The MPH Snapshot

What a wonderful surprise and another example of just how extraordinary our community is! Faculty and staff stopping by campus this week were treated to this warm and thoughtful message, courtesy of the MPH Parents' Association. Thank you , parents! Your kind gesture is appreciated by all.

Welcome to R & W Day 2020!

Friday, May 22

Our traditional Red & White Day will look a little different this year, but we're confident that our community will bring the same energy and spirit that we're accustomed to! This year is all about participation! Whether you're a student, parent, employee, or alum, you're all invited to take part in this year's events.

We've added a new event -- a ribbon challenge -- find your old R & W Day ribbons and make a design with them! Email your pictures to Ms. Demers.

As you participate in various activities throughout the day, we ask that you send us pictures and videos of your efforts!

Stay tuned for more info!

By the looks of the video below, Mr. Vural is ready!

Art Madness!

For two months, Grade 6 and Grade 7 classes have been conducting "Art Madness." Each student voted on which artist would be the overall winner, with brownies on the line. Two months of intense competition has led to this one moment: Who will be the overall winner of Art Madness? This year there were 20 artists pitted against one another, and the group was comprised of sculptors, ceramicists, painters, males, females, and people from different countries and cultures.

Here are the results:

In the final round, the first section of Grade 7 had to decide between Salvador Dali, a surrealist and Zaha Hadida, an architect. After multiple tie-breakers, they chose Zaha Hadid!

Winners: Dashiel Goode, Johnathan Howard, and Jacob Hafner

The first section of Grade 6 had to decide between Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most famous artists of all time, and the architect Zaha Hadid. After much debate and great internal angst, the first section of Grade 6 also chose Zaha Hadid!

The second section of the Grade 7 had to decide between Marta Klonowska, a glass sculptor, and Jean Michel Basquiat, a contemporary artist. Even though Jean Michel Basquiat has the highest selling painting of an American artist ($110 million), they voted for Marta Klonowska!

Winners: Jay Sullivan, Caleb Smith, Rainbow Butler, and Mia Sakonju

The second section of Grade 6 had to decide between Marta Klonowska and Marcel Duchamp, the father of conceptual art. A few students had Duchamp winning the whole thing but in the end Marta Klonowska came out the winner!

Recap: Section one of Grade 6 and Grade 7 chose Zaha Hadid and section two of both Grade 6 and Grade 7 chose Marta Klonowska.

Zaha Hadid (above) is a renowned architect and known as the “queen of the curve.” She was an Iraqi-British architect and the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Her buildings were incredibly expensive to make and feats of engineering.

Marta Klonowska (left) uses shards of glass to create glass sculptures of animals. Klonowska visits museums and studies ancient paintings to find different animals in the paintings. The animals are never the focal point and are usually unobserved by the viewer. However, Klonowska makes them into the star of the show.

Ted Curtis -- "Arkansas Traveler" on the fiddle!

Some 80's rock by Matt Twomey-Smith!

Friday Concerts in Upper School

Last week, Mr. Leclerqc made a request in the Upper School Google Classroom: Friday Concerts at 1:00 p.m. He wrote, "Everyone can post a filmed performance on this Google classroom, or enjoy listening to your classmates' and teachers' performances. It's low key, but it brings a breath of fresh air at the end of a week of hard work." Several faculty members and students shared their talents...here are just a few to brighten your day!

Anna's rendition of "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman!

Josh on the electric guitar!

Grade 4 Jamboard

Grade 4 was introduced to a new piece of technology during Morning Meeting. The students were invited to join in a "Jamboard," which is a collaborative whiteboard. They began by exploring the tools and simply having fun. Then they moved to using the "sticky note" option to share a comment about the day. Ms. Concepcion notes that "introducing new technology during Morning Meeting invites the children to be open and to explore. They teach each other about the technoloy in the process and find the creativity in that piece of technology. I'm then able to invite them to utilize that technology as a format for producing or sharing academic output without the learning curve, so they can focus on the subject of their project."

Also, for Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you!), Grade 4 students were invited to create an airplane launcher.

Here are a few examples of finished projects so far.

Series and Circuits: A Dining Room Lesson

Ms. Foster's Grade 6 class probably was not expecting their lesson on series and parallel circuits to be so detailed, considering it was being delivered from their teacher's dining room! Take a look at how Ms. Foster cleverly presented last week's lesson plan!

Introducing The MPH Sports Academy!

In coordination with our Physical Education Department, Athletic Director Jim Ryan has created a way for Lower Schoolers to learn fundamental skills in a variety of sports. The "MPH Sports Academy" features a series of videos with PE teachers demonstrating skills. Check back weekly to see what's new!

Photo credit: Katie MooreHooks

Helping Upstate

In her Jamesville neighborhood, French instructor Ms. Cahill participated with her family in The Front Steps Project, a national movement to photograph families during COVID-19, while social distancing. Their neighborhood raised over $1,000. All donations went to support the needs of Upstate frontline employees.

Too Cute Not To Share!

Thanks to Mrs. Chhablani for sharing this adorable video of the foxes she discovered in her yard! But as cute as they are, we're glad Mrs. Chhablani practiced good social distancing while filming!

Lower Schoolers Tune In to Watch Chicks Hatch!

Mmebers of Grades 4 and 5 anxiously watched and waited for one of their classmate's chicks to hatch. Word got out, and soon, 3rd graders were tuned in as well, via Leo Abdo's iPad! The three classes virtually awaited for the big moment. Check out the video below!

Hi Friends!

Thyme=leaved Speedwell

Field Mustard

This Week's Wildflowers with

Audrey Yeager

Did you know you have a salad in your yard? Many of the plants that we think of as "weeds" are actually edible or have medicinal properties. This week I decided to travel someplace close to home: the trail around the MPH campus! On my way up to the soccer field, what a surprise to see Mrs. Bentley-Hoke and her son Jay, who was practicing soccer in the lower field.

The trail was filled with green, but it wasn't a pretty sight. Garlic mustard ( Alliaria petiolata), in the Brassica family, was covering a significant portion of the first part of the trail, right behind the Amos and McNeil buildings. Garlic mustard is one of the worst invasive plants in the Northeast, completely taking over the undergrowth of some forests and chocking out native species. Studies have shown that manual pulling of the plant each spring is much more effective at stopping the spread than herbivory by animals. When you pull it, go ahead and use it to make a pesto or to season your food, because it does have a nice garlic flavor!

Down by the creek is a patch of wild chives ( Allium schoeneprasum ) . I have seen this patch expand over the past couple of years. These are often grown both for their ornamental and culinary value. This plant is in the top 10 nectar producers in a UK plant study.

Field mustard is another popular choice for pollinators. Several plants were growing on the edges of the parking lot by the soccer field and on the edge of the fence. Field mustard is often used as a cover crop, and helps deter soil-born pests and other weeds. Microbes in the soil break down sulfur containing compounds in the roots of the plant. However, the sulfur compounds can be toxic if eaten in large amounts by livestock. Different cultivars of field mustard are used to produce turnip, broccoli rabe, and canola oil from the seeds.

Creeping Charlie, or ground ivy ( Glechoma hederacea), is in the mint family and is also an aggressive invasive, covering lawns and woodlands. The extensive roots make it difficult to remove by simply hand-pulling. The young greens can be used for salads, and have traditionally been used for several medicinal purposes, as well.

Finally, those tiny white and purple flowers in your yard are most likely a variety of speedwell. Thyme-leaved speedwell ( Veronica serpyllifolia), is also a non-native plant that will often pop up in your yard. The tiny seeds easily get transported to new locations as humans step on them and carry them to new locations. The juice from the plant has been used as an astringent and some variety of leaves are commonly used for tea!

Join Ms. Yeager on her wildflower journey using this handy checklist!

And share your stories and photos with us here!

Garlic Mustard

Creeping Charlie

This Week's Distance-Learning Candids!

The MS Cooking Club tackles c aramelized onion, mushroom and gruyere puff pastry appetizers

Grade 1 students have been taking turns "being teacher" by doing read alouds for each other. This week's choice was Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, Mission Defrostable, by Josh Funk, read by Breanna.