Mandarino Minutes for 9-30-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Mike Smith this Morning-

Motivational speaker, Mike Smith, once again was a huge hit to our middle school students!  He brought a wonderful message and it was well received.  Ask your son/daughter about it tonight around the dinner table.


Tutoring begins this week-
Tutoring at St. Joseph High School begins this week Tuesday and Thursday in the media center.  The sessions run until 4:00 PM.  St. Joseph High School National Honor Society students tutor the students.  This tutoring is supervised by SJHS staff.  Students obtain a bus pass from the Upton Middle School office and ride the Pink Pig to the corner of Lakeview and Donna where they cross the street to the media center.  For the first few weeks a SJHS student will be waiting for them at the bus stop.

On Wednesdays we have retired adults who tutor in our media center from 2:45-3:45.  Students  bring materials and can be tutored in any subject at both locations.

Late-Start and Count Day-

This Wednesday is a late start and is also count day for the State of Michigan.  School will begin at 8:45 AM and breakfast will be available beginning at 8:15 AM.  Buses will run one hour later than the normal times.

Go Gold for Cancer-

Thanks to the generosity of our Upton families the Interact Club will be able to make a nice donation to cancer research!  Below is our sixth grade group in their gold/yellow.

GO Time Begins this week-

This Thursday will begin our GO (Growth Opportunity) Time this school year.  Students at this time have interventions, extensions, makeup quizzes/tests, and some fun/different opportunities.  This time is built into the school day and every class still meets.  GO time is a 6th-12th grade initiative.  

New Yoga Club at Upton Middle School Starts October 29th-

Yoga Club provides students a safe and fun environment to learn yoga, mindfulness and life skills such as resilience, self-awareness, positive body-image, gratitude, healthy ways to cope with stress, focus and better concentration. Students will practice yoga, along with community building activities, play games, journal and more. Yoga & mindfulness practices support SEL programs being taught in your school all while working to improve self-awareness and self-regulation skills. 

Classes will be taught only by Certified Teen Yoga Instructors, who understand the psychology of this age group and how to offer age appropriate activities, that build self-esteem and healthy habits for life.

Yoga Club is FREE to students. Mats will be provided. Please encourage your student to sign up by October 25th. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. Register in front office or itsLearning.

 Upton Yoga Club is sponsored by our UPTO

Quote of the week-

Have a wonderful week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-23-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,



Friday Night Fun and...-
Students had a great time at the game Friday night cheering on the Bears in their exciting win over the Lancers!  Take note:  This Friday's varsity game is going to begin at 5:00 PM.

UMS STUDENTS JUST BEFORE THEY STORMED THE FIELD

Spanish Club resuming this week-
Beginners Spanish will begin tomorrow and intermediate on Wednesday.  This will take place in room 406.  Here is Mrs. Ellspermann's email if you have any questions:  cellspermann@stjoebears.com

Picture Day Day #2-
Our picture day for students who were not here for start-up day is this Wednesday, September 25th.  We have picture forms in the office. You can also go to:  geskusphoto.com/fallorders  To order photos online use this code:  3715XWPAVSAOLP

Interact Club's Go Gold Day-
This Thursday, September 26th is our Go Gold Day!  Here is more information on this day:

Writing Club-
Writing Club takes place this Thursday after school in Mrs. LoPresti's room 213.  Here is a link for more information on this club:  Upton Middle School Writing Club PDF

Chess Club-
I have had several emails about Chess Club.  We do not need to have students sign-up ahead of time for this.  Students show up on the dates and they will get paired up.  It starts in October and here is a pdf of all the dates:  Upton Middle School Chess Club PDF

CC Meet in Bangor-

Our girls finished in 1st place and our boys in 2nd at the Bangor Invitational this past Saturday, September 21st.  Congratulations to both teams! 

CC girls with their medals

Mike Smith Assembly next Monday-
Just a reminder that our middle school students will have the Mike Smith Assembly next Monday morning.  Mike is returning from last year and is a phenomenal speaker who will have the students really engaged!  Mike brings a very great message!

Dig Pink Volleyball Games-

All 4 teams,7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B, will be hosting our own Dig Pink event at Upton this Thursday.  We will be playing Niles.  7B and 8B will play at 4:00 and 7A and 8A will play at 5:00. 

Other dates:
Wednesday, September 25th-  Late Start
Wednesday, September 25th - D & D Club 



Quote of the week-

Have a wonderful week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-17-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Thanks for joining us!-
We appreciated your attendance at Back to School Night last Tuesday evening!  It was great to see the support, and I appreciated all the feedback you provided.  

Dungeons and Dragons Club-
Dungeons and dragons club will begin after school tomorrow in the media center from 2:50-3:50 PM.  This club is open to any student in any grade.

Spanish Club Postponed-
The beginners and intermediate class tomorrow are postponed as Mrs. Ellspermann had a death in the family.  That is Spanish Club will not be meeting today and tomorrow.

Spelling Club- 
Spelling Club begins after school today in Mrs. Gressley's room.  This has been announced at school several times.  If your daughter/son is not available this evening they can always reach out to Mrs. Gressley to still join.  Here is Mrs. Gressley's email for more information :  Cgressley@sjschools.org

Pictures and Picture Day Round 2-
School pictures for those that were at start-up day will go home today or tomorrow.  Every student will come home with something, so be sure to ask for their packet.  The picture day for those not at start-up day will be Wednesday, September 25th.  Here is the website and webcode if you want to preorder or order for those who have already had pictures taken.   
geskusphoto.com/fallorders   webcode: 3715XWPAVSAOLP

Late Start-
We will have a late start this week and every week leading up to Thanksgiving.  The student day will begin at 8:45 AM on late starts and breakfast is available beginning at 8:15 AM.  Supervision is available beginning at 7:15 AM for those parents that still have to get to work by 8:00 AM.

Team Up Against Cancer-

MEDIA CENTER - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

The Media center is still looking for parent volunteers to help during school hours. Volunteers are needed to help check out books for students, re-shelve books & give assistance to the staff. You can sign-up for a scheduled day/time slot, weekly or bi-weekly. Please email Kristin Burnette at KBurnette@sjschools.org in the media center for more details or to sign-up. 

Thanks!!

UPTO BOARD MEETING

You’re invited to join us for our first UPTO board meeting Thursday, September 19th at 12 pm in the Upton Conference room.

It’s a great way to stay-up-to-date with current events and volunteer opportunities as well as learn about the many ways we’re working to support and enrich our children’s learning experience at school.

Hope to see you there!

Quote of the week-

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-9-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,


A great first week-
Thanks for a great first week of school!  Student drop-off in the morning is going really well.  We appreciate your support and look forward to a great school year!   

Back to School Night-

Upton Middle School's Back to School Night will be held tomorrow Tuesday, September 10th, at 7:00 p.m.  Parents will take a shortened trip through their student's daily routine.  Teachers will explain curricula, grading systems, and classroom policies/procedures.  

Parents should report to their child's homeroom at 7 p.m.  The evening will last until about 8:30 p.m.  Your student can tell you his or her homeroom teacher's name and room number.

This is not a conference night; if you have a specific concern regarding your child, please contact the teacher by phone between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. or by e-mail.  Individual parent/teacher conferences will be in November.

Remember, this is an evening for parents only.   We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Home Football Games-
At all SJHS home football games students should be with you or in the Upton Student Section.  We can't be responsible for students wandering about the stadium.  Students wandering unsupervised that cause an issue will be uninvited to future home football games.  Football playing behind the stadium is also prohibited during the game.  Please make sure you have this talk with your son/daughter.  

Absences and Leaving Upton for an appointment-
If your daughter/son will be absent or late to school please call 926-3400 and follow the voice prompts.  If you know about an absent in advance or need to leave on a passport for an appointment please have them bring a note into the office in the morning. A passport will be given to them if a student is leaving during the day.  If you are signing a student out you must come in the building to take them out. We will only release students to people who are listed on the emergency card. When a student enters Upton no parent/guardian is needed to sign them in if a note or phone call was made in advance.

UPTO-

Welcome back to school Upton parents!  We are excited to start the school year off with you!  Already this fall, your generosity helped us raise almost $5,000 which will allow your children’s teachers to enrich their classroom experiences and pay for exciting activities throughout the school year.  We’re always looking for more parent volunteers to help us with our many UPTO led activities and events.  Please consider signing up by clicking the link below:

https://signup.com/go/dbdUvTO

Thanks for your continued support!

UPTO

Upton Parent Teacher Organization

Lory's Place Support Group-

Starting soon we will have a Lory's Place grief support group for those that have lost someone close to them.  If you would like your daughter/son to be a part of this please email your daughter/son's counselor:

Last name A-G:  Mrs. Peterson   apeterson@sjschools.org

Last name H-Z:  Ms. Toth  Vtoth@sjschools.org

Picture Day for those not at Start-Up Day-

If you were unable to attend Start-Up Day the picture day will be on Wednesday, September 25th.  We need 100% of our students to get a photo for their student ID and the yearbook picutre.

Sixth graders taking home their computers-

The sixth graders have done a great job with their "boot camp" and will be bringing home their computers.  Please help to remind your daughter/son to charge these each evening.  The computers will automatically shut down at 10:00 PM each evening.

Morning Supervision and after school pick-up-

We have morning supervision beginning each morning at 7:15 AM. This includes regular school days and late start Wednesdays.  Our school day ends at 2:40 PM and we ask that you have your son/daughter picked up by 3:00 PM unless they are under the supervision of a teacher, coach, club advisor, etc.

Spanish Clubs at Upton-

The Beginner class meets on Tuesdays after school, and the Intermediate class meets on Wednesdays.  Both classes meet in room 406. The registration deadline is this Friday, September 13th. Please remember -- class size is limited to the first 25 students on a first come basis.  Return the forms to the office. (If you haven't already picked up a form we have more in the office) If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Ellspermann at cellspermann@stjoebears.com or through itsLearning.

Spelling Club-

Do you like spelling? Do you have want to have excellent spelling skills?  Either way, we would like to have you join spelling club this year. We will be meeting every other week on Tuesdays, from 2:50 - 3:45 so the commitment is minimal. If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to see Mrs. Gressley in Room 209 and sign up.

Upton Interact Club-

The first meeting for Interact Club is on Tuesday, September 17th, 7:10am in the Media Center.

Quote of the week-

See you tomorrow evening,

Mr. Mandarino