No, restaurant food is not allowed in the cafeteria or to be brought in for students to eat. We don't allow parents to eat with their student(s) in the cafeteria; all Tipton Middle School students eat lunch daily in the TMS cafeteria with
their grade-level peers.

Coaches will do call-out meetings for sports as their seasons approach. Announcements will be made during the school day for students, and the TMS Athletics newsletter, which is sent out to all parents and guardians every Friday, will also include information on upcoming call-out meetings.

Club sign-ups typically happen within the first few weeks of school during the homeroom period (or lunch) when a callout meeting takes place. Clubs typically meet on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays throughout the school year.

If you need to call in for a student who is sick, please call the Middle School Office at (765) 675-7521 and leave a message that includes the following:

• Your name
• The student's name and grade
• The reason for the absence

Upon the student's return to school, please send in a note with the student. This ensures the message was received and your student's absence is marked as excused and not unexcused.

TMS does not accommodate students who wish to celebrate their birthday. However, if a parent would like to provide something for their child to celebrate with peers at school, they are welcome to coordinate that. They can coordinate with one of their student’s teachers who is aware of allergy limitations and class sizes to ensure that all students in a class are welcomed into the celebration.

Teachers update grades through PowerSchool. All students have a PowerSchool login to view their grades, and all parents and guardians can view their student’s grades using the login information they created to enroll their child.

If your student needs to leave school for an appointment during the school day, please send in a note to Mrs. Wesner or email her. This ensures your student gets an early dismissal pass to come down to the office at the appropriate time.

Pick up: When picking up your child, you will need to enter the school with a photo ID. Whomever is picking up the child to leave MUST be listed on the student’s emergency contact list.

Drop off: If you are dropping off your student after 8:00 AM, the student may enter the building by themselves. If they are coming in from being at an appointment, please have an appointment notice ready to turn into the office. If a note is not turned in, absences will be considered unexcused.

To submit a prearranged absence for your student, please fill out this form and return it to the TMS office:

TMS Pre-arranged Absence Form

If the student will be gone during regular school hours for vacation, we require that a pre-arranged absence sheet be filled out by the student and parent(s). This sheet should be taken to every teacher to be signed; once that is completed, it should then be turned in to the office. This procedure ensures your student is not marked with unexcused absences. The student must make arrangements with all their teachers for missing work.

TMS uses a seven-period bell schedule. Students spend about forty minutes in each class and have a thirty minute lunch break.

Two sets of bells ring at each bell change. The first bell would be a class dismissal bell; after five minutes, the second bell sounds. This bell indicates that class is starting. Students who arrive in class after the second bell are considered late to class.

TMS follows a 7-period school day, with an additional homeroom period beginning the day. School begins at 8:00 and ends at 3:00.

At TMS, we welcome students expressing themselves through their clothing. At the same time, it is expected that all students manage their appearance so that there is no disruption to the educational setting for themselves or their peers, and that their dress does not interfere with health or safety while they are in the building. If you are interested in reading the TMS Dress Code in its entirety, it can be found on pages 29-30 in the TMS Student Handbook.

For some quick notes…

1. Hats and hoods are not to be worn while students are in the building, unless there is a spirit day.
2. It is expected that students wear sleeved shirts. Neither boys nor girls are allowed to wear tanktops or “brotanks.”
3. Shorts and skirts will be permitted as long as they are an appropriate length.
4. Dress code violations are not typically disciplinary referrals. School staff usually simply ask students if they have a change of clothes, and if they do not, our school nurses have changes of clothes. If a student would prefer, a call home may be made to ask for a change of clothes.

Following TCSC Board policy, phones are to be “off and in your locker” for students while they are in session at TMS. As many parents can attest to, phones can be highly distracting for even the most attentive middle school-aged child. Keeping phones out of classrooms ensures students are learning to their fullest potential and teachers can lead their classrooms most efficiently. This policy is typically only enforced when a student struggles with inappropriate phone use in class, so if your middle school student has a phone, we encourage families to speak with their student about appropriate phone use in general (an important topic in the 21st century!).