MPH Students Receive Girl Scout Award
Three MPH students, Evie McGuire-Griffin (Grade 8), Sabrina Zukher (Grade 9), and Elise Eng (Grade 9) have earned the esteemed achievement of the Girl Scout Silver Award! This is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can achieve (note that, as ninth graders, Elise and Sabrina are now considered Girl Scout Seniors).
To achieve the Silver Award, Cadettes first have to complete prerequisite Girl Scout Badge and Journey work. They then identify within their community an issue that they care deeply about. The issue can be social, environmental, medical, or the like, but the scout must demonstrate that the issue is important. Next, they develop a project that will address that issue in a significant and impactful way. The project must identify the root cause of the issue, have long-term benefits, include an awareness/educational component, and be sustainable after the scout has completed the project. They are expected to lead the project themselves, with adults advising and assisting only as necessary. The girls are also expected to work with a community partner and must have a "Global Link" by which they demonstrate how their solution to their chosen issue can help in areas outside their project's target community. Council must approve each scout's project proposal before they can start work on the project. Each scout must then log at least 50 hours of work on the project, attain their project goal(s), and submit a final report to council for consideration of a Silver Award.
The Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, spans 26 counties from the Canadian border into northern Pennsylvania, and from the Mohawk Valley to beyond the southern Finger Lakes region. In 2019, a fairly typical year, there were 13,445 girls in our council. Of that, 2,460 were Cadettes, and 165 Silver Awards were conveyed. Evie, Elise, and Sabrina will undoubtedly be working to earn the next coveted honor, their Gold Awards, soon! Congrats to these scouts, and best of luck going forward!
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MUN Hosts Blood Drive
This Thursday, February 4, the MPHMUN team will host a blood drive at the Pebble Hill Church (across the street from campus). Time slots are available from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. To register, simply scan the QR code on the poster, or visit the website here.
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1,050 Pounds of Happiness
After reporting on the great success of our "Can the Pandemic" drive last week, we wanted to share what happened next! Three giant boxes of cans and other nonperishable goods, weighing 1,050 pounds total, were loaded up and delivered to the Food Bank of Central New York (special thanks to our Maintenance crew!). The staff at the Food Bank were overjoyed with this delivery, stating that it was one of their biggest donations. With this donation, the Food Bank will be able to provide 980 individual meals to those in need. Thanks again to all who contributed, in many ways, to this worthy cause!
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MPHMUN Participating in Conference Now!
Yesterday, the MPHMUN team began their competition at Harvard Model United Nations, better known as HMUN. This international relations simulation for high school students is usually held in Boston, but this year, delegates are participating virtually. Per their website, "At HMUN, delegates gain insight into the workings of the United Nations and the dynamics of international relations by assuming the roles of world leaders and international decision makers. HMUN is an exciting opportunity for young leaders to debate the most pressing issues of the day and to draft innovative, creative solutions. Participants will develop several skills throughout this process, including but not limited to: public speaking, negotiation, teamwork, leadership, and policy crafting." Best of luck to the MPHMUN delegates!
The photos below depict the students as they were preparing for the conference earlier this week.
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MPH's Core Value of Kindness in Action
At this week’s All-School Meeting, Mr. McCusker shared this picture of a surprise he found waiting for him when he left the office for the day. His was the only car in the parking lot, but someone – he doesn’t know who – had kindly swept all the snow off of his car except for one patch that had been fashioned into a chilly, smiley face. This kind act brought a smile to his face, too! Mr. McCusker said he hoped the whole community would be inspired to engage in small -- and even random -- acts of kindness whenever possible; we know that such little acts can have BIG impacts, not only for those who receive kindness, but also for those who offer kindness. Being kind is not something we must do; it is something we can do. As the Dalai Lama has said, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
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Family Connections in Grade 4 |
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Fourth-grade students are studying Haudenosaunee and the League of Six Nations. They are discussing topics such as culture, government, beliefs, community, and family life. Fourth grader Isaac was particularly excited about this unit because his family is Mohawk and Oneida. He shared stories of his relatives and ancestors with the class and gave a presentation about his family’s heritage, as well as some of the history connected to the Oneida and Mohawk nations. |
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Mi Casa
Ms. Trouyet's third-grade Spanish students learned to identify rooms of the house, as well as some furniture vocabulary in this week's lesson. With these new tools, they were able to talk about different locations within their homes. Naturally, they demonstrated this by constructing a house! Take a look at the video!
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This Week in Clubs
In Positive Psychology Club, Upper Schoolers Dahlia and Sabrina made brain hats and Play-Doh brains before learning about their character strengths through the VIA. What is the VIA, you ask? See for yourself here!
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Meanwhile in Trivia and Games, juniors and seniors organized a ping-pong extravaganza among the books!
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AP Bio Students Make Kombucha!
Students in AP Biology have been discussing cellular energetics. The class had a great discussion about fermentation, and students convinced Mrs. Yeager to try to make kombucha in class! Kombucha is basically a fermented tea that is made with the help of SCOBYs (symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast). You can buy these cultures online or you can start your own from a store-bought kombucha drink. After the tea ferments (typically anywhere from 7 to 21 days, depending on how “sour” you like it), you can add natural flavors, such as orange or ginger. Students will be able to take home their jar of kombucha to taste at home!
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This Week's Alumni Guest
Dr. Betsy Stoner '04 was the fourth speaker in what is quickly becoming the All-School Meeting Alumni Speaker Series. She shared an important "pearl of wisdom" with the group: that no one should be afraid to fail; failure is often the circumstance in which we learn and grow the most. Check out a clip of her guest appearance on the left.
Betsy attended Skidmore College and received a B.A. in environmental students in 2008. She furthered her studies at Florida International University, where she received her Ph.D. in 2014. Betsy is currently an assistant professor of Natural and Applied Science at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. Betsy's teaching and research interests have centered on the role that humans play in influencing aquatic and terrestrial environments, and ways we can mitigate potential effects on the environment. Classes that she currently teaches are Environmental Science and Sustainability, Science of Sustainability, Oceanography, and a field-intensive course called Biology of Cape Cod.
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Lower School Reminder
While it is a kind gesture to share Valentines, please refrain from sending in any type of Valentine (cards, food, etc.) during the week of February 8-12, as we cannot permit students to distribute and share items brought from homes. Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation as we work diligently to observe both COVID-19 and food-allergy safety protocols. The Lower School teachers have some fun Valentine's Day activities planned for Friday, February 12, and Chef Christine can be counted on to include a special treat in Friday’s lunch!
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Last evening, CEO & Co-Founder of Digital Hyve Jeff Knauss presented "The Real Cost of Social Media" as part of our ongoing Community Conversations series. Jeff discussed the origins of social media platforms and how our "free" use of these platforms generates a robust revenue stream via advertising. Other topics included privacy, security, and how our mental wellness is affected by social media. If you missed the presentation, you can view it by clicking the link on the right.
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A Snapshot of Recess
Take a break with the Bridge and see how Grade 4/5 students are enjoying the recent snowfall. Adventurous students turned the ordinary hill into a body sledding hill! It may just look like simple recess fun, but we have been assured that was not the case. There were multiple trails, all of which were maintained by the students. They even designed a logo and team name: "MPH Penguin Body Sledding Team" (Logo designed by 5th Grader Anya Freeney).
Take a look at our photo gallery below (plus a sneak peek at one of the videos!).
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Click image to view gallery. |
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Winter Gear is a Must!
We are spending as much time as we can outdoors at MPH, enjoying the fresh air and beauty of winter! Thanks for remembering to send in winter gear with your children so that we can do so safely. Chilly as it may be, this time outside helps boost our moods, strengthen our immune systems, and allows for a chance to stretch our legs. Your continued partnership is greatly appreciated!
Don't take it from us, take it from our second graders!
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