The Kogoy Family

I would like to thank the Kogoy family for donating much needed score boards for our tennis court. They kindly donated brand new score boards! In addition, Lori Kogoy has been a phenomenal team mom so far! She always has snacks, and drinks ready for our team at all of the games.

THANK YOU!

Elke Silva, Coach and Upper Instructor

Feature Teacher

This is Elke Silva! She is a world History teacher who also teaches the Yearbook class, this is her first year at MSA. However, she is not new to our community as her daughter, Maritza, is a 2015 MSA graduate. Before she came to MSA she had 10 years in the independent, private, Catholic school arena and 9 years in the public school system in Georgia. She loves that we "treat each student as an individual success story." She feels that "all people are capable of learning, they must be open to it and have information presented to them in a format that is best suited to them." Elke comments that, "Teaching and learning are life-long multi-faceted experiences." 

Like our other teachers, she does not live on campus, so in her spare time she loves to travel, do crafts and puzzles, and read. Currently she is reading a book titled, "The Lucky Ones" by Julianne Pachico. Her favorite food is trail mix! A little known fact about Elke is that she was a realtor for 5 years.

Thank you for what you do every day Elke!

MSA Talent Show - TOMORROW

Saturday, March 18

Community Service in the Library

• Sammy Mishkin - 1st place in state, piano
• Cartwright Ayres - 5th place in state, dramatic interpretation (acting) **NOTE they discovered there was a judging error after, so his score may be adjusted to more accurately be 1st or 2nd place!!
• Jack Hurtsellers, Bryce Zimmerman, Nick Tate, Collins Losson - 4th place in state, boys' quartet (singing)
• Bryce Zimmerman - 6th place in state, boys' solo (singing)

YOU are Invited!

Mill Springs Academy Art Gallery and Reception

Friday, March 24th

6:30 - 8:00pm

Stallings Theater - SAC

Artwork, food, prizes, music, fun, celebration!

See you there!

A Day in the Life

Every morning the Lower School first and second graders begin their day with calendar activities. We discuss the word of the week, for example this week the word is joyful, and then move on to skills that are reviewed each day. Some of the skills that we go over are addition and subtraction facts, place value, money, time, and this week – geometry, solid figures. We only use manipulatives and this takes about 10 minutes each morning. What a great way to start the day!

Pictured L to R – Neil Mukana, Sam Lesser, Max Young, Caleb Donaldson

Just a Fraction

Jackson Wickley is pictured as he practices simplifying fractions at the SmartBoard. Simplifying numerical fractions will serve as the foundation for us to work with algebraic fractions (fractions with variables). Understanding equivalent fractions, fractions with the same value but a different appearance, is key to reducing fractions as well as how to add/subtract fractions. This topic is just a fraction of what students learn in PreAlgebra.

Phantom of the Opera

Did you know that Eva Lewis, our Assistant Band Director, is a professional freelance musician in her "spare time"? Her main instrument is the bassoon (an instrument so bizarre we don't have one in either MSA Band).

She was thrilled to recently play in the pit orchestra for the touring Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera – seventeen shows in twelve days at the fabulous Fox Theatre. She is pictured here warming up in the pit, the space in front of and underneath the stage where the orchestra sits to perform out of sight.

This weekend Eva will be touring around the southeastern US with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, with whom she plays principal bassoon, in a concert series starring Chloe Agnew, a former member of Celtic Woman and a truly stunning solo vocalist. If you happen to be in Kentucky or Tennessee this weekend, stop by to see her.

Track Season Kicked Off

Varsity Track kicked off the season with a great home meet yesterday. We had 9 visiting schools, with over 100 athletes in attendance. When the dust settled, the Mustangs came in 2nd place to Flint River Academy, and outscored the Cottage School by 16 points!

There were many highlights, including debut performances on the Varsity team by Mat Campbell, Richard Brooks, Zach Smith, Quinton Day, and Christian Kelm.

There were many personal records (PR) and great performances by our Mustangs:

 Victoria Toscano

• 1600 meter run (PR)
• 1st Place Girls Discus (PR)
• cleared 4 feet on the high jump after only a few practices!

Jake Martin

• 4th place 100 meter dash (PR)
• 4th place 110 hurdles (PR)

Jacobi Garrett

• 2nd Place Boys Long Jump-2nd (4 inches shy of his PR!)
• 1st place 400 meter dash (PR)
• 5th place 200 meter dash (PR)

READ MORE

Pyramids and Hieroglyphics

This week in Middle School  World Geography students learned about the physical features, ancient civilizations, and cultural history of the countries in North Africa. Egypt is one of the countries we focused on, pharaoh's and hieroglyphics are a major part of Egyptian history. In ancient Egyptian culture when pharaoh's died they would be buried in Pyramids, hieroglyphics and murals were put on the insides of these pyramids. Hieroglyphics are a form of writing in which pictures express letters and ideas. Students learned how to write their names in hieroglyphs.  Pictured from L-R are Smith Hill, Zachary Burns, Warner Jones, and Michael Mendoza.

Steps to Success in College

Wednesday night, the Counseling Department hosted our final workshop of the school year titled, "Steps to Success in College". It was presented by our Counseling Director, Susan Day. Some of the points discussed included:

• identifying the characteristics of students who perform well in college,
• guidelines on finding the right college for your student,
• the application process,
• what to do when you are accepted, and
• how to ask for accommodations if needed.

We had a good group of students and parents in attendance who asked great questions and shared personal experiences. We appreciate all who attended this session, as well as the others we have had all year. We have included the PowerPoint notes from this session as a resource.

Prom Tickets on Sale NOW!

Saturday, April 22, 2017
7:30 - 11:30 PM

Luxury Lounge and Lighting

9315 Industrial Trace

Alpharetta, GA 30004

Buy your TICKETS HERE!

#msaprom2k17

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!

Summer Sports Camps

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!