MSA Weekly News - September 23, 2016

September 23, 2016 | Vol 10, Iss 6, No 330

NEWSLETTER

I can't believe how the weeks are just zipping by, it seems like I was just doing this. We have had another terrific week here on campus. The PreUpper has a group in Montana and we have had several soccer and volleyball games as well. You may have heard about some drama that included a fire truck/ambulance, that was handled well by our local emergency personnel. Then there are still some MAP tests taking place. We also participated in an open house event at another school. I can't forget to mention that the weather has been superb and we officially moved into FALL - even though it doesn't feel like it. All in all it has been a good week, I hope yours was as well.

I have to say that I am very proud of the things we do around here. On Facebook I am personally friends with one of the girls that is an 2016 alumnae. She posted that she was discouraged, her grades here in high school were very good. But now that she is a freshman in college she is struggling. She talked about the steps she was taking to manage her work load as well as her personal needs. Several of her friends (2015 alums) responded very positively with encouragement and love. They shared their personal experiences and how they handled them. They also told her that she was doing a good job and they knew it would turn around for her, offering to continue to be a sounding board for her at anytime. She was advocating for herself, and her friends? Well they all go to different colleges, but I tell you what, they were right there offering their to support her!

Happy Friday (and Saturday, and Sunday)!

Art of the Week

The Art of the Week is by Middle School student Bella Chapman. This work of art was created with pen and watercolor. Great job Bella!

Thank you Jo and Michelle Jenkins!

Lower School would like to say THANK YOU for providing basketballs, a soccer and football, and other equipment, for us to play with outside. The kids have really enjoyed using all of the equipment! You are the best!

Carissa Nelson

Lower School

Feature Teacher

Meet Katie Winokur! Katie is a new Middle School math teacher, previously she taught honors grades 1-5, as well as the first grade at a school in Miami. She feels that all kids, if given the proper tools can succeed. There are several things she feels are important when teaching students: They must feel safe and supported in their environment, the teacher must identify each child's learning style, and then making the instruction meet the needs of that child are all important. Katie loves "the friendly, safe, and supportive environment that Mill Springs provides." Outside of school she spends her time, running, reading, dancing and participating in water sports. You might be surprised to find that she is a singer and records music at Jan Smith Studios. She is currently reading a book titled, "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Munoz Ryan and her favorite food is Caesar Salad.

Thank you for what you do Katie!

Musician of the Week

Congratulations to Communication Arts student Bella Rousseaux, one of the MSA Band's brand new flute players! Because of her impressive dedication to music, both in class and at home, she is our Musician of the Week!

Congratulations Class of 2017!

Congratulations to Sam Lynch on his acceptance to Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC.

Barn Bash 2016

I hope you have been keeping up with the Facebook posts as we have been giving you a sneak peek into the auction items that will be available.

Please join the Mill Springs PVA for our most fabulous event of the year, the annual Barn Bash! The Barn Bash will be held at the lovely Chukkar Farm and Polo Club in Alpharetta on Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 6:00 pm. We have a delicious meal planned for you, an awesome band, lots of fun games and raffles, and many unique and inspired items for our live and silent auctions. This is your chance to meet and mingle with your fellow MSA parents and enjoy an elegant and date-night worthy event with your spouse! This is it - you do not want to miss this event, trust us! Your attendance at this event will also go far to support a very worthwhile cause, your child's education. Each year, the Mill Springs PVA uses your contributions to benefit your child's school in a meaningful way. Buy your tickets today at http://www.msabarnbash.com/!!

Opportunity on the Soccer Field
In a game that had more ebb and flow than a Daphne du Maurier Novel, the hard fought overtime battle between MSA and Brandon Hall was decided by a penalty kick competition. Brandon Hall drew first blood with an early score which the Mustangs quickly matched when Jake Garrett's shot hit the back of the net; and at the half, the game was squared 1-1. "Early on we played tentative. We didn't hit, we didn't dominate the air game, we spectated instead of dictating the course of action, and we didn't adhere to our playing personality. There is a spirit here at MSA, and that spirit lives inside you. You have to hear that spirit, believe in that spirit, and fight for that spirit. We talk about respect. Respect in and out of the AAC, and we are not going to play second banana to anybody!" READ MORE

What are you Searching for?

When you are looking for something on the website, there is an easy way to find it. No matter where you are on the website - it works from every page - scroll to the bottom of the page and on the right side you will find a green box with a magnifying glass, like the one in the picture, that says, "what are you searching for?" Type in a key word or two, and a list of things that are similar to your key word will come up for you to select from. Then just click the one you think is most appropriate and there it is. It will search on everything within our website, including events and Mustang Market items. As an example, you want to buy a Booster Sweatshirt, but can't locate it. You could either type "Booster" or "Sweatshirt" (or "Booster Sweatshirt") and it will pop up in the Search Results page. Now you only have to pick it from the list. You can search for just about anything with ease. If you ever have any questions about the website just email me, I will be glad to help you out. Cheri

2016 World Geography Olympic Games

This week in Ms. LaToyia's 6th grade World Geography class students participated in the 2016 World Geography Olympic Games. The Olympic Games was a review activity for this week's test. Students were split into teams and competed to receive the gold, silver, and bronze medal based on their knowledge of latitude, longitude, and the 5 themes of geography. Pictured on the right are Bella Chapman, Jacob Riggins, Ryan Lanzo, and Owen Parker writing down their answer to the question in the first picture. A few words from the class' Gold Medal winners...

"I loved participating in the Geography Olympics, I learned a lot, and I am ready to Kung Fu the test!" --Warner Jones

"The Geography Olympics was fun and educational!" --Adriano Hagedorn

"It got very competitive!" --Zachary Weiss

Price Goes Up Next Week!

The school portrait photographs are now available and retake photos should be posted soon. To access/purchase them, please click on your school link below:

The password is MSA202 (it is case sensitive)

NOTE: Make sure to order your photos before Friday, September 30. There will be a 10% price increase beginning on October 1 on all galleries.

Building Words

In class this week, we worked with our magnetic tile journals to build words from our unit. We are working on multi-syllabic words and compound words. The students love building words with their magnet journals and then demonstrating in front of the class. Between our magnetic journals, white boards, chalkboards, and sky writing, we can build words in so many different ways! Pictured is Matthew Allen trying his hand at compound words.

SCHOOL CLOSED

In honor of

Columbus Day

Mill Springs Academy

will be closed

Monday, October 10

EXTRA, EXTRA!

The Communication Arts 9th grade English students are beginning to create their very own newspaper! After a close race and several suspenseful rounds of voting, the class has decided that their publication will be titled, The Sticky Note Times. For the past two weeks, the students have been learning everything they need to know to start writing their articles. We've studied expository and persuasive writing techniques, various types of articles, and digital and print article layout. Over the upcoming weeks, students will be practicing their composition and research skills through writing editorials, feature stories, and hard-hitting news. The Sticky Note Times will be completed this October, so keep an eye out for its release!

35th Annual Founder's Day

Please mark your calendars and plan on attending our annual Founder's Day event on:

Saturday, October 17, 2015

11:30am - 1:00pm

For those families new to Mill Springs, our Founder's Day event is kind of like a fall, family picnic and is our way of honoring the school's founder, Tweetie L. Moore.

The event is FREE OF CHARGE and includes:

Lunch provided by Chick-Fil-A
Rock Climbing Wall with Spider Jump
Video Game Theater
Outdoor Laser Tag
Two Giant Hamster Balls
Bounce House

NOTE: The event will take place near our athletic fields on the MSA campus. When entering the campus that day, please follow all traffic signs down into the fields for event parking.

The Counseling Corner

The Counseling Department would like to remind everyone about the upcoming Parent Workshop next Wednesday, September 28 in the Upper Great Room. We will have a speaker here to discuss the FAFSA/Financial Aid for College. The meeting is from 6:30-7:30pm. We hope you attend! RSVP HERE

Attention All Artists!!!

Sunday, September 25 is National Portfolio Day! The event is held at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center, 246 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE, Atlanta, 30346 from 10am - 2pm. There will be representatives from Regional and National art, film, and design schools. Get more info HERE.

Performing and Visual Arts College Fair is October 10, 6:00-8:00pm at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. To register and view list of schools attending CLICK HERE.

Time to Turn in Box Tops!

Turn in Box Tops by Friday, October 21st for our fall submission and drawing. Place in a zipped bag or envelope with your students name & grade on the bag to be eligible for the drawing. Drop in the collection containers in each school or office. Labels for Education, Tyson A+ labels and My Coke Reward caps/codes should be turned in now too.

Fall drawing winners will be announced in November

EACH School will have a winner that can choose a $10 Gift Card from Barnes & Noble, Dick's, Target or Toys R Us.

Contact Beth Kane with any questions. Thanks for your participation!

Word from the West - Ghost Town

We have all been having a wonderful time and learning so much on the trip thus far. The Grand Classroom guides are wonderful with the students and extremely knowledgeable. One of our guides is actually an Earth Science teacher of 15 years, who is on a sabbatical from his teaching position in Boston. We really lucked out having 2 amazing guides.

We have covered so many topics already such as glacier formation, how the melting of the glaciers have created such beauty in the national park. We have learned how quickly the glaciers are melting currently and that it is estimated they will disappear before 2030, which will be devastating.

Students have also learned about wildlife, Native American tribes in Montana as well as map skills! Luke McCoin and Channing Allen have really taken to the Atlas our guide handed them at the beginning of the trip, when they asked where we are going and how far it was. They now know the route before the GPS even gets the directions out!

Today while making our 5-hour journey from Glacier to Yellowstone, the students were able to stop at the ghost town of Garnet (pictured) and see some great artifacts while completing a scavenger hunt in the town. We had to skip the canoeing due to weather conditions.

We are making our way around Yellowstone tomorrow where we will be learning about all the land forms, geothermal elements, and wildlife. It is in the forecast that we could have snow tomorrow as well! It will be an amazing site to see regardless, but to see buffalo at Old Faithful in the snow, would be a lifetime experience!

The students have received several compliments on being a polite and wonderful group! Bryan and I, as well as the guides, have been so impressed with all of the Level R's on this trip. Hope all is well back home! --Karen Kaiser, PU

Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him.

--Benjamin Franklin

Community Cares & Concerns

The Jones Family

The Swift Family

The Vargas Family

If there is ever a care or concern you would like to share with the community, please just email me at any time, I will be glad to include either names or situations. For privacy, I will only list names and claim ignorance if anyone asks me for details. Cheri