Dear Parents/Guardians,
Upton Equestrian Team-
The Upton equestrian team took 2nd place yesterday at a 13-hour event. We are very proud of the girls and their tremendous effort.
7th grade trip to the Field Museum-
The social studies teachers reported that the students were really well behaved and enjoyed their trip to the Field Museum this past Thursday. A special thanks to all the parent volunteers who chaperoned the event.
8th grade Farewell and Picture-
Please drop off your kindergarten & 8th grade wallet size photo by this Wednesday, May 23rd. 8th grade farewell will be on Friday, June 1st at 6:30 PM. The dance will be from 8:00-10:00 PM and will start shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony.
Upton Baking Class-
We have a great opportunity coming to Upton next week for those who love baking and learning new cooking skills! The high school baking club is sponsoring a baking class on Wednesday, May 30th from 3:00 - 4:30 in the Upton foods room. The club members will be demonstrating a delicious dessert recipe and then students will be making the dessert. The class is limited to 25 students and the cost of the class is $5. Contact Mrs. Hunnell to sign up for the class. Payment should be made at the time of signing up.
6th grade Elephant Fundraiser-
The 6th grade ELA classes raised a total of $1,450 for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. The students raised $725, and that amount was matched by Dr. Ann St. Amand. The students were able to sponsor 29 orphaned elephants with their contributions! On a side note, there just happened to be 29 baby elephants in the orphanage (mostly orphaned due to poaching) so we just sponsored all of them.
Robotics for current 6th & 7th graders-
Please find attached information on how to request a sign-up package for Upton middle school robotics. Please consider joining the Upton Joe Bots for the exciting upcoming season of robotics. Upton hosts three robotics teams and can accept a total of 45 students, so sign-up early! All meetings will be held at the Saint Joseph high school.
Our main robotic season runs from September 8th - December 22nd. We then hold some off-season activities the rest of the school year and even next summer for community service projects. If our teams make the cut by the end of December, we will be invited to the world robotics championship in Detroit next April.
We will challenge your student in designing, building, programming, marketing and management of a tight schedule to meet our competition challenges. We will prepare the students for the riggers of high school robotics. Please be aware that robotics is a commitment of time and attendance, the same as any school sport. In fact, your dedicated student can earn their high school letter in robotics!
Please also consider joining us as a team mentor to help our brilliant young engineers with their progress. No technical skills are required to be a mentor, just the passion for seeing our students succeed.
Choir Concert-
We will have the Upton Spring Choir Concert next Wednesday, May 30th at the John & Dede Howard Auditorium at SJHS beginning at 7:00 PM. It will be a fun and entertaining concert.
Southwest Michigan Mini Maker Faire-
Coming June 2nd at Whirlpool Centennial Park in St. Joseph is Southwest Michigan Mini Maker Faire. Students will show their woodworking, robotics, coding, etc. to the visitors. They will also have a blacksmith present, and steamrolling printmaking. It will be a great event!
Here is the link to the page: https://swm.makerfaire.com/
Diving opportunity again-
Try Diving! The SJHS boys' and girls' diving teams are hosting one more Try Diving night at the SJHS pool tomorrow evening, May 22nd from 7:30-9:00 PM. If you've attended before, you are welcome to come out again and continue learning the basics! If you haven't tried yet, but want to give diving a try and learn more about it, then join us! The boy's diving team is especially looking for 8th grade boys who may be interested in joining the boy's diving team as a Freshman next year, so if you have any interest, then come out and meet the team and give it a try! No experience necessary. If you can't attend but want more information, please email Brandy Maynard at brmayn@yahoo.com.
Boxtops for the B.O.P.-
The Band and Orchestra Parents Association (BOP) collects Box Tops to support the Upton bands and orchestras! Please drop off any Box Tops you have to a band or orchestra teacher! You don't have to be in band or orchestra to donate your Box Tops! You can download Box Tops collection sheets from here:
https://www.boxtops4education.com/about/collection-sheets
Summer Mowing Job opportunity-
Part-time position: 20 hours/week
Days and times will vary depending on the weather
Must be 18 years of age or older
2 positions available
Employment Dates: Monday May 14th through August 24th.
If you know of someone interested, please pass along the information and have them contact
Soccer Camp for Girls and Boys-
Here is a link to a boys and girls soccer camp opportunity run by our varsity boys soccer coach, John Brown.
Soccer camp link
No School next Monday, May 28th-
In observance of Memorial Day, we will not have school next Monday, May 28th.
Quote of the week-
Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino
