October 2, 2015 | Volume 9, Number 7

 
Mill Springs Academy

MSA Weekly News

         
 

We Have Made the Most of it!

Well this has been one rainy week, but we have made the most of it! There were lots of great things going on at school this week and I hope you will read about ALL of it throughout the Weekly News. By now most of the students have left campus, even though that was difficult this afternoon with the road closure just outside of campus. There was an accident at the little bridge which caused the road to close for a couple hours. Thank you to EVERYONE that called to let us know. All is well currently. So the teachers are busy preparing academic plans and whatever else they need for Student/Parent Conferences, as those begin next week. Make sure you review the calendar to know when you student should be in class and when they are not to be in class. It can be a little confusing.

Have a great, albeit soggy, weekend and we will see you on Monday!

 
 
 
         
 

Quicklinks

MSA Home Page

School Calendar

Athletics Schedule

Parent Volunteer Assn

Current News

 

Upcoming Events

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2 

» Early Dismissal
12:15pm L/M Carpool; 12:30pm PU/CA/U Carpool; 12:45pm Buses Depart

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 

» PVA Meeting
6:30pm, Hampton Inn Mansell Road

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 

» Public Open House
9:00am, Student Activity Center

» Varsity Soccer Championship
2:30pm, vs. Howard

» Varsity Volleyball Championship
4:00pm, Away

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 

» No Classes - PU ONLY
Student Conferences

» Varsity Volleyball Championship
4:00pm, Away

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 

» No Classes - PU/CA/U Only
Student Conferences

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 

» School Closed
Columbus Day


 

Social Media

   

 

 

Art of the Week

               

Upper Student Emily Van Aken’s Value Study Drawing.


 

 

Holly Horwitz - Lower/Upper Parent

Thank you so much for sewing new curtains for my classroom! They added the bright and colorful touch that my class needed. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that for us. I know Seth is really proud to have such a talented mom! Thanks again!

Carolyn Shapiro - Lower Teacher  


PVA Meeting - October 6

Please make plans to attend the PVA Meeting!

Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30

NEW LOCATION: Hampton Inn at Mansell Rd/400, 10740 Westside Way, Alpharetta, 30009  770-640-5511.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Becky Lamp'l at beckyblampl@gmail.com


Feature Teacher

Meet Carolyn Shapiro! She is a new teacher in Lower School this year. She teaches 4th grade reading, phonics, and social studies. She graduated from UGA with an Early Childhood Education degree and has taught 1st and 2nd grades in Atlanta public schools. She enjoys instilling a love of learning in every student. She says, "I want to always ensure that my students know how much they are cared for, and how important their education is to me. Every student has so much potential, and I will hopefully help them to reach all of their goals." Currently she is reading, "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom. In her spare time she plays on 3 different tennis leagues, is excited about coaching MSA tennis in the spring, and absolutely loves tennis! Her favorite food is a hot slice of Mellow Mushroom pizza or spicy buffalo wings; she had a hard time deciding. As if all of that isn't enough, here is an interesting fact about Carolyn - she has traveled to 13 countries and even student-taught Kindergarten in Auckland, New Zealand! How cool is that? Welcome to Mill Springs Carolyn and thank you for what you do. 


Did you Know...

When you are looking for something on the website, there is an easy way to find it. No matter where you are on the website - it works from every page – scroll to the bottom of the page and on the right side you will find a green box, like the one above that says, “what are you searching for?” Type in a key word or two and a list of things that are similar to your key word will come up for you to select from. Then just click the one you think is most appropriate and there it is. It will search on everything within our website, including events and market items. As an example, you want to buy a Booster Sweatshirt, but can’t locate it. You could either type Booster or Sweatshirt (or Booster Sweatshirt) and it will pop up in the Search Results page. Now you only have to pick it from the list. You can search for just about anything with ease. If you ever have any questions about the website just email me, I will be glad to help you out. Cheri


Parents in Junior Theater Class

On "Mini Day" students and parents in the Junior Theater Festival class made "stage pictures," working as a team to create inanimate items. Pictured here, creating a boat, are Hannah Rae (PU) and mother Tracey Rae, Audrey Henderson (PU) and dad Charles Henderson, Steven Slaymaker (CA) and mom Judy Slaymaker, and Jackson Wickley (CA). Looks like they are having fun!


Algebra Anyone?

In Alicia Miller's Algebra/Trigonometry classes, they are doing what might seem to be a very arduous unit on Rational Expressions. They’ve simplified, multiplied, divided; and are now going to add and subtract Rational Expressions.  Rational Expressions look like fractions but include letters (that’s when most people give up on Algebra). This class owned their work by presenting problems on the board after practicing independently. The students shown are: Joseph Dalton, Alyssa Quatela, Emily Estes and Ashley Hyman Multiplying Rational Expressions.


Learning is Fun AND Delicious!

I have been obsessed with food since I was a little kid. So many of my childhood memories involve eating and preparing food- I remember graphically the first time my mom made fresh artichokes with hollandaise sauce, and helping my dad chop meat and vegetables for his famous Texas-style chili. As other memories fade away and are forgotten (like how to do Algebra II, as I discovered attempting to help out a 10th grade student with his homework the other day), I still remember exactly the flavors, smells, and textures of so many meals that were consumed more than a few years ago. Food is basic to life, and cooking food is one of the things that makes us truly human.

Cooking is science, and it is art. It is also, along with language, one of the cornerstones of culture. READ MORE  


Public Open House

Wednesday, October 7

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


Annual Fund 2015-2016

MSA's Annual Fund is off to a great start. Contrary to last week's announcement in the Weekly News, we've actually raised OVER $60! In fact,we have raised over $65,000 toward our $250,000 goal. A great big thanks to all the parents, staff, faculty and friends who have already made  gifts.  Please visit our WEBSITE for an alphabetical listing honoring our donors.

As a reminder, there are two goals to the Annual Fund:

  1. Raise $250,000
  2. Receive 100% participation from our entire school family 

And remember...NO GIFT IS TOO SMALL!!  Please click HERE to make your gift on-line today. 


College Fair for Artists

The Visual and Performing Arts College Fair will be 10/5/15 from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. REGISTER HERE.

Email Janet Ford to let her know you will be there. She and Brenda will be there too!


Parent/Student Conferences

If you haven't already been, you will be contacted about a designated conference time – please try to be on time as the conferences are scheduled back to back and if one conference starts late, that cascades through the day's schedule.

During days when there are conferences, the schools holding conferences do NOT have classes. However, the other schools do and the buses run on the normal schedule. 

Thurs. Oct 8 - PU Student Conferences - PU ONLY NO SCHOOL

Fri. Oct 9 - PU/CA/U Student Conferences - PU/CA/U NO SCHOOL

Thurs. Oct 15 - L/M Parent Conferences - L/M ONLY NO SCHOOL

Fri. Oct 16 - L/M/CA/U Parent Conferences - L/M/CA/U NO SCHOOL

If you are unsure or have questions please contact your principal.


World History is a Hoot!

Carolina’s World History classes are playing Kahoot! to review for the upcoming test. Kahoot! is a game based program that allows teachers of any subject to create quizzes or surveys. A class code is provided and students join the games from their computers or smart phones. Questions are projected on the board and students get to answer. It is fun, fast-paced, and it works for reviews, introducing new terminology, or just make classes more entertaining.


Bert's Big Thank You

Every year Lower School takes part in the Big Thank You. They hand-write letters to a service person and they are collected up by Ms. Carissa. We invite our entire community to be involved. The letter writing campaign would love every military serviceman and woman deployed outside of the US to receive a letter. They receive the letters before Thanksgiving. This is hugely appreciated by our troops and great for morale for those that have to be away from their families over the holidays. For more information you can GO TO THIS WEBSITE. If you are interested in participating, turn in your HAND-WRITTEN letter  to the Lower School by Tuesday, October 20th so we have time to get them to the radio station. Thank YOU!  


SCHOOL CLOSED

In honor of

Columbus Day

Mill Springs Academy

will be closed

Monday, October 12th.


Time to Turn in Box Tops

Turn in Box Tops by Friday October 16th for our fall submission and drawing.  Place in a zipped plastic bag with your students name & grade on the bag to be eligible for the drawing.  Drop the bag in the collection containers in each school or office.  Don’t have Box Tops?  Labels for Education and Tyson A+ labels can be turned in now for the drawing too.  The school that submits the most Box Tops, Labels for Education and Tyson A+ labels during the school year will be recognized. 

Fall drawing winner will be announced in November and will have a choice of either a Nerf Bash Ball, Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar travel gift set or $20 Target gift card. 

Contact Beth Kane  with any questions. Thanks for your participation!


Original Works

Lower and Middle School art students are participating in the Original Works fundraiser for the art studio! Students created self-portraits that will be submitted to Original Works. The company will process the masterpieces and make them available for purchase on various items, such as mugs, frames, sketchbooks, t-shirts, etc.   The artists always find the process and the final results so exciting! Pictured: Trey Stormont


Please mark your calendars and plan on attending our annual Founder’s Day event on…  

Saturday, October 17, 2015

11:30am - 1:00pm

For those families new to Mill Springs, our Founder’s Day event  is kind of like a fall, family picnic and is our way of honoring the school’s founder, Tweetie L. Moore.   

The event is FREE OF CHARGE and includes:

  • Food provided by Chick-Fil-A
  • Rock Climbing Wall with Spider Jump
  • Video Game Theater
  • Outdoor Laser Tag
  • Two Giant Hamster Balls
  • Bounce House

Note: The event will take place near our athletic fields on the MSA campus. When entering the campus that day, please follow all traffic signs down into the fields for event parking.


Jaime Gutierrez Selected

Eight teachers from the United States, and four from Canada were invited to Spain during a week for an educational meeting. One of those 8 teachers included our very own Jaime Gutierrez (pictured top right) from the Upper School! This was organized by the "Junta de Castilla and Leon". A local government equivalent to a State here in the United States. This region is where Spanish Language was born (Castilian). Of those invited besides Jaime, were the president of the AATSP (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese), an author of Spanish Textbooks from Canada, and a founder of a total immersion school in Baltimore (in 5 different languages), among others. They visited Segovia, Salamanca, Avila and Burgos. They had excursions to multiple cultural sites (castles, cathedrals, museums and the archeological site of Atapuerca, which fossil remains from nearly one million years ago, provide priceless information about remote human ancestors).  READ MORE


Middle is Learning Technology

Middle School Tech is learning to use assistive technology. Laptops are a tool for school and so are the programs on the laptops. Here are some of the comments made by the students about Word Q 3 a predictive text and dictation program.

Alina Harshbarger: I like this program because it is very helpful for me during a test or if I don’t understand something it will read it for me and if I can’t spell something it will show me how to spell it for me. This will help me read and spell better.

Ryan Lanzo: I think the Word Q will help me with my work, typing and spelling when I am working on my computer every day.

Cooper Bailey: Word Q 3 will help me because I can’t spell well and Word Q 3 will help me with spelling so I don’t have to ask my teacher.  READ MORE 


Father's Night with Robert

Review from an Upper Dad last year: "The program last night was excellent. Richard Lavoie's video really hit home."

RSVP TODAY by CLICKING HERE

Thursday, October 22, 2015

7:00 - 9:00pm

Theater - SAC

What is LD? What is ADHD?

Come to explore these issues with your host Robert Moore, Headmaster.

He will be presenting the F.A.T. City Workshop video “How Difficult Can This Be?” by Richard D. Lavoie, a nationally known expert on learning disabilities.

In this video Richard Lavoie shows why the classroom can be an intimidating place for kids with learning disabilities. In the video he leads a group of parents, educators, psychologists, and children through a series of exercises that cause Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension … feelings all too familiar to children with learning disabilities. By dramatizing the classroom experience so vividly, Lavoie lets us see the world through the eyes of a child. 

At the end of the video, a casual discussion will take place on strategies for working more effectively with learning disabled children.

We will serve pizza and wings. This is a Dad’s only event!

Please RSVP so we can plan for food by CLICKING HERE. 


Outside the Box

While in the art studio on Mini-Day, parents and students drew "outside the box" and earned an MSA Fine Arts pin for participating! Students were also able to show off their art pieces to their family members. Upper School student Maddie Hahn poses with her mom and her gorgeous koi block print design!


Strength of the Mustang

The strength of the Herd is the Mustang, and the strength of the Mustang is the Herd. In front of another 317 plus crowd and with the regular season championship at stake, the Mustangs proceeded to run past The Howard School 7-0. Once again due to injuries, sickness, and cramping, the Mustangs summon the Cavalry. “If was easy, it wouldn’t be us. The Cavalry carried us today. Heck, the Cavalry has carried us all season. We had to go with our forth goalie and haven’t had the same starting lineup all year. Richard Brooks, Sean Roberts, Bailey Kiser, Tommy Ray, Joe Dalton, Drew Dickerson, Emily Estes, Christian Kelm, Tyler Harrell, and Mac McCullough were phenomenal. We been preaching all year that you never know when your number is going to be called; and when you get the call, you have to produce.  READ MORE


Are you Following Us?

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

Please keep the following from our Community in your thoughts and prayers:

  • The Day 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


Quote of the Week

Decency- generosity- cooperation- assistance in trouble- devotion to duty; these are the things that are of greater value than surface appearances and customs. 

--Dwight D. Eisenhower 

 
             
 

Mill Springs Academy
13660 New Providence Road Alpharetta, GA  30004
770-360-1336

 


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