Mandarino Minutes for 11-26-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,



Restful Break-
We hope your family had a nice Thanksgiving!  The students even got a bonus day today.  Stay warm and safe!

Everything Cancelled at the Middle School-
All school events (sports, clubs, etc.) are cancelled today (11-26-18) at Upton Middle School.  

6th Grade Orchestra "Informance"-
Next Tuesday, December 4th is the 6th grade orchestra "informance" at Upton Middle School in the Blue Gym.  The time for student and parent arrival will come from Mrs. Cabinilla-Sinnett and Mr. Lokey.

Competitive Cheerleading meeting-
6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls interested in competitive cheer should attend a player/parent meeting on Thursday, November 29th at 6:30pm in Upton's cafeteria.  Upton competitive cheer coaches, Cheryl Zuhl and Rhonda Cogswell will share important information for the season and remind girls that they need to have a MHSAA physical form turned in to participate in the first tryout/skill evaluation practice on Tuesday, December 4th from 3 to 5pm on Upton's blue gym balcony.  Cheerleaders who can not attend the meeting can e-mail Coach Zuhl at cherylzzuhl@gmailcom or Coach Cogswell at cogs@sjcheer.com.

Joebots next Competition-

Second Qualifying Event:

Sunset Coast Splash

Saturday, December 1, 2018

10:00am - 7:00pm

Coloma High School
500 W. St. Joseph 
Coloma, MI 49038

Upton Variety Show Meeting-
Please click on this pdf to find out information on the Upton Variety show:  UMS Variety Show Information PDF

Clubs meeting this week after school-
Tuesday- Innovators (Makers Room) and Spelling Clubs (Mrs. Gressley's room)
Wednesday- Dungeons and Dragons Club (Media Center)
Thursday- Chess Club (Mrs. Walsworth's room)

Book Fair-

The Upton Book Fair is here!  The fair in our media center will run from 11/27 through 12/7, but early birds can visit our online fair -- just in time to browse for holiday surprises or gather and give gift suggestions to far-flung family members. 

Online fair:  http://www.scholastic.com/bf/uptonmiddleschool1

Late-Start this Wednesday-
This Wednesday, November 28th will be a late start.  We will also have late starts on December 5th and December 12th.

Quote of the week-

Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-19-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,



Robotics Update-

The Upton Joe Bots made their debut for this season at the Ruckus on the Border event in Constantine Michigan on Saturday.  All three teams fought through mechanical and communication issues on the playing field.  They saw great team spirit and hard work (with a little fun mixed in).

Out of 36 competing teams, here our our results:

Joe Bots - Maize Team 8513 placed 12th with a record of 3-2-0, earning 6 Ranking points and 512 tie breaker points.

Joe Bots - Blue Team 11855 placed 16th with a record of 3-2-0, earning 6 Ranking points and 434 tie beaker points.

Joe Bots - White Team 13702 placed 33rd with a record of 0-5-0, earning 0 Ranking points and 366 tie beaker points.

All three teams will take what they have learned and begin on mechanical and code modifications for their next event in Coloma on December 1st.

Book Fair Coming-

The Upton Book Fair is almost here!  The fair in our media center will run from 11/26 through 12/7, but early birds can visit our online fair beginning on 11/21 -- just in time to browse for holiday surprises or gather and give gift suggestions to far-flung family members over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Online fair:  http://www.scholastic.com/bf/uptonmiddleschool1

See you at the fair!

Heart & Sole (Girls on the Run)-
Heart & Sole is a girls on the run program for 6th-8th grade girls.  The program stresses positivity, empathy, life skills, and more.  Please click on this link to learn more about the details to this wonderful program:  Heart & Sole Link 

2019 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival Logo Contest-
Entries are now open for students to submit a drawing for the Ren Baldwin Technology Festival Logo.  The logo must be in color and include 2019 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival.  The due date is Tuesday, December 4th by the end of the school day.  A secondary and elementary winner will be chosen by a committee.  Here is a link with more information:  Ren Baldwin Tech. Fest Logo Info.

College Recruitment Guru Speaking at SJHS-
Does your daughter/son have aspirations of someday playing a collegiate sport? You will not want to miss this free opportunity to hear Jack Renkens, a college recruiting guru speak about the truths and myths of collegiate recruiting on Wednesday, December 5th at 7:00 PM.  
Click here for more information:  Recruiting Realities pdf

Dressing Nice on Wednesday-
It has been a tradition for over 15 years at Upton to dress nicely the day before Thanksgiving break to show our gratitude for all the things we are thankful for.  We will do this on Wednesday, November 21st.

Happy Thanksgiving-
The Upton staff hopes your family has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  If you are traveling we wish you safe travels.  Please encourage your child to unplug as much as possible and enjoy family time.

Sporting events this week-
Today- 7th grade "B" Basketball home vs. Lakeshore at 4:00 PM
Today- 7th grade "A" Basketball home vs. Lakeshore at 5:00 PM
Today- 8th grade "B" Basketball away vs. Lakeshore at 4:00 PM
Today- 8th grade "A" Basketball away vs. Lakeshore at 5:00 PM

Quote of the week-

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-12-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Career Day-
We had a very successful career day at Upton Middle School.  We want to thank you if you were one of our presenters.  Our kids came dressed like they were interviewing for their dream job, and they had a great time interacting with four different presenters.  The sessions I sat in were really well done and the students were so engaged. A special thanks to our guidance department who worked so hard to make this day run smoothly! 

Parent-Teacher Conferences-
Thanks for your attendance at parent-teacher conferences last Thursday afternoon/evening!  We had a higher turnout this year than  last year.  I hope that you had a chance to get a quick meeting in with each teacher.  If more time is needed, you can always contact the teacher for additional one on one time.  We would also like to thank the awesome UPTO for the delicious dinner between afternoon and evening conferences.  

UPTO-
Have you made a donation to the UPTO this school year?  If not, here is your chance.  Please click here for an online opportunity:
UPTO Online donation.  If you do not want to make an online contribution, consider sending in a check or cash in an envelope with the name UPTO on the outside of it.  Thanks so much!

Joebots Robotics Club-

The Upton Middle School Robotics Teams will be competing in their first competition of the season this Saturday in Constantine, Michigan. 

Ruckus at the border

Saturday, November 17, 2018

10:00am - 7:00pm

Constantine High School
1 Falcon Dr.
Constantine, MI 49042   

Innovators Club-
The Innovators Club will meet tomorrow Tuesday, November 13th in the Makers room off of the media center from 2:45-4:00.  Any student in any grade is welcome.

Spelling Club-
Spelling club is on Tuesdays in Mrs. Gressley's room 209.  It runs from 2:45-3:45 PM and is open to all students in all grades.

Turkey lunch this Wednesday-
We will have a turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.  Our ladies in the kitchen always do a nice job and are always so kid-friendly!

Late Start & Guest Speaker this Wednesday-
This Wednesday, November 14th will be a late start and we also have a guest speaker for our students to start off their morning.  Todd Jadlow played on the Indiana 1987 National Championship, had a short time in the NBA, and played several years in the professional league in Europe.  He will have a message of being positive with classmates/people in general.

Planetarium Community Night this Thursday, November 15th at 6:30 PM-
This Thursday evening Mrs. Francis will be hosting a planetarium community night at Upton Middle School.  The  title is Hot and Energetic Universe.  The intended audience is 10 and up.  Here is the trailer to the show:  Hot and Energetic Universe Trailer
Tickets are $2.50 to the show.

Sports this week-
11-12-18 7th grade "B" Boys Basketball home vs. LMC - 4:00 PM
11-12-18 8th grade "B" Boys Basketball home vs. LMC - 5:00 PM
11-12-18 7th grade "A" Boys Basketball away vs. Niles - 4:00 PM
11-12-18 7th grade "A" Boys Basketball away vs. Niles - 5:00 PM

4th Annual Career Night tomorrow-

Coming Up-

• Next Wednesday, November 21st is a half-day with dismissal at 11:04 AM.  This will be the start to the Thanksgiving break.  We will not have a late-start that morning.
• Tuesday, December 4th is the 6th grade " Orchestra Informance" at UMS in the Blue Gym
• Friday, December 7th will be a 7th & 8th grade dance at UMS

Quote of the week-

Have a wonderful week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-5-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Today's Herald Palladium-
In today's Herald Palladium our student credit union was featured.  If your daughter/son would like to start a savings account we have information in the office or they can stop by the teller desk by the cafeteria on Tuesdays during their lunch period.



1/2 days Thursday and Friday of this week-
Dismissal for this Thursday, November 8th and Friday, November 9th will be at 11:04 A.M.

Parent-Teacher Conferences-
When:  Thursday, November 8th  12:30-4:00 PM and 5:30-8:30 PM
Where: St. Joseph High School Student Center

What:  A chance to talk to each teacher for about 5 minutes each.  We will also have a community resource fair going on in the hallway between high school (in the field house) and middle school conferences.  Report cards will not be provided.  All grades will be on PowerSchool.  This is the case 6th-12th grades.  We recommend that you take a picture of your daughter/son's schedule or write it down a piece of paper before coming to conferences.  

Teenager Mock Bedroom at Parent Conferences-  

The Teenager Mock Bedroom program is designed to educate parents about the possible warning signs of drug abuse.  The mock bedroom is carefully staged with drug paraphernalia to show parents the most recent trends and numerous ways a teen may hide their “stash”as well as other items that are used to conceal the smell and effects.   There will be members of the Voice.Change.Hope Alliance on hand at parent conferences to discuss and show in more detail the facts and trends of drug use in southwest Michigan. Please stop by and check it out, but do not bring students or other children.

Mock bedroom

Career Day-

This Friday, November 9th students in all grades will have the opportunity to participate in Career Day. Students will have the experience of hearing from four different professionals. Students are asked to come dressed as if they are applying for the job of their dreams.

Upton Middle School Robotics-

The Upton Middle School Robotics Teams have been scheduled to attend two qualifying events in the upcoming weeks. These qualifiers will determine ranking to attend the Michigan state championships in late December. Please consider attending these events to help cheer on the Joe Bots.

Our First Qualifying Event:

Ruckus at the border

Saturday, November 17, 2018

10:00am - 7:00pm

Constantine High School
1 Falcon Dr.
Constantine, MI 49042 

Our Second Qualifying Event:

Sunset Coast Splash

Saturday, December 1, 2018

10:00am - 7:00pm

Coloma High School
500 W. St. Joseph
Coloma, MI 49038

No late start this week and November 21st-

The district does not have a late start this Wednesday or on Wednesday, November 21st.

High School Students present, Little Shop of Horrors-

Here is the link to information on the musical Little Shop of Horrors:   Little Shop of Horrors information pdf  You may have seen the crew downtown St. Joseph this weekend giving little teaser performances.

Another Career exploring opportunity from the Interact Club-

Quote of the week-

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino