Monday Message
November 9, 2020
Spring Community College Dual Enrollment
11th and 12th grade students may take a community college course while enrolled at Mt. Everest Academy. There are many courses offered for dual credit, where students can meet high school graduation requirements while earning college credit. Now is the time to sign up for a Spring semester course!
All students, new and returning, need to submit a community college Supplemental Application each semester. Students can submit their Supplemental Application as of Oct. 26th and open enrollment will begin on December 14th.
Students new to the dual enrollment process will need to complete the CCApply and Registration Applications in addition to the Supplemental Application.
For any questions, please contact Mr. Zappala at rzappala@sandi.net
Kahoot!
Our second annual Kahoot! tournament was held online on Thursday. Contestants had to answer 30 questions about topics ranging from science to geography to random facts about our school. The event featured interesting commentary from Colton and Grant. The competition was very close, with second-place winner Petunia being narrowly defeated despite answering the most questions correctly. The true identity of the winner remains unknown to this day.
* * UPCOMING EVENTS * *
Veteran's Day Holiday
Wednesday, November 11
School will be closed for Veteran's Day, honoring persons who served in the United States Armed Forces.
Veteran's Day Virtual Reads
MEA Librarian, Karen Iwamoto, recommends these Veteran’s Day virtual reads for our younger students. Click on the book covers below to access.
SPIRIT WEEK
The ASB is sponsoring the following spirit days. Express your creativity and show your school spirit!
- Meme Day - 11/17/20
- Mismatch Day - 11/18/20
- Pajama Day - 11/19/20
It is encouraged that students turn on their cameras during these zoom meetings, so that they can show their spirit from home!
* * MEA WINTER FUNDRAISER * *
Sweet treats & warm drinks!
Please help support our annual See's Candy and Desert Sun Coffee Fundraiser through ASB. Every student at MEA from Kindergarten through 12th grade can help raise money through sales. 100% of the proceeds go to support student activities run by ASB!* * * * * *
ASB Instagram
MEA's ASB Instagram account is running again this year! Follow us to get updates on school events, spirit weeks, and more!
Account Handle: @mea.asb
ASB Events
ASB wants to know what times work best for you for school events! Please fill out this preferred times form to help us make our events work great for everyone.
YEARBOOK
The 20-21 school year will be unlike any other. We will be talking about it for the rest of our lives. This year’s yearbook is going to be different too...because it will be crowdsourced and made by YOU!
Chromebooks for Edgenuity Classes
Students that are taking a class through Edgenuity will need a SDUSD Chromebook in order take their class midterm and final exams. Chromebooks will be available for pick up on campus between 10:00-1:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- For usage questions, please contact the subject teacher
- For pickup questions, please email kiwamoto@sandi.net
* * THE GOOD STUFF * *
Please send in your Good Stuff!
We're bringing back the Good Stuff! We know MEA students and families are involved in so many things outside of school. Do you have something fun or interesting to share? Please send your stories and images to share for "The Good Stuff" in upcoming Monday messages to mteverest@sandi.net. We want to hear from you!
MEA 10th grader receives high commendation
Fayyad Hassan, grade 10, recently received a High Commendation in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. Submissions were judged by senior academics from the University of Oxford. Fayyad’s essay explored the question “Is Islam a religion of peace?” and was chosen from the Theology subject category. Congratulations on your achievement, Fayyad!
** Extracurricular Activities **
CLUBS
- Academic League - led by Kate Papen
- Ally Action/ Anti Defamation League - Google Classroom Code - 4pkxv2a
- Art Club - led by Ava G, Renee D, Alexis A.
- Cooking Club - led by Katherine B.
- Drama Club - led by Gabriella Martien
- Film Club - led by Petunia Rizo
- GSA - Google Classroom Code - wtg4opf
- Hack Club - led by Yusuf A.
- Horror Club - led by Toki
- Mental Health Club - led by Leena Iwamoto
- Musicing Club - led by Malyvn Lai
- Rubik's Cube Club - led by Shawn Zhuang
- Year Enders
- Yoga/Meditation Club - led by Chloe Lutosky
MEA Hack Club
FIRST MEETING: Thursday, Nov. 12 / 12:30
The MEA Hack Club's first meeting will be on Thursday, November 12th at 12:30 PM, and we will be hosting a special guest speaker to open up our club for the year. The guest speaker is a former MEA student and graduate of San Jose State University, and he will be giving an introduction into the world of computer science and programming. This will be a great opportunity for students to get insight into the field from a professional, and it will be an engaging, informative, and fun session you don't want to miss!
If you haven't signed up already, fill out this interest form and we will send you more information about the meeting, including the Zoom link.
Horror Club
Cooking Club
FIRST MEETING: Friday, Nov. 13 / 1:00
ASB will have a cooking club this year! The club will meet starting this Friday. Check out the Cooking Club website for more details.
Ambassador Program
Update:
We are thrilled to have gotten some applications already! However, we still need a 5th and 7th grade ambassador, so please apply if you're interested!
Calling all 3rd-7th graders! ASB wants student representatives from middle and elementary school to be ambassadors. Student ambassadors will work with ASB members to give their peers information about upcoming school events! Each ambassador will meet with an ASB member once a week (except turn in week) to discuss the important things happening that week. Then, you'll share this information with your class so that your peers know what's going on! Elementary students will be asked to present in their weekly classes, and middle school students will present in their English classes!
You'll also be the voice for your class! If your peers have an idea for something ASB should do, it'll be your job to communicate this with the ASB member you'll meet weekly.
We are looking for ambassadors with:
- good communication skills
- responsibility!
- organizational skills
- dedication to your peers (they'll be relying on you!)
Apply here for the Ambassador Program
We hope to be meeting with you soon!
No Place for Hate
MEA is starting an Anti-Defamation League (ADL)! ADL is a nationwide anti-hate organization that works against bigotry and bullying. We are starting an ADL team at MEA to try and fight any hate going on, and bring students together. We are starting the campaign by asking all students to sign this pledge to make our school a better place. If you're interested in joining our team, you can also tell us that on the pledge. Anyone in 6th-12th grade is more than welcome!!
MEA ART club holiday card project
The MEA Art Club has a very exciting project! We will be creating handmade holiday cards to sent to members of the military overseas as a way to thank them for their service. The cards must be completed by November 10. To turn them in, you must drop them off in Ms. Browne’s mail slot in her office door by the 10th. You can turn them in any time, as long as it's before the 10th.
Be as creative as you want with these cards! Preferably, the cards would be handmade with your own art on them. It would be best if you made the cards just holiday cards, as not all the military members celebrate Christmas. (Ex: Write “Happy Holidays”).
This project is open to anybody. Members of the MEA Art Club are going to be making at least 5 cards each, but there isn’t really a minimum for non-members who want to participate. However, it would be great if you made multiple cards, since there are many people in the military! You don’t have to make them extremely complicated.
IMPORTANT: There are specific guidelines for this project. Please read them carefully and make sure to follow them.
- Please address the card to “Dear Warrior”. Be respectful and polite.
- Write a holiday greeting, keeping in mind that our Troops are diverse in their holiday practices and beliefs.
- Write a personal note. For example: How do you celebrate the holidays? What are your family memories of holidays?
- Sign your first name ONLY and the town and state where you live.
- If you are or have been in the Military, or a member of a club, or an elected official or a First Responder, please consider including that information in your Card.
- If your card is homemade, please keep the size to no larger than an 8 x 11 size paper folded in half.
- If you have an envelope, please do NOT seal it. Do not be concerned if you do not have an envelope!
For further information, please look at this website that explains this project (it also provides the instructions):
If you want to sign up for the MEA Art Club, here is the link to the Google Form.
If you sign up for the club, we’ll give you access to the website, where we’ve posted information about the project as well as several Youtube videos to help give you some ideas for the cards.
If you don’t want to sign up, but still have questions, you can contact us at
rkittydunlap@gmail.com , alexis.ausland@gmail.com, or ava.gnzales@gmail.com
Have fun with the project!
-MEA Art Club
Drama Club
This year, MEA will have it's first regularly meeting drama club! Theatre kids are struggling to pursue their passion right now... so we want to provide a space for them to do that, even if it's still online. Gabriella Martien will be running the club, and anyone is welcome to join, though it will be geared more toward middle and high schoolers. The club will be doing scene study, games, small shows, and Shakespeare! The club will also be taught by Becca Myers, who directed last year's show!!
Club Interest Surveys
Are you interested in being in a club, or starting one? MEA has a wide variety of clubs that will be continuing online! Fill out the first two links to start or join a club, and send the third to a teacher that you'd like to have run the club!
** ANNOUNCEMENTS **
Library
Weekly Pickups (except turn-in weeks)
Thursdays, 10:00-1:00 only
For material checkouts / exchanges / returns. There is no need to email the library in advance. However, when there are special distributions ready for check-out, they will be noted here in the Monday Message.
SPECIAL PICKUPS:
Chromebooks for Edgenuity Students
- Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-1:00
For Ms. Patterson's Food & Nutrition class
- Pick up your petri dish (agar plates) for class experiment prior to month 4
- Thursdays during standard pickup times (10:00-1:00) on Oct 29, Nov 5, Nov 12
Contact the MEA library: kiwamoto@sandi.net
San Diego Libraries
San Diego County Library... The City of San Diego Library ..For excessive heat
Music Classes with Mr. Johnson
To be held every Tuesday
- 8:00-8:40 Beg. Strings
- 8:50-9:30 Beg. Band
- 9:40-10:20 Choir
- 10:30-11:10 Adv. Band.
- 11:20-12:00 Adv. Strings
- 12:10-12:50 Music Theory (for older students)
Zoom: https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/3452041292
Questions? Please contact Mr. Johnson at kjohnson3@sandi.net
** COUNSELING CORNER **
Senior Appointments with Mr. Zappala
Seniors, please sign up for a time slot to talk with Mr. Zappala about your progress in completing the college application process as well as your FAFSA application.
SAT 2020-21
For those of you thinking about taking the SAT this school year, here is everything you need to know. Although many colleges are not considering the SAT or ACT for admission for the Fall of 2021, some are test optional where the results can be considered for course placement. Reach out to Mr. Zappala with any questions you have about the SAT and ACT.
SAT Tests - SDUSD
All future SAT tests have been cancelled at San Diego Unified School District sites due to COVID closures. Testing will resume as soon as possible. Refunds will be issued by the College Board.
HBCU Virtual College Fairs
Explore opportunities at some of the nation’s Best-In-Class HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). HBUC will be hosting two Virtual College Fairs for the San Diego Unified School District.
- Tuesday, November 10 / 4:00-6:00….Flyer
To register for either session, scroll to the bottom of their Events page and find SDUSD.
Fall 2020 Mesa Deadlines
For students taking dual enrollment classes at Mesa College, the DROP deadline is this Thursday, 9/24/2020 and the WITHDRAWAL deadline is Monday, 11/16/2020. Students who drop before the drop deadline will not be penalized for dropping their course(s). Students who drop after the drop deadline, but before the withdrawal deadline will receive a W on their transcript and will no longer be eligible for Mesa College courses until they graduate high school. Students who remain in their course(s) after the withdrawal deadline will receive a letter grade and must maintain a 2.0 GPA each semester in all college work in order to remain eligible.
Students are welcome to self drop in the mySDCCD student portal.
Women in Computer Science
** COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS **
integirls math competition
inteGIRLS is hosting their annual Fall math competition online on 11/21/20. The contest is open to all female and non-binary students comfortable with being grouped with women. There will be two divisions: Middle School (open to students of grade 8 and below) and High School (open to students of grade 12 and below, though younger students may participate if they wish).
The contest is designed to be accessible to beginners and challenging to more experienced competitors. Students that don't have contest experience but are doing well in their school math classes, are encouraged to compete.
Prizes will be awarded! Register here
Remembrance Readings: Fireflies
Tuesday, November 10 / 6:00pm
JCompany Youth Theatre presents a free live streaming of “Fireflies,” which is based on the true story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, who brought hope and beauty to thousands of children at the Terezin concentration camp. This historical play about the Holocaust is being told by youth, for youth (grades 3+).