Weekly Top for 2-15-19

Folks,



Board of Education Meeting next Monday, Feb.18th-
The board of education meeting will take place at Brown Elementary School at 6:00 PM next Monday, Feb. 18th.

No meeting at UMS next week-
We do not have a staff meeting next week, but the following Monday, February 25th we have an important meeting with a Berrien County nurse on diabetes, seizures, etc.  We will also update some Skyward items.

Good luck to our 2 students at Cloverleaf-
6th grader, Betsy Fiesbeck, and 7th grader, Andrew Ferrell will represent Upton Middle School at the Cloverleaf Spelling Bee at Lake Michigan College next Thursday morning.  We wish them the best of luck!

Award next Thursday, Feb. 21st-
8th grader, Grace LaFayette, was the regional winner in middle school of the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest.  Grace will receive her award next Thursday afternoon at a ceremony at the Whitcomb.

PD Day next Friday, Feb. 22nd-
We (BLT) have a nice afternoon planned out for next Friday.  The agenda will come to you midweek.

Battle of the Books next Friday, Feb. 22nd-
Our 7th graders will battle next Friday!  Kristin and Deb have worked out the logistics and it should be a great morning!  It always is fun to watch!

Count Day-
Thanks for your attention to your attendance yesterday!  Count is much more simple compared to the days gone by.

Marigold of the week-

Our wonderful UPTO has to be my pick this week.  They decided to move forward on a piece of equipment in our art room and that purchase came at just the right time.  They are so supportive of things needed for our students and staff.  They are also planning a 5K this Spring that they hope some staff will participate in.  (More to come on that!)

Quote of the week-

Have a wonderful weekend,

Chad

Weekly Top for 2-8-19

Folks,

Welcome a legend! -
St. Joseph Public Schools was blessed with a legend, Dave Foster, in their math department for many years at St. Joseph High School and starting Monday he will join UMS for the remainder of this school year teaching 8th grade algebra 5th hour and 7th grade algebra 6th hour.  I had the pleasure of coaching JV baseball with Dave for many years.  Please welcome Dave and give him a great UMS welcome!

Grades and the verification report-

As soon as Renee arrives this morning we will run the verification report.  If a Q2, S1, or E1 was not submitted someone will knock on your door or call your phone.  We need to "historcalize" grades to get the teacher request process on its way.  With the polar vortex we are behind in our scheduling timeline.  We are not panicked and know it will all get done.

Student Count Day on Wednesday-

The next count day is this Wednesday, February 13th.  We will have to take an accurate attendance each hour and not mark tardies on that day.

February 22nd and February 25th (For your calendars)-

No meeting this Monday, February 11th.

February 22nd will be a half-day with our PD day in the afternoon. Our BLT team will help make this afternoon a meaningful use of your time.

February 25th after school is the reschedule of our nurse from the snow day.  It will be on diabetes, seizures, etc.  This will be an important meeting to attend.

Marigolds of the week-

These marigolds actually come from last week and they are our custodial crew.  I do not want to take for granted the tremendous amount of snow removing they did.  They also opened doors, ran water, and were very busy sanitizing desks.  I want to commend all the hard work they put in!  

Screenagers-

Below is the blurb that went home to parents over the course of the last few weeks that was related to the advisory that we did with students yesterday during the GO time session.   The presentation is free because of a foundation grant.

Parents and students K-12, please join us Feb 11th from 6:30 pm -8:30 pm in the St Joseph High School’s John and Dede Howard auditorium for a viewing of Screenagers. Screenagers is an award-winning film that depicts the challenging struggles that families have over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world. After viewing the film, we have a county expert, Joe Rommel, who will give additional updates on current social media trends and suggestions for parents on setting boundaries with their students’ social media use.

Refreshments will be available, along with free childcare offered by SJHS National Honor Society student group. Childcare is available for toddler through elementary school age children.  

Planetarium Community Night on Monday, February 11th-

If you don't attend the Screenagers you could always attend Jenna's community night here at UMS at 6:30 PM.  The show is:  Legends of the Night Sky: Orion.  Here is a trailer to the show:  Legends of the Night Sky Orion- trailer

Quote of the week-

Although it should be a kindness life, instead of kindness week, I really appreciate the guidance department sponsoring this week.  I couldn't choose so I am putting a few of my favorite kindness quotes.

Chad