MPVA Weekly Update
November 14 - 18, 2022
Dear Parents and Greyhounds,
Many thanks to all our PTO volunteers, and there were many, who came out to support our Magnet Open House on Thursday and help make it a success. We enjoyed the energy, the performances, the tours, and the food trucks, and appreciate every parent who took the time to answer questions from prospective families. It takes a village!
Generation TX Week runs Nov. 14-18, and HISD schools will celebrate with college and career activities. Please see the schedule below of the themed days we will participate in this week.
Finally, I am happy to announce that we have a new school nurse, Ms. Naomi Allison. Nurse Allison started on Friday and immediately jumped into the work with our students. We will be scheduling an MS Teams meet and greet with Nurse Naomi after the Thanksgiving break as she will be going through a series of HISD nurse trainings this week.
Respectfully,
Mr. Sarabia
MPVA UPDATES
Toy Drive
This year, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Junior Honor Society are partnering up to bring tons of joy to kids in the community! Like last year, all toys will be donated to CCSC (Christian Community Service Center) through a local church.
The homeroom that donates the most toys will receive a breakfast party, sponsored by FCA and NJHS. Please encourage students to bring brand new, unwrapped toys for kids of all ages. Toys can be brought to Ms. Aust’s classroom (T-12) or Mr. Flores’ room (S-3.) They will also have students available to pick up toys from Homerooms on Friday, Nov. 18 and Friday, Dec. 2. Final toy tally will happen after school on Friday, Dec. 2 and the winning homeroom will be announced the following week.
We are hoping to collect 200+ toys to donate to children in our community. (Black Friday falls within the collections weeks…hint, hint!) I know our Greyhound Family will surpass that goal!
Thank you!
FCA and NJHS Students
Fall School Pictures
Finally, school pictures will be taken on November 15 and 18. Students may wear school-appropriate clothes that are not dress code for picture day. Pictures will be taken during the social studies periods. Please refer to the schedule below. Your students will be able to tell you what period they have their social studies classes.
Breakthrough Houston Meeting
Breakthrough Houston builds a bridge from middle school to college for academically gifted students who come from low-income families. By offering innovative classes during a six-week summer program and 12 Saturday classes during the school year, we prepare students for academic success and leadership in their communities. Our students receive individual tutoring, test preparation, and college counseling as part of our ten-year commitment to their success. If this sounds like something you're interested in please join us on November 15th at 6:00 PM to hear about what this program can do for you.
FINE ARTS UPDATES
Congratulations to our UIL Theater team and Director, Ms. Duran (Hays), who competed this weekend in UIL Theater District Finals and won 2nd Place! We are #MPVAproud of our Greyhounds and the following cast members who also scored individual awards:
o Nia Lewis - All-Star Cast
o Nyala Solomon – Honorable Mention All-Star Cast
o Eliana Weiner – Best Tech
VERIZON INNOVATIVE LEARNING SCHOOLS (VILS) UPDATES
We saw authentic learning this week in 7th-grade Texas History classes. Students were using Canvas and annotated notes to select a section of land to sell to a client while considering the economic, social, political, and environmental characteristics of each region in the state. Here are some pictures from Mr. Giltrop’s class as they chose which sections of land they wanted to sell to their client.
Shhh! We can’t give more details right now, though MPVA is expanding its partnership with Verizon Innovative Learning and in addition to being a 1:1 campus, a Verizon Innovative Learning Lab, with a suite of emerging technologies, will launch in Fall of 2023!
MPVA ATHLETICS UPDATES
Kickstart Kids program is going viral thanks to an interview Coach Clark gave to Point Fighter Live which is the largest platform currently for sport karate in the world. She was able to use it to highlight our Kickstart Kids program here at Meyerland. Here is the link to the interview - https://fb.watch/gKyvAcN9bm/. Huge shoutout to Coach Clark for continuing to shine a light on our Kickstart program and all the awesome Greyhounds that belong to it. Also, for being such a positive role model for everyone!
MPVA Greyhound Basketball is here! Support your Greyhounds and Lady Hounds at 8 basketball home games this 2022-23 season. Our Hounds and Lady Hounds take to the hardwood this Thursday, November 17th from 6 pm - 8 pm against Pershing (Boys @ MPVA, Girls @ Pershing).
MPVA Football potluck victory banquet is Tuesday, November 15th at MPVA CAFETERIA starting at 6 pm. Faculty, admin, staff, football, and cheer are invited to join! Contact LaMonica Love to volunteer for set up/clean up or sign up for a dish. The season ends in November.
MPVA Swimming season is upon us. The Greyhound Swim Team will compete on November 30th.
MPVA Soccer is up next in the sports lineup! Look for more information regarding December tryouts soon. All 7th and 8th-grade girls and boys interested in trying out for Greyhound Soccer, please create an account at Register My Athlete and upload all required forms before November 30.
Coming Up Next:
Spring sports will be here immediately after our winter holiday break. Students interested in:
- Baseball
- Softball
- Soccer
- Track and Field
- you are up next! Parents, get those Sports Physicals done over the winter break and update/create your Register My Athlete account, and upload all required forms so we are ahead of schedule.
PTO UPDATES
Week 2 WE ARE MEYERLAND Update from PTO Campaign Chair:
Two weeks in, and we are flying high Greyhounds! Closing in on $29,000 in donations, representing 142 of our students. Every donation, no matter the amount, is a pledge of support and commitment to the ongoing success of MPVA. Last year's campaign had a total of 141 donors, and we’ve already eclipsed that, with over 160 unique contributors. Donations are coming in from all over our community- relatives, neighbors, staff, and MPVA Alum. And you, our current parents, are leading the charge! Thank you to each and every one of you who have already donated to the ongoing success of WE ARE MEYERLAND, a success that depends on all of us.
If you haven’t yet made your family’s contribution, we ask that you take a minute to watch our informational video linked below and then scroll to the bottom of this email to read last week’s WAM highlighted profiles:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFQEvTY3Kg/Dtdftq7aPjEa0bPIwmSFzQ/watch
It’s our hope that you will spend some time thinking about what a meaningful donation means for your family.
Donation Link: https://mpva.membershiptoolkit.com/wearemeyerland
WE ARE MEYERLAND, y’all! Let’s break even more records in week three!
PTO Community Meeting
Our November PTO Community Meeting is on Wednesday the 16th at 7 PM in the MPVA Library. There will be a streaming only link available via the MPVA Calendar. Hope to see you there for updates on We Are Meyerland, Budget Update, Magnet Recruiting, Principal Update, and additional updates on how your PTO is working on behalf of MPVA.
Greyhound Store
The Greyhound Store is back! This PTO-supported and run incentive program involves students earning "Greyhound Bucks” that they can then spend on trinkets/small items that the PTO provides. The program has already started with Honor Roll Students and Greyhound Store volunteers will start delivering their treats in November. This month the program will expand school-wide and all students can start earning bucks from any teacher by being responsible and respectful Greyhounds! All students will have an opportunity to spend their bucks every 3 weeks throughout the school year with items delivered during the school day. If you’re interested in assisting with the Greyhound Store, please email president@mpvapto.com
Subscribe to emails here: mpva.membershiptoolkit.com
Facebook: Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School PTO
Instagram: @mpvapto
Twitter: PTO of MPVA Middle School
MPVA QUICK LINKS
MPVA Website
https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/78513
Student Dress Code
Weekly Email
https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/178532
MPVA Traffic Map
https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/178532
MPVA Student/Parent Handbook
MPVA CALENDAR
Upcoming Events
- Monday, November 14 (Purple Day)
- 8th Grade High School Fair @ 11:00 AM
- Tuesday, November 15 (Grey Day)
- School Picture Day
- HISD Dance Connect: Days of Dance
- MPVA Football Banquet at 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, November 16 (Purple Day)
- HISD Dance Connect: Days of Dance
- MPVA PTO Community Meeting @ 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Thursday, November 17 (Grey Day)
- Boys’ Basketball vs. Pershing at MVPA @ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Girls’ Basketball @ Pershing @ 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
- Honors Piano Recital @ 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
- Friday, November 18 (Purple Day)
- School Picture Day
- TMEA All-Region Orchestra Clinic
- MPVA PTO Spirit Event @ Jumping World at 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM
- Saturday, November 19
- TMEA All-Region Orchestra Clinic and Concert
Just Around the Corner
- Thanksgiving Break – November 21 - 25