Mandarino Minutes for 11-30-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Honors Breakfasts

You received an evite from the PTO if your son/daughter qualified for the honor roll breakfasts this week.  The breakfasts begin tomorrow. If you have not RSVP'd then please do so today.  Here is a quick glance:

What:  Honors Breakfast
When:  6th grade- Tuesday, Dec. 1st; 7th grade- Wednesday, Dec. 2nd; and 8th grade- Thursday, Dec. 3rd
Where:  The Upton Cafeteria
What time:  Breakfast begins at 7:15 A.M. and the certificate and short presentation begins at around 7:25 A.M.

6th grade Orchestra Informance

Next Tuesday, December 8th beginning at 7:00 P.M. in the Upton Blue Gym will be the 6th grade orchestra informance.  Our 6th grade orchestra will have an opportunity to show you how much they have grown since early September. :)

7th grade vision screening

The 7th grade vision screening is tomorrow (Tuesday, December 1st) at Upton.  The students were given a half sheet pre-screening form for you to fill out last week.  This screening is done by the Berrien County Health Department staff.

7th & 8th grade Dance

The 7th & 8th grade dance will take place this Friday, December 4th from 6:00-9:00 P.M. in the Upton Blue Gym.  The admission is $4 or a toy worth $4 or more towards the Toys for Tots Drive. Please have rides here at 9:00 P.M.

Upton Equestrian Meeting 

The Upton Equestrian Club will be having a meeting for all students and parents that are interested in the equestrian team on Tuesday, December 8th @ 6:30 in Ms. Kietzerow's room at Upton.  For more information please contact Cindy Phillip  http://stjoeequestrianteam.weebly.com/  or you may also email Cindy at cphilip@vbisd.org.

Community Corkboard

Have you visited the community corkboard lately? If not, please visit  http://www.sjschools.org/sjps-parents/community-cork-board-district  for all the latest community events.

One-Hour Delay

We will have a district one-hour delay a week from this Wednesday on December 9th.  Buses will run one hour later, and breakfast will still be available at Upton.

Quotes for the week:

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”- Eleanor Roosevelt   

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”   - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a good week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-23-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Conferences and Big Thanks-

The teachers, counselors, and administration would like to thank you for coming to conferences last week.  We have a nice turnout.  If you were unable to attend Thursday, we will be sending home the report cards and NWEA scores in their first hour classes tomorrow (Tuesday, November 24th).  We would also like to thank the parents, PTO, and coordinator Amy Peterson for providing a delicious meal from Charlie's Piggin' N' Grinnin Award Winnin' Barbecue between afternoon and evening conferences.  The meal was very appreciated!!


Junior Equestrian Team-

The Junior Equestrian Team at Upton Middle School is looking for students with all experience levels. Mrs. Cindy Phillip will be the coach and is excited to guide our team.  For more information you may go to :  http://stjoeequestrianteam.weebly.com/  or you may also email Cindy at cphilip@vbisd.org



Logo Contest for the Ren Baldwin Technology Festival-

SJPS is having a logo contest for the 2016 Ren Baldwin Technology Festival.  If your son/daughter would be interested in entering the contest the following link gives the details for this:
https://goo.gl/z1AfFU



Dressed for Success-  

Tomorrow (Tuesday, November 24th) will be our 8th annual dress nicely the day before Thanksgiving Day! :)


Battle of the Books-

The 28th annual Battle of the Books was a huge success!  Thanks so much to Mrs. Humes, Mrs. Dirlam, Mrs. Anderson, our ELA department, retired Upton employees, and the numerous parents volunteers that made the day so special.  The winning team came from Mrs. Gressley's 2nd hour class with the winning team named the Nerdy Knights.  The team consisted of :  Hannah Blazina, Gabriella Ott, Paige Dahlen, and Matthew Maher.  The runner-up team from Mrs. Gressley's 3rd hour, Hooked on Books,  consisted of:  Anika Benthem, Lauren Arel, Andrianna Nimtz, and Abby Peterson.


Toys for Tots-

Many of the schools in Southwest Michigan were approached by the United States Marines to participate in Toys for Tots and the Upton Middle School Student Council has agreed for Upton to be a drop-off area.  If your family would like to donate a new unwrapped toy our collection will run Monday, November 30th-Friday, December 11th.  All of our toys stay in Southwest Michigan to less fortunate kids.


Dance-

The 7th and 8th grade dance will take place on Friday, December 4th in the Upton Blue Gym from 6:00-9:00 P.M.  This dance is dress-up optional. (Not required)  The admission is $4 or a toy worth $4 or more towards the Toys for Tots Drive.


Builders Club-

The Builders Club will be meeting next on Wednesday, December 2nd after school until 4:30 P.M.


Honors Breakfast-

An invitation will be coming via email soon from the Upton PTO on Honors Breakfast.  They will take place next week Tuesday, December 1st (6th grade), Wednesday, December 2nd (7th grade), and Thursday, December 3rd (8th grade) and each day breakfast will be served at 7:15 A.M. and the presentation of Honor roll certificates will take place around 7:25 A.M.  You can refer to the November 2nd blog post for the honor roll criteria.


Book Fair-

The Upton Book Fair will take place from Monday, November 30th-Friday, December 11th.  The fair is in our Upton Media Center.  Any proceeds made from the Book fair goes right back into the Upton Media Center.


Lost and Found-

We have had the lost and found out at Upton for two weeks now.  If you know your son/daughter has lost something please have them check the tables out.  We have had many happy kids in the last few weeks to see long lost items discovered.

Quotes of the week:

"All I ever wanted really, and continue to want out of life, is to give 100 percent to whatever I'm doing and to be committed to whatever I'm doing and then let the results speak for themselves.  Also to never take myself or people for granted and always be thankful and grateful to the people who helped me." - Jackie Joyner-Kersee

“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.” - Marcus Aurelius

I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-19-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Conferences-

We hope to see you today between the hours of 12:30 P.M.-4:00 P.M. or 5:30 P.M. -8:30 P.M. for parent-teacher conferences at the SJHS Student Center.  You will pick up the report card and NWEA Fall results at the check in desk with Mrs. Olson (Last name A-K) or Mrs. Lownds (Last name L-Z).

Food Drive & United Way-

Right around 1,500 items were collected for the food drive for our local emergency shelters.  Your generosity will make for a better Thanksgiving and Christmas season for many. 

Thanks also to your son/daughter as we raised $150 for United Way Hat Day on Tuesday.  All the funds we raise for United Way stay local. 

An Upton Tradition Continues-

For many years now it has been a tradition at Upton to dress-up nicely the day before Thanksgiving break.  Students and staff come dressed as if they were going to a job interview, wedding, etc.  It is a nice tradition!  The date will be this Tuesday, November 24^th.

8^th grader – Kevin Wang- Another High Achieving Talented Student

8^th grader Kevin Wang was among 300 middle school students that were recognized by Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search.  The score’s Kevin achieved on the SAT/ACT put him in the top 1%-20% of college-bound seniors.  This was quite an accomplishment!  Congratulations Kevin!

Congratulations Breckyn Bussey-

6^th grader Breckyn Bussey was recently crowed Southwest Blossoms Pre-Teen 2016.  This competition was among 9-12 year olds all over Berrien County. Breckyn will represent pre-teens in many parades and other events all through Southwest Michigan.

Quotes of the Day:

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” - Jane D. Hull

"Education is a shared commitment between dedicated teachers, motivated students and enthusiastic parents with high expectations." – Bob Beauprez

See you this afternoon/evening,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-16-15

Dear Parents and Guardains,


7th grade Battle of the Books-
The final battle has arrived!  This Wednesday, November 18th at 9:00 A.M. is the 28th annual Battle of the books for our 7th graders.  They have done such a fantastic job of reading the past several weeks and their hard work will pay off.  Thanks for encouraging the reading!
  
Conferences
Who:  You 
What:  Parent-Teacher Conferences Open House
Where:  St. Joseph High School Student Center
When:  Thursday, November 19th, 2015 from 12:30 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.  and  5:30P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
How:  You get in a line to meet with each teacher for 2-5 minutes each
  
Wrestling

Please go to this link if your son/daughter is interested in wrestling:  http://www.sjschools.org/images/District/Community%20Cork%20Board/Wrestling.pdf

EDP's

7th graders developed their Educational Development Plans in Social Studies classes on Friday with the guidance of their counselors. EDP's are completed via CareerCruising.com http://public.careercruising.com/en/, and include a Learning Styles Inventory and a Career Interest Inventory. The counseling department is encouraging students to access Career Cruising and share their EDP with their parents.

UPTO-

Our wonderful UPTO met last Thursday and are once again going to be providing a dinner between afternoon & evening conferences four our teachers.  They also sponsored the purchase of a book for the counseling department.  Our UPTO will also soon be sending email invitations to the Honors breakfasts that take place on December 1st (6th grade), December 2nd (7th grade), and December 3rd (8th grade).  The honors breakfasts begin at 7:15 A.M. and finish around 7:45 A.M.ish.

United Way Hat Day-

Tomorrow (November 17th) will be a Untied Way Hat Day.  Students may pay $1 to wear a hat and the money will go towards the SJPS United Way drive.   They will give the money to their 1st hour teacher.

Social Media

Would you like a little more information about some of the apps your son/daughter has on their phone, iPad, etc.?  Here are a few apps with explanations about each to better inform you what some middle school and high school students are using and communicating with. It is always a good idea to occasionally check your son/daughter's devices to see what they are doing, how they are communicating, and to see if they are responsibly communicating with others.  This week I will feature 3 apps, and in the future a few more.

Kik

https://d1pmarobgdhgjx.cloudfront.net/parenttip/PT_CMSE_Kik.mp4







Snapchat

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/facebook-instagram-and-social/what-should-parents-know-about-snapchat



Instagram

https://d1pmarobgdhgjx.cloudfront.net/parenttip/PT_CMSE_Instagram.mp4

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/facebook-instagram-and-social/what-should-parents-know-about-instagram


Thanksgiving Luncheon

Our ladies in the kitchen made an absolutely delicious Thanksgiving luncheon for our students last week.  The special luncheon took tons of preparation and the students and staff really appreciated the tasty meal.  The picture below is of Ben Anderson, Josh Terry, and Andy Blomgren who voluntairly asked if they could help clean-up after the meal was over. :)

Community Corkboard

Have you visited the SJPS Community Corkboard lately?  Here is a link if you have not :  http://www.sjschools.org/sjps-parents/community-cork-board-district

Planetarium Night-

On Monday, November 23rd Mrs. Francis will be hosting “Dawn of the Space Age” at 6:30 P.M. in our Upton Planetarium.  The October showing was a great success!  This show is geared for 6th graders and up.  Here is the link to the trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgYhrrYV-5Q

Quotes of the Week:

"Do you want to know who you are?  Don’t ask.  Act!  Action will delineate and define you.”- Thomas Jefferson

“Being politically correct means saying what’s polite rather than what’s accurate.  I like to be accurate.” - Robert Kiyosaki

See you at conferences Thursday afternoon or evening,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes 11-9-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,

8^th grader- Amy Paine-

8^th grader Amy Paine was among 300 middle school students that was recognized by Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search.  The score’s Amy achieved on the SAT/ACT put her in the top 1%-20% of college-bound seniors.  This was quite an accomplishment!  Congratulations Amy!

One-Hour Delay-

We will have a district one-hour delay this Wednesday, November 11th.  School will begin at 8:45 A.M. and buses will run one hour later.  Breakfast will still be available at school.

UPTO Meeting 11-12-15-

This Thursday, November 12th we will have our November UPTO meeting beginning at noon in the Upton Conference room.  Please check into the office and join us if your schedule allows.

Parent-Teacher Conferences-

Just a reminder that our conferences will take place on Thursday, November 19th at the St. Joseph High School Student Center.  The times are 12:30 P.M.-4:00 P.M.  and 5:30-8:30 P.M.  It is an open house atmosphere. The parents wait in line for each teacher to discuss how things are going with their student.  This is our conference format 6th-12th grades.  If you have a 9th-12th grader their conferences will take place at the same times in the SJHS Field House. No middle or high school conferences will take place on Friday, November 20th.  The students will have November 19th and 20th off from school.

SJHS Musical-

St. Joseph High School students will present Cinderella on November 20th at 7:00 P.M. and November 21st at 2:00 P.M. & 7:00 P.M.   The musical will take place a the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS.  Tickets for adults are $10, and Seniors & Students are $8.  Tickets can be purchased ahead of the show through the following emails and contact #:   Jon Wallace: jonrwallace@yahoo.com, jwallace@horizonbank.com  or by calling 269-449-8972

Other Dates to remember:

 -  Friday, November 13th  High School home football regional championship 7:00 P.M. at Dickinson Stadium

-  Monday, November 23rd  Upton Planetarium Community Night 6:30 P.M.

-  No school Wednesday, November 25th-27th for Thanksgiving Break

Quotes of the Day-

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."-  Ben Franklin

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" - Satchel Paige 

Have a good week,

Mr. Mandarino 

Mandarino Minutes 11-4-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thanks for reading the blog from Monday.  I have a few more items to add this week.

Notes for Appointments-

Whether it is a doctor, dentist, orthodontist, or another appointment we would appreciate if your daughter/son would bring a note to the office before school.  We will then give them a pass immediately that they will present to the teacher to come to the office at the determined time.  It is preferred to have the note over a message left on the voice mail.  When you come into the school to sign them out they will put the pass in a little wire basket by the door, and when they return to school they use this same pass to admit them back into class.  Thanks for your help with this.

6th grade Book Club-

Mrs. Humes along with Mrs. Amy Nolan from the St. Joseph Public Library are starting a 6th grade only lunchtime book club.  The first book that they are going to discuss is Chasing Vermeer. This is a very exciting book written by Blue Balliett.  If your son/daughter are interested they should go to the Upton Middle School Media Center for a permission slip.  We hope that your son/daughter consider this.

Builders Club-

Our November project is “Knock-Out November,” a food drive for our local Emergency Shelter Services.  We will be collecting food items through November 18th.   All students are welcome to attend and try out Builders Club.  Membership applications and dues should be turned in by November 18th. Please contact Mrs. Reck (kreck@sjschools.org) or Mrs. Hunnell (shunnell@sjschools.org)  with any questions.

Football game behavior-

Overall Mr. Jeffers and I have been happy with the behavior of the students in the Upton Middle School student section.  Students must either be with you during games or in the Upton section.  We allow students to visit the concession stand at quarters and half only.  We ask for respectful behavior during the national anthem, and we stress no throwing of items.  Thanks for your support!

Quote of the Day-

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." - Frederick Douglass

Have a good day,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-2-15

Dear Parents/Guardians,

End of the 1st Marking Period-

Tomorrow (November 3rd) is the end of the 1st marking period.  We will have a copy of the 1st marking period report card at conferences.  If you do not attend conferences then the report card will be given to the student at Upton to take home to you.  We only print report cards at the end of the 1st marking period and at the end of the school year.  (Marking periods 2 and 3 can be viewed online.)


Honor Roll Criteria

Marking Period Honor Roll Criteria-

Principals' Honor Roll:
Straight A's (or A-'s)

Honor Roll:
At least 2 A's (or A-'s) and no grade lower than a B.  This means B- or lower disqualifies.

This honor roll was designed by our student council several years ago, so it was a student-driven initiative. 


Parent-Teacher Conferences

Our conferences will take place on Thursday, November 19th at the St. Joseph High School Student Center.  The times are 12:30 P.M.-4:00 P.M.  and 5:30-8:30 P.M.  It is an open house atmosphere where you can meet with each of your child’s teachers for about 5 minutes each. (30 minutes total of teacher conferencing)  The parents wait in line for each teacher to discuss how things are going with their student.  This is our conference format 6th-12th grades.  If you have a 9th-12th grader their conferences will take place at the same times in the SJHS Field House.


Benefit Volleyball Game

We want to thank the students, staff, and parents for a great benefit volleyball game last week for our 8th grader battling cancer.  I know the Flores family was very grateful for the generosity of everyone.  It was great to see all the students and parents in the stands supporting such a wonderful young lady!

One-Hour Delay-

We will have a district one-hour delay on Wednesday, November 11th.  School will begin at 8:45 A.M.

Quote of the day:

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

Have a good week,
Mr. Mandarino