Monday, March 23, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 3-23-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


I hope this finds you well- 

I hope this blog post finds your family well!  These are very different times.  So much information comes at us daily.  Safety, well-being, and family are some of the most important things right now.  If we (SJPS) can assist you in some way please reach out.  




Connecting and Practicing-

Your student's teachers will be posting items the next few weeks for your daughter/son to practice and enrich.  If they are having issues with accessing any part of a teacher's lesson I would encourage them to message their teacher.  We are hoping that you can help to remind them to check itsLearning every so often for enrichment.




Wonderful Resources Virtually-

Mrs. Burnette has created a really nice resource page that students can get  ebooks, audiobooks, virtual experiences, etc.  Please take a moment and see if there is something there that might interest your daughter/son.  

Middle School Library Resources for Virtual Learning

Virtual Field Trips

There are many sites and free resources out there beyond what you son/daughter's teachers are posting.




Quote of the week-






Hug your kids, stay positive, encourage one another, and yes the best is yet to come!

Mr. Mandarino




Monday, March 9, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 3-9-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


National History Day Winners Saturday - 

We had a great showing today!  22 students submitted projects and 9 kids qualified for NHD State:

Group Exhibit - Maren Barfuss and Ginny Weykamp

Group Website - Jackson Galsterer and Aaron Teng
                            Samantha Zelenock-Grove and Zoe Jiang

Individual Exhibit - Rachel Cox

Individual Paper - Besty Fiesbeck

 Individual Performance - Braden Miesse

Also - Maren and Ginny won the Civil War Roundtable Award!  

All 22 kids had amazing judging interviews and really enjoyed themselves.  

Upton Rocked it again!



Science Olympiad wins for the 11th straight year! -
Coach Kelly Kietzerow and her wonderful mentors guided the UMS Science Olympiad team to their 11th straight regional championship.  Here are the winners:

Density Lab - first place. Sahiti Midithuri and Lilly Woytsek and Saanchi Jain
Reach for the stars - first place. Ani Ale, Aseem Singh, Nandish Dixit, and Partiv Menthem
Anatomy - first. Alissa Black, Riya Jain, Emmet Lorenz, and Diya Libi
Ping Pong Parachute - Second . Ross Zerbe and Manasvi Mogolli 
Crime Busters - first. Grace Yuan, Beth Paine, Sanjan Ameresh, and Diya Libi
Fossils - second. Lilly Woytsek and Riya Jain
Machines - first. Ross Zerbe, Parker Hume, Jason Shi, and Christian Blazinz
Dynamic Planet - first. Grace Yuan and Yimo Liu
Mission Possible - first. Grace Yuan and Beth Paine
Heredity - second. Ani Ale, Aseem Singh, Makayla Schadler and Nandish Dixit
Aerial Scramble - second. Fiona Rusk, Alissa Black, Sanjaan Amerish, and MaKayla Schadler
Disease Detective - Third Ani Ale, Parker Hume, Nandish Dixit, and Leiah Seawood
Food Science - Fourth Manasvi Mogolli, Yesashvi Mogoli, and Emmet Lorenz
Road Scholar - Fourth Sahiti Midithuri, Yeshasvi Mogoili, Emmet Lorenz, and Jason Shi
Circuit Lab - Fourth Ross Zerbe, Fiona Rusk, Partiv Menthem, and Jason Shi
Experimental Design - First  Andrew Smith, Yimo Liu and Manasvi Mogoli
Boomilever - third Andrew Smith, Yimo Liu, and Christian Blazina
Mousetrap vehicle - first Ani Ale and Fiona Rusk
Ornithology -First. Lilly Woytsek and Alissa Black
Elastic launch glider - first. Beat Lakeshore for the first time!!!  Fiona Rusk and Parker Hume
Write it Do It - second. Sahiti Midithuri, Yeshavi Mogoli, and Partiv Menthem
Meteorology - Third Grace Yuan, Beth Paine, Sanjaan Ameresh and Sanchi Jain
Water Quality - First Aseem Singh, Andrew Smith and Leiah Seawood

Team winners:
First place - Upton Middle School
Second place - Lakeshore Middle School
Third place - Berrien Springs Middle School




Upton has talent this Saturday! - 

This Saturday at the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS beginning at 6:30 PM will be the Upton Variety show, Upton's Got talent!  The students under the direction of Mrs. Sandy Krieg have prepared and are ready to entertain us!



Great week at Festival -

Last week at the band & orchestra festival our 7th & 8th grade bands received division 1 ratings.  Our 7th grade orchestra also received division 1 ratings, and our 8th grade orchestra received a division 2 rating.  We are proud of the hard work and effort they put forth!  







Ren Baldwin Technology Festival -





Humane Society Collection for Builders Club-
The Upton Builders Club is collecting items for the Humane Society.  Items needed include cat and dog food, pet toys, old towels and blankets, sport balls and pet treats.  The collection will go through Wednesday, March 18th. Collection boxes are located by the maize gym, the office, and the media center.  Thank you, in advance, for any donations to this worthy cause!






Ceci Ruchti would love your donations - 

For the 9th straight year Ceci Ruchti is stepping up to help those less fortunate.  Ceci is asking for donations of Easter goodies.  Example of items could be:  Baskets, Chocolate bunnies, toys, peeps, etc.  The items will go to local shelters for those that may not normally receive anything.




Upton Bears SCU -  February Winner -


The February winner for Upton Bears SCU is Ryan Lokey. Ryan won a gift basket with a $25.00 Visa gift card! Every deposit is entered into a monthly drawing to win a gift basket with a $25 gift card and is also entered into the End-of-Year drawing to win an iPad mini!




The 7th/8th grade Dance this Friday-


Dear Parents,

Friday, March 13th from 5 - 7 pm the Upton Student Council will be sponsoring a 7th and 8th grade dance in the Blue Gym. 

Of course these dances can’t happen without the support of our Upton parents!    Please consider signing up to help out.

Just click on this link!


Thank you!
UPTO




Morning Drop off procedure-

All students that are dropped off before 7:45am, need to enter the school through the back door drop off.  All students will be redirected to enter through the back door if arriving before 7:45am, to eliminate unnecessary traffic in the office.  The office is such a busy place in the morning. We appreciate your cooperation!





Spring Bear Wear -

Spring Bear Wear is on sale!  Check out this website to purchase this season’s spirit wear:


Store closes on 3/15.  Orders will be received the week of 4/13





Preventing the Flu-

Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.

  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. After using a tissue, throw it in the trash and wash your hands.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like flu.



Quote of the week





Have a wonderful week,
Mr. Mandarino


Monday, March 2, 2020

Mandarino Minutes for 3-2-20

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Mathcounts takes 1st place at Regionals -

What a wonderful day it was at Western Michigan University as our Upton Mathcounts team took 1st place!  All 10 of our "mathletes" finished in the top 50%.  Coach Ben Holleman has done a fantastic job leading them!

The following students received the following honors:

1st place individual - Jason Shi
2nd place individual - Aaron Teng
4th place individual -  Yimo Liu
6th place individual -  Grace Yuan
12th place individual -  Turner Peterson


L to R:  Priscilla Wang, Coach Ben Holleman, Pihu Sahai, Braden Miesse, Jason Shi, Grace Yuan, Sahiti Midithuri, Turner Peterson, Yimo Liu, Aaron Teng, Dylan Walsh




Choirs receives all Division 1 ratings last week -

Congratulations to our 6th-8th grade choirs for receiving all division 1 ratings at festival last Tuesday!  The division 1 rating is the best you can score!  In the site reading portion UMS was the only middle school to select advance site reading and the students performed wonderfully!  Congratulations to all of them, Mrs. Beth Gray-Roll, and Mrs. Candi Spitters!  





7th grade band and orchestra take home division 1 ratings  today -

I just recently heard that our 7th grade orchestra and 7th grade band received division 1 ratings today as well at Lake Michigan College!   Mrs. Cabanilla-Sinnett, Mr. Doe, and Mr. Lokey were very excited and proud of the way our students performed and represented Upton Middle School.  Festival is like the M-Step of performing arts and division 1 ratings are the best you can score!  Congratulations to our performing art students!!!!!!!!







Wonderful Career Day Friday - 

Our students really had a great morning this past Friday at Career Day.  Each student had 3 presenters where they had the opportunity to hear what they do, what it takes to get to pursue that career, etc.  Our students have also followed it up by writing thank you cards (some students will continue this today) which is another great life skill.  Ask your son/daughter about this around the dinner table this evening if they haven't already talked to you about it.










Festival this Wednesday for 8th grade -

The following times below are the 2020 festival times for our 8th grade band and orchestra at Lake Michigan College:


Wednesday, March 4th:
8th grade orchestra performs March 4th at 9:30 AM
8th grade band performs March 4th at 10:30 AM








Science Olympiad tomorrow-

Good luck to our science olympiad team as they compete tomorrow at Lake Michigan College at the Science Olympiad regional competition.  Our science olympiad team is led by Ms. Kelly Kietzerow and has many mentors who volunteer to assist as well.  It will be a fun day for them as they compete with teams from all over Berrien County.




Honor Roll Certificates and the Herald Palladium -

Honor roll certificates went home on Friday.  Today in the Herald Palladium the Maize Honor roll (All A's & A-'s) & Blue Honor Roll (All A's & B's - No B-'s) was printed in the Herald Palladium.  Our honor roll names are also posted in the hallway across from the office.  






Heart & Sole (Girls on the Run) - 


Girls on the Run has started and is every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00pm-4:30pm.  See link below. Your daughter can still be a part of this, but please register this week.




National History Day Competition this Saturday - 

Our social studies teachers are excited to announce that 22 of our 7th & 8th grade students will be competing in the regional National History Day competition at Western Michigan University this Saturday, March 7th.





UMS Variety Show:  Upton Has Talent - 






Spring Bear Wear -

Spring Bear Wear is on sale!
Check out this website to purchase this season’s spirit wear:
Store closes on 3/15.  Orders will be received the week of 4/13




Oh What A Night! -

Over 100 8th graders attended Friday evening’s Free Skate Night at the John and Dede Howard Ice Rink - all made possible by UPTO. Thanks so much for your support of our UPTO!



UPTO Facebook Page -

If you haven’t done so already, please join UPTO’s Facebook page Upton Middle PTO.  Lots of great information for everyone!


Leaving Early for Spring Break? -

If your family is leaving early for Spring break please let the office know.  We just need a note with the dates your daughter/son will be gone.  Thanks for your help with this!






8th grade Farewell Photo Needed-


We need from 8th grade parents only of current 8th grade students:

·         (1) 0-5 year old preferable wallet size to 3x5 picture of your student.
·         First and last name on the back
·         Due to the Upton office by May 11th.

·         Contact tinashasky@yahoo.com w/questions.



Just a reminder -




Updated Illness Card -




Quote of the week -




Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 6-9-23

  Dear Upton Middle School Families, Thanks! - We thank you for sharing your daughter/son with us this school year!  We also appreciate your...