tohickon next year on Wednesday, June 7th, at 7:00 PM in the auditorium.
Tohickon Garden Update
This spring the Tohickon Garden Club got out the shovels and wheelbarrows and moved three yards of mushroom soil into the raised beds to get ready for planting. The students worked collaboratively and built two compost bins, planted onion sets, and sowed seeds for lettuces, radishes, peas, and beans. Our goal is to harvest everything before the end of this school year and then plant tomatoes, kale, and root vegetables for a fall harvest at the beginning of our next school year.
The success of any garden depends on weather and we were worried that the late frosts and recent colder temperatures could force us to reseed; however, it looks like everything has sprouted. The harvests demonstrate the concept of “farm to table” and students use the vegetables as ingredients in Mrs. Furfari’s Family Consumer Science class. Also, in Mrs. Larkin’s Science class, students used an indoor greenhouse to sow seeds for herbs and squash and soon we will be “hardening-off” those indoor plants. Since the Garden Club is completely organic, we model stewardship of the environment and select vegetables that are heirloom varieties and need no pesticides.
The Garden Club meets on Wednesdays during Resource (weather permitting) in the spring and fall. Members of the club include seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students. For more information please contact Mr. Jim Neely, jneely@cbsd.org. or Mrs. Colleen Fox, cfox@cbsd.org.
From the Nurse's Office
General Information:
Because head injuries and concussions may impact your child’s ability to learn, please contact the school nurse and your child’s guidance counselor if your child is injured. Physician documentation to guide the transition back to school post-head injury is necessary. Please contact school staff so we can review the CBSD concussion protocol with you and your child prior to his/her returning to school.
Parents should provide a physician's note if students require crutches, wheelchairs, elevator keys, physical education excuses, or other accommodations while in school. Students should stop by the nurse’s office upon return to school. Please know that we want to support your child as he/she recuperates.
Your child is measured for height and weight yearly as mandated by the Pennsylvania School Health program. Height, weight, age, and gender are used to determine the students' Body Mass Index (BMI) and percentile. This screening process started in November and will continue into the Spring Semester. Each student is given a pass to come to the nurse and is screened privately. Your child’s height, weight and BMI results will be available on the Parent Portal. If you do not have access to a computer and would like a paper copy sent home, please call your school nurse with this request. In addition, during this visit your child will have his/her vision assessed. If your child does not pass the vision screening, a referral will be mailed home.
Tohickon Middle School
Email: kmarton@cbsd.org
Website: cbsd.org
Location: 5051 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA
Phone: 267-893-3300