Re-Registration for Rising 1^st – 5^th Grade Students

Atlanta Public Schools in the process of updating student records and re-registering students for the 2023-2024 school year. For returning students rising into Grades 1-5, all you need to do is to verify that your information is up to date. Please visit HERE for full details.

Georgia Milestones

Georgia Milestones testing will take place from Monday, May 1 through Friday, May 12th. Testing is divided by grade levels (3rd and 5th the first week, and 4th the second week). Please visit the Milestones information page on the MES website for details HERE.

Friday, April 21 - Lost and Found Donation Day

Are you missing a water bottle or coat? Please be sure to look for it before the next donation day on Friday, April 21st! Lost and Found has been moved to the main hall for more visibility, so please try to obtain lost items today!

Please note that there is only ONE more Lost and Found Donation Day after this:

• Thursday, May 25th

Please see opportunities to volunteer to help with Lost and Found HERE.

Friday, April 21 - SWAG Playground Cleanup

Join us for an outside clean up to help keep MES beautiful! If you would like to help out, please meet at the walker pad after school. We will have bags, gloves, and treats for all who pitch in - as always, all are welcome to help out. Hope you can join us!

Please visit the SWAG Campus Beautification webpage for more information and contact Heather Low with any questions.

Friday, April 21 - Rising Rams Screen on the Green

Do you have a Rising Ram? Consider attending this community building event: Screen On The Green!

Saturday, April 22 - Friday, April 28 - Earth Week Events at MES!

It's the greenest week of the year at MES - EARTH WEEK! Our SWAG committee has been hard at work planning events throughout the week to help foster a love of our planet in our MES students. We'd love to have you participate in one or more of the events below:

Dolphins Do Good Herbert Taylor Park Clean-Up



Please join our community service organization Dolphins Do Good and SWAG on Saturday April 22 from 9-11am for a clean-up at Herbert Taylor Park. The morning will start with an archaeology talk and be followed by the park clean-up (in partnership with The Friends of Herbert Taylor Park). Children of all ages are welcome.

Please RSVP for this park clean up by Thursday April 20th HERE.

Walk to School Day

Can you believe our second annual walk to school event is already here?! Please consider making your way to school on foot (at least part of the way!) on Wednesday, April 26th as we work together to reduce our carbon footprint! We will have music bumping, sidewalk chalk, and coffee for adults. As always, please try to arrive at school between 7:15 - 7:45am next Wednesday. See you there!

Grade-Level Earth Day Fun

What do goats and solar beads have in common?! They are only part of what MES students will be exposed to in celebration of Earth Week! Throughout the week, each grade will participate in an Earth Week-related activity, so be sure to ask your kids about all the eco-fun happening around school.

We also have one opportunity for caregivers to be part of the fun! Sign up to help our friends at Georgia Power teach students about the sun’s UV rays on Friday April 28th HERE.

If you have any questions or suggestions related to Earth Week at MES, please reach out to Jackie Townley, Lauren Parkerson, or Denise Lippert.

Sunday, April 23 - MES WAVES Arts Showcase



After months of preparation, the time has come to pull back the curtain and let our talented MES students take the stage (and page!). This year's WAVES Arts Showcase: CREATE YOUR OWN PATH will take place THIS SUNDAY, April 23rd at the MES @ Inman Auditorium, with two UNIQUE shows featuring separate line ups of both live and video performances:

• SHOW ONE: 1:00-2:15
• SHOW TWO: 2:45-4:00

**In general, performers from Grades K-2 will perform in the first show and Grades 3-5 will perform in the second show. However, if you want to watch a particular act, please reach out to them directly to find out which show they will be performing in.

With over 100 students showcasing their talents, these shows are NOT TO BE MISSED. In case you missed yesterday's Special Edition Digital Dolphin, tickets for both shows are FREE, and will be disseminated on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to showtime to get your tickets.

See you at the theater, and to our amazing performers - BREAK A LEG!

Thursday, April 27 - MES Principal Coffee Talk

Please join Principal Sofianos for this month's Principal Coffee Talk in the MES Auditorium on Thursday, April 27th at 8am!

This coffee talk will also be livestreamed on the MES YouTube page, and the recording will also be available there afterwards.

As always, you can catch up on everything MES straight from Principal Sofianos by bookmarking her Principal's Blog and checking back often!

Thursday April 27 - Last Day to Vote in the MES GO Team Elections

It's GO Team Election season! Earlier this week, APS sent out unique voting link via email and text messaging or via a household mailer to each household and staff member in the district. Please use your personal link to cast your vote for both the parent and educator MES GO Team candidates for the 2023-2024 school year.

Read about our MES parent candidates HERE

Read about our MES educator candidates HERE

Confused about what GO Team do?

Watch the video below which outlines what the GO Teams do (video opens in a new tab). You'll learn about GO Team roles and responsibilities, governance vs management, and what good governance looks like. Please also check out the APS GO Team Information Page for more information.

Saturday, May 6 - End of the Year Second Grade Social

Current second grade families, please join your classmates for popsicles in the park on Saturday, May 6th to celebrate the successful end of another school year. All family members are welcome!

Location: Noble Park

Time: 2pm-4pm

RSVP HERE

Volunteer to Support Teachers During Lunchtime!

We have a new volunteer opportunity to help classroom teachers have a special off-campus lunch! Please consider sharing two hours of your day to help in one of our classrooms as our teachers take a well-deserved team lunch break away from MES@Inman! Each grade level has had their own "lunch date" (with only the 5th grade lunch left to go!), and we've now added a new date for our GATE teachers (and one still to be scheduled for our Specials teachers). Please sign up for specific classes or as an alternate volunteer via this SignUp Genius (you're welcome to volunteer in your student's class or any other class!): 



• Wednesday, April 26, 10:30am - 12:30pm - GATE Teachers
• Friday, April 28, 12:15-2:15pm - 5th Grade Team

Each class slot will need two parents to assist during the two-hour "lunch" shift; volunteers will report to the MES Main Office for an orientation with Principal Sofianos at the beginning of their shift. Students will have lunch in the café during the two-hour window and teachers will leave a schedule and list of activities to do. An MES staff member will also visiting each of the rooms to support the parent volunteers.

Thank you for volunteering your time for this effort! Our teachers are so excited to have this time with their fellow teachers and to have lunch out in our community!

Questions? Contact Dawn Rutherford

Morningside After School (MAS) Program Registration Dates for the 2023-2024 School Year

My After School Program (aka "Morningside After School" or MAS) registration for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year will be opening soon! Please note the following dates:

• OPEN NOW: Registration for current MAS families wishing to return for 2023-24
• Monday, May 1 at 9am: Registration opens for NEW families wishing to join MAS in 2023-24
• Saturday, August 5 at 9am: Fall Extracurricular Programs registration opens

Please visit www.myafterschoolprogram.com to register and find out more about My After School Program after-school care and extracurricular programs at MES (and other APS schools).

The PTA's Cultural Arts Committee Needs Your Input!

As we start planning for the Inaugural MES International Festival we want to know who we are representing! Please fill out this Two Question Survey to let us know. 

Save the date for September 30, 2023!

Donate Prizes to the MES Go B.L.U.E. Weekly Raffle!

Donate prizes to the MES Go B.L.U.E. weekly raffle! Select an item (or items) from our wish-list, and have the item(s) sent to the school address: Behavior Committee 774 VIRGINIA AVE NE. ATLANTA, GA 30306-3631. US.

Every Friday, we hold a raffle to celebrate two of our amazing students for upholding the school code of conduct. Your donations help motivate our learners to Go B.L.U.E! (Be respectful, Listen and Learn, Use self-control, and Embrace diversity). Our wish-list is HERE if you'd like to contribute.

Howard Middle School PTO General Meeting and Principal Coffee Talk

On Tuesday, April 25th, there will be two meetings held at Howard Middle School that may be of interest to our MES families, especially those with Rising Rams:



• General PTO Meeting at 9:30am
• Principal Coffee Talk at 10am

Both meetings will be held in the Howard Media Center. Please check in at the front office. Streaming and recordng options will be available.

Register for the O4W5K Run to Benefit Hope-Hill Elementary School!

Come out and enjoy an in-person or virtual 5K on Saturday, May 13th in the Historic Old Fourth Ward to benefit one of our neighboring Midtown Cluster elementary schools! The seventh annual O4W5K race (an official AJC Peachtree Road Race qualifying event) will be a fun day that benefits Hope-Hill Elementary School.

You can register for the race at https://www.o4w5k.com/.

Be sure to use the code MORNINGSIDE for a discounted registration fee.

Stay Up to Date with the APS Midtown Cluster

Click HERE for resources directly related to our cluster.

Stay Up to Date with the 2022-2023 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.

You're Invited to the VHE Spring Garden Party Fundraiser! 

Join the VHE PTO for a bloomin’ good time as we dig deep to raise funds for our new school! Come nibble, sip, mingle and give. At this fundraising event there will be an opportunity to purchase, never-been-seen-before school swag and participate in our Adopt a Classroom fund for our teachers.

You can purchase tickets to this great event on the VHE website, here.

Thursday, April 27 - Virtual VHE Principal Coffee Talk



Join Principal Harness for the VHE March Coffee Talk via Zoom on Thursday, March 23 at 8am. All of the details, including the Zoom call in information can be found on the VHE website, here.

Auditions are OPEN for the VHE Morning News Crew!

If you have a rising 5th grader who will be at VHE next year, now is the time to audition for the morning news crew! Auditions are open to any student who will be in 5th grade next year at VHE, regardless of where they are in school now. To audition, students should upload themselves to our Flipgrid by Friday, April 28th.

Additional details are in the images below, and on the VHE website, here.

Don't Forget to Submit Your Student Placement Input Forms for VHE! 

Please be sure to submit a Student Placement Input Form for VHE between now and May 5th at midnight. Additional information about how this process will work for the new school can be found on the VHE website, HERE.

Stay Up To Date with the VaHi Elementary PTO

The newly formed PTO for VaHi Elementary School is off and running! To keep up with everything they are rolling out, please check out the following communications channels:

• Sign up for the VHE Newsletter HERE
• Follow the VHE PTO on Instagram and Twitter
• Check out the VHES Facebook Page

VaHi Elementary Website Updates

For our future VHE Elementary families - if you looking for information about the new school, please be sure to check out the growing website for the school, as new information is being added on a regular basis! Be sure to use the drop down menus at the top of the page to navigate to the various areas of the page, including a new About Page, information on school policies and procedures for the new school (under the New Students tab), a section dedicated to academics (under the Academics tab), and pages for the school's GO Team and the PTO.

Thank you to our Diamond Dolphin, Dolphin, and Platinum-level sponsors for supporting our school!

For more information about Dolphin Donors, please click HERE.