MPA Newsletter, 4/25/2012

Congratulations to the Busnawi family, the winner of last week's "are you paying attention" drawing.  A Red Robin gift card will be coming home in Shaira's Thursday folder.  Keep up the good work - and keep reading, you never know when I'm going to throw another drawing into the newsletter!

(Side note - yes, there are a lot of attachments that went out this week.  Please be sure to review them - there was a LOT of information to get out this week, and we decided to rely on the attachments to get some of it across, rather than having the main e-mail be 48 pages long.  So don't assume that you can safely skip the attachments - there's something in there for virtually everyone this week!)

Student Information

Just a reminder - in the mornings please do not line up for student drop-off before 8am.  Lining up early blocks parking spots that our teachers need to use, and makes it more difficult for the families who are dropping their children off for Edison Club.  Thanks for your consideration!

Congratulations (again!) to the boys' basketball team.  The Wizards split a double header Saturday at the Lakewood YMCA.In the first game, the Wizards beat the Bucks 29-13. Zach Peacock led the team in scoring with 10 points and Ojas Nadkarni had 8 points. It was the Wizards' third win in a row this season. In the second game, we were a little tired mentally and physically and the Wizards lost to Ridge Wood Academy 28-18. Again, Zach Peacock led the team in scoring in this game also with 11 points. I was really proud of their effort on the court. It has been a blast working with our team and the parents were rocking the building with cheers...as usual! The Wizards are now 3-1 in the Spring League, but remain in first place with 4 games left to play!

Congratulations to all Menlo Lego Olympiad participants! We had a record number of students participating this year with a total of 140 students and 50 teams. Menlo students once again showed their creativity and design skills and took home a number of prizes.  In fact, we had so many winners that we don't have room to list them all here!  Check out the attached document for a list of the winning teams.  Way to go, Menlo!

Just a reminder that the deadline for submitting "Shout Outs" for the 2011-2012 MPA yearbook has been extended to Friday, April 27th.  A "Shout Out" is a short message you can send to your child or a teacher in the pages of the yearbook.  It’s a way to say, “We’re proud of you” to your favorite student(s) or “thank you” to your favorite teacher(s). The cost is: 1-15 words $5.00 16-30 word $10.00.  Submit the attached form with your payment by Friday to be included this year.

Bee ready! MPA's All-School Spelling Bee is this Friday, April 27! Congratulations and good luck to all of the participants. The Bee will start at 8:45 a.m. in the Gym. The study word lists were sent home with the participants but can also be found on the school's website at: http://bit.ly/Ip2k7K.

Regarding Teacher Appreciation days: Because this is a surprise for the Teachers/Staff, please know the students have not heard about it from the school – so students will not know about it unless we the parents tell them.  So please talk with your child about doing the special things described in the message which went out last week, as it is an important part of Teacher/Staff Appreciation.   (FYI - Teachers/Staff get a copy of this newsletter so I cannot disclose what students are suppose to bring in - check the Thursday folder for more info.) Please tell your child to place their things in their classroom in the bag labeled “ for Mrs. Daugherty” by next Tuesday, May 1.  (Look to the Thursday folder for more information and/or the letter emailed to the parents last Sunday).  

To help make Teacher/Staff Appreciation “Extra Special” if anyone has new items, gift cards, etc. that they can donate to a raffle please email Janelle Daugherty at jldoc29@yahoo.com so that I know to look for it.  Please submit donated items to “Janelle Daugherty” by May 1st and list your name, your student’s name and teacher with each donation so that you can be recognized for your generosity at Teacher/Staff Appreciation.  Any questions, thoughts, suggestions or recommendations can be sent to Janelle Daugherty at jldoc29@yahoo.com or call her at 216-481-1680.   Thanks for your support of this important event!

Check your Thursday folder for information on purchasing tickets to the Crushers baseball game on Sunday, June 3rd. Everyone attending the game (including MPA students) needs a ticket, which will cost $9 each.   

Save the date: The "Young Authors" books our students have been working so hard to finish will be displayed Tuesday, May 8th.  Books will be available in the hallways until 6 pm, so people can come by anytime to read them.

Attached please the flyer for the Student Council Carnival being offered to students in Grade K-4 afterschool on Thursday, May 17th.  Your student can enjoy the St. Ignatius Circus Company, snacks, and carnival games.  Registration is required by May 8th - no late registrations will be accepted, so make sure to get your form in promptly! 

Is your Middle Schooler thinking of a career in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field? Then mark your calendars for Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.! The STEM Enrichment Committee is pleased to announce a Middle School STEM Career Night where students can learn about different STEM careers and have one-on-one conversations with professionals in those areas. More information to come in a future newsletter! If you have any questions about Middle School Career Night, or are a STEM professional who can volunteer to speak with students that night, please contact Grant at granthens@gmail.com.

Field Day is Friday, June 1^st.  As in previous years, we are dividing the school into two teams and will provide a t-shirt for each student.  Student t-shirts are free, and will be used for Field Day and the Crushers baseball game on June 3rd.  T-shirts for adults and siblings who do not attend MPA are available for only $5.  The order form is included in the Thursday folder and a copy is attached if you prefer to print it yourself.  Don't wait - order now!

Calling all basketball players!  Dates for the second annual MPA boys' basketball clinic have been announced!  The clinic will be held Wednesday, July 25 through Friday, July 27th, from 9:30-3:30 each day.  See the attached flyer for more details - and reserve your spot early so you don't forget in the rush to plan other summer activities!

Speaking of summer activities, are you looking for camps, contests, or activities to keep your gifted child busy this summer?  Check out the attached flyer for a pretty comprehensive list of possibilities, both in Cleveland and further afield.

Also attached to this message - the March issue of the student newspaper.  Great job, kids!

Development Information

Attention Box Tops collectors!  It’s the final days of the Classroom Box Tops Challenge 2011-2012!  Send in your (trimmed) Box Tops for Education in a bag or envelope labeled with student’s full name, grade, and teacher by Monday April 30.  The top classroom wins a pizza party with the 2 runner up classrooms winning a popsicle/ice cream party!  Current leading classrooms are: Nagy, Rokas, O’Donnell, Schroeder, Shuder, and Thompson.  So round up the Box Tops and get ‘em in by Monday!

Please join us in thanking the Olympic Steel Corporate Citizenship Committee for their donation?  The group chose MPA as the organization to support for the month of March.  They hosted a jeans day along with other activities to benefit Menlo Park Academy and the money they collected was donated to the school.  Thank you so much for your support!

Sooooo, is there something you've forgotten to do?  Or maybe have been putting off, figuring you'll get to it later?  If "actually paying the amount you pledged to the MPA annual fund" is one of those things, please consider taking care of it today.  Pledged amounts can be sent to the attention of Tanya Reno, who is also happy to answer any questions you have about completing forms for your employer's matching gift program.  Feel free to contact her at Tanya.Reno@MenloParkAcademy.com with any questions you have.  And thanks, as always, for your support!

Volunteer Information

On May 7th, 8th, and 9th we will be celebrating our wonderful Teachers and Staff during Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.  If you would like to volunteer to help with the activities planned for those days, please email Janelle at jldoc29@yahoo.com. If you have previously volunteered, but have not heard from Janelle this week kindly email her again so that she can make sure everyone is included. Thanks very much for your support!

The Student Council Carnival is being offered to students in Grade K-4 afterschool on Thursday, May 17th.  We're looking for parent volunteers to help supervise at this event.  Student Council Members will be running the event, butwe need adults to help supervise the participants.  If you can help out, please contact the Student Council advisor Marilyn Hahn at mhahn@cdcare.org.

Calendar Highlights:

• April 26 (Thursday) - Seventh and Eighth Grade field trip to see Romeo and Juliet
• April 27 (Friday) - School-wide Spelling Bee; basketball practice 4-6pm
• April 28 (Saturday) - Quiz Night; Invention Convention; basketball game at 2:15 at Lakewood Gym
• April 30-May 4 - Eighth Grade field trip to Washington D.C.; Sixth and Seventh Grade field trip to Mohican
• May 4 (Friday) - Basketball practice 4-6pm; Third Grade overnight field trip at the zoo
• May 5 (Saturday) - Basketball double header at 1:15 and 3pm at Lakewood Gym
• May 7 (Monday) - Candid and group photo day for the yearbook
• May 8 (Tuesday) - Young Authors book viewing day at school (open until 6pm)
• May 10-11 - Fourth Grade field trip to COSI in Columbus
• May 14-17 - Iowa Tests for grades K-4; Explore Tests for grades 5-8
• May 17 (Thursday) - 3:30 - 5 pm K-4 Carnival Sponsored by Student Council
• May 18 (Friday) - No school; 6:30 - 8:30 Middle School Dance
• May 21 - 25 - Student Council Sponsored Spirit Week
• May 24 (Thursday) - Middle School STEM career night, 6:30 pm
• May 25 (Friday) - Volunteer Appreciation event
• May 28 (Monday) - No school (Memorial Day)
• May 29 - June 1 - Eighth Grade Celebration Week
• June 1 (Friday) - Field Day at Lakewood Park
• June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game, 5:05pm in Avon
• August 26 (Sunday) - Back to School picnic at Lakewood Park

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 Gretchen Woods at avonhokie@yahoo.com.  The submission deadline for the weekly newsletter is each Wednesday at noon.

MPA Newsletter, 4/18/2012

It's time once again to find out who's been reading the newsletter!  Read carefully this week - you never know when the editor is going to decide it's time to hand out rewards to lucky readers!

Student Information:

All Middle School students going to Mohican School in the Out-of-Doors must have their health forms in by this Friday, April 20th. You can download the forms from this site: http://www.mohicanoutdoorschool.org/outdoor-education/resources-forms.html.

Did you know our students in grades 2-5 are participating in the Noetic Math contest this week? Noetic Learning Math Contest is a biannual problem-solving contest for elementary students. The goal of the math contest is to develop young students' problem-solving skills and foster their love and ambition for math.  Each test consists of 20 age-appropriate problem-solving questions. No problems require special math concepts beyond what's learned at school.  Best of luck to all of our budding mathematicians!

Great news!  Our recently-completed financial audit revealed "clean and accurate recordkeeping," leading to an Auditor of State Award for MPA.  Our audit turned up no findings for recovery, material citations, significant deficiencies, or questioned costs.  At a time when other charter and community schools are being questioned about their finances, it's reassuring that the state has found MPA is handling its finances correctly.  Congratulations to the financial volunteers and MPA administrators on this award!

Lego Olympiad Info for Participating Families: Reminder to all Lego Olympiad builders that the big day is almost here!The Olympiad is this Friday, April 20 at Lorain County Community College. Check-in is from 7:30 - 8:50 a.m. and the competition starts promptly at 9:00. Students participating in the competition do not need to report to Menlo that day, but must make sure that they sign in with one of the teachers at LCCC: 

• Students in grades K-1 check in with Mrs. Nagy
• Students in grades 2-3 check in with Ms. Shuder
• Students in grades 4-5 check in with Mrs. Scheuer
• Students in grades 6-8 check in with Mrs. Eby

Parents are responsible for picking up their children after the Awards Ceremony at 1:45. Parents are welcome to attend the ceremony which begins at 12:45. Students need to check out with their assigned teacher upon leaving LCCC and do not need to return to Menlo after the ceremony.  Parents should have received a e-mail on Monday with detailed info regarding the event. If you did not received that e-mial, please contact Maryanne Hiti atmhiti@sbcglobal.net or 216-481-5695. You may also go to http://www.lorainccc.edu/Community+Services/Lego+Olympiad/ for information.

Menlo Park Academy will again be having the ARTS FAIR & ICE CREAM SOCIAL on April 22, 2012 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.   This free event is a celebration and showcase of the many talents of our MPA students.  Like last year, there will be an opportunity to play an instrument, sing, perform a dance or poem, or act out a famous historical character as a “wax figure”.  


In case you're unfamiliar with the "wax figure" performances from last year, here's a description: A student should pick a historical figure. It can be an artist (Van Gogh), a musician (Mozart), an inventor (Thomas Edison), or someone famous (Abraham Lincoln). The student dresses up like the figure, and can have props. The audience drops a coin into a box that the wax figure has next to them. The wax figure "comes alive" and can do something that gives a hint to who he/she is.  The audience is supposed to "guess" who the figure is.  For example, if the student picks Mozart, the student can play a piece by Mozart on an instrument or a tape player. If the student is Van Gogh, he can pretend to paint, show images of his paintings, or describe a moment from their life (like cutting off his ear). For an inventor, the student can choose a less famous invention (for Edison, the telegraph), then gradually add more and more well known ones until the audience guesses. "I invented the light bulb". Or if the student wants to recreate the famous invention, they can make a replica and pretend to show how it works. It is up to the student how elaborate they want to get.



Students can perform individually or in a group.  In addition, many of your children’s beautiful works of art will be on display throughout the building for you to enjoy and there will be a fun craft for the children to make and take home.  At the end of the event, we will celebrate with a yummy ice cream treat!  Go to http://mpaspringartsfair2012.pleasebringit.com/public/VWy7PuFh1Zc to register your child to participate.  To sign up to volunteer:  http://mpaartsfair2012.pleasebringit.com/public/b86e20ESxVo

OAA testing will be held next week.  Here's the schedule of the tests our students will be taking:


Monday, April 23rd - Reading tests for grades 3-8
Tuesday, April 24th - Math tests for grades 3-8
Wednesday, April 25th - Science tests for grades 5 and 8


All OAA testing will take place in the mornings from 8:30-11:15am. We want to give our kids the best chance to show what they know!  Please make sure students get plenty of sleep the night(s) before, eat a good breakfast and arrive at school on time each testing day.  





On May 7th, 8th, and 9th we will be celebrating our wonderful Teachers and Staff during Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.  With that in mind, we would greatly appreciate a small donation of $2.00 -$3.00 per student to help make this an extra special event for our Teachers and Staff.  Kindly place your donation in a sealed envelope to the attention of Janelle Daugherty, Teacher/Staff Appreciation and return it this week. Also, if you would like to volunteer to help please email Janelle at jldoc29@yahoo.com. Thanks very much for your support!




Congratulations to Ethan Scheuer, who was a semi-finalist in the Ohio Center for the Book "Letters about Literature" contest.  Great job, Ethan!




Congratulations to the Middle School students who were recognized by their teachers for demonstrating March's character trait, kindness.  Those students are: Cody Hofstetter, Lexi Harrison, and Brennan McQuinn.  Congratulations on having been "caught being good!"







Development Information:




Thanks to all the families who participated in the Walkathon fundraiser earlier this month!  The students were able to take advantage of the gorgeous weather by walking outside.  Those 1/4-mile laps around the school property really added up:our students walked more than 688 miles in total, raising more than $8700 for the school.  Way to go!  T-shirts for those students who raised more than $50 during the Walkathon will be arriving next week and will be sent home when they're available.  Thanks again for all of your support during this fun event!




Scrip card orders are due on Friday, April 20th.  This program has raised more than $1200 for the school so far, all without parents having to pay anything more than the face value of the gift cards they've purchased. Find out more about the program on the MPA blog here: http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/p/fundraising-events.html




Here's another way you can earn money for our school without paying a penny yourself, have you checked out http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/mode/ yet?:

Try the GoodApp Today

Menlo Park Academy Needs Your Help to Win $1,000






Thousands of GoodSearch users just like you have downloaded the new GoodApp to help their cause win $1,000. Have you?




Not only could you help Menlo Park Academy win $1,000, but you can earn donations for them all year long when you search and shop online - for free! Plus, you can get coupon alerts and save when you shop too. It's easy to do and it only takes one minute.




Here are the prizes:


$1,000 to the cause that downloads the most GoodApps


$500 to the three causes that are runners-up


$50 to the first 50 causes that reach 50





This contest began at 12:01am Eastern on April 1 and ends on April 30, 2012 at 11:59pm Eastern.















Make sure you've got your calendars marked with Sunday, June 3rd set aside for attending the Lake Erie Crushers game with the rest of the MPA extended family.  The kids will be singing the national anthem, an MPA student will be throwing the game's first pitch, and there will be plenty of fun and prizes to be had during the game.  

Volunteer Information:

ARE YOU IN A SCIENCE, MATH OR ENGINEERING CAREER? The MPA STEM 

enrichment team is planning a STEM career night for grades 5-8 to take place one evening in May.  If you would be willing to give a short (5-10 minute) talk about your STEM-related career, please contact Grant Henson at 

granthens@gmail.com.









Calendar Highlights:

April 20 (Friday) - Lego Olympiad at LCCC; Scrip gift card orders due; basketball practice 4-6pm
April 21 (Saturday) - Basketball double-header at 2:15 and 3:15 pm at Lakewood YMCA
April 22 (Sunday) - Arts Fair and Ice Cream Social, 2-3:30 pm at MPA
April 23-25 - OAA standardized testing 
April 26 (Thursday) - Seventh and Eighth Grade field trip to see Romeo and Juliet
April 27 (Friday) - School-wide Spelling Bee; basketball practice 4-6pm
April 28 (Saturday) - Quiz Night; Invention Convention; basketball game at 2:15 at Lakewood Gym
April 30-May 4 - Eighth Grade field trip to Washington D.C.; Sixth and Seventh Grade field trip to Mohican
May 4 (Friday) - Basketball practice 4-6pm; Third Grade overnight field trip at the zoo
May 5 (Saturday) - Basketball double header at 1:15 and 3pm at Lakewood Gym
May 7 (Monday) - Candid and group photo day for the yearbook
May 10-11 - Fourth Grade field trip to COSI in Columbus
May 14-17 - Iowa Tests for grades K-4; Explore Tests for grades 5-8
May 17 (Thursday) - 3:30 - 5 pm K-4 Carnival Sponsored by Student Council
May 18 (Friday) - No school; 6:30 - 8:30 Middle School Dance
May 21 - 25 - Student Council Sponsored Spirit Week
May 25 (Friday) - Volunteer Appreciation event
May 28 (Monday) - No school (Memorial Day)
May 29 - June 1 - Eighth Grade Celebration Week
June 1 (Friday) - Field Day at Lakewood Park
June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game, 5:05pm in Avon
August 26 (Sunday) - Back to School picnic at Lakewood Park  


Were you paying attention?  E-mail the answer to the following question to Gretchen Woods at avonhokie@yahoo.com to be entered in a drawing for a Red Robin gift card: Who is collecting donations for teacher/staff appreciation week?  And for a bonus entry, in a separate e-mail tell me what the deadline (date and time) is for submitting information for NEXT week's newsletter ... hint: it's not spelled out in this message, you'll have to figure it out from a previous newsletter, which are all archived at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/ .  E-mail entries must be received by noon on Wednesday, April 25th, to be entered in the drawing.  Good luck!

-- 

Menlo Park Academy

14440 Triskett Road

Cleveland, OH  44111

440-925-6365

MPA Newsletter 4/4/2012

There will be no official Thursday Folder going home this week - yay for not having to keep track of it over break!  There will be no e-newsletter going out next week, so enjoy this one for all it's worth - it's got to last you for two weeks :) Also, the school Lost and Found items will be donated to charity over break, so this is your last chance to come claim any hats, gloves, sweaters, boots, lunch boxes, or whatever else might be missing from your child's closet.  Come and get 'em by Thursday evening, or they're gone for good!

Student Information

An important message from Mrs. Wilson:  Parents, please be aware that there will be three overnight field trips occurring in short succession.  Unless MPA receives all the permission forms, medication forms, and necessary medications on the assigned dates, your child may not be able to attend the trip.  The important (iron-clad, last resort, we're seriously not making exceptions) due dates to remember are:

• Mohican trip forms and medications are due by Friday, April 20th. To find the forms, go to www.mohicanoutdoorschool.org,  mouse over "Outdoor Education" and click on "resources/forms". If you have any questions, email Mrs. Eby at janeth.eby@menloparkacademy.com.
• Washington, D.C. trip forms and medications are due Tuesday, April 24th.  Contactlynn.wilson@menloparkacademy.com if you need copies of the forms.
• Zoo overnight trip forms and medications are due Thursday, April 26th.  Contactlynn.wilson@menloparkacademy.com if you need copies of the forms.

The Wizards are now 2-0 after their recent 29-10 victory over the Clippers, our largest margin of victory so far this school year. All 11 boys played great defense in the game. Ojas Nardkarni had 10 points and Hunter Caraballo had seven, and eight different Wizard players scored in the game. The team enjoyed a victory lunch of wings and pizza at Geppettos thanks to Coach Willie and Sunnyside Audi. Check the calendar at the end of this message to see when you can come watch the UNDEFEATED Wizards play this spring!

Traffic alert ... Kindergarten screening will be taking place in the hall at St. Mel's Church on MONDAY, APRIL 16th and on TUESDAY, APRIL 17TH.  Incoming Kindergarten students and their parents will be arriving throughout the day, and they may not be familiar with the traffic patterns in the parking lot, so please use caution when driving in and around the school. Thanks - and welcome to the school, mini-munchkins!

 

Menlo Park Academy will again be having the ARTS FAIR & ICE CREAM SOCIAL on April 22, 2012 from 2:00-3:30 p.m.   This event is FREE and is not a fundraiser!  Instead, it is a celebration and showcase of the many talents of our MPA students.  Like last year, there will be an opportunity to play an instrument, sing, perform a dance or poem, or act out a famous historical character as a “wax figure”.  Students can perform individually or in a group.  In addition, many of your children’s beautiful works of art will be on display throughout the building for you to enjoy and there will be a fun craft for the children to make and take home.  At the end of the event, we will celebrate with a yummy ice cream treat!  Check out the attached flyer for more information on this fun event, and go to http://mpaspringartsfair2012.pleasebringit.com/public/VWy7PuFh1Zc to register your child to participate.  To sign up to volunteer, visit

http://mpaartsfair2012.pleasebringit.com/public/b86e20ESxVo.

Thanks go out to the Pallotta family, who will be loaning the school a car-top carrier to use on the Middle School trip to Washington, D.C.  Thanks!

The STEM Enrichment Committee thanks the many MPA parents who have given feedback about K-4 Math Night either to Committee members directly or through the feedback survey. If you haven't already given feedback and would like to do so, please take a few minutes to complete the survey so the Committee can make K-4 Math Night even better next year: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YXB9XHB. Thank you!

Bee there! The MPA school-wide Spelling Bee will take place in the gym on Friday, April 27, 2012 at 8:45 a.m. Congratulations to the following students who won their respective classroom spelling bees and who will be participating in the school-wide Spelling Bee:

• Kindergarten: Eitan Elan, Kennedy Koski, Ananya Madhavaram, Nicholas Romano, Meesha Tanna, Rahul Sanghvi, David Vidovich, Summer Hudak, Wyatt Mahoney, and Firat Begen
• Grade 1: Kaylee Geilty,  Will Gonzalez, Lewis Fetting, Gagan Vaidyanathan, Alexandra Youshak, Duncan Bryk, Alexia Wenzel, and Elizabeth Woods
• Grade 2: Emily Atkins, Claire Coleman, Brendan Kiskorna, Eliza Wegner, Carson Bauer, Noor Ahmed, Sathya Sunduram, and Dominic Mayhew (Alternates: Johnathan Carman, Megan O'Donnell)
• Grade 3: Lexi Soltesz, Hana, Connor Gallaugher, Ella Kazazic, John Evtimov, Katey Fritz, Shay Tanna, and Anna Rose
• Grade 4: Michelle Zhang, Hunter Caraballo, Milana Mudra, Rhiannon Bryk, Billy Baker, Jonah Fechner, Janna James, and Aidan Ingraham.  Joe Henson was also a finalist, but he will be out of town the day of the school Spelling Bee.  (Alternates: Sam Peacock, Matthew Harrington, Carolyn Homolka, and Natalie Costello)
• Grade 5: Sparsh Balabadrapatruni, Clement Liu, Hector Cummings, and Sam Ammari (Alternate: Patrick O'Malley)
• Grade 6: Owen Crowley, Owen Kranz, Ian O'Donnell, and Julia Moreno
• Grade 7: Stefani Hayne, Marshall Monnette, Zack Peacock, and Brennan McQuinn
• Grade 8: Fox Milenski, Aidan Harrington, and John Antolik

Congratulations and good luck to these students! The participating students will be bringing home their spelling bee study lists and other information on Thursday. The lists will also be provided to the participating students and their parents electronically.  Families are welcome to attend the Spelling Bee on the 27th. Questions about the Spelling Bee can be directed to Latha at LMS54321@gmail.com.

In early May we will be celebrating our wonderful Teachers and Staff during Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.  With that in mind, we would greatly appreciate a small donation of $2.00 -$3.00 per student to help make this an extra special event for our Teachers and Staff.  Kindly place your donation in a sealed envelope to the attention of Janelle Daugherty, Teacher/Staff Appreciation and return it this Thursday, or the week after Spring Break.  Also, if you would like to volunteer to help please email Janelle at jldoc29@yahoo.com. There will be more details after Spring Break regarding this wonderful event. Thanks very much for your support!

Monday, May 7th, will be the day for candid and group photos for the yearbook.  If your child participates in a club, team, or other MPA organization, check with the group leader for information on when and where the photo will be done.  This information will be available in a few weeks.

Speaking of yearbooks, we'll be sending out information and order forms for the 2011-2012 MPA yearbook soon.  Please be aware that they will be produced and distributed to the families early in the next school year.

Development Information

A big "Thank You!" goes out to all the families who participated in the Walk-A-Thon fundraising.  If you forgot to send in your donation in time, we will still be accepting donations tomorrow.  I'm sitting here watching Mrs. Reno process a huge stack of donation forms, checks, dollar bills, and even piles of quarters.  We don't have a final total yet, but the level of participation was great.  For those who qualified to receive a t-shirt, we'll be distributing those after Spring Break.  Thanks to everyone who contributed time or money for tomorrow's event.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the weather holds and the kids get to walk outside tomorrow afternoon!

Are you smarter than an MPA newsletter editor?  Quiz Night is coming up - and I'm sending out a personal challenge to all the other MPA parents ... meet me on Saturday, April 28th, at Brennan's (13000 Triskett Road) with your group of eight adults, and we'll all go head-to-head in a trivia challenge.  Tickets are $40 per person and include hot and cold appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, dessert, and one door prize ticket.  There will be cash prizes for members of the winning team.  And don't worry if you don't have enough people for a team - the event organizers will be happy to help form a team for you. I think there's still room for a couple people on my team ;) The registration form and PayPal link to register for Quiz night is now available on our web site at this link:  https://sites.google.com/site/menloparkacademy/parent-central/quiz-night  Registrations are due April 18th (not on the 16th as previously advertised - that's an inservice day).  I'll see you there!

Make sure you've got your calendars marked with Sunday, June 3rd set aside for attending the Lake Erie Crushersgame with the rest of the MPA extended family.  The kids will be singing the national anthem, an MPA student will be throwing the game's first pitch, and there will be plenty of fun and prizes to be had during the game.  Tickets will be available after Spring Break for $9 each, with a portion of the price going to the school.  The more tickets we sell, the larger cut the school receives, so get out there and find lots of people to join us at the game!  Everyone who attends (including MPA students) will need a ticket to enter the stadium.  

Volunteer Information

We're hoping to decrease the volume of waste produced by the school by increasing our efforts to recycle, but we need a few green, earth-friendly people to help out.  We're looking for:

• Someone to negotiate with our waste disposal company to include recycling in our trash pickup.
• Someone to help us measure the impact our increased recycling will have.  This will probably involve weighing the amount of trash we discard in one day before the recycling begins, and again after we are well into the recycling program.

If you can help out with either of these tasks, please contact Lorraine.Bouchard@MenloParkAcademy.com for more information.  Thanks!

We're also hoping to find someone who's good with wiring and all matters electrical.  The microphone that's used to help keep order in the cafeteria during lunch and school-wide events is somewhat temperamental.  We have tested the microphone and it works fine, but there's something going on between the jacks in the cafeteria walls and the speaker system.  If anyone has the ability to track down where the fault/short/wacky connection/alien invasion is happening, we'd greatly appreciate it.  Contact Lorraine.Bouchard@MenloParkAcademy.com if you can help out with this.  Thank you! 

Save the date:  Friday, May 25th, will be our Volunteer Appreciation event.  Keep your eyes open for more details in the coming weeks!

ARE YOU IN A SCIENCE, MATH OR ENGINEERING CAREER? The MPA STEM enrichment team is planning a STEM career night for grades 5-8 to take place either this spring or in the fall. If you would be willing to give a short (5-10 minute) talk about your STEM-related career on a weeknight from 6-8 pm, please contact Grant Henson at granthens@gmail.com.

Calendar Highlights:

• April 5 (Thursday) - Walk-a-Thon; New Board member elections will be held at the regular Board meeting
• April 6-16 - No school for students - spring break and inservice days
• April 20 (Friday) - Lego Olympiad at LCCC; basketball practice 4-6pm
• April 21 (Saturday) - Basketball double-header at 2:15 and 3:15 pm at Lakewood YMCA
• April 22 (Sunday) - Arts Fair and Ice Cream Social, 2-3:30 pm at MPA
• April 23-27 - OAA standardized testing
• April 26 (Thursday) - Seventh and Eighth Grade field trip to see Romeo and Juliet
• April 27 (Friday) - School-wide Spelling Bee; basketball practice 4-6pm
• April 28 (Saturday) - Quiz Night; Invention Convention; basketball game at 2:15 at Lakewood Gym
• April 30-May 4 - Eighth Grade field trip to Washington D.C.; Sixth and Seventh Grade field trip to Mohican
• May 4 (Friday) - Basketball practice 4-6pm
• May 5 (Saturday) - Basketball double header at 1:15 and 3pm at Lakewood Gym
• May 7 (Monday) - Candid and group photo day for the yearbook
• May 10-11 - Fourth Grade field trip to COSI in Columbus
• May 14-17 - Iowa Tests for grades K-4; Explore Tests for grades 5-8
• May 17 (Thursday) - 3:30 - 5 pm K-4 Carnival Sponsored by Student Council
• May 18 (Friday) - No school; 6:30 - 8:30 Middle School Dance
• May 21 - 25 - Student Council Sponsored Spirit Week
• May 25 (Friday) - Volunteer Appreciation event
• May 28 (Monday) - No school (Memorial Day)
• May 29 - June 1 - Eighth Grade Celebration Week
• June 1 (Friday) - Field Day at Lakewood Park
• June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game, 5:05pm in Avon
• August 26 (Sunday) - Back to School picnic at Lakewood Park  

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 Gretchen Woods at avonhokie@yahoo.com.  The submission deadline for the weekly newsletter is each Wednesday at noon.