MSA Weekly News - September 8, 2017

September 8, 2017 | Vol 11, Iss 4, No 364

NEWSLETTER

Can't Wait to See

We have had a very eventful short week. We wrapped up school portraits (you can order them below), our canned food drive has begun, there was a College Coffee Talk, we inducted some students into the International Thespian Society (look for that to follow as well) and RIGHT NOW we are having Mustang Mania! Tomorrow is Beautification Day and next week is Fine Arts Creativity Week - I can't wait to see what's in store.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather - we HOPE to see you Monday!

In Case of a Severe Weather Event

We don't normally have to worry about a weather event at this time of year, but just as we do during the winter season, if there is a closure or a change in school plans, you can find out about it in a few ways:

We will always share closings on your local TV channels.
We will also put out a parent alert - a recorded message that will be sent to every phone number we have on record for those individuals with custody of an MSA student.
Lastly, there will be a pop-up message on the schools website.

We will advise you if there are any disruptions in the school schedule as soon as a decision is made.

Fine Arts Student of the Week

Thursday night we inducted new candidates into Mill Springs Academy's International Thespian Society troupe 8170. In attendance were Jack Hurtsellers, Nate Foster, Nick Tate, Henry Wallace, and Collins Losson. Audrey Henderson was also inducted though unable to attend. We discussed Thespian Conference 2018 in Columbus, GA on February 8-10, and possible service projects. If you see any of these people walking around on campus give them a pat on the back as they have provided over 100 service hours to our theater program.

Thank You to All of You and Especially our PVA!

If you participated in any type of fundraiser that the PVA has held, whether that be a membership, last year's BBQ Barn Bash, the used uniform shop, in whatever way, we would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you. You provided a way for the entire staff and faculty to participate in a Google Tools Training on Friday. We had a wonderful time learning about some pretty nifty tools and we want you to know that we appreciate not only the time to be able to do that, but also the fact that your participation in those things covered the cost of that training. We love our parents!

Here is a slideshow we made using our new skills.

Thank you on behalf of all the Staff and Faculty.

Feature Teacher

I Am, You Are, We Are

Spanish II students in the Upper School are reviewing the conjugation and use of the verb ESTAR (meaning 'to be') to talk about how people feel and to say where people, places, and things are located. Students have also been learning a list of adjectives that describe emotions and physical and mental conditions using quizlet.com, kahoot, and other hands-on activities. This week, students choose one of those adjectives to represent how they feel in a specific situation. It was fun to see them deciding how they felt and why they feel like that in Spanish. They were creative and had fun in the process.

--Maria Gonzalez, Upper School Instructor

Moms in Prayer Group to Form

Last spring I remember thinking "our school needs prayer!" Over the summer God kept pressing this on my heart so I am starting a Moms In Prayer group at MSA. From their website: Moms in Prayer International is a worldwide ministry devoted to covering every child and every school in prayer. Started in 1984 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, we are now headquartered in beautiful Poway, California and have prayer groups in over 140 countries. Moms in Prayer exists because one mom felt a burden to pray for her children with another mom … and we have grown into a global movement of prayer. A movement made of moms like you.

Moms In Prayer will meet in the conference room in the Administration building at 8:20 every Tuesday for 30 minutes. I will honor your time by starting and ending on time. Although I hope we have people show up week after week, I know everyone is busy, so there is no long-term commitment. Come when you can. Our first gathering will be on September 12 and more details will be provided or you can check out their website before.

Gods word says where two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be there also (Mat 18:20). I know our school will benefit from the power of prayer. I hope you will join me. Contact me with any questions Michelle Weyant 770-377-4222 or weyantfamily@me.com.

Congratulations!

Trevor Bush shared that he has been accepted to Western Kentucky University and he is very excited about this news. We are too! Congratulations Trevor.

Extra Hands are Needed - TOMORROW

Please join your PVA as they sponsor a Campus Beautification Day

Saturday, September 9, 2017

9:00am - Noonish

There are a variety of tasks listed below and the bulk of the supplies will be provided. If you have any item or tool that can be used to accomplish any of the tasks, please bring them along. Pizza lunch will be provided and students can earn service hours. If your student will attend, please be prepared to attend with him/her - there will not be supervision. Here is the list of tasks that we are hoping to accomplish:

Clean out and prep existing planters/containers for fall annuals
Planting and/or bed prepping
Clean the stones on the entrance sign
Repainting the horseshoes on the sidewalk
Prepping the Fine Arts railings for an exciting art department project
Deep cleaning kitchens
Cleaning up areas behind buildings
Cleaning and spray painting flower containers
Watering
etc.

A View from the Library

Lower School's first graders are learning about library manners and just right books today! They are modeling perfect library manners while using our new wobble stools to focus on the video.

Are you STUCK?

If so, GREAT! Wait, what? Great? Yes that is great! If you are not STUCK, then let me help you get STUCK. Come by the Administration building at any time and we will be glad to help you get STUCK. I have lots of stickers (pictured above) in the closet that are just waiting to be STUCK to the window of your car, truck, mini van, bus, whatever you drive. If you don't have a sticker STUCK to the window of your car, come on by and I will be glad to give you one for every car you have. I'd love to see your car in front of me on the road one day! Come get STUCK!

--Cheri Harwood

Coffee after Carpool

Join your fellow MSA parents for coffee on Monday, September 11! Just drop your kids off at school and come on over to the Starbucks (at the intersection of Crabapple and Houze Roads) right after.

This is a great opportunity to meet other parents discuss your successes and struggles, and share advice and ideas. We look forward to seeing you there! All are welcome.

Future dates: October 2, November 13, December 4, and January 8.

Learning about Photosynthesis

In Ms. Carissa's Lower School science class, we have been learning all about plants. In addition to our reading and written activities about plant needs and photosynthesis, the boys also had a great time planting carrots, onions, and radishes in a root viewer. We wrapped up our unit with a fun activity making "seedling" cupcakes. Pictured: Caleb Donaldson, Sam Lesser, Ari Kaplan, Max Young, and Neil Mukana planting their seeds in the root viewers.

Alumni News

Sam Lynch (pictured), who graduated from MSA this past May, now attends Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. This past weekend he represented Belmont Abbey in his first race and finished 19th overall, but first for his new team. He said, "I also qualified to represent my college as we head off to the University of Notre Dame on September 15th. We will be competing against catholic colleges from all over America. We will be racing against schools from all the divisions (D3, D2, and D1)." You can read more about it on his school's website. It was great to hear about your experience Sam - continued success to you!

School Pictures are Available

I'm delighted to share with you this year's yearbook portraits. To view/purchase please click on the links below:

You will need the password MSA202 (case sensitive)

*Retake day is Thursday September 14, starting at 9:30 in the PreUpper School Great Room* If you want to add your child/children to the retake list please contact Elke Silva – esilva@millsprings.org BEFORE Wednesday, September 13.

Kind regards, Marios

Public Open House

Wednesday, September 13

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!

Ever Seen the Knee of an Insect?

This week in Biology, we were getting more practice with the microscopes. Pictured is Bella Rousseaux as she inspects a slide with a modified lighting technique. We used a pinhole in some aluminum foil to only light just behind our subject. Picture two is how the knee of an insect leg appeared using this setup. The PVA bought these microscopes many years ago and we continue to enjoy their use today!

--Jay Hudson, Communication Arts School Instructor

What's the Difference?

As parents, the tools you use may be a little confusing since you don't need to use them daily. But I want to shed a little light on them so you know what each is for. You hear us talk about RenWeb, the LMS, and MUSTANG. Here are the differences:

RENWEB is the school's database where we keep your student's information – address, phone numbers, grades, report cards, picture, relatives. All the basic demographics about the student and their family, all locked down by a password – you (and your student) access this via ParentsWeb. Each of you have your own personal username and password.

LMS is a generic term that stands for Learning Management System. This is where the student will find their homework, assignments, dates for tests, and resources they need to accomplish any of those things. Whatever information their teachers need to pass on to them.

MUSTANG – This is the name we have given our LMS system. It stands for Multiple-User Scholastic Tool & Networking Groups. It has all the lovely features of an LMS and it is an electronic, password protected place on the internet. Again each person – student, mom, dad, guardian – has their own username and password here as well.

If you ever have any questions about any of those tools, please don't hesitate to call the school. Frequently we can clear up any challenges you might be having easily over the phone.

Mini Day at MSA for PU/CA/U

"Come to School with Your Student Day"
Friday, September 15, 8:30am - 1:30pm

This is a wonderful opportunity to visit your student's Community. To experience "MSA Mini Day", you and your child will follow his/her schedule and attend his/her classes. You will meet your student's teachers and see the classrooms, learn everything about each of his/her classes from curriculum to point sheets to grading, see artwork, and meet your student's friends. At the end of the "mini" school day, join your student for a complimentary lunch from Chick-fil A served outside on the Lawn.

MSA "Mini Day" Schedule

8:10am - Parents arrive; go to student's Advisory
8:30 - Levels
9:30 - 1st Period
9:55 - 2nd Period
10:20 - 3rd Period
10:45 - 4th Period
11:10 - 5th Period
11:35 - 6th Period
12:00pm - Chick-fil A Lunch - students may leave with parents after

Students whose parents are unable to attend will participate in classes as usual. Buses will run the regular morning and afternoon (3:15pm dismissal) schedules.

Colleges on the Move

On August 28th we had a representative from Merrimack College located in Massachusetts visit with my Senior Transition class. Students engaged in discussion and asked many questions that they felt were important to them. Questions ranged from inquiring about Merrimack's test optional admissions process to more in depth discussions related to how the college handles diversity and tension on their campus.

This month we have had a few college representatives reach out to visit. Please see the colleges, with dates and times they will be visiting, below. If your high school student would like to participate in the visit, they will need permission from their teacher to come up during the allotted time.

9/11 – 9:00 AM - Winthrop University

9/12 – 9:00 AM - Florida Southern University

9/13 – 9: 00 AM - St. Andrews University

A Fabulous British Literature Project

Tracy Schutz's 11th grade British Literature class recently finished reviewing The Lord of the FLies. Students were given several choices for the culminating project, and they all worked hard and showed tremendous effort! Eli Musgrave (pictured) chose to recreate the entire island from the novel and did such a fantastic job! The students have been visiting Tracy's room to see his project and many of the others that are on display as well. It has been a great start to 11th grade in the Upper School.

It's Time for the Annual Food Drive

Let's get together to feed those in need! Please join us as our small community partners with the Atlanta Community Food Bank in order to take a bite out of hunger in Metro Atlanta. We have big goals this year, so we hope you will participate (and maybe bug a neighbor or two), because many hands make light work and big differences!

September 5 - October 20, 2017

Please do NOT bring glass items or perishables. Check out the list of the MOST NEEDED ITEMS.

Ms. Kaylee's 6th Grade Math Class

Guest Journalist - Temima Izenberg

This week in Ms. Kaylee's math class, we learned about prime and composite numbers. Prime numbers have only 2 factors, like 2, 5, and 7. Composite numbers have more than two factors, like 6, 8, and 10. Some numbers are neither prime nor composite, like 0 and 1. We also learned about the Sieve of Eratosthenes, which is an algorithm for finding prime numbers. Eratosthenes was a Greek mathematician who discovered prime and composite numbers by eliminating the multiples of prime numbers. We had a number chart from 2-100. We circled all of the prime numbers and we crossed out all of the composite numbers by skip counting for the multiples of the prime numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. We were left with a prime number chart that we can use to help us in class! (Temima is pictured with her worksheet)

Telephone Extensions

If you called school this week, you may have noticed that things are a little different. If you have the extension number of the individual you are calling, you can enter it and go directly to that person without speaking to someone else first. So in order to help with that below you will find a list of a few of the important people you may need to reach. You can always use the directory lookup on the phone (by pressing 2), or you can look up anyone's direct dial number or extension on the school's directory (www.millsprings.org/directory). Thank you for your assistance with this, here is that extension list:

Lower - Laurie Jones - x1100
Middle - Will Turner - x1200
PreUpper - Susan Sanders - x1301
PreUpper - Nina King - x1302
CommArts - Chelsea Michelson - x1400
CommArts - Taniah Jones - x1523
Upper - Cynthia Traylor - x1530
Upper - Jaime Gutierrez - x1525
Upper - Lisa Imsand - x1550
Counseling - Susan Day - x1730
Bookkeeping - Patsy Beckwith - x1708

Community Cares & Concerns

The Beck Family

The Buckley Family

The Davis Family

The Smith Family

The Walker Family

Those affected by the hurricanes, fires, and earthquake

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

I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else; hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.

--Lucille Ball