| A Note of Thanks  Thank you to ... Boy Scout Troop 6955.
Many thanks to the MSA Boy Scout Troop for spreading mulch into our flower beds behind the Middle School building and for also restaining the Lower and Middle playground equipment. We appreciate you taking pride in our school. Thank you for your service! Margaret Brito, Principal - Middle School
SCHOOL CLOSED
Mill Springs Academy
will be CLOSED on
Monday, November 3, 2014
Our campus will be closed as all of our teachers will be at an off-site annual conference.
Artwork of the Week  Following an Appalachian farming theme, Communication Arts art student Amy Lamp'l created this wonderful sculpture depicting the head of a cow. Awesome job, Amy.
Feature Teacher  Meet Kris Hawksworth
Kris works in the PreUpper School teaching World Cultures and Skills Lab. She has been with MSA for 22 years and she feels blessed to have been hired by Tweetie and Robert. She says, "I love my job." When I asked her what she loves about MSA, her response was, "The community philosophy of the school, the students and staff, I would not want to teach anywhere else! I love EVERYTHING." She has no other experience since she was hired right out of college to begin her career in the Lower School, she has also worked in the Middle School. She tells me, "I have always believed in Tweetie Moore's philosophy - it works!" Outside of school Kris likes to find new places to eat and listen to bands - she loves crab legs. She also enjoys spending time taking care of her 4 legged babies. Currently she is reading the World Cultures textbook. ;)
 Class of 2015
Congratulations to the following students for their college acceptances: Morgan McCurley - Young Harris College Jack Minozzi - Mercer University
Alumni News 
MSA graduate Meredith Langford '12, is living in Australia and is a student at the University of Queensland, in St. Lucia a suburb of Brisbane, where she volunteers at their paleontology lab. She lives in a dorm on campus with other international students. Here is a picture of her working in the lab.
Grouper Moon Book Club 
This week in MG's 7th grade Literature class, book club groups got together and presented a scene from the Cynthia Shaw book, Grouper Moon, which focuses on coral reef and Nassau grouper awareness/protection (and ties in nicely with the MSA Coral Lab). Each group was responsible for writing a collective summary of the first 1/4 of the book and for developing a collective illustration. Pictured: Yates Smith, Caitlyn Doucet, Jeff Strode, and Sean Carmody presenting their groups' illustration. Keep up the good work!
Spring Musical Auditions 
WHO: Students in Grades 7-12. Ask parent approval. Show will be edited fromits original "R" rating to be "PG-13" WHAT: Sign up for Auditions NOW and get material to practice NOW WHEN: Auditions are Wednesday, November 5 and Thursday, November 6. Sign up to audition today! Be sure to get audition material from Kate. This is a class in the spring, with rehearsals 2 days/week afterschool too! OK to play sports as well - except track. WHERE: Sign up for auditions in Jamie & Kate's Fine Arts building on the Bulletin Board - Auditions will be in the Upper School Great Room WHY: For a fun chance to perform a comedic show with great music!
Community Artist Gallery  Senior Chase Watson is the featured "Community Artist" for the month of November at DaVinci's Donuts in Alpharetta (davincisdonuts.com). We will have a special gallery event with Chase on November 8th from 2:00-4:00pm. Come see her work at our event or at any other time DaVinci's is open during the month of November. Her work is fabulous and many pieces are for sale!
College Day 
All parents are invited to join us for our annual College Day college fair which will be held on Friday, November 7 in the gym from 10:30am - 12:00pm. We will have over 40 colleges and programs represented. If you have any questions about this program please contact Susan Day.
The Big Thank You 
The Lower School wrote letters this week to our troops overseas. This has become an annual tradition. We wish these heroes a happy Thanksgiving and thank them for their service to our country. This is part ot The Bert Show's Big Thank You. Every troop who will not be able to be with their family for the holidays will receive a letter! CLICK HERE for more information. Pictured is Ms. Carissa's homeroom with their letters - Schoch Weaver, Jack Jenkins, Jackson Kennedy, and Ethan Easterling.
20 Cans for Six Tons 
November 7 – December 1, 2014 Did you know that . . . The Atlanta Community Food Bank distributed 34% more food to partner agencies than in the prior fiscal year. - 72% of households served by ACFB do not always know where they will find their next meal.
- 73% of households have to choose between payment for medicine or medical care and food.
- An estimated 1.4 million Georgians receive emergency food from partner agencies of Georgia food banks.
The food we collect will be distributed among 700 not-for-profit agencies with a variety of feeding programs in 29 counties in metro Atlanta and north Georgia. Some help seniors on a fixed budget make ends meet. Others provide groceries for the working poor. Still others provide meals to the homeless. FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP
Run, Kelli, Run! 
Our very own Kelli King will be running in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 2nd. Kelli loves the training, competition and has grown up competing with swimming and triathalons! She has already run the Marine Marathon in DC and the Rock-n-Roll Marathon in Savannah. Kelli hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon and for her age group the qualifying time would be 3 hours and 30 minutes. Kelli is a teacher in the Middle School and helps coach the MSA cross country and swim teams. Good Luck Kelli!
Public Open House Mill Springs Academy is holding an Open House! Wednesday, November 12 9:00am Student Activity Center Did you know that Word of Mouth is by far the largest way families find their way to a Public Open House at Mill Springs Academy? So if you know someone with a child that might benefit from attending MSA, please invite them to our Open House or better yet bring them. If you haven’t attended one, an Open House provides potential parents with an overview of the school, a Fine Arts presentation, a parent perspective and a student perspective, a tour of the school and a chance to speak with the principal. It’s a great opportunity for them to get a feel for what we are all about. THANK YOU for sharing MSA!
Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow 
This coming May we will have five students graduate that are what we call Legacy Students. That means they started their careers at MSA in the Lower School. Paul Bain, Alex Gass and Levi Smith who all started together in the same year. Then we have Zach Goodleman and Devin Orkin who both began MSA as 1st graders. We are looking forward to admitting Tomorrow's first graders who will not only become Legacy Students, but will do so from a new Lower/Middle School facility. Thus carrying on the legacy that Tweetie L. Moore began. Pictured: the five Legacy Students (yesterday) and Trey Stormont, Joshua Nanney, Nathaniel Henderson, Spencer Allegood and Lower School teacher Donna DePaul Moore (today) all pointing at the thermometer that is tracking the Capital Campaign for the Lower/Middle School building project.
Grandparents Day is Coming! 
Grandparents’ Day will be here soon! The special day is Friday, November 21st and starts at 9:00am in the Gym. Invitations have been sent, so please give your child’s grandparents a call to let them know they are on the way. If your child’s grandparents have not received an invitation by the end of the first week of November, please let Leila know as soon as possible so we can be sure they get one! If your child doesn’t have a grandparent that can attend, let Leila know about a special person in their life that can come in their place. Attendance at Grandparents’ Day has been growing every year and we often end up with no empty seats. Because of this, please know that this special event is for our grandparents only and we are not able to have parents and students attend the breakfast. Students will be able to be with their grandparents after the breakfast for visiting and pictures! We are looking forward to a wonderful event! Any questions contact Leila Smith in Development.
Coral Lab Club 
Last week was the second meeting of our newly-formed MSA Coral Lab. The club is dedicated to the study of coral animals and their importance in marine biology, oceanography, and our own, everyday lives. A few housecleaning items involved giving a sick coral an iodine dip (the only known treatment for sick or suffering coral polyps), feeding phytoplankton to various species of soft and stony corals, acclimating a new delivery of tank cleaning invertebrates, and testing our two systems’ water quality parameters. Many of our students have taken their first steps towards an interest in Marine Biology as a career and a lifestyle due to this project and we’d like to thank those students who’ve established a position at the helm- (Among them are Sophia Bressler, Jin Butler (pictured with Michael Bowers), Henry Wallace, Steffi Schneider, Grace Gersack, Megan Brown, and Alex Silverman). We want to thank everyone’s enthusiasm for this project and hope, with the support of families and friends, can continue to grow and thrive . . . the ocean’s awesome! (In the picture they are testing nitrites in the reef tank obtaining a good reading.)
PM Registration is in Full Swing!  The Fall PM Program is about to wrap up - October 30 is the last day. That means it is time to sign up for the winter offerings. To see the latest offerings, go to the registration page and add your student by clicking the plus sign. Once you click the "Register Students" button you will be able to see the sessions, and descriptions, that are available for your student during the winter program. Some of these sessions have a limit to the number of students that can participate so ... REGISTER HERE TODAY!
It's Greek to Us! 
World History students in Carolina Ayerbe’s class are studying Greek gods. The hands-on assessment includes research, a presentation to the class, and the creation of a visual aid to represent the specific god. Some students drew likenesses of gods, as they imagined them. Others came in costume, fashioned musical instruments, or made school-friendly weapons such as spears, xyphos (Spartan dagger), tridents, and bows and arrows. Pictured: Freshman Caroline Holmes presents her research in costume on Poseidon, god of the ocean.
Yearbooks and Pictures  The yearbook pictures are now available for purchase. Please visit www.mocphoto.com, under Gallery, Mill Springs Academy, password MSA101. If you have any questions, please contact Marios O'Connell at marios@mocphoto.com or by phone at 770.658.9907.
Also, if you haven't done so, purchase your yearbook before January 23 to include the name imprinted on the front. http://www.JostensYearbooks.com Find Mill Springs Academy and choose Yearbooks
Did you know... 
Community Cares & Concerns
Please keep the following from our Community in your thoughts and prayers. The Morrison Family Unemployed Families
Please email me at any time with individuals you would like to include on our list as their needs arise. For privacy, I will only list names and claim ignorance if you ask me for details.
Character Quote of the Week 
Wealth to us is not mere material for vainglory but an opportunity for achievement. --Thucydides | 
