Monday, January 27, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 1-27-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


The Great Kindness Challenge-
The Great Kindness Challenge is designed to call attention to the value of kind actions and gives everyone a chance to experience the joy of passing along kindness to one another. 
It sounds simple, but we are sure you agree, being kind makes a huge difference. It’s an integral part of building character in our students. Strong character creates not just a good Upton student, but an extraordinary one. Creating a culture of kindness in our schools produces young people who show respect for one another, their teachers, parents and themselves. 



The Great Kindness Challenge -
Week of Events 
MONDAY - FRIDAY - Witnessing Kindness. Upton teachers will be asked to witness their student’s random acts of kindness all week long and report acts to the office. Students will receive small rewards for their kindness at the end of the week. 

TUESDAY - Inspiring Kindness. Interact club student volunteers will write and post inspirational quotes on post-its all over the school. 

WEDNESDAY - Cold Weather Clothing Collection. Students will be asked to donate clean, gently used clothing which will be delivered to BLOM (Blessed Life Outreach Mission), a local organization that provides clothes to children and families in Benton Harbor. We are also asking for each student to bring in one nonperishable can of a food item for a local food bank.

THURSDAY - Hat Day - Students are asked to donate $1 to wear a hat all day in school. Donations will go directly to the Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen. 

FRIDAY - School Assembly - This assembly is being sponsored by the Mike Wagner Memorial. Andy Grupido talks about mental health and mixes in magic. This was also featured in the guidance blog in January. Here is a link that explains more about the talk: https://www.themagicofhope.com/Speaking?fbclid=IwAR36WjD-UEjaB290Fhvv3iJHfKBvsDiNo6d4mq3MDRktxowSTpQ19BSAP8c





End of 1st Semester-
Grades 6th-12th do not send out a hard copy of 1st Semester report cards.  You can find your child’s 1st Semester grades in PowerSchool. Honor roll will be put in the Herald Palladium. We will make you aware when we see it in the paper. If you have not set up your parent portal account on PowerSchool, you can use this link to set that up. https://www.sjschools.org/about-upton-parents/upton-parent-tools/parent-portal-powerschool-tools-piv





School Spelling Bee-
Our in-house spelling bee will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, January 28th at 3:00 PM in the Upton Media Center. Mrs. Gressley is the school spelling coach and will direct this fun event.



Late Start this Wednesday-
We will have a late start this Wednesday, January 29th. School will begin at 8:45 AM and breakfast will be available beginning at 8:15 AM.



No Go Time this week-
We will not have Go Time this Thursday.  Thursday will be a regular school day.  




Quote of the week-



Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 1-21-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


1/2 Days this week-

Thursday, January 23rd and Friday, January 24th will be half days with dismissal time at 11:00 AM. Please have all rides at Upton here no later than 11:15 AM.




No Late Start this week-

We do not have a late start this Wednesday, January 22nd.  School will start at 7:45 AM.




Exams for Algebra, Geometry, French, and Studio Art-

Exams for any 7th or 8th graders taking Algebra or Geometry will take place on Thursday, January 23rd.  Those students in French will take their exam on Friday, January 24th.  Studio art students will work with Mr. Fralick on the coordination of their end of the semester assessments.






8th grade new semester classes-

Next Monday, January 27th will be new semester courses for 8th graders.





Pre-arranged Absence Form-

If your child plans to be out of school for 3 or more school days, please have them come to the office to pick up a Pre-arranged Absence Form the week before.  This form needs to be filled out prior to the absence by the teachers and signatures from the student and parent are needed as well. We really appreciate your help with this!


Messages to Students-
As you can imagine the office at Upton gets really busy at the end of a school day!  Please when trying to get a message to your son/daughter to communicate by noon if possible.  When we get requests near the end of the day it is really difficult sometimes to get all the messages where they need to go.  In advance, we appreciate your support on this!



8th grade student and parent/guardian meeting at SJHS two weeks from today-


CLASS OF 2024
SAVE THE DATE

Informational Scheduling Meeting for 8th Grade Students & Their Parents 
who plan to attend
St. Joseph High School Fall 2020

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 
6:00pm

@ John & Dede Howard Auditorium at SJHS





Honor Credit Union Student of the Month-

Andrew Sysko is the December winner for the Upton Bears SCU. Andrew won a gift basket with a $25.00 Visa gift card! 




UPTO NEEDS YOU!-

UPTO is actively seeking volunteers to serve as PTO officers for the 2020-2021 school year.  Several of our amazing board members are graduating and we need your help to continue offering support to our students, teachers and staff.  Nominations are now open for:

  • Vice President
  • Secretary 

Co-positions are always welcome!  If you’ve been thinking of getting more involved at Upton, now’s the time!  For more information, email uptonmiddlepto@gmail.com or message us on Facebook @ UptonmiddlePto



The Great Kindness Challenge-

UPTO will be supporting the school’s efforts to promote and encourage a culture of kindness next week.

Take a look at and see how YOUR STUDENT can help out:

Wednesday - Feed the Hungry - Students will be asked to bring in a can of non perishable food.

Thursday - Hat Day - Students will be permitted to wear a hat with a $1 donation.  All collected monies will go directly to The Benton Harbor Soup Kitchen.





SAVE THE DATE! -

February 20th is our next UPTO board meeting @ 12 pm in the Upton Conference Room.

Superintendent Dr. Tom Bruce will be joining us and would love to meet you and answer any questions you may have!  

Can’t make it?  Email us your questions/concerns @ uptonmiddlepto@gmail.com




ATTENTION 8th GRADE PARENTS - 8th GRADE FAREWELL DANCE MEETING -

The 1st planning meeting for the 8th Grade Farewell Dance is Tuesday, January 28th at 7pm.   We will be meeting at the St. Joe Martins Supermarket, “Side Door Deli Cafe”.  Open to all 8th grade parents!  Hope to see you there!




Quote of the week-




Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino


Monday, January 13, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 1-13-20

Dear Parent/Guardians,


Next week... -
We do not have school next Monday, January 20th in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day.  We also have half days on Thursday, January 23rd and Friday, January 24th to end the semester.  Dismissal on the half days will be 11:00 AM.  If your son/daughter has algebra or geometry their exam will be on January 23rd and if they have French or Studio art their exams will be on Friday, January 24th.



PTO Meeting-
We have a PTO meeting this Thursday, January 16th at 12:00 PM in the Upton conference room.  Please join us if your schedule allows.



Congratulations to our Variety Show Participants-
The rehearsal schedule for this coming week is Tuesday January 14 and Thursday January 16.  Rehearsals are right after school and we should be finished by 4:30. We know a lot of the kids are in ski club and that is ok.  Please just let Mrs. Krieg know.  Should you at anytime have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Please email me at:  sgkrieg@sbcglobal.net 

Here is the rehearsal schedule through February 7th:

  • Wednesday, January 22 (one rehearsal this week due to 1/2 days)
  • Wednesday and Thursday, January 29 and 30
  • Wednesday and Thursday, February 5 and 6

NO REHEARSAL THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 10.




Yoga Club coming to UMS-

  • 8 week session every Wednesday (starting date TBD ) 
  • $35 includes all materials for crafts that go along with the yoga practices, yoga -instructor fee, and use of a mat
  • 25 spots available. First come first serve.
  • Signups are on itsLearning
  • If students can not afford the $35 fee please let see Ms Toth in the office. We do not want to turn away any students due to financial circumstances. We will provide a scholarship.



Late Start this Wednesday-  
We have a late start this Wednesday, January 15th.  School will begin at 8:45 AM and breakfast will be available at 8:15 AM.




Semester Exams-
As mentioned earlier, this year only high school courses will be taking semester exams.  High school courses are: Algebra, Geometry, French, and Studio Art (Art 1/2).





8th grade parent and student meeting for high school scheduling -
CLASS OF 2024
 SAVE THE DATE

Informational Scheduling Meeting for 8th Grade Students & Their Parents 
who plan to attend
St. Joseph High School Fall 2020
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 
6:00pm

John & Dede Howard Auditorium at SJHS






Girls on the Run-
Girls on the Run is dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.  We are in need of a coach. If you are interested in making a positive impact as a coach, please contact Mr. Mandarino at cmandarino@sjschools.org.




Now Hiring!  Cashier for the Clarke Kitchen!-
Looking for a job while your students are at school?  This might be the perfect position!  The position is from 10:30-1:30 PM Monday thru Friday.  Job duties include collecting/depositing money, assisting with light kitchen duties and cashiering during lunch.  If you are interested please contact Demrhy Youngquist @ 269-926-3127 or dyoungquist@sjschools.org.





SJPS Photo Contest for the Calendar-




Quote of the week-




Have a wonderful week,
Mr. Mandarino



Monday, January 6, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 1-6-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Happy New Year!-

The staff and I would like to wish you a happy new year!  We have three more weeks left in the 2nd marking period.  I hope you had a lot of great family time over the last two weeks. 😁






Variety Show Tryouts-

Upton's got talent variety show tryouts are tomorrow and Wednesday. (January 7th & 8th).  Please look at this handout for more information:  Upton's Got Talent PDF






7th & 8th Girls Basketball Tryouts-  

Girls basketball tryouts begin this week and run Monday through Friday from 3pm-5pm in the Blue Gym.  You must have a blue physical form on file in the office in order to participate. A meeting took place before the break regarding this for the girls interested in participating and we have been advertising this on our morning announcements as well.




Wrestling opportunity-

The middle school wrestling team is practicing up in the Blue Gym Balcony after school.  Come join the team!  Wrestling is open to all grade levels 6th-8th grades.  All you need is a completed physical form turned into the office and some athletic clothing.  For more information you can email Coach Vree (Rvree@sjschools.org) or Coach Gallagher (Dgallagher@sjschools.org)



Volleyball opportunity-


For all 6th grade girls interested in a 6 day volleyball clinic run by your St. Joseph coaches and players, there will be an informational meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8th in Mrs. Milletics room, Room 210, from 2:50-3:15 PM.  You will be provided with information about the dates and times for the clinic.  In addition, you will get to talk to a Varsity player and ask questions about the whole program, what to expect at the clinic, how to practice and train, and more.  

For parents, the clinic will run on six Sunday afternoons from 2:30-4:00 in the St. Joseph High School competition gym.  The dates are January 12,19, 26 and February 2, 9, and 16.  The training will focus on introducing fundamental techniques, participating in fun, competitive drills, and engaging in a lot of game play.  The cost of the winter clinic is $60.00.  This is a great opportunity for your girls!  If you have questions, please email Coach Briney-Kelm at HBriney-Kelm@stjoebears.com.  

Attached is the registration form for the volleyball clinic.  Volleyball PDF Attachment You may pre-register by filling out the registration and sending a check in the mail to the address on the form.  Or you may email Coach Briney-Kelm your registration info and pay at the door on January 12th.  






Baseball Camp Opportunity-
Winter Youth Baseball Camp is this Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11 & 12.  Cost for the camp is $50.
Located at the High School Fieldhouse.
Grades 1-3:  Registration at 1:30pm on Saturday.
Camp is 2-4pm Saturday & Sunday. 
Grades 4-6:  Registration is at 4pm on Saturday. 
Camp is 4:30-6:30pm Saturday and Sunday.
Questions please email: Jmandarino@stjoebears.com





No Late Start this week-

We do not have a late start this week.  School begins at 7:45 AM.



Quote of the week-






Have a great 2020!
M. Mandarino



Mandarino Minutes for 6-9-23

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