Thanks to all of you who have sent in your registrations for the summer programs. We have a great start on our enrollment but would like to make decisions about filling or cancelling classes by May 15th.  If you have not yet registered, please get your forms in as soon as possible.  I have covered a number of areas of interest thus far, but have not mentioned our most popular camps – the sports camps.  Your child can take badminton, baseball, basketball, hip hop, jazz, karate, volleyball, or tennis.  All of these camps provide a wonderful opportunity to get exercise, try a new sport or indulge in a loved one . . . and all in a non-competitive setting with friends.  We have our instructors in place for these camps, but need to get the registrations in so we know how many assistants we need to hire.  A great way to fill the day is in combining an academic class with a sports camp.  That way you can satisfy both mind and body.

Panther Camp also offers a week of water fun, one of horse camp, and one each on camping and outdoor survival.  No matter what week your child signs up, you can be assured that Panther Camp will provide plenty of exercise and outdoor fun within a nicely structured and safe environment. 

If you need another brochure, just stop in the office and pick one up, or we would be glad to send you one via backpack or mail.  Give us a call! 

Next week is full of Middle School art and music.  It is interesting to see how the skills of the children progress from one division to the next, so take some time to look at the Middle School artwork and see where your child is headed.  If you want to introduce your child to what lies ahead of them in music, you may want to attend one of the Middle School concerts:  Tuesday the 8th is the MS Band Concert at 7:00 p.m., and the MS Orchestra Concert is on Thursday the 10th at the same time. 

On Friday the 11th, the 3rd grade is putting on their annual Parade of States from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall.  The children have worked really hard preparing for this big event.  Each student chose a state to research under the guidance of their homeroom teachers, the librarian, and their parents.  They learned proper note-taking skills and then utilized the information they found to produce a research paper, complete with bibliography.  They also spent time making a poster that summarizes their state’s highlights and discovered some little-known fact to present to the audience next week.  Ms. Gaida has been a great asset to the project as she taught the students how to do PowerPoints while they were in their computer classes the last month.  This resulted in each child adding a PowerPoint of their state to the exhibit.  This is just another perfect example of how the Lower School works as a team to make the projects meaningful and interconnected.  It also is another wonderful example of differentiated learning.  Children worked at their own level to produce their exhibit and a variety of modes were used as the projects came to fruition.  All students completed a written, oral, visual and technological portion of their project so that, once again, they could begin to see where their strengths lie and how they learn best.  We are all looking forward to the final product!  

The school days are winding down, but we at MPA sure are not!