Mustang Flyer
January 9, 2025
Happy New Year & Welcome Back!
We are excited about everything the new year will bring our way! Teachers are working with students to review their performance and set academic goals for the next semester. We are excited for the heights our students will reach! Our next Mustang Parent meet up will be held on January 22 at the Wildwood Springs clubhouse. You do not need to live in the Wildwood Springs neighborhood to attend. Topics to be discussed will be shared at a later date. We have several students participating in the FCS Technology Competition, and we are hopeful to gain a few more entries into the Young Georgia Author's Writing Competition (details below!). The deadline has been extended to Monday, January 13. Encourage your authors to turn in their writing for the competition to their teachers!
We've had two staff members retire and I would not want this moment to pass without acknowledging their hard work and dedication to the field of education and Mountain Park Elementary.
Mrs. Gail Archer, ESOL teacher retired effective December 2024 and Ms. Susan Black, our Media Center Para also retired, effective January 2025. We look forward to celebrating these retirees at the end of the school year with any additional staff that may retire this year.
We are excited to announce our upcoming Career Day for MPES is March 7th. This event aims to expose students to a variety of career paths. On this day, students in grades K-2 have the opportunity to explore Careers on Wheels and students in grades 3-5 will participate in a Career Fair. To make this event successful, we are seeking volunteers to share their professional experiences and insights with our students. If you’re interested in contributing your time and expertise, please reach out to Mrs. Daniel by email at danielc3@fultonschools.org. We look forward to a great Career Day for our students and hope that you can join us!
The Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition encourages students in grades k-12 to develop enthusiasm for writing, provide a context to celebrate successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics. It’s the perfect chance to showcase our budding writers here at MPE!
What should students write? The YGA does not provide a prompt to which students must respond or provide any other boundaries to their genre choice or creativity beyond a 1900-word limit. (If typed, double-spaced Times New Roman is preferred.)
Entries must be completed independently without the support of teachers or parents and may include short stories, poetry, essays/literary criticism/analysis, journalism, academic/research reports, personal narratives, any other original student writing.
Please see the linked documents below for additional information. All entries must be submitted to your child’s teacher along with the YGA Student Entry Form by Friday, January 10,2025. Our Academic Program Enrichment Committee will read and score all entries and select one finalist per grade level whose piece will go on to compete at the county level. Finalists will be determined based on the guidelines provided in the YGA Competition Booklet.
If you have any questions, please contact our CST, Kristen Reittenbach at reittenbach@fultonschools.org.
The media center is looking for 2 regularly scheduled volunteers for January through April 18th. The time slots needed are every Monday from 8:45-9:45 and every Friday from 8:45-9:45. This slot is very important because this is the time for our 1st grade special and it is very busy in the media center. We need help checking books out to the 1st graders along with helping other students from other grade levels find books and check out. In addition, there will be books that require shelving. If you know your way around a computer and are interested in helping us out on a weekly basis for 1 hour, please contact Vicky Jaksic, media specialist, at jaksicv@fultonschools.org.
When your child is absent from school due to illness or an appointment, please be sure to send an excuse note to mpeattendance@fultonschools.org. This will ensure our attendance office receives your excuse and can update your student's record accordingly. Remember that teachers can only mark students absent or present and cannot update absences. Absences will be updated within a few days of the excuse note being sent. I realize that the attendance letters detailing number of days absent can be unsettling. Please note that these are sent automatically from the district. Although they do have my name in the signature line, they are not from me. I do not send them or know when they are being sent. I am happy to help clear up any discrepancies found in your child's attendance record. Please feel free to reach out to me at any time for assistance at richardsona3@fultonschools.org.
Does your child have a birthday coming up? We would love to help you celebrate by putting your child's name on the marquee. You can sign up here: Birthday on Marquee
On-Site Counseling Services at Mountain Park
My name is Samantha Scalabrino, and I am a licensed therapist with The Summit Counseling Center. I work at Mountain Park to provide private, individual counseling to students in need. I have worked as a therapist for 20 years and have previous experience working in schools for children with behavioral difficulties and with special needs.
Students who use my services have a wide range of needs: they may be experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, thoughts of self-harm, and/or behavioral challenges. They may need to learn skills to help with their emotional regulation, manage their ADHD, navigate family transitions such as a divorce or death, or deal with peer conflict/bullying. Students are conveniently seen at school for their sessions, so caregivers do not have to worry about making the time to take them to an appointment.
The first two intake sessions—one with the parent and one with the student—are free of charge. Summit provides financial assistance to families who qualify for extra support and matches insurance rates. Please reach out if you think your child would benefit from counseling and would like more information. My email address is sscalabrino@summitcounseling.org. You can also call Summit directly at 678-893-5300 and visit our website at Mental Health Help in Schools | The Summit Counseling Center.
Bach to Rock® Alpharetta is a proud Gold sponsor of MPE and is the music school for tomorrow’s songwriters, artists, and pop stars. We encourage students to play the songs they love and develop skills by performing with peers. Our approach is designed for all ages and skill levels, helping students build core musical skills and become confident performers! Whether you’re looking for music lessons, music camps, or a music-themed birthday party, our music school is the perfect place for any aspiring musician.