Mandarino Minutes 10-7-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Spelling Team-

Anyone interested in being a part of the Upton Spelling Team they will meet in Ms. Greissinger’s room on the following dates from 2:45 P.M.- 3:30 P.M.:

Thursday, October 8^th          Thursday, October 15^th        Wednesday, October 28^th

Tuesday, November 3^rd        Tuesday, November 10^th      Wednesday, December 2^nd

Thursday, December 10^th    Monday, December 14^th       Thursday, January 7^th

Friday, January 15^th

Ms. Greissinger realizes that students have busy schedules and conflicts, so students must attend at least six of the official team practices in order to participate in Upton’s Spelling Bee.  The Upton Spelling Bee determines which students would then qualify for the Cloverleaf Spelling Bee at Lake Michigan College.  Please have rides ready at 3:30 P.M.  Ms. Greissinger is excited to begin another year with your son/daughter.

News Team-

If your son/daughter is interested in joining the Upton News team please have them sign-up in the Upton media center before this Monday, October 12^th.  A mandatory meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 13^th after school in the media center and will end at 3:45 P.M.  If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Anderson before Tuesday.  Email address for Mrs. Anderson:  nanderson@sjschools.org

Coding Club-

This Friday, October 9th from 2:45-3:45 P.M. in the media center our Upton Coding Club will meet.  They will meet every other Friday tentatively.  We know this Friday, October 9th and Friday, October 23^rd for sure.  For more information on coding please go to the following site: https://code.org/

Lory’s Place and Upton Middle School

To better meet the needs of our students, our school is pleased to offer a support group for students who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, grandparent, other family member, friend or other significant person in their lives.  The loss does not have to be recent for a student to benefit from the group; the death might have occurred long ago but the student hasn’t yet worked through all of the feelings about the death.  The group provides grief support and education.  Fun, age-appropriate activities provide participants with a safe environment in which to explore the many feelings and experiences of grief.  Please understand a peer grief support group model may not be best suited for everyone.

Grief support can help all of us better understand the feelings and changes brought about by a death.  Studies suggest that extra support following a loss can help students function better at home and school, and gives them a special place for healing.  Staff from Lory’s Place, a Grief Healing and Education Center will facilitate the grief support group at our school for Children and Families, located in St. Joseph.  Lory’s Place is committed to children, teens and adults who are grieving and provides support that offers hope so the healing process can begin.  The group will meet for one class period, once a month at various times in the day.  All students attending will be expected to keep up with their schoolwork.  We will work around any test dates so as not to interfere with your child’s academic schedule.

After discussing this opportunity with your child/teen, please return this permission slip to the guidance office and put it in Mrs. Olson’s mailbox.  Please feel free to call the guidance counselor for your child or contact Lory’s Place, at 269-983-2707, for more information.

Upton Girls Competitive Cheer

Interested 7^th and 8^th grade girls that are interested in competitive cheer will be hosting open gyms from 3:00-5:00 P.M. the next three Thursdays. (October 8^th, October 15^th, and October 22^nd)

Socktober-

Did you know that there are 600,000 homeless people in the United States?  We have several homeless here in Berrien County.  The MOMS Club of St. Joe are coordinating a sock drive for the month of October.  Bring in new socks for children, men, and women of all sizes, colors, and patterns.  These socks will go to homeless right here in Berrien County.  This drive will run through October 30^th, 2015.  We have a box in the Upton office for drop-offs.  Please consider this donation.

Quote of the week;

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do…but how much love we put in that action.”  – Mother Teresa.

Have a great rest of the week,

Mr. Mandarino