MSA Weekly News - December 9, 2016

9December 2, 2016 | Vol 10, Iss 16, No 340

NEWSLETTER

Winter in Georgia

Welcome to winter in Georgia! It is always interesting when the weather goes from 70 to 30 in the same week.The rain has been long awaited and the sky in the morning and evening has been beautiful. It's amazing how many different kinds of weather we can have in one week.

I hope the students have had a chance to visit the Holiday Gift Shop this week. Our canned food drive has ended (we don't yet have the results), the 7-12th graders have begun reviewing for exams and we have had a most fantastic Winter Band Concert! On the sports front we have had basketball, basketball, more basketball, and swimming :) Go Mustangs! Oh and we had the fun and excitement of a fire drill as well this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Art of the Week

This week's Art of the Week is by a wonderful group of Middle School artists. They created ceramic bobble head creatures that actually bobble! In the photo, left to right is work by Zack Weiss, Ryan Zant, Zach Burns, and Andrew Smith.

Thank You Shelley Middleton

A great big "THANK YOU" goes to Shelley Middleton who has contributed quite a few beautiful items to our holiday decorations. The PreUpper School looks very festive and we appreciate how wonderfully generous you are! Thank you (and Griffin!) for all you do for PreUpper School.
Susan Sanders, Principal

Musician of the Week

This week the amazing MSA Bands performed three phenomenal concerts for faculty, staff, students, and parents! Both the Concert Band and the Symphonic Band sounded absolutely incredible. To quote one concert-goer after Tuesday night's show, "This is the third time I've seen a concert here and every time I'm blown away. This is seriously the best band ever!"

Well, WE AGREE! Band students, your friendly neighborhood band directors are so proud of you. Every one of you worked hard all semester, and we hope that you enjoyed playing those amazing concerts as much as we enjoyed conducting them! We hereby name you all this week's Musicians of the Week - yes, all of you! YOU ARE AWESOME!

Used Uniform Shop

Parents:

The MSA Used Uniform Shop is still in business despite the remodeling and construction taking place around it. Donations have ben pouring in, so there are many new items to choose from. We are open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 8:00-9:00am. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Chrissie Reed cvreed@me.com.

Thank you!

All Academic Team

Congratulations to Yates Smith! Yates made the All Academic Team for Atlanta Junior Golf - Georgia PGA Junior golfers. This award was presented on December 4th at the year-end banquet held at Druid Hills Golf Club. It is awarded to those high school student-athletes having a 3.5 or high GPA. His playing ability and his grades in school earned him a spot on this year's team.

Reporting on Animals

In reading class, we are working on Non-Fiction ABC Book Reports. The students choose an animal to research, and they are compiling information to complete their book reports. For each letter A-Z, the students must include information related to the subtopic, and a nice picture. We are learning all about non-fiction text features, such as a caption, diagram, title, index, and glossary. The book reports are turning out so well! Not only are the students learning about a new animal, I personally am also learning so many interesting animal facts! Holly Stormont said, "Making these books is so much fun, sometimes I forget that we are learning, too!" Pictured clockwise starting top left: Charlotte Christerson, Cooper Casdia, Zoe Caines, and Jake Brown

--Carolyn Shapiro, Lower Teacher

Winter Holiday

EARLY DISMISSAL
Wednesday, December 21, 2016

12:15p – L/M Carpool
12:30p – PU/CA/U Carpool
12:45p Bus Departs

SCHOOL CLOSED
December 22 - January 6, 2017

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday!

Saving Time & Money
Our assignment this week in personal finance class was to share with our classmates a way to save people time and/ or money. Students were able to make a power point presentation, show and tell or any other creative way of demonstrating their topic. Most students did show and tell.

Parker Weyant showed us how to change a flat tire and Emily Wright taught us how to make a blanket. New student, Hayden Fudge, taught us about fishing and different types of lures. In the picture C.J. Espinosa was teaching us how to make a pizza from scratch. It was his first time cooking anything and it came out great! The students really enjoy this and it creates a lot of discussion.

--Michael Smith, Upper Teacher

Holiday Gift Collection - Deadline Extended

Due to the Thanksgiving break, we are extending the deadline for contributions to this year's Holiday Gift Collection from December 9 to Friday, December 16.
Each year, MSA families have generously thanked our teachers and staff with a group cash gift. No amount is too big or too small!! Remember, you get the added advantage of not having to go buy gifts for staff, teachers and your child's principal at those pesky crowded stores!!
You can mail a check for your entire donation payable to MSA PVA to the school, or feel free to personally deposit your envelope in the holiday basket located in the Administration Building. You can also make an online payment through the MSA PVA Store by CLICKING HERE, from the top of the page select "PVA Forms", choose "Teacher and Staff Gift Contribution", now scroll down to "Donations - Holiday Teacher and Staff Gifts". Then all you have to do is enter an amount and click "Donate".
Together we can make this a very special holiday season for the INCREDIBLE teachers and staff of Mill Springs Academy.

Trash

Guest Journalist - Seth Horwitz, 5th Grade, Middle School

Right now in Mrs. Gretchen's reading class we are reading "Trash", a book by Andy Mulligan.It is a realistic fiction story about three young dumpsite boys in an unnamed third world country. Their names are Raphael Fernandez, Gardo, and Rat. They all live in the Behala dumpsite in either shacks or holes. They pick through trash daily with hooks hoping to find something that could make them rich or more likely that they can recycle for money. One day, Raphael finds something that could change their lives. It is a bag that has a wallet with 11,000 pesos, an ID, and some pictures inside. little does he know that this bag could ruin his whole life just as likely as it could make his life better. "Trash" is such an amazing book so far and I would recommend it to anyone that likes realistic fiction mixed with a little bit of comedy.

Does your Laptop Need Some TLC?

All of us here in the tech department know that everything comes to a halt when your computer isn't running its best. If your MSA laptop is running slowly, in need of a hardware repair, or if you would like to upgrade to Windows 10, come see us! We ca run scans, replace broken parts, and upgrade your laptop in no time. If your computer is in need of long term repairs, we can even sign out a loaner for you to use while it's in the shop.

A reminder - if you have purchased your laptop through Mill Springs, your machine has a four-year accidental warranty that covers most repairs. You don't have to live with a cracked screen, keys missing on your keyboard, or defective charger - let us help you!

MILK.

Enjoy the latest offering from MILK., Upper School's student-published newsmagazine. In it, you will find coverage for the CommArts Festival, One Act Play, Thanksgiving, Halloween and much, much more relating to Mustangs, Issues, Lifestyle and Knowledge. MILK.

Take a LOOK HERE!

2016 Final Exam Bus

On the PU/CA/U early dismissal exam days (December 13-20) there will be a 15 passenger white MSA bus leaving campus at 11:00am and traveling the regular Late Bus route down the Johnson Ferry corridor and into Sandy Springs, dropping students at the usual three (3) Late Bus stops. The Cost is $15/day. CLICK HERE for times and stops. Contact William Turner (wturner@millsprings.org) to make a reservation.

The Living World Around Us

This week we wrapped up our Life Science series on the world of plants. Students examined plant cells, roots, stems, and leaves under a microscope. They understood how the seasons changed and observed why the leaves were falling during the autumn season. Plants as living things and why photosynthesis is so important was emphasized throughout the series. Students also experienced various plants found around the world at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Finally, they used the scientific method to create experiments that enhanced their learning about the plant kingdom. It was a great series to study. We are looking forward to learning more about the living world around us next semester. Pictured is Katherine Adair.

--Bryan Sellers

2017-2018 Calendar Highlights

As we work to put together the school calendar for the upcoming school year (it's so weird to use 2018), we want to share with you what we know at this point. We realize that families like to plan their vacations as early as possible. So on our school calendar are those dates that are chiseled in stone, you can find them at this link, WEBSITE CALENDAR, just scroll through the calendar. As other activities are nailed down a little later in the school year, we will add them.

Fine Arts Showcase

The Fine Arts Showcase was held this week for parents and friends, showcasing the work of the chorus and drama classes this semester. The evening included solos from the hit Hamilton and other great musicals, a choral number from Wicked, performances by MSA's girls trio and MSA's men's quartet, outstanding piano, dance and song from Willy Wonka by the Junior Theater Festival class, and scenes from The Princess Bride, Footloose, and other favorites. The talent was outstanding!! Pictured: Audrey Henderson, Emily Hyman, and Hannah Rae - Girls Trio singing "Danny Boy".

Got Pictures?

As you take pictures through the course of the school year, when you attend sporting events or any other school activity (on or off campus), I would love to have copies of them!

I am always looking for nice, clear pictures of our Mustangs in action for all kinds of things: MSA Weekly News, advertisements, Facebook, the website, printed items, Instagram, the lobby monitor in the Administration building, etc.

Email your awesome camera work to pictures@millsprings.org and I will be glad to put them to work!

If you have any questions, call Cheri Harwood at 770-360-1336. Thank YOU!

Community Cares & Concerns

The Carlson Family

The Lynch 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