Thank You to Jenn Cloy

Musician of the Week
Meet 10th grade student Andrew Jones! Andrew is a member of our illustrious percussion section in the MSA Band, and is a featured floor tom player in our upcoming concerts! His hard work, determination, and excellent attitude have made him this week's Musician of the Week. Congratulations, Andrew - you are AWESOME!

Recycling Team

Every other week, 6th period math participates in an exercise in long term data collection.  The students go around to the different communities at MSA to collect recycling, weigh it and record the information in a Google Sheet.  At the end of the year the students will create a report on the importance of recycling, our recycling effort at Mill Springs Academy and ways to improve our recycling program. Pictured: Alex Orred, Bradley Dore and Luke McCoin.

THIS WEEKEND! Get Your Tickets!

We have seen sneak previews at several different events throughout the last few weeks. Now is the time to get your tickets and come see the ENTIRE production! It is going to be awesome!

April 28 & 29 (Friday & Saturday)

7:00pm

Stallings Theater - SAC

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

(search for Mill Springs and it will be the only option)

Counseling Corner

This week we have a few resources to help in processing one of the events from this week.

• In addition to having your child speak with their own personal therapist THIS ORGANIZATION has some resources that might be helpful when talking with your child.
• HERE IS A DOCUMENT in relation to speaking to your children about death.
• Lastly, THIS DOCUMENT talks about the signs of trauma.

Watch for more resources to come. In the mean time, if we can be of assistance in any way, please reach out.

Teacher & Staff Appreciation Gift Collection

This is a reminder to all MSA Parents and Guardians that the deadline to contribute to the end-of-the-year Teacher and Staff Appreciation Gift Collection is drawing near.  All contributions must be delivered by Friday, May 5th, so they can be prepared in time for the end of the school year.  In previous years, MSA Parents and Guardians have generously thanked the teachers and staff with a group cash gift.  Remember no amount is too big or too small!!  You can place your cash or check contribution (payable to MSA PVA) in the basket located at the front desk in the Administration Building or you can make an online payment through the MSA/PVA Store.  JUST CLICK HERE to go to the MSA PVA Store and the page will open with the option to donate online.

Thank you for your help to make this end-of-the-year Teacher and Staff Appreciation Gift Collection the best one ever!!!

Keeping it Clean in Lower School

Over the last week, our class has been discussing ways to keep the Earth clean and how to protect our natural resources. On Tuesday, our journal topic was about ways that we use water in our everyday lives. Ethan Easterling wrote some fun facts about water.

Guest Journalist - Ethan Easterling, 4th Grade

You can do a lot of stuff with water. First, I can take a hot shower to get clean. Water is used in a lot of products like lemonade and slime. One thing people use water for is to grow plants and trees. I personally think a lot of famous people, like LeBron James, drink more water than regular people to stay hydrated during games. Water does not have any taste, but it is good for you. Some paintings are made with water colors. Water can do bad stuff, too. It can ruin your cell phone, computer and I pad. Water can get polluted, so we need to keep it clean.

First Monday Coffee Break

Monday, May 1st

Join your fellow MSA parents for coffee on the first Monday of each month! We will meet at Starbucks at the intersection of Crabapple and Houze Roads, right after morning carpool. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents as well as share advice and ideas. So drop off your student and come on over - we look forward to seeing you there! All are welcome.

Protein Synthesis

Guest Journalist - Tyler Goodwyn, Upper School

This week in Vaidehi's Honors Biology class we learned about protein synthesis which was a very interesting concept. We were to learn about what protein synthesis was and how DNA is so important in making the proteins which helps us maintain homeostasis and overall, stay alive. What are the processes of protein synthesis? Protein synthesis involves the code within the genetic material which is DNA or mRNA sequences to be translated into protein. It starts out in a stage called Transcription in which the DNA makes a copy of itself with the help of DNA polymerase that unzips the DNA strand and the nucleotides are shown and the template is created. The RNA molecule then replaces the Adenine, Thymine sequence with an Adenine, Uracil sequence or AU. The process of transcription ends when the nucleotides are separated from the original sequence and then sent off by mRNA or the nucleotide messenger to the cytoplasm. Then the process of translation begins. READ MORE

Molecule Dog

This week we built models of molecules like our little pet molecule dog "Propie" pictured here. The lab focused on alkane and alkene hydrocarbons.

--Jay Hudson, Communication Arts Instructor

Athletic Sports Reception

Susan Day and Brandi Smallwood attended the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) superconference which was held along with the Texas Association (TACAC) and the Rocky Mountain Association (RMACAC) in San Antonio Texas. There was lots of time for networking and many wonderful sessions such as "Show me the Money" about helping families find scholarships, Finding the Right Post-Secondary Fit for the Student with learning Differences, and Gap Year – Myths Busted. We both learned a lot and came back full of new ideas.

Mustang Baseball

Mustang baseball had another successful season finishing second the AAC tournament. Our boys demonstrated great strength and courage competing in this tournament, given everything that has happened at school this week. Although we did not achieve our goal of bringing home a championship, we did achieve our goal of coming together as a team showing great fellowship. I am proud of our team and I look forward to next season.

--Brad Smallwood, Coach

Blood and Cardiovascular System

Guest Journalist - Alexis Herrington, Upper School

Today in Anatomy, we learned about blood and dissected a sheep heart. Blood has four types, A, B, AB, and O. There is also the Rh factor with each person's blood either being Rh positive or Rh negative. The type of blood is determined by the presence or absence of the A and B antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. If the person's blood doesn't have a certain antigen, then they will have the equivalent antibody instead. For example, A type blood has A antigens but no B antigens, so there would be B antibodies in the blood stream. You can't have the same letter antigen and antibody at once, because they would attack each other.

We looked over a poster as Vaidehi explained how old blood flows first through the superior and inferior vena cava, then to the right atrium, through the tricuspid valve, to the right ventricle, through the pulmonic valve, to the pulmonary artery, and finally to the lungs. (Alexis Herrington pictured with a sheep heart.) READ MORE

Public Open House

Wednesday, May 10

9:00 - 11:00am

Student Activity Center

If you know someone that might benefit from attending MSA, please invite them to an Open House or better yet bring them! In case you haven't attended an Open House, it provides prospective parents with an overview of the school, a wonderful Fine Arts presentation, at least one parent and one student perspective, a tour of the school and an opportunity to speak with the principal. It's a great opportunity for them to get a feel for what we are all about. Word of mouth is by far the biggest way families find their way to Mill Springs and we know that you sometimes have the chance to be "Mill Springs on the Street", we thank you for sharing MSA!

A Recipe for Fractions

In Ms. Kaylee's math class, we are learning fraction operations. To practice these skills, students have been working on a recipe project involving multiplying and dividing whole numbers, fractions, and mixed numbers. Each student chose a recipe and had to double, triple, and halve their recipes in case they needed to make enough food for more or less people based on their serving sizes. Students are getting inspiration from real cookbooks to help them design their own cookbooks featuring their recipes. Next week, students are allowed to bring in their recipes to share with the class while we read each other's cookbooks. Pictured are sixth graders Logan Vladick (left) and Grayson Cloy (right) with their projects.

Final Project of the Year

Guest Journalist - Sammy Mishkin, Upper School

This past Monday, we concluded the Rube Goldberg Project segment of this year's physics course. In third period, our project's end objective was to knock off a tennis ball from a PVC Pipe. The project started with Sean Roberts' RC Truck going up a ramp, hitting Lindsay Lopp's cup, which contained a small metal ball bearing. From there, the ball rolled into Morgan Graves' PVC Pipe track which landed into Rachel Fisher's Water Bottle Funnel. The funnel led to Samuel Mishkin's 3D printed marble track. The track transported the marble to a race car track, which activated Scott Collins' and Ross Morella's snap circuit machine, which pulled out class's PVC pipe to knock the ball to the ground! We devoted a lot of time and effort to this project, and had fun every single moment of it. This was the last main project of the year as our Seniors get geared up for graduation.

Tesla Was Right!...

Says some bumper stickers that can be seen around the PreUpper School these days. Most of these stickers came from the ACE class's interest and appreciation of Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943).

Among Tesla's many contributions to our modern world is the development of reliable means of creating and distributing alternating current (AC), which is the electricity available in the wall outlets in your home. He had a feud with Thomas Edison about this; Edison was a big proponent of direct current (DC). Tesla demonstrated that AC could be safely and easily distributed across a city without too much loss through the wires. Tesla's work greatly helped the development of technology related to Amateur Radio.

Tesla also developed the eponymous "Tesla coil" as part of his investigations into the transmission of electricity without wires.  READ MORE

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Summer Sports Camps are Fun!

Sign up now for Summer Sports Camp at Mill Springs Academy. We are offering coed basketball and soccer, along with girls' volleyball. For more details or to register CLICK HERE or talk to Coaches Phil Hanson for basketball or soccer, and Karen Kaiser for volleyball. This is an excellent opportunity for all new students to get to know some of our coaches and get in the groove before school starts in August. GO MUSTANGS!