TMS Special Edition Newsletter

Dear TMS Community,

Daily attendance is crucial for student learning and school success. At TMS, we are grateful for your support in ensuring your child attends school regularly. Furthermore, we appreciate you promptly reporting when your child is unable to attend school due to illness or another reason BEFORE 8:15 AM on the day of the absence. Timely attendance reporting helps prevent unexcused absences and ensures your child’s safety.

BIG NEWS!

We are thrilled to announce that we have streamlined the attendance reporting system, and starting Monday, February 24, you now can report attendance in the online PowerSchool Parent Portal. This upgrade allows you to report a daily absence and track your child’s attendance data directly in the PowerSchool Parent Portal, the same system where you view your child’s grades.

KEY INFORMATION

• Starting Monday, February 24, the TMS online attendance reporting link will take parents directly to the online PowerSchool Parent Portal. Watch a brief video How to Submit Attendance on Powerschool or see the step by step directions below.
• You must know your Parent PowerSchool username and password to log in and report an absence for your child online. (To request your parent/guardian codes for PowerSchool, please fill out this form.)
• We are eliminating the old Google Form previously used to report attendance.
• If needed, you can still call the TMS Attendance Line at 847-398-4260: press 1 and leave a message on the attendance line.

Thank you for your partnership in ensuring daily attendance and timely absence reporting!

With gratitude,

The TMS Administrative Team

Lori Naumowicz, Principal

Greg Keadle, Associate Principal

Jeremy Fischer, Associate Principal & Epsilon Teacher

Allie Yoder, Associate Principal & TMS Student Services Coordinator

Step 1: Click the same green attendance button on the TMS website or in our TMS Community Newsletter that says "REPORT AN ABSENCE - Late Arrival - Early Dismissal" (available February 24). You can also navigate directly to the PowerSchool Parent Portal or bookmark the site.

Step 2: Scroll down and click the ATTENDANCE MONITOR icon on the left. (If you have multiple students at TMS, choose the name first in the top left of the screen.)

Step 3: On the Report Absence tab, complete the CREATE ATTENDANCE REPORT as seen in the image below, including:

• Absent date(s)
• Absent Reason
• Indicate whole/partial day
• Explanation

Step 4: Click SUBMIT.

TIPS

• Parents/guardians can only do this for ONE child at a time. If you are reporting absences for multiple children in your family, you must choose each child separately, click Create Attendance Report, and Submit for each child.
• You can report future absences as soon as you know the dates.

Call the TMS office attendance line at 847-398-4260, press 1, and leave a message on the attendance line. For record-keeping purposes, all attendance calls are recorded through the TMS attendance message line. Office Administrative Assistants will transfer all attendance calls to the attendance message line.

LEGAL NOTICE: The online PowerSchool Portal for attendance is to be filled out and submitted only by the student's parent or legal guardian. In the event that a person other than the student's parent or legal guardian fills out and submits this form, AHSD25 reserves the right to take any legal action for fraudulent submission and/or take disciplinary action against any AHSD25 student(s) involved. We reserve the right to call home and verify the absence as needed.

Expected Arrival Time:

• Students arrive at school between 7:30 AM and 7:40 AM.

• Doors open at 7:40 AM and students are expected to be seated in homeroom by 7:50 AM.

Arrival Locations:

• 7th and 8th graders enter through the main glass entrance off Belmont Avenue.

• 6th-grade bus riders enter through the Science/PE doors on the west side of the building at 7:40 AM. All other sixth-grade students enter through the 6th grade doors parallel to Thomas Street at 7:40 AM. Both 6th-grade entrances close and lock at 7:41 AM.

• All students arriving after 7:40 AM must enter the building via the main glass entrance off Belmont Avenue.

Late Arrival & Tardies:

• Students arriving late to school (after 7:50 AM) will be marked unexcused unless a parent/ guardian reports the reason for the tardiness through the online PowerSchool Portal or by calling the TMS office attendance line at 847-398-4260, press 1, and leave a message.

• All students arriving after 7:50 AM must sign in at the TMS main office.

• If your child needs to leave early for a doctor’s appointment or other valid reason, report this attendance via the online PowerSchool Portal or by calling the TMS office attendance line at 847-398-4260, press 1, and leave a message.

• Students must then sign out in the main office before leaving school.

1. If your child has been absent or they have a planned absence in the future please begin to check your child's Schoology account. Students can stay up-to-date by logging into Schoology.
2. We do not expect your child to complete the work while they are absent because we understand that they are sick and that is the reason they are home. When the student is feeling better and ready to begin making up the work it will be available on Schoology. If the student has questions about the work, inquiries should be emailed directly to the teacher.
3. Students absent from class should plan to attend Homework Club or Office Hours after school for additional support upon returning from the absence. Meeting with teachers after school for at least 1-2 days for each day of missed class can help promote student success and reduce anxiety about missed work.
4. Students are encouraged to reach out directly to teachers by attending Homework Club or Office Hours or by sending a message on Schoology in order to ask questions or get assistance.

The TMS Office is open Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Address: 1430 N. Belmont Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Phone: 847-398-4260

Fax: 847-394-6843