MSA Weekly News

March 7, 2014 Volume 7, Number 26

“If a student can’t learn the way we teach … we should teach the way a student can learn.

-Tweetie L. Moore, Founder

In This Issue Wish You Were Here?

Meet Brad Smallwood

Spring Forward

Class of 2014

Many Thanks

Seusstastic Week!

Public Open House

Who Reads? We Read!

House Page for a Day

Got Your Tickets?

Re-Enrollment

Trail to Eagle

School CLOSED

AF Climbs

They’re Here!

On the Links

Tee-Off for Technology

Anatomy in Clay

Scout Camp Fundraiser

Want to Learn More?

$550 Raised for Foundation

Resolve to Get Involved

Spring Break Survey Time

Summer Programs

Wish You Were Here?

This week consisted mostly of Achievement Testing for PU/CA/U. There was a college workshop mid-week and Muffins for Moms this morning, which I am sure we will share more about next week. Make sure to set your clocks ahead this weekend for Daylight Saving Time. Looking forward to more of the spring-like weather we will have this weekend.

This has been a short week for me as I spent the past weekend and a couple days during the week in Orlando. It started out as a meeting with a website company that eventually got canceled. I decided to take vacation and go anyway, my husband drove me. ;) It was a nice, short get away to the blue sky, warmer weather, sunshine and fluffy clouds. We were able to enjoy the wonderful temperatures and the pool where we stayed. No agenda, except to get up whenever we did and eat three meals each day. “Wish you were here” or maybe “wish you were here?”

Feature Teacher

Brad Smallwood

Meet Brad Smallwood!

Brad is a teacher in the Upper School who teaches both American History and Health. He came to us as a substitute and ended up a permanent teacher, he has been around campus for a little over a year. Brad says that “MSA is very welcoming and I like the community – it feels like a second family.” He feels that is part of the success of this school. His teaching philosophy is simple, “teach to meet the needs of the students.” He thinks, “All of us learn in different ways, and it is my job to find what methods of

Sports on Tap

The Bulletin Board

Cares and Concerns

Character Quote

Web Links of Interest MSA Sports Calendar

The most current information when it comes to MSA Sports Schedules

MSA Home Page Find everything you need to find about MSA is here

The Bee Stang Blog Check out what’s happening at the hive

MSA PVA Web Site Learn what is going on with your PVA

MSA Weekly News Archives Catch up on past news

MSA Current Calendar School Calendar on the MSA website

Legend L = Lower School

M = Middle School

PU = PreUpper School

CA = Communication Arts School

U = Upper School

Social Media

Friend, Follow, Pin with Mill Springs!

teaching will maximize the learning potential in all of my students!”

Brad enjoys spending time with his wife and their 3 dogs, as well as sports and going to concerts. His favorite food is Italian. Right now he is reading Killing Lincoln by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.

Welcome to Mill Springs Brad!

Spring Forward!!

Don’t forget! This weekend Daylight Saving Time

begins. Set your clocks FORWARD one hour before you go to bed on Saturday

night.

Class of 2014

Terrific news from the Class of 2014 this week!

Francis Abernethy has been accepted to Beacon College in Florida.

Congratulations to Annie Carter on her acceptance to Reinhardt University.

Caroline Dyer has received her letters of acceptance to both Reinhardt University and Southern Vermont College!

Zachary Skinner has been accepted to Western Carolina University AND to Life University, which is his first choice!

Many Thanks to Our Terrific Parents

Donate Today

Contact Us http://www.millsprings.org

charwood@millsprings.org

Mill Springs Academy

13660 New Providence Road Alpharetta, GA 30004

770-360-1336

Thank you to … Lori Kogoy!

Lori, a PreUpper Mom, agreed to set up snacks for our tennis team this year and she even agreed to collect cash from other families to help. Not only did she volunteer to do this for the team, but she was also willing to purchase drinks and snacks for the entire team. Thank you Mom!!! The coaches and team really appreciate your support!

James W. Sampson – Head Tennis Coach

Seusstastic Week!

Seth Horowitz wearing his hat

with the Cat!

Matthew Carlson does

not like green eggs

Ms. Branigan’s reading classes have a had Seusstastic week! The students have been learning about Dr. Seuss. Did you know that one of his many pen names was Rosetta Stone? Each day a new Dr. Seuss book was read. The students then summarized the book of the day and did some fun activities. They made hats, like the Cat in the Hat, and tried green eggs. We had so much fun!

Lower School loves Dr. Seuss!

Public Open House

Mill Springs Academy is holding an Open House!

Wednesday, March 12 9:00am

Student Activity Center Did you know that Word of Mouth is by far the largest way families find their way to a Public Open House at Mill Springs Academy? So if you know someone with a child that might benefit from attending MSA, please invite them to our Open House or better yet bring them.

To: All Mill Springs Parents, Board of Trustees, Newsletter Friends, Newsletter Family, Newsletter Professionals, Newsletter Foundations and All Staff/Faculty

If you haven’t attended one, an Open House provides potential parents with an overview of the school, a Fine Arts presentation, a parent perspective and a student perspective, a tour of the school and a chance to speak with the principal. It’s a great opportunity for them to get a feel for what we are all about.

THANK YOU for sharing MSA!

Who Reads? We Read!

Staff, Faculty, Mom’s and Grandma’s All Read

Brittany Emge (Librarian) - Legend by Marie Lu , Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Williems

Sheila FitzGerald (Admin) – A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer Cheri Harwood (Admin) – Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Brain on Fire:

My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahala, Give up Something Bad for Lent by James W. Moore

Branigan Hughes (Lower) – The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne, A Mouse Called Wolf by Dick King-Smith, all Dr. Seuss books

Shannon Koch (Lower) – Plantation by Dorthea Benton Frank Chelsea Michelson (CommArts) – The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Robert Moore (Headmaster) – David and Goliath by Malcolm Galdwell Kathy Muma (Admin) – Tick Tock by Dean Koontz Carissa Nelson (Lower) - The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton, Life After Life by Kate

Atkinson Mary Ramirez (Admin) – Mere Christianity by C.S. Lews Lavone Rippeon (Admin) - The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly Carol Rothschild (Admin) – The Razors Edge Carla Schultheis (Tim’s Mom-Upper) – The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling Leila Smith (Admin) – Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, MD Kathleen White (Matthew’s Grandmother-Lower) – Constable in the Farmyard by

Nicholas Rhea If YOU would like to share what you are reading, just send me an email HERE and provide the author and title of the book. I will be glad to include you in the next newsletter.

House Page for a Day

Courtney Jones, an Upper School senior, was selected to serve as a House Page for the Georgia House of Representatives, during the 152nd Georgia State Assembly. She was a Page for the District of the Honorable Lynne Riley, House of Representatives and Administrative Floor Leader. It was quite an honor; Courtney and her Mom were overwhelmed and excited about this unique opportunity. Courtney’s Mom, Sheila Gregory, said, “I am so proud of her. She was selected among a very large and prestigious pool of young people.”

The Georgia House of Representatives’ Page Program has become an essential part of the services provided to both Legislators and the public. For more than 50 years, this exclusive and educational experience has sparked many political aspirations and has connected elected leaders with Georgia’s young students.

After a challenging day of serving the members by delivering important information and messages into the House Chamber, Courtney and her fellow Pages met their state representative and had their picture taken with the Speaker of the House.

Got Your Tickets?

Items created with the MSA 3D Printer

Make sure you’ve bought your tickets to the MSA Family Dinner on March 15th, 5:30-8:00p.m. If you have questions or need a registration form contact Jill Bonds at jillandruss@bellsouth.net. The Theme is Science and Technology this year. We will be raffling off the following items:

4 Memberships to Momocon plus a Vintage t-shirt

32” TV with Google Chromecast

Parrot AR Drone 2.0 Elite Edition

2 Dragon Con Memberships

A special edition item printed off the MSA 3-D printer

A Day Away from Technology Package which includes Four passes to Roswell Ghost Tours plus a dinner gift certificate

Silent Auction Items for Bid are:

A golf foursome at White Columns Golf Course

Two foursomes of Golf at Alpharetta Athletic Club, East and West

Catered Cocktail Party from Sun in My Belly Catering for 20 people

Re-Enrollment 2014-2015

The due date has come and gone for Re-enrollment Contracts for the 2014-2015 school year. If you haven’t turned yours in yet and you are planning to come back in the fall, make sure you do soon!

Don’t lose your spot, we have already begun accepting and enrolling new students as well.

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact Sheila FitzGerald. Thanks!

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

I wanted to share with you what I heard through the grapevine. Congratulations are due to David Wells, Upper School student, on his achievement. He has earned the distinguished honor to be an Eagle Scout. His Eagle Project consisted of building mallard nesting cylinders that were placed in Roswell’s Big Creek Park. This project is in support of Ducks Unlimited. Congratulations David!

Spring Break – SCHOOL CLOSED

Please consider the environment before printing.

Spring Break Begins Friday, March 28 - Early Dismissal

12:15p L/M Carpool 12:30p PU/CA/U Carpool

12:45p – Buses Depart

Monday, March 31 – Friday, April 4 Mill Springs Academy will be CLOSED

Classes resume Monday, April 7

Annual Fund Continues to Climb!

GOALS 1. Raise $250,000 2. Receive 100%

participation from our entire school family

RESULTS TO DATE 1. Raised $260,268 2. Participation: Staff/Faculty – 100% Trustees – 100% Current Families – 72% New Families – 80%

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! See the sidebar for the current campaign stats.

Please know that even though our Annual Fund participation percentages continue to rise, we must continue our drive to achieve 100% participation from all of our families.

Please consider making your gift today. For your convenience, you can click on “Donate Online-Click Here” button below to donate now. You can also make a pledge by filling out THIS pledge form and emailing it back to Leila Smith in MSA's Development Office.

Pledges can be made now but paid out over time through July 31, 2014

What’s Quackin’ 3 – They’re Here!

If at any time you wish to not receive further MSA Weekly News editions please just ‘reply’ with that information in the email to charwood@millsprings.org

Eggs are quacking in Upper this week! As of press time, five ducklings have hatched in Annette's advisory. Students have been able to witness the messy business of birth, followed by cute fluffiness just a few hours later! Over the next few weeks and months we will watch the ducklings develop and grow into beautiful mallard ducks. Stay tuned for more photos next week as we continue to document their progress. Pictures: Top - the first baby duckling was a lonely guy, so students provided a fuzzy companion until his siblings arrived. Bottom – All five ducklings.

On the Links

Congratulations to the MSA Golf Team on winning their first match against The Howard School on Wednesday! Howard only brought one golfer to the match, and he failed to outscore any of our top three players. The leading scorer for the Mustangs on the par-30 executive layout was Yates Smith, with a 4-over 34.

Tee-Off for Technology

16th Annual “Tee-Off for Technology”

Golf Tournament

Monday, March 24, 2014 9:30am

TPC Sugarloaf

Click HERE for more info and registration

Anatomy in Clay

Vaidehi Rallapalli and Keith Muma, Upper School anatomy and physiology teachers, received a scholarship to attend a professional development training seminar on November 17 & 18 in Savannah. Anatomy in Clay is a learning system where students master anatomy through hands-on learning. Using clay, the students build body systems, layer upon layer, onto scale human models. They sculpt body systems and develop an indelible understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, and the structures. Students gain a profound understanding of how the boy systems are interconnected in form and function.

Annual Scout Camp Card Fundraiser

Boy Scout Troop 6955 announces their annual Camp Card fundraiser. Camp Cards cost $5 and are available from any member of the troop. Troop members include: Alex Comis Michael Healey Matthew Cowart Sam Sweeney Matthew Dalluge Ryan Bornstein The card has a $5 coupon redeemable at Publix, a $10 coupon redeemable at Dick's Sporting Goods and also can be used for discounts at a number of other local merchants. Proceeds go to help the boys cover the cost of summer camp where they earn merit badges and work on scouting advancement. Help a scout and help yourself to savings! Troop 6955 would like to invite any boy attending Mill Springs that is 11 years of age or older or who has completed Cub Scouts to consider joining our troop. Information is available from any scout or from Cindy Thorne.

Want to Learn More?

Two sets of programs are becoming our de facto Assistive Technology offerings at Mill Springs Academy, and will be loaded on all student laptops by next year.. These programs are wordQ/speakQ and ClaroRead Pro. If you are interested in learning more, training videos are located on the Parents Page of the website which you can access HERE. If you would like these installed on your students computer have them advise their principal.

Annual Festival Raises $550 for Foundation

This year, the Fine Arts Department collaborated with Communication Arts during their annual Festival to raise $550.00 for a local charity. The students of CommArts strived to select a charity related to the Irish theme, and so they chose to highlight the issue of literacy in GA to honor the great Irish poets. Students eventually settled on the FitWit Foundation. The FitWit Foundation was established by a nationally recognized Teach for America instructor, Josh Guerreri, in 2008 and offers academic support to underserved students in a way that would result in real, lasting, and dynamic changes for the students involved. Since 2008 they have helped over 500 students achieve their academic, social, and fitness goals. While their programs are geared around fitness and study-aid, they also encourage character development, friendships, confidence, and improved self-efficacy in the lives of local youth. CommArts is so grateful for all of the hard work that the Fine Arts Department put into making the Ireland Festival a success. They are also grateful for the generous students who donated artwork for sale, for the parents and community members who purchased festival shirts custom printed with student designs, and for participants who purchased banners, paintings and block prints.

Resolve to Get Involved - PVA

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? How about getting involved in the Parent Volunteer Association? We have the following positions opening for the 2014-15 school year:

President Vice President

Secretary Chick Fil A Chair Polo Party Chair

Please contact Liz Parks!

4th Annual Spring Break Survey What will your family do on Spring Break?

VACATION STAYCATION NOTHING

Click on your response and then click “send”. Next week we will compare the past year’s results to this year’s results so get your

vote in before the evening of Wednesday, March 19!

Check out Our Summer Programs!

Summer Programs

The Mark Trail Camp information is available HERE. We have a different sport scheduled each week for our Summer Athletic Camps, you can see the schedule and register HERE. If you need or know someone that needs Summer School (rising 9-12 grades) you can find that information HERE. We are offering core classes AND certain ELECTIVES under our Forward Thinking program. Look for those offerings HERE.

Sign up NOW as these programs are all open to the public, but not yet advertised there.

Any questions? Contact: Mark Trail Camp – Will Turner

Summer Athletic Camps – Jennifer Kramer Summer School/Forward Thinking – Cynthia Traylor

Sports on Tap

Schedule (find a complete schedule HERE) BASEBALL: Thursday, March 13th vs. Cottage @ 4:00 @ MSA GOLF: Tuesday, March 11th vs. Dominion Christian @ Trophy Club @ 4:00 TENNIS: Monday, March 10th vs. Crowns Academy @ 4:00 @ MSA Tuesday, March 11th vs. Brandon Hall @ 3:30 @ MSA Thursday, March 13th vs. Cottage @ Steel Canyon @ 4:00 TRACK: Tuesday, March 11th @ Flint River @ 3:00

The Bulletin Board

If the school had a bulletin board, here is what you would find on it (besides your picture, of course):

Sun, Mar 9 – Daylight Saving Time Begins

Mon, Mar 10 – Board Meeting

Mill Springs Academy does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, handicap, national or ethnic origin in its admissions policy or in its employments.

Tue, Mar 11 – Booster Biscuit Breakfast

Wed, Mar 12 – 9:00am – Public Open House

Fri, Mar 14 – Pi Day – PU/CA/U

Sat, Mar 15 – 5:30pm – PVA Family Dinner – Student Activity Center

Mon, Mar 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – Wearin’ O the Green

Tue, Mar 18 – Booster Biscuit Breakfast

Tue, Mar 18 – Achievement Testing L/M only

Wed, Mar 19 – Achievement Testing L/M only

Thur, Mar 20 – Achievement Testing L/M only

Cares and Concerns of our Community

Please keep the following from our Community in your thoughts and prayers.

Homeless Families

Unemployed Families

Please email me at any time with individuals you would like to include on our list as their needs arise. For privacy, I will only list names and claim ignorance if you ask me for details.

Character Quote of the Week

“True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the

shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”

- George Washington

Cheri Harwood Communications Director Mill Springs Academy 13660 New Providence Road Alpharetta, GA 30004 Tel: 770-360-1336 Fax: 770-360-1341

Email: charwood@millsprings.org Web: www.millsprings.org

Success in School … Success in Life