MVMS Eagles have been busy this spring...busy winning awards, performing like Olympians, and giving back to their community. They are ready to FLY into summer!

Every year, Mesa Verde students dress up for the MVMS Foundation Fun Run. The run starts at Mesa Verde, passes Westview, and ends again at our school. After the two-mile run, students ate popsicles, listened to music, and hung out with friends. The event raised money for the school's foundation, who works to support a high-quality education for all.

Spirit days allowed students at Mesa Verde to showcase their unique personalities and school unity. ASB set up tally tables throughout the year as a friendly competition between the grades and staff for Spirit Points. Amelia Jensen, an 8th grader, shows her love for Star Wars on the "May the 4th be with You" spirit day. Seventh grader, Jazmine Moreno, smiles brightly as she flaunts her Wonder Woman jacket for "Superhero" day. In celebration of Mesa Verde's 25th Anniversary, ASB organized several spirit days on the 25th of each month. Overall the TEACHERS won with the most spirit points collected over the year!

Over the span of six days, a group of Mesa Verde 8th grade students travelled thousands of miles across the country to see some of the most well-known cities on the east coast. During the trip, students saw many famous landmarks in Washington D.C., such as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. Additionally, these students walked on the Gettysburg Battlefield and explored New York City.

Seventh grade students spent a day experiencing past eras and different cultures in the history fair. Students dressed up in costumes to represent certain time periods and places they'd studied this year. During the event, they played games, and experienced historical fun. Seventh grade teacher Dave Sykes discussed the educational value of the fair by saying, “I think the kids get something of an understanding that isn't an app on a phone.” Like Mr. Sykes said, the History Fair gave kids a lesson about cultures throughout history, along with an deeper appreciation for the Modern Age.

Silence swept across the audience as the director of Music in the Parks began to announce the winners of the Junior High classical concert band division. Schools from all over California gathered to display their talents to judges as a show of all they accomplished during their hours of practice and hard work. The musicians waited with anticipation as the announcer listed off the runner ups until they finally came to the 1st place winner. Kids held each other’s hands, crossed their fingers, their hearts pumping faster and louder. It was as if the world had gone into slow motion, the few seconds seemed like an eternity until she declared, “ ...And the first place winner goes to… Mesa Verde Middle School!” The kids roared in delight, cheering as the representatives of our school, Eric Park and Liliahana Gutierrez, both 8th graders, accepted the trophy. Some stared in awe at the 1st place trophy, pleasantly surprised by this accomplishment as others squealed joyously. No matter what they expected, because of all the dedication put into the rehearsal every Friday after school, the trophy represented the product of everything.

During a week spent away from home at Camp Cuyamaca, 6th grade students enjoyed experiencing nature and participating in interesting activities. Days were spent doing WRAP activities such as archery, rock-climbing, geocaching, and team-building through the “Toxic River” challenge. Sixth-graders also got to create rock or wood crafts and enjoy daily nature hikes throughout the area. Evenings were spent participating in activities such as a campfire, a Native American presentation, night hikes, a talent show, and a barbeque. Thank you to 6th grade teachers and parents for allowing Mesa Verde’s 6th grade classes to have such an amazing experience!

During the third and fourth quarters, 6th grade students physically prepared themselves for Mesa Verde’s 25th Annual Olympic Games. Homerooms competed against one another in 12 different events, such as the 70 meter hurdles, the mile, and the high jump. Each homeroom represented a different city or country and showed their class spirit during the opening ceremonies. Congratulations to Mrs. Blackmore’s class, representing Japan, for the winning the overall class championship. Thank you to the parent volunteers and 8th grade T.A.s for your help during the games. Finally, a special THANK YOU to the outstanding Physical Education staff here at MVMS. May this special tradition continue!

One part of Mesa Verde will be missing next year! Some of our most beloved teachers will be saying "Sayonara!" to MVMS as they look forward to their new adventures in retirement. The retirees include David Sykes, Joie Nolasco, Marycay Densmore, and John O'Hagan, all of whom leave behind memorable lessons of their time at MVMS. As one final goodbye, the teachers showed us their legacy that they've left for the past 25 years. They all share similar experiences in mentoring students in their own expertise, and students share fond memories with these teachers. Mesa Verde will always reminisce on the times shared by the retirees.

"Every time a former student of mine contacts me and mentions that I played a part of his/her decision to go into teaching, I burst with pride that the cycle to touch the future is continuing!"

"Facilitating the education of eager young minds has exceeded my teaching expectations. The field of education has so many intrinsic rewards because you are able to watch students grow from the beginning to the end of the year."

"[My philosophy] was trying to find something I loved that students would enjoy that would keep them active and into sports throughout their life."

The Mesa Verde Quiz Bowl A-Team qualified for and attended the 2018 Middle School National Championship Tournament, held in Chicago, Illinois, from May 11th to 13th. They placed 49th nationally out of about 200 teams, and tied for first among Southern California teams. The A-Team consisted of 8th graders Aakarsh Vermani and Charles Zhang, and 7th graders Richard Lin, Grace Sun, and Ayush Nayak. The entire Quiz Bowl club consisted of about 35 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students, supervised by Mr. Donnelly.

Thank you for participating in Pasta for Pennies and being supportive of our efforts to help both cancer patients and cancer research by LLS. The results have been tallied. Our schoolwide winner was Mrs. Kangas's class, who rasied over $900. Our grade level winners included Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Nolasco, and Mrs. Hanson. All together MVMS raised over $5,300. Thank you for your support and generaous donations.

On June 8, Mesa Verde celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special event for the community! Mr. Posteraro and Mrs. Puckett held performances with current and alumni band and orchestra members. Mrs. Milling's 6th, 7th, and 8th grade choir also performed. The event featured timelines with pictures from the past 25 years and a time capsule from 1998 along with a new items set to be opened at the next anniversary. We were honored to have three of the four principals in attendance, along with over 30 retired or former staff members. A magnolia tree will be planted in memorial of those staff members that have passed, along with a new sign at the front of the school, named "Legacy Lane". Food trucks served the over 300 people in attendance. Our generous community supported an Opportunity Drawing; $1 tickets were sold for prizes from a car wash to a Dream Dinners event! It was a wonderful celebration of this special school and milestone!