Friday, October 29, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 10-29-21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Orchestra Concert Next Tuesday, November 2nd-

Next Tuesday evening beginning at 7:00 PM in the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS is the 7th & 8th grade middle school orchestra concert. It will be a great concert!

Congratulations to Choir and Band-

Last week was a great choir concert and this week we had a great band concert! We have so many students involved in the performing arts programs and the talent is so fun to watch develop!

End of the rotation and Marking Period-

Today ends rotation 1 for 6th & 7th graders and they will begin rotation 2 on Monday, November 1st. You can find your child's rotation change in PowerSchool.

The first marking period ends next Friday, November 5th.

8th graders this week-

Our 8th graders this week had a field trip where they visited the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery and Sarrett Nature Center to kickoff their Salmon in the Classroom project. The students were great and enjoyed the experience.

Upton Bear Credit Union Reopening -

The Upton Bears Credit Union, sponsored by Honor Credit Union, will be re-opening soon! We will begin interviews on Nov 9th & 11th. Job opening and membership applications will be in the Upton office. Have your daughter/son stop by the office if they are interested.

Here is a link that talks more about it:

Upton Bear Credit Union Link

Next Thursday evening-

Next Thursday evening beginning at 7:00 PM in the John & Dede Auditorium at St. Joseph High School will be a very informative session on parenting in the digital age. This is open to K-12 parents.

Late Start next Wednesday-

The district will have a late start next Wednesday, November 3rd. Doors will open at 8:15 and breakfast will be available at that time.

Positivity Project Next Week-

Next week the word of the week for the Positivity Project is : Creativity. Here is the link to family resources:

Positivity Project Link for Creativity

Remember the password is P2 for all positivity project links.

News from the Lunch Room-

We would like to remind everyone that breakfast and lunch are FREE again this year to every St Joseph Public School student. Please try to remember to preorder your student’s lunches when they are going to participate in lunch. This helps speed up the morning lunch count process. You will be allowed to order the Friday before the next week using www.sendmoneytoschool.com.

Due to the supply chain issues we are having with our vendors and food outages we will be providing a one week menu on our website and Principal blogs on the Friday before the next week. This will alleviate us having to make constant changes to a monthly menu and keep you better informed.

11/1/21 – Chicken Tenders, Ranch Wedges, Dinner Roll, Fruit choice

11/2/21 – Pancakes, Sausage, Hash Brown, Fruit choice

11/3/21 – Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla, Rice, Refried Beans, Fruit

11/4/21 – Cheeseburger, Curly Fries, Salad Cup, Fruit choice and

11/5/21 – French Bread Pizza, Seasoned Corn, Caesar Salad, Fruit

Sandwiches and Salads will also be available daily as an entree. Ala carte items will be available for purchase soon!

From our Guidance Department-

Check out this link for the October Guidance blog:

blog.https://sites.google.com/stjoebears.com/upton-updates-from-your-guidan/home

Parent-Teacher Conferences Around the Corner-

Parent/Teacher conferences will be on Thursday, November 11th for 6th-12th grades. On November 11th and Friday, November 12th we will have half days with dismissal at 11:00 AM. The format of the conferences will be announced very soon.

Please help by having at talk -

Tik Tok has had many national trends this school year, and several of them are destructive and not nice. The latest is using string from a mask to cut through chairs. This trend has not passed UMS and SJPS. Destruction of school property could result in a suspension, police report, restitution, community service, etc. Common Sense Media has a lot of resources that give information on apps, tv shows, movies, etc. It is a great resource to bookmark. Here is the link to the information on Tik Tok:

Common Sense Media Tik Tok Link

Reminder about Tardies-

Students arriving after 7:45 AM will now be considered Tardy and may face consequences after the 3rd late arrival. Please adjust your schedules to take advantage of this new time slot. Drivers - please consider turning right out of Upton after dropping off your student and taking Hollywood to Glenlord or Niles Ave. Fewer cars turning left would reduce the time at the 4-way stop on Maiden and Lincoln Ave. and open up the path for cars heading to the back drop-off area.

National Days this week-

Nov 1st - National Author's Day

Nov 2nd - Election Day

Nov 3rd - National Sandwich Day

Nov 4th - National Candy Day

Nov 5th - National Doughnut Friday

Quote of the week-

Have a great Friday and weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Friday, October 22, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 10-22-21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

From the Desk of Mr. Jeffers-

Effective Monday, October 25th, the student entrance (Door 7) will open at 7:00 AM. Students arriving between 7:00-7:15 AM will be required to wait in the cafeteria area until classrooms open at 7:15 AM. We hope the additional 15 minutes of drop-off time will help to alleviate the congestion. Students arriving after 7:45 AM will now be considered tardy and may face consequences after the 3rd late arrival. Please adjust your schedules to take advantage of this new time slot. Drivers - please consider turning right out of Upton after dropping off your student and taking Hollywood to Glenlord or Niles Ave. Fewer cars turning left would reduce the time at the 4-way stop on Maiden and Lincoln Ave. and open up the path for cars heading to the back drop-off area. This would be greatly appreciated!

Wonderful Unity Day at Upton-

We celebrated Unity Day on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20. This was a day to wear & share ORANGE to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion and to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying.

Here are a few of the ways we celebrated & raised awareness:

UPTO covered the halls in orange post-it notes with positive messages about kindness.
Tuesday advisories included interactive lessons about anti-bullying (like an escape room, a games show, and practice being up-standers).
Bulletin boards around the building with messages and strategies to combat bullying and promote kindness.
Resources to address bullying in grade level google classrooms that will stay available.
Music at lunch with a chance to sign a wall size poster if you pledge not to bully and a raffle for orange shirts in honor of Dave Leonard & 'all means all'. (To be in the raffle students were nominated by peers for being kind/ doing positive things for others; shirts are still available for $10)
Therapy dog (Holly) visit with her owner & former teacher, Michelle Vukorpa

Band Concert Next Wednesday-

Next Wednesday in the John & Dede Auditorium at St. Joseph High School beginning at 7:00 PM is the Upton Band Concert. It will be a great concert!

From the desk of the UPTO -

Note: This event is for new parents to St. Joseph Public schools in the 2021-2022 school year.

Late Start Next Wednesday-

Wednesday, October 27th, is a late start. School begins at 8:45am. Doors open at 8:15 AM and breakfast is available at that time.

BOP Fundraiser-

From the Desk of Our Food Service Department-

10/25/21 – Mini Corn Dogs, Muffin, Salad Cup, Broccoli, fruit choice
10/26/21 – Hot Dog, Salad Cup, French Fries, fruit choice
10/27/21 – Rotini Pasta, Choice of Sauce, Green Beans, Breadstick, fruit choice
10/28/21 – Turkey Bacon Club, Italian Pasta Salad, Baked Chips, Salad Cup, Fruit Choice

10/29/21 – Cheese Bosco Sticks, Dipping Sauce, Steamed Broccoli, Salad Cup, Fruit Choice

Quote of the Week -

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Lunch next week

Friday, October 15, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 10-15-21

Folks,

No school this Monday, October 18th -

SJPS will not have school for students in grades Pre K-12th grades as our staff is having a professional development day.

From the Desk of our Guidance Department: Tuesday Advisory & Wednesday Unity Day-

Upton Middle School will be having an anti-Bullying advisory on Tuesday. Our students really do a pretty good job overall, but we can always improve!

Unity Day

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021

WEAR AND SHARE ORANGE

to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion and to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying.

At school we will be doing lessons in our Tues 10/19 advisories on Unity Day and Bully Prevention. We are also sharing resources with the students over the week that will continue to be available to them in their grade level google classroom.

Here are some good resources for parents from the Pacer Center:

Upton Choir Concert-

We will have a Fall choir concert at the John & Dede Auditorium at SJHS next Tuesday, October 19th at 7:00 PM. All of our performing arts concerts will put a smile on your face!

Dr. Brown session on Monday, October 18th-

Don't miss this opportunity to see Dr. Brown, an inspiring and relevant speaker coming to SJPS:

St. Joseph Public Schools, in partnership with the St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation and United Federal Credit Union is excited to host Dr. Adolph Brown to speak on diversity, equity, and inclusion with educators, parents and students, business leaders, and the community. Dr. Brown will guide you on a journey that will provide opportunities for self-exploration of implicit biases and provide the tools to adjust automatic patterns of thinking as well as strategies to eliminate discriminatory behaviors.

You are invited to attend one of two sessions on Monday, October 18 at the John and DeDe Howard Auditorium at St. Joseph High School.

Click on a session below to sign-up (families are welcome to attend):

October 18, 3:00-4:30 pm

DrAdolphBrown3.eventbrite.com

October 18, 6:00 -7:30 pm

DrAdolphBrown6.eventbrite.com

Tickets are limited to 500 per session. The deadline to sign-up to attend one of the events is today Friday, October 15.

*Please note: in accordance with guidelines set forth by the St. Joseph Board of Education, face masks will be required.

Boys and Girls Club -

Everyday after school from 3:00 - 5:30 PM the Boys and Girls Club have programming at Upton Middle School. Any student interested should pick up an application in the Upton office. The fee is $5 to join.

From Our IT Department-

Interact Club Halloween Costume Drive-

The UMS Interact Club is collecting New & Gently Used Halloween costumes to benefit clients of MDHHS between now and Oct. 22nd. All donations can be dropped in the main office at Upton!!

Clubs at Upton-

Check out the Upton website tab for all the Clubs we offer at Upton Middle School: https://sjschools.org/upton-clubs-overview

Student Senate Veterans Breakfast-

Hello SJPS family!

SJHS Student Senate is excited to bring back the annual Veterans Breakfast this year! We could use your help spreading the word about this event. Please share the invitation below with all Veterans in your life. We are looking forward to honoring the Veterans in our community!

Thank you for your help spreading the word!

Parenting in the Digital Age Offering -

Late Start Next Wednesday, Oct. 20th-

We will have a late start next Wednesday, October 20th. School begins at 8:45 AM. The school opens and breakfast is available beginning at 8:15 AM.

Drop Off Reminder-

Morning drop off is still at an all time high. DO NOT turn left into the front of the building off of Maiden Lane. No exceptions! That seems to continue to be a huge problem and parents cannot exit the parking lot if that line is backed up. Thank you for your help! - Mr. Jeffers