Thank YOU, Parents' Association! We were truly touched by the beautiful sign you hung outside the MPH campus. And we were especially blown away by the gifts and outpouring of kind words we found in the thoughtful note cards we received this week. In fact, we were so appreciative that we just had to express our thoughts in writing.
Click on the image below to see what a powerful impact you made on the faculty and staff of MPH.
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Get Ready for R & W Day 2020!
Friday, May 22
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We're just a week away from R & W Day and you're all invited to participate! Don't forget about the ribbon challenge -- find your old R & W Day ribbons and make a design with them! Email your pictures to
Ms. Demers.
As you participate in various healthy and fun activities throughout the day, we ask that you
send us pictures and videos of your efforts!
MPH Faculty are getting in the spirit by performing some pretty amazing trick shots...check these out!
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Kindergarten Parade!
Mrs. Brang and Mrs. Gannon were surprised with a car parade to close out Teacher Appreciation Week!
Last week, Kindergartner Sam was telling his mom, Connie Lickstein, just how much he missed both of his teachers and his classmates. Connie thought it would be a good idea to reach out to other Kindergarten families to ask if anyone would like to pay a visit to their teachers! Within hours, she had an amazing response from the class and they decided to go to each of their houses on Friday afternoon in a caravan.
Parents Marianne Huger Thomson and Laila Audi helped to coordinate the meeting spot, and they gathered to decorate cars. They started with Mrs. Gannon's house, driving in a line up and down her street, beeping horns, showing her posters, and letting the kids wave at her from a safe distance. Connie remarked, "it was the most amazing sight!" The parents eventually got out of their cars and gave Mrs. Gannon a standing ovation just to recognize the hard work, patience, and dedication she has shown during this time. They repeated their efforts as they drove to Mrs. Brang's house -- more beeping, music, cheering, and clapping. "It was the absolute best!"
Connie shared her feelings about this special day: "It was so wonderful to see the kids so happy to see their teachers and to see the teachers so emotional about seeing those little smiling faces. I think the whole experience is just evidence of what an amazing community we have at MPH. I also have to say that every set of parents was so happy to be involved and so ready to do this. I think everyone involved left the afternoon feeling very uplifted and refreshed after seeing those kids do something so purely kind for two of their favorite people."
Take a look at the videos below- they are sure to warm your heart! Thank you, Kindergarten families!
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Grade 5 Proudly Presents...
Not even social distancing could keep our resilient Grade 5 students from collaborating to write, film, and produce their traditional play. Stay tuned for your invitation to a watch party to celebrate the talents of these amazing and adaptive leaders of the Lower School. Be on the lookout for a Zoom link with the Grade 5 play premier date and time soon!
In the meantime, click on the link below and enjoy this little video “teaser” to give you a
little glimpse of what is to come.
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No Talking!
Last Friday, Grade 3 had another surprise guest “crash” their morning meeting! MPH's librarian, Mrs. Morrison, stopped by to say "hi" and continue reading the book
No Talking, a chapter book the kids were listening to as a read-aloud during "library time".
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Ryan performs a favorite, Mushnik & Son from last year's musical,
Little Shop of Horrors.
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"Over the Rainbow," Mr. Huyge-style!
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Paul performing Ives Piano Sonata no. 2 mov. 3,
“The Alcotts."
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Friday Concerts in Upper School
You may recall that last week we featured some videos of performances by Upper School faculty and students. We had such a positive response, we thought we'd share a few more! Enjoy!
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Kaeli thought that this song was fitting for the times. Plus, see if you can spot her cat, who photo-bombed her video!
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The Multicultural Festival is ON!
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A Note from Mrs. Chhablani...
"I have been amazed by the creativity and incredible work everyone has put into our cherished end-of-the-year events. I am happy to say that our sophomore class is trying to add to that creativity and is still planning for the Multicultural Festival this year! A virtual MCF will be hosted live on YouTube,
on May 29, at 1:00
p.m
.
It will be open to the entire MPH community and will feature our parade of flags, student speakers, country presentations, advertisements, and more! "
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Alumnus Check-In
Shane Ogden, MPH class of 2016, decided to surprise Mr. Zlomek this week by signing into advisory check-in in his brother's place. He came early to the check-in to say "hello" and talk about finishing up his senior year at RIT, applying for their master's program, doing the co-op work study program in undergrad, and transitioning to life back in Syracuse. Lance, Shane, and his mom, Deb, were all in on the surprise, with Deb being kind enough to take a picture of the festivities from her end. Attention alums: It's relationships and connection that make MPH -- not just brick and mortar. You're always welcome to join in the fun at MPH!
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Life's Giving Us Lemons? Let's Learn How to Run a Lemonade Stand!
Mrs. Concepcion and Mrs. Ricciardiello combined forces in Grade 4 for a thematic unit. Working together for the ELA and math lessons, students will learn how to run a successful lemonade stand. They kicked off the unit with the very silly "
Duck Song
" video on YouTube before heading into the more serious work of reading articles of other successful 10-year-old entrepreneurs in small groups via "breakout rooms.' Students then came back together with the whole class in order to create a Jamboard to share their thoughts on what made a successful business.
The teachers plan to share the concept of "give-save-spend," which a few students are already utilizing with their allowances. They'll continue to research how to build their business and then get into the math of managing budgets and making a profit.
Students also completed a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting two articles. While doing a whole class read-and-discuss activity, students took notes independently before sharing their ideas in a
group
Venn diagram.
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Encore Zoom Bomb
Welcome Surprises Raise Spirits!
Our Encore teachers are missing their students, so they took matters into their own hands and "Zoom bombed" the morning meetings of The Bridge on Tuesday. Ms. Dannan, Mrs. Koziara, and Sra. Trouyet visited the Grade 4 and Grade 5 morning meetings to check in with their students. The children were surprised and excited to see these teachers!
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Virtual Presentations in Grade 4
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Mrs. Riciardello's Grade 4 jumanities students wrapped up their study of the original 13 colonies with virtual presentations. Each student was assigned a colony to research using online resources. Upon completion of a formal written paper, students captured all they learned with a creative project that was shared live with their peers. They were rewarded with full class gallery applause, comments, and compliments from classmates and teachers. Kudos to this group for a fantastic job!
Check out some of the presentations on the right.
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The Green Avengers Strike Again!
Gavin, a member of the MPH Green Avengers, sent seeds to all members of the classes of 2020 and 2021, as well as to the advisors to Green Avengers. With each seed packet, the following note was enclosed: "Happy Earth Week from the MPH Green Avengers! I recognize that it is no longer Earth Week, but with Amazon being backed up from COVID-19, these seeds came a little late. I’m sure all of you have heard by now that despite the many negative impacts of COVID-19, the planet has had some time to heal itself. Inside your envelope is a packet of seeds for you to plant if you’d like to bring some cheer to this rather disappointing end of the school year. There are directions on how to plant the seeds on the back of the packet." Thank you for keeping our spirits up and for caring for the well-being of the planet, Green Avengers!
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"How Now, Spirit!"
An Award-Winning Performance!
After winning the School’s English-speaking Union Shakespeare Competition earlier this year, sophomore Emma recently represented MPH at the regional competition and earned 2nd place! While she was not able to compete in person, she gave a a riveting performance as
Robin Goodfellow from
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Sonnet 123)
from her living room. Congratulations, Emma!
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Our Dedication to Literacy in
Lower School Leads the Way for Others
Last week, Emily Hanford retweeted Colleen Congel’s tweet about our continued dedication to literacy instruction in the Lower School. As a member of
The Reading League
, Colleen has been instrumental in the literacy instruction in the Lower School. Colleen has facilitated Lower School advisors in continued literacy training (LETRS Training by
Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Carol Tolman) to ensure that all of our young readers have access to reading instruction based on the science of reading.
Who is
Emily Hanford? She has been working in public media for more than two decades as a reporter, producer, editor, news director, and program host. Her feature documentary,
At a Loss for Words
exposes the truth behind reading instruction in America. Read more about Emily Hanford
here.
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Pets of MPH
This week's pets! Enjoy!
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In memory of Abbey Wood. This sweet girl was loved so much and will be missed by the Wood family.
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