MSA Weekly News - November 11, 2016

November 11, 2016 | Vol 10, Iss 13, No 337

NEWSLETTER

ONE Word

We started out the week with a day off for the students. This was not, however, a day off for the staff/faculty. We all attended the Georgia Independent School Association's annual conference. Then on Tuesday we started a new session of PM programs, Wednesday brought an open house, then their was a dinner meeting for the cast and parents of the spring musical. Today is Booster Pizza and Krispy Kreme Friday. Happy Veterans Day to those of you who have served our country in any one of the armed forces, Thank you for your service! Please don't forget that tomorrow is PVA Beautification Day from 9-noon, please come lend a hand if you can.

Remember last week when I asked you for ONE Word to describe MSA? Well I got lots of wonderful responses, including a mom and a dad (from different families) who couldn't contain themselves and sent at least 10 ONE Words, so awesome. I gathered words from email and from Facebook. So the graphic above depicts those ONE Words - the bigger the word, the more frequently it was submitted. So many nice words were shared within the reasons why that ONE Word was chosen. I'm going to share some of them throughout the newsletter - look for "ONE Word - Why?".

I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

Art of the Week

This week's Art of the Week is a beautiful pastel and colored pencil drawing by Upper School student Raymond Cobb. In this drawing he has created his own reproduction of a work by Vincent Van Gogh.

Thank you Lower School Parents

Thank you to the parents of Lower School who have helped purchase wonderful prizes for the Reading Counts Store. The students work hard reading books and taking quizzes to earn points. Then they shop at the store with the points four times a year. The money and gift cards you donated helped make our first store a huge success!

Cindy Thorne, Tech Teacher

Sports Physics

My physics students have been learning about mechanics, collisions, and energy transformations. Students worked on various activities in lab to measure speed, velocity, acceleration, momentum, impulse and have an understanding of elastic and inelastic collisions using the car track and toy cars. Then they took advantage of the nice weather to apply their knowledge of physics in playing soccer and basketball.

The classes were divided into two groups - one played soccer and the other basketball. They shot a video of their game and discussed the various principles of physics which can be applied to achieve the winning results. Keeping the ball in motion against the opposing and unbalanced forces like friction, wind, gravity is the key. Well, not to forget the opponents opposing foot force. But equally important are the factors like force, acceleration, free fall, projectile motion, momentum and inertia. You can be sure that nothing works without Newton's Laws and the energy concepts. READ MORE

ONE Word - Why? 1 of 8

Gratitude - Because we are grateful we found Mill Springs and grateful of the staff and grateful of the progress our daughter is making.

--PreUpper Parent

PM Program Registration - LAST CHANCE

We have opened the registration window for the 2016-2017 Winter PM Program. Please make your registrations by November 11. The Winter session began on November 8 and runs through February 23.

You can find INFORMATION HERE.

You can REGISTER HERE.

Counseling Corner

On Monday, the entire staff attended the Georgia Independent Schools Association annual conference at Marist School. The keynote speaker was Dr. Wendy Mogul, who you may know from her book, "The Blessings of a Skinned Knee." Her website is full of helpful articles on parenting and can be found here: www.wendymogul.com. One article that I really enjoyed is titled, "Raise a Trailblazer". You can READ THAT HERE.--Susan Day, Counselor

ONE Word - Why? 2 of 8

I think of the word HAVEN, a place safe to learn in your own way.

--Upper Parent

PVA Beautification Day

Many hands make light work!! Don't forget to come out and support your school this Saturday at 9:00am, as we beautify our campus for our students and for our visiting grandparents! Bring your own gardening and painting tools, (i.e., gloves, shovels, spades, paint brushes, wire brushes to remove old paint), and wear your old clothes (wear your PJ's, we won't judge you!).

Parents, students, faculty, and friends are invited! Students will receive community service hours for their efforts Beautification activities will wrap at 11:45am, and we will enjoy a FREE pizza lunch provided by the PVA. Also, volunteers may enter a drawing for a $50 Cheesecake Factory gift certificate to be awarded during lunch. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact chairperson, Cindy Kraft at 678-713-8678. See you ALL on Saturday!!

Please sign up to VOLUNTEER HERE!

Mock Election

This week the PreUpper 8th graders participated in a Mock Election for their Georgia History classes. Students chose from the top 4 political parties for President and Vice President. Students were checked in to vote and given a ballot to take to a polling station. After filling their ballots out, the students placed their votes in our ballot box. Griffin Middleton, designed the voter buttons for those who voted. The results of our Mock Election were:

Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka = 9%,
Gary Johnson and Bill Weld = 12%,
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine = 35% and
Donald Trump and Mike Pence = 44%.

The difference between the top 2 candidates was a slim margin of 4 votes. This Mock Election not only coincided with the national Presidential election, but also the chapters we are currently learning about which cover the foundations of the U.S. government system and the 3 branches of government. Pictured: Griffin Middleton and Drew Horton watching over the ballot box and Mia Nemesh casting her vote.

--Karen Kaiser, PreUpper Teacher

ONE Word - Why? 3 of 8

Community - We, the entire school serve to assist each other.

--Principal

Arrrrrrggg You Ready for Book Fair?

When: Monday November 14th- Friday November 18th

Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8am-4pm, Friday (Grandparents' Day) 8am-1pm

Where: Library

What: We'll have books for ALL ages, even teens. Our Pirate-themed book fair will be so much fun! All proceeds will benefit MSA Library.

We need parent volunteers on Grandparents' Day! If you are interested in helping run the fair on our busiest morning from 9am-12pm or help break down from about 1pm-3pm, please email Brittany Emge (bemge@millsprings.org).

Students! Need service hours? Contact Ms. Brittany if you'd like to help break down the Book Fair after Grandparents' Day on Friday, November 18th from about 1pm-3pm.

I Love US History

In U.S. History students have been learning about the time period of 1820 to 1861. There were many important events happening during this time including slavery, the Underground Railroad and the start of the Civil War. We have done many hands on and interactive activities to help students fully understand the climate in the U.S. during this time. Below is a summary from fifth grader Camryn Padgett about what we are learning and a description of one of our class activities.

"In Ms. LaToyia's class, we are learning about abolitionists, the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. We have been playing a game where we are an escaping slave using the Underground Railroad to get to freedom and we make the decisions, kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book. I love US History!"

--LaToyia Armstead, Middle Teacher

ONE Word - Why? 4 of 8

Supportive - Because all the teachers and peers are always there for you.

-- CommArts Student

Grandparents' Day is Next Week!

Friday, November 18, 2017

9:00 a.m.

Gym - Student Activity Center

We hope all of our Grandparents will join us for breakfast and a wonderful student presentation. If your child doesn't have a grandparent that can attend, tell us about a special person that can come instead.

Because attendance at Grandparents' Day grows every year, we often end up with no empty seats. Please know that this special event is for our grandparents only and we are not able to have parents and students attend the breakfast. Students will be able to be with their grandparents after the breakfast for visiting and pictures! We are looking forward to a wonderful event! If you have any questions contact Leila Smith.

Art Students Meet with Watkins College

Last week, interested art students participated in an awesome presentation by an admissions representative from Watkins College of Art, Design and Film. The rep shared great information about the programs offered at the college. Many students participated in portfolio reviews during his visit as well. Artists observed during the others' reviews as a way to learn about peers' art and to hear the scope of feedback. Conversation was casual, very positive, and constructive!

--Janet Ford, Fine Arts Director

ONE Word - Why? 5 of 8

Prescient - MSA anticipates the needs of our students and responds in advance or simultaneously as the need occurs.

--Staff Member

Early Dismissal/School Closed

EARLY DISMISSAL - Grandparents' Day

Friday, November 18, 2016

12:15p – L/M Carpool

12:30p – PU/CA/U Carpool

12:45p Bus Departs

SCHOOL CLOSED

Thanksgiving Holiday November 21-25

Halloween Parade

Lower School and seniors from Upper School paraded around campus on Halloween day, October 31st. This is a special annual event that the students look forward to each year. All schools come out to cheer and wave as we parade by. It is always so much fun to see the students in their costumes!

A special thank you to Lower School moms Marianne Borden and Laura Bear for organizing a fabulous Halloween party for Lower School. We had many fun games and special treats. Thank you so much to all of the Lower School moms that volunteered their time to come and help with the party!!

ONE Word - Why? 6 of 8

Life-changing - How do you pick one word? From the moment we were introduced to MSA, I knew this was where we were meant to be. It has been life changing for us to be in an environment that celebrates differences, teaches to the child instead of the curriculum, and helps each student learn important skills that will help them not only be active and successful members of society, but leaders as well.

--Middle Parent

Counseling Hosts Parent Workshop

November 29, 2016

6:30 - 7:30pm

PreUpper Great Room

Dr. Greer Ezrine PhD will offer tips for helping adolescents build social and emotional competence. All parents are welcome.

Please RSVP HERE.

Swim Teams First Meet

This past weekend the mighty Mill Springs Mustangs took to the pool for their first swim meet of the season in a clash against the visiting Howard Hawks. In a closely contested meet, the Mustangs were able to pull away and earn their first victory of the season. In order to secure the win, the Mustangs had to rely on their outstanding senior leadership to help guide the younger swimmers. The coaching staff could not be more proud of how everyone rose to the occasion and performed their very best from start to finish!!

The Mustangs will next be in action on Sat, Dec 3 for the second annual MSA Mustang Invite. After our successful first meet, the whole team is fired up to get back in the pool and start practicing again.

If you see any swimmers around school please tell them 'Congratulations' on a job well done!

--Josh Hersko, Coach

ONE Word - Why? 7 of 8

Lifesaving - Saved my son's life!

--Past Parent

20 Cans for Six Tons

November 4 - December 5

The Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) distributed 34% more food to partner agencies than in the prior fiscal year.

72% of households served by ACFB do not always know where they will find their next meal.
73% of households have to choose between payment for medicine or medical care and food.
An estimated 1.4 million Georgians receive emergency food from partner agencies of Georgia food banks.

The food we collect will be distributed among 700 not-for-profit agencies with a variety of feeding programs in 29 counties in metro Atlanta and north Georgia. Some help seniors on a fixed budget make ends meet. Others provide groceries for the working poor. Still others provide meals to the homeless. READ MORE

Skin Deep STEAM

Guest Journalist - Alexis Herrington, Upper School Senior

During the second period of Vaidehi Rallapalli's Anatomy Class, Patrick Rose of the Technical Theater Department brought a unique lesson with him. The Anatomy Class had been learning about the skin system and recently had gotten into skin injuries and diseases. Vaidehi wanted to collaborate science with art (STEAM) and make it a fun learning experience. Being experienced in recreating injuries with makeup, Patrick came down and demonstrated his skills on three students while quizzing them on what symptoms showed up on each. The three injuries that Patrick recreated were a third degree burn, a stab wound, and a road burn on the arms of three volunteers.

The third degree burn had swelling, charring, bone showing, and congealed blood on it. The stab wound had raised skin with a bruised incision filled with blood in and dried around it. The road burn was swelling and bumpy in its texture while being faintly sticky to the touch.

We loved it.

ONE Word - Why? 8 of 8

Peace - After years of worry about my children being in the right school and searching every time I heard of a new school, I had peace knowing I didn't have to search anymore.

--Upper School Parent

Holiday Gift Market

December 5 - 7

CommArts Great Room

Watch for more information soon!

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

--Paul Valery

Community Cares & Concerns

The Carlson Family

The Muir 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