Dear TMS Students and Families,
It’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks we will be welcoming back students, staff, and community members for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. I hope you’ve had an amazing start to summer and have been able to spend time with family and friends. As the summer begins to wind down, I hope that you will continue to find time for daily reading and math/problem solving practice. Research has indicated that students can lose up to two months of learned skills over summer. Therefore, over the next few weeks, I challenge every student to read books, articles, poems, and work on problem solving/math skills. Working on these skills now will ensure that each student is ready to dive into learning on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.
The 2018-2019 school year was an incredible year for our students, staff, and community. The past few weeks have provided us with time to review academic and school culture data as well as reflect on ways in which we can continue to build on the strong foundation we have established. I cannot thank our entire school community enough for the overwhelming support and effort in helping us reach and in some cases surpass our academic and school culture goals. I am extremely excited to see where our continued collaboration and teamwork will take our students, school, and community. I am confident that together we will make Thurmont Middle School one of the most successful middle schools in FCPS.
During the month of August, TMS staff and several community members will be gathering to begin drafting our 2019-2020 School Improvement Plan. During this time, we will be creating goals that will guide our work throughout the year. As we work on schoolwide goals, I am asking every student and parent/guardian to think about what you want to get out of the upcoming school year. Please use the next several weeks to create goals that will drive and guide you during the year. I encourage you to write down your goals so that you can refer back to them and track your growth towards attaining them.
I am excited to announce that we have hired several new teachers for the upcoming school year.
I would like to extend a warm Panther welcome to Mr. Robert Almodovar (World Language), Ms. Brianne Green (History), Ms. Becky Hunter (ELA), Ms. Crystal McKenzie (SEIA), Ms. Aimee Watkins (Math), and Mr. Todd Zinn (Tech Ed). Additionally, I would like to congratulate Ms. Mary Lee Quealy on her move from the History department to the Physical Education department. We are lucky to be welcoming such a talented and passionate group of educators to an already amazing staff.
I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming school year and look forward to all of the achievements of our students and the goals they will attain. Students will have the opportunity to receive their schedules and walk the building during our Open House on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 from 8:00-12:30 and 1:30-5:30. Additionally, we will be holding our Back to School Night on Thursday, August 29, 2019 from 6:00-7:30. For additional information about TMS, please be sure to sign up for our FindOutFirst as well as follow me on Twitter @FCPS_ThurmontMS. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or ideas that you would like to discuss
Thanks,
Danny Enck
Principal
