Mandarino Minutes for 5-30-17

Dear Parents/Guardians,

8th grade Farewell-
This Friday, June 2nd is 8th grade farewell.  We ask the students to arrive in the 7th/8th grade hallway around 6:10 P.M.  The ceremony will begin at 6:30 P.M.  After the ceremony the dance will last until 10:00 P.M.  It will be a very nice evening for our 8th graders just before their exam week, and their sendoff to the high school.

Exam Week-
As you know next week is exam week at Upton Middle School.  2nd semester exams account for 20% of the semester grade for 7th & 8th graders, and 10% for 6th graders.  Semester exams prepare our students for what they will experience in high school.  We will have 1/2 days on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with a dismissal time of 11:04 A.M.

On Tuesday, June 6th all students 6th-8th will take their 5th hour exam in the morning.  Our sixth graders will also take their 6th hour exam on that day as well.

Wednesday, June 7th will be 1st and 2nd hour exams

Thursday, June 8th will 3rd and 4th hour exams

Friday, June 9th will be 6th hour exams for 7th & 8th graders, and the 6th graders will have their track and field day.

Wonderful concert and tomorrow-
We had another wonderful concert last week as our middle school orchestra students performed really well!  It was capped off by our 8th graders playing a fun rendition of Smoke on the Water.  The Gregory twins guided the 8th grade orchestra through the song!  
Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 31st our choirs will perform at the John & Dede Auditorium beginning at 7:00 P.M.  It will be a nice way to cap off the concert season.

8th grade laptops-
Your son/daughter can have their laptop looked at before school Wednesday-Friday this week and Monday of next week if you are planning to purchase it by our IT department.

SPORTS PHYSICALS-

St. Joseph MS & HS sports physicals will take place next Wednesday, May 31st and on Wednesday, August 2nd at the SJHS Field House.  Girls- 5:00 P.M. and Boys- 6:00 P.M.  The cost is $30 per student and $45 for 2 or more students in the same family.  A parent must be present to sign a few forms.

Quote of the week (Hopefully you had a great Memorial Day!):

"137 years later, Memorial Day remains one of America's most cherished patriotic observances. The spirit of this day has not changed - it remains a day to honor those who died defending our freedom and democracy.” - Doc Hastings

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 5-22-17

DEAR PARENTS/GUARDIANS,

ORCHESTRA CONCERT-
Tomorrow evening (May 23rd) at the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS will be our middle school orchestra concert beginning at 7:00 P.M.

Lory's Place Run, Walk, and Rock-

Upton Middle School for the second year in a row won the participation award for the most participants (Students & Staff) in the annual run, walk, and run.   Nolan Youngstedt, Upton 8th grader, placed 7th overall and 1st in his division.  We are proud of all the students/staff!

SPORTS PHYSICALS-

St. Joseph MS & HS sports physicals will take place next Wednesday, May 31st and on Wednesday, August 2nd at the SJHS Field House.  Girls- 5:00 P.M. and Boys- 6:00 P.M.  The cost is $30 per student and $45 for 2 or more students in the same family.

INTERACT CLUB CELEBRATES FIRST YEAR-

It has been an exciting year for the Interact Club.  Please watch your email on a recap of the year!  

Ren Baldwin Technology Festival-

The 5th annual Ren Baldwin Technology Festival was a huge success!  Congratulations to all of our participants and winners! Please see this site for all the projects and winners:

Ren Baldwin Projects and Winning entries

Warning:  You may spend a lot of time at this site! :)

From the Desk of the UPTO-

We could use a few more Chaperones for this Friday's dance.  Please email cindyigoe@yahoo.com if you can help!

Thursday, May 25th will be the last UPTO meeting of the year.  Please join us at NOON if you can as we wrap up #bestyearever.

We will have our Bear wear t-shirts for sale one last time this Thursday, May 25th at lunch.  $10 cash or check payable to: SJPS.  Send your student with money and we'll give them their shirts!!

Middle School Volleyball Camp-

We have announced on the news and a flier went home with information on a middle school volleyball camp.  It will take place from 11:30 A.M.-1:00 P.M. at St. Joseph High School for students entering 6th, 7th, or 8th grade in the Fall.  The dates are June 12-16th, 2017.

8th grade farewell-

Please continue to bring in the childhood/baby photo to the Upton office for our 8th grade farewell ceremony.

Quote of the week-

""Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."

 - Kolfi Annan

Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 5-15-17

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Ren Baldwin Technology Festival-

The Ren Baldwin Technology Festival will be held Friday, May 19 at the St. Joseph High School. This open house event will be held from 6-7:30. Students can show their projects off to family and friends. The high school Film Club and the Robotics team will be showcasing their work. The award ceremony starts at 7:30 PM followed by a door prize raffle. Prizes include gift cards from Forever Books, Best Buy, Target, and Celebration Cinema.  Project participants have a chance to win an iPad Mini or Chromebook. 

AWESOME SHOW THIS WEEKEND-

We want to congratulate all of the cast members, directors, auditorium directors, and back stage crew for putting on a really fun and entertaining show this weekend at the John & Dede Auditorium at St. Joseph High School!  Our kids really had fun and did such an awesome job.

Band Concert-

This Wednesday evening beginning at 7:00 P.M. will be the Upton 6th-8th grade Band Concert at the John & Dede Howard Auditorium at St. Joseph High School.  

Next Week Orchestra and the following Choir-

Next week Tuesday, May 23rd is the middle school orchestra concert and then the following week on Wednesday, May 31st will be the middle school choir concert.  Both concerts begin at 7:00 P.M.

Opportunity for a Baking Class-

A fun opportunity is coming to the middle school for all students who enjoy cooking!  The High School Baking Club is planning a one-time after school baking class, “Intro to Baking Club” at Upton on Wednesday, May 24th, 3-4:30.  HS Baking Club members will be teaching students some new cooking skills and then the students will participate in a lab to make a dessert dish.   The cost of the class is $5, but class size is limited.  If your student is interested, they need to sign up with Mrs. Hunnell by this Friday, May 19th.   Payment is required at time of sign up.

From the Library Media Center-

Keep your kids reading all summer long! Here are some great resources for parents and students. 

For Parents:

9 Books for Kids Who Love Traveling

Book Lists & Suggestions

For Kids:

Summer Reading Adventure

Book Ideas for Kids

Feel free to stop by the library to discuss a summer book list with Mrs. Humes and Mrs. Burnette. 

Community Planetarium Show on Tuesday, May 16th-

Tomorrow evening beginning at 7:00 P.M. will be the last planetarium show for the 2016-2017 school year at Upton Middle School.  

M-Step completed-

We only have a few make-up tests to do and we are done with the 2017 M-Step window.  Our 6th and 7th graders who missed some testing will be making up tests this week.  Thanks for your encouragement and having your daughter/son testing ready! :)

Quote of the week-

"Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 5-8-17

Dear Parents/Guardians,

High School Musical Jr. this Fri. & Sat.-

What:  Middle School Musical

Where:  John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS

When:  Friday at 7:00 P.M. and Saturday at 2:00 P.M. & 7:00 P.M.

How much:  Adults $7.00, Seniors $5.00, and Students $3.00

More info.:  sjmusicalboosters.com

Run for Fun-

After school for the next two Wednesdays two high school seniors will be sponsoring some intramural sports from 3:15-5:00 P.M. in the Upton Blue Gym. This is for a high school senior service project.

M-Step Continues through this week-

Today and tomorrow our 7th graders will be doing their science M-step testing in their science class.  On Wednesday and Thursday our 6th & 7th graders will be doing their ELA M-Step in their ELA classroom.

Late Start-

This Wednesday, May10th is a late start for St. Joseph Public Schools.  Buses will also run one hour later.  

Thanks to the Builders Club-

We want to thank our Builders Club for cleaning up Lions Park Beach last Wednesday.  The beach looked wonderful and the City of St. Joseph was very thankful!  

T-Shirts for Sale-

On sale now for only $10.00 are some really cool T-shirts.  Please contact Cindy Igoe if you are interested.  Cindyigoe@yahoo.com

Quote of the week-

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." -Confucius

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 5-1-17

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Congratulations to Lauren K.-
Lauren Konopacki took 3rd place in the Michigan History Day State competition in Bay City on Saturday.  Lauren is a alternate for the National competition.  This is a wonderful accomplishment! Thanks to Mr. Brown for all his work with guiding Lauren along!

Science Olympiad at State-

Our Science Olympiad team was at East Lansing on the campus of Michigan State University on Saturday. Congratulations to Aleena Schadler for earning a 4th place Medal for Ecology with her partner Amy Paine.   Joe Paine for also earned a 5th place medal for Write It Do It with his sister, Amy Paine.  What a great job Ms. Kietzerow and all her mentors did with the team.  There were 60 teams competing, so this is quite an accomplishment.  Pictured are Aleena and Joe.

7th grade Chicago Field Museum Field Trip-

The 7th graders will be departing this Friday, May 5th at 8:00 A.M. for the Field Museum.  They will be returning at around 6:30 P.M. Please have rides ready upon the return.  This should be an educational trip that fits nicely with the social studies curriculum.

Guidance department in our 7th grade classes-

The guidance department  went into the 7th grade classes this week to talk about self-esteem.  They worked with the students to define self-esteem,  identify components of a healthy self-esteem and ways to improve self-esteem.  The students completed a questionnaire to learn more and identified strengths & other positive elements in their life that make up their self-esteem. 

Here is a helpful article for parents to help support a positive self-esteem in your child(ren).

Self esteem article

From the Desk of the PTO-

The current UPTO board members are seeking officers to head up UPTO next school year. We would also be willing to co-chair any position if you are interested in stepping in slowly. Please consider getting involved!!

We are currently taking nominations for next year's board which includes: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Also we will need 1-2 parents for each grade as a parent representative. We will vote at the May meeting. If you are interested in any of these positions please contact me via email: cindyigoe@yahoo.com for additional information.

UPTO is selling special designed, one-of-a-kind, St. Joseph Bears T-shirts to parents & students.  No need to pre-order we have them in stock.  They come in sizes AS, AM, AL. The shirts are $10 cash or check made out to SJPS.  Please see Cindy Igoe in the Upton office Monday mornings from 8:45-11:30 for cash & carry.  (Logo below)

No dance on May 19th-
Previously it was noted that we had a dance on May 19th, however there will not be a dance on that evening.  

Book Fair-

The Scholastic book fair is going on at Upton Middle School this week.  All the profits from this book fair go back into purchasing more books for Upton Middle School.  The media center would love to see you stop by!

Garden Club-

This Wednesday (May 3rd) and Thursday (May 4th) we will have a Spring clean-up at Upton around the building.  If you could give any amount of time on either/both days the Upton garden club would appreciate it. 

Run for Fun-

Please see the attachement on the email for a high school senior service project.  After school for the next three Wednesdays they will be sponsoring some intramural sports from 3:15-5:00 P.M. in the Upton Blue Gym.

Quote of the week-

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” - Harriet Tubman

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino