The Topsail Times

Good afternoon, Topsail families!

Spring is in the air, and we’re “springing” into March faster than ever! As we approach the end of Quarter 3, it’s hard to believe how quickly this school year is flying by. Our TMS students are learning, growing, and doing amazing things every day, and we’re excited to finish the quarter strong as we head into the home stretch of the year.

Please take a moment to check out everything going on here at Topsail Middle School for this upcoming week in this edition of our weekly Topsail Times newsletter.

Important Dates This Week:

• 3/2: Girls Basketball/Boys Soccer Semifinals @ TMS (4:15PM)
• 3/3: Workday for Teachers - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
• 3/4: Girls Basketball/Boys Soccer Finals - TBD
• 3/5: TMS Theater Rehearsal (Aux Gym) @ 3:35pm
• 3/6: End of Quarter 3
• 3/6: FCA (Aug Gym) @ 4pm

TMS Families, be on the lookout for a Parent Letter coming home with your student on Monday. These letters are an important part of planning student transportation routes for the 2026–27 school year.

Please review the letter carefully and follow the instructions included. Your timely response helps us complete a large portion of route planning early, ensuring a smoother process for the start of the new school year with transportation.

Thank you for your support with this!

Ready for some fun and school spirit? 🎉 Come cheer on students (and their favorite teachers!) at our mini dodgeball tournaments on March 5, 2026.

• 5th & 6th grade: 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM

• 7th & 8th grade: 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
  Tickets: $5.00 🎟️

Which match are you most excited to watch — students vs. teachers or student-only showdowns? Tell us below and bring the whole family!

As a reminder, when reporting absences, please email tms@pender.k12.nc.us. Please do not email your child’s teacher directly.

Thank you for your support with this!

Want to give your TMS student a shout-out for everyone to see? 🎨

Reserve our PTO "Paint the Rock" and paint a special message just for them—birthdays, big wins, encouragement, or just because!

If you’re interested, please send an email to kristis@bpstudios.com to sign up.

In celebration of Read Across America Day next Monday, March 2, Governor and First Lady Stein are excited to share a special read-aloud of The Magical Yet. You can watch their video together as a family by clicking here. We hope you’ll take a moment to enjoy this story and celebrate the joy of reading with your student!

Pender County Schools is excited to share a new online resource for families: Parent ProTech. This user-friendly platform is designed to help parents and caregivers navigate kids’ technology use, social media, and online safety with confidence. Parent ProTech offers short videos, guides, and practical tips on topics like managing screen time, setting up parental controls, understanding popular apps and games, and supporting healthy digital habits at home.

Families can explore the growing library of courses and resources any time by visiting:
https://app.parentprotech.com/courses or scan this QR Code:

We encourage you to browse what’s available and use these tools to support your child’s safe and responsible use of technology.

Curious what our middle school counselors really do? Check out this quick “Myth vs. Fact” spotlight to see how they support students with friendships, stress, organization, academics, and planning for the future—while partnering closely with families.

It's that time of year again! It's time to order your student a TMS yearbook!

Please CLICK HERE for this March's cafeteria menu.

Also, as a reminder we are a peanut-free school, so please do not send any peanut-based products with your TMS students for lunch or a snack.

Thank you for your support with this!

Fuel your day with good food and great vibes during National School Breakfast Week, March 2–6! All students at Topsail Middle can enjoy free breakfast and lunch—no cost and no sign-up required. Please help us spread the word so every student can take advantage of these healthy, delicious meals.

TMS Community,

Thank you to everyone that has been following our new traffic pattern for drop off and pickup. We have seen a major reduction in the number of cars that are blocking traffic on Hwy 17 in the morning and afternoon. However, in reviewing our traffic flow over the last several days, we are starting to see an increase in traffic entering the main entrance in both the morning and afternoon. All cars that are dropping off students in the morning or picking up students in the afternoon should enter at the stoplight on Jenkins Rd.

In an effort to support this, starting on Monday February 9th, cars that enter through the front entrance to the school will not be able to enter the pickup traffic pattern and will have to go back out to Hwy 17 and down to the light at Jenkins rd.

NCDOT has let us know that impeding traffic on Hwy 17 is not acceptable. Having all cars enter on Jenkins Rd will eliminate this issue.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Mac.

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. Please email the to the following: tms@pender.k12.nc.us Please do not email your teacher.
• 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

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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8TH GRADE NEWSLETTER

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