Parent Update February 24, 2016

Upcoming Events February 2016 24 - Playwright Performance - 6:00 26-28 - HEAT NDA National Championships 26-28 - MS Seacamp 27- Mock Trial Competition

March 2016 5 - Art Slam - 9:00 AM 5 - Yes We Can Dance - 4:00 & 7:00 8 - MSA Outloud - 6:00 9 - Acoustic Guitar - 6:00 12 - Ballroom Clinic 14 - NHS Induction Ceremony - 7:00 15 - NJHS Induction Ceremony -7:00 16-19 - HS Thespian State Competition 21-25 - Spring Break 28-2 - Dance Showcase

A lot has been happening here at MSA. Check out what is going on!!

Honor Roll Assemblies

MSA held our honor roll assemblies on February 16 and 17, 2016. We handed out over 1100 honor roll certificates and window cling stickers to students who had an overall average of 85% or higher in their classes. Congratulations to all students for their hard work and dedication to excellence.

Progress Reports Come Home Friday

The 5 week progress reports will be coming home with your children this Friday. Please be on the lookout for them. Please contact us next week if you do not receive your child's progress report.

Week

April 2016 8 - Records Day - No School for Students 14, 15, 16 - 42nd Street - 7:00 20 - The HEAT is On - 7:00 21, 22 - 42nd Street - 7:00 25 - MS Chorus Concert - 7:00 26 - HS Chorus Concert - 7:00 27 - HS Keyboard Concert - 7:00 29 - Orchestra Concert - 7:00 29 - 8th Grade Grad Bash - Bush Gardens 29 - Jazz-a-Thon - 9:45-4:30.

For more information, please check our website atwww.msfta.org

Quick Note: Our Spring Musical Production of 42nd Street is fast approaching. Performances will be held on April 14, 15, 16, 21 and 22. All performances are at 7:00 PM in the Large Theatre.

Also remember that you can always check your child's grades on the Parent Portal.

Orchestra Students Perform at Solo Festival

MSA orchestra students participated in the District XI Solo and Ensemble Festival a couple of weeks ago. Based on their outstanding performances, they are now eligible to participate in the State level Solo and Ensemble. Nadia Brooks, cello solo, Excellent Skye Wright, viola solo, Excellent Seth Hall, Rachel Test, Jada Williams, string trio, Excellent Seth Hall, violin solo, Superior Jada Williams, viola solo, Superior with distinction

HeArt and Soul Finalists

High School Art students Amira Shaer, Moises Panchame Pavon,Midline Lozin, and Pietro Lazzaris were chosen for the Heart & Soul Manatee Education Foundation competition. Twenty pieces were selected from approximately 150 applicants from all Manatee County high school students. Congratulations to Amira Shaer for winning Best of Show and to all participants! This program helps fund art grants for county schools.

Amira's Best of Show Pen and Ink

A Couple Safety/Code of Conduct Concerns

We are having many students come to school with Henna tattoos all over their hands, and using various colors of ink to replicate such. Both of these items are in violation of the Code of Conduct, and we would appreciate your support in not allowing your children to come to school with these items on their arms, hands or faces. Additionally, we have have had too many episodes recently of students using overly scented lotions, hand sanitizer, and perfumes. This is a serious problem with students who have breathing issues. It will often times require students (and sometimes teachers) to have to leave the classroom until the smell is aired out. Reminding your child that these are not acceptable would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to these important matters.

Manatee County History Fair

Congratulations to Adam Fuentes, Sara Sutton, and Zoe Zimmerman for coming in First Place for the Senior Group Performance. On to Tallahassee for state competition!

Pennies for Patients Fundraiser

Ms. King and Ms. Clinton, the NJHS Advisors, want to thank everyone for all of their overwhelming support with our Pennies for Patients Fundraiser. We raised a total of$1,737.77!!! They counted a total of 14,912 Pennies, 1,688 Nickels, 2,465 Dimes, and 1,773 Quarters. (The cash was much easier to count!) As you can see, every penny and dime that you found in the sofa made a difference!!!

We had so many teachers who participated in this important fundraiser. The top 10 classroom collections came from : 1. Mrs. Bailey $233.08 2. Ms. Bergin $215.03 3. Ms. Whiting $190.26 4. Mrs. Brebaugh $126.98 5. Mrs. Simon $ 85.23 6. Mrs. KG $ 62.34 7. Mr. Trivedi $ 44.87 8. Mr. Sellars $ 44.85 9. Mrs. Gould $ 31.62 10. Mrs. Stephens $ 27.15

Thank you again for making this fund raiser such a success!!

Cortez Village Fishing Festival

MSA art students and teachers at the Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival February 13th and 14th showing and selling their amazing wares to benefit the Visual Arts program!

College Goal Sunday

The State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) will host the only College Goal Sunday event from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, at SCF Bradenton, 5840 26th St. W., Building 1.

College Goal Sunday is a state-based volunteer program that helps college-bound students and their families obtain financial aid for college by completing the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA.) Financial aid counselors will assist with the application process. The College Goal Sunday program was established in 1989 and has evolved from a one-time event offered in the state of Indiana to a national effort including 40 state programs. The purpose of College Goal Sunday is to help more students navigate the path to and through college. Students who complete a survey about their experience at College Goal Sunday will automatically be entered into a drawing to win a $250 scholarship, which will apply to any accredited, post-secondary institution of their choice. An RSVP is not required. The public is invited to attend the free event. For more information, visit collegegoalsundayusa.org.

JV HEAT wins at Florida State Fair

Congratulations to the JV Heat for their first place finish in both Hip Hop and Jazz at the State Fair. We are proud of your hard work!!

FSA Testing Information

Beginning at the end of February, all MSA students in grades 6-10 will be taking the Florida Standards Assessments. The assessment is a computer-based test except for the writing portions for 6th and 7th grades. You or your child can access the training test on the FSA Portal at http://www.FSAssessments.org/training-tests to become familiar with the program used for testing, item types, and online tools he or she will encounter and use during testing. If you have any questions related to this test administration, please contact our Testing Coordinator, Mrs. Lesa Eschedor, at leschedor@msfta.org or (941) 721-6800, extension 1208. If you or your child would like to learn more about the FSA assessments and, specifically, the ELA Writing Component Field Test, writing rubrics and other general information are available on the FSA Portal at www.FSAssessments.org.

Jr. Thespians compete at States

Congratulations to MSA 6th-8th grade students who competed at the state Jr. Thespians festival on February 5 and 6, 2016. The students did a great job !!

Name Piece Type of Performance Rating

Brown and Co. Supercali Large Group

Musical

Superior (Perfect Score)

Bailey and Co. The Jitterbugs Large Group

Musical Superior

Allan and Co.

Take me Back to Manhattan

Small Group Musical Superior

Alexa Fuentes

Not So Perfect Child Monologue Superior

Emma Devine Gimmie, Gimme Solo Musical Superior

Madi Corbett Vanilla Ice Cream Solo Musical Superior

Emily McKim

Tandy - Censorbleep Monologue Excellent

Dempsey & Miller

Save me a place at Forrest Lawn Duet Acting Excellent

Cassidy Kramer

Whatever Happened to my Part

Solo Musical Excellent

Allan and Co. Story of My Life Large Group

Musical Excellent

MLK NAACP Commemorative Breakfast

MSA students took home three out of four prizes in the annual MLK Contest sponsored by the NAACP. Each student gave a speech and accepted their award certificate, plus a cash prize. The event was held at the Renaissance Center on Saturday morning, February 20, 2016. Congratulations to:

Kristen Haight - 2nd place for photography visual arts. Clareese Keaiston - 1st place 8th grade graphics - photography Obedson Cadet - 2nd place 8th grade - graphic poster.

Congratulations to these students. Great Job!!

Manatee County Agency Fair

Attached is information for the 3rd Annual Manatee County Agency Fair and Parent Workshops 2016, for families of students with disabilities and students who are gifted. This event will take place on March 3, 2016 at Manatee Technical College from 6:00 pm -8:00 pm.

On March 3, families will have the opportunity to connect with over 40 local agencies and select from 13 valuable workshop sessions. Agency Fair Flyer

8th Grade Holocaust Presentation

The 8th grade team put together a wonderful assembly for their students. Holocaust survivor, Mr. Max Weissglass, came and shared his story. He was very inspirational and the students asked some really good questions at the end.

The 8th grade students were spectacular! We were so impressed with their behavior and the attention/respect they gave to the speaker. Job well done team. Keep making a positive difference!

Rainy Day Dismissals

Please continue to be prepared for rain! Please note the following rainy day procedures and expect that dismissal on those days will take longer than normal. Together, we will keep our students safe and get them home as dry as possible. In the event of severe weather, we will change our release procedure to ensure the safety of our students. We will release all bus riders first. All parent pick-up cars must pull into the parent pick-up loop. MSA staff will instruct you what to do at that point. After all buses are gone, we will move the vehicles from the car rider loop to the front of the school. The staff member in the car rider loop will direct you when to move. Do not come into the front parking lot until you are released from the car rider loop. Cars in the front parking lot will hinder the movement of the buses and will

slow the entire release process. We will have all students who are car riders waiting in the front of the school. We will call the students out once you have moved to the front of the school. Please talk to your child about being quiet and patient while waiting. We will only use this Rainy Day procedure forlightning and other severe weather conditions. Please make sure that your child comes to school prepared for rain. Our school store has ponchos on sale for $1.00. It is always a good idea for a student to have a poncho available in their backpack for rainy days. We realize that this procedure will lengthen the time it will take to get the students home and we appreciate your patience as we go through the infrequent rainy dismissals. Thank you for your understanding. Additionally, we will use a texting feature on our parent notification system to notify you if there are any changes in dismissal procedures.

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If you have any questions or concerns about classes, procedures, or how things work at MSA, please contact us. Everyone's contact information is listed on the website, and we would be happy to help in any way possible!

As we celebrate our 18th year at MSA, we are looking forward to a great second half of the school year.

Checking School Announcements

Be sure to check out the school's website (www.msfta.org) for important information. The daily school announcements are posted on the website, with a link on the right hand side of the homepage!!

Help us get the word out Help us get the good news out to friends and family about what's going on at MSA. At the bottom of this message is a

forward link. Our students are doing amazing things, and we would appreciate you forwarding this message on to others. Thank you for all your support.