January 18, 2024

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Friday, January 19th - Principal Coffee Talk

The next Principal Coffee Talk will be held on Friday, January 19th at 8am in the Amy Snowden Mather Library! All coffee talks will also be live streamed to our YouTube channel if you cannot attend in person. Please join Principal Sofianos to learn more about all the exciting plans for the second half of the school year!

Please save the date for the remaining Principal Coffee Talks for this school year (all at 8am in MES Auditorium unless otherwise noted): February 9th (BYO Lunch & Learn at Noon), March 15th, and April 26th. There will also be a special coffee talk, to be scheduled, which will be focused on Howard Middle School.

Friday, January 19th - Family Science Night Registration Opens!

Can I get a robot to clean my room? What's the perfect motion to break a karate board? How are big heavy airplanes able to stay up in the sky?

Find out the answers to all these questions and more at MES's Family Science Night (FSN)! All MES students (and their parents, caregivers, and siblings) are invited to attend. Registration will open on Friday, January 19th via the link on the FSN webpage and will stay open through the end of the day on Monday, January 29th.

As with prior FSN events, volunteers are a key part of making sure this event runs smoothly and is a wonderful experience for all involved. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the event.

Monday, January 22nd - 100th Day of School!

Our MES Dolphins are 100 Days Smarter! Please check your emails from classroom teachers to learn more about how each grade-level and class is choosing to mark this milestone day!

***NEW DATE ALERT: Due to our no school weather day, our students and teachers will be celebrating "100 Days Smarter" on Monday, January 22nd.***

January 22nd - MES GO Team Meeting

The MES GO Team will meet this Monday, January 22nd at 5pm for their regular monthly meeting. This meeting will be held in person in the Amy Snowden Mather Library at MES as well as livestreamed on the MES YouTube page for those who would like to watch. Recordings from past meetings can also be viewed on the YouTube page at any time.

The agendas for these meetings, 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.

January 23rd and 24th - Dine Out for MES at Varuni Napoli

Looking to take a break from making dinner for a night (or maybe two!)? Please consider dining at the Midtown location of Varuni Napoli on January 23rd and 24th from 5 to 8pm and 15% of the proceeds will be donated to the MES PTA when you mention "Morningside Elementary". Please note that this offer is for dine in orders ONLY; take out and delivery orders are not eligible.

For more details about this event and all of our community partnership and dine out events, please click here.

Thursday, January 25th - PTA General Meeting

Please join us for our next PTA General Meeting on Thursday, January 25th, 2024 at 8am! The meeting agenda will be shared closer to the meeting date, but one thing that will surely be on the agenda is the election of a Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is charged with preparing the slate of PTA Executive Committee Officers for the 2024-25 school year. The Nominating Committee is composed of five members and one alternate. The work of the Nominating Committee is primarily done in February and March, with meeting schedules mutually agreed upon by the committee once selected. You must be a member of the PTA to serve on the Nominating Committee.



Please contact Jane Myung Park before the January 25th PTA meeting if you are interested in serving on the Nominating Committee!

Saturday, January 27th - Dolphins Got Talent! Showcase

The Dolphins Got Talent! showcase is fast approaching on Saturday, January 27th in the MES Auditorium. Visual Arts and Writing will be showcased from 10:00 - 11:00am and will remain up through the performances. Live Act performances will take place over two shows, beginning with Showcase I at 12pm followed by Showcase II at 3pm.

How Can I Attend?

Since this is the first large community event held in our newly renovated auditorium, attendance for our community will be on a first come, first served basis for each show. Tickets will be available 30 minutes prior to each show and doors will be open 20 minutes prior to each show. Performers and their families will receive their tickets at the end of their scheduled rehearsal time.

For more information about the Dolphins Got Talent! showcase, please visit the Dolphins Got Talent webpage or contact the PTA Dolphins Got Talent Co-Chairs Blair Boyd Zant and Sanjam Duggal.

Saturday, January 27th - Morningside Reading Bowl Competes at the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl!

If you read last week's Principal's Blog, you know that our MES Reading Bowl Team was victorious at our Midtown Cluster reading competition! The team of 4th and 5th graders will now move on to compete for the championship on Saturday, January 27th at the APS 2024 Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl! Coaches Assistant Principal Dr. Sinclair, 2nd grade teacher Julillian Davis, and parent volunteer Brandy Alexander are so proud of the team and all their preparation and hard work!

Thursday, February 1st - MES Book Club Meeting

Please join us for the next monthly meeting of our amazing MES Book Club where we will be discussing the January Book of the Month "The Tree and the River" by Aaron Becker. The MES Book Club will meet immediately after school on Thursday, February 1st 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.

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, including a guide to reading wordless picture books and a summary of January's book can be found on the MES Library webpage.

Comfort Bags for People Experiencing Homelessness: A Dolphins Do Good + No Place For Hate® Project

In January and February the entire MES community will have the opportunity to take part in a community-wide service project to provide a comfort bag of hygiene items to people experiencing homelessness. This is an expansion of a program that MES has participated in for many years called Homeless at Heart. This year there is a classroom learning component and an opportunity for parents and caregivers to pitch in!

Classroom Activity: On February 7, MES will participate in the Global School Play Day and students will pack comfort bags which will be donated to various organizations that provide resources to people experiencing homelessness in Atlanta.

We need your help!

Please donate items by helping us fulfill a 'wish' registry found HERE to gather the needed items to create comfort bags for people experiencing homelessness. All items will be shipped directly to the PTA Dolphins Do Good committee.

On February 2, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, families are invited to come to MES to help sort the items to get ready for the in-class service project. This is a GREAT do-it-together, hands-on activity for you and your students. This is a drop-in event and we appreciate any assistance your family is able to provide.

On February 7, from 7:45-9:30 AM, we need floaters and in-class volunteers to help students pack the bags. Parent Volunteer Sign-up HERE

Questions? Email Lorraine Hatch or Ashley Tucker.

Honor a Teacher by Volunteering During the 2nd Annual Teacher Lunch/Brunch Out!

In February, we are honoring our teachers and staff with a lunch out with their teams! This was started last year and was one of our most popular events - loved by both the volunteers and the teachers alike. With approval from Associate Superintendent Brown, we have created a schedule where teachers can enjoy an extended lunch and collaboration time with colleagues. This is very special to our staff!

During this time, volunteers will work in groups of two to three people per class to oversee the classes for a short time while the teachers enjoy their lunch break with their colleagues. Volunteers will be supported by an administrator or other staff member who is assigned to the volunteer team and will be close by if needed. Volunteers will receive a short training from the contact as well as spend a few minutes with the classroom teacher for organization. Volunteer teams will have one hour in the classroom with work provided by the teachers and one hour of lunch and recess supervision. Altogether, volunteers will spend ~2 hours and 20 minutes for these roles. The schedule for these lunch breaks is as follows:

• Special Areas Teachers: February 5th (no lunch or recess supervision needed)
• Kindergarten: February 6th
• Paraprofessionals: February 7th (lunch duty ONLY)
• 1st Grade: February 8th
• 4th Grade: February 9th
• 2nd Grade: February 13th
• 3rd Grade: February 15th
• 5th Grade: February 16th
• GATE Teachers: February 29th

Please click here to view the exact dates and times and to submit the volunteer form to sign up. Our teachers are so appreciative of this very generous effort by volunteers, contacts, and organizers. Volunteers are welcome to volunteer for multiple days in order to get an inside glimpse of the life of a teacher!

Please contact Principal Sofianos with additional questions.

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:



• Friday, January 26th
• Friday, February 16th
• 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.

Please note that additional information for Rising Kindergarteners will be shared as it becomes available from APS.

The Deadline to Purchase MES Yearbook is Fast Approaching - Don't Delay!

The deadline to purchase your 2023-2024 MES yearbook is approaching quickly. Please make your purchase by Wednesday, February 7th! The cost is $45. Click here to order your MES yearbook today!



The Yearbook Needs Your Photos to be Amazing!

The MES yearbook team is hard at work on the 2023-2024 yearbook! We would love to see all our students represented in the book, so we need your help. Please send pictures you have taken this year to [email protected]. This includes candids taken at MES, any MES events (e.g. Monster Bash, Thanksgiving feast, book character day, red ribbon week, international fest, Boosterthon, spelling bee), and class events (holiday parties and field trips). If you have great pictures from the year, we would love to include them in the yearbook!

When you send us your pictures, please tell us the names of the children pictured, grade and the event it was from. We can't wait to see what special memories you've captured.

Please contact Martha Decker before February 7th with any questions.

Save the Date for the MES Bust A Move Bash and Auction: Saturday, March 16th at The Carlyle

We're throwin' it back to the 80s and 90s - the days of neon windbreakers, boomboxes blazin', and gravity-defying moves. Clear your calendar, as we'll be rappin' about the good old days!

Our posse's been workin' hard but we need your help to make this a killer event! If you have or know someone that has potential interesting items or experiences to donate (i.e. sports tickets, fine art, sports memorabilia, gift cards, concert tickets, summer camps, private chef experiences, summer homes, etc) please contact our silent auction lead, Lori Brown at [email protected].

Let's bust a move for Morningside and make this the most bodacious bash the city's ever seen!

For questions about the Bust a Move Bash, please contact the event co-chairs Fabricio Moraes and Justin Hubbarth.

Morning Carpool Drop Off Reminder!

Friendly Reminders: 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, especially as we are a major route to Emory. We have even noticed a few cars dropping off students in the middle of the street! This is extremely unsafe for our children during a very busy time of increased traffic. We also ask that you please be kind and considerate community members to our neighbors near the school. The use of their driveways is not acceptable and we have received direct complaints.

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

MES Principal Blog

You may have noticed a bit more action on the Principal's Blog since the start of the year - that's because Principal Sofianos has set a New Year's goal for more blogging in 2024! Thus far, she has posted five blogs over the course of the 6 days we've been back at school. These posts 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 her 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.

David T. Howard Middle School Rising Rams "Ramily" Night - Tuesday, January 30

The David T. Howard Middle School PTO is thrilled to welcome all of our Rising 6th graders into our "Ramily"! Please plan to join us at this year's Rising Rams Family Night on Tuesday, January 30th from 5:30 - 7pm at Howard Middle School. While there, please be sure to look for the Howard PTO table to learn more about the PTO and to purchase Howard merchandise for your Rising Ram. Please see the flyer below for additional details, including links to join the Rising 6th grade Facebook Group and to subscribe to the weekly Rams Report.

2024 Pre-K Lottery Coming Soon

Looking to jumpstart your child's educational journey? The Pre-K lottery application window for the 2024-2025 school year opens on February 1st at 9 a.m. through March 1st. The lottery drawing will take place on March 15th.



For more information on the application process, eligibility, and required documents, visit the APS Early Learning website.

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.