PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Even though it was a short month in terms of the number of school days, it was our busiest yet! Our long-time evening custodian, Michele Lowe, received a promotion and left Mesa Academy. Thus, we welcomed Leslie Juarez to the Academy family. Speaking of the Academy family, we held our Prospective Parent Night for families interested in applying to our school. We had outstanding current students and parents help answer questions and share about what makes Mesa Academy so special.
Our robotics teams had a great showing at the NE Mesa Red Mountain Qualifier. Batteries Not Included made State, MegaBYTES won the Motivation Award and trophy, and Space Ninjas also made State and won a top award. Congratulations! Lastly, we rounded out the semester with a music trip to the Musical Instrument Museum, the 5th grade ACE science field trip, and the 8th grade Mandarin trip to apply their language skills at the Asian Market. We will end December with Orchestra performances and a holiday-themed spirit day. -Ms. Wilfert
Student Council Update
Students were looking forward to the spirit day on December 17th. They were allowed to wear festive attire like Santa hats, ugly sweaters, and jeans. Thank you Knights for ending this semester with a strong sense of school and holiday spirit. Student council is planning an upcoming spirit day in March. Be sure to give your representative spirit day ideas!
From our Nurse-
Things to do to stay healthy and safe during the holidays:
First, make sure to wash your hands so you do not catch germs. This means washing your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds. This is important for keeping everybody safe. Second, make sure you cough and sneeze in your elbow so the spread of gems is stoped to a halt. Finally, If you are feeling sick make sure you get the help of a trusted adult or a nurse (If you are at school). One more thing, HAVE FUN!
December Fieldtrips
Music Instrument Museum
On Monday, December 6th the Introduction to Music History and Literature class traveled to the Music Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. The students had a docent lead tour that focused on the musical traditions, materials, mediums, and cultural rituals of Non-Western culture. Through the class curriculum, the students have an extensive understanding of Western Music; MIM helped the students reach understandings of Non-Western music.
IB Spanish Virtual-Student Exchange with Peru
The IB Spanish students had a virtual cultural exchange with students from Maria Reina Marianistas School in Lima, Peru on Dec 9, 2021. Students from both schools shared personal likes and dislikes. Some students shared funny stories about their pets. They also presented interesting facts about their schools. Our knights presented in Spanish and the students from Peru in English.
Joey S. sharing and American Tradition with our Peruvian friends.
“It was an interesting experience to see the different cultures from other countries, I am very glad I got to experience it. A lot of students had been preparing and some of them were really great! You could also tell the students from Peru were interested and shared a lot. Awesome experience!” - May Anderson
IB Mandarin Chinese Market Trip
On Thursday, December 16th, 8th-grade Chinese students went to a market (市场). 杜老师 (Ms. Tu) has been teaching her 8th-grade students words & phrases that would be useful in such markets. Many students enjoyed Chinese tea, fruit, and various culinary delights. Other students chose to purchase 利是 (Lì shì), a strawberry flavored Chinese candy. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for participants and they learned much about 中国菜 (Chinese food).
Westwood IB Teacher Exchange
On Wednesday, December 8th, Ms. Munoz and Ms. Shults did a teacher exchange with two IB teachers from Westwood Highschool, Mr. Ferg and Ms. Gillian. In Mr. Ferg’s math class, the students learned about some of the IB Program and about his knowledge in rocket science and math. In Ms. Gillian’s English class, the students participated in an ice breaker activity, watched some videos about the IB program, and completed a word search about being in IB. The experience was fun and interesting for both the teachers and the students!
Noteworthy Knights
The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. As IB learners, we strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. These students were nominated by their teachers.
Caring students show empathy, compassion, and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and to the environment.-Mars Price.
Principled students act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice, and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups, and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them. -Chase Anderson and Colson Anderson
Music @MAAS
December was a MUSICAL month at Mesa Academy. Our 4th and 5th graders had their first Orchestra Concert, our Introduction to Music History and Lit. students went on a field trip, Orchestra and Band held a Holiday Concert for all of MAAS, and our choir club, led by Mrs. Escobedo, filled the hallways with Holiday Music. There is no doubt that our Knights, students, and staff, know how to share in good cheer. Enjoy some of our memorable moments of 2021 @MAAS!
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.
Robotics
On the weekend of December 11th, several Mesa Academy robotics teams competed at the regional competition in Red Mountain High School. During the competition, they shared their projects with the judges, completed core values problems, and used their coding and robotics skills to participate in the robot games, where the designed robot would complete a series of tasks on the playing board. While four teams participated, only two won awards. The MegaBYTES (#47600, consisting of Brigham Kydd, Brayden Parker, Daniel Swinehart, and Maisie Olenchock) won the Motivation Award. And Batteries Not Included (#32689, consisting of Bryson Parker, Revan Collier, Nico Perez, and Benjamin Walker) advanced to the state tournament to take on more teams on January 15th, 2022. The other teams were Each Sold Separately (#47599, consisting of Asher Norton, Manuel Roldan, Kyle Knopp, Marcus Rogers, Natalie Cordero) and the LeBOTomizers (#32688, consisting of Adam Canty, Evan Nau, Jayden Flood, and Ryker Proffitt). All of them did amazing! However, another team competed that wasn’t entirely Academy-made. This team, the Space Ninjas (#39870, consisting of Kendall Von Burg, Avery Von Burg (a 3rd grader), Krew Eckman, Gavin Wells (an 8th grader), Tyler Morse, (a 7th grader), and David Dunn (a 7th grader), also competed on December 11th at RMHS. They won the Robot Performance Award and the Robot Design Award, and advanced to the state tournament, along with Batteries Not Included. Congrats, teams!
Fremont JHS Baseball Championship
On Dec. 11th Fremont and Summit faced off for the championship @RMHS. Fremont displayed their strong baseball skills by defeating Summit and taking the championship. We are especially proud of 2 Fremont players, Tommy Holiday and Noah Watts, our very own MAAS Knights. Congratulations Tommy and Noah!!
Novel Writing Club
The authors of the Novel Writing Club finished NaNoWriMo in November, but continued to have a celebration early this month. During the TGIO party, club participants enjoyed snacks and treats and could read 200-word excerpts from their novels. The Novel Writing Club does not meet for the rest of the year, but Mrs. Procopio encourages participants to keep writing and editing their books.
Knights do Outside of School
On Wednesday, December 8th, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, which a few Academy students play in, performed a Christmas concert at the Doubletree Hilton hotel in Mesa. The songs included lots of holiday classics and festive pieces. In addition, permission slips for the Junior High Festival Orchestra were handed out for students wishing to participate in the orchestra in March. You can ask Ms. White for permission slips and information if you are interested.
MAAS STAFF SPOTLIGHTS FOR December
Mrs. Todd
Mrs. Todd was one of the teachers chosen for the staff spotlight. She teaches 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade science. The fourth graders have been learning about magnets and electricity for the month of December, the fifth graders have been learning about survival traits, and the sixth graders have been learning about ecosystems. “I love being able to talk about science (my favorite subject!) all day, every day, with such bright students who have so many great things to say about what we are learning.”- Ms. Todd
Ms. Leslie
Leslie Juarez is one of our spectacular custodians. When students and teachers are away, Leslie works hard as the evening custodial lead. Leslie enjoys a job that some people find disgusting and tiring, cleaning at a school. But most importantly, she loves the kindness that our incredible knights show to her! Continue showing her some love by cleaning your mess in classrooms and restrooms.
Newsletter Team Spotlight
Xavier Vaughan is a seventh-grader here at the academy. His favorite part of the newsletter club is getting to talk to everyone and learn about the school. Currently, he likes to bike, skateboard, and scooter, and play sports with his family and friends. He also likes to do research. At the end of October, he liked that everyone got to dress up for Halloween.
Ryan Weinstein is a seventh-grader at the academy. His favorite part of the newsletter club is being able to work together in a team and being able to produce the finished newsletter. He likes being able to put it all together. He likes playing tennis and playing video games on his computer. In October, his favorite moment was when he went to Las Vegas over Fall Break.
Final Weeks of our Fall Semester
The end of this year is coming up fast, and along with it, final exams, fun projects, and an exciting winter break. As teachers planned hard for their projects, many fun ways were used to capture students’ interests, along with a final grade. In fact, Sra. Sandoval came up with one such way. She states that: “My Spanish B students picked a favorite room in their home to describe and explain why it’s their favorite. This was their presentational speaking project and I think they enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed watching and listening to them share about why they like what they like. They were pretty funny and they also did very well. The 4th and 5th graders designed a digital alphabet book with words and illustrations for every letter in the Spanish alphabet, except RR.”
The end of semesters can be a very stressful time for students, but it also provides time for students to reflect and improve for the next semester. Teachers provide suggestions in managing your time and organizational skills. One of the best ways for organization and time management, one said, was to use your planner, take advantage of Teacher Tutoring Time, and plan ahead. In Sra. Sandoval’s own words, “PUSH HARDER THAN YESTERDAY IF YOU WANT A DIFFERENT TOMORROW.”
Please visit our PTO Newsletter to stay up to date with all of the amazing activities and events our organization has planned for MAAS.
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