MPH Can!
“Can the Pandemic” Effort a Record-Breaking Success!
We are grateful to the Onondaga County Health Department for testing 100 percent of our community — on campus and free of charge — to help keep our community safe. Realizing that we truly are all in the pandemic together, and in the spirit of “paying it forward,” members of the MPH4MPH Club invited everyone to come to the most-recent school-wide COVID-19 testing day with a “can in each hand” to address food insecurity in our region. Curious about the outcome? Read on!
The MPH4MPH club members exercised their agency by consulting with the Pandemic Response Team and working closely with Ms. Perryman to launch this bold initiative. First, they did their homework: Their research revealed that the need is great — the pandemic has brought an 80 percent increase in the number of people who are experiencing food insecurity and dependent on the food bank in Central New York. Next, they coined the name “Can the Pandemic” and started promoting the event to the MPH community via flyers, announcements, and social media. Then, last Friday, these efforts were met by MPH students and employees, who did, indeed, arrive for our school-wide testing day with a “can in each hand” — and, in some cases, bags full of cans! Club member Téa Hokanson commented, “It felt amazing seeing MPH do so much to help those in need. I really felt pride in our school.”
As of today, more than 1,000 cans (and other nonperishable items) have been collected — an MPH record for a can drive! Neha Chhablani ’23 was overjoyed by the program’s success, stating, “We hope MPH can continue making a difference in people’s lives.” Many thanks to the students who volunteered their efforts: Gianni Benson, Sanaya Benson, JJ Braverman, Neha Chhablani, Amitees Fazeli, Kai Hokanson, Téa Hokanson, Barrett Howard and Sergianni Jennings. And special thanks to the Onondaga County Department of Health. We are so grateful for their partnership and their willingness to provide school-wide testing for the students and employees of MPH. We plan to continue to pay forward our appreciation by using these schoolwide testing days in service to the greater community — so please stay tuned for the next invitation to participate!
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Next COVID-19 Testing Date Scheduled
In accordance with state guidelines, MPH will continue to test 10 percent of its population every other week. Our next scheduled test date will be Friday, January 22. The testing will occur on campus during the regular school day, and the tests administered will be the same type that have been used for previous testing. Participants will be randomly selected for testing; a separate email will be sent to employees and parents of selected students with further instructions.
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Click the image above to see photo gallery. |
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Two Weeks in the Bridge
During the recent week of distance learning, students in the Bridge embarked on a journey into matter, starting with learning about atoms. Students took notes online, sharing their notebook pages via Zoom. Fifth graders went a step further and did additional research on atoms and made presentations to share with the class.
When they returned to the classroom, the lesson continued with a HyperDoc on matter, reviewing solids, liquids, and gases. Students who progressed to the "expert level" in their studies started to learn about plasma. As part of the matter unit, 4th graders made borax crystals and were so excited to see the results of their experiment!
In math, students are learning about area, perimeter, and surface area. Grade 5 students cut out nets and created a rectangular prism out of paper. They then used these models to help determine the surface area of differently sized rectangular prisms.
Finally, 4th grader Gavin completed a project of his own at home over break. He made a video of his roller coaster and shared his engineering challenges and successes in class. (Thank you, Gavin, for sharing your enthusiasm!)
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Sophomore Performs with Cayuga Chamber Orchestra |
Tenth grader Paul DiFolco has spent months rehearsing "Concerto Grosso No. 1" by Ernest Bloch with the Cayuga Chamber Youth Orchestra in Ithaca. Unfortunately, they were unable to host a live performance due to the pandemic, but they were able to record all of the pieces for a Facebook live-stream on January 9. If you missed it, click the image below to enjoy the entire production! Great job, Paul!
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Bikes Needed!
The Bicycle Mechanics Club is looking for old kids’ mountain bikes that can be used for recycled parts. Specifically they are looking for bikes with 24" aluminum alloy wheels, which will then be used to build a trike chopper. Contact Alex Leclercq if you are able to help!
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All-School Meetings: The Perfect Start to Our Wednesdays
What began as a way to check in and provide weekly updates is now the once-a-week music playing, joke-telling, laughter-inspiring gathering that we all look forward to! No worries, lots of important information is still shared; it just comes after the intro music. This week was “Sweet Caroline,” complete with the
“da, da, da...“ sung by all! We've also incorporated a joke-of-the-week segment for each division. This week, Upper Schooler Arman stumped Mr. McCusker!
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