Also, this newsletter will not be published on Wednesday, February 29th - even devoted volunteer editors have to go on vacation sometimes! The regular newsletter schedule will resume in March.
Development Information:
If you didn't have a chance to pre-purchase a ticket for the Kindle Fire raffle to be held at the school concert this Thursday, don't worry! Raffle tickets will be available for purchase at the event - so make sure you bring cash or a checkbook so you can have a chance to win. And speaking of the raffles and auctions at the concert ... want to know what's going to be available to win? Check out the blog at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/auction-and-raffle-items.html to see a list of the live auction, silent auction, and raffle prizes that will be available. Take a few minutes to review the list now so you're prepared to bid on Thursday. And remember, for baskets and auction items we will be accepting cash, checks, and credit cards - you don't even have to hit the ATM on your way to the event!
On March 1st a representative from the Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust will be visiting MPA to learn more about our school. Since this foundation was created to honor the founder of the Swagelok Company in Solon, Ohio, we were hoping to highlight any ties our MPA families might have to this company. So if there are any parents (or extended family members) who work at Swagelok, please contact Tanya.Reno@MenloParkAcademy.com and let her know. Thanks for your help!
Student Information:
WIZARDS WIN!!!! Down 16-6 in the 3rd quarter, the Wizards stormed back to beat the Columbia Ross Spartans 22-21 last Saturday! Jacob Love hit the go-ahead shot with :55 seconds left and the Wizards played tough defense to win it. Zach Peacock and Ojas Nadkarni each scored 6 points. And the MPA Parents again rocked the building with cheers, easily the loudest crowd of the season (we have the most supportive parents!). We also had 5 other players score 2 points. We have qualified to play in the playoffs in either the A bracket or B bracket after Saturday's win. You would have been proud, they never game up and fought really hard to come back and win!
Don't forget, the student concert is on Thursday, February 23rd at Magnificat High School in Rocky River. Directions to the school can be found here: http://www.magnificaths.org/aboutus_location.asp . The event will open at 5pm, which gives families plenty of time to view and participate in the silent auctions and raffles in the lobby. Please drop students off backstage by 6pm. Teachers will be chaperoning the students before and during their performance, which begins at 6:30pm. We understand that some younger children may not have the patience to make it through the entire program. Please try to stay for the entire performance (the finale is always memorable!), but if you must leave at intermission, you must notify your child's teacher before you go.
Have you signed up for a parent-teacher conference yet? Unless you get an email from a teacher requesting a meeting, the conferences are optional. You can find the conference sign-up form online at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/parent-teacher-conference-sign-ups.html. If you need to reschedule after you complete the online form, contact your teacher or Lynn.Wilson@MenloParkAcademy.com to handle the change for you. Report cards will be given out at the conferences. If you do not come in for a conference, then your child's report card will go home in that Thursday's folder.
While you're at school for the conferences on Monday and Tuesday, be sure to check out the Lost and Found area for any of your family's belongings. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity Tuesday afternoon, so time is running out to claim those hats and gloves!
During conference hours you can also stop by the Scholastic Book Fair, which will be open all week in the school library. Our school earns credit toward books for our school library for every item you purchase - and the more we sell, the higher the percentage we earn! We will be able to accept cash, checks (made out to Menlo Park Academy) and credit cards at the fair. Here are the hours it will be open:
- Monday, February 27 - 7:30am - 7pm
- Tuesday, February 28 - 7:30am - 12pm
- Wednesday, Februay 29 - 8:30am - 4pm
- Thursday, March 1 - 8:30am - 4pm
- Friday, March 2 - 8:30am - 4pm
Can't make it to the book fair next week? You can still support the school and get your Scholastic fix - online! The link to MPA's online book fair is http://onlinebookfairs.scholastic.com/default.aspx?f=3026464 . Purchases made online will be delivered free to the school.
- Fish Fry-days are back at St. Mel's church! Every Friday in Lent St. Mel's offers fish dinners for eat-in (at the church hall) or carry out. More information is available on the church website at http://stmelparish.net/ . Please keep in mind that this means the parking lot will be MUCH more crowded during Friday evening Edison Club pickups, so be prepared to be patient and careful when driving near the school at that time.
Thanks to everyone who contributed toward buying a gift for Mrs. Lindemann to thank her for her service to the school. We presented her with a Pandora bracelet at the pep rally last week, and she was thrilled!
This week marks the end of the second trimester of the school year. It's a good time to check in with your student and make sure they have all the supplies they need to make it through the rest of the year. Pens, paper, glue, Post-It notes ... all of these consumable supplies are important to keep our classrooms running smoothly.
Get ready for fun! A new middle school Engineering Club, "Totally Engineering", will be offered on Fridays after school from 3:15-4:15 starting March 2nd in the Science Lab. With help from some very talented Cleveland Clinic Engineering grad students, Mrs. Eby will be providing the opportunity for middle school students to learn about engineering in a very hands-on way. Students will be given a new challenge or project each week to broaden their understanding of this growing and globally important profession. Classes will be free but a $5.00 materials fee will be charged per class ($45.00 for nine weeks of classes). Email Janeth.Eby@MenloParkAcademy.com to sign up. Do it soon as the class will be limited to 20 students!
Join us for MPA's K-4 Math Night on Pi Day, Wednesday, March 14, 2012, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.! Activities will include fun and interactive math-related puzzles and games, including Math Jeopardy!, flexagons, tangrams, and creative ways of calculating pi. We are lucky to have Math Monkey of Cleveland (www.mathmonkeycleveland.com) as a sponsor of some of our activity stations, including a math cornhole game, the popular ThinkFun Rush Hour game, and a math fishing game for the younger kids. Parents and students will also be able to have their pi and eat it too - look for yummy pies at the refreshment table! And for mini-pie door prizes! For parents interested in learning more about Singapore Math, a loop presentation will be available to watch at the event. We hope you will join us for some math fun! Questions regarding K-4 Math Night can be directed to Latha at LMS54321@gmail.com.
On Wednesday, April 18, there will be a special anti-bullying program at Playhouse Square in conjunction with their presentation of The Addams Family. You can learn more about the program on our blog at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/playhouse-square-anti-bullying-program.html.
Volunteer Information:
Congratulations to the O'Malley family, which was drawn as "volunteer of the month" at last week's pep rally. The family received a Red Robin gift card to thank them for their hours of service to the school.
Last call for volunteers for the Menlo Park Academy Book Fair! If you are able to give any time to helping out at the Book Fair next week (2/27 to 3/2), please e-mail Mary at carroccio@roadrunner.com or call at (216)905-2786. We could also use a few volunteers to help set up this Thursday, February 23rd, around noon. The more hands we have helping, the quicker it will be ready! Thanks to those who have already signed up to help!
We are still looking for five more judges for the CONSEF science fair on Saturday, March 3rd. The information about the science fair (and the sign-up) is at http://www.consef.org/EssentialInformation/JudgeApplication.aspx. Parents who would like to judge do not need to have previous judging experience. Anyone with a strong science background will do. Please let Mrs. Eby know if you sign up: Janeth.Eby@MenloParkAcademy.com.
The teachers have some long days ahead of them with Parent/Teacher conferences coming up on Monday, February 27th and Tuesday, February 28th! If you would like to help support the staff by signing up to bring food/drink items for either of those days, we know they would be so appreciative! You can sign up for something by clicking here: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner for Teacher Conferences
We know that the MPA community is an amazing resource, so helping us find new members to serve on our Board should be no exception. This April, MPA’s Board of Directors will conduct our annual elections and are seeking to add members to the Board. More information on the requirements and process can be found on our blog at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/board-member-search.html.
We need volunteers to teach electives for our students - please consider bringing your expertise to our school! Third trimester electives run from Feb. 29-June 1st. Wednesdays we offer electives for Middle School (varies by grade between 8:50-2:40) and 3rd grade from 9:50-10:50. Fridays we offer electives for 4th grade (11:20-12:10), 2nd grade (2:20-3:00), 1st grade (1:40-2:20), and Kindergarten (1:00-1:40). If you need ideas of what to teach, never fear, we are overflowing with wonderful ideas. Just let Jenn Ingraham know! Please email asap if you can help: ji@zoominternet.net. Thank you!
Well, Mrs. Lindemann left MPA on Friday, and the school hasn't fallen apart yet! Hurray! Until a permanent person is hired to take over her former responsibilities, here's a reminder who you can contact if you have questions or need to have something addressed:
- Dr. Bouchard - Academic Enrichment (Jen Ingraham), Communications (Karen Peacock and Gretchen Woods), Facilities (Tom Doughman)
- Lynn Wilson - General Volunteer Info & School Day Support (Heather Syracuse), Community Team (Bridget Ryan)
- Tanya Reno - Fundraising/Development (Jessica Tonsing), Finance (Willie Littlejohn)
- Carol Scheuer - IT
- Teri Harrison, Board Chair - Legal Team
In addition, an interim Finance manager, Robert Schirhart, is starting this week. Refer your questions about money-related matters to finance@menloparkacademy.com.
Calendar Highlights:
- Feb. 23 (Thursday) - End of second trimester; "From the Heart" school concert and fundraising auction
- Feb. 24 (Friday) - No school for students
- Feb. 25 (Saturday) - Basketball game at 1:30 vs. Fairview Gemini Center; Basketball team awards and dinner at 6 pm at MPA
- Feb. 27 (Monday) - No school for students - Parent conferences scheduled
- Feb. 28 (Tuesday) - No school for students - Parent conferences scheduled
- Feb. 27 - March 2 - MPA Scholastic Book Fair
- March 1 (Thursday) - Fifth grade parents' meeting in Mrs. Theiss' room at 5:30pm; Anyone who is interested in serving on the Board of Directors should plan to attend our regular meeting on at 6:00pm at MPA
- March 3 (Saturday) - CONSEF science and engineering fair; Cleveland Plain Dealer spelling bee
- March 8 (Thursday) - Fourth and Fifth Grade field trip to Hanna Theatre; Board candidate applications should be submitted by this date.
- March 14 (Wednesday) - Math Night from 6:30-8pm
- March 15 (Thursday) - Prospective Board candidates are invited to attend a Question & Answer session with Board members at 6:00pm at the school.
- March 16 (Friday) - No school for students - inservice day
- March 19 (Monday) - Photo make-up, club and candid day; Strings and Band Concert at MPA at 6:30
- March 21-23 (Wednesday-Friday) - Fifth Grade field trip to Camp Fitch
- March 24 (Saturday) - Power of the Pen regional competition in Sandusky
- April 5 (Thursday) - New Board member elections will be held at the regular Board meeting
- April 6-16 - No school for students - spring break and inservice day
- April 20 (Friday) - Lego Olympiad at LCCC
- April 27 (Friday) - School-wide Spelling Bee
- June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game
- Sept. (TBD) - Golf scramble fundraiser
Did you know ... Gretchen Woods (mother of first grader Liza Woods) is the newsletter editor, the blog editor, and a frequent poster on the MPA Facebook page? If you've got something you'd like to share with the school - a need for volunteers for your school event, an exciting achievement your child has made outside of school, or anything else you think MPA parents should know about - send the information to avonhokie@yahoo.com. The submission deadline for the weekly newsletter is each Wednesday at noon.
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