April 24, 2024

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Thursday, April 25t - Last Day for MES GO Team Voting!

Online voting for new members for next year's GO Team is open NOW and will end on Thursday, April 25th. Households should have received unique voting links via text, email, and/or US postal service ahead of the voting period. For more information about the GO Team election process, please click here.

Also, please save the date for the final MES GO Team meeting for the 2023-2024 school year, which will take place on Monday, May 6th at 5pm. This meeting will be held virtually as well as livestreamed on the MES YouTube page for those who would like to watch. Recordings from past meetings can also be viewed on the YouTube page at any time. Please note that this meeting has been rescheduled from the original April meeting date.

The agendas for these meetings, as well as past meeting materials and the protocol for signing up to speak during the public comment period can be found on the MES GO Team webpage.

Friday, April 26th - Final Principal Coffee Talk of the Year!

The final Principal Coffee Talk for the 2023-2024 school year will be held on Friday, April 26th at 8am in the MES Cafeteria - please join us as we wrap up the school year and start to look ahead to next year! Please note that all coffee talks will also be live streamed to our YouTube channel if you cannot attend in person.

Monday, April 29th - Friday, May 10th - Georgia Milestones Testing

Beginning on Monday, April 29th and continuing through Friday, May 10th, our students in grades 3-5 will be taking their annual Georgia Milestones assessments (sometimes referred to as GMAS). The 2024 testing schedule will be as follows:

Grades 3 and 5

• Monday, April 29th - GMAS ELA Section 1
• Tuesday, April 30th - GMAS ELA Section 2
• Wednesday, May 1st - GMAS ELA Section 3
• Thursday, May 2nd - GMAS Math Section 1
• Friday, May 3rd - GMAS Math Section 2
• Monday, May 6th - GMAS Science Sections 1 & 2 (**5th Grade ONLY)

Grade 4

• Monday, May 6th - GMAS ELA Section 1
• Tuesday, May 7th - GMAS ELA Section 2
• Wednesday, May 8th - GMAS ELA Section 3
• Thursday, May 9th - GMAS Math Section 1
• Friday, May 10th - GMAS Math Section 2

Please note that it is very important for all students to participate in the Georgia Milestones End of Grade assessments. Student-level results may be used by instructors to tailor instruction and provide intervention opportunities to better meet the needs of your child. Our Dolphins have worked so hard this, and it's time for them to show what they know!

Testing will begin promptly at 8:00 AM on all testing days. Our school schedule will shift slightly to accommodate all test takers. Teachers will communicate the shift in schedule via email.

For a refresher about GMAS, please check out the recording and slide presentation from Mr. Baron during our Testing at MES Parent University session earlier this year. Additional details can be found on the MES Georgia Milestones webpage. For additional questions, please contact Mr. Baron.

Thursday, May 2nd - MES Monthly Book Club Meeting

Please join us for the next monthly meeting of our amazing MES Book Club where we will be discussing the May Book of the Month "Art Club" by Rashad Doucet. The MES Book Club will meet immediately after school on Thursday, May 2nd from 2:45 - 3:15pm in the Amy Snowden Mather Library at MES. You can review the instructions for afterschool pick up and RSVP to attend this meeting here. Please note that if you have not RSVP'd in advance, your child will be unable to attend.

Limited copies of the book can be checked out from the school library, purchased from your favorite local book retailer, or borrowed from the public library. Additional details about the book club can be found on the MES Library webpage.

Friday, May 3rd - Lost and Found Donation Day

Are you missing a water bottle or coat? Please be sure to look for it before the next donation day on Friday, May 3rd! The Lost and Found is now located near the cafeteria, along the hallway to the library - simply check in the office before swinging by to claim your items. Please note that we will NOT donate any items that are labeled, as the front office staff will work to reunite all labeled items with their owners.

Please see opportunities to volunteer to help with Lost and Found HERE.

Class Assignment Input Opportunity for 2024-2025 School Year!

Your child’s school experience and success are very important to everyone at MES as we plan for the next year and make our teacher-student assignments. While you can place your trust in your child's current teacher(s) to make careful choices for next year, the MES Admin team also values your input as part of this process, should you opt to share it. There are also other staff your child may work with and our counseling and administrative team who may provide input into this process.

If you have a student currently in grades K-4 and you wish to give us additional information regarding your child that may influence the class placement decisions, please complete the following input form by the end of the day on Thursday, May 9th. Please note that this form is NOT for incoming

All submitted forms come directly to Principal Sofianos, who reads every single entry and compiles the information for each homeroom teacher to consider. Note that requests for a specific teacher are not accepted as it discounts other important criteria and can affect overall classroom composition. There may also be unknown staff changes that make it impossible to honor these requests. 

New Campus Projects Happening at MES!

If you've been on campus lately you may have noticed some new, exciting additions to the campus!

Thanks to funding provided by the MES PTA, local artist Howard Kurtzman returned last week to brighten up the front office, school entrance, and to add color to three existing metal sculptures on campus. Howard is the mural artist who painted the breezeway mural over the summer but this time our students, teachers, staff and community members had the opportunity to see Howard at work. Students were enthusiastic, cheering and applauding as they walked by the work in progress.

Stay tuned as more campus beautification projects are in the works in the coming weeks!!

Watch a short video Howard made for the morning announcements.

See more of Howard's work HERE

Registration Reminders for Next Year!

Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is currently in the process of updating student information and pre-registering students for the 2024-2025 school year. This process ensures that each school has adequate information about the anticipated student body to guide planning for next year as well as maintaining up-to-date records for all students. APS, MES, and all of the Midtown Cluster appreciates all of our families for addressing these requests in a timely manner!

Rising 6th Grade Registration

Atlanta Public Schools requires all parents or guardians to re-register (including providing proof of residency) their children when entering 6th grade, including all students continuing on from MES to Howard Middle School. If you have a Rising 6th grader and have not yet done so, please log into your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account and select "More" followed by "Online Registration for Existing Students" to complete the registration process. If you are having difficulty completing online registration, please contact Howard Middle School at 404-802-3200 or by emailing DTHRegistration@atlanta.k12.ga.us to request a virtual or in-person registration appointment. Rising 6th grade students who do not complete Online Registration will not receive class assignments for the 2024-2025 school year and may be withdrawn from school at the end of the current school year.

Parent Portal accounts can be accessed by clicking here (or using the button below!). The APS Parent Portal Help Page can be found here, just in case you need it.

Rising Rams families should also join the Howard Class of 2027 Facebook Group to keep with all of the latest information.

Rising Kindergarten Registration

Online registration is also open now for Rising Kindergartners who will be starting school in August 2024! Families with children who will be five years old before September 1, 2024 should complete Kindergarten registration via the APS Kindergarten Registration website, which can also be accessed by clicking the button below. If you are having trouble with online enrollment, please contact Ms. Aquilla Jones (the MES school clerk) via email at aquilla.jones@atlanta.k12.ga.us.

Additional details about Kindergarten registration, Dolphin Splash, and much more can be found in the MES Rising K Facebook Group.

Morning Carpool Drop Off Reminder!

Thank you to our carpool families who arrive early and create a space for our staff to enter the parking garage located underneath the main school building! Many of our MES staff members arrive between 7 and 7:15am and we very much appreciate the mindfulness of our carpool families in leaving the garage drive open.

As a reminder, please remember that even if you are running late, there is no drop off allowed on East Rock Springs Road as it is extremely unsafe.

You can find the carpool route on the MES website Transportation page. Please note that there should be no "cut through turns" in the middle of the Barclay Median. Please drive to the end of Barclay and make the turn around there to avoid creating unnecessary traffic back ups and dangerous merging situations. Thank you!

MES Principal Blog

Posts on Principal Sofiano's Principal's Blog highlight the latest happenings at Morningside, including an inside view of the work of our amazing students and wonderful staff. Reminders about blog posts will continue to be sent through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal straight to your phones and email inboxes, but you can also bookmark the Principal's Blog and check it out at any time! If you are not getting blog notices on your email or phone, contact Charlette Jackson in the front office to update your information.

You're Invited to the Rising Rams Fun on the Field: Friday, April 26th!

On Friday, April 26th, Howard Middle School will host their spring Fun on the Field event from 5:00 - 7:00pm. This event is open to all 5th graders and their families and is a great opportunity for our Rising Rams to come to Howard, play on the field, and meet their future classmates from other elementary schools in the Midtown Cluster.

If you are interested in attending this event, please RSVP via this Google form. Families can also pre-order dinner from Sweet Auburn BBQ now in order to have food at the event. You can view the menu here and place your order here if you choose. Families can also bring their own food and picnic at the event if they prefer.

Finally, if you'd like to contribute some yard games to this fun night, please let the Howard organizers know via this SignUp Genius.

Atlanta Board of Education Meeting - Monday, May 6th

The next monthly APS Board of Education meeting will take place on Monday, May 6th from 2:30-8:00pm. All meetings are held at the Atlanta Public Schools Center for Learning and Leadership Auditorium and are typically livestreamed via the APS Board of Education Facebook Page. Interested parties are welcome to provide comments during the Community Meeting portion (which begins at 6:00pm) by signing up in person from 5:00-5:50pm.

Join the Howard Middle School PTO Executive Board!

At Howard, the process for selecting PTO members is unique. Instead of directly voting for specific positions, members vote for candidates for the Executive Board. The Executive Board then internally decides on the allocation of positions among its members. And unlike elementary school where you are there for up to six years, you are only in middle school for THREE years so we'd love to have our rising 6th grade parents join the board!

You can find more information about the Howard Middle School on their webpage. Please email alisonmassa@gmail.com with any questions.

APS Adult Education Classes Available for FREE

Discover APS's free Adult Education Program, where we support individuals in navigating the official Georgia High School Equivalency (HSE) Program, formerly known as the GED Testing Program. From selecting a high school equivalency pathway to test preparation, class enrollment, and short-term training opportunities, APS is dedicated to guiding adults through every step.

Additionally, our program extends beyond HSE with English as a Second Language and citizenship classes held at multiple Atlanta/Fulton County locations.



To learn more and enroll, click HERE and share the information with those who can benefit.

Stay Up to Date with the APS Midtown Cluster

Click HERE for resources directly related to our cluster.

Stay Up to Date with the 2023-2024 APS Calendar 

Click HERE to view the district calendar and start planning for all the breaks.

Click HERE to view the Atlanta BOE 2024 Calendar.

Thank you to our 2023-2024 Diamond Dolphin, Dolphin, and Platinum-level sponsors for supporting our school!

For more information about Dolphin Donors, please click HERE.