Mandarino Minutes: March 2023

Friday, March 31, 2023

Mandarino Minutes for 3-31-23

Dear Upton Middle School Families,

End of the Third Marking Period -

Next Wednesday, April 5th is the end of 3rd quarter.
Thursday, April 6th is the beginning of the 4th quarter

PSAT 2023 for 8th graders -

Eighth Grade Parents and Guardians,

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, your 8th Grader will take the PSAT, a test to indicate preparedness for high school, and later for college and career.

The PSAT 8 is the first test in the SAT Suite of Assessments. It sets a readiness baseline, allowing students and teachers to pinpoint areas for focused practice as students progress through high school.

Click on the link, Preparing for the PSAT document, which is helpful for both parents and students.

Click on this link for a breakdown of test components. PSAT: Test Details

Please make every effort to have your student in attendance and on time this day. If your student shows up late, he/she will not be able to test.

Thank you!

Preparing for the PSAT

Test Day Schedule - Wednesday April 12th

Students will report to their 1st hour class for attendance
Head to Blue Gym at 7:50

If you are bringing your own lunch, please bring it with you to your testing center

Students will test in an alphabetically assigned seat. Each student’s name is on a printed tag located at the assigned table.
Testing will begin at 8:00. Late students will not be admitted.
Students will eat lunch immediately after the test.

What to Bring on Test Day

At least two No. 2 pencils with soft erasers -- NO pens or mechanical pencils will be allowed!
Wear layers (sweatshirts or hoodies are fine). Students will NOT be able to bring coats into the testing room
Calculators will be provided.

What NOT to bring on Test Day

NO Electronic equipment

No cell phones allowed
No personal computing devices like laptops, notebooks, bluetooth devices, or tablets
No Cameras
No Timers
No audio players/recorders
No wearable technology like digital watches, including smartwatches that can be used to record, transmit, or receive information; or any other prohibited devices

NO backpacks

NO additional learning aides

Highlighters, rulers, earplugs, dictionaries or other books, pens or colored pencils, pamphlets and papers of any kind, including scratch paper.

News from the Guidance Department -

CAC at Upton -

Thank you to the Child Advocacy Center for joining us this week. In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Month in April, our students participated in the Statewide "wear blue day" kickoff. We also made "pinwheels for prevention" in BEAR time this week.

BOP Fundraiser -

The St Joseph Band and Orchestra Parents Association is hosting a fundraiser for the Bands and Orchestras with Silver Beach Pizza next Tuesday, April 4.

Track Apparel -

There are two options for people to buy Track Apparel (link is below) due to the HS already starting and Upton officially starting next week.

The first deadline is this Sunday, April 2nd at midnight. Delivery should be approximately 2 weeks (April 12 or soon after).

The store will reopen on Monday, April 3rd for the week and close on Sunday, April 9th at midnight to ensure orders are able to be delivered within approximately 2 weeks (April 19th or soon after).

https://bearstrack23.itemorder.com/shop/product/30963030/

Congratulations to the Wrestling

Team at State -

The following Upton students went to State for wrestling:

Jacob Brown

Logan Case

Alec Emery

Alex Hochstetler

Gabe King

Caden LeClear

Keegan LeClear

Brayden Malone

Mason Morey

Miles Morey

Collin Sahs

Nathan Schmitt

The following students finished in the top six at state:

Keegan LeClear 3rd

Alec Emery 4th

Mason Morey 5th

Brayden Malone 5th

Gabe King 6th

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:

Livia Gomes - 6th Grade

Laina Roche - 7th Grade

Logan Webb - 8th Grade

Educator of the Week -

Baseball Players Needed -

SJBSA is looking for a few more 14U baseball players for this spring season! Email Ryan Strain at president@sjbsa.org to register before Sunday. For additional information check out www.sjbsa.org.

Late Start Next Week -

We have a late start next Wednesday, April 5th. School begins at 8:45 AM. Doors open at 8:15 AM and breakfast is available at that time also.

Note: We do not have a late start on Wednesday, April 12th.

Hot Lunch this week -

Monday - Chicken patty sandwich, potato wedges

Tuesday - Beef nachos or baked potato, steamed broccoli

Wednesday - Chicken tenders, waffles, hash browns

Thursday - Penne pasta with Alfredo or marinara sauce, steamed broccoli, garlic bread

Friday - Bosco sticks with marinara sauce, steamed green beans

*Hot lunches served with choice of milk, fruit and salad bar.

Quote of the Week -

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Mandarino Minutes for March 16, 2023

Dear Upton Middle School Families,

Spring Break! -

Spring Break next week! Just a reminder that we do not have school tomorrow (Friday, March 17). Please take this time to enjoy your kids, rejuvenate, relax, and have your kids unplug as much as possible! Enjoy your vacation and see you on Monday, March 27th. Enjoy!

2024 Washington DC meeting 7th grade Parents...Mark your Calendar -

There will be a parent ONLY meeting on 4/13/2023 at 6:30 PM in the Upton Auditorium. This is for parents of current 7th graders only.

Early Arrival at School -

This is a reminder that when students are dropped off in the morning, before school starts, they MUST enter through the back doors or doors by the flagpoles, not the office. If a student comes to the office before 7:45am (or 8:45am on late start days), they will be directed to another entrance. The doors open at 7:15am/8:15am. Thank you for your cooperation.

UPTO Meeting -

The next PTO meeting will be on Tuesday, March 28th at 8:30am in the Upton Conference Room. Hope to see you there!

Upton Soccer Club -

Check out the link below to the Upton Middle School

girls soccer club spirit shop:

https://63802.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Upton Bears Student CU- February Winner -

Congratulations to Emma Smith, the February winner of Upton Bears Student Credit Union, a student-led program affiliated with Honor Credit Union. Upton Bears Student CU is open every Tuesday during all lunch periods, outside the cafeteria and offers great student incentives to promote regular saving habits to Start Small and Save Big! To help kick start those habits, all new members will receive $15 if they open their membership with at least $1! To open an account for the student(s) in your life, membership forms can be downloaded here or picked up in the school office. All existing members will receive $5 for making their first deposit at Upton Bears SCU. To encourage establishing a regular savings habit, there is a prize box where students can choose a prize with every deposit they make. All deposits are entered into a monthly drawing to win a gift basket with a $25 gift card. And, for a grand prize every deposit is also entered into the annual drawing for either an iPad Mini or a $250 deposit into their savings account at the end of the year! So, the more deposits made, the more chances to win! To learn more about Honor CU’s Student Credit Union program, click here.

Emma Smith- February winner

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:

6th Grade - Liyana Meeks

7th Grade - Owen De Jong

8th Grade - Brayan Lopez-Meza

Educator of the Week -

Can Drive at Upton -

Builders Club would like to host a can drive for the month of March! Advisory classes will collect canned goods starting Monday March 6th - Friday March 31st. The advisory class that collects the most cans by the end of March will win a donut party!

Late Start Wednesday-

We will have a late start on Wednesday, March 29th. School will begin at 8:45am and doors open at 8:15am.

Prospective Parent Meeting -

We will have a Prospective Student and Parent meeting on Thursday, March 30th beginning at 1:00pm. This meeting is only for families that are not currently attending any St Joseph Public School but plan to attend Upton in the fall 2023. If you know of a family, please have them contact the Upton offfice. This is NOT for 5th graders already attending one of our elementary schools. Those students will have a separate meeting and visit. Please call the Upton Office at 269-926-3400 and let us know if you plan to attend.