Search This Blog

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

MPA Newsletter, 10/5/2011


Breaking news: Congratulations to our new Student Council officers: President Jason Hahn, Vice President Owen Crowley, Secretary Marika Olijar, and Treasurer Nora Kelley.  Way to go!  Now that the officers have been elected, it's time for individual homerooms to each elect a representative to meet with the Council.  Students who are interested in running for the representative position should contact homeroom teachers as soon as possible and start campaigning now; the election will be held on October 12th.  Campaign materials are welcomed, provided they speak only to the qualities of the candidate and do not mention any opponents.  Posters may be no more than 22"x28", the size of a standard poster board.  Printed handouts and wearable campaign items such as buttons or stickers may be distributed, but no food or any other type of giveaway is allowed.  Candidates should prepare a short speech (less than three minutes long) that addresses why they are the best person for the job without mentioning other candidates.  If there are any questions about this process, please contact the Student Council adviser, Mrs. Hahn, at lakeshorehahns@roadrunner.com .

New Developments: A big welcome this week goes out to Tanya Reno, who now serves as the Development Coordinator at Menlo Park Academy.  She received her B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from California State University, Fullerton. Tanya lives in Strongsville, Ohio with her husband and three kids.  As the mother of three gifted children, she says is excited to be working at Menlo Park Academy.  Welcome to MPA, Tanya!

Fundraiser Facts:  We're in the middle of two important fundraisers at school, the Flower Power bulb sale and the online magazine sale/renewal fundraiser.  Please visit the following sites to help support our school and make your life a little brighter (and better read!):
Next month we will begin an online fundraising auction.  If you know anyone who would be interested in donating an item or service for this, please have them contact Development Coordinator Tanya Reno at tanya.reno@menloparkacademy.com.  And if you're interested in REALLY helping out with the auction ... we're looking for someone to run the project.  If you are good at making phone calls and organizing things, we'd love to have you head up the auction.  Contact Tanya as soon as possible if you can help out, and thank you!

On my honor: The MPA Girl Scouts have their first meeting Thursday, October 6th from 4:00-5:30pm.  Girls should bring their registration forms, registration fee, and a notebook or folder with paper.  Subsequent meetings will be held on the first and third Thursdays of each month.  For more information or to join the troop, contact troop leaders Katherine Pfister ( KatherinePfister@aol.com or440-227-4098) and Sara George (cuteladybug0267@aol.com or 440-801-1588).

Johnny-on-the-Spot: Many thanks to Heather Syracuse for getting our lunch and recess support set up on Volunteer Spot, an online calendar the school can use to track volunteer needs.  This program allows each volunteer to see which spots are available on the schedule, as well as to sign up for volunteer shifts in advance.  For volunteers who have agreed to come in on a weekly basis, Heather has added you on the calendar for a number of dates weekly through the end of school for ease of scheduling.  If you need to make any changes to your schedule throughout the year, you can make them yourself online at  http://www.volunteerspot.com/login/entry/3323456345987820127, or contact Heather directly at 440-822-5193.

Speaking of volunteers: The Edison Club is looking for a volunteer to work the door every Thursday afternoon.  If you're available to help (and would like your child(ren) to get free admission to the club on those days), contact Edisonclub@menloparkacademy.com.

Bounce on in: Boys' Basketball tryouts begin Wednesday, October 12th.  View the attached flyer for more information on dates, times, and what to bring.  See you on the court!

They're such characters: MPA's Fall Character Festival will be held during school on October 28th.  There will be parties in the classrooms for the lower school students, a combined party for the middle school students, and a costume parade for all grades.  Students should NOT wear their costume to school in the morning.  They can bring in a costume based on any character found in a book - costumes must be able to be put on in the classroom (not in the restroom) by the students with no assistance from an adult.  Please limit the number of "props" to go along with the costume, and do not send in anything that could even remotely be viewed as a weapon (pretend knives, guns, swords, ninja weapons or throwing stars, brass knuckles, etc.).  We can't wait to see what the kids come up with this year!

Girls Go! Science: For girls in grades 6-12, the Great Lakes Science Center is sponsoring a day-long workshop of hands-on sessions led by women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  The date is Saturday, October 29.  Cost is $35, $27 if you are a member of the science center.  You can find more information at http://www.glsc.org/girlsgo.php.

Tiny Tidbits: 
  • Title I forms are going home in Thursday Folders this week.  This information is required so that MPA qualifies for various types of private and federal funding.  Names are not required on the forms.
  • The Lost&Found box outside of Mrs. Wilson's office is OVERFLOWING with lots of sweaters and jackets.  Unclaimed items will be donated on October 13th, so if your child is missing anything, have them come down to the office to look for it soon!
  • We are no longer providing straws in the lunchroom for milk, because we have found there is less waste and spillage when students drink directly from the cartons.  If you'd like your child to have a straw at lunchtime, please send a disposable one in with their lunch each day.
  • Did you know that MPA is collecting Coke Rewards points? We will soon have a specific bin where students can drop off Coke product bottle caps, which volunteers will enter into the website for us.  We can redeem the points for art/classroom & gym/playground equipment, like balls and jump ropes, etc., so send in those bottle caps!
  • We're keeping track of the number of Boxtops turned in by each classroom for September and October, and so far Mr. Thompson's class is in the lead.  Will they hold on to the lead for the rest of the month, or will another classroom surge ahead?  Send in those Boxtops and let's see who wins!
  • Want to help us win $45,000 for the school?  Visit http://campbellsoup.promotionexpert.com/labelsforeducation/fs/index.html EVERY DAY to enter for our school to win a $45,000 tech makeover (and some goodies for you, too!).  If we all enter EVERY DAY until the contest ends at the end of the year, we'll have thousands of chances to win.
  • Do your best: Cub Scout Pack 110 meetings have begun for the year.  If your son is interested in joining but was unable to attend the first meeting, please contact Tom Doughman at tomdoughman@att.net .
  • Wow!  We just totaled up the volunteer hours that have been worked so far this school year (including the summer), and we've gotmore than 2700 hours accumulated!  We had more than 1500 hours worked in September alone.  Way to go, volunteers - keep up the good work!
  • Save the date: Parent-teacher conferences will be held November 21st and 22nd - more information to follow closer to the date.
Calendar highlights:
  • - Oct. 6 (Thursday) - MPA Board of Directors meeting, 6pm
  • - Oct. 12 (Wednesday) – Second Grade field trip to Lake Erie Nature and Science Center; Student Council classroom representative elections; boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
  • - Oct. 13 (Thursday) – Volunteer team leader meetings with Dr. Bouchard and Mrs. Lindemann (various times); Browns Concession Stand Volunteer training at 5:45pm at the Grille
  • - Oct. 14 (Friday) – Teacher in-service day - no school for students; boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
  • - Oct. 18 (Tuesday) - Kindergarten field trip to Apple Hill, Third Grade field trip to historic downtown Cleveland
  • - Oct. 19 (Wednesday) – Picture Day!  More information from Life Touch to follow soon; boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
  • - Oct. 20 (Thursday) - MPA Board of Directors meeting at 6pm; Girl Scouts meeting at 4pm   
  • - Oct. 21 (Friday) - boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
  • - Oct. 26 (Wednesday) - boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
  • - Oct. 27 (Thursday) - Browns Concession Stand Volunteer training at 5:45pm at the Grille
  • - Oct. 28 (Friday) - Fall Character Festival parties and costume parade; boys' basketball tryouts 4:30pm at Kamm's Corner YMCA
A final thought: Did you know you can now find back issues of the e-mail newsletters online? (probably not, since it just went live this week!) Check out the archives on the blog at: http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/p/newsletter-archives.html

--
Menlo Park Academy
14440 Triskett Road
Cleveland, OH  44111
440-925-6365
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)