"Tuesday" Message
September 7, 2021
We're back!
SDUSD Covid Testing Acknowledgement Form
This is a reminder that all families are required to make a choice on Covid testing at the start of the new school year. Every family must complete the form (access link below) and submit their response online at this time for each student. Free Covid testing in school not only helps prevent the spread of the virus, but it also helps more students stay in school and continue their education.
Covid-19 Testing Acknowledgement Form
(Note: A PowerSchool Username and Password will be required to complete the form. If you do not have the Access ID and Password for your student, please contact Ms. Ramos in the front office.)
School Site Council (SSC) and Site Governance Team (SGT)
Looking to support our awesome school with your time? The Mt. Everest Academy SSC and SGT have open positions for at least one parent (SSC and SGT) and two students (SSC). If you are a parent or student interested in running for School Site Council and/or Site Governance Team, please submit your name and a short (3-4 sentence) biography to Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net by Friday, 9/10. Biographies will be shared next week for voting purposes.
The School Site Council consists of elected members representing parents, teachers, students, the school principal, and other school employees. This group is responsible for reviewing the school's improvement plan and allocating fiscal resources to support Mt. Everest Academy's goals in the areas of curriculum development and instruction. The State Legislature, as well as the Mt. Everest Academy teaching staff and administration, believes that the best decisions are made by those individuals who are most affected by them.
The Site Governance Team is a shared decision making body required at each school by the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. The team discusses issues, gathers input and makes recommendations about topics affecting our school and our children with an emphasis on the instructional program.
The SSC and SGT will meet a minimum of seven times during the year and meetings will usually be scheduled on Wednesdays from 2pm-3pm. Meetings will be held on Zoom. Scheduled dates for this year include:
- 9/29/21
- 10/27/21
- 12/1/21
- 1/12/22
- 2/16/22
- 3/9/22
- 4/27/22
We greatly appreciate your willingness to support Mt. Everest with your time!
Music classes with Mr. Johnson
- Beginning Band
- Beginning Orchestra
- Advanced Band
- Advanced Orchestra
- Choir
- Music Theory
An informational meeting was held Tuesday 9/7. If you were unable to attend and are interested in music classes, please complete the survey here. We will be setting the class schedule based on your feedback.
Back to School Night
Back to School Night will be held online this year.
Zoom links and schedule to follow.
Daily Mindfulness and Meditation
These daily sessions will include about 10 minutes of mindfulness and meditation as well as other activities to foster health and wellness and connectedness in our community. All MEA Community members are welcome!
- When: Monday through Friday (holidays and scheduled school concerts/events excluded!)
- Where: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/7588584792 . . Passcode: MEA!
- Why: Optimum Health, Wellness, and Well-Being!
- Who: The whole MEA Community
- Time: 12-12:30 (You must login by 12:00)
School Meals
All MEA students are able to receive school meals free of charge all year long. For the 2021-22 school year, students have access to breakfast, lunch and dinner on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The bagged meals are delivered around 10:30 am and students can pick them up in the office. Families do not need to complete a meal application this year.
ASB Officer Candidate Speeches
Tuesday, September 14 / 12:00 noon
It’s time to elect our 2021-2022 ASB officers. The candidates will be giving their speeches on the grass outside of the library during lunch on September 14. If you can’t be there in person, look for a Zoom link in next week’s message. Online voting will begin after the speeches. Students in grades 6 – 12 may vote.
Monday Message to Students
PARENTS:
If your student in grades 6-12 is NOT getting the Monday Message sent directly to their personal email, please forward this message to them.
STUDENTS:
Please sign up here to receive the Monday Messages directly to your personal email address. This can be helpful, especially for older students, so you can stay informed of what's happening here at Mt. Everest Academy. Your PERSONAL email address is needed (not a @stu.sandi.net email or a parent’s email).
Yearbook Discount
Purchase your yearbook by September 30, and get 10% off.
- Go to https://tr5.treering.com/validate
- Our passcode is 1013183679162246
Student Handbook
Technology Support and Resources
New Mural On Campus
At the end of the 2020-21 school year, the MEA Art Club designed and created this delightful mural as their senior legacy project. Now we get to enjoy it for years to come!
Message from Kyra
Hallo MEA!
For new students who may not know who I am, let me introduce myself. I am Kyra, a sophomore who has attended MEA for the past 5 years. Last year I received the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, which gives me, and 249 other American high schooler students, the opportunity to study abroad in Germany for a year (entirely paid for by the Bundestag and State Department!)
Today I write from Hartha, a town where I have spent the last week. Tomorrow I will meet my host family nearby in Chemnitz, a small city near Leipzig and Dresden. I will have a host sister 6 months younger than me, and attend a German Gymnasium (school) with her. This will be a challenge, because I just started learning German in March, but I can already feel myself learning it fast! There is an ice rink in Chemnitz where Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt trained as a figure skater, and I will train there with Ingo Steuer.
Here are VIDEOS of my adventures so far!
* * MEA GARDENS & CHICKENS * *
Tribute to Ophelia
Over the summer our Ameraucana chicken, Ophelia, was diagnosed with cancer and the difficult decision was made to euthanize her. Ophelia had become increasingly lethargic, lost her appetite, and was having difficulty breathing. When MEA staff noticed these changes starting, they gave her extra care, careful feeding and close observation. Although making the decision to end an animal’s life is never an easy one, we will always measure an animal’s quality of life and overall welfare on a day-to-to basis. Ultimately, this was the right decision for Ophelia, with the support and advice from an Avian veterinarian.
Ophelia had a great life here at MEA. She was an explorer and liked getting into things! Ophelia was loved and held and cared for by many MEA students over the last 2-½ years. We miss her!
Here are a few pictures of Ophelia and special times with her MEA family.
“Many hands make light work”
The students embraced the saying last week, and without any sign-ups or requests, several students took it upon themselves to join Miss Shannon either in the chicken coop or in both garden spaces to help clean, plant, move chairs, and even arrange flowers.
The sunflower season has finished, and now it’s time to prepare the raised beds at the front of the school for food production as we gear up for our K-5 nutritional science classes, offered via the Sage Garden Grant. We have a “garden growing wish list” from the chefs who run the program, so the next few weeks will require some continued work in the gardens. We have one bed planted out with bunching onions, cucumbers, carrots, Italian flat leaf parsley, and green romaine lettuce—all seeds.
More to come!
*Coop group resumes on Tuesdays at lunchtime, from 12 to 12:30*
For all middle and high schoolers looking to help with our chicken flock—a thorough cleaning and chicken bonding time are on the agenda.
Stay tuned for a “MEA garden and chicken wishlist” to appear in the next Monday message. You may have one or more of these items collecting dust in and around your home!
Miss Shannon enjoys and appreciates the student interest and energy with the chickens and the gardens.
“Kudos to Katie” and “Making Memories with Miranda”
Miss Shannon had two incredible helpers in the gardens and with the chickens on Tuesday at MEA.
Katie and Miss Shannon secured new chicken signs to the outside of the coop, moved mulch, and cleaned/prepped one of the raised beds in the front garden.
Katie, Miranda and Miss Shannon completed a thorough cleaning of the chicken area, and ended the 1/2 hour time with a special treat for the chickens:
Watermelon slices + Grubblies! (Oven dried black soldier fly grubs = better than mealworms! More calcium = stronger egg shells and beautiful feathers).
We made some memories with this extra special (warm September day) chicken treat.
If any families would like to support the MEA chickens, they are in need of:
- Timothy Hay (nesting/egg laying material)
- More Grubblies!
- Manna Pro fresh flakes bedding
* * MEA FOUNDATION * *
MEA Foundation was created to support our school community. The foundation helps fund ASB and school events, senior graduations, mini grants for staff, and many enrichment workshops and activities for our students and families.
All parents, students, and staff can join MEA Foundation! If you want your voice to be heard and to have a say in the foundation programs, priorities, and finances, please contact Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, MEA Foundation is able to accept your donations, which are 100% tax-deductible, in order to enhance the overall experience of Mt. Everest Academy students. There are several ways you can easily give.
MEA Foundation’s Giving Tree
This is the first year MEA Foundation has run a Giving Tree fundraiser! Your tax-deductible donations will be used for:
- Art/art supplies
- Classroom supplies
- Science
- Teacher/professional development
- Library
You can indicate your preferred donation category in the payment memo (any unspecified donations will go to an area of greatest need). There are 3 easy ways to contribute to the Giving Tree: Venmo, PayPal, or check.
AmazonSmile
MEA Foundation is fully registered with AmazonSmile as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon.com will donate to MEA Foundation at no cost to you!
- First, go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/84-2089378 and set your charity to "Mount Everest Academy Foundation".
- Then, always start your shopping at https://smile.amazon.com and shop as usual while supporting our school!