The Topsail Times

Topsail Middle School Families,

As we head into a new week at Topsail, our staff is excited to continue the strong learning, teamwork, and growth we’ve seen from our students so far. With cooler temperatures settling in (especially this week!) and more winter weather on the way, please help your child come prepared for the day by sending appropriate layers or outerwear so they can stay warm during transitions, lunch, and PA.

We wish all of our Topsail families a happy and restful holiday season with your friends and loved ones. Enjoy the break, and we look forward to welcoming our students back in the new year when school resumes on January 6th!

Important Dates This Week:

• 12/5-12/19: iReady Math Diagnostic Window
• 12/15-12/19: MOY CommonLit Benchmark Window
• 12/19: End of Quarter 2 - Early Release Day for Students
• 12/22-1/5: Winter Break
• 1/6: Students Return

The Pirate spirit was on full display this week. Our boys soccer team capped off an incredible season with a hard‑fought 1–0 victory over Surf City in the championship match, relying on disciplined defense, a decisive finish, and total trust in one another to bring home the title. On the court, our boys basketball team also rose to the occasion, powering through the conference tournament and claiming the championship behind relentless effort, unselfish play, and strong leadership. It’s a great day to be a Pirate—congratulations to all of our student‑athletes and coaches on these outstanding accomplishments.

We have noticed an increase in Chromebook damage this year and want to partner with you in reminding students to take great care of their devices. Please encourage your child to treat their Chromebook as they would their own personal device—carrying it carefully, keeping it in a safe place, and avoiding food, drinks, or rough handling around it.

For more information about Chromebook care, repairs, and expectations, please visit the Pender County Schools Technology Services page (including the FAQ section) and review the Student/Guardian Chromebook Agreement linked there: https://www.pender.k12.nc.us/page/technology-services and Chromebook Agreement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UHGTNrN_jcbxY9a1D_uy1d2YBMdJJSFm/view

Over the next couple of weeks, students enrolled in CTE courses will be participating in a short CTE Course Evaluation Survey during class. The survey is completely anonymous and will not collect any personal information from students. The purpose of this survey is to gather valuable student feedback to help us improve instructional strategies, classroom experiences, and CTE programming across the district. If you prefer for your child not to participate in the survey, please notify your child’s CTE teacher to opt out or click on THIS SURVEY. Thank you for your continued support of Career and Technical Education in Pender County Schools.

Topsail Middle School and Pender County Schools have partnered with researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill to answer questions regarding the impacts of student tech use on mental health and academic outcomes. This study will provide our school with critical feedback on our students’ digital literacy needs, how our policies are working, and the impacts of tech on our students, while also guiding future state policy regarding tech use in school.

LAST CALL: Please take just a few minutes to fill out this form! You will receive $5 for doing so. We have heard from some families but need ALL parents to please either grant or deny consent for their children to participate.

Follow this link to the consent form: https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7O65QO7lLpejr70

This study is for ALL students grades 6-8, regardless of their prior phone or tech use.

Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have partnered with us at Pender to look at how phone and tech use in school may be related to social life, academic performance, and mental health.

For more information on this study, visit https://winstoncenter.unc.edu/ncpts_parents/ or you can contact ncphonestudy@office.unc.edu.

Please complete this Consent Form now! We need ALL parents to please either grant or deny consent for their children to participate.

Be sure to continue through each page of this form until it states "Your response has been recorded" to ensure your submission has been received.

We do have an urgent timeline to complete this process and administer the survey. Please send your first message ASAP and we recommend 2-3 messages over the next week.

We greatly appreciate your support! Please let us know how we can help and if you have any questions

We’re grateful to be on a team with you as we work to support your child’s mental health needs. Middle school is often a challenging time in a student’s life and their needs are growing and changing as they get older. Please CLICK HERE for a few ideas and resources to help navigate these changing needs.

Freshman applications are available online at https://www.pender.k12.nc.us/o/pechs/page/admission.

Applications are due to Ms. Wood (TMS school counselor) no later than Friday, January 16th.

Building resilience happens both at home and at school. We want kids to feel empowered with problem solving strategies. Below are some ideas to help continue the work at home or to help you get started.

Please double check that your student is bringing a clean, reusable water bottle that they can refill during the school day. It helps to send them with healthy snack(s) as well! As we enter the cold and flu season, also remind them about cough etiquette and good handwashing (and not sharing water bottles with friends).

Please CLICK HERE for this November's cafeteria menu.

Topsail Middle School is looking for parent volunteers to join our SIT Team.

The School Improvement Team (SIT) plays a key role in shaping our school’s direction by fostering continuous improvement. Each SIT is composed of the principal, assistant principals, teachers, instructional support staff, and parent representatives.

If you are interested in joining the team, please reach out to our SIT chair, Laura Schlegel at laura_schlegel@pender.k12.nc.us

Topsail Middle School is currently in second place for overall minutes read for middle schools with 20,291 minutes (CFMS is in 1st place)!

We are in 3rd place for the average number of minutes per student (23.9) behind CFMS and WPMS.

Congratulations to Corrina Golden in 7th grade for having the most minutes read in the school!

1. Read anytime, anywhere out of school
2. Keep track of your minutes and contribute to the school and district total
3. Every minute matters - together we can meet our goal

Join us in reaching ONE MILLION MINUTES reading by the end of the school year.

Reading builds knowledge, imagination, and lifelong learning skills. By working together, Pender County Schools will reach this incredible goal. Let’s grow our love for reading — one page at a time!

Tracking form will be provided by the school.

October 1 - May 31

Topsail Middle School would like to remind our families and students of a few important reminders:

• Sick/late notes must be received within 3 days of absence/tardy.
• Our final check out time at TMS is 3pm.
• Please, no outside food/drink in cafeteria, and only water bottles in classrooms (i.e.: no Starbucks, Dunkin drinks, fast food drinks, sodas, energy drinks, etc.).
• To parents who are dropping off their students in the parking lot in the morning, please do not let your child out of the car before the bell at 8:10am. We do not have staff out there before that time and several parents have been dropping off before the bell, which is causing a major safety issue.

• Please remind your children that they may only use their own lunch accounts. They are not permitted to use accounts belonging to siblings, relatives, or friends. Unfortunately, we have had to turn several students away this week because of this issue.

  
  

We have a few important systems that will help our school year run smoothly. Please take a moment to make sure you have access to each one:

Infinite Campus

• What it does: Lets you view your child’s grades and attendance, and submit excuse notes.
• Step 1: Get your student’s activation code here: Lookup Activation Code
• Step 2: Use your code to create your account here: Infinite Campus Login
• WE ARE ALSO IN S DISTRICT COMPETITION TO HAVE THE MOST FAMILIES SIGN UP, SO PLEASE HELP TMS WIN!

Here Comes the Bus

• What it does: Allows you to see your child’s bus location, receive alerts when the bus is near, and have peace of mind about arrival times.
• What you need: Your child’s Student ID number
  • If you do not know it, email jeremy_mortensen@pernder.k12.nc.us and he will send it to you.
• District Code: 29081
• Sign Up Here: Here Comes the Bus

Rooms

• What it does: Our county-wide communication system for messaging between teachers and parents.
• Set up your account here: Rooms Information

Thank you for taking the time to set up these systems. Having access will make communication and daily routines much smoother for you and your child! We greatly appreciate the tremendous partnership we have with our TMS families!

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