October 5, 2023

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October 9-13th - NO SCHOOL - Fall Break

Reminder that school will be closed during the week of October 9-13th for Fall Break.

For teachers and staff, October 9th is a professional development day and October 10th is designated as Parent Teacher Conference Day. Teachers are scheduling parent-teacher conferences for this day (and throughout the month of October), so please be on the look out for more details from your homeroom teachers.

If you would like to schedule a conference with other teachers that work with your child, such as GATE, Specials, or other staff, you are always welcome to request that directly via email.

October 16th - Monthly GO Team Meeting

The next monthly MES GO Team meeting will be held on Monday, October 16th at 5pm. This meeting will only be live streamed via the MES YouTube channel, where you can watch the meeting live or watch the recording at a later time.

The agenda for this meeting, as well as past meeting materials and the protocol for signing up to speak during the public comment period can be found on the MES GO Team webpage.

October 17th - School Picture Day

Say cheese! School Picture Day will be on Tuesday, October 17th, just after we return from Fall Break.

GCI Portraits will again be this year's school picture provider. Pictures are taken in front of a green screen, so families will have a choice of several backgrounds when ordering the photos.  

Order forms were sent home in Wednesday Take Home folders on October 4th. You can also prepay for pictures online here using the school code M125A. Duplicate order forms to print can be found here.

**Reminder to NOT wear GREEN on picture day, as it won't show up against the green screen backdrop!**

October 23rd – 27th - Red Ribbon Week



Each year schools across the United States show their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by wearing or displaying the red ribbon. October 23rd- the 31st marks Red Ribbon Week, which raises awareness of drug use and the problems related to drugs faced by individuals, families, and communities. During Red Ribbon Week, students around the nation pledge to increase their knowledge by learning more about the destructive effects of drug abuse, and renew their commitment to live a healthy, drug free lifestyle.

The counseling department along with the administrative team are teaming up to further bring forth awareness by celebrating each day of Red Ribbon Week. Each daily theme promotes sound decision making, strengthening unity, and employing a healthy lifestyle. Please plan to participate in the following themed days:

• Monday October 23rd - Wear red to show that we are ready to be all that we can be!
• Tuesday October 24th - Wear a college shirt or dress for your future career
• Wednesday October 25th - Wear a hat and/or mismatched or colorful sock day
• Thursday October 26th - Wear a colorful outfit or your favorite color
• Friday October 27th - Show your school spirit by wearing MES spirit wear or our school colors!

Saturday, October 28th - Monster Bash!

Join in the excitement! The 5th-grade Haunted House is coming to life, and our vendors are brewing up enchanting surprises. Be part of the magic on October 28th from 11am to 4pm right here at Morningside Elementary School.

Don't wait—sign up to contribute to the Bake Sale and/or Pumpkin Auction below and help make Monster Bash 2023 unforgettable!

Start Planning Ahead Now for the Annual Pumpkin Auction!

Calling all artists! Decorated Pumpkins are needed for the Pumpkin Auction to be held at the Monster Bash. If you would like to donate a decorated craft pumpkin for the auction, please let us know via this SignUp Genius. Finished pumpkins are due by October 25th. More details are available at the SignUp Genius link. For questions about the Pumpkin Auction, please contact Jill Cobb.

Sign Up Now to Contribute to the Annual Bake Sale!

Sign ups are now open for this year's Monster Bash Bake Sale! Please click through to the Bake Sale SignUp Genius to let us know if you'd like to contribute. All bake sale items should be individually wrapped. Bake sale items will need to be delivered to the school on Friday, October 27th during arrivals or dismissal or on Saturday morning, October 28th between 9-10:30am. The Bake Sale Committee will price the items. All proceeds from the Bake Sale will go to support the work of the Dolphins Do Good committee.

For questions about the Bake Sale, please contact Ashley Kurzweil.

More details about Monster Bash, including how to purchase writstbands for the event, will be coming via a Special Edition Digital Dolphin on October 16th.

October 31st – Book Character Day

On Tuesday, October 31st, we will have our annual “Book Character Day”. Students and staff (and parents!) are invited to dress as their favorite book characters! This is an annual event with many teachers already planning their attire. 

We are also collecting any costumes, hats, props for our gently used “Book Character Day Closet” for students who may forget or need something to join in on the fun for this special day. Please put those in a bag labeled Book Character Day and send those to the front office by October 30th. Book Character Day is a great event to promote our love of reading! 

If you have any questions, please email Principal Sofianos.  

Save the Date for Boosterthon and the Dolphin Dash Fun Run!

Mark those calendars now!

Throughout the year, the MES PTA works hard to improve and enhance the school experience for our students, teachers, and staff. We love doing this work, but unfortunately, we can’t do it without funding. Starting in 2003, the primary fundraiser for the MES PTA has been our annual Boosterthon. This single event, which will take place this year from November 9th through the 17th, raises the money used to power the majority of PTA initiatives each year. Last fall, our Boosterthon raised over $125,000 from our generous supporters!

For now, please mark your calendars to cheer on your runners on during our concluding event, the Dolphin Dash Fun Run on Friday, November 17th. Note that this event is the last day before Thanksgiving Break, so please plan for your kids to be at school that day so they can take part in the fun! The full event schedule by grade will be available as we get closer to the date.

Please share any questions with Mallory Rahman.

Children's Book Donations

During the Book Fair, MES families donated 755 books to Children Read Atlanta! THANK YOU!

If you still have books at home, guess what? Mr. Rawls has generously offered to keep the donation bin directly outside of the Amy Snowden Mathers Library at MES for future drop-offs. When your family has outgrown gently used children’s books (baby board books, rhyming, alphabet/number, story/picture books), please consider donating them via this bin - so easy! Children Read Atlanta repairs and cleans your books, then distributes them to kids ages 0-5 in Head Start programs, Sheltering Arms daycares, and Title 1 Pre-K classrooms in APS and DeKalb County Schools.

Questions? Please contact Marla Johnson.

Morning Carpool Drop Off Reminder!

Friendly Reminder: The ONLY safe and acceptable method of dropping off students in carpool is through our designated carpool route. There is no drop off allowed on East Rock Springs Road as it is extremely unsafe with traffic patterns. We have even noticed a few cars dropping off students in the middle of the street, which is extremely unsafe for our children during a very busy time of increased traffic. 

You can find the carpool route on the MES website Transportation page. Thank you!

STEAM Partner Interest Form 2023-2024

We need YOUR expertise, experience and help to shine a light on STEAM/STEM amazing Careers!!

We are looking for partners who are willing to share their STEAM/STEM career with students in any way that will help bring it to life:

• field trip opportunity
• in person speaker
• facilitated hands-on class project
• zoom speaker
• donation of supplies for a project
• OR sharing resources or contacts

If it is you or someone you know can help, please complete the form here or share it to help our MES students grow in their knowledge of diverse STEAM/STEM careers!

MES Principal Blog

Principal Sofianos has been busy updating her blog this year, with some help from Assistant Principals Dr. Sinclair and Mr. Baron. Be sure to keep up with all the school news straight from the principal's desk by bookmarking her Principal's Blog and checking back often!

Department of Special Education Parent Listening Session!

Sesiones De Escucha Para Padres De Otoño!

APS Department of Special Education would like to invite you to our Fall Parent Listening Sessions to Communicate and Collaborate.

English-language Session: October 24th 5:30 PM on Zoom (more details here)

El Departamento de Educación Especial de APS desea invitarlo a nuestras sesiones de escucha de padres de otoño para comunicarse y colaborar.

Sesión en español: Octubre 25 7:30 PM Zoom (más detalles aquí)

You're Invited to the Million Bazillion Live Tour at David T. Howard Middle School!

Our friends at David T. Howard Middle School have been chosen as one of just 60 schools nationwide to be awarded a visit from Million Bazillion Live, the podcast about money for kids and families. Howard would like to extend an invitation to Morningside families to come attend the show on Friday, October 27th at Howard Middle School. Guests should plan to arrive by 6:00pm for the 6:30pm show.

If you'd like to join us for this unforgettable evening of family fun, financial literacy, games, prizes, and more, please RSVP here. This game show-themed event is a great way for you and your kids to learn about money and have fun doing it!

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 2023 Calendar.

Come Celebrate 100 Years of Morningside!

This year is our beloved neighborhood's 100th birthday, and the Morningside Lenox Park Association and it's fantastic sponsors are capping the year off with a terrific party! The Centennial Gala will be on Friday, November 10th at 7pm at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. Tickets include live music from the fantastic One Nation Party Band, catering by Morningside's own Dennis Dean, and an open bar! This event is designed to bring our neighborhood together to celebrate it's rich history - it's just a big ol' party, so if you love our neighborhood and love to have a great time, then this is a no brainer!

There are a limited number of tickets available for the Ball and they are now available at: https://www.mlpa.org/centennial-celebration/

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.