MPA Newsletter 3/14/2012

MPA Newsletter, 3/14/2012

Development Information

So, do you ever buy gas?  Shop for groceries?  Eat at a restaurant?  Of course you do!  Wouldn't it be convenient if you could take care of those things and raise money for the school at the same time?  You bet!  That's why the Scrip gift cards are such a great idea.  You order your gift cards through the school, MPA gets a percentage of the purchase price, and everybody is happy.  You can find more information on the program at http://menloparkacademy.blogspot.com/p/fundraising-events.html.  (editor's note: Did you know you can use the Giant Eagle gift cards to buy OTHER gift cards at the grocery store, which may earn you FuelPerks and gives you access to some cards you can't find online?  My personal goal this month: use Giant Eagle cards to buy Visa or American Express gift cards so I can eat cash-free at Chick-Fil-A and Jimmy Johns.)  Scrip card orders for this month are due Tuesday, March 20th. 

Have you checked the expiration date on the Box Tops you're saving?  Many expire on March 31st!  Yes, EXPIRE!!  Send them in by Mon 3/27 so the Box Tops coordinator can get them ready and sent in before the expiration date.  Don't forget about the Box Tops classroom competition!  Wondering what individual reward may be coming up?  Nothing in the works as we get ready for the classroom rewards in May.  If you have a donation or idea for a raffle prize, please contact the Box Tops coordinator at sludersl@yahoo.com  Thank you!

Time for the weekly Annual Fund mention ... have you made a pledge?  If so, thank you!  Now it's time to start thinking about actually PAYING those pledged amounts.  Checks made payable to MPA (with Annual Fund in the note section) can be sent to Tanya Reno via Thursday folders or any other school communications.  Please make sure that it's obvious who the check is from so we can properly credit your family for the donation.  And don't forget that you can pay online, too: just click the "Donate" button on the bottom right of the school website homepage at https://sites.google.com/site/menloparkacademy/Home .

Thursday, April 5th, will be our annual MPA Walk-A-Thon.  Students will be walking laps to raise money for the school.  This is a great way to get your extended family involved in our fundraising - print out the attached form, give Grandma or Aunt Susie a call, and see how much you can raise!  Students who raise more than $50 will receive a special edition MPA t-shirt.  Each homeroom will have a specific fundraising goal, and all classes who meet their goals will be able to participate in a Pajama Day later this year!  So grab those sneakers (and checkbooks) and let's get walking!

Quiz Night is coming up - have you started getting together your team of eight adults to tackle our trivia challenges?  The event is Saturday, April 28th, at Brennan's (13000 Triskett Road).  Tickets are $40 per person and include hot and cold appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, dessert, and one door prize ticket.  There will be a Chinese raffle and silent auctions for prize baskets ... plus some awesome trivia action!  Stay tuned for more information and ticket sales.  And don't worry if you don't have enough people for a team - we'll be happy to help form a team for you. 

Student Information

Welcome to new Kindergarten student Carol Burgess!  We're so glad to have you join your sister Dorothy here at MPA!  And welcome to Rita Elsea, who joins our faculty as our full-time intervention specialist.  She moved back to Ohio this year after honing her skills in Chatanooga, Tennessee.  When she's not working with students in K-8, she might be found in her office across from the computer lab upstairs. 

Thank you for returning the forms we needed to apply for the increased e-rate discount for our utilities.  We have received sufficient response to qualify for the discount ... so all those little pieces of paper will be saving us big money!  Thanks for taking the time to return them.

It's official - all after-hours entry to the school (including Edison Club pick-ups) will be done through the door that connects DIRECTLY to the gym.  It's not on the same side of the building as the usual entrances - it's around the left corner of the building and down some stairs.  There's a buzzer and everything, so if you need to get into the building after 4pm, try that door first.

Tryouts for the spring basketball league begin this Friday, March 16th, from 4:30-6pm at the Kamm's Corner YMCA.  Boys in grades 4-6 can come tryout to be on the team, which will have practices every Friday this spring at the Kamm's Corner YMCA, and Games every Saturday from March 24-May 5 at the Lakewood YMCA.  The only cost for parents will be a team t-shirt (which is waived if your son was on the team this winter and can reuse his shirt).  Contact Coach Littlejohn at mpahoops@yahoo.com to let him know your child will be attending the tryout on Friday, or call him at 216-287-8786.

Did you know ... that if you pack a carbonated beverage for your kid for lunch, and then the kid swings their lunch bag around and drop-kicks it down the hall and slams it down on the lunch table, chances are pretty good that the soda is going to foam up all over the place and ruin their lunch when they open it.  True fact!  Isn't physical chemistry awesome?  So please, think twice before sending in the fizzy beverages - or at least warn your kids to handle their lunches more gently on days when they bring a Coke with their lunch.

Please remind your children that the student handbook they (supposedly) read and signed off on at the beginning of the year specifically says that students are not permitted to use phones, i-anythings, or other technology during school hours without the EXPLICIT permission of a teacher.  The tech gadgets need to stay in backpacks during the school day.  Sorry, kids, but the volunteers are NOT going to be falling for "But my teacher said it was okay to play Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad during indoor recess!" anymore.

Monday, March 19th, will be the MPA band and strings concert.  The musicians will perform for the other students at an assembly at 2pm that day, and later for family and friends at 6:30pm.  Parents are welcome to attend either (or both!) of the performances.

Here's the buzz: homeroom teachers are conducting qualifiers this month to identify which four students from each classroom will be competing in the spelling bee on April 27th.  Good luck to all of the students who hope to participate!

CALLING ALL INVENTORS!!!    Invention Convention is Saturday, April 28, 2012!  The Invention Convention inspires students to create and problem solve while developing inventions. It differs from science fairs in that the focus of the curriculum is to recognize simple to complex problems that individuals face everyday and follow them through the process of creating solutions to them.  Specific information about the contest and what is involved in preparing for it can be found on the Invention Convention website (http://www.just-think-inc.com/cleveland/index.html). I suggest that parents of interested students read through the evaluation guidelines (http://www.just-think-inc.com/documents/evaluationguidelines.pdf) to see what will be expected of students to help them decide whether they want to take part.  This year, Menlo Park may register a maximum 4 students for this event. After reading through the guidelines, if your child is interested in participating, please email Karen Peacock at Karen@OcularConcepts.us.  You will then be provided with the next steps for your child to try and earn a spot in the competition.  

Make a note on your calendar - Field Day will be Friday, June 1st, at Lakewood Park.  We'll be calling for volunteers later, but for now - time to request the day off of work so you can come watch or help out!  And while it seems like it's a long way away, you might as well set aside Sunday, August 26th for next year's back-to-school picnic.

Speaking of next year ... check out the attached school calendar for details of the 2012-2013 school year.  Some highlights:

• Parent-teacher conferences will be about mid-way through each trimester, rather than at report card time, as they were this year.
• Thanksgiving break will be a full week.
• A Winter Respite 4-day weekend has been added in February. 
• And a last-minute whoops! edit: There will be no school on September 29 or 30 during the next school year, regardless of what the calendar shows.  

Volunteer Information

Wondering whether we need help with lunch or recess on a particular day?  Be sure to check outwww.volunteerspot.com to see if we're fully-booked or desperately in need of extra hands for any particular day.  And thanks for your help!

Calling all parents!  We're looking for volunteers to help with the Walk-A-Thon on Thursday, April 5th.  We'll need folks to help keep track of laps, corral the kids (we're walking outside, weather permitting), do recordkeeping, and so on.  Contact Kay O'Donnell at ckodonnell207@roadrunner.com if you'd like to help out.

Calendar Highlights:

·  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; Spring basketball league tryouts at Kamm's Corner YMCA from 4:30-6pm

·  March 19 (Monday) - Photo make-up, club and candid day; Strings and Band Concert at MPA at 6:30

·  March 20 (Tuesday) - Fourth Grade field trip to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

·  March 21 (Wednesday) - First Grade field trip to Great Lakes Science Center; Middle School gardening elective field trip to the Galleria "garden under glass"

·  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) - 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

·  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

·  April 28 (Saturday) - Quiz Night; Invention Convention

·  April 30-May 4 - Eighth Grade field trip to Washington D.C.; Sixth and Seventh Grade field trip to Mohican

·  May 10-11 - Fourth Grade field trip to COSI in Columbus

·  May 17 (Thursday) - 3:30 - 5 pm K-4 Carnival Sponsored by Student Council

·  May 18 (Friday) - 6:30 - 8:30 Middle School Dance

·  May 21 - 25 Student Council Sponsored Spirit Week

·  June 1 (Friday) - Field Day at Lakewood Park

·  June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game

·  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.

Invention Convention details

CALLING ALL INVENTORS!!!    Invention Convention - April 28, 2012

The Invention Convention inspires students to create and problem solve while developing inventions. It differs from science fairs in that the focus of the curriculum is to recognize simple to complex problems that individuals face everyday and follow them through the process of creating solutions to them.  This year, Menlo Park may register a maximum 4 students for this event. 

 

Specific information about the contest and what is involved in preparing for it can be found on the Invention Convention website (http://www.just-think-inc.com/cleveland/index.html). I suggest that parents of interested students read through the evaluation guidelines (http://www.just-think-inc.com/documents/evaluationguidelines.pdf) to see what will be expected of students to help them decide whether they want to take part.

 

After reading through the guidelines, if your child is interested in participating, please email Karen Peacock at Karen@OcularConcepts.us.  You will then be provided with the next steps for your child to try and earn a spot in the competition.  

MPA Newsletter 3/7/2012

Please don't forget that Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend, so set your clocks AHEAD by one hour on Saturday night/Sunday morning.  We don't want anyone to be late for school on Monday, do we?

Development Information:

It's been a busy couple of weeks for the development team - here are some of the highlights of what we have accomplished:

• Alex Riviera was the winner of the Kindle Fire raffle, which raised $942 in profit for the school.
• Our top auction items were the Tom Brady jersey ($550) and the Lego robotics workshop ($500).
• We have two unclaimed prizes from the raffle:  the Middle School Zentangle was won by ticket number 297931, and the Second Grade Zentangle goes to ticket number 510605.  If you entered to win either of these items, check your tickets and contact Tanya.Reno@MenloParkAcademy.com if your ticket matches these winners!
• All together, the "From the Heart" fundraiser and concert raised more than $10,000 in profit for MPA.
• The Scholastic book sale was also a success, selling more than $5,300 in merchandise and raising about $3,000 in Scholastic dollars we can spend on books for the school.   Thanks also to all those parents who stopped in before or after conferences to browse and buy.
• The annual fund pledges are still coming in (and we'd be happy to accept yours, if you haven't pledged yet!).  Right now we're at about 74% participation, for a total of more than $62,000 pledged.  Our goal for the year is to raise at least $70,000, so we're really close ... can you help us reach the goal?

Speaking of the annual fund, if you've made a pledge, please check with your employer to see if they have any sort of matching gift program.  We've already received matching donations from Sherwin-Williams, Key Bank, Eaton Corporation, PNC Bank, and AIG.  If you have any questions about the process, our development coordinator would be happy to help out: Tanya.Reno@MenloParkAcademy.com .

Our next fundraiser will be Quiz Night, which will be held the evening of Saturday, April 28th at Brennan's, which is located near MPA.  Teams of eight adults will answer questions on a variety of topics and compete for prizes.  Mark your calendar, and start getting together your teams (if you don't know seven other MPA adults, we'll be happy to help you make up a team).  More information will be coming soon!

Student Information:

If you are having problems accessing your student's Progress Book account, contact Lynn.Wilson@MenloParkAcademy.comor Carol.Scheuer@MenloParkAcademy.com.  They can confirm that you have the correct password and help you with the login process.  Also, please remember to sign and return the envelope that enclosed the recent report card. We will be using those envelopes to mail report cards at the end of the school year.

Congratulations to the following middle school students for best representing the character trait "responsibility" for the month: Isabel Veloso, Owen Kranz, and John Antolik.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in CONSEF last week!  It really was a wonderful day with more than 500 students from seven states participating. Out of 44 schools in attendance, Menlo came in second overall.Our students did exceptionally well. John Antolik got best in category (computer science). Nine students got gold medals - Sam Ammari, Hector Cummings, Andrew Beck, Emily Carroccio, Fraser Hamilton, Ojas Nadkarni, Grant Gibeault and Nick Hiti. Seven kids got silver - Patrick O'Malley, Isabel Veloso, Alexandra Harrison, Liam Kovach, Owen Kranz, Sophia Ross and Teresa Szczecinski. Three students got bronze - Sparsh Balabadrapatruni, Aidan Harrington and Quintin Kovach. Sydney Hofstetter got an Honorable Mention. So all the MPA students who participated won something. For more information about the CONSEF science fair, visit http://www.consef.org/Results.aspx

Mrs. Scheuer would like to remind families to send in a completed income survey (it went home in last week's folder). The information will help MPA take advantage of discounted phone and internet service and will only be viewed by our business manager. He will compile the data and submit it to Mrs. Scheuer without the family names. Please see the attached letter for more information and the blank form.  Thanks for your support.

 

MPA's K-4 Math Night is just a week away! Join us 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 bonafide Math Jeopardy! match-ups by grade level, 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! Specially created Math Night T-shirts and mini-pies will be awarded as 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 or Grant at granthens@gmail.com. SEE YOU THERE!

Parents, please be courteous of each other in the mornings and do not begin forming a car line in front of the building until 8 am.  Parents who must park and escort students in to Edison Club in the mornings before the school is open to all students have been having problems finding parking spaces that weren't blocked by the car line.  Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

Speaking of Edison Club, families who participate in the program may be pleased to hear that we are working on installing a door buzzer on the set of doors nearest the gym, so that it will be more convenient for you to pick up and drop off your students.  We'll let you know when it's installed and operational!

The US Chess Federation has just released its updated standings and Dominic Mayhew is now listed among the top 100 chess players his age in the country, and among the top 50 K-6 chess players in Ohio!  Congratulations, Dominic!

One final note from the school administrators - thank you, parents, for your patience and understanding as we search for a person to fill the Operations Manager position.  We're doing our best to answer questions and get the work done, but it really helps that everyone has been so flexible and patient.  Thank you!

Volunteer Information:

We owe a GIANT "Thank You!" to the myriad of volunteers who helped to make the book sale and fundraising auction successful last month.  Whether you worked the cash register, helped kids select books, donated an item or service for the raffle baskets, helped distribute or collect raffle tickets, or bid on an auction item - you were part of a ridiculous number of people who helped out!  And thanks to all of your effort, these two events raised more than $13,000 in funds and book vouchers - money that helps ALL of our students.  So, from the bottom of our hearts - THANK YOU!

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.  Thursday, March 8th is the initial deadline for applications, so get your papers together post-haste if you're interested in coming on board!

After the success of our boys' basketball team this year, we're excited about the prospect of putting together a girls' team for next year.  In order to get started, we'll need to find a location that is willing to host five games for us. The location will need to have a regulation-sized court with bleachers and a scoreboard.  If you know of any site that might be able to accommodate us, please pass the information on to Coach Littlejohn at wbl8305@sbcglobal.net.

Calendar Highlights:

• 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 days
• April 20 (Friday) - Lego Olympiad at LCCC
• April 27 (Friday) - School-wide Spelling Bee
• April 28 (Saturday) - Quiz Night
• June 3 (Sunday) - Crushers baseball game
• Sept. (TBD) - Golf scramble fundraiser

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 2/22/2012

Wed, February 22, 2012 5:04:41 PM

Remember: students do not have school on Friday, February 24th; Monday, February 27th; or Tuesday, February 28th.  

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 1^st.  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.

Last chance - nominate a teacher today!

It's time for the last of this year's Plain Dealer Golden Apple award nominations!  Visit http://nie.plaindealer.com/crystal-apple.html to nominate your favorite MPA teacher for an award!