March 15, 2024

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Spring MAP Testing Happening NOW through Friday, March 22nd

The third and final MAP assessment windows for the 2023-2024 school year will take place beginning on Monday, March 11th and will conclude on Friday, March 22nd. Classroom teachers will reach out individually with specific class testing dates, but generally speaking, assessments will take place according to the following schedule:

MAP Growth Assessments - Reading and Math (Grades K - 5)

MAP Growth is the most trusted and innovative assessment for measuring achievement and growth in K–12 math, reading and language usage. It provides teachers with accurate, and actionable evidence to help target instruction for each student or groups of students regardless of how far above or below they are from their grade level. MAP Growth Assessments will be completed between Monday, March 11th and Friday, March 15th for all grade levels.

Access a Family Guide to understanding MAP Growth: ENGLISH  SPANISH

MAP Reading Fluency Assessments (Grades K - 3)

This assessment allows precise, reliable insights to support early readers while maximizing valuable instructional time. With speech-recognition technology, group administration, and automatic scoring, MAP Reading Fluency provides a clear view of early literacy skills and learning needs for an entire class in about 20 minutes. MAP Reading Fluency Assessments will be completed between Monday, March 18th and Friday, March 22nd for all students in grades K-3.

Friday, March 15th - Principal Coffee Talk

The next Principal Coffee Talk will be held on Friday, March 15th at 8am in the MES Auditorium - please join us for updates on the spring semester and plans for the rest of the school year! Please note that all coffee talks will also be live streamed to our YouTube channel if you cannot attend in person.

Please save the date for the final Principal Coffee Talk for this school year on April 26th, also at 8am in the MES Auditorium.

Saturday, March 16th - Bust a Move Bash and Auction!

Unless you have a legit Delorean with a flux capacitor and can travel back in time, you're going to want to act fast to make plans to attend THIS Saturday the 16th! Buy your tickets or sponsorship packages today because you are NOT going to want to miss out on the most totally outrageous party of the year, including the opportunity to show off your flyest 80s and 90s attire (costumes or casual attire encouraged but not required!).

Need more deets on this sure to be slammin' shindig? Read on below!

When: March 16th, 2024

• Patron Sponsor Reception: 6:00 - 7:00pm
• Bust a Move Bash: 7:00 - 11:00pm

Where: The Carlyle, 1919 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

Recommended Attire: Casual 80s or 90s Attire

Event Website: Click Here!

Join us for a super cool night featuring:

• A Totally Rad Silent and Live Auction
• Catered Dinner from da bomb Ibiza Catering
• Open Bar for most tickets/sponsorships
• Live band 'Members Only' performing all the hits from the 80s and 90s
• Awesome Costume Contest
• Glamour Shots Photo Booth

You're not going to want to sit this one out... so don't just stand there - BUST A MOVE! We are currently selling tickets and family/corporate sponsorships to this year's Bust a Move Bash on the official event website, Here!

Additional details about the available sponsorship and ticket packages can be found by clicking the links below:

• Bust a Move Bash Family Sponsorship Details
• Bust a Move Bash Corporate Sponsorship Details

For information please visit the Bust a Move Bash webpage or contact the Bust a Move Bash co-chairs Fabricio Moraes and Justin Hubbarth.

Monday, March 18th - Last Day to Order MES Spirit Wear!

New designs are now available in the MES Spirit Wear store including a custom graffiti-style MES graphic and tie-dye! Show your MES pride with hoodies and t-shirts for spring and get your gear to wear for Field Day and MES Night Out at Atlanta United. The store will be open until Monday, March 18th, and orders will ship to the school or homes approximately 3 weeks after the store is closed.

CLICK HERE to visit the MES Spirit Wear Store!

Friday, March 22nd - Parent University: Middle School Transition for Rising Rams

As we move closer to the end of the school year, our current fifth grade families are beginning to look ahead to next year. To help these families prepare for their upcoming middle school transition, the MES PTA and the 5th Grade Social Chairs have organized a panel of current Howard Middle School parents and caregivers to share their experiences and answer questions. This Middle School Transition Parent University session will take place on Friday, March 22nd at 8am in the MES cafeteria. Please note that while this panel will focus primarily on Howard Middle School, the intent is for the discussion to cover topics relevant to the middle school transition generally; families of students in all grades are welcome to join!

Our Rising Rams families may also be interested in joining the virtual Curriculum Meeting being hosted by Howard Middle School on Tuesday, March 19th at 6pm in order to learn more about what to expect next year. If you are interested in joining this call, please be sure to register in advance by clicking here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the call in information to join the meeting.

Friday, March 22nd - Lost and Found Donation Day

Are you missing a water bottle or coat? Please be sure to look for it before the next donation day on Friday, March 22nd! The Lost and Found is now located near the cafeteria, along the hallway to the library - simply check in the office before swinging by to claim your items. Please note that we will NOT donate any items that are labeled, as the front office staff will work to reunite all labeled items with their owners.

Please see opportunities to volunteer to help with Lost and Found HERE.

Monday, March 25th through Friday, March 29th - Staff Appreciation Week at MES!

Save the dates! This year's MES Staff Appreciation Week will be taking place throughout the week of March 25th through the 29th!

The MES PTA's Staff Appreciation Committee will celebrate with larger scale activities school-wide to honor all of our dedicated MES staff while Room Parents will help coordinate their fellow parents so we can recognize teachers with classroom-based surprises from their students.

In an attempt to save parents from having to buy one flower to create a class bouquet - and to save your teacher from receiving 20 bouquets of flowers - we are asking Room Parents to focus their plans on each teacher's favorite things (like snacks, drinks, and places to eat and shop), as well as wish list items, needed classroom supplies, and similar. Please be on the lookout for an email about signing up to assist with these efforts from your homeroom teacher's Room Parent!

Tuesday, March 26th - Spring Orchestra/Drum Team and Chorus Concerts

Please join us for the 4th and 5th grade orchestra and chorus concerts, which will take place together in the MES Auditorium on Tuesday, March 26th. The orchestra will perform at 7pm followed by the chorus at 7:30pm.

Please note that orchestra students should arrive between 6:30-6:45pm on the night of the show while chorus and drum team performers should arrive between 6:45-7pm. All performers should report to the music rooms upon arrival and should wear black bottoms with either a blue MES Musician shirt or a plain blue top.

Thursday, March 28th - Spring Band Concert

The 4th and 5th grade band concert will take place the same week, at 7pm on Thursday, March 28th, also in the MES Auditorium. As with the other groups, band members should arrive between 6:30-6:45pm and should report to the music rooms first. The attire for performers is the same as above.

Please join us on one or both nights to show your support for our young musicians!

Thursday, March 28th - MES Monthly Book Club Meeting

Please join us for the next monthly meeting of our amazing MES Book Club where we will be discussing the February Book of the Month "Stranded! A Mostly True Story from Iceland" by Ævar Þór Benediktsson. The MES Book Club will meet immediately after school on Thursday, March 28th from 2:45 - 3:15pm in the Amy Snowden Mather Library at MES. You can review the instructions for afterschool pick up and RSVP to attend this meeting here. Please note that if you have not RSVP'd in advance, your child will be unable to attend.

Limited copies of the book can be checked out from the school library, purchased from your favorite local book retailer, or borrowed from the public library. Additional details about the book club can be found on the MES Library webpage.

Monday, April 1st through Friday, April 5th - Spring Break!

Please note that school will be closed during the first week in April for spring break! We hope that all of our Dolphin families enjoy a safe and fun-filled break from school during this time. Don't forget your sunscreen!

Seeking Candidates for PTA Executive Team!

We are in the home stretch for nomination submissions for the 2024-2025 PTA Executive Committee!

Open positions include Co-President, VP Communications, VP Enrichment, VP Community, VP Operations, and VP SWAG. If any of these might be the right fit for you, or you would like to nominate a candidate, please contact the Nominating Committee at [email protected]. You can also visit the PTA Nominations webpage for more information or click on the names below to view short videos from the current position holders about their roles:

• Co-President, Zach Juno (open position is to replace Dawn Rutherford)
• VP of Operations, Camille Richardson
• VP of Community, Aisha Stith
• VP of Enrichment, Anne-Marie DeBacker
• VP of SWAG, Jackie Townley
• VP of Communications, Kristen Cincotta (please reach out to the Nominations Committee for more details on this position)

Thank you for your ongoing support of the MES PTA!

Prospective Student Opportunities!

With the flip of the calendar to 2024, many families are already starting to think ahead to the next school year, when a new group of Rising Kindergarteners and other incoming students will be joining our Dolphin Pod! Here are two opportunities to learn more about the school that may be of interest if you will have a new MES Dolphin during the 2024-2025 school year:

Sign Ups Open Now for Spring School Tours!

As Rising Kindergarten families begin to look ahead to next year, and friends and neighbors consider joining our MES Dolphin pod, we recognize that there is interest in touring the school to inform these important decisions. We will be holding school tours for interested families on the following dates this spring:

• Monday, March 18th
• Wednesday, April 10th

All tours will be led by MES administrators and will take place from 8:30 - 9:30am. If you are interested in joining one of these tours, please sign up in advance here.

Join the Rising K Facebook Group for 2024!

If you have a Rising Kindergartener or other incoming MES students that will be joining us in August 2024, please consider joining our private Rising K Facebook Group. Within this group, dedicated PTA parents and fellow Rising K parents will be sharing information over the coming months to ensure that all of our new families feel well prepared for the new school year, including information on:

• Key dates and instructions for registering for the 2024/2025 school year
• Meetings and events that may be relevant to new/prospective parents
• Everything you need to prepare for the first day of school

And much more! We're looking forward to getting to know everyone more within this private group!

Summer School Open to All MES Students, June 3 – June 28

APS recently announced that registration for Power Up Summer, the APS summer school program, is now open! The Power Up Summer program for the Midtown Cluster elementary schools, including Morningside, will be at SPARK Elementary School from June 3rd – June 28th. The program will run from 7:45am to 2:45pm - a full school day program. Power Up Summer is open to all students, with APS sending special invites through the US Mail to students whose participation this summer is strongly recommended. 

Additional details about Power Up Summer can be found on the APS website. If you would like more information, K-2 families can contact Dr. Sinclair and 3-5 families can contact Mr. Baron. 

Morning Carpool Drop Off Reminder!

Thank you to our carpool families who arrive early and create a space for our staff to enter the parking garage located underneath the main school building! Many of our MES staff members arrive between 7 and 7:15am and we very much appreciate the mindfulness of our carpool families in leaving the garage drive open.

As a reminder, please remember that even if you are running late, there is no drop off allowed on East Rock Springs Road as it is extremely unsafe.

You can find the carpool route on the MES website Transportation page. Please note that there should be no "cut through turns" in the middle of the Barclay Median. Please drive to the end of Barclay and make the turn around there to avoid creating unnecessary traffic back ups and dangerous merging situations. Thank you!

MES Principal Blog

Posts on Principal Sofiano's Principal's Blog highlight the latest happenings at Morningside, including an inside view of the work of our amazing students and wonderful staff. Reminders about blog posts will continue to be sent through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal straight to your phones and email inboxes, but you can also bookmark the Principal's Blog and check it out at any time! If you are not getting blog notices on your email or phone, contact Charlette Jackson in the front office to update your information.

Registration for NEW Howard Middle School Students Opens March 1st!

Beginning on Friday, March 1st, registration will open for students transitioning to middle school across ALL Atlanta Public Schools and charter schools. That means it's time for our Rising Rams families to register for next year!

To register, please click here and choose "Enrollment and Registration" to complete the process starting on March 1st. For questions, please contact [email protected]. Note that middle school registration will open for students outside of APS beginning on May 25th.

Rising Rams families may also be interested in the joining the Howard Middle School Principal's Coffee Talk on Friday, March 15th at 9:45am in the Howard Middle School Media Center. Recordings from past Howard Principal Coffee Talks can be found here.

Rising Rams families, and anyone interested in following events happening at the middle school can subscribe to the weekly Rams Report newsletter here.

Provide Your Feedback on the Final APS Student Calendar Survey!

Atlanta Public Schools has used widespread community engagement to create TWO calendar options for the following school years: 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28. Your feedback through the APS Student Calendar Survey is valuable and will be another important piece of information that the Superintendent and the APS Board of Education will use to make a final decision about our future school calendars. To learn more about the APS Student Calendar Development Process, please click here.

This survey is open to all APS stakeholders, including students, staff, families, and community members. The survey will remain open until Friday, March 15th.

Access the APS Student Calendar Survey: ENGLISH SPANISH

APS Adult Education Classes Available for FREE

Discover APS's free Adult Education Program, where we support individuals in navigating the official Georgia High School Equivalency (HSE) Program, formerly known as the GED Testing Program. From selecting a high school equivalency pathway to test preparation, class enrollment, and short-term training opportunities, APS is dedicated to guiding adults through every step.

Additionally, our program extends beyond HSE with English as a Second Language and citizenship classes held at multiple Atlanta/Fulton County locations.



To learn more and enroll, click HERE and share the information with those who can benefit.

Stay Up to Date with the APS Midtown Cluster

Click HERE for resources directly related to our cluster.

Stay Up to Date with the 2023-2024 APS Calendar 

Click HERE to view the district calendar and start planning for all the breaks.

Click HERE to view the Atlanta BOE 2024 Calendar.

Thank you to our 2023-2024 Diamond Dolphin, Dolphin, and Platinum-level sponsors for supporting our school!

For more information about Dolphin Donors, please click HERE.