NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 4, 2022
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Membership Drive Begins Now! | This week, we kick off a school-wide effort to connect with every family, encouraging everyone to join the HSA. | |
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Membership is FREE and signals your commitment to the community and support for cooperation between home and school.
Even though there is no cost to membership, please consider donating if you can. Every donation is meaningful, no matter the amount. We depend on your generosity to fund all of our activities.
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Did you know? The HSA supports:
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
CLUBS, TRIPS, AND ACTIVITIES
BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS
ANNUAL MUSICAL
SOCIAL EVENTS
SCHOOL SECURITY
MEMBER DIRECTORY
TEACHER APPRECIATION
AND MUCH MORE!
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CONTINUING THIS WEEK:
Parent Coffee Chats
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Come join the conversation. Meet other parents/guardians and chat about things that are happening in your child's grade. Renew old connections and make new ones. Create a community! | | |
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Grade 8: Monday, Dec. 5
Grade 10: Tuesday, Dec. 6
Grade 11: Wednesday, Dec. 7
Grade 12: Thursday, Dec. 8
All chats will be 9:00–10:00 am on Zoom.
JOIN VIA ZOOM
Meeting ID: 826 2167 0178
Passcode: PP6zVM
OTM: +16465588656,,82621670178#,,,,*870021#
Chats for grades 5, 6, 7, and 9 took place last week. If you missed it, don't worry, we are working on more grade-wide opportunities to connect!
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You can always reach out to your Middle School and High School Liaisons if you have ideas for future programming, if you would like to help out, or if there are issues you want to bring to the HSA’s attention.
Middle School Liaisons: Cari Akula and Jennafer Howard | [email protected]
High School Liaison: Aubrey White | [email protected]
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Mark your calendars!
All Masterman stakeholders are invited to attend monthly meetings.
Dec 13
Jan 10
Feb 7
Mar 7
April 11
May 9
7:30–8:30 pm on Zoom
unless otherwise noted.
Minutes of the November 9 meeting and the approved summary budget have been posted.
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Next Meeting:
Tuesday, December 13
7:30–8:30 pm
JOIN VIA ZOOM
Meeting ID: 852 2719 9318
Passcode: 1Wd0ZR
OTM: +16465588656,,85227199318#,,,,*282591#
Trouble accessing a meeting?
Email [email protected]
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Last week, the HSA Grants Committee shared details for accessing the grants that have been allocated for staff, departments, grades, and clubs—a total of $75,000 that will be making its way directly into activities, trips, instructional resources, socials, and other needs of our teachers and students. Collectively, these funds will the growth, education, and development of all Masterman students.
This would not be possible without all of the HSA members—past, present, and future!—who have supported the HSA. Thank you!
For more information see the HSA website or email [email protected].
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The HSA brightened up the teachers' professional development day last Friday with breakfast and a photo booth! | |
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The School District of Philadelphia has opened a survey about what should be taken into account as they plan the academic calendar. Share your feedback here!
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Picture retake day is TOMORROW, Monday, December 5.
If you missed Picture Day earlier this fall, now's your second chance!
If you already ordered and received your pictures and want a retake, just send your child ready to be photographed, with the original photo package to return.
If you didn’t order photos the first time around, you can still order them online here using your child’s student ID or Masterman’s Lifetouch Picture Day ID: EVT8S6VTS.
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High School Winter Athletics | |
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High School winter sports have started. If your student missed the sign-up window, there is still a chance to join a team.
Note: Participation in sports requires the completion of a PIAA Physical Form, which requires a doctor's signature. If your student played a fall sport, the only requirement is to complete pages 7-8 of the form (the "recertification" section) for continued play in the winter sports season. The recertification section does not require a doctor's signature.
Please encourage your student to join a team. Get fit, have fun, and make new friends!
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Winter Sport Options (High School):
Girls Basketball: JV & Varsity teams need more players. Contact Mr. Otarola - [email protected]
Boys Basketball: Varsity team is full. JV has limited space. Contact Mr. Gilken - [email protected]
Girls & Boys Swimming: Both teams are seeking more swimmers. Swimming takes place at the Broad St. YMCA. Please contact Mr. Kohler - [email protected]
Co-ed Indoor Track: The team is accepting runners. Please contact Mr. Comfort - [email protected]
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If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the HSA Athletics Committee at [email protected].
Middle School Winter Athletics begin in January! Stay tuned for information.
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National Honor Society Drop-In Tutoring
There is a new schedule for this in-school resource:
Mondays, 7:30am – 8:15am in Room 214 (for everyone)
Tuesdays, 8th Period in Room 312 (for HS students)
Wednesdays, 8th Period in Room 305 (for 5th- and 6th-grade students)
Thursdays, 8th Period in Room 312 (for 7th- and 8th-grade students)
Everyone is free to drop in as needed.
If you have any questions please contact the HS Dean, Mr. Gilken, at [email protected].
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Virtual Tutoring
The School District has made free tutoring available for all students in Grades 3 to 12. Registration is now open for Cycle 2 for Reading, Math, Algebra I and II, Geometry, and English I-IV. Please register with one of our district vendors: Catapult (Grades 3–6), Tutor Me (Grades 3–8), or FEV (Grades 6–12).
Thank you, Dr. Payne, for sharing this information!
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Our music program's winter concerts are coming up!
Middle School: December 15 at 6:00 pm
High School: December 22 at 6:30 pm
More information here!
Tickets are $5, sold at the door. Participants do not need a ticket. If cost is an obstacle please email Ms. Neu.
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The Middle School Student Government is hosting a food drive for the Philabundance food bank. Send canned food, 100% juice, packaged pasta/rice, spreads, and more into morning advisory. The Advisory with the most donations will win a pizza party! | |
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HS Gingerbread House Competition | |
High School Student Government invites students to design and create a house out of graham cracker “gingerbread” with candy decorations and enter it for the chance to win a gift card and personal glory. Judging will take place on Thursday, December 15 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, before the MS winter music concert. All students are invited, but if interest exceeds 100 students more adult chaperones will be needed! There is a cost to enter; details and registration form in Google Classroom. | |
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Thank you to all parents and guardians who contributed to the Giving Tree during report card conferences. The High School National Honor Society raised $557 to donate to the Feast of Justice food pantry. | |
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A huge THANK YOU to all those who donated to donate to support our participation in the PA Young Readers' Choice Awards. The project is now fully funded!
Middle School parents, don't forget to encourage your child to rate books for the Every Child a Reader program from the Children’s Book Council.
Check out Ms. Kearney's library blog, Annotations, for all the latest goings-on!
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If you want to volunteer in the school you need to complete a School District–mandated process of background checks and clearances.
Get started now so that you are ready when you receive a call for chaperones for the next class field trip!
Information is on the SDP website and Masterman’s Family and Community Engagement Liaison Ms. Lori Galiano can help! Email [email protected]
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TechGirlz is a non-profit organization that runs free workshops for middle school girls on creating websites, games, apps, movies, and robots.
Their next event is December 7:
Artificial Intelligence: How Computers Learn
Have you ever wondered how Alexa or Siri recognizes your voice, or how Facebook is able to automatically recognize your friends in pictures? The answer is Artificial Intelligence (AI), or also known as Machine Learning! In this workshop, students will learn about how machine learning techniques such as artificial neural networks learn from data to answer real world questions.
Info and signup here.
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Empowering Black College Students | |
Real Talk is a virtual college exploration initiative from College Board designed to connect Black students and families with Black representatives from colleges and access organizations across the country. Their Fall 2022 events included connecting with HBCU representatives, Black professionals in New York, and financial aid experts. You can re-watch all these programs online now. | |
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Spread the Word
Do you have news or announcements that you want to share with the school community? Is there information you'd like to see featured here?
Email [email protected].
Connect others with the HSA by forwarding this email or sharing this link to subscribe to the newsletter!
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There are many ways to give to the Masterman community. Here are a few. | |
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HSA ANNUAL FUND
Donations fund the many programs and initiatives of the HSA that support our school, teachers, families, and students. Whether you are able to give $5 or $500, your gift is meaningful, and signals your commitment to our community.
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AMAZON SMILE
Support the HSA and it does't cost you anything! Shop on Amazon and a percentage of what you spend is sent to the HSA automatically.
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LOGO SALES
Get your Masterman-branded hoodies, hats, tees, and athletic wear--and support the HSA.
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And don't forget to become a member of the HSA today! | | | | |
