Mandarino Minutes for 2-25-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,



31st Annual Battle of the Books-

The 31st Annual Battle of the Books concluded last Friday with a tie -- for the first time ever -- for first place.  Although five tiebreaker questions were issued, the stalemate stood firm and two teams claimed victory. The winning teams were The Papercut Bandits, from the Kingdom of LoPresti, and The Reading Railroad, from the Kingdom of Gressley.  Both the media and English departments would like to extend thank you's to all of the parents who helped support this project with their encouragement, advice and flexibility. A special thank you to Mrs. Burnette and Mrs. Darr for the many hours of preparation, setup, etc.

Congrats to Grace LaFayette-
Congratulations to 8th grader, Grace LaFayette, who read her essay (which was the best one in Berrien County) at the Whitcomb last Thursday afternoon.  This event was sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.  

Grace LaFayette

Congrats to Andrew Ferrell and Betsy Fiesbeck-
Congratulations to Andrew Ferrell who finished in 4th place and Betsy Fiesbeck who finished in 5th place amongst 40 spellers in Berrien County last Thursday at the Cloverleaf Spelling Bee.  They both represented Upton Middle School really well.  In fact, SJPS had 4 students in the top 10 spellers.  

6th grader, Betsy Fiesbeck

7th grader, Andrew Ferrell

Choir Festival today-

Today our 6th-8th grade choirs performed at the district choral festival.  It was fun to watch the students perform in front of the judges, take the critiques with a smile, and learn from their performances.  They were very well mannered and gracious!  They also sounded wonderful! 😀

8th grade Uptones performing at the district festival

7th grade choir performing

6th grade choir singing

The Musical this year:  Annie Jr.-
Mrs. Gray-Roll and Mr. Schuur are excited to announce the Spring Musical, Annie Jr.  Please click on the pdf to see about auditions and tryouts.  Every student who goes out will be in the musical, but certain parts are audition-driven.  It should be a fun and entertaining show!  

Annie Jr. The Musical Information PDF

Online Scheduling due this Friday-
Online scheduling is due this Friday, March 1st.  Students can go on to PowerSchool to complete this.  8th graders must also turn in their blue hard copy form as well.

Late Start this Wednesday-
K-12 we have a late start this Wednesday, February 27th.  Class begins at 8:45 AM.

Social Media Article of the Week-
This week's article deals with phones.  The article has great advice on some simple rules with phones.

Article of the week

Digital Learning Day-
On Thursday, February 28th nationwide is Digital Learning Day.  We use technology at Upton everyday in a variety of ways to enhance the curriculum, but on this day we will have a few GO time sessions on some other digital learning opportunities.   💻

Presentation on Vaping-
This Thursday evening at 7:00 PM in the Lakeshore High School Auditorium is a presentation on vaping.  Topics include:  What is a vape?  How to tell if your teen is vaping?  Is it safe to vape? Etc.  The presentation is free and open to all parents.

Quote of the week (Today being Choir Festival) 





Have a wonderful week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 2-19-19 (Special add-on week)

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This week we have so much going on at Upton Middle School that we have to add a few more items on to the Mandarino Minutes.




6th to 7th grade & 7th to 8th grade scheduling-
I can't believe it is that time of year, but it is scheduling time at Upton.  Please see the attached directions on students scheduling their classes for the 2019-2020 school year.
6th graders going into 7th scheduling directions link
7th graders going into 8th scheduling directions link

Joe Rommel's presentation from the Screenagers presentation-
Yesterday we sent the slideshow from the advisory students had in their classrooms, and today we have a slideshow from Mr. Joe Rommel from the Monday evening presentation on social media trends.  We hope you find both slideshows very informational.
Digital Health and Wellness Presentation Link

31st Annual Battle of the Books-
This Friday, February 22nd is the 31st annual Battle of the Books in 7th grade.  Our 7th graders have been reading like crazy and it fun to watch the mini battles that have already taken place.  Friday morning will be the grand finale.  The gimmicks, story boards, costumes, etc. have really been very well thought out!

Bonus quote of the week-

Once again have a good week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 2-18-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,


1/2 day this Friday, February 22nd-
The students have a 1/2 day of school this Friday, February 22nd.  In the afternoon the staff will be having professional development.  Dismissal will 11:04 AM.

4th Rotation for 6th and 7th grade-
The 4th rotation will begin a week from today on Monday, February 25th for our 6th and 7th graders.  We extended the 3rd rotation because of the inclement weather days.

Congratulations to the Upton Wrestling Team!-
Our Upton wrestling team took first place over the weekend in a tournament that featured 16 teams.  We applaud Coach Gallagher and Coach Vree for working hard with our wrestlers all season!

Variety Show Practice-
Variety Show practice will be Wednesday, Feb. 20th and Thursday, Feb. 21st this week until 4:30 PM.  If you have any questions or inquiries, please email Mrs. Sandy Krieg at sgkrieg@sbcglobal.net

Screenagers Presentation Last Monday-
I know many of you attended the Screenagers presentation last Monday evening at SJHS.  Here is a link to the advisory that we did in grades 6-12th grade during a GO time session with the student body:  Screenagers GO Time Advisory Link

Late Start this Wednesday-
This Wednesday, February 20th is a late start.  We also have a late start on Wednesday, February 27th. 

Girls Soccer Signups 2nd announcement-

All Upton 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls are invited to join the Upton Girls Soccer Club.   Registration is now open until team size is full.  Please register using the following link:  https://goo.gl/forms/yU5i3DROhdRD1wUF3

If you have any questions please email:   uptonmiddleschoolsoccer@gmail.com.

Upton Soccer looks forward to another great season of Bear Soccer!

Quote of the week (In Honor of Presidents' Day)-

Have a great week,.

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 2-11-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Screenagers tonight-

Parents tonight from 6:30 pm -8:30 pm in the John and Dede Howard auditorium at SJHS is the viewing of Screenagers. Screenagers is an award-winning film that depicts the challenging struggles that families have over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world. After viewing the film, we have a county expert, Joe Rommel, who will give additional updates on current social media trends and suggestions for parents on setting boundaries with their students’ social media use.

Refreshments will be available, along with free childcare offered by SJHS National Honor Society student group. Childcare is available for toddler through elementary school age children.  

Social Media Article of the Week-

Here is an article that fits nicely with the screenagers viewing this evening: Social Media article link

Count Day this Wednesday-

The state of Michigan has a count day this Wednesday, February 13th. Please try your best to have your student to school on time. This is a late start Wednesday.

Interact Club giveback night at Silver Beach Pizza-

This Wednesday, February 13th you might consider an early Valentine Dinner and supporting the area Interact Clubs. Silver Beach Pizza will give back 15% of the price of your bill to our clubs. Please print this pdf for the donation: Interact/Silver Beach pdf

Variety Show practices start back this week-
Variety show practices start back up tomorrow, Feb. 12th (Tuesday) and Feb. 13th (Wednesday) this week. If you have any questions please email Mrs. Krieg at : sgkrieg@sbcglobal.net

Volleyball Training Sessions for Girls & Boys-

Please view the attached pdf for a volleyball training sessions for girls and boys volleyball. Volleyball pdf link These sessions begin next week.

UPTO-
We have a UPTO meeting this Thursday, February 14th at noon in the Upton Conference room. Please join us if your schedule allows.

Upton Girls Soccer-

All Upton 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls are invited to join the Upton Girls Soccer Club.   Registration is now open until team size is full.  Please register using the following link:  https://goo.gl/forms/yU5i3DROhdRD1wUF3

If you have any questions please email:    uptonmiddleschoolsoccer@gmail.com.

Upton Soccer looks forward to another great season of Bear Soccer!

Quote of the week-

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." - William Shakespeare

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 2-1-19

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Exams on Monday-
We will attempt once again to have 5th & 6th hour exams on Monday, February 4th.  The rest of the day will be each class for about 28 minutes each.  The third marking period will officially start on Tuesday, February 5th.

8th to 9th grade student and parent meeting-
The 8th grade student & parent meeting is still on this Monday, February 4th. The meeting will be at 6:00 PM in the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS.  This meeting is very important for all to attend.

National Kindness Week moved to next week-
We will move on with our plans next week on National Kindness week.  Although the things we talk about and do should be things we do year-round.

Variety Show practice will resume Feb. 12th & 13th-
Our variety show participants will start their practices up again on Tuesday, February 12th and Wednesday, February 13th.  If you have any questions please email Mrs. Sandy Krieg at sgkrieg@sbcglobal.net

Foundation Photo Contest-

Planetarium Community Night on Monday, February 11th-
On Monday, February 11th at 6:30 PM is the next planetarium community night at Upton Middle School.  The show is:  Legends of the Night Sky: Orion.  Here is a trailer to the show:  Legends of the Night Sky Orion- trailer

Quote of the week-
"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." 
- Victor Hugo

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Mandarino