Monday Message
December 6, 2021
Bravo! Bravo!
What a breathtaking performance! Malvyn Lai treated MEA students and staff to his awe-inspiring rendition of Robert Schumann's "Carnaval Op.9." He started off the show by telling the audience some very interesting details about Schumann's life. Bravissimo Malvyn!!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Elementary Holiday Hoopla
Tuesday, Dec. 7 / 12:30-2:00
Tables outside of the cafeteria
What's all the hoopla about? It's about students and families in grades K-5 having a festive time, dancing and crafting together. Mrs. Sink is heading up the holiday crafts and ASB students are putting together a musical playlist just for our elementary students.
- Parents/Guardians must accompany their elementary students (similar to Fall Festival).
- This is a free event.
- Snacks will be available for purchase.
Please sign in at the front gate, and then get ready to hoopla!
Elementary Winter Concert
Tuesday, Dec. 14
4:30 pm
Outside of the MakerSpace
All MEA families are invited to come enjoy this outdoor concert. Please note that wearing a mask is required. Just sign in at the front gate and come to the area outside of Room 7.
Mr. Johnson’s students will showcase some of the musical pieces they have learned this year. Everyone is invited to come enjoy our Choir, Advanced Orchestra, and Advanced Band as they perform for your listening pleasure!
Family Dinner at Chipotle
Date: Wednesday, December 15
Time: 4:00-8:00pm
Let’s guac and roll! MEA Foundation has partnered with Chipotle for a school fundraiser with 33% of sales donated to MEAF. You can order their freshly grilled, made-to-order food in person or online with this flyer.
- In Person: Before you order, be sure to let the cashier know you’re there for Mt. Everest Academy (show paper or digital flyer)
- Online: Use order code 2G2BCHX with the Chipotle app or website.
It’s a win-win, help Mt Everest Academy and enjoy Mexican food fresh from the grill!
5650 Balboa Ave. Suite 106
858-380-2316
Elementary Chicken Coop Time
Friday, Dec. 17 / 9:00-10:00
Since November’s K through 5 open chicken coop time was such a success, Miss Shannon would like to offer it again on Friday, December 17 from 9 AM to 10 AM.
Please remember to sign in on the enrichment sign-in form in the front office, and then make your way to the chicken coop with your K through 5 child, remaining with them the entire time they are in the coop. Stay as long as you’d like during that 1 hour time! Hope to see you there… We have plenty of dried mealworms to offer to the chickens!
Parent Workshop: The Brain, Social Media and Gaming Addiction
Date: Monday, January 10, 2022
Time: 12:00-1:00 pm
Zoom: https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/96371999043
Meeting ID: 963 7199 9043
MEA Foundation, in partnership with UCSD Extension, is offering the first MEA Parent Workshop for the school year 2021-2022 on the topic of social media and gaming addiction effect on the brain. Please join us to learn the addictive nature of social media and video gaming and how we can help our kids to remain safe from these addictions.
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)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Elementary Art Sign Up for Month 5
If your elementary student would like to participate in the month 5 art classes on January 4 and January 11, please SIGN UP HERE.
Fill out a new form for each child you would like to enroll. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IF YOUR CHILD CANNOT COMMIT TO THE ENTIRE MONTH.
There are limited spaces available. If the class is full, please email Mrs. Sink (vsink@sandi.net) to get on the waitlist.
Candy Cane Grams
This week, ASB will be selling Candy Grams! For $1, you can tell your friends how much they mean to you with a note and candy cane! They will be on sale outside the office every day during lunch this week. Next week, ASB will deliver them to English classes.
Sock Drive: sponsored by GSA
As a service to the community, the GSA club of MEA is collecting new pairs of socks for people in need. We are asking our wonderful and generous families to donate new socks of any size. Students, please bring your donations to room 1 by Wednesday, December 15th. We thank all of those who brought in clothes for our very successful clothing drive last month.
Christmas Tree Bookshelf Fundraiser
Miss Shannon’s significant other, Mr. Shane, offered his construction expertise to craft wood Christmas tree bookshelves. The coop group students would like to offer these as a fundraising opportunity so that we can acquire soil for the new 16 foot long raised garden beds.
There are six bookshelves available right now in the front office, with a bag of tchotchkes to accompany each bookshelf. The suggested donation for one bookshelf + one bag (both together) is minimum $25. If there’s more interest in the bookshelves, Mr. Shane can construct them and Miss Shannon will stain them as people request them. If you would like one and there isn’t one available, please email: shannon.t.stewart@gmail.com
Makes for a wonderful Christmas gift! They are either a gray stain or an Ebony stain—you may request!
All proceeds will go directly back towards purchasing raised bed soil for the incoming garden beds. We will be growing for the school and for our chickens!
MASSIVE PINECONE Fundraiser
Miss Shannon also has Sugar pine and Coulter pine pinecones available in the front office. The suggested donation is $5 per pinecone, with all proceeds benefiting the gardens and chickens. These are massive pinecones, and make for great statement pieces!
MEA FOUNDATION
SAT Prep Program
Sign up for a free SAT Prep program for MEA high school students that starts on January 23, 2022. Spots are limited, and first come first serve basis. SAT Prep Sign Up Form
MEA Foundation, in partnership with UCSD, is providing an amazing opportunity for a free SAT Prep course (typically $450) for 30 high school students. This includes a pre-test (Sunday, January 23), 16 hours of instruction (weekly 4 hours of zoom training Sundays from 9 am-1 pm from January 30 to February 27), and a post-test (complete by March 6th).
AmazonSmile Update
MEA Foundation has 47 AmazonSmile participants that have contributed $181.21 from June to November. Thank you!
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!
Front End Web Development program
Friday, December 17th is the deadline to sign up for this program.
The MEA Foundation has partnered with UCSD Extension Futures Program to offer 3 courses for free for up to 20 MEA high school students. This course series is normally $840 and counts for 9 units of college credit (but not dual credit for high school high school.) Specifically, the MEA Foundation has secured seats in the “Front End Web Development” series of courses. Students would need to take all 3 courses beginning in Jan. 2022 and ending in September 2022. (Specific course names and dates are listed in the table below.) For more information, please see the Futures website here. If you are a MEA high school student and are interested in signing up for this course series for FREE sponsored by the MEA Foundation, please fill out the form here.
MEA Foundation
What do we do? The simple answer is, we raise funds to support MEA where funds are not available from the district and we organize volunteer efforts to bring workshops, our talent show, teacher appreciation and so much more. We fund music, art supplies, campus improvements, garden, school events, curriculum support and teacher supplements and grants. Our goal is to raise $10,000 this year for MEA.
Please consider making a donation to MEA Foundation. Check if your employer offers corporate matches to double your donation.
Volunteers are needed for the Foundation. We need help with updating the website, organizing a directory for parents, writing grants and fundraising efforts. Please email info@meafoundation.org for more information.
GOOD STUFF
EXTRACURRICULARS
* * * Click box above for Elementary Extracurricular Schedule * * *
Daily Mindfulness & Meditation
Elementary Art
Music with Mr. Johnson
PALS
Covid-19 Protocols for Elementary Students
PALS Tutoring
Wednesdays & Thursdays / 12:30-1:45 / Room 6
Trained tutors are ready to help you get your classwork done. All students grades K-12 who would like some extra help can come to room 6 every Wednesday and Thursday during 4th period (12:30-1:45pm). All grades are welcome, as we have tutors for all grade levels. PALS is a great way to build community and academic skills!
Parents, K-5 students attending PALS must arrive with a check-in form so tutors know what to work on with your child and you receive a report on how things went. (Extra forms will be available when you drop off in case you forget or can't print one at home.)
- K-5 students attending studygroup and PALS on the same day should be signed in when parents drop off at 9am. Parents must indicate if their student is staying for supervised lunch and PALS
- K-5 students attending ONLY PALS on any given day should be signed in outside the front office.
- 6-12 students can report directly to Room 6.
Music classes with Mr. Johnson
These classes are held every Tuesday. Please sign your child in at the front office and note which class(es) they will be attending.
- 8:05- 8:55 - Beginning Band
- 9:05- 9:55 - Choir
- 10:05- 10:55 - Advanced Band
- 11:05 - 11:55 - Music theory (for upper grades)
- 12:30- 1:20 - Advanced Strings (open to secondary)
- 1:35- 2:25 - Beginning Strings
* * * Click box above for Secondary Extracurricular Schedule * * *
Academic League • Ally Action • Anime • Chess • Coop Group • Daily Mindfulness & Meditation • Gaming • German • GSA • Literary Magazine • MathCounts • Mental Health • Music with Mr. Johnson • PALS • Rubik's Cube • Sherpa’s Jam Band • Spanish Conversation • Sports Club • Young Investors Club
Chess Club
Spanish Conversation Club
2nd & 4th Tuesday of work month / 12:00-12:30
¡Vengan a conversar! ¡Participen en la tertulia de español!
MEA students studying all levels of Spanish who want to practice speaking are invited to join a <<tertulia>>, or small gathering, on Tuesdays at lunch. We will meet twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the work month! Month 4's meeting is tomorrow, December 7 in the garden outside of room 1. ¡Vamos a divertirnos! Let's have fun!
Anime Club
Thursday, Dec. 9 / 12:00-12:30 / Room 6
Due to the short work month in December, the Anime Club will also meet this Thursday, Dec. 9. We will discuss, learn about, and watch anime. This club is open to both beginners and gods of anime. No sign up is required, just come and enjoy the show!
The “Heights”
MEA’s Literary Magazine
Are you a writer or an artist? Do you want to get your work published in a magazine? MEA's Literary Magazine “Heights” is the perfect place for you to submit your work! We are looking for your:
- short stories
- artwork
- poems
- monologues
- and more!
“Heights” is edited and organized by your fellow students, and we meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month at 12:00 in Room 2. We would love for you to join us and participate in the editing, organization, and tech work behind our magazine. You do not need to submit work for the magazine to join the club, and you do not need to be in the club to submit work!
Our first issue is going to be out soon, and we need YOUR creative projects to be featured! Here is the link to the Heights website. You'll find the link to the work submission form under Submission Form and Information. Happy writing!
For any questions please email the Editor-in-Chief, Jody Huege, at jodyrh0215@gmail.com.
Pandora’s Box of Secrets
MEA’s Ally Action is organizing a community event for all students. They will be anonymously collecting students' secrets to create a poster for the school, similar to the Museum of Us's PostSecret exhibit.
STUDENTS: You can submit your secret here (everything is anonymous).
AROUND CAMPUS
Planet Presentations
Ms. Patterson's 5th graders promoted vacations to different planets, with all the exciting accommodations, things to do, and food to try. The students were ready to take off and go!
BOOK YOUR TICKETS TO ERIS!
- Millionaire Rain: On Saturn it rains diamonds, so remember to come in the rainy season!
- Places to go: Rings of Saturn Ice Rink
MEA GARDENS & CHICKENS
Hügelkultur Bed Progress
Two weeks ago, Miss Shannon had some amazing helpers working on the Hügelkultur bed. We need to continue the progress…
Miss Shannon is available for service hours or anyone who would like to help out with this interesting garden bed this week, both Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30 to 2:30. Miss Shannon will not be on campus after 12:30 on Wednesday this week.
WE NEED YOUR LEAVES!
If you happen to have any tree leaves around your area/home, both fresh and dried, we are in need of bags and bags of leaves for this future Hügelkultur bed. If you would like to bring them to the school and drop them off, you may place them outside of the chicken coop gate and Miss Shannon will bring them into the school as she sees them.
Please refrain from bagging up pine needles or liquid amber tree pods (spiky balls!)
Sage Garden Lessons
“Do the ROT thing”
If your K through 5 children were identifying compostable items in your home last week, it was because of our fun “Do the ROT thing” Sage Garden lesson with Miss Shannon, all about compost!
All students learned how to identify items that are and are not compostable, investigated our vermicompost bin, assisted with making newspaper bedding for the worms, added compost to our six raised bed growing spaces, and harvested fresh mammoth melting snow peas from the gardens. It’s always great to eat straight from our MEA Gardens! Looking forward to chef Nancy‘s connected nutritional science lessons this week.
Coop Group 12/2/21
We had an excellent turn out for Thursdays MEA coop group meet up and extensive cleaning. All three chickens were excited for the activity and attention. The students continually do an excellent job maintaining a thoroughly cleaned chicken area.
We meet on Thursdays from 8:15 to 9 AM. Hope to see some new members!
HELPFUL INFORMATION
School Spirit Store
Parents are now able to use SchoolCash Online to buy and pay for items using Visa/Visa Debit and Mastercard/Mastercard Debit. We are currently selling school spirit wear and other fundraising items like lanyards, water bottles and DVDs. Simply order online and then come pick up your purchase in the MEA front office.
Please create an account to access our online catalog.
Progress Report Grades
For students in grades 6-12, Progress report grades will be available on the Powerschool Portal soon. These grades will be utilized for eligibility purposes for students in grades 9-12 playing sports at their neighborhood school. Please note, SDUSD has adopted a new format for reporting citizenship grades. Please review the new Mt. Everest Citizenship Rubric with your student(s), which can be found on the school website.
Meet with School Counselor
For students and parents that would like to meet with Mr. Rubin, our school counselor, please sign up for an appointment.
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.)
Student Handbook
Technology Support and Resources
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!
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Benefit Concert for Rady Children's Hospital
Saturday, Dec. 18 / 3:00pm
La Jolla Library Auditorium
Link to FLYER AND PROGRAM
MEA 11th grader, Malvyn Lai, has organized a benefit concert for Rady Children's Hospital. The concert will include performances by piano, flute, clarinet, and ensembles, featuring Nicole Lee, Malvyn Lai, Petunia Rizo, and Ria Rizo from Mt. Everest Academy, as well as the Summit Point youth church ensemble.
The Nutcracker: virtual field trip
Available until January 15
Watch the Southern California Ballet perform narrated show excerpts of “The Nutcracker” with extension activities in movement, pantomime, and costume design in Poway OnStage's Virtual Field Trip.
LINK: https://www.powayonstage.org/scbnut21/
Your Password: nutty21
The full field trip is about 2 hours in length. It is very flexible – synchronous or asynchronous; completed in a single day or over several days – it is up to you!
Thank you to Mrs. Finney for signing our school up to have access to this event!