| What? Teachers Take Vacation? Why, yes they do! See some of the highlights below: | .jpg)
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Carolina Ayerbe (U) & her brother at Disney | .png)
Ed Little (M) hiked Squaw Valley Mountain with a friend in Lake Tahoe, CA | | .jpg)
Kate McElliott (FA) took a train ride all the way to New York | .jpg) Elmo visited Ocean City, MD | .jpg)
Claire Christerson (Tech) spent a week at Isle of Palms, SC | | .jpg) Buckingham Palace in London hosted Annette Higgins (PU)
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Janet Ford (FA) visited the House of the Mouse – Disney. | .jpg) |
Fun Library Statistics  Over 20 classes have already visited the library by the end of the day on Thursday from all across campus, and over 320 books have been checked out. The library has had a lot of action in this first week of school! We are looking forward to all the wonderful weeks to come in the Library! If you haven't had a chance to look into it yet, you can donate a book (either paper or audio) to the library with the Birthday Book Club program. Check it out HERE.
One Act Play Auditions  Auditions for this year's One-Act play will be held on August 24, 25, and 26 from 12:15 to 1:00pm, in Jamie Fambrough's room. Auditions are open to grades 8-12. Interested students should come see Jamie to sign up and get a copy of the audition script. Script does not need to be memorized for the audition, but students should have read it several times to familiarize themselves with it. If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to ask - jfambrough@millsprings.org.
We Love Lower School  Lower School students were happy to be back to school this week. We had a wonderful first week and students are making new friends already. We have 31 amazing students that are off to a great start to their school year!
PVA Social Outing  The first Social will be held at Vino100, 131 S. Main Street, Alpharetta. This event is held on Saturday, August 29th beginning at 4:30pm. The cover charge is $5.00. Join us for a little bit of socialization and some wine tasting. It's a great way to meet our MSA Community!
Happy New Year from Middle  We have had a strong first transition week into the 2015 school year! New friendships are being made, schedules followed and experiences and opportunities are being found. It is wonderful to hear of the reading accomplishments, places explored and getting to know each other! Our community consist of twenty one new students! We look forward to working with our terrific fifth and sixth graders and their families.
School Picture Time  School portraits are schedule as follows:
- Monday, August 31 - Lower School
- Tuesday, September 1 - Middle School
- Wednesday, September 2 - PreUpper School
- Thursday, September 3 - CommArts School
- Friday, September 4 - Upper School
Say Cheese!
What is the MUSTANG?  I know it is early in the school year, but we are still excited about the MUSTANG. We began using our learning management system full-time at the start of 2nd semester last year. We have added a few new features that you will be introduced to over time. But for the time being you can find calendar items, assignments, and soon grades for your student's classes. For returning families that means you will no longer check grades in RenWeb. So make sure you check it out. CLICK HERE to find out how to create accounts if you haven't already.
MUSTANG = Multi-User Scholastic Tool And Networking Groups
Green Beaners  The Recycling Club A.K.A. "Green Beaners" have started back up during this first week of school. Those that volunteered really came through and put their best foot forward and made it happen ... A special thanks to Collins Losson and Camille Michael for working extra hard filling and transporting bags from up the hill. The group filled approximately 18 very LARGE orange bags worth of recycling - a new school record! Thanks to all of the faculty and staff for encouraging the efforts toward a greener campus. Pictured Maxwell Davis and Ted Keller.
Parent Curriculum Night  Thursday, September 3, 2015
7:00 - 8:30pm Lower & Middle Parents Only Meet in the Great Room of your school.
Counseling News  School got off to a great start this week with lots of smiling faces arriving by car and bus. Brandi Smallwood and I will be working with 2 interns this year; Latoyia Armistead and Rachel Boodram. We look forward to having them on campus.
In college news, MSA will be visited by several colleges in the next few weeks. So far we have representatives from Merrimack College, Emory and Henry College, Becker College, and Winthrop College scheduled. If a student is particularly interested in any of these colleges, please let me know so we can arrange a meeting. Looking forward to a fantastic 2015-2016 school year. Susan Day, Counselor
SCHOOL CLOSED 
In honor of Labor Day Mill Springs Academy will be closed Monday, September 7
Break Time  Donna's students were taking a break from their morning class work. During that break they built a 5 foot Lego train, and the story goes that it is "going to the zoo" (notice the passengers on the train). The boys said, "This is awesome!!" Pictured left to right - Max Young, Sam Lesser, and Daniel Moses.
PVA Meeting Scheduled 
Tuesday, September 8, 2015 6:30pm Reception 7:00pm Meeting The meeting will be held at Liz Parks' home: 1770 Providence Road, Milton, 30004
Annual Fund 2015-2016  A great big thank-you to MSA's Staff and Faculty for already reaching 100% participation in the 2015-2016 Annual Fund! Your participation AND financial support are greatly appreciated!
Parents, you will be receiving your very own Annual Fund appeal soon via snail mail. But, if you want to get ahead of the process and help us save a few trees, you can now make your gift RIGHT HERE on-line using our very own Mill Springs' website.
What is MSA PVA?  The Mill Springs Academy Parent Volunteer Association is a major contributor to the activities and events at MSA. Everyone in the MSA Community is invited to join. By joining, you are helping the PVA with the financial support for:
Our supplies, mailings, marketing, social events, technical support, Family Fun Night, teachers luncheons, Holiday Market, Campus Beautification, and hospitality events. Your membership also gives us starting funds for our largest fundraiser, the BBQ Barn Bash on September 26 at 6:00 pm. PVA has several goals, here are a few: - To make everyone at MSA feel a part of our unique community.
- To focus on welcoming and keeping in touch with new families at MSA.
- Our largest goal is to raise funds to build the MSA Amphitheater this year. READ MORE
MSA is a Finalist!  We are proud to announce that Technology Association of Georgia has named Mill Springs Academy a finalist in the annual STEM Education Award. It is an honor to be recognized as one of the top STEM programs in the state. Winners of the award will be announced at a ceremony on August 28th where Governor Nathan Deal will be a keynote speaker. Mill Springs students will have the opportunity to show off their STEM skills with a Ham Radio and Morse Code machine during the exhibition, proving yet again that success in school = success in life! READ MORE
How YOU Spent YOUR Vacation  We have shared with you how some of our faculty spent their summer vacation. NOW it is your turn! Show me how you spent your summer vacation, before Thursday (8/27) evening, and I will share it with the community in next week's MSA Weekly News. Email me your best photo and a caption, and I will include it. Can't wait to see!
Seize the Opportunity  The opportunity to contribute for a 2016 tax credit that is! Georgia taxpayers made history in 2015 - consuming all education tax credits in just ONE day!
GOAL is now accepting applications for 2016. Don't miss out - seize this important opportunity today! APPLY HERE.
Lower Experiments  Lower School students in group 3 had a fun first science class. They learned about the scientific method and how to conduct an experiment by watching a clip on Brainpop, Jr. Then, the class conducted an experiment to find out which items will dissolve in water. Each student picked an item to experiment with. They could choose from flour, brown sugar, cornmeal, sprinkles, or seasoning. Next the students made a hypothesis about whether their item would dissolve or not. Finally the students conducted the experiments and shared their results. Pictured clockwise from bottom left: Ethan Easterling, Katie McCullers, Schoch Weaver, Jake Brown
Donations for Fine Arts
 We LOVE free stuff from our generous families! We ask that you email us BEFORE you bring an item to donate to the studio, band, or theater. This way, we can decide if it is useful to us BEFORE you lug it onto campus. THANK YOU!
Let's be Social
 Wanna know what's going on here on campus during the week? Join us on the Social Scene. We have a few Pinterest boards with helpful and/or interesting information for parents, students and teachers. You can also follow us on Twitter (@millspringsacad) or LIKE us on Facebook (Mill Springs Academy). Post pictures with Instagram (MillSpringsAcademy) or watch videos on YouTube. We'll post some things through the week that might be interesting. So let's get together on the Social Scene!
Community Cares & Concerns 
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 anyones asks me for details. Cheri
Quote of the Week Character is a byproduct. It is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty. --Woodrow Wilson | 
