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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26
» PU/CA/U Student Conferences
PU/CA/U NO CLASSES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29
» Varsity Baseball
Time TBD, @ Weber School » Spring PM Begins TUESDAY, MARCH 1
» PVA Meeting
6:30pm WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
» Read Across America Day
» Varsity Golf
4:00pm, @ Cottage School THURSDAY, MARCH 3
» Spring Sports Portraits
» Coed Varsity Track
3:00pm, Home » Coed Varsity Tennis
4:00pm, @ Cottage School » Spring Musical Cast/ Parent Meeting
5:00pm, SAC FRIDAY, MARCH 4
» Muffins for Moms-M ONLY
8:30am, Middle Great Room SUNDAY, MARCH 6
» Accreditation Committee Visit Begins
Social Media   
 
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| Art of the Week 
This is a work of art made in Sculpture I class by 9th grade Communication Arts student, Amy Lamp'l, where the students were asked to create a sculpture around the theme "Ouch".
Jennifer Mulligan
The Girls Varsity Basketball team, parents, and coaching staff are very thankful for all your help and support to our team. Thanks for organizing the snacks and drinks for each game, ordering food for our team on away games, and for organizing our end-of-the-season activity. Thanks to you we've had the best season ever! Coaches Brad and Carlos
Weight-Lifting/Conditioning There is still room in the Weight-lifting/Conditioning group and they are taking sign-ups now!  Practice Days: Monday - Thursday
February 17, 2016 - May 5, 2016 3:15 - 5:15pm Cost $335.00 SIGN UP HERE
Sandwich Book Reports
Guest Journalist - Ethan Bell, 6th Grade, Middle School
This week in Mrs. Gretchen’s class, we completed Sandwich Book Reports about the non-realistic fiction books we have been reading outside of class. The sandwiches presented a good visual and it helped us to break down the report in a fun way. On the top piece of bread, we put the name of the novel, the author’s name, and our name. On the lettuce, we described the setting of the book. The tomatoes each represented a character which we described in detail. The cheese included the author’s purpose and genre of the book. We summarized the major plot points of the book on the meat. Finally, on the bottom slice of bread, we gave a personal review of the book. Some of the books we read included Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Monument 14, Gone, The Testing, Legend, Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics, and The Mysterious Benedict Society. We loved presenting the books and ended up with a list of books we want to read based on other students’ recommendations. Pictured are Zach Weiss, Connor Doyle, Hailey Lober, and Julian Lopez as they bite into their novel sandwiches.
 Musician of the Week
Meet 8th grade Communication Arts School student, Jack Buckley. Jack joined the band this semester on clarinet and is already doing a fantastic job! In his spare time, he loves to watch TV and is a video game master. He is our Musician of the Week!
Congratulations Jack!
Last Chance to Register!
 PM Programs begin next week! If you haven't registered yet, there is still time. Please note the following changes: A couple programs have been canceled due to low registration numbers (Mustang Muggles, STEM Club), and the Wednesday programs have been combined (Explorers' Club/Yoga Combo). Register online at www.millsprings.org/pm.
 Baby Genes
Vaidehi’s Honors Biology class did a simulation lab to understand genetics. Students had to find out why some children look so much like their parents and others do not? Students randomly selected a sperm cell and an egg for a potential child. When the simulated fertilization occurs, the resulting baby is compared to its parents. A second child is similarly formed and the two children from the same parents were compared. Students were amazed on how different the two children are from each other and from their parents. This simulation made “real-life” genetic appearances more logical.
CommArts Presents Japan
 Visions of cherry blossoms and bonsai trees greeted visitors to Communication Arts’ annual festival, this year featuring the country of Japan. MSA art students created stunning backdrops of Japanese art, including giant stylized ocean waves, snow-capped mountains, and brilliant orange koi fish. Students throughout the school had worked on hundreds of block prints for months, which featured stylized pictures of animals and flowers. From the ceiling hung giant delicate paper lanterns and umbrellas decorated with Japanese characters and glowing colors. Students Sean Brinkley and Sophie Davis taught visitors how to construct animals in the ancient Japanese art of origami. Creating beautiful objects in another traditional Japanese form, students Emily Kane and Corey Pratt demonstrated the art of flower arranging, called ikebana. A table of bonsai trees completed the visual experience that transported festival-goers to Japan. Communication Arts students were dressed as famous Japanese characters, and related their character’s life story to everyone who walked up to them. READ MORE
Friday, March 4, 2016 8:00 – 8:30am For our Middle School Mothers Only
Middle School's Great Room
For more information please contact your principal.
Up and Coming Games
Congratulations goes out to Harrison Gaitan, 6th grader in Middle School. His game is listed on the Up and Coming Games on GameStar Mechanic. Harrison has been learning game design this semester in Middle Technology. He says, "Doing game design is a good way for me to make improvements in my games. The comments and feedback help me get better and better at designing games and hopefully, I will get one of my games on the front page."
Capstone Project
As a capstone to their Senior year (and as a means to circumvent the inevitable Senioritis), 48 brave Seniors will focus on presenting a topic of their choosing to an audience of 200 to 300 people near the end of March, over the course of 4 days. Seniors have already accomplished writing in-depth research papers in the fall and are currently engaged deeply in their slide presentations and video/project designs to present to friends, family and pass the torch to the underclassmen. In the meanwhile, they not only pursue their own topics, but thoughtfully respond to and help each other also. Some topics to be presented include:
- The Need for Vocational Education
- The Risks and Rewards of Social Media
- How to Pursue a Career in Creative Writing
- The History of MSA
- Cosplay: Myths and Misconceptions
- Deaf Culture: What We do not Know
- The Thrills and Dangers of Illegal Street Car Racing
- Love your Job: A Career in Animation
- America’s Crumbling Infrastructure
- Cloning: A Brief View
Please come support our Seniors in the Upper Great Room on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 22 & 23; and also on Wednesday & Thursday, March 30 & 31. Presentations will run from 8:30am until 3:00pm, with breaks amongst the AM & PM sessions.
Next Week!
Mustang Ladies Basketball
 On Wednesday, February 10th, the MSA girls basketball team played against the Cottage School's girls basketball team in the season tournament at home. The Lady Mustangs fought hard the entire game. Their hard work, determination, and team effort paid off in the end, by wining Cottage with a score of 34-9. With a 5th win of the season under their belt now, this awarded them 3rd place in the 2015-2016 AAC Championship Varsity Girls Basketball. Congratulations Ladies! Go Mustangs!
Budding Meteorologists
 Students in Lower School's Group 3 have been learning about weather in science class. The students learned how to measure weather, read a weather map, and how to forecast weather. They conducted a fun experiment using shaving cream, water, and blue food coloring to illustrate what happens when clouds become too heavy with water droplets. In case you were wondering, it rains! Everyone had a great time learning about weather. The class predicted this weekend will be sunny and warm. We will see what happens, we might have our very own mini-meteorologists here on campus. Pictured is Katie McCullers and Schoch Weaver with their rain experiment. --Branigan Hughes
Public Open House  Wednesday, March 9
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!
STAR Student Announced
The letter came in the mail late January and it says, "I wanted to take a moment to personally congratulate you and your school on your STAR student and teacher winners for Fulton County. I want to compliment Neil Jensen on achieving academic excellence and Alicia Miller for helping Neil and other high school students reach their goals." They were both honored at a breakfast reception with other students and teachers from Fulton County public and private schools. "It was such an honor and a privilege to be chosen by Neil as STAR teacher," stated Alicia Miller, "Neil spoke very well at the reception about his goal to study Computer Science in college." Alicia is Neil's Advisor and was his Honors Algebra/Trig teacher this past year. Congratulations to you both.
Canned Food Drive News
Mill Springs Academy was featured in a blog post by the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB). With praises galore, the Food Drive Sourcing Specialist, Elizabeth Haskell, emailed the school to let us know that our friendly competition on campus was notorious. Make sure you check out their blog post HERE.
What Smart Parents Do
The March 17th admission panel discussion has been changed to Day 1 College Success – What Smart Parents Do to Make Sure Their Child is Prepared. Presenters are Janet Byington and Steve Safigan. Their website is here: www.Day1CollegeSuccess.com More information will be sent out soon. If you would like to register now, just CLICK HERE.
Game Design Launched!
Middle Tech classes launch into game design with GameStar Mechanic this semester. All the students are designing and publishing games. So far they have published 32 games. Gamestar Mechanic is a game and community designed to teach kids the principles of game design and systems thinking in a highly engaging environment. The game features three fully integrated components:
1.Play. Gamestar Mechanic features a rich single-player Quest where players learn the principles of game design through an exciting adventure game. Set in a 'steampunk' world created and run by game designers, the narrative provides critical scaffolding for the player. As the player progresses through the Quest they learn the principles of game design and earn 'sprites' that enable them to design and publish their own games.
2.Design. Once players have shown a certain level of mastery they earn a game design workshop where they can use their 'sprites' to design their own original games. The workshop features a drag and drop game building tool that enables players to design a wide variety of games, which they can publish for others to play and review.
3.Share. The game also features a vibrant community called Game Alley where players can publish, review and collaborate on games designed by others. It creates a community of practice allowing designers to get feedback from their peers as well as professional designers, offering challenges and contests.
Want to become a part of this community? Email Cindy Thorne at cthorne@millsprings.org
Annual Fund Update
Mill Springs Annual Fund continues to climb. However, we must continue our appeal until we have received 100% participation from all of our parents. If your family has not yet made a gift, please consider helping us achieve both our participation and monetary goals by making a gift today. For your convenience, you can make your gift online by CLICKING HERE. Remember, "participation" means a gift of ANY SIZE. - Total Raised - $224, 047
- Total Parent Participation - 71%
Come out Swinging!
Register now for Mill Springs Academy's 18th Annual Tee-off for Technology Golf Tournament. Chances to win on every par 3! - $25,000 Cash
- Luxurious 4-Day/3-Night Golf Vacation to French Lick Resort
- Travis Mathew Head-to-Toe Signature Outfit + $500 Online Shopping Spree
- 3 Nights/2 Rounds Stay & Play Vacation to TPC San Antonio
When: Tuesday, April 19, 2016 Where: Atlanta National Golf Club CLICK HERE TO REGISTER All funds raised will benefit the technology program at MSA.
Are YOU 1 in 1461?
Many people born on leap day–known as “leaplings” or “leapers”–don’t usually wait four years to celebrate their birthdays, but choose to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 instead. Some 4.1 million people worldwide have been born on a February 29, and the chances of having a leap birthday are one in 1,461. In a fascinating family coincidence (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), Norway’s three Henriksen siblings were born on three consecutive leap days: Heidi in 1960, Olav in 1964 and Leif-Martin in 1968. READ MORE HERE about Leap Day.
Sign Up Now!
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 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!
Community Cares & Concerns 
The McKenzie 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
Quote of the Week The situation you live in doesn't have to live in you.
--Roberta Flack
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This week we held a severe weather drill, I passed the 12 year mark of being at MSA, we have been preparing for our re-accreditation process, the last of the student conferences took place, and the winter session of the PM Program has come to an end. New PM sessions begin on Monday!
