Mesa Academy Newsletter

March 2024

In spite of having a week off for Spring Break our Knights were extremely busy in March. NAL had their final successful match in the city tournament. Congratulations to our NAL team! The 4th graders explored the Grand Canyon and Bearizona and the 6th graders learned about Oceanography in California. We started our State testing in science and we are all looking forward to the International Festival in April! - Nikki Wilfert (Principal)

All IB programs aim 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. In March, each teacher nominated one homerorom student that demonstrates the traits of principled people. Principled students respect the dignity and feelings of others, are honest and accountable, and accept both responsibility for their decisions and the consequences that accompany them. The following are our March I.B. Principled Students: Lowell Baudouin, Alyssa Smith , Bryn Walters, Garrison Norton, Sophia Harper, Mila Prince, Denise Zakharov, Preston Rule, Emma Duffek, Elena Rodriguez, Gabrielle Figueroa, Julian Trujillo, John Ligas , Payton Kober, and Rebecca Wehrman.

4/1-4/9: International Festival Pre-sale $5 see information below.

4/1: Panoramic Pictures- Only Polos

4/2: State Testing for 6th-8th Grade

4/4: State Testing for 4th-5th Grade

4/4: District MYPO & JHFO Concert

4/4: Battle of the Books -Media Center & MPR (1:15-2p.m)

4/8: PTO Meeting 6:30-8:30p.m.

4/8-4/9: State Testing for 4th-5th Grades

4/11: District MYPO & JHFO Concert

4/12: International Festival 6:30-8:30 p.m.

4/14-15: State Testing for 6th-8th Grades

4/17: Tacos for Dineros-PTO Fundraiser- Backyard Taco-

1633 S. Stapley Dr. 11:30-9 p.m.

4/18 & 24: Drama Club Final Performance

4/23: Renaissance Concert 6-7 p.m.

4/26: PTO and NJHS Movie Night (in support of Drama Club)

6-8p.m.

4/30: Orchestra Concert (6th-8th grades) 6-7 p.m.

How many pairs of leprechaun gold can you find? The answer is upside-down at the bottom of the newsletter.

In Mrs. Clanton’s 5th grade science lab, students got to conduct a variety of fun experiments with unexpected results. Somehow, Mrs. Clanton took all of our research from our past unit and turned it into the fun labs that we went through in the past couple of days. Each experiment had something to do with chemistry and chemical change. One of the best labs was no doubt “growing a ghost.” This lab used yeast and other ingredients. This all went into a jar while a cool foam mixture erupted over the top of the jar! Overall, this experience was so fun! - Ify and Ruby Skye

C.I.O.

CIO or Chief Innovation Officers is a really cool program various MPS schools. As a CIO you get to go on cool field trips which is a cool perk but the real focus of a CIO is to build teamwork. Our CIO’s are working on working together with the City of Mesa to set up a stand and participate with an event at Pioneer Park on May 13th. We are inviting volunteers to work and visit the festival, 2:00-3:00. The CIO’s are working on improving our air and planting trees by organizing this event. -W. Taylor

Tips for Testing

Knights, we are entering our testing season. Don’t stress out! Here are some tips:

1. Try to get a good night's sleep. 8-10 hours is the healthy amount for
   

4-8th grade students.

1. Eat a good breakfast. Breakfast helps to boost brain power and give you energy for the long testing hours.
   
2. While taking the test, make sure you read the question carefully. Reread it if you have to, take your time on each question. You have all day for the test.
   
3. Think positive! It is important to have faith in yourself
   

If you are still nervous then there are practice tests you can do. You can do it Knights!

On Saturday, February 9th our school had a Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) volunteer event. Over 80 people from our school volunteered. Wwe labeled and packed ManaPack Rice. This rice has four main ingredients: vitamins, vegetables, soy, and rice. It may not taste the best or be the most nutritious, but it is sufficient for a body’s needs. Our volunteer group packed 103 boxes, and 22,248 meals. This will feed 60 children for a year. These Packages go to over 50 countries such as Haiti, Nigeria, etc. This event was a great opportunity for families, students, and staff to connect and form wonderful, meaningful bonds.

Our 4th graders had a great time exploring Northern Arizona. From enjoying the winter weather and the variation of wildlife at Bearizona to hiking the beautiful trails of our Grand Canyon.

While the 4th graders played in the snow our 6th graders got to visit the ocean and see some amazing sea life. The multiple day trip started in Orange County at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Our Knights got to see whales too. On Day 2, along with more sea animals, our group had a boat trip and conducted water quality labs. They concluded their trip on the beach. From aquariums to bonfires, our Knights had a blast!

PTO

PTO

Friday April 12th, 2024

6:30-8:30pm

We're already gearing up for our annual International Festival, April 12th! This event showcases our IB Program and features food, games, performances, and information about cultures around the globe.

Get involved and help us make this the

BEST FEST EVER!

If you would like to be part of the planning, prepping, running, or cleaning up, we'd love to have you on our team!

We are also looking for families, organizations, or individuals who would like to share more about their culture or country of origin at the event through food, music, or a display. The interest form can be found here.

NAL this year was a great experience. It is easy to argue that some in the district doubted our capabilities. Even though NAL started the year with quite a small group and lost our first game to Carson, we continued to grow as a team learning to work better together and support each other. Going into the playoffs, our record was 3-3 and we were ranked last in the playoffs with Poston ranked first. In the semifinals, we narrowly defeated our greatest adversary, Poston, and faced Summit in the championship game on March 14. We assertively defeated Summit with a score of 70 to 41 to bring the trophy back where it belongs—to the home of the Mesa Academy Knights!!- Mrs. Meredith

Total Leprechaun pairs: six

The talent show is a fun event all knights look forward to. There were a lot of fun acts, like singing, dancing, and even a flash mob put on by the 8th graders! The talent show is definitely one of the highlights of the year. All of the performers were wonderful and the hosts were very entertaining. Some instruments we got to hear include the violin, the piano, the guitar, the ukulele and more! It’s no surprise that our knights are very talented and brave, and they make the school an amazing place to be.-H. Kennigngton

Music @MAAS

The preparatory, intermediate, and advanced orchestras had an extraordinary concert on the 7th of March. The preparatory orchestra took a special spin on their pieces to fit their on-stage performance. In the intermissions between songs they filled in their story to a play based on their songs called “The Last Dragon of Coda Kingdom”. They made costumes and renamed songs with a wonderful performance throughout making the acts all the more engaging. The intermediate's most prominent piece was about time travel and carried the audience through different eras and styles of music. The “time travel section” was between these different eras and styles with its theme and melody. This section even starred a percussion performance from Mr. Dixon, our favorite band teacher. All in all, the variety of music was wonderful and the execution was spectacular. The final performance was the Ancient Wonders suite by the advanced orchestra. Such movements included Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, The Great Lighthouse at Alexandria, The Great Pyramid at Giza, and Statue of Zeus at Olympia with additional artwork from other ruins around the world. All these pieces were performed wonderfully and fully embraced the nature of what they represented with an accompaniment of the Timpani. -A. Norton

4/11: District MYPO and JHFO concert (selected students)(7PM)

4/23: Renaissance (beginning band and 6th orch only)(6-6:45 PM)

4/30: Prep, Int., and Adv. Orchestras @6-7PM

5/9: Orchestra (4-5)

5/10: Band Concert @ 6PM