THORNTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
October/November 2025 Newsletter
The 25/26 school is well underway, and believe it or not, we are quickly approaching the end of the first quarter (Oct. 10)! We have welcomed over 600 new students to Thornton this year, and they have all been doing a great job adjusting to the middle school process and unique Thornton culture. Our student and staff population is amongst the largest it has ever been with almost 2,000 students on campus, which makes us the largest middle school in Fremont and one of the overall largest schools in the district! Thank you for sending your child to school everyday, prepared to learn, and doing their best to become a positive, contributing member of our community.
Approximately 500 students participated in our Harry Potter themed Back-to-School Social on Friday, September 12th. Thank you to Mr. Shutes and our leadership students who planned this exciting event and are already busy planning the Halloween Social which will actually be held on Halloween this year, so save the date!
In addition to the Halloween social, we have several other note-worthy dates coming up in the next couple of months: quarter 1 ends on October 10th, parent/teacher conferences are scheduled on October 23rd & 24th (more on the format and times below), and the official start of the middle school boys' basketball season is October 20th (tryout information will be forthcoming in the daily bulletin). As a reminder, information for these and other TMS events can always be found on the school website calendar or by reviewing the Thornton Middle School Year-At-A-Glance Calendar. We look forward to all of the excitement the next few months will bring!
Thank you for your continued support of Thornton Middle School!
Ms. Strausbaugh, Principal
Lunch Cart
There is a cart located in front of the office for parent convenience. The cart may be used to drop off forgotten items (ie. PE clothes, water bottles, etc...) and/or student lunches. Please make sure your child knows that you are dropping off an item and remind them to check the cart. This cart is not monitored and student lunches are left at your own risk. As a reminder, students are able to receive a free, hot lunch from school if they have forgotten their lunch at home.
School Rules, Policies & Procedures
Did you know that the Assistant Principals held a Town Hall meeting with every student the week of August 18th? Assistant Principals conducted meetings during your child's PE class and provided a lot of information regarding student policies and procedures which are also outlined in the first few pages of the Thornton Agenda. To learn more about what was covered, please take a minute to review the slide presentation.
Upcoming Minimum Days & Days Off
- October 23rd - Minimum Day (12:45pm)
- October 24th - No School for Students (Conference Day)
- November 11th - No School (Veterans Day)
- November 20th - Minimum Day (12:45pm)
- November 21st - No School
- November 24th - 28th - No School (Thanksgiving Break)
Traffic
Please continue to follow all traffic rules when driving your child to and from school. It is important that students ONLY exit or enter the vehicle within the designated parking loops and from the passenger side of the car. Students jumping in and out of the car on Thornton Avenue is dangerous and illegal. Students need to remain in the car until they are safely in the designated loop and beside a sidewalk. Getting in and out of the car in the middle of the loop or driving path is prohibited. In addition, please know that cars may NOT turn right into the school parking lot on a red light. We have had some "close calls" in the crosswalk due to drivers rolling through the crosswalk on a red light.
Visitors on Campus
Please remember that ALL visitors must sign in and out of the main office. Individuals may not enter the campus without a visitors badge. Parents/Guardians/Siblings who are picking up or dropping off students must remain outside of the gated area. This includes the gates at the back of the campus. Please follow these guidelines to help us ensure student safety and not waste staff resources traveling across the campus to ask those picking up students to remain outside of the gates.
Clubs and Intramurals
Did you know that Thornton offers a variety of clubs and intramural activities outside of the extracurricular volleyball and basketball athletic teams? Our staff volunteers A LOT of time to host a variety of clubs and events. Students had a chance to explore the various clubs while participating in our club rush event on Sept. 11th during lunch. If you are interested, please look at the Club page on our website and listen to the daily announcements.
Before and After School Enrichment Classes
Thornton has been extremely fortunate to have been allocated money from Proposition 28 that helps fund additional Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) instruction and materials in schools. We will be conducting before and after-school enrichment classes starting in October. The classes will run for the remainder of the semester. There are many class options that meet on various days and times. Each class runs for a 4 week session. Several of the classes will have two or three session options in order to maximize the amount of students who are able to sign-up. Class sizes will remain small and students who sign-up will be expected to attend every class meeting during the session that it is offered. There was a separate email provided with a google form to sign up for classes. Only Thornton students, using their district issued email will be able to sign up. The class catalog is available for your advanced planning to help determine which session/s your student may want to participate. Please note that many classes overlap. Students should NOT sign up for classes/sessions that are in conflict with days/times. A registration form will be emailed for students to sign-up on October 1st via Parent Square. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis.
International Walk and Roll to School Day - October 8th
Wednesday, October 8 is International Walk and Roll to School Day. If you live close to Thornton, encourage your child to walk, ride their bike or scooter, or skateboard to school. If you don't live close by, consider dropping your child off away from the school or carpool with a group. On October 8, a Thornton PTSA parent volunteer will be at school tallying the number of students who walked, rolled or carpooled to school. This will cut down on the traffic congestion around the school. Once your child knows the route, s/he can take this route more often. It will save parents time in the mornings too!
Halloween Social
Golden State Warriors - Thornton Night
If you are interested in joining your classmates and staff members at the Warriors Game on February 19th, please purchase your tickets now using the link on the attached flyer. If you purchased tickets and your student is interested in having a chance to participate in the player tunnel or anthem kids (as listed on the flyer), you will be contacted at the beginning of February by Ms. Strausbaugh. The Warriors will provide a list of all email addresses, who used the Thornton code to purchase tickets, to Ms. Strausbaugh. Ms. Strausbaugh will send out a Google Form to be completed by the parent. The form will collect the student/s names and ID#'s to be entered in a chance to participate in the player tunnel or anthem kids selection. If selected, more specific information will be provided directly to those individuals.
Conference Information
Thornton Middle School will be hosting Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 23rd and Friday, October 24th. The conference schedule is a change from previous years. We will have a minimum day on Thursday, Oct. 23rd and there will be NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS on Friday, October 24th. Conference attendance is NOT required for all guardians. This is an opportunity for Parents/Guardians to meet with teachers if their child(ren) are struggling in class and are in danger of failing. If your child is doing well in the class and has an A or B, there is no need to signup or attend conferences. Each teacher has over 100 students so there will not be time to meet with every parent. If your child is performing well in the class and you'd still like to talk to the teacher, it is recommended to contact the teacher via email or by phone to discuss how you can continue to support your child at home. Conferences this year will be a hybrid of both virtual (via Zoom) and in-person. Virtual conferences will be held on Thursday, Oct. 23rd from 1:00pm - 4:00pm AND Friday, Oct. 24th from 11:30am - 2:00pm by sign-up only. Every teacher will send out information on how to sign-up using Sign-Up Genius for the virtual conferences. If you do not receive this information by Friday, October 17th, please reach out directly to the teacher. The in-person conferences are being held on Thursday, Oct. 23rd from 4:30pm - 7:00pm AND Friday, Oct. 24th from 8:00am - 11:00am at Thornton on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parents will arrive on campus and go to the room of the teacher with whom they are wanting to meet and wait outside of the classroom for their turn to be called for the conference. If the line is long for the teacher you are wanting to meet and there are others you are hoping to talk with, as well, try going to those teachers first then circle back.
Student Schedules Needed for Conferences
For in-person conferences, please have your child provide you with their schedule that includes the teacher/room number of the teacher with whom you would like to meet. Please bring the schedule with you when arriving to the school.
Is there a staff member that you would like to recognize for their hard work? Did someone at Thornton go above and beyond to make you or your child feel welcomed to Thornton? Would you like to brag about your child's teacher? We would love to hear your feedback that will also be shared with our staff! Please consider taking a moment out of your day to recognize those individuals who are making a positive difference in the lives of our students by completing the attached google form.
