Mandarino Minutes: Mandarino Minutes for 11-4-22

Dear Upton Middle School Families,

Great Concert Last Evening-

Last evening we had a wonderful 7th & 8th grade orchestra concert at the John & Dede Howard Auditorium! Mrs. Cabanilla-Sinnett & Mr. Lokey along with the AIR's had the groups sounding awesome! I especially loved the last 8th grade song!

Bus Passes -

Bus passes are not allowed this school year at this time. We’ve received an increase in calls asking for students to ride home with friends. Unfortunately we cannot allow that due to full buses. Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions, please call our Transportation Department at 269-926-3900.

Parent Teacher Conferences-

Just another reminder that we will be returning to face-to-face conferences (open house style- no appointments) this year at the high school next Thursday, November 10th. They will be located in the Student Center at St. Joseph High School, with the following times: 12:30-4:00 pm and 5:30-8:30 pm. Please have the names of your daughter/son's teachers so you know which staff to visit. An e-blast went out a few days ago with a few more details as well.

Mock Bedroom at Parent-Teacher Conferences -

Career Day next Friday-

We will have our annual Career Day next Friday, November 11th. Each student will get to visit three professionals from Southwest Michigan to hear more about their careers and what it takes to get to that position.

Half Days next Thursday and Friday-

Next Thursday, November 10th and Friday, November 11th will be half days with dismissal at 11:00 AM.

From the Desk of the Guidance Department -

We are happy to promote post-secondary planning with your students. Here are some ways we are doing this here at Upton:

October was 'Michigan College Month'.

Michigan College Month is part of the American College Application Campaign, a national initiative with the goal to provide every graduating high school senior the opportunity to apply to college and for financial aid. Special focus is placed on assisting students who would be the first in their families to attend college and students who may not have otherwise seriously considered applying to college.

Each week in October we took a day to share and talk about college with our students.

We created this great bulletin board to share where our staff went to college:

As we start November, we are excited to announce that we are bringing back our All-School Career Day on Friday 11/11. We are excited to be welcoming over 40 presenters and professions! Your student will have an opportunity to see 3 different presenters of their choosing. Please encourage your student/s to dress their best and refrain from wearing hats (we will switch hat day to Thursday).

Left to right: Mrs. Southern, Mrs. Schweir, Mrs. Fairchild, Mrs. Mulliner

Joe Bots-

The Joe Bots kick off their 2022-2023 season at Lakeview Qualifier in Battle Creek on Saturday, November 12th. Teams have been strategizing how to win this year’s PowerPlay challenge. Your 2022-2023 Joe Bots are:

Team #1185 (Blue): Atharv Saxena, Charlotte Fisbeck, Connor Baker, Hank Fisbeck, Ian McKim, Josh Golladay, Justice Goodwin, Kaden Houser, Matthew Angeski, Patrick Pham, Riley Marshall, Trey Rusbasan, and Trent Hocking. Their robot's name is: Vaccinium

Team #8513 (Maize): Ako Stewart, Charlie Hackett, Brayan Lopez-Meza, Brianne Voglewede, Gavin Zelenock-Grove, Harrison Rimes, Idika Gupta, Kavya Singh, Logan Webb, Luca Berehulka-Stival, Rugved Raskar, Samika Singh, and Swarnali Basu. Their robot's name is: Mini Maizey

Team #13702 (White): Albert Pham, Ben Hall, Bennett Adams, Dhruv Singh, Divyang Verma, Eeshaan Ale, Henrique Garcia Giacomini, Kevin Svetlev, Matthew Svetlev, Roheen Patel, Seth Corwin, Teesha Nagar, and Wolf Knack. Their robot's name is: Blizzard

The next Qualifier meet is at Coloma on December 10, 2022. Come cheer us on!

Ask a Joe Bot to learn more about robotics. If you would like to see what we’re up to check out our YouTube channel.

Upstream Club-

Our Upton Upstream club this past week replaced a dead tree and planted an American Hazelnut. Dr. Ann St. Amand leads this group that meets Tuesdays after school. If you want more information please email Dr. Ann at algaewiz@gmail.com.

Ski & Snowboarding Club-

Ski Club is right around the bend. Sign-ups will be posted soon, but as always we start with the Ski Club Shirt Design Contest. Please have your designs submitted on time for voting.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xA_EkUVq4UbW7sdcm9fPOmTvpalp_77Wk5X00C2J5lo/edit

Any questions, please contact Mr. Brown at ibrown@sjschools.org

Students of the Week-

Upton staff votes each week on students that go above and beyond in the classroom. This week’s students of the week are:

Wolf Knack, Amelia Gibbons, Journey Smith

Educator of the Week at Upton-

Late Start Wednesday reminder-

This Wednesday is a late start. School begins at 8:45am. Buses run an hour late. Doors open at 8:15am.

Mamma Mia Musical Tickets -

As you might have heard, our high school students are performing the musical Mamma Mia! If you would like to attend this you can purchase tickets at this link: https://sjmusical.ludus.com/index.php