Mandarino Minutes post for 10-1-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,



Count Day (No Late-Start this Wednesday)-
This Wednesday, October 3rd in the state of Michigan is student count day.  We will not have a late-start this Wednesday.

National Custodian Day, October 2nd-
Tuesday, October 2nd is national custodian day!  Upton has 4 wonderful men who work hard to make Upton look tidy and also go above and beyond for students on a daily basis. We salute Jeff Kennedy, Wes Eichler, Murel Lowe, and Joe Martin for their dedication and hard work!

Left to right:  Mr. Martin, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Eichler

Chess Club-
Chess club will take place this Thursday, October 4th and Thursday, October 18th after school until 4:45 PM.  All ability levels are welcome and those that want to learn are also encouraged to give it a try.  This club meets in Mrs. Walsworth's room (room 219).

Dungeons and Dragons Club-
This Wednesday after school until 4:00 PM is the Dungeons and Dragons club in the media center.

Choir Concert on October 11th-
Next Thursday, October 11th is the choir concert at 7:00 PM in the John & Dede Auditorium at St. Joseph High School.  Mrs. Gray-Roll will feature all grade levels in their first concert of the year.

Builders Club next Wednesday, October 10th- 
The Builders Club (a service club at Upton) will have its kick-off meeting next Wednesday, October 10th from 2:50-3:30 PM in the Foods room (room 309) at Upton.  This club is open to all grade levels and is a wonderful way to give back to others.

Signing a student out/Student coming in-
When you are signing a student out for an appointment you must enter the building, but when the student returns they may come in themselves to sign back in.  If you have any questions about passes or appointments, please email or call Mrs. Conway.  Her email is: gconway@sjschools.org

Guidance Blog-

Ms. Toth, Mrs. Peterson, Mrs. Fairchild, and Mrs. Menke invite you to take a look at their blog.  This blog will have different features and resources from time to time, so bookmarking it might be a good idea.  Here is the link to their sight:    https://umsguidance.weebly.com/

Ms. Toth

Mrs. Peterson

Mrs. Fairchild

Mrs. Menke

Quote of the week-

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.  Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." - Helen Keller

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-24-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Picture Day Wednesday, September 26th-
This picture day is for students that were not at Start-up day in August.  This is not picture retake day. (That will be at a date in the future and I will let you know that date)  Picture packages were sent home last week with your daughter/son.  Every student regardless of whether they are purchasing pictures will be having their picture taken for their student ID and the yearbook.  Forms are available in the office.

M-Step Spring Results Parent Report-
Your daughter/son's Spring 2018 M-Step reports will be coming home with them today.  Please ask them for them when you see them this afternoon/evening.

Late Start this Wednesday-
School will begin at 8:45 AM.  Breakfast will be served at 8:15 AM.  Supervision is available beginning at 7:15 AM.  Buses run one hour later.

Home football game this Friday-
Please make sure that your son/daughter is in the Upton section or under your supervision for this Friday's home football game.  We allow students to use the concession stand at the end of each quarter and halftime.  (Not during the game action.)  We also ask that students do not bring footballs to the game.  This game is the Team Up against cancer game.  Survivors will walk with the cheerleaders and band members at 6:30 PM.

Dungeons and Dragons Club Meeting-
This Wednesday, September 26th from 2:45-4:00 PM will be the first Dungeons & Dragons Club meeting of the 2018-2019 school year in the media center.  This is open to all grade levels. 

Spanish Club Begins this Week-
The introductory class begins tomorrow, Tuesday, September 25th in room 406 from 3:00-4:00 PM.  The Intermediate class begins Wednesday, September 26th from 3:00-4:00 PM in room 406.  If you have any questions, please contact Cynthia Ellspermann at Cellspermann@sjschools.org

Quote of the week-
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong.  Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." - George Washington Carver

Have a great week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes Post for 9-20-18 (addition to the week)

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Picture Day-
Picture day for those that were not at Start-up day is next Wednesday, September 26th.  Forms are available in the office.  (Forms were also mailed home in August)  Everyone regardless of ordering pictures will have their picture taken for their student ID, and the yearbook.

Dave Ramsey Club-

We are excited to announce a new after school club at Upton!

What:  Dollars and Cents Club (The Dave Ramsey Personal Finance Course for Middle School)

Dates:  Each Tuesday, Oct. 2 through mid-January

Time:  2:45 - 4:00 p.m.

Place:  Room 207

Who:  All Upton students are welcome to apply

Objectives:  Dave Ramsey’s Five Foundations -

1. Save an emergency fund
2. Get/stay out of debt
3. Pay cash for your first car
4. Pay cash for college
5. Build wealth and give

Advisor:  Mrs. Reck (kreck@sjschools.org)

Applications due by Friday, Sept. 28

• Pick up an application from Mrs. Reck or apply online at  https://goo.gl/forms/mytiD96gyuqgxUfb2
• The course is limited to 20 students.  If more than 20 students apply, the applications will be accepted via a lottery.
• 
  

Special thanks to Tri-ing for Life for their generous sponsorship!

Elizabeth Gousetis-
In yesterday's Herald Palladium Upton Middle School 8th grader Elizabeth Gousetis was recognized for her baking skills.  Elizabeth won several awards at the youth fair this summer.  The article does a great job of talking about the family tradition in the family!  The article appears on the front page of the Food section.  Great job Elizabeth!

Fish Hatchery/Water Plant Chaperones-

We are looking for chaperones for our Salmon in the Classroom field trip on October 25th. We will leave Upton at 8:00am and head to the Water Filtration Plan here in St. Joseph and the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, and then return to Upton by 2:30 pm. It is a great field trip which the kids really enjoy, and we need as many parents as possible to make our day a success. Please let me know if you are willing & able to chaperone. All chaperones need to complete a Volunteer Consent Form and have it submitted to the office by September 25th.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Jenna Francis

(269) 926-3469

Bonus quote-
"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." - Abraham Lincoln

Have a good rest of the week,
Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-17-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Thanks for coming to Back to School Night- 
We appreciate you coming to Back to School Night last Tuesday evening.  The staff really enjoyed sharing a bit about themselves and their curriculum.

Late Start Wednesday-
This Wednesday, September 19th is the first late start of the school year.  School will begin at 8:45 AM.  Bus routes will run exactly one hour later than normal.  Breakfast is available starting at 8:15 AM. We still have supervisors here at 7:15 AM as normal.

UPTO-
The Upton PTO (UPTO) does not do a formal fundraiser.  They just ask for a donation that your family feels comfortable in giving.  Please make checks out to St. Joseph Public Schools and put UPTO in the subject line.  Any donation is really appreciated!

We have our first UPTO meeting of the school year this Thursday, September 20th at noon in the Upton conference room.  We welcome all parents if your schedule allows.

Passports for appointments-
If your daughter/son has to leave the school for any reason, we request that you have them bring in a note before school starts and a passport will be given to them.  The passport is put in a metal basket by the door when they leave.  This passport also serves as their pass back into class when they return from their appointment.  Students must be signed out by an adult, but they may return without an adult coming in with them.   If the doctor/dentist has a return slip we appreciate having those on file.

Bus Passes-
Please have your son/daughter submit a bus pass by noon on the day they are requesting to ride home with a friend.  Some of our busses are full and can't take bus passes.  Having this submitted by noon gives the students time to make alternate plans.  We can't honor a bus pass brought to us at the end of the day.

Spanish Club-
The registration deadline for Spanish Club is this Friday, September 21st.  We have an introductory class and an intermediate class.  The signup flyer is in the office for those that are interested.  Mrs. Ellspermann does a wonderful job with this!

Buzzer System-
Just a reminder that every school in the district had buzzer systems installed over the summer by our main entrances.  When you are visiting, please push the button and one of the secretaries will be with you as soon as they can.

Upton Bears Student Credit Union-
The Upton Bear Student Credit Union is a division of Honor Credit Union.  It will be open every Tuesday during our lunch periods very soon.  We have informational handouts in our office if students are interested in opening an account.

Community Corkboard-
Our district has a page that advertises outside group activities.  Here is the link to that page:  https://www.sjschools.org/sjps-parents/community-cork-board-district

Quote of the week 
(in honor of Constitution Day)-
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

Have a great week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-10-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Back to School Night-
Where: Upton Middle School
When:  Tuesday, September 11th from 7:00-8:30 PM
Who:  Parents only
What:  A time to hear about the school year from your daughter/son's teachers.  Please ask your son/daughter who they have for their 1st hour teacher and report to that room to receive the schedule/map and to start the evening.

Mike Smith Assembly today-

Please ask your son/daughter about the assembly today at Upton Middle School. Mike Smith gave a lot of great advice and motivation to our students to start out the school year.  Things to ask about:  

• Wishing, Talking, or Doing
• Their dream
• How they are going to treat people
• The person they will be remembered as 
• Wanting things or wanting expeiences

We had many other great takeaways, but these would be some good conversation starters around the dinner table.  This assembly kept over 700 kids on the edge of their seats for one hour this morning. 

Interact Meeting Kickoff-

The first Interact Meeting of the year is tomorrow morning at 7:10 AM in the media center.  The interact club is open to all Upton Middle School Students.  Interact is the middle school version of the Rotary club, and is a service club.  

Mike Wagner Glow in the Dark 5K Walk/Run-

Please click on this link to find out more about this event that will happen on Saturday, September 29th.  Link:  Mike Wagner Memorial 5K Walk/Run Link

Quote of the week-

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." - Mark Twain

Have a great week and see some of you tomorrow,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 9-6-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Back to School Night-
Next Tuesday beginning at 7:00 PM we will have the Upton Middle School Back to School Night.  You will get the opportunity to go through your daughter/son's schedule and hear each teacher talk about their respective class.  They will talk briefly about communication, curriculum, etc.  This evening is for parents only.  Each class will be about 11 minutes with some passing time in-between.  Parking is always crowded that evening, so please allow enough time to enter.  

Dropping off in the morning-

I hope you have been following Mr. Jeffers messages about drop-off in the AM.  Student safety is what is most important!  We ask that you do not drop your students off in the street on Maiden Lane.  Please continue to pull forward, drop off, and remind your daughter/son to be ready to get out as soon as your car comes to a complete stop.  We appreciate your patience and allowing extra time for this process.

NWEA testing next week-

We will begin NWEA testing next week at Upton.  This will give us a baseline to see growth from Fall to Spring.  

Home Football games-

We ask for your help at Friday night football games.  Students must be with you or in the Upton Middle School section during home football games.  Our section is on the South end of the stadium (end where the scoreboard is).  Students should not play football behind the stadium, bring footballs to toss around, and we ask that our students use the concession stand at the end of quarters and at the half.  We have at least two adults in this section every game.

Special Education News-

Here is a link from our special education department :

https://spedsjps.blogspot.com/ Mrs. Reisig and her staff do

a wonderful job!

Mike Smith assembly this Monday, Sept. 10th-

Our wonderful SJPS foundation is sponsoring a motivational speaker at Upton Middle School and SJHS this Monday, September 10th.  Mike has spoken to thousands of schools nationwide.  Here is a link to Mike Smith's site: http://www.mikesmithlive.com/#intro

Quote of the day-

"Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it."  - Maya Angelou

Have a great rest of the week,

Mr. Mandarino

Mandarino Minutes for 8-30-18

Dear Parents/Guardians,


Welcome Back-  
We hope you had a wonderful summer!  It was nice to see many of you last week at Start-up day!  We had over 600 students come through the school to walk through their schedules.

Start Time and End time-
School begins at 7:45 AM. We no longer begin the day with announcements, so class begins right away.  The day concludes at 2:40 PM.  Our secretaries are here from 7:00 AM-4:00 PM Monday-Friday.  If you need to leave a message before or after our number is: (269) 926-3400

New Faces at Upton-

Mrs. Beck- 7th and 8th Math

Mr. Bongiorno- 7th and 8th Math

Mrs. Britton- 8th grade Spanish

Mrs. LoPresti- 6th and 7th ELA

Mrs. Martin- 6th-8th Paraprofessional

Mrs. Menke- Guidance Secretary

Mrs. Portenga- 7th grade Science

Door Buzz In System-
Just a reminder, over the summer we had Security Buzzers installed at the main entrance of each school building.  When you plan to visit one of our schools, please use the button on the intercom for entrance to the main office.   

New Drop Off Procedure-
Please take a look at this(see link below) to see the new drop-off procedure at Upton.  We will no longer drop-off in the front of the building before school.  Click here:  Upton drop-off procedures

First Day of School Gathering Areas Before School-
6th grade- Cafeteria
7th grade- Auditorium
8th grade- Maize Gym
New students to St. Joseph Public Schools who were not at start-up day will meet in the conference room by the office.
We have adults out helping students find their way to these areas.

Dates to Remember-

August 31st and September 3rd- School Closed for the Labor Day weekend

September 4th- First day of School

September 11th- Back to School Night

September 26th- Picture Day (For those not at Start-Up day)

Quote of the week-

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes.  It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” - Wade Boggs

Have a great weekend and see your daughter/son on Tuesday!

Mr. Mandarino