A Message from the Admissions Office |
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It is hard to believe that spring has arrived, and that we are heading into the last portion of the school year! It has been an amazing year at MPH, filled with innovative and creative opportunities for our 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 take a moment to peruse the stories below, specifically curated to share highlights from the current school year. Our Admissions team stands ready to assist your continued exploration of the School and offer support should you decide to submit an application for admission for the 2022-2023 school year.
Nicole Cicoria
Director of Admissions
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Should You Wish to Take That Next Step…
We encourage those families who haven’t done so already — but who are eager to take the next step and submit an application — to do so by April 30. While MPH has a rolling admissions process, those who apply earlier in the process have the best chance of securing available space and opportunities for financial aid. Please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] if you need assistance with the process.
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Nature's Lessons
Inspire Pre-K Students
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Earlier this month, one of our Pre-K sections could be found observing a bird pick small scraps of plants from the ground with its beak and then fly into the evergreen tree. They predicted that the bird was building a nest. Later, all the students gathered materials from the ground (just like the bird) so they could try and a build a nest of their own. |
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The children from another Pre-K section are pictured here in dramatic play, part of their play and social skills development. The children practice taking turns, and they use their imaginations, creativity, and language skills while playing with puppets and a pretend theatre.
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Star Students
and Scientists!
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Kindergarteners each take a week to be Star Student and Star Scientist of the Week. They present a poster made by them and their family for Star Student, and for Star Scientist they pick out a science experiment of their choice and work through the scientific method and then present it to the class. (They also invite family/friends to join us on Zoom for their presentations!) Their classmates then work to write about what makes their friend a star and from that a nice book is put together at the end as a keepsake. |
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Amy Critz, MPH's resident bee and maple syrup production expert (as well as executive assistant to the head of school and human resources manager), introduced Kindergarteners this month to one of nature's hidden sweet surprises this week when she walked them through the syrup-making process from trunk to jar. She showed the kids how taps are drilled into trees and sap is collected, then explained the boiling process and temperature, as well as how the temperature on the day of collection — along with other factors — contributes to the color of the syrup when it's ready to use. Once they'd done all the requisite learning, the kids learned the most important lesson: All that hard work tastes pretty good. |
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Grade 3 Creating Art
from Around the World
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Grade 3 has been learning about art from around the world and in early March started by studying the ancient art of Africa. Students used what they learned about the tradition of mask making to design their own masks. |
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Grades 3 and 6 Co-Design 3D Robots |
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Grade 3 classes spent part of the month of March visiting Grade 6 Technology classes, in which students have been learning to do 3D Modeling in a program called TinkerCAD. Each Grade 6 student paired up with a third grader and taught them about the robots. The class challenge was for each pairing to design their own robot and give it accessories and a story. |
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Middle School Students Take
to the Halls with STEM Fair Projects
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The Middle School STEM Fair took over the hallways around the gym in late March, with a plethora of projects, ranging from the audio experiences of dogs to the effects of climate change. On the last Sunday of the month, a large group of Middle School students and four Upper School students then competed in the Central New York Science and Engineering Fair at the Museum of Science & Technology (MOST), where they earned a number of specialty awards and numerous other recognitions for their efforts: Honors, High Honors, and Highest Honors were awarded to multiple recognized projects at every grade level in the Junior Division (Grades 4 – 8) and collectively across the Upper Division (Grades 9 – 12).
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MPH Model UN Sophomores Work with
Up-and-Coming Middle School Team Members
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Middle School MUN Club had a simulation conference on World Hunger. MSMUN is a mix of students from Grades 6 to 8. Students prepared during club time, practicing public speaking and doing research. The club’s leaders are sophomores in MUN, and they organized the simulation.
As delegates in the General Assembly, the up-and-comers discussed, debated, and wrote a resolution to address world hunger. Among their solutions were encouraging hydroponic agriculture, improving distribution systems, and teaching urban rooftop farming to help reduce urban hunger specifically.
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Broadway Guest Artist DeMarius Copes from the Syracuse Hamilton Tour visited MPH for a masterclass in the dance studio this week, and students got to practice the real moves from the show.
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MPH STEM Students "Fair" Well |
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MPH students had an incredibly productive time at the CNY Science and Engineering Fair at the Museum of Science & Technology (MOST) in late March, where they earned a number of specialty awards and numerous other recognitions for their efforts: Honors, High Honors, and Highest Honors were awarded to multiple recognized projects at every grade level in the Junior Division (Grades 4 – 8) and collectively across the Upper Division (Grades 9 – 12). |
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From Curling to Karate to Dance:
US Students Wow Grade 2
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Two upper school students visited the second graders in February to tell the students about their extracurricular interests. Senior Andrew W. explained how his family enrolled him in at around five years old as a way to help him channel his energy in a positive way. His dedication to karate and martial arts led to him earning his child black belt at the age of 9 and his adult black belt by 16, at which time he went on to win the World Championship for the USA team in his age group. Much to the delight of the students, Andrew showed them some basic blocks, stances, punches, and kicks. The second graders had many engaging questions, as many currently participate in karate lessons themselves.
Junior Rhys D. then presented to the class about his three years participating in the sport of curling. Many of the students had been watching curling in the Winter Olympics that month and had questions about how the sweeping helped. Rhys explained that the friction of the sweeping on the ice surface causes the ice to warm, allowing the granite stone to move faster toward the "house" or target. Rhys showed the students a curling stone, a sweeper, and the gripper shoes that he uses.
In March, two more seniors, Eden H. and Emily S., made an appearance in Grade 2! These Upper Schoolers have each been taking dance lessons since they were very young, and while they don't belong to the same dance studio, through the years they have performed together at MPH during dance recitals. Eden and Emily’s presentation to Grade 2 focused on their love of dance. In their ballet shoes, the girls demonstrated the en pointe position (balancing on tips of the toes, with straight posture) and a few additional ballet positions. Emily and Eden informed the students about the practice and strength it took to learn to dance en pointe and the various ways they protect their toes. The students were curious about all of the forms of dance the girls had experience with — jazz, tap, and hip hop — and asked the girls about their experiences in dance competitions and how routines are choreographed versus free style or improv dances.
The second graders have appreciated all of these learning experiences and have made valuable connections with their Upper School mentors.
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Bicycle Mechanics Club in Full View |
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MPH's Bicycle Mechanics club took up residence in the McNeil Lobby during club time one Monday, as students in Mr. Leclercq's group worked on a Peugeot frame from the 1970s, which recently received a brake pad upgrade; they also took to the McNeil tables for the most precarious but useful of bicycle-related tasks: the wheel build.
Starting with some classic Mavic rims, the students were refashioning spokes that weren't quite the exact length needed, introducing them to the complex joy and frustration of the habitual bike mechanic/tinkerer, who lives often at the whim of constantly changing industry standards and the limitations of the "let's see, what do I have in here?" approach to parts sourcing.
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MPH Math League’s “MPH Untitled” Wins Onondaga Title
MPH Untitled, this year’s Math League team, took first place in Onondaga County this spring after a five-meet season. The county meet, with all the participating schools, is usually held in February at CNS High School but was moved to individual schools due to the pandemic. Each meet included individual questions, team questions, and a three-person relay where the first member works on a question, passes the answer to the next person to complete their problem, and then passes the answer to the anchor to finish the series. The team scored 152 points, 20 points more than second place.
(The top 30 students in the county then formed TEAM ONONDAGA with plans to compete at the State Meet on April 2 at Onondaga Community College!)
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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
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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As spring sports teams take to the fields, courts (above), and golf links, we cannot help but look back at (and applaud) some of the highlights from a few of our winter squads… |
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Strong Stretch for Hoops Capped Off
by Senior Night Win with Celebrity Support
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Winners of their last four and six of their last seven, the MPH Varsity Basketball team finished its regular season with a 10-9 record and an invite to sectionals as the 10 Seed in the section. Senior Night was made even more special by a visit from Syracuse University's own Boeheim brothers, there to lend their support. Senior Jack Z. was able to score an interview with Buddy Boeheim at halftime.
MPH opened sectional play with a 51-44 upset over 7 seed Copenhagen, eventually losing to Old Forge in the Section III, Class D quarterfinal.
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MPH Swimmers Head to State Qualifiers
MPH swimmers, numbering three Grade 9 students and one junior, performed so well at the Sectional meet at Nottingham High School that they went on to represent MPH (through a partnership with the Oneida team) at the state qualifying meet.
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Volleyball Concludes Successful Season in Sectionals
MPH's 11th-seed Varsity Volleyball team upset 6th-seed Remsen in the first round of the Section III, Class D Sectional Championships. MPH beat the Rams 3-1, eventually falling to 3rd-seed DeRuyter.
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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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