Congratulations to this week's Heroes Katie and Sammy. We hope you enjoy your up-close parking spot.
A Note to Katie Niles, Middle School Dean:
For this week's highlight of the week, I want to nominate Katie Niles! For serve week alone, Katie deserves this for a month! Each day ran so smoothly and was so well planned and executed by Katie's amazing leadership. Balancing days of fun and activities with days of service can be tough, but Katie led our students into each day and the week would not have been as impactful without Katie and her guidance. Besides serve week, seeing how Katie cares for all of our students is admirable. Katie approaches all interactions and conversations with love and Godly direction and through that the students have the ability to learn and grow.
For these and so many other reasons, Katie is definitely deserving of our Hero Highlight of the week!
Sammy Soyring, Fourth Grade Teacher: Your amazing positive attitude is contagious and is a blessing to your students and to those who work with you. Thank you for being a person who is always fun to be around. Love the 5th Grade Team
100% for HIS Bright Future
Thank You for Your Participation! Just 17 Days Left to Reach 80% Participation for a Student/Staff In-N-Out Bash
Let's reach 80% family participation by 12.31.18 so that all MCS students and staff can enjoy an All-School In-N-Out Burger Bash, underwritten by a generous alumni parent.
For details, please view the recent letter from our MCS Board of Trustees,
at this link..
AS OF DECEMBER 14, 2018 - Thank You!
From the Admissions Department
Sibling Applications for 2019-2010 OPEN!
Applications are now open for the 2019-2020 school year for siblings of current MCS students! We give priority to our current families applying for new siblings, and space is most limited in TK, Kindergarten, and 7th grade. Apply today! Please contact Ashlee Cowell [email protected] or Gisela Roufs [email protected] in the Admissions Department with any questions.
In celebration of Christmas, Friday (12/21) will be a red and green dress day for all students. Jeans are allowed. Students must wear specified colors/theme (or the MCS uniform must be worn). Pull out your Christmas hats, scarves, jewelry and adornment as we celebrate the last day of school before Christmas break.
Themed Dress Guidelines Reminders: All students are to have a neat, clean and modest appearance at all times, including free dress days. Girls' shorts or skirts must be no shorter than 3 inches above the knee. If leggings are worn, tops must extend past the fingertips. Tank tops must have width of three fingers. Students are not to wear: torn clothes, pajamas, sweats or yoga pants, excessively tight-fitting clothes, spaghetti straps, tops that expose the midriff, clothing with cut-outs, or costume-type clothing.
Merry Christmas!
Join Us for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" December 21st
Half Day of School Friday, December 21 (No ASP/TK Care)
Please note that Friday, December 21, is a half day of school and there is no ASP or TK care.
Half Day Dismissal Schedule:
*TK-K: Students dismissed at 11:55 & cars dismissed at 12:10
1st-3rd: Students dismissed at 12:00 & cars dismissed at 12:10 4th-8th: Students dismissed at 12:30 & cars dismissed at 12:40
*No front lot carpool for TK on Early Dismissal days. All carpools dismissed from the field area.
Christmas Break: No School December 24th-January 4th
School will be closed December 24th through January 4th as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
"So now we must cling tightly to the hope that lives within us, knowing that God always keeps his promises! Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love."Hebrews 10:22-24 (Passion Translation)
This week in chapel, Mrs. Bray talked about how we get the opportunity to think of creative ways that we can encourage HOPE and do beautiful works as expressions of love. Elementary students also got to hear from the "Backpacks of Hope" Difference Maker team about their project. Abby Damron, Matthew Wahl, Ryan Hayes, Hudson Emery, Sammy Gibbs, Shea Gallagher, Elle Pierson, Aidan Eisenberg, Ali Hudy, Ava Hudy, Maryn Moore, Sadie Bahnsen, and Sophia Valdez all shared a passion for wanting to bring hope, joy and encouragement to children who were going through a difficult season (Sickness, Homelessness, Foster Care). They have worked hard behind the scenes to design backpacks that have a spot on them for the children who receive them to write their names on it and make it THEIR OWN. They also designed "HOPE BEARS" that wear a t-shirt that says, "HOPE" across the chest so that children can hold onto them when they need something to cuddle and have a daily reminder to have hope. They also leveraged the all school TOY DRIVE and Middle School Share2Wear to collect toys that will work well for small spaces and traveling between hospital and home, or home to home. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE TOY DRIVE and SPONSORING HOPE BEARS!
After hearing about their project, elementary students got to jump into action by writing their own notes of encouragement that will go into the BACKPACKS OF HOPE!
Here are a couple of quotes from the students sharing in chapel:
"My family got the opportunity to be a safe and loving home for a couple of girls off and on for over a year. This experience really opened my heart and my eyes to how difficult if must be for kids who don't get to live with their families. It is easy to take the simple things for granted like having a place to call home. Unfortunately, for foster children their homes are always changing. But having a backpack filled with their very own belongings will hopefully bring them a sense of home." -Aidan Eisenberg
"My family has also experienced long days in the hospital. My sister, Saylor, has had 5 open heart surgeries and spent over 425 days in the hospital. When my sister has received cards and presents during a hospital stay, she has felt like she has hope and that she wasn't all alone. Hospital stays can be a very sad and dark challenging time for families. The backpacks of Hope will help to bring light to the dark days." - Elle Pierson
Please join us in praying for the children who will receive these backpacks and notes of love & encouragement.
Thank You 3rd Grade!
The 3rd graders worked hard to have their very own Elementary Bake Sale and they generously donated the money raised ($454.45) towards the purchase of toys to go into Backpacks of Hope for children currently experiencing homelessness! Thank you, 3rd grade!
Book Fair Highlights
Another successful year for the MCS Mrs. Nelson's book fair! This year we got to use the BRAND NEW Pre-Function space and it was perfect! As students walked into the room their eyes were wide and their smiles were ear to ear in excitement to look at all the new books. For a week the book fair was filled with students, teachers and families all seeking to find new books to read and enjoy. It was a joy seeing parents and teachers helping students find books and overhearing the wonderful conversations taking place all over.
Thank you to all of our amazing parent volunteers for helping and supporting the book fair, to the teachers for being flexible and bringing their students in to shop rain or shine for a new book and helping out through the whole event, to the aides for all their help and to the advancement team for helping get out the word for this year's book fair!
This would not have happened without everyone's support and serving hearts for MCS.
January 2019
An Invitation for MCS Parents
MCS Parents are invited to stop by the front lobby for Starbucks coffee, morning treats, and fellowship. The dates are 1/9, 2/13, 3/13, 4/10, and 5/8. Hosted by the MCS Advancement Department, we hope to have a cup of coffee with you!
Uniform Wear and Share January 8th and 9th
Elementary Parent Meeting for Upcoming Production
January 11th
If your student is interested in auditioning for the upcoming and first-ever Elementary Production "School House Rock Live!, Jr.," please attend the parent meeting on Friday, January 11th, at 2PM. Location TBD. We look forward to sharing all about this unique opportunity for our K-5th grade students with you.
Bingo Night January 25th, 2019
February
Save the Date: Elementary Daddy Daughter Dance
March
Elementary MIA Presents "School House Rock Live! Jr." March 22 & 23
Click here for the announcement that was sent this week from our Elementary Principal.
April
Save the Date: Elementary Talent Show
Save the Date: Spring Celebration and Auction
If you are interested in being part of the 2019 Auction Volunteer Team, please email Barbara O'Brian at [email protected]. This is a great opportunity to be part of one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and is also a great way to get to know fellow MCS Parents.
In The Know
Choice Lunch
Please remember to order Choice Lunch for your student(s) for December and January. Thanks so much!
www.choicelunch.com.
All Lost and Found Items Donated the Last School Day of the Month
Please note that lost and found items will be donated at the end of the school day on Friday, December 21st. Please take a moment to look for your lost items periodically.
Volunteers Needed!
Looking for a great way to volunteer that can fit your schedule? Lost and found distribution would love your help. There are lots of items wanting to find their owners! Please contact Jen Crowell at
[email protected] for more information.
Happy Birthday & Spirit Rock Fun!
December
Leilen Shelton 12/8
Christopher Lucas 12/10
Gisela Roufs 12/12
Natasha Lomakin 12/15
Sady Amend 12/28
Crystal Willis 12/30
January
Robin Walker 1/1
Sue Celek 1/2
Keven Kroehler 1/3
Troy Moore 1/5
Vanessa Gentry 1/11
Mirranda Parks 1/11
Jennifer Crowell 1/12
Kristin Knecth 1/12
Dianne McVay 1/16
Melissa Pena 1/18
Lynda Lynch 1/21
Allison Skelly 1/22
Kelly Han 1/24
Trang Nguyen 1/31
This list is provided to you by our Parent Teacher Fellowship.
Spirit Rock - Celebrating the MCS Family
Happy Birthday Justin. We hope you had a blessed day and have a wonderful year. I bet you are a great student. We're glad you're at MCS.
If you would like to share your special rock design and person in E-News, please forward your photo to [email protected]. All the spots are filled for the 2017-2018 school year. Look for information from our Parent Teacher Fellowship at the beginning of next school year and reserve your spot early.
Middle School E-Newsletter
H I S
"The earth is [His] and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1 NIV
12.14.18
Pack N' Pray Chapel Recap
"So now we must cling tightly to the hope that lives within us, knowing that God always keeps his promises! Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love." Hebrews 10:22-24 (Passion Translation)
This week in chapel, Mrs. Bray talked about how we get the opportunity to think of creative ways that we can encourage HOPE and do beautiful works as expressions of love. Middle School students got to hear about the vision behind the elementary students' Backpacks of Hope Difference Maker project. It was also a very special moment in chapel for them to hear fellow classmates Dylan Gallagher and Marta Harrison share about their own experiences of time in the hospital and receiving a foster child into their family. Dylan's reflections on time in the hospital and Marta's reflections on how her little younger brother arrived when he first came to their home gave our students context for why this project matters so much. They also got to jump into action by packing the toys that were collected in the Toy Drive into the backpacks and writing notes of encouragement to children in the hospital, experiencing homelessness or in foster care.
Mrs. Harrison closed by personalizing this process for our students. She challenged them that even though they do not know who the recipient of their backpack will be, to quietly pray over the backpack they had packed. Our students prayed over the specific foster child or child who is in long term hospital care, that whatever hard circumstances he or she is facing, this backpack would bring the hope and joy of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your partnership in the Toy Drive and Share2Wear! Please join us in praying for the children who will receive these backpacks and notes of love and encouragement.
Middle School Christmas Skate Party
Our middle school Christmas Skate Party lived up to the hype in every way! In our 3rd annual Skate Party, we had a record number of students attend, as we celebrated Christmas together as a middle school family. The evening was filled with laughter and joy, as students circled the rink, participated in games, and bounced back from a tumble or 2! It was an amazing evening all around, and we are already looking forward to next year!
Held on the outdoor courts. Please attend all 3 days of tryouts.
*8th Graders will not attend tryouts on Wednesday, December 12th, and Wednesday, December 19th, due to private high school test prep with Mrs. Thurston. Tryouts on those Wednesdays will take place in PE class.
GO LIONS!
Fall Sports Awards and Pizza
This week we celebrated all of our fall sports teams. Pictured is the 8th grade Flag Football Team...having lots of fun it looks like (along with Coach Thompson). Congratulations to all the teams on a season well done.
HSPT Private School Entrance Exam Review Sessions
We are offering four review sessions to help our MCS students prepare for private school entrance exams, specifically the High School Placement Test (HSPT) and the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE). Math and English will be reviewed in each session. All four sessions will be different, so we recommend you attend all four. Students are encouraged to purchase the HSPT or ISEE test books available at Barnes and Nobel or online. Any version of the HSPT or ISEE test book is fine. Please have your child bring the book to each session.
Students may attend any or all of the following sessions:
Wednesday, December 19th (3:00-4:30pm)
Wednesday, January 9th (3:00-4:30pm)
Location: Meet in Mrs. Thurston's room at the start of each session
The sessions are long, but are designed to allow review of both Math and English. We will also provide a short snack break. These sessions should provide a good stretching of our students' "test endurance." Generally, entrance exam testing periods are three to fours hours in length. Most middle school students are not used to sitting and testing for so long!
All four sessions are included in the $40 fee. Your FACTS account will be billed after the first session you attend.
Please RSVP to [email protected] if your child will be attending any sessions.
***Please let us know if you'd like to donate snack items for these review sessions. It would be much appreciated by the hungry students.
Corona del Mar High School: Prospective Parent Night for parents who are looking for an option for the 2019-20 school year. Held on Tuesday, December 11, at 6:00PM in the CDM Learning Resource Center. If you have questions, please contact Julie Rahmatulla at 949.515.6037.
Newport Harbor High School: Tours of NHHS will be held on Wednesday, December 12th, 12:00-11:30AM, and on Thursday, January 17th, 10:00-11:30AM. All 8th graders and parents are welcome! No reservation necessary. Questions? Please contact Diana Long at
[email protected] or 949.646.1556, ext. 1
Early College High School: ECHS Information Night will be held on January 30, 2019 from 6:30-7:30PM in the multi-purpose room. Call 714.424.7990 for details. Located at:
2990 Mesa Verde Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
Crean Lutheran High School- UPCOMING EVENTS December and January: Prospective students and families are cordially invited to attend these upcoming December and January events.Questions, please contact Mrs. Tara Mathis at [email protected].
In celebration of Christmas, Friday (12/21) will be a red and green dress day for all students. Jeans are allowed. Students must wear specified colors/theme (or the MCS uniform must be worn). Pull out your Christmas hats, scarves, jewelry and adornment as we celebrate the last day of school before Christmas break. 
School will be closed December 24th through January 4th as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Robin Walker 1/1
If you would like to share your special rock design and person in E-News, please forward your photo to 
*Girls Volleyball:
The sessions are long, but are designed to allow review of both Math and English. We will also provide a short snack break. These sessions should provide a good stretching of our students' "test endurance." Generally, entrance exam testing periods are three to fours hours in length. Most middle school students are not used to sitting and testing for so long!
