Mandarino Minutes for Dec. 12, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Happy Snow Day-
I hope that your neighborhood is now uncovered! :)

Concerts-
Tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 13th) will be the 7th & 8th grade orchestras and 6th-8th grade choir concert at St. Joseph High School's auditorium beginning at 7:00 P.M.  Wednesday evening at 7:00 P.M. will be the middle school & high school band concerts at St. Joseph High School's auditorium. Both concerts should be very entertaining!  Our IT department is also offering live streaming for those family members that are unable to attend.  Below are the links:

Upton Middle School Winter Concert: Tuesday December 13^th  @ 7:00

https://youtu.be/2bDFiSQfmr4

SJPS Winter Band Concert: Wednesday December 14^th @ 7:00

https://youtu.be/L9aCYgrXXI8

SJHS Choir and Orchestra: Monday December 19^th @ 7:00

https://youtu.be/sems0SfgJRQ

7th & 8th grade Girls Basketball meeting-
Any 7th or 8th grade girl interested in girls basketball we will have a meeting before school at 8:30 A.M. in the Blue gym.  Coach Bloodworth will be talking to the girls about the upcoming tryouts and season that will begin right after the break.

Holiday Luncheon-

We will have our annual holiday luncheon this Wednesday, December 14th.  We will have ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, cake, and more.  It is the normal lunch price.

Upcoming Dance-
We will have a 7th & 8th grade dance on Friday, January 6th from 6:00-8:00 P.M.

Late Start Wednesday-
We will have a late start this Wednesday, December 14th.  Buses will run one hour later and breakfast will be served starting at 8:15 A.M.

Thanks for your support-
Our media center staff is very appreciative of your support of our book fair.  Your support and generosity will help us purchase more books for our media center.

Quote of the week-

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

- Gail Devers

Have a good week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 12-5-16

Dear Parents/Guardians,


All-State Anna-
Congratulations to Anna Miesse for being selected to the All-State orchestra!  Anna is the only middle school student to be selected at UMS! This is not an easy task, and is the product of a lot of hard work and practice!

Joe Bots-
Congratulations to teams 11855 and 8513 for a great competition at Coloma on Saturday!  Team 8513 was chosen as an alliance partner and lost a close match in the semifinals.  Team 8513 also came away with the PTC Design Award!  A great job and effort was put in by all of our Joe Bots! :)

Upton Equestrian Team Meeting-
This Thursday, December 8th beginning at 6:00 P.M. in Ms. Kietzerow's room 212 we will have a student & parent meeting for any students interested in being a part of the Upton Equestrian team.

Book Fair-
The book fair continues through this Friday, December 9th.  We want to thank all the parents who have volunteered to work a shift, and to the students who have browsed the fair.  These book fairs help us to be able to provide more books for our media center.

Personal Responsibility-

The guidance department went into all the 7th grade science classes to discuss personal responsibility last week.  As part of this presentation, all the students had some “homework” - each student is to come up with 1 way to be more responsible at home & 1 way to be more responsible at school. Starting Mon 12/5 – Thurs 12/15 the students will track how they are doing on these goals, get a parent signature, and turn in the paper on Friday 12/16 to his/her science teacher.  

Hour of Code-

This Friday, December 9th the entire student body will take part in the international day of code.  Each student will work for a portion of time on coding and be able to go at their comfort level from beginner to advanced.  This is the third annual event held here at Upton. Here is a link to the Hour of code:  https://hourofcode.com/us

Dates to Remember:

-  Tuesday, December 6th- 6th grade "informance"

-  Wednesday, December 7th & 14th- Late Start Days

-  Tuesday, December 13th-  Choir & 7th/8th grade Orchestra Concert

-  Wednesday, December 14th-  MS/HS Band Concert

Quote of the week:

"Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble." - John Madden

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-28-16

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Family-
We hope that you all had a great time this past extended Thanksgiving weekend!  It always fun for families to get together!


Logo Contest due date is this Friday-
The 2017 Ren Baldwin Logo contest submissions are due this Friday, December 2nd.  We have advertised this on our morning announcements, and posters are up in the hallway as well.  Please see the attachment in the email I sent today.

7th grade vision screening-
This Friday, December 2nd the Berrien County Health Department does their annual 7th grade vision screening.  

Roger's & Martins helps Upton Middle School-

For Roger’s Foodland:  Save your Roger’s Foodland receipts dated from September to February 24, 2017 and turn them in to the Roger’s box in the Uptonoffice.  The more we are able to collect, the more Free educational awards we can earn for our school.

For Martin’s Supermarket:  Sign-up at www.martins-supermarkets.com OR at any Martin’s Customer Service Counter and provide our school PLU# which is 50402.  Each time your Advantage Card is scanned through March 31, 2017, your purchases automatically earn our school Free educational awards!

Book Fair-

Join us in the media center for the book fair starting today running through Friday, December 9. Students are welcome to browse and purchase before school and after school. Parents are welcome to stop in anytime between 7:15-3:45 p.m. 

You can support our school library while you shop for great books! Click to access the online book fair . The dates of the online book fair are:  Upton Online Fair: November 23 – December 6. 

For Parents:  Resources about the importance of reading, great middle school titles and encouraging reluctant readers. 

http://www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible/

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/reading-resources-and-help/ages-11-13

If parents would like to volunteer for the book fair, they can email Michelle Humes, Secondary Media Specialist at ahumes@sjschools.org. 



Equestrian Club Meeting-
A student and parent meeting for anyone interested in being in the Equestrian Club will be next Thursday, December 8 at 6pm in room 212 (Ms. Kietzerow's room) at Upton Middle School.

Tutoring continues-

Just a reminder that we have free NHS tutoring on Wednesdays after school in our media center.  The high school also has free tutoring on Tuesdays & Thursdays as well in their media center from 3:00-4:00 P.M.  No appointment is necessary, but we do hope that the students come ready to learn.

Go Time going well-

We will have our 4th "Go Time" of the school year this Thursday, December 1st.  Our students and staff have been surveyed and we are working constantly to improve it each offering.  Students are really getting some neat opportunities to work on skills that they are struggling with, retake a test/quiz, catchup on their reading counts book, watch a planetarium show, etc.  These course offerings will continue to vary and evolve. 

Late Start Wednesday-

We will have a late start this Wednesday, November 30th.  In December we will have them on December 7th & 14th as well.

Dates to Remember-

-  6th grade Orchestra "Informance" will be on December 6th at 7:00 P.M. in the Upton Blue Gym

-  Upton Choir & Orchestra Concert will be on December 13th at 7:00 P.M. at the SJHS Auditorium

-  Middle & High School Band Concert will be on December 14th at 7:00 P.M. at the SJHS Auditorium

Quote of the week:

"Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does."- William James

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 11-21-16

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thanks for your Food Donations-
I know a lot of local families are going to be thankful for the donations that our students (along with you) gave to our local food drives.  We would like to thank you for your contributions!

1/2 day Wednesday-
We do have school this Wednesday, November 23rd.  Dismissal will be at 11:04 A.M.  It is an Upton tradition that we dress nice the day before Thanksgiving to honor all those that we are thankful for. :)

UPTO Donation & Meetings-

Remember that donations for the No Sale Fundraiser are still being accepted until December 15th with checks payable to SJPS.  These can be dropped off in the Upton office.  All meetings take place at noon in the large conference room at Upton. (Note: January's meeting however will begin at 10:00 as this is exam week)

Meeting dates:

Dec. 1st

January 26th at 10am

February 23rd

March 23rd

April 27th

May 25th

Upton Middle School Scholastic Book Fair-

Join us in the media center for the book fair starting Monday, November 28 running through Friday, December 9. Students are welcome to browse and purchase before school and after school. Parents are welcome to stop in anytime between 7:15-3:45 p.m. 

Take a look at this online Christmas shopping opportunity. The best part? You can support our school library while you shop for great books! Click to access the online book fair . The dates of the online book fair are:  Upton Online Fair: November 23 – December 6. 

For Parents:  Resources about the importance of reading, great middle school titles and encouraging reluctant readers. 

http://www.scholastic.com/worldofpossible/

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/reading-resources-and-help/ages-11-13

If parents would like to volunteer for the book fair, they can email Michelle Humes, Secondary Media Specialist at ahumes@sjschools.org. 

Career Day was a huge success-

The staff at Upton would like to thank all the wonderful parent presenters that we had last week at Career Day.  The kids enjoyed the day and were learning what it takes to explore different jobs.  Each 8th grader participated with 4 presenters.

Tutoring Wednesdays-

This Wednesday we will not have tutoring after school due to the Thanksgiving break, however our free NHS tutoring is every Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00 P.M. in the Upton Media Center.  

Before School Help & Printing-

If your son/daughter needs to get assistance before school or print a paper before school, please send them in with a note.  

Quote of the week-

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for November 14, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Thanks for coming-
The staff and I would like to thank you for attending parent-teacher conferences last Thursday.  It was really nice to visit with several of you and the teachers really enjoyed their visits with you.  If you were unable to attend your child will bring home their report card, NWEA report, and M-Step report later in the week. (I will send out an e-blast to tell you which day.)

Dropping off in the AM-
Please use extreme caution when dropping your student off in the morning at Upton.  We have had some driving that has been way too fast for our parking lot.  We want a safe and uneventful process. Please also do not drop your child off in the street of Maiden Lane.  We had a student almost hit last week, because it is so dark. 

Food Drive-

This Wednesday is the last day to donate to the Upton fall food drives for Emergency Shelter Services and Stuff a Truck.  Please consider donating non-perishable food items, toiletries, cleaners, and baby items to help those in need in our area.  Builders Club and the Student Council are sponsoring these drives, and the home room with the most items donated will win a doughnut or bagel party. 

8th grade Career Day this Wednesday-

Our 8th graders will particpate in 8th grade Career Day this Wednesday, November 16th.  We ask that our 8th graders dress as if they are going for a job interview for a job they really want. :)   Each student will hear from 4 different career adults from around Southwest Michigan.  Mrs. Lownds and Mrs. Codde have worked hard to plan a fun & educational morning for our students.

6th grade classes-

Our counseling/social work department went into 6gr Math classes to discuss being a good bystander or “up stander”.  We covered: what it means to be brave & stand up for others offline & online; learn to show empathy for those who’ve been cyberbullied & helping others when it occurs.

Here is a handout for parents to go along with the cyberbullying presentation:

https://d2e111jq13me73.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/6-12-familytip-cyberbullying_3.pdf

Interact 2nd Annual Career Evening-

This Thursday evening in the SJHS student center (where parent-teacher conferences were) from 6:00-8:00 P.M. our Interact Club is sponsoring a Career Night for any student interested in meeting with top professionals.  It will be an opportunity to ask about college and careers.

Community Corkboard-

Have you visited the district community corkboard in awhile?  Here is the link to various items:

https://www.sjschools.org/sjps-parents/community-cork-board-district

UPTO-

At the November meeting our UPTO accomplished the following:

-  Gave a cash donation toward FTC buying their own robots

-  Gave money to purchase a new label maker for the media center.

-  An email has gone out today from your grade level UPTO rep.

-  The next meeting is Thursday, December 1st at noon in the Upton Conference room.

Quote of the week:

"I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things." - Mother Teresa

Other Upcoming dates:

November 16th- District Late Start

November 16th- 6:30 P.M. Community Planetarium Night at UMS

November 23rd- 1/2 day for the district- 11:04 A.M. dismissal

November 28th- Upton Book Fair Begins

November 30th- District Late Start

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for November 7th, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Parent- Teacher Conferences-
Just another reminder that parent-teacher conferences will be held only on Thursday, November 10th from 12:30-4:00 P.M. and from 5:30-8:30 P.M.  The conferences will take place at high school's student center.  We have made a change and will be going paperless on the report cards.  You can view the final grades in PowerSchool.  Please bring a list of your son/daughter's teachers with you the night of conferences.  We will however be handing out M-Step reports from last Spring.

High School conferences will also be taking place at SJHS in the Field House for those of you that high school students as well.  Thursday, November 10th and Friday, November 11th are half-days for students.  Half-day dismissal is at 11:04 A.M.


Lest We Forget Veterans Assembly this Past Friday-
Our local Veterans group Lest We Forget presented to our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders on the importance of War dogs in the history of the military.  The students then had the opportunity for Q & A with our veteran/s.  The students asked excellent questions and were extremely well behaved.  Lest We Forget was very impressed with our student body.  Below is a picture of 7th grade Charlie Jones dressed in his grandfather's WWII outfit.  This Friday is Veterans Day.

Food Donations for our local people in need-

Knock-out Hunger and Stuff-A-Truck are two local non-profit groups that are gathering food for our local citizens who may be without food over the holiday season.  Our Builders Club and Student Council are jointly sponsoring this food drive.  Please consider donating canned goods, and other non-perishable items for this great cause!

Upton's Joe Bots-

The Joe Bots (Upton’s FIRST Tech Challenge team) as a fundraiser is doing a bottle/can drive to raise funds to purchase items such as pit cart accessories, electronic components, storage bins/boxes and display boards for the pit area at competition. A receptacle to collect cans and bottles is at the outside entry of Upton Middle School. Please consider dropping off your non-alcoholic cans & bottles before school.  The Upton robotics team has one month left to finish their robots. The middle school competition will be at Coloma Middle School on Saturday, December 3rd.

"GO Time" going well-

Our second GO Time 6th-12th grades went really well last week.  Students had that time to get some intervention and enrichment during the school day.  Our teachers are committed to giving the students real time assistance with their classes and also offering something different for other students.

Wednesday Thanksgiving Luncheon-

This Wednesday, November 9th will be an early Thanksgiving meal with turkey, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes, cranberries, dinner roll, ice cream, etc.  The cost is the same as the regular lunch price. ($2.90)

No Late Start this Week-

With conferences this week we will not have a late start this Wednesday.  We will have a late start on November 16th and November 30th.

One Honors breakfast this year-

Our wonderful UPTO in coordination with Upton Middle School will be offering one Honors breakfast this school year.  This breakfast will take place at the end of the 1st semester.  The breakfast will take place in February for those that make the semester honor roll.

Career Day-

Our 8th grade Career Day will be next Wednesday, November 16th.  Our coordinator, Mrs. Lownds, has many wonderful sessions lined up for the students.  Thanks to those that are volunteering on that day!

Planetarium Show next Wednesday-

We will have a community planetarium show next Wednesday, November 16th beginning at 6:30 P.M. The title of this show is "Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity."  Some of our students saw this show during GO time in the last few weeks.  Here is a link to the trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEeN74aqkLk

Quote of the week-  

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take many small steps.”- Helmut Schmidt

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 10-31-16

Dear Parents/Guardians,

End of the Marking Period-

The end of the Marking Period will be on Thursday, November 3rd.  The report card will be handed out at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  We only print out report cards at the end of the 1st marking period and at the end of the year.  2nd and 3rd marking period grades can be viewed online.  

Parent-Teacher Conferences-

Just another reminder that parent-teacher conferences will be held only on Thursday, November 10th from 12:30-4:00 P.M. and from 5:30-8:30 P.M.  The conferences will take place at high school's student center.  Thursday, November 10th and Friday, November 11th are half-days for students.  Half-day dismissal is at 11:04 A.M.

Congratulations to two Upton students-

Congratulations to George Weber,  and Norah Judge who were recently honored at Michigan State University for being top scoring students in the state of Michigan last year as 7th graders on the SATs or ACTs.  Pictured below is George Weber with Mrs. Gressley.  George was one of 22 students out of 300 that also wrote an essay about a teacher that was very influential to his education.  We are all very proud of George and Norah!

Career Day Help-

We are looking for 3-4 volunteers for our 8th grade Career Day on Wednesday, November 16th.  The time commitment would be about 8:00-10:00 A.M. on that morning.  If you are interested please email Mrs. Kristen Lownds at klownds@sjschools.org.

Tutoring on Wednesdays-

Just a reminder that we have free National Honor Society tutoring by high school students on Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00 P.M. in the Upton Media Center.  The tutors are also available at SJHS in their media center from 3:00-4:00 P.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Great concert last Thursday-

Our 7th-12th grade orchestra students put on a wonderful "spooktacular" concert!  Mrs. Cabanilla-Sinnett and Mr. Lokey did a really nice job putting together a fun, entertaining, and engaging concert!

7th & 8th grade Dance-

This Friday, November 4th from 6:00-8:00 P.M. is a 7th & 8th grade dance here at Upton Middle School.  Our Student council is the sponsor of this dance.  Admission is $4.00.

Picture Retakes-

This Thursday, November 3rd is picture retake day.  Please have your son/daughter bring their current picture package with them.

Lest We Forget this Friday-

Our Lest We Forget veterans will be sponsoring an assembly for our students this Friday, November 4th.  Their focus will be on War Dogs and the roles that they have played over history.  As we approach Veterans' Day this will be great for our students to get to interact with our veterans.

One-hour delays for November-

November 2nd (This Wednesday)

November 16th

November 30th

Quotes of the week:

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."- Ben Franklin

"Humility is attentive patience."- Simone Weil

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino