MPH Instagram and Facebook – You're Invited to Contribute!
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MPH is on Instagram @mph_school and Facebook @mphschool. Follow us for school updates, pictures from campus, and news from around the MPH community.
Tag us and be featured in Snapshot
Students and their families are encouraged to take pictures of MPH on campus, MPH in the community, and MPH on the road (as always, make sure the people in your pics know you're taking their picture and know where it's going). Tag us, and every week in Snapshot we will feature an MPH Photo of the Week.
Our first Photos of the Week come from two insiders: Lower School Head Amy Abdo, who sent us this wonderful moment with Head of School Dave McCusker visiting some of our Kindergarteners in the hallway, and Director of Communications Bryan Chambala, who captured a class enjoying a beautiful September day outside.
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MPH Photos of the Week
Right: Classes took advantage of some perfect early fall days this past week.
Below: Head of School Dave McCusker chats with Kindergarteners.
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CANCELED | School Picture Day | September 21 | We will communicate about plans in the near future
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New Staff Profile:
Dan Bassin, Ph.D. | Music Teacher
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Daniel Bassin is an active conductor, composer/improvisor, trumpeter, and educator. Originally from Long Island, Dr. Bassin has served as music director of Buffalo’s historic Unitarian Universalist Church, music director/director of orchestras at the SUNY campuses of Buffalo State College and the University at Buffalo, and artistic director of the Buffalo Master Chorale, as well as serving as an in-demand freelance conductor, trumpeter, and clinician.
He has been a featured guest conductor of the Erie County Music Educator’s Association Senior High Symphonic Orchestra and NYSSMA Zone-1 Area All-State Junior High String Orchestra. A passionate advocate for the music of our time and a champion of the music of underrepresented voices, Daniel has led more than 200 works in their world premiere performances and has given regional premiere performances of more than 50 neglected masterworks.
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Dr. Bassin received his initial training from Long Island public schools and at the Juilliard Pre-College, followed by the New England Conservatory (B.M. with honors in Composition) and Bard College (M.F.A. in Orchestral Conducting). He received his Ph.D. in Composition from the University at Buffalo in 2014 for his piano concerto, Typographies III.
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New Staff Profile
Nate Brower | Coverage Teacher
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It’s a privilege to join the MPH community as a
Middle and Upper School substitute teacher and sports coach. My name is Nate Brower, and I was born and raised here in CNY. I’m a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy and a graduate of Le Moyne. After high school, I was a Rotary Scholar in Belgium where I became fluent in French and caught the travel bug! That choice influenced my decision to study political studies and French at Le Moyne. It also made me a travel enthusiast, and I have already visited 19 countries. My life goal is to visit all of our beautiful planet Earth. Sports have been central throughout my life, as well. I was a varsity athlete in three sports at CBA and played club sports in college. I’m eager to teach and coach at MPH where I can share and mentor and learn from all of you.
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Show Your Trojan Spirit at Homecoming Weekend! |
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Students, Families, Staff, and Alumni – You're Invited!
September 23-25
Weekend Highlights
- Zoom into class sessions Thursday, September 23
- Spirit Week features Red and White Day on Friday, September 24
- Food trucks
- Alumni virtual conversation with Head of School Dave McCusker
- Boys and Girls varsity soccer live and livestreamed by MPH Light & Magic
- Canned food drive
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Last Season for an MPH Legend |
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Coach Ridall announces retirement |
After 46 years as a beloved teacher and coach of the MPH boys soccer team – including a state championship in 2000 – Don Ridall recently announced his retirement from full-time teaching, which will be effective at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Coach Ridall says he has not settled on all of the details of his future at MPH, but left open the possibility of some part-time work and coaching.
Coach Ridall is also on the cusp of earning his 600th win as varsity coach. Stay tuned throughout the year for more occasions to celebrate the legacy of one of MPH's true legends.
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Grade 2 students played "Pinball" in the gym Friday, giving them an opportunity to develop collaborative skills as they teamed together to knock down pins. |
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Grade 4 students in Sarah Keyser's class played a fun variation on charades - acting out vocabulary words for their classmates to guess. |
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Photos courtesy of Alyssa Palmer, Lower School program support |
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Grade 6 Integrates Problem Solving with Coding |
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Ms. Reeve’s Grade 6 students began the year discussing squares and how they would instruct someone who had never seen a square in how to draw one.
This knowledge of squares was taken a step further by describing how to draw the square using the words forward, left, and right. This introduction to problem solving was strategically planned so the students could do basic programming on a Texas Instruments Nspire calculator.
The program was sent from their calculator to a Hub, which was connected to a Rover. Students tested their code and made adjustments as needed until they produced a perfect square. After tackling the square, some were even able to do a more challenging problem: an equilateral triangle. It was great to see problem solving and technology working hand-in-hand the first week of school.
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Supporting the Food Bank of CNY |
Grade 11 student Ileana Anghel participated in a benefit concert over the summer supporting the Food Bank of CNY. The concert was held at a residence in Manlius and raised more than $1,500 for the Food Bank.
Ileana is a student of Ida Tili-Trebicka, a piano professor at Syracuse University who also offers private lessons in Manlius. Participating students, who hadn't been able to play in front of a live audience in more than a year, were from Tili-Trebicka's Manlius studio.
Illean is third from left, next to Professor Tili-Trebicka.
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Don't Leave Home Without 'Em! |
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- A personal water bottle labeled with your name (no single-use plastics, please)
- A close-fitting cloth face-covering (and a spare)
During the pandemic, our water fountains are locked to safeguard everyone’s health. Hydration and safety protocols are essential: Everyone must bring their own refillable water bottle and face coverings (MPH provides these only in emergencies).
The Daily Health Assessment Attestation, required of every person every day, states that you are bringing not only good health to campus, but also your own mask(s) and water bottles(s) to help ensure good health for us all. Please do not arrive on campus without them. Agency and Respect are MPH Core Values!
To download or check the Daily Attestation and The MPH Social Compact and Plan for the 2021-2022 school year, and keep up to date on the latest COVID-related MPH news, visit our COVID Updates page on the MPH site.
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MPH Featured on CNY Central | Lessons from 2020-2021
CNY Central featured MPH this week in a recurring series on back-to-school challenges and lessons learned during the pandemic. Reporter Tony Black visited campus the week prior to see what kind of strategies we learned in 2020-2021 that were still applicable.
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Updates from Your Friendly Health and Safety Team |
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“You got a Golden Ticket!”
This is how we notified the randomly selected Middle and Upper School students and employees who participated in today’s first 10 percent COVID-19 testing day. CEL and Lower School students who were selected enjoyed our “premium room service” – they were tested in the comfort of their own familiar classrooms. If you received notification today that your child was tested, you may check the status by logging in to the Clarifi app. Results of the pool testing should be ready in 24-36 hours. We will communicate with the whole community (always respecting individuals’ privacy) as soon as we receive results. Meanwhile, please remind your child(ren) that randomized testing for 10 percent of our community will happen every Friday until further notice. Questions? Contact HealthandSafety@mphschool.org.
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