Principal's Message
January brought the Knights much fun. Our outstanding NAL team secured multiple wins over their opponents this month. Our Battle of the Books had another exciting battle this month. And applications for new students for next year started coming in along with tours for prospective families. Our sixth graders went to San Diego to study oceanography and saw a whale when they were out on the boat. Lastly, we held our annual Spelling Bee, and 6th grader, Preston Rule, was our school winner! Preston went on to win the MPS Bee and has been invited to compete in the Regional Bee in Tempe. Congratulations, Preston!- Ms. Wilfert
Our MAAS Website has a new look. Make sure you check it out!
From our Counselor's Corner
As the new semester begins, high school registration information is now being sent out. Red Mountain and Mountain View counselors will visit Mesa Academy to get the 8th graders registered for the 2023-2024 school year. Mountain View had its family night on January 16th at 7 pm, while Red Mountain will host its Freshman Preview night on February 1st at 6 pm. 8th Graders, look for additional information via email and from our counselor, Ms. Brown. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Ms. Brown. sebrown@mpsaz.org
Speaking of high school...
Westwood High School and Red Mountain High School held events this month to show future freshmen what it’s like to be in Band at their schools. At Westwood, our students got the chance to meet some future bandmates. They played games and had pizza. At Red Mountain, the students got to play a special piece, “Tripwire”, with the high school band in a concert with elementary and middle school bands. Those who attended had a lot of fun learning about Band and making connections with current band members. A huge thank you to both Westwood and Red Mtn. for hosting our Knights.
Spelling Bee!
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2023 Spelling Bee and to our top three winners, Preston Rule, 1st Place, Amelia Clement, 2nd place, and . A special shout out to our very own MAAS Knight, Preston Rule, for being our district's Spelling Bee winner. Preston is moving forward to represent Mesa Public Schools at the Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 11, 2023.
Mesa Academy's IB Student and Teacher of the Month for December
Our students were nominated and voted on by our staff. Congratulations to our Elite IB Students and teacher for the month of December: Morgan O'Neil (8th Grade), Simon Newman (7th Grade), Elijah Shaw (6th Grade), Luna Lopez-Rosas (5th Grade), John Ligas (4thGrade), and Sheree Clanton our 5th and 7th Grade Science Teacher.
8th Grade Project Presentations
Instead of our traditional Science Fair this year, all of our eighth graders spent time in groups creating plans for projects designed to benefit our Mesa community. There were projects about homelessness, cleaner energy use, material conservation, and everything else. On the morning of Friday, January 20th, all of the teams shared their presentations summarizing their projects to a panel of six judges, a practice leading up to a similar event that will take place in February. After hours upon hours of research and practice, all of the students were relieved to finally present. All the groups were very professional and confident as they presented their ideas. Congratulations to all of our Knights!
Goals for the New Year
Close-Up 2023
The Washington DC trip is getting closer, knights. The remaining balance was due on Friday, January 27th. Also, it would be a good idea to check that your grades are in good shape because grade checks are coming up. To participate in this trip, students must have all A’s, B’s, and C’s. You must also have not had any office referrals. Finally, it’s a good idea to confirm who you will be rooming with during the trip (rooms are 4 people). Make sure to send an email to Ms. Brown at rtbrown@mpsaz.org .
6th Grade Field Trip
From January 18th through the 20th, the sixth graders went on a 6-hour road trip to California. Their destination, was sunny San Diego which was everything but sunny. They rode a fishing boat, went to Sea World, and went to Birch Aquarium. They learned many new things about ocean ecosystems. The 6th graders enjoyed a bonfire dinner and put their knowledge to the test with trivia games on their way home. Needless to say, everyone had lots of fun in the sun!
Chinese New Year @Mesa Academy
"The Year of the Rabbit"
Dumplings Recipe:
Ingredients (All can be found in Lee Lee Market at Warner and Dobson)
A: Dumpling Fillings: - 1 lb. Chinese garlic chive, finely chopped- 1 lb. Scrambled eggs, finely chopped (about 2 dozen eggs, beaten) or ground pork- 3 tablespoons Black sesame oil- 1/2 tablespoons Salt
B: Dumpling Wrappers- 2 packages of store-purchased dumpling wrappers (about 38 pieces per package)
C: Serving dipping sauce- vinegar- minced garlic- soy sauce if needed- 老干妈 LaoGanMa Hot Chilli Sauce if you like
Robotics
Congratulations to all of the Knights who competed in the state level of the robotics competition at ASU on January 14th! The teams that competed were Knight-n-Galz (Brooklyn D, Valette L, Lindsay J, Vanessa R, Maisie O), Each Sold Separately (Marcus R, Asher N, Natale C, JJ R, Justin M), Jayden M (8th) and Dustin H (8th) of the Lugnuts, and Kendall (8th) and Avery (4th) V of the Space Ninjas. You all did so well! Our students part of the Lugnuts won the 2nd Champion’s Award and the opportunity to go to an out-of-state competition. Our students part of the Space Ninjas won the 2nd place Robot Game Award and the 3rd place Robot Design Award. Great job, Knights!
NAL
Staff Spotlight
Mrs. Woods
Have you had the opportunity to be welcomed by a huge friendly smile when you walk into school this year? If so, you've met Mrs. Woods. Mrs. Lisa Woods is one of the most important staff members here at the Academy. Her favorite part of her role as a registrar or office specialist is interacting with all of the wonderful staff and students here. This is one of the huge parts of her job. We love talking with you too, Ms. Woods! She notes that her favorite thing to do during this time of the month is taking walks with her adorable golden retriever, Millie. Mrs. Woods also states that her favorite part about the Academy that she wished all other schools had were the awesome elective choices, such as Mandarin Chinese, music arrangement and composition, animation studio, and web design. Finally, something interesting about her is that she enjoys doing 1000+ piece puzzles to relax and unwind after a long day! We are so happy that she has joined Mesa Academy.
PTO Information and Calendar
Save the Date
March 7 - Chick-fil-A
March 31 - International Festival
April 19 - Backyard Taco
May 11 6-7pm in MPR Close Up Meeting for current 7th grade parents for the 8th grade trip of 2024.
Interested in MAAS?
Preparing students for life in the 21st century and helping students become life-long learners who understand how to navigate successfully through an ever-changing and increasingly interrelated world is not a secret. Share what we do at Mesa Academy with your family, friends, and neighbors and encourage them to visit our school website for more information.
Your 2022-23 Knightly Newsletter Team: Amelia Clement, Adri Cardall, Anna Reeves, Arianne Rencher, Charlette Whitmer, Emma Hughes, Hadley Kennington, Jessie Olmedo, Kendall Von Burg, Kira Shultz, McKenna King, Oliva Merrill, Ryan Weinstein, Valette Lara, Xavier Vaughan, Jazzy Pascacio, Helynn Castro, Abi Allport, Mrs. Sandoval
Credits:
Created with images by RomixImage - "Design concept of Chinese lunar January new year - Woman holding, giving red envelopes (ang pow, hong bao) for lucky money, top view, flat lay, overhead above. The word 'chun' means coming spring." • Unknown - "Free picture: elementary, students, Tetuan, central, elementary, school ..." • spyrakot - "Male hand holding megaphone with Thank you speech . Loudspeaker with Thank you text"