Development Information:
Bid: Our fundraising auction on Bidding for Good is up and running! There are gift certificates from local restaurants including Saffron Patch, Chipotle and Romeo's. Or if you prefer, a custom automotive pin-striping certificate and ski lift tickets are also featured. These and many other items can be yours, so check it out and start shopping for the holidays at www.biddingforgood.com. The auction will run through December 13, 2011.
Pledge: If you have already sent in your Annual Fund pledge form, THANK YOU! Be on the lookout for an "I supported MPA" badge that you can wear with pride. If you haven't sent in your pledge form, please do so as soon as possible. We've got some fun prizes to encourage families to send in their pledges quickly:
- The first CLASSROOM with 100% pledge participation will get a Young Audience program for that class**
- The first GRADE LEVEL with 100% pledge participation will get a bingo party.
- When the SCHOOL reaches 100% pledge participation, we will have Jungle Terry do a program for the school!
** Interested in the Young Audience program? You can learn more about the programs available here and here. Remember, you don't have to send in money at this point, just the pledge form. If you would like to send in money now, remember that MPA can accept checks, or donations can be made via PayPal. Just click here to sign in and make your donation. Pledge forms are due at the end of this month, so if you don't want to receive "The Call" from our development team, get your form in soon!
Student Information:
Enroll: Have you sent in your child's re-enrollment forms and fees for the 2012/2013 school year? Mrs. Colby has asked us to remind parents AGAIN that we can't hold a spot for your child unless the form and fee have been received by the school by December 9th. (Is there some way to make that phrase blink, too? That's the only thing it's missing!) The enrollment forms (for returning students and their siblings) are available on the MPA web site here.
Celebrate: Menlo Park Academy will receive a Constant Quality Award by the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) next week at the state conference in Columbus. The award is given to those charter schools that receive the Excellent rating for three years in a row. Way to go, Menlo!
Return: Please make sure you have signed your child's report card envelope and returned it to school. Mrs. Wilson will be calling all of the families whose envelopes have not been received, so please reduce her work load by returning yours soon. Thank you!
Pay: Please remember that if your student "dresses down" on Wednesday, you need to send $1 back to school in that week's Thursday Folder. And "dressing down" just means "not wearing dress code clothes," so your student is welcome to dress "up" or "down."
Rejoice: Yearbooks for the 2010-2011 school year are here! They're being sent home in Thursday Folders to families who pre-ordered one last year.
Donate: MPA Girl Scout Troop 854 would like to thank everyone who has donated items for Laura's Home Women and Children's Shelter. We are still looking for donations of the following types of items: Pop tarts, cereal bars, crayons, markers, coloring books, construction paper, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gels, kids' soaps, pencils, pens, plain paper, reading books for adults and children, small chip bag snacks, and anything fun for the holidays. Collections will continue until December 9th.
Support: The MPA Kindergarten classes are running a service project called "Operation Warmth" to provide "warm" items to soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Check your Thursday Folder for more specifics on the types of socks, gloves, hand warmers, hats, scarves, and food items they're collecting to send overseas. The kids will also be writing letters to the soldiers and sending a blanket for Addyson Kuszma's uncle, who is serving in Afghanistan. Please bring all donations into school by Monday, December 5th so they can be mailed in plenty of time to reach the troops for the holidays. Thanks for helping support our brave men and women overseas!
Perform: MPA Kindergartner Emmy Rosbough will be dancing the part of an angel in Northern Classical Ballet's The Nutcracker on Sat, December 10th. We'd love to share other MPA students' accomplishments with the world. Send the information you'd like shared with the MPA community to Gretchen Woods at avonhokie@yahoo.com and she'll make sure it gets in the newsletter or blog.
Schedule: Classroom holiday parties will be held the afternoon of Wednesday, December 21st, and will be followed by a school sing-a-long in the gym. Families are welcome to attend the sing-a-long, but be aware that seating on the bleachers will be limited, so please don't bring your entire extended family!
Welcome: There's a new face at MPA - Todd Gorius, our new Intervention Specialist. He'll be helping the school serve students with learning differences, designing and implementing interventions and specialized instruction. He'll also make sure we remain in compliance with all laws and regulations in this area. Welcome to the team, Todd!
Volunteer Information:
Thank: Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out with the Facilities team work day and the curriculum book sale, including Teri Ross, Sheila Buchanon, Mandy Czech, Sara Atkins, Kari Bast-Payne, Cathie Leimbach, Heather and Jay Keirn-Swanson, Racheal Seibert, Nicole Harrington, Tina and Vic Garlauskas, Kay O'Donnell, Peggy Kleckner, Deanna Campbell, Shelley Rice-James, Mason Boor, Jackie Rivera, Sid & Dan Stech, Ed Burwell, Ed Gundayao, Shawn & Laura Koski, Karen Ammari and Stacey Camera. We got the school spruced up, cleared out a lot of storage space, and raised some money for the school, too! And the MPA staff would also like to thank the volunteers who provided food during the days of the parent-teacher conferences, including Carol Ryan, Madeline O'Malley, Mandy Czech, Maureen Mingus, Rachel Didytch, Sid Stech, Natassa Pricscilla, and Collette Dalton. Thanks for helping make two very long days much more enjoyable!
Serve: The last Browns home game is Sunday, January 1st, 2012. Help MPA make its goal of 100% volunteer staffing of our concession stand - click here and select the January 1st game to volunteer!
Submit: Volunteers, if you purchase something for the school and expect to be reimbursed, please keep in mind two very important points. First, all purchases must be pre-approved by an MPA staff member. And second, receipts must be submitted to the school within 60 days of the purchase. Purchases that do not meet both of these criteria will not be reimbursed. Thanks for your understanding.
Calendar Highlights:
Compete: The MPA boys' basketball schedule is now available:
Game #1 December 10th - vs. Cuyahoga Hts. @ 3:00pm at the Cuyahoga Hts. Rec Center
Game #2 December 17th – vs. Columbia Coleman @ 12:30 at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts.
Game #3 January 7th – vs. Columbia Hershey @ 12:30 at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts. (Also, Team Picture Day at 11:00am)
Game #4 January 14th – vs. Olmsted Falls @ 11:00AM at Big Creek Elementary School in Middleburg Hts.
Game #5 January 21st - vs. Berea Heat @ 3:30 at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts.
Game #6 January 28st - vs. Middleburg Hts. Cavs @ 12:30 at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts.
Game #7 February 4th - vs. Berea Hornets @ 12:30 at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts. (Note: This game may be rescheduled).
Game #8 February 9th - vs. Middleburg Hts. Knicks @ 7:30pm at Midpark Sports Center in Middleburg Hts. (Yes, this is a Thursday night game!!!).
Game #9 February 18th – vs. Columbia Station Ross @ 2:30 at Berea High School.
Game #10 February 25th – vs. Fairview Park Warriors @ 1:30 at the Fairview Park Gemini Center.
Other dates to remember:
- Dec. 2 (Friday) - 3rd grade trip to Severance Hall; 6th grade trip to Playhouse Square for A Christmas Carol
- Dec. 3 (Saturday) - FIRST Lego League robotics competition at Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights
- Dec. 5 (Monday) - Collection of items for "Operation Warmth" ends; 1st grade trip to Shore Cultural Center for'Twas the Night Before Christmas; 2nd grade trip to Beck Center
- Dec. 9 (Friday) - Collection of items for Laura's Home Women and Children's Shelter ends; all re-enrollment forms and fees due for returning students
- Dec. 13 (Tuesday) - Bidding for Good auction ends
- Dec. 21 (Wednesday) - Last day of school before winter break; classroom parties and sing-a-long in the afternoon
- Jan. 1, 2012 (Sunday) - Last day to volunteer at the Browns game concession stand
- Jan. 4, 2012 (Wednesday) - School resumes
- Jan. 8, 2012 - Open house for prospective families, 1-3pm
- Feb. 23, 2012 - "From the Heart" school concert
- Feb. 27 - March 2 - Save the date for the MPA Scholastic Book Fair.
A final thought: Do you ever visit MPA's page on Facebook? It's full of timely updates, fun facts and enrichment opportunities, and interesting links. Don't miss it!
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