MSA Parent Update
September 18, 2020
There is a lot going on now that the school year is picking up!! Please check out everything that is going on at MSA:
Progress Reports Available in Parent Portal
Senior Ad in Yearbook
Seniors! –
Are you looking for a way to make your senior yearbook truly yours? Do you want to
leave your mark in print in a memorable way? Then senior ads are the solution for
you—even better, starting at only $25! Head on down to Mrs. Lebuffe’s room, 203 or email at plebuffe@msaschool.org.
Student Information Updates - Option 2 and 3 Students
All you have to do is come in to the front desk and let them know you need to complete their bio form. It will only take a few minutes.
Thank you for your help in completing this important task!!
PM Parent Pickup Reminder
Also, an important note about pick-up. Any student who is being picked up after school must be picked up in our parent pick-up loop. Asking your child to walk off campus to get picked up causes problems for the community and the private businesses that are in the neighborhood. We have a great relationship with all of our neighbors in the community, and we want to keep it this way. All parents are expected to follow the school procedure for student pick up by waiting patiently in the parent pickup loop after school.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters.
Is your child going to be out of school?
High School Guidance Update
PSAT Bitly Link --> https://bit.ly/3kkMiFo
PSAT Juniors Only
The PSAT is the Preliminary SAT, also known as the PSAT/NMSQT® (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). It is a practice version of the SAT exam.
The PSAT can qualify a student for the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Students take the PSAT in their junior year to enter the National Merit Scholarship competition.
The PSAT is 2 hours and 45 minutes long and tests your skills in reading, writing, and math.
Who: Juniors ONLY
Limited Seating --> ONLY 30 SEATS AVAILABLE
Test Date: October 14, 2020
Start Time: 8:10AM
Where: Manatee School for the Arts
Cost: $20.00 Please take your payment to Mrs. Fitzpatrick's Office
Deadline to Sign Up: October 9th or until the seats are sold out
Test Preparation: Khan Academy - Please note that SAT has not delivered the Test Preparation Booklets to MSA.
When we have the booklets we will notify the students that have signed up to take the test via their school email address.
Virtual College Visits at MSA
Bitly Link to the MSA College and Career Visits and Events Calendar --> http://bit.ly/2k6shJs
Calendar Access to College Visits --> MSA College and Career Visits and Events Calendar
Top Reasons to Visit Colleges --> Finding the right FIT is important! From the Internet article Benefits of College Tours by TS College Tours
Please note: At this time most colleges are only offering virtual college visits - If you want to visit a school in person call the school admissions office directly.
1. You won’t really know how you feel about a place until you’ve been there ... A virtual visit is better than no visit.
2. The college information sessions and the virtual campus tours will give you a much better idea of what the college is like and if you would be happy there.
3. A small investment in time now can save significant time, money, and hassles during the college application period and in the future.
4. You’ll get a sense of the college’s vibrancy, character, and facilities. Even virtual visits will provide you with a more complete picture.
5. College tours allow students to ask questions, meet other prospective students and understand the college on a deeper level.
6. How you feel about schools once you visit in person may affect the direction your college search and application process takes. College visits help you to refine your search.
7. Applying to college is a complex process and visits to campuses will serve you best if you use them as a research tool, rather than a final decision-making aid.
8. Time, energy and money are finite resources and you want to use them wisely throughout the application process. First-hand knowledge will help you to clarify your vision and narrow your list.
9. Most colleges love students who are sincerely interested and visiting colleges is one way to show this.
10. You want to be able to relax and make a fully informed choice once you have been accepted. If you’ve already visited those schools at least once, that’s just what you will be able to do.
Links for College Exploration
State University System/Florida Board of Governors
Private Colleges and Universities of Florida
SENIORS - VIRTUAL FAFSA/FFAA Night at MSA
Virtual FAFSA and FFAA Night at MSA October 13th at 6PM
Students and Parents can join this presentation AND receive 1 to 1 support filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®)
Students can also fill out the Florida Financial Aid Application at this event. This is the application students need to fill out to be eligible for any Florida financial aid like the Bright Futures Scholarship. Meeting Link and more information to follow soon.
Attention Art Students
Picture Retake Day - October 27, 2020
Robotics Team Back in Action - Virtually
Welcome to the 20-21 FIRST Tech Challenge Competition Season - ULTIMATE GOAL!! MSA's own robotics team will be hosting a virtual KICK-OFF for our season and all interested students are invited to attend. The event will be virtual ONLY and will occur on Thursday, September 24 at 6pm. Contact either Mr. Rote in room 4-112 or at crote@msaschool.org or Ms. Brisson in room 804 or at cbrisson@msaschool.org so YOU CAN BE included in the virtual kick-off to the most amazing competition season with team IRONIC Fe3. Either Mr. Rote or Ms. Brisson will ask for your email address so you can be added to the list of attendees:) AND the best part is that you do not have to be only interested in engineering or coding. Team IRONIC needs team members with interests in the areas of marketing, finance, fund raising and developing sponsors, outreach, etc. And this year we will even need people interested in learning how to judge the events so invite any adults you know that might be interested to learn more about your robotics team!
The Kick-off will include:
1. Who the MSA robotics team IRONIC Fe3 members, mentors, coaches and volunteers are that will be guiding the team.
2. ULTIMATE GOAL video showing what the FIRST TECH CHALLENGE is for the season.
3. The form for you to complete and share with us about your skills and interest areas for the 20-21 season.
4. Next meetings, competition schedule, AND MORE!!
So, please let either Mr. Rote or Ms. Brisson know about your interest by either stopping by our room, or emailing us. Then, get your popcorn ready for an exciting virtual season of competition.
Smile for the School while you Shop
Follow these directions to set up your amazon smile account:
1. Go to smile.amazon.com
2. Log into your account.
3. Choose Manatee School For the Arts as you charitable organization.
4. Shop as you would normally on Amazon.
5. A portion of your total is donated to the school!!
That is it - nothing more to do except direct your browser to a different place and choose the school as the benefactor of your shopping.
Thank you for your support!!
ID Tags
To assure that this happens, any student who comes to school without their ID on will NOT be allowed on campus until they go to the office and get a reprint of the ID card. All reprint ID cards will cost $5.00. Any student who does not have the funds to pay at that time will be billed the cost of the replacement ID card. Not having your ID should not prevent you from coming to school. We will print an ID for any student whether they have the money to pay at that time or not.
Thank you for your attention and support in this matter as we work to continually improve our security on our campus.
College and Career Center
Parents and Students - Please join the MSA College and Career Center page on FaceBook page. This is an information page for parents and students in grades 6-12. We share daily messages about college and career opportunities, scholarships, plus a ton more.
Click Here --> http://bit.ly/2PEuHsY
Online Grade Access
Checking School Announcements
Please be sure to keep up with what is going on here at MSA!
Upcoming Events
September 2020
23 - Senior Photos
24 - Senior Photos
25 - Senior Photos
October 2020
21 - Senior Photos
22 - Senior Photos
23 - Senior Photos
27 - School Picture Retake Day
Help us get the word out
About Us
Email: devinet@msfta.org
Website: www.msfta.org
Location: 700 Haben Boulevard, Palmetto, FL, United States
Phone: 941-721-6800