 Upcoming Events
Field Trips
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March 18 - Discoveres I to Lowe's Foods and to the library
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March 20 - Discoverers III to the library
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April 1 - Discoverers I to the library
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April 2 - Discoverers I to Discovery Place
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April 3 - Discoverers III to the library |
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 Board Member's Play at Children's Theatre
This month, Children's Theatre of Charlotte (http://www.ctcharlotte.org/) presented the play "Surviving the Applewhites", based on the novel by Scholars' Academy board member and acclaimed author Stephanie Tolan.
Our upper-grade students had the opportunity to see the production, which tells the story of Jake Semple, a young teen seemingly destined for juvenile delinquency who finds himself living in rural North Carolina with the eccentric Applewhite clan. For more about Ms. Tolan, visit her website: http://www.stephanietolan.com/. | |
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 The Spirit of Giving
Two students in Ms. Hinkelman's first grade class did something
different for their 7th birthdays this January. Instead of receiving
traditional birthday gifts, Erika Dawson collected gift cards which she donated to A Child's Place, an organization serving homeless children in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area, and Grace Keel collected new toys which she donated to the Levine Children's Hospital.
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 MRSA Math Superstars
Congratulations to our top scoring students in the American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8 ): Eric Rabel, Kedar Dange, Nathan Travers, David Wang, and Connie Zhou.
Sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America (http://www.unl.edu/amc) , the AMC 8 is a 25 question, 40 minute multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem solving skills, to promote excitement, enthusiasm and positive attitudes towards mathematics and to stimulate interest in continuing the study of mathematics beyond the minimum required for high school graduation. | |
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MRSA Golden Eagle Sports
Golf
Congratulation to the MRSA Eagle golf Team for their first win of the season. They defeated Providence Christian 180 to 195 to begin their season 1-0. Joey Povinelli and David Friedman tied for first with a 43 while Daniel Townley came in 5th with a 46. Patrick Povinelli was 6th at 48, Naveen Paul was 7th at 50 and Chris Harrison came in 8th with a 53.
Thanks to Coach Heidi Povinelli for her hard work and leadership and to the parents who helped out at the match.
Our match next Tuesday with Gaston Day School will be reschedule, so look for more information shortly
Tennis
Our tennis team kicked off their season with a team meeting on Thursday March 13th. Their practices will begin Friday March 21st at Myers Park High School under the leadership of Coach Ed Flynn and many of the parents on the team. Practices will be held each Friday after school with most matches on Monday afternoons. Our first match is scheduled for April 3rd at St. Anne's School in Rock Hill.
If anyone is still interested in tennis, please email John Watkins at w24olfpack@yahoo.com.
 Soccer
Many have asked about Spring Soccer. We will be having spring workouts during the month of May after school. Any rising 4th thru 7th grader is welcome to join us for workouts. |
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 LUNCH ORDERS DUE
April lunch orders are due by noon on Friday March 21.
All orders must be placed in the lunch order envelope in your childs PTO classroom basket. No later orders accepted.
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 PARKING AND CARPOOL REQUEST
Remember when dropping off/picking up in the car pool line, please do not park and exit your vehicle. Simply line up toward the mailbox and allow your children to enter/exit on the right side of the vehicle. Thank you!
For those who wish to continue to park and walk up, no problem. Again, thank you for parking in our lot and not BASC's.
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Dr. Peine's Pen
Transportation Topics
Thank you to all of the parents who have pitched in (some of them on the morning of) to get out students to this week's field trips. For four days last week we put together transportation for as many as 60 students. We filled in with the small bus on some of the trips, but it was our parents who filled the bus service gap this week.We consder field trips to be an important part of the educational experience at the Scholars' Academy. Nearly every staff member has a class leave the building this week. We appreciate everything you did.
We regret that Mr. Ross will be unable to continue as bus driver. He was a valuable employee who became part of our school community with his hard work and dedication to his job. W are currently searching for a person to assume the bus driver position. A candidate needs a NC CDL plus the "S" endorsement (for school bus) and air brakes certification. The hours are 6:15 - 9:00 each morning and 3:45 - 5:30 each evening. Salary is an hourly rate. We also have field trips, but the morning and afternoon runs are the most important. We would consider splitting up the shift if we found two qualified people. Depending on the hours worked, some limited benefits are available.
For the earth,
Marie E. Peine, Ph.D., Director
Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy
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 AN UPDATE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE FUTURE VENUE OF THE SCHOOL
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Parents and other members of the Scholars' Academy family,
As we enter the last quarter of the school year, many of you have questions about where the school will be housed in the future - next year and beyond. Speaking for the entire board of directors, I wanted to take a moment to update you on our plans and activities.
First, we have exercised our option to remain in our current facilities for the 2008-2009 school year. The challenge comes as, with the passage of each month, it becomes increasingly unlikely that we could secure and build or even renovate a permanent site in time for the opening of the 2009-2010 school year. That is a reality we have to face, and we are doing so on multiple fronts. One, we are pursuing additional lease options for the current space. Two, in the event that we are unable to remain where we are, we are looking at alternate sites available for lease. We will take whatever action is required to ensure that we have adequate facilities available for our students and staff. Thanks to your continuing contributions - of time, skills and financial support - we are a stronger and more secure institution than at any point in our history. The Scholars' Academy will continue to serve the needs of highly gifted children and their families, in 2009 and beyond.
On behalf of all of you, the board of directors has worked diligently to address the need for a permanent home. We have looked at countless properties and met with many of the most respected and active developers and landowners in Charlotte. We have consulted with capital campaign professionals and potential donors. We will continue to engage in these activities, at an increasing pace and with a better understanding of what is available, what can be achieved and how things get done. As I told you in December, we lost a good bit of time with a site that ultimately proved infeasible. Our reaction has been to bring more resources to bear on this challenge and to expand our search profile to include a somewhat larger geographic area and a broader array of financing arrangements. We will continue to actively seek out properties consistent with our stated objectives: to be as accessible as possible to highly gifted children and their families throughout the region, and to be located as close as possible to the educational amenities of the region.
As a charter school, we generally have the freedom to do the right thing for our students for the right reasons, but this freedom comes with a price. That price includes the need for us to fend for ourselves with respect to facilities, with significant challenges as a result.
We have been careful to keep the facility issue as a background process while allowing the school - led by Dr. Peine, operated by our teachers and staff, supported by our growing community of families and friends and brought to life each day by our children - to focus on our never-ending pursuit of excellence. You are doing your part, and I ask for your continued trust, patience and support as we do ours. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Evan Kettler
Chair, Board of Directors
evankett@carolina.rr.com
704-577-4901 |
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Scholars' Challenge Update
The last PTO fundraiser is well underway. Many pledge forms have been returned and it is going to be a close contest with regards to prizes! Some classes have already completed their challenge, but it is not too late to turn in pledge forms. Please continue to return these forms to the PTO hamper in the classrooms. Email rgreiner@bellsouth.net if you have additional pledges you would like to add to your form.
The PTO appreciates all your continued support!!! |
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Share your School Photos
As you may know, Scholars' Academy now has an online photo album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrscholarsacademy
If you have some school photos you would like to share, we would love to add them. Here is the procedure:
1. Identify all the students in the photo.
2. Verify that we have parental permission to use each student's photo. There is a notebook behind Jan Hargrove's desk in the office with all permission forms.
3. If we have permission for all students in the photo/s, send them to our photograph coordinator, Trent Pitts: tp1953@bellsouth.net. He will upload them to the album.
If it is difficult for you to go to school to check the notebook, e-mail the names of the students to our newsletter address: mrscholarsacademy@gmail.com , and one of us will check the notebook for you.
Thanks,
Scholars' Academy PTO | |
 ONCE UPON A MATTRESS...
On May 2, 2008, Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy will proudly present its first musical, Once Upon a Mattress. This retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson story "The Princess and the Pea" was written in 1959 by Mary Rodgers, daughterof Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame. The show opened in 1959, with Carol Burnett playing the lead role, and was revived on Broadway in 1996, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. ABC aired a version in 2005 starring Tracey Ullman as the princess and Carol Burnett as the queen.
The MRSA version of the play, directed by Christy Hinkelman, first grade teacher, is from the "Getting to Know You" Series offered by the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization as an opportunity to introduce younger audiences and performers to the world of musical theater. Most of these junior productions run about an hour; story lines have been tidied so that materials are appropriate for audiences and performers of all ages.
Auditions for Once Upon A Mattress were held several weeks ago and rehearsals have been in full swing for weeks. Our 40 member cast, comprised of second through eighth grade students, meets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The cast has been working hard to learn the songs and dances for the show, including the frenetic "Spanish Panic", choreographed by Cynthia Roeth.
Please keep your eyes open for regular updates on our progress and don't forget to mark your calendars! We hope to see you on May 2nd! | |
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  NCSAS Science Fair
Congratulation to our MRSA Eagles who competed this Friday, March 14 (Pi day) at the North Carolina Student Academy of Science State Competition. A record number of seventeen students competed against students from all over the state of North Carolina at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham, NC. Shortly after registration, our students were led on tours by student ambassadors from NCSSM. They were able to get a taste of life at the premier technology high school in the US, including dorm life, classrooms, labs, and athletics. The exposure to the students and the wonderful facilities put stars in many eyes and fueled much interest from our middle-schoolers in attending NCSSM in the future.
In the middle school division, our Scholars' won first prize in five of the six divisions they entered. Several place second and many of the judges remarked about the quality of the presentations for those who received honorable mention. All of the Eagles showed the hard work and dedication that went into the project and the awesome coaching provided my Ms. Turano. Their presentations were the class of the competition.
Two of our students were selected by the US Navy for the Navy Award, presented to students with outstanding projects whose application could benefit the US Navy. Kedar Dange (Solar Power) and Aakash Indurkya (Wave Energy) had their projects selected, sweeping all of the Navy awards presented for Middle School.
Finally, in recognition of her efforts and the incredible performance of our students, Ms Heather Turano was selected by the North Carolina Student Academy of Science as the Middle School Science Teacher of the Year.
Please congratulate all of our student for their fine work. |
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 A NOTE OF THANKS FROM THE PTO
The PTO would like to extend its gratitude to all the parents and students for showing their sincere appreciation to the teachers and staff of MRSA during the Teacher and Staff Appreciation week.
Big thanks to Melissa Brown for organizing the outside luncheon for the teachers at 'Cantina 1511'
Special thanks to all the Room Parents for their help.
Heart felt thanks to the following parents who volunteered to cover for the teachers during the outside luncheon:
* Babita Parashar, Mallika Vadlamani (Lloyd)
* Pinki Rawal, Vandana Grover (Montgomery)
* Nissmol Vincent, Julie Furr, Catherine Schwanke (Schneider)
* Nilma Amin, Eduardo Joseph (Hinkelman)
* Sangita Ramani, Minnie McPherson (Surrett)
* Shekar Patil (Moschel)
* Debbie Steele (Smith)
* Suzanne Brickner, Bola Ekezue, Beth Gage (Rideaux)
* Usha Potharaju (Pieper)
* Babita Thakker (Yodice)
* Radha Pudukodu (Bolick)
We couldn't have done it without you
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The Eagle's Nest Update is a bi-weekly e-mail newsletter. To subscribe or submit articles, send an e-mail to
mrscholarsacademy@gmail.com
The next edition will be published on April 7, 2008. Deadline for submissions is Thursday, April 3, 2008
For additional information about Metrolina Regional Scholars' Academy, visit our Website:
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