MEA Monday Message

Monday, Aug. 21

• 10:00-11:00 Kinder Orientation (parents only) - Zoom
• 12:00-1:00 Grade 2 Orientation (parents only) - Zoom
• 1:30-2:30 Grade 1 Orientation (parents only) - Zoom

Tuesday, Aug. 22

• First day of class meetings
• 8:05 Middle & High School Parent Meet & Greet w/ Principal Browne - Auditorium
• 9:05 Elementary Parent Meet & Greet w/Principal Browne - Auditorium

Wednesday, Aug. 23

• 8:05 Middle & High School Parent Meet & Greet w/ Principal Browne - Auditorium
  
• 9:00-10:00 Gr. 5 orientation (all students and parents) - Rm 10
  
• 9:05 Elementary Parent Meet & Greet w/Principal Browne - Auditorium
• 12:00-1:00pm Pop-Up Farm Stand - Front of the school

Thursday, Aug. 24

• 8:05 Middle & High School Parent Meet & Greet w/ Principal Browne - Auditorium
• 9:05 Elementary Parent Meet & Greet w/Principal Browne - Auditorium

Friday, Aug. 25

• 9:30-11:30 Gr. 9-12 orientation (new students and parents) - Auditorium
• 12:00-1:00 Gr. 6 orientation (all students and parents) - Auditorium
  
• 1:00-2:00 Gr. 7 orientation (all students and parents) - Auditorium
  
• 2:00-3:00 Gr. 8 orientation (all students and parents) - Auditorium

Monday, Aug. 28

• Parent training for Leader in Me (K-5)- 10am (Zoom)

Upcoming Events:

• Aug. 29: Music Enrichment Informational Meeting @9:00am - Auditorium
• Sept. 1: ASB Student Officer applications due
• Sept. 4: SSC and SGT nominations/applications due
• Sept. 7: Back to School Night
• Sept. 7: Dining for Dollars - Blaze Pizza

I am thrilled to welcome you all to the 2023-2024 school year! I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely (although shorter) summer break. I was able to visit family in New York and went out surfing with my husband in the swells that came earlier in July. I also spent quite a bit of time with my daughter at water polo tournaments and enjoyed listening to my son play a lot of music while he nursed an injury and couldn’t play baseball. We’re now gearing up for my daughter to leave for college on the east coast in about a week. I’m sure you all have quite a bit to share as well and I look forward to hearing about your warm weather adventures when you are back on campus soon!

Last year, the theme was all about re-connecting with one another after coming out of the isolation of Covid. This year is all about inspiration- deepening those connections and inspiring one another. For the new families, welcome to MEA, and to those returning, welcome back! Thank you for choosing to “do school differently.” We look forward to seeing everyone at grade level orientations. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the front office, myself, Mr. Rubin, or individual teachers or other staff if you have questions.

Some new highlights for this year include:

• MEA Summit Days- Community building experiences for all students in grades 6-12
• A new playground in the elementary area should be completed by the end of September
• Parent grade level collaboratives for family networking and sharing of resources

I look forward to another wonderful year of partnering with you in educating our children.

With gratitude,

Courtney Browne

For your planning purposes, please see our 2023-2024 monthly turn-in calendar as well as the 2023-2024 class schedule. You will also receive a one page detailed calendar with school events for the year when you come to sign your master agreement and pick up textbooks.

Applications for 2023-24 ASB Officer positions are now open. MEA students in grades 10-12 are invited to apply (winners will be required to enroll in ASB). Completed applications are due no later than noon on September 1.

23-24 ASB Officer Candidate Information

23-24 ASB Officer Application

Looking to support our awesome school with your time? The Mt. Everest Academy SSC and SGT have open positions for one parent and three high school students. If you are a parent or high school student interested in running for School Site Council and/or Site Governance Team, please submit your name and a short (3-4 sentence) biography to Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net by Monday morning, 9/4. Biographies will be shared soon after for voting purposes.

The School Site Council consists of elected members representing parents, teachers, students, the school principal, and other school employees. This group is responsible for reviewing the school's improvement plan and allocating fiscal resources to support Mt. Everest Academy's goals in the areas of curriculum development and instruction. The State Legislature, as well as the Mt. Everest Academy teaching staff and administration, believes that the best decisions are made by those individuals who are most affected by them.

The Site Governance Team is a shared decision making body required at each school by the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education. The team discusses issues, gathers input and makes recommendations about topics affecting our school and our children with an emphasis on the instructional program.

The SSC and SGT will meet a minimum of six times during the year and meetings will usually be scheduled on Wednesdays from 2pm-3pm. Meetings will be held in person, although we may be able to hold them simultaneously on Zoom. Scheduled dates for this year include:

• 9/27/23
• 11/1/23
• 12/6/23
• 2/7/24
• 3/13/24
• 4/24/24

We greatly appreciate your willingness to support Mt. Everest with your time! Please email Principal Browne if you have any questions related to joining SSC or SGT.

As you know, due to possible storm damage, SDUSD has postponed the first day of school to Tuesday, 8/22. This does not affect the first day of classes at Mt. Everest, however, it does affect our orientations scheduled for this week.

• All orientations for 6-12 will now take place in-person on Friday, 8/25 at the same time they were originally scheduled for on Monday.
• 6th and 7th grade parents should plan to attend English and Science classes with their student this week, either in-person or via Zoom. This will ensure you have all of the info to begin the curriculum this week. (This includes the first 20 minutes of science class and most of the English class.) Zoom links can be found on Ms. Patterson's Google Classroom pages.

We are excited to welcome you to our Parent Meet and Greet events! After dropping off your students to their first week of classes, please join Principal Browne in the Auditorium for coffee and light refreshments. This event provides a wonderful opportunity for us to connect, collaborate, and foster a strong partnership in ensuring the best educational experience for your children.

• Grades K-5- 9:05am (T, W, Th)
• Grades 6-12- 8:05am (T, W, Th)

Students that are enrolled in classes that do not have scheduled meeting times, there will be an online orientation with your supervising teacher.

• AP Psychology: Friday, August 25, 1:00pm. On Friday Mr. Greenwood will put a link in the Canvas course (or, students can email to ask for it on Friday).
• 9th grade PE: Friday, August 25, 2:00 pm. On Friday Mr. Greenwood will put a link in the Canvas course (or, students can email to ask for it on Friday).
• 10th grade PE: Friday, August 25, 1:00 pm.

  https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/2676719196

  Meeting ID: 267 671 9196

MEA's garden is over flowing with goodies this summer! We will have cut flower mason jars, yuerba buena mint, basil, tomatoes, and some daikon radishes, + some fall crop seeds. The MEA Farmstand will run this Wednesday, August 23 from 12 to 1 at the front of school. Donations are greatly appreciated, all funds received go to support the MEA Garden and garden education.

Parents of K to 4th grade classes only: you may choose to keep your student's Chromebooks at school OR take them back and forth to school for each class day. Please let your teacher and/or Ms. Ellie Suko and Ms. Karen Iwamoto what your preference is. Thank you! (Suko, Eri esuko@sandi.net; and Iwamoto, Karen kiwamoto@sandi.net)

Fifth grade through twelfth grade students/families: Please bring your Chromebook, charged and with your charger to school every time you are on campus. This is the district policy now and we will not have loaners available.

Welcome to a new year at MEA! A couple of announcements regarding 6th and 9th grade Chromebooks: we have just received new 500e's for your grades, so please hurry to trade in your current model for a new one. We need to complete this task by the first week of September. Thank you for your help!!

Thank you to everyone who came to pick up your materials for this year. It's a great way to start the fall semester 😊 We may have some changes in various classes with materials, so please bring any textbooks or novels which you are not using to Ms. Ellie in room 4 or Ms. Karen in room 5. We will make exchanges too and/or hand out any added class materials—ask your teachers the first day of class.

Students ernolled in classes at Mesa College Classes this fall, your classes will start on the SDUSD schedule. Please continue to check your SDUSD email and the one you provided to the college. Mesa College will be providing you more course information, such as how to access Canvas.

To learn out more about College & Career Access Pathways please visit our website.

Join us for PALS , peer tutoring and schoolwork collaboration, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at MEA! PALS is available to all students in grades K-12. Elementary parents need to complete the PALS Check-in form and provide it to the PALS supervisor. This form lets our tutors know what assignment or skills you wish your student to work on while attending PALS.

PALS will be held each every week starting Wednesday, Aug. 30th. Please read the Monday Message each week for updates! Can't wait to see you there!

• Wednesday 12:30-2:30 @ Room 6 (Nielsen)
• Thursday 9:30-11:30 @ Auditorium
• Friday 9-11:30 @ Auditorium

We are looking for a few good parents! Our overall goal is to enhance the overall experience of Mt. Everest Academy. We need volunteers to help us provide a welcoming and enriching environment for all of our MEA students.

If you are interested in learning more, please visit the MEA Foundation website.

We have an online Facebook group for parents. This is a great place to connect, communicate, and learn from our parent community. You can find us at Mt. Everest Foundation Parent Group.

Club Fair is scheduled for the 19th-21st of September. Students in grades 6-12th who are returning club leads or wish to start a new club, please fill out the following Club Request Form.

Any parent who would like to run a workshop for students, please contact Principal Browne at cbrowne@sandi.net.

Mr. Johnson is back again to provide our students with amazing opportunities for music enrichments. There will be an informational meeting on Aug. 29th at 9:00am in the Auditorium. For interested families, both parents and students must attend.

Music classes will begin Tuesday, Sep. 5th.

Month 1 Elementary Art class is starting soon! Art class meets on Tuesdays at 12:30- 1:15 in room three (not turn in week). Please check the art website for details. Fill out the Elementary Art Form to sign up your child. Month 1 art class will meet on 8/29 and 9/5.

PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IF YOUR CHILD CANNOT COMMIT TO BOTH CLASSES.

Please see the art website here: https://mrssinkmea.weebly.com/elementary-art.html

We are thrilled to begin offering both an elementary level and secondary level physical education class here at MEA. Whether you are a student eager to stay active with classmates and friends, looking for a safe way to learn a new sport, and/or looking to just have some fun, MEA PE is the class for you!
The Extracurricular PE Class is not just about physical activity, it's about fostering a lifelong love for movement, teamwork, and healthy living. Our mission is to create an environment where every student can thrive physically, socially, and mentally.

​What to Expect: The PE activity classes are designed to be engaging, inclusive, and collaborative. From exciting games & sports to fitness challenges, this class aims to be a safe space to move your body. Additionally, students will learn teamwork, resilience, problem-solving, and build confidence.

Schedule: In order to keep all children safe, two classes will be held to accommodate different ages.
Classes will take place on Wednesday afternoons beginning on September 6, 2023.
Classes do NOT meet during TURN-IN week

• Elementary PE--- 12:30 - 1:15 PM: Grades 2-5 (Elementary students must be picked up at the front gate no later than 1:15 PM)
• Secondary PE ---- 1:50 - 2:40 PM: Grades 6-9

Sign-ups: Please fill out the form below to sign up for the 1st Semester by clicking the class below.

EACH student must have a form to participate:

• Elementary PE 2nd-5th
• ​Secondary PE 6th-9th

​
Students are expected to attend all classes.
Students should contact the instructor if you will be absent
Students with two unexcused absences will be dropped from the class to make room for another interested student.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. bkielty@sandi.net

Please send any information for the Monday Message using the Google form by end of day Thursday for upcoming message. If you have any question please contact Mrs. Keck at mkeck@sandi.net.