Monday Message
4/16/18
Spring Fling Fun
Our ASB spent many hours working to transform the Auditorium into a sparkling wonderland for the Spring Flings. Both dances were DJ'd by none other than our very own Toler Pfaff-Carano, 9th grader. He did an outstanding job selecting tunes for both the younger and the older students; the joint was jumping!
ELEMENTARY
ASB students were excellent hosts and hostesses for the elementary students at the Elementary Spring Fling! The ASB students held up a "limbo bar" for them, led line dancing and musical chairs, handed out sparkly hats, and served them ice cream and pizza. It was a fun-filled event and the elementary students had a wonderful time!
Thank you to parent Dana Dirks for sending in these photos!
U.S. History
In Mr. Cate's US History study group, Mr. Goldwater shared his experiences as a medic in Vietnam. 11th grader, Arden L., helped out the presentation by wearing Mr. Goldwater's Marine field gear.
New Zealand visitors tour MEA
A group of educators from New Zealand has come to our country to learn about American schools, especially those that are not typical. Last week they visited Mt. Everest Academy and were very impressed with the caliber of our students and parent engagement. As the group was leaving, they expressed their appreciation with a lovely traditional Maori song. The lyrics mean that the three most important things in life are faith, love, and belief; but the most important is love.
******** UPCOMING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES ********
Japanese Internment Camp Survivors
Thursday, April 19 / 10:30-12:00 / Auditorium
Our speakers that were scheduled to be here, Mas and Grace Tsuida, will not be able to make it as Mas is recuperating from a fall he took. We're very grateful that two new speakers, Mits Mayumi Kawamoto and Linda Canada are available to speak to us! Same time, same place.
Linda Canada has been arranging talks with Japanese internment camp speakers over the years. She has heard Mas Tsuida speak a number of times. Linda will be bringing in the medals he received from his time in the military service and speak about some of his experiences with the 442nd Battalion.
Mits Mayumi Kawamoto will then speak about her experiences before moving to Poston Internment Camp, spending some of her elementary years in the internment camp, and what life was like for her family after leaving the camp.
This event is open to MEA students, parents, and family members. The content is more appropriate for middle school and high school. Please come a little early to get seated, as we will begin at 10:30.
Work Due for Month 8
Friday, April 20 by 3:00 pm
Grades 6 thru 12: Please take all of your work to your supervising teacher first. After your supervising teacher reviews it, then take your subject work to each of your subject teachers.
Movie Night: "Monsters, Inc."
Friday, April 20 / Elementary Lawn
6:30pm - refreshments for sale
7:15pm - movie starts
On April 20, come join us on the elementary lawn to watch an MEA favorite "Monsters, Inc." The event is free and family and friends are welcome, so spread the word! ASB will be selling pizza and nachos for $2 each and popcorn, baked goods, and soda for $1 each. You’re also welcome to bring your own snacks and don’t forget your beach chairs and blankets! “Gates” will open at 6:30 and the movie will start shortly after sundown (about 7:15pm).
Trying out the popcorn maker for this Friday's movie night!!
AP Exams Pre-Administration Session
Wednesday, April 25 / 11:55am / Cafeteria
For students that have signed up to take AP exams, please plan to attend this mandatory AP Pre-Administration Session. If you are unable to attend, please contact Principal Browne or Mr. Zappala.
SSC/SGT Meeting
Wednesday, April 25 / 2:00-3:00 / Room 17B
All parents are invited to attend the School Site Committee (SSC) meeting. The SSC is a shared decision-making body composed of parents, staff, and students. Our Council identifies needs for academic programs and sets budgets to support these programs. More information, agendas, and minutes can be found on our SSC/SGT webpage. For questions, please contact Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net
MEA Family Fundraiser at Souplantation
Thursday, April 26 / 11:00-9:00 / Souplantion
Help support activities at Mt. Everest Academy by going out to eat at the Souplantation in Kearny Mesa! They are well known for their delicious salad bar, soups, pasta, bakery items, fresh fruit, and desserts. Souplantation will give our school 20% of what we spend there on April 26. The location is at 7095 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., 92111. All participants must purchase a beverage with their meal in order to receive credit for MEA.
Bring in this attached flyer, or show it on your phone.
Thank you, as always, for your support!
Talent Showcase & Silent Auction
Thursday, May 24 / Auditorium
Preparations are beginning for our annual upcoming Talent Showcase & Silent Auction! Students, start thinking about acts you'd like to perform. Sign ups for auditions will be opening in a couple of weeks. And if you'd like to participate in another way, we'll also be looking for student stagehands and MC's. This will be a great opportunity to share your talents for a grand evening of entertainment!
**************** SAVE THE DATE ****************
Link to calendar on school website
AP Exams Pre-Administration Session: April 25
CAASPP / SBAC Testing, elementary: April 30-May 4
AP Exams: May 7-18
High School Prom: May 11
CAASPP / SBAC Testing, secondary: May 21-25
Talent Showcase / Silent Auction: May 24
Art Show: May 31
MEA Family Picnic: June 1
Kindergarten Promotion: June 5
5th & 8th grade Promotion: June 6
Senior Graduation: June 8
************** ANNOUNCEMENTS **************
California School Parent Survey
Dear Mt. Everest Academy Parents,
Please take a moment to read this letter regarding the California School Parent Survey. This is an opportunity to share your opinions about the climate of our school. The data is used in a variety of ways including as an indicator on the CA School Dashboard and as evidence for our accreditation process.
It is imperative that we have a high participation rate so please take a moment to complete the survey online at this link: https://surveys.wested.org/csps/QP337DH
If you would prefer, paper copies can be found at the front office.
Please note that parents only need to complete and return one survey - for your oldest child attending Mt. Everest Academy. Thank you!
More info at http://cal-schls.wested.org/
Enrollment for 2018-19
If you are planning on returning to Mt. Everest Academy next year, please come to the office to pick up your enrollment packet. These forms must be completed every year. Return completed forms and a current proof of address (i.e. SDG&E, water, cable, or phone bill) to the office ASAP but not later than Friday, May 11.
If you are moving or are planning on attending a different school, please stop by the office and let Norma know, or call her at 858-496-8778. Thank you.
Order your school yearbook
School yearbooks are now available to purchase online.
- Cost: $30
- Purchase deadline: April 30, 3018
For any questions please contact the yearbook teacher, Ms. Rice, at lrice@sandi.net.
YEARBOOK
GRADE-LEVEL PORTRAITS NEEDED
There's one more day left to send us your portraits!
We are putting the finishing touches on the yearbook, but we are missing some smiling MEA faces. If you missed fall picture day or joined the Mt. Everest family after picture day had passed, we need your photo! If you have a digital copy of a photo that we can include in the yearbook, please email it to Laurel Rice at lrice@sandi.net as soon as possible. If you do not have a digital photo, please bring in a photo to the computer lab that we can scan. It does not have to be an official portrait, but it should be a head and shoulders shot, if possible. Seniors who wish to use a photo other than the ones taken by Lifetouch should submit those, as well.
Deadline: Tuesday, April 17
VOTE FOR STAFF STANDOUTS
There's one more day left to cast your vote!
To all students:
Please take a few minutes to vote for the staff member you think is the best fit for each standout category. Winners will be featured in the yearbook.
Here’s the link to Staff Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/Q7lZZhuDaD9P3Msa2
This link to vote is also available on the MEA home page.
Deadline: Tuesday, April 17
Parents Help Needed for Silent Auction
MEA PARENTS!
Every year we have a Talent Show & Silent Auction that raises money for our school. This year it's scheduled for Thursday, May 24. We currently have donations from businesses coming in and will be collecting more. We will need parent volunteers to organize donations into baskets so they can be auctioned off during the Talent Show.
Will you be able to help? Please contact Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net.
Seeking Fundraising Ideas
Hello MEA Families!
As we head toward the end of this year, already I am thinking of the fall! (What?) Last fall we had a successful fundraiser with See’s Candy. I would LOVE to hear of any fundraising ideas you may have for our school that you would support in the fall. Our major fundraiser is extremely important as it provides the ASB funding for many things on campus such as: the Maker Space, dances, field day, fall festival, lunch concerts, and the Improv Club. The ASB also supports many students heading clubs and starting new ventures (ballet class?) to enrich and enhance our school campus and community. So please, do you have something you think would be a success that you could get behind? I’d love to run with it! Please email me at bmulvany@sandi.net or stop by the Maker Space to share your ideas! Thank you so much! Miss Barb
No nuts in rooms 10, 11, 12
Due to students with severe allergies, we are asking everyone (students, staff, and parents) that goes into rooms 10, 11, and 12 to not take in any foods with nuts or nut products. We thank you for complying with this!
Clothing Drive for TACO
For the month of April, Mt. Everest Academy is conducting a Clothing Drive for the Third Avenue Charitable Organization (TACO). If you have some gently used donations to give, please bring them to the Makerspace. Thanks!
************* COUNSELING CORNER *************
Summer School
For parents that received a summer school email
If you received an email from Mr. Zappala regarding your student attending summer school, please either contact Mr. Zappala or return this summer school application to him as soon as you can. Thank you.
Still need to choose classes for next year?
For grades 8-11
If you have not yet met with Mr. Zappala to plan your classes for 2018-19, please go see him!
Articulation sheets are available on our school website.
********** extracurricular activities ***********
Please find the most up-to-date schedule here. This schedule is a work in-progress; we will continue to add to and fine-tune the schedule as needed.
If you are interested in offering an extracurricular class or workshop, please contact Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net. All required district volunteer paperwork must be submitted in order to lead a class.
Intro to Coding
Tuesdays / 12:30-1:30 / Makerspace
Ever thought of learning how to code and create the apps and websites you use every day? All students in grades 4 thru 12 are welcome to come over to the Makerspace for fun activities with computer programming, game development, cybersecurity, animation, and more. Hope to see you there!
Pokemon Reminder
Wednesday, April 18 / 1:30-2:30 / Makerspace
Pokemon/Games Club is ON this week!
Remember, we are now meeting on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Don't know how to play Pokemon? No problem. We'll teach ya how. Don't have cards? No worries. We'll help you build a deck. Come have fun!
Spanish Enrichment
The Spanish K-4 enrichment class learned about colors and clothes. Then they dressed up these teddy bears and spoke about what they were wearing. They had a great time!
******************* LIBRARY *******************
Poetry Challenge
Here are a couple of the poems we received for our March poetry challenge. The one on the left is done in Acrostic style and the one on the right is a Haiku.
****** RANDOM ACTS OF CAMPUS KINDNESS ******
********* COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS *********
The Facility Hip Hop Dance Studio Opening
Parents of a MEA 3rd Grader have opened a hip hop dance studio in Pacific Beach called The Facility. The dance studio offers classes to all ages and levels such as Hip Hop, Breakdance, Jazz Funk, Contemporary and Urban Dance. Come join the Homeschool Hip Hop class offered on Monday's from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
The Facility is offering free classes April 9 - 22, 2018 to celebrate their opening. To try out a free class, sign on up online at www.thefacilitysd.com.
City Nature Challenge
Crowdsource for science!
The City Nature Challenge, which takes place from April 27-30, 2018, is a worldwide competition to see which city can make the most observations of their local plants and animals over a 4-day period. The Natural History Museum (The Nat) is spearheading our local effort. The goal is to document as many species as possible via your smartphone.
Proposed Housing Project in Clairemont
We're all concerned about the Mt. Alifan Permanent Supportive Housing for Chronically Homeless that is being proposed in our community near MEA. The plan would include 52 apartments. Learn more and see what you can do to help at this link:
SWEET: Flex Your Imagination
Saturday, April 28 / 12:00-5:00pm / USD
The San Diego Professional Section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE-San Diego) is hosting this opportunity for middle and high school girls to learn about science and technology careers. The annual program, Society of Women Engineers Exploring Technology (SWEET), features five exciting science-based activities where the girls will learn to think like an engineer in a hands-on environment.
While the girls are actively engaged in the SWEET, their adult influencers are given the opportunity to attend a parallel program, called the SWEET Parent and Educators Program (PEP). Teachers, parents, and anyone who works with girls are welcome.
Creek to Bay Cleanup
Saturday, April 21 / 9am - 12pm
Join Creek to Bay Cleanup for another successful year! In 2017, they had over 6,500 volunteers at 112 locations beautify and remove over 170,000 lbs of litter and debris! Instead of turning a blind eye to the abundance of litter found across San Diego County, our volunteers channeled their appreciation for San Diego’s environment into action to protect it.
Seeking Student Contributions to local newspaper
A new newspaper has started in our area, "Clairemont Connections." Link to the March 2018 issue. One of their goals is to include information about local schools in their publication. We anticipate sharing happenings at Mt. Everest Academy in their paper.
STUDENTS: If you'd like to contribute an article about our school to "Clairemont Connections," please contact Linda Ele at lele@sandi.net to get specifications on what the newspaper is looking for: type of article, length, and photos.