Mandarino Minutes

Friday, February 12, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 2/12/21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

No School this Friday and Monday-

We will not have school on Friday, February 12th for Teacher Professional Development Day and the following Monday, February 15th in honor of Presidents' Day.

Half Day on Tuesday-

½ Day for Students - 11am Dismissal - Staff Vaccination Day at the BCHD

Wind Up/Yearbook/Journalism visit-

Our High School Journalism Student Leaders will be visiting next Tuesday morning and visiting with our 8th graders.

Late Start this Wednesday -

The district will have a late start this Wednesday, February 10th. School begins at 8:45 AM. Please note that the buses will run one hour later and breakfast at Upton will be available starting at 8:15 AM.

February 14th - Happy Valentine’s Day!

Wear Red or Pink on Tuesday for Valentine’s Day

Guidance Blog -

Please click on this link for this week's guidance post:

Guidance Post for 2-11-21

KINDNESS MATTERS!! 2/17/21 is Random Acts of Kindness day, but kindness matters EVERYDAY! Please take a moment to practice kindness and look for others practicing kindness around our school. If you need some ideas, check out the February calendar in the hall on the way to lunch. When you see someone doing something kind, please complete this form and the person's name will be added to the KIND bulletin board by the planetarium and entered into a drawing for a prize!! You have until Monday March 1st to complete this form. You can complete it more than once.

Here is the google form

Here is a picture of the hall calendar w/ideas

Upton Athletic Schedules can be found at-

https://upton.bigteams.com/

Go Bears!

Rotation changes-

Rotation 3 ends 2/23, Rotation 4 begins 2/24.

Have students check their schedules in PowerSchool.

We do not print off schedules for students with new rotations.

Lunch next week at UMS-

Monday - No School

Tuesday - Half Day, NO lunch

Wednesday - Pasta with sauce, garlic bread, green beans, fruit cup

Thursday - Hot ham & cheese on pretzel bun, french fries, applesauce

Friday - Grilled cheese, tomato soup, crackers, applesauce

Cloverleaf Spelling Bee-

The Cloverleaf Spelling Bee has been moved to March 9th.

The following Upton students have qualified for the spelling bee:

Elizabeth Fiesbeck
Pihu Sahai
Jason Shi

Great job and Good Luck!

St. Joseph Virtual School Blogspot-

Please click on the link for the latest information with the St. Joe Virtual School:

Virtual blog

Quote of the Week (This quote is something Mr. Leonard lived by. Thanks for your support over the last several weeks as our students and staff have remembered such a wonderful person!)

Have a wonderful long weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Friday, February 5, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 2-5-21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Our Beloved Mr. Leonard -

As everyone is aware this has been a very difficult week for the students, staff, and you as parents over the passing of Mr. Leonard. Mr. Leonard was a man of character, love for people, caring all the way around, and truly a person our students and staff loved so much. Words actually don't adequately describe this wonderful man! We have been very blessed by the support we have received from our guidance team, the Berrien RESA support team, and Lory's Place. Our staff will celebrate his life on Monday. This is a private service for his family and the Upton staff. We would like to encourage (if your daughter/son would like) to write a message for the Leonard family and we have a box in the office for collecting these. Thanks also to the many cards and flowers we have received this past week.

Next week and the following Monday-

We will not have school on Friday, February 12th for teacher professional development and the following Monday, February 15th in honor of Presidents' Day.

Guidance Blog -

Please click on the link for this week's guidance post. This post gives resources on grief and loss.

Guidance post for 2-5-21

Late Start this Wednesday -

Student Count Day this Wednesday, February 10th -

Across the state of Michigan this Wednesday is Count Day. We want to stress that on that day (and everyday) that your child arrives to school on time.

Being on Time! -

Reminder that school begins at 7:45 AM. Students are allowed in their classrooms as early as 7:15 AM. Our number of students that are arriving after 7:45 have increased greatly. Students that arrive after 7:45am are being marked tardy. We know that special circumstances happen, but please leave a few minutes earlier to avoid dropping off late.

Update from the UPTO -

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

The media center is in need of volunteers to cover books to support this year’s reading programs and the UMS BookHub. Volunteers will pick up and return books in the vestibule outside the office. Email uptonmiddlepto@gmail.com to sign up or for more information.

Thank you for supporting our teachers!

Stock the Lounge -

UPTO will be posting a sign up genius on the UPTO FB page asking parents to help keep our staff lounge stocked with snacks and coffee pods. Drop off bins will be located just outside the office.

Lunch next week at UMS-

Tuesday, February 9th- Grilled Chicken Club, Fruit cup, and Hash brown

Wednesday, February10th- Chicken Tenders, Mashed Potatoes, Fruit cup, and Dinner Roll

Thursday, February 11th- Cheese or Pepperoni French Bread Pizza, Apple slices, Carrot & Celery sticks

St. Joseph Virtual School Blogspot-

Please click on the link for the latest information with the St.Joe Virtual School: https://stjoevirtualschool.blogspot.com/2021/02/feb-1.html

NWEA Make-up Testing Next Week -

For those students who missed our winter NWEA testing we will do make-up testing next week. We will test again one more time in the Spring.

Quote of the week (In honor of Mr. Leonard) -

Have a good weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Friday, January 29, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 1-29-21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

End of the 1st semester -

Today marks the end of the 1st semester. It has been the most different 1st semester of any student or staff members educational career! We are hopeful that the 2nd semester is less eventful. 😊 The semester grade is found by averaging the 1st and 2nd marking period. As a reminder, 6th-12th grades do not print hard copies of the report cards, but the grades in PowerSchool will be reflected. Grades for the second semester are not final until next Wednesday, February 3rd. Thanks for your continued support!

Welcome and Goodbye-

Next week we welcome many students returning from the virtual school back to Upton. We will meet with the students in the Maize Gym to start the morning for a brief orientation before they head to their 1st hour class. We also want to wish the students who are moving to the virtual school the best as they transition!

Informational Meeting for 8th grade students and parents-

CLASS OF 2025

SAVE THE DATE:

Informational Scheduling Meeting for current 8th Grade Students & their Parents
who plan to attend
St. Joseph High School Fall 2021

Tuesday, February 2, 2021
6:00pm
Virtual Link will be sent on Feb 2 @ 5pm

Students will receive 2021-22 scheduling materials - books & course selection forms distributed in class at Upton on Feb. 1 to be brought home for Feb 2 meeting!!
(Student and parents will want these materials in front of you during the virtual presentation)

Learn about the high school scheduling process and information from department reps will be included in the presentation!

This is a very important informational meeting and encourage all 8th grade students
AND their parents to attend virtually!

Counselors will be hosting a Virtual 8th Grade Parent Q&A Night to follow up on the above topic:

Feb 3 @ 6-7pm

Counselors will be answering questions LIVE -

link will be emailed on Feb 2

Late Start next Wednesday -

We do have a late start this Wednesday, February 3rd. School will begin at 8:45 AM. Buses will run exactly one hour later and breakfast will be available beginning at 8:15 AM.

Guidance News For The Week -

Guidance News for 1-29-21 to 2-5-21

Athletic Update Today -

Please read your email that arrived in your inbox today from Mr. Schaffer, UMS athletic director, regarding girls basketball, wrestling, and competitive cheer. These sports will all begin in some fashion next week. Wrestling and competitive cheer are open to 6th-8th graders and girls basketball for 7th & 8th graders.

SJPS IT Position Available -

SJPS IT Department is looking for a full time tier 1 IT Technician. This position requires existing computer/networking knowledge and troubleshooting skills. Any coding experience is a plus. If interested, please send a PDF resume to the Technology Director, Bryan Parsons, at bparsons@sjschools.org with a subject line of "SJPS IT Position". As stated, the position is a full time, salaried position with benefits, starting at mid $30k per year, which is non-negotiable. Thanks!

Quote of the Week-

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Mandarino

Friday, January 22, 2021

Mandarino Minutes for 1-22-21

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It Was Great! -

It was very nice to be back to 100% of our students back to face to face instruction each day! We will continue this path as long as the numbers allow us to do so (Hopefully the rest of the school year!).

Next Week 1/2 Days -

Next we will have 1/2 days on Wednesday (27th), Thursday (28th), and Friday (29th) with a dismissal of 11:00 AM each day.

No Late Start This Wednesday -

We will not have a late start this Wednesday, January 27th. School will begin at the regular time of 7:45 AM.

Winter NWEA Testing -

Students will take the NWEA winter test for reading and math next week during their ELA and Math classes on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Students took the test in the Fall and they will take their final test in the Spring.

Prearranged Absence Forms-

If your child will be missing 3 or more days of school, please have them pick up a Prearranged Absence Form from the office a week before the absences. This forms needs to be filled out by your child's teachers, signed by you, and then returned to the office. We also ask that you call the absence in to our attendance line at 926-3400 or send a note in with your child. Thank you for help!

In The Winter -

When the winter weather hits it may be necessary to leave your house 5-10 minutes earlier when dropping off your son/daughter at Upton. We have an increase of traffic on winter days and thus things are slowed down. Please do not turn left into Upton off of Maiden Lane in the morning as traffic gets backed up and cars can't exit Upton. We depend on you to help the flow of traffic stay efficient. Please help us out with this!

Guidance News -

Follow this link for this week's guidance news:

Guidance News for the week of 1-25-21

Reminder to Please Order Ahead of Time -

If your daughter or son is getting a school lunch please order student lunches on the following website sendmoneytoschool.com by 7:45 AM each morning.

Just a Reminder for 8th grade Parents & Students -

CLASS OF 2025 (Current 8th graders)

SAVE THE DATE:

Informational Scheduling Meeting for current 8th Grade Students & their Parents
who plan to attend
St. Joseph High School Fall 2021

Tuesday, February 2, 2021
6:00pm

SJHS will soon be sending more information on this evening!

One More Week -

The 2021 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival logo contest is underway! Please see the details below. Submissions are due next Friday, January 29th and can be turned in at the Upton Media Center or by emailing techfest@stjoebears.com. We look forward to seeing the students' creativity this year!

2021 Ren Baldwin Student Technology Festival Logo Contest