A Message from the Admissions Office |
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Greetings! This has been an amazing year at MPH, filled with engagement, enthusiasm, and ample opportunities for students to experience the joy of learning within a close-knit community that celebrates their every success. We are pleased to offer you a glimpse of our program and community in this latest issue of our Discover MPH e-newsletter. We hope you will enjoy the stories below, specifically curated to share highlights from the current school year and to share some of the special things happening at MPH. It is not too late to begin an application for fall admission, and if you have not yet done so, we encourage you to take that step. Our Admissions team stands ready to assist your continued exploration of the School and help you explore opportunities for your child to become a member of our learning community.
Nicole Cicoria
Director of Admissions
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A Tribute to Our Educators |
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As our school year comes to a close, gratitude for the MPH experience seems to be the common theme for all who are a part of it, with the recognition that “relationships” are central to what makes us a tight-knit community and why this educational model works so well for so many. In honor of—and with deep appreciation for—our dedicated educators, this video tribute just premiered at our spring gala! We hope you will take a few minutes to watch (and enjoy!).
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With the theme of “Spring, Seeds, and Plants” as a backdrop, the Pre-K students pictured here in their pretend flower shop are practicing cooperation and taking turns while using props to utilize their language, literacy, and math skills during imaginary play and learning. |
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The month of May found Kindergarten hatching chick eggs! Given that it typically takes 21 days for a chick to hatch, the prediction at the time of this story submission was that the eggs would hatch around May 27. Plans were to candle the eggs to see the embryo. The students were keeping track of the chick progress and actively involved in other content areas related to chickens. In the photos, you can see the incubator as well as some “chick” math (addition) in the works. |
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On a Friday in late April, Lower Schoolers participated in a Wellness Day, which featured Grades 3–5 making bird houses out of recycled materials in the STEAM Park; Grades K–2 making homemade bird food to go in those bird houses; Grades 3–5 making homemade dog treats to donate to Clear Path for Veterans (and Clear Path's service pup making an appearance!); recycling relay races in the gym; and a community clean-up around campus.
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Members of MPH’s Own Light & Magic Visit Grade 2 |
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MPH’s Light & Magic, the School’s video-production team, joined Grade 2 for the class’s weekly Upper School presentation in early May, and the young students were thrilled to learn all about this creative team. Seniors Simon F., Nick T., and Jake A. conducted a well-planned presentation on how they became the production group they are today: Initially, they had been asked to stream live sports events when spectators were not able to attend in person during the early days of COVID. They began streaming with just video at the first games and then eventually added audio, graphics, commentating, and replay capabilities. Over the past two years, the team has televised MPH sporting events, plays, and concerts to the families and to the MPH community via their Trojan TV channel on YouTube. Jake, Simon, and Nick told the students how as a team they continually revise and improve their video work and that they each spend about 10 to 13 hours a week streaming games, producing the All-School Meetings, and working on other various projects for the School.
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Fifth-Grade Play Shifts to Silver Screen |
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The fifth-grade play has been a longstanding MPH tradition. In recent years, the Grade 5 teacher and Lower School division head facilitated the students in a process that first began as revising an existing play and more recently moved to the creation of curriculum that allows the students to write and produce the entire play themselves. This year, Grade 5 educators incorporated this production directly into fifth-grade lessons and activities to give students a sense of ownership and responsibility. Each fifth-grade student had the opportunity to be an integral part of a process that included script writing, revising, acting, and, in late April, filming. Students learned about important aspects of a play’s full production, including stage directions, props/prop creation, scenery, lighting, signage, film editing, and the incorporation of music and special effects. The class was also very fortunate this year to have someone from Syracuse’s own Newhouse School of Public Communications join them to help film and edit their production. The fifth-grade families were invited to a premiere screening in early May in the School’s Coville Theater, and other Lower School families were able to watch the production, titled Expired, on a private YouTube link that evening as well. The link is now available to all!
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Grade 6 Students See Selves in 3D |
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In April, the Grade 6 math class worked together with the computer literacy class to take measurements of themselves and scale those dimensions down to create a character in a 3D modeling program called Tinkercad. The students rigged their 3D model into an avatar animation using Mixamo, where they then used Screencast to record a story of their avatar and choose the movements for their character. |
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Sixth-grade scientists combined a study of the electromagnetic spectrum and color with polymer chemistry as they used only primary colors to achieve a predetermined polymer color of their choosing. A mixture of glue, water, and borax found scientists witnessing the borate molecule attaching glue molecules to form stretchy, fun—and much longer!—polymer molecules. Students then added hand soap, additional water, or additional borax to investigate how the polymer then changed. |
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Students Pitch Innovative Ideas
to MPH's Own Shark Tank
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From an app that turns any set of headphones into noise-canceling headphones to a lens adaptor that allows for switching of lenses between camera bodies, MPH students in the Entrepreneurial Studies class presented to a Shark Tank of MPH “investors” in early May. The “investors” included a couple of faculty members as well as a friend of the School.
Projects included:
Ground-2-Mouth | This is a company working with local farmers to supply locally grown food to food deserts.
ProAdapt | A lens adaptor that will allow favorite lenses to fit new or old cameras.
Dog-Fit | Track your dog’s activity, heart rate, and sleep.
EngagedDoor | Automatic door shutting
Air Controller | Gaming controller that has built-in fans to keep your hands cool.
Seta | Noise-canceling headphone app for any type of headphone.
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Senior Capstone Projects Return to Campus |
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On the last Friday in April, seniors presented their capstone projects—an in-person event, open to the MPH community for the first time in three years! Seniors were given the chance to highlight the results of their research journeys, which they initially embarked on last spring. Students from the Class of 2022 researched fetal microchimerism, the future of unmanned space exploration, and contemporary methods for learning Eastern languages. They wrote witty cultural analyses, painstakingly researched policy papers, and reflective personal essays. They filmed documentaries, video essays, and one-take films. They wrote plays and screenplays. They made albums in record studios and in their bedrooms. They interviewed doctors, academics, and jazz musicians. They programmed podcasts, academic curricula, and self-driving cars. They designed affordable clothing styles, performed standup, and waded through the shallows of Cranberry Lake collecting mayflies. They surveyed, sleuthed, drew, designed, predicted, practiced, read, wrote, and revised their way to these culminating presentations.
Senior capstones are one of those MPH traditions that absolutely set the School apart. This is college-level work done on fascinating, complex subjects. A full look at this year's projects can be found HERE.
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Celebrating in the Sun:
Red and White Day!
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The sense of glory pursued that was so palpable at Winter Fest was softened for Red and White Day by the rustling May breeze and by the sense of things coming to an end. Campus was light and sweet, with laughter everywhere and the first hint of the yoke of a scheduled life loosening for the younger ones. There were outdoor games of jump rope, bean bag toss, and potato sack races. There were throwing competitions, as well as kicking, jumping, and running. There was even someone on a tiny BMX bike just wandering, rolling in circles, untethered. It was a good start to the “ending season” of school. And a good end to the long stretch from January to now. |
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From French to Spanish to Latin to Chinese, the last week of April proved an eventful World Language Week at the School, with the Phoenix the site of daily club activities related to each language. |
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Stop the Bleed: National Initiative Brings Important Safety Lessons for Kids of All Ages |
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For the little kids, there was simple guidance: "Is the bleeding bigger than a Band-Aid?" If so, that would be the time to use some techniques taught at MPH one Thursday in May—to students of all ages. The younger kids learned wound packing and wrapping from Nurse Christine in the gym, along with additional lessons from the Core Health team at the School—such as wrapping, packing a first aid kit, and knowing when to call 911. In the Phoenix, the older kids learned more-advanced techniques, including using a tourniquet and dressing a wound, and students from MPH’s own EMT class were able to help impart this knowledge to their peers.
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Community Video Tribute to Our Seniors: Produced “In House” and Enjoyed by All! |
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Our own in-house, student-led production team, Light & Magic, shared this tribute to the Class of 2022 at the All-School Meeting in mid-May.
From All-School Meetings to concert to highlights to science fair coverage, the Light & Magic team does amazing work. It's worth checking their website for a review of the 2021-2022 school year.
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Summer Programs Registration Open |
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Manlius Pebble Hill School is excited for our Summer 2022 program offerings, which you can check out in detail on the MPH Summer Programs page and register now! Sports programs are filling up quickly. You can also view the full brochure here.
In addition to summer day camp, MPH offers athletic and enrichment camps, driver education, and the SAT Preparation Course. For the SAT preparation course introduction and instructor bios, please go here. We look forward to seeing you this summer!
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MPH Global Academic Offerings
Also Open for Summer Registration
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Also found in the 2022 Summer Programs brochure are offerings from the second season of MPH Global, a summer academic program offering in-person and online courses in literacy, math, world languages, and music. Our first session will feature a masterclass and parent talk on the Suzuki Teaching Philosophy by Zachary Sweet on July 13. Audience participation for this masterclass is free and open to the entire MPH community, but registration is required. Registration for all offerings is now open. Sign up and learn more about the MPH Global program here!
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Read More Like This!
If you would like to see complete issues of Snapshot, our weekly e-newsletter to current MPH families — and the publication from which most of the stories above have been excerpted — view back issues here.
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