MILESTONES ASSESSMENTS NO VISITOR POLICY

• I want to thank everyone for the grace that has been extended to this slight shift in visitors to the building during testing times. It is so very much appreciated!

THE LAST THREE DAYS (5/27, 5/28, 5/29)

• Families - understanding that the end of this school year is quite different than previous years, I want to bring to light the importance of all of our Dolphins to be in attendance the last 3 days of school (5/27, 5/28, 5/29). Our school's attendance is actually factored in to the CCRPI (College and Career Ready Performance Index) which is our state accountability report card. A drop in our attendance rate can significantly affect our score for the Readiness component of CCRPI which would result in a lower overall score for Morningside Elementary. I want to thank you in advance for understanding the impact of the last three days after Memorial Day for our overall school rating!

2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR INFORMATION

MEET THE TEACHER DATES - JULY

• Meet the Teacher for the 25-26 school year is officially scheduled for Thursday, July 31st. We will continue our tradition of splitting meeting times in order to accommodate all families comfortably.
• 9:00 am - 10:00 am - Last names A-M
• 10:00 am - 11:00 am - Last names N-Z
• Additional communication will be shared at the beginning of July!

2025-2026 SUPPLY LISTS

• All supply lists will be posted on our website by June 1st. Stay tuned!

2025-2026 STAFFING UPDATE

• Reading/Math Support Teacher - Following a candidate pool of 141 applicants, we have recommended Ms. Valerie Thomas for hire. Ms. Thomas comes to Morningside with a plethora of experience in both literacy and math instruction, as well as a strong background in data analysis. We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Thomas for the upcoming school year!
• Special Education Paraprofessional - We are so excited to announce that Mrs. Cathy DeVarona will be joining the MES Staff in this role! Mrs. DeVarona holds an incredibly strong background in education, and has most recently been serving as a substitute teacher at MES. Not only is she a brilliant educator, but she is a delightful member of the Morningside community!
• 5th Grade Science and ELA - We have recommended for hire a vibrant and experienced 5th Grade Science and ELA teacher to join our 5th grade team. Additional details will be shared as this teacher completes the HR process.

5th GRADE FAMILIES - I will send a separate communication will be sent Monday (5/9) regarding the Moving On Ceremony.

Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

GEORGIA MILESTONES - 4/28/25 - 5/9/25

We are quickly approaching GMAS (Georgia Milestones Assessment System) testing for all students in grades 3, 4, and 5. GMAS dates can be found HERE along with a letter to all parents. A few reminders to consider:

- Make sure Dolphins are getting to bed at a reasonable hour to ensure full ability to be alert!
- Testing will begin promptly at 8:00AM so students really need to be on time!
- All students should eat breakfast to nourish their amazing brains either at home or in our cafeteria!

Please note that there will be no visitors allowed in the building between Monday, 4/28 – Friday, 5/9 during Georgia Milestones testing. This is a practice that we are aligning with the other Midtown elementary schools on this year. This means no lunch visitors, mystery readers, etc. during that time. Although the majority of our testers will be completed by 11 am, we will have testers in small groups as well as rolling make ups testing throughout these days. Thank you so much!

NEW MURAL FACING PLAYGROUND
Thanks to funding through the MES Foundation, and the dedication of Ms. Holly Acton, we are SO excited to house the newest creative mural by the incredible Greg Mike!! I will leave the unveiling of this masterpiece to our Foundation!

4th GRADE PARENTS (a look ahead to the 5th grade trip)
Giving a heads up to all 4th grade families (rising 5th grade families) that we will once again head to Rock Eagle for the 2 night, 3 day experience for our 5th grade students.  We are looking at a cost of approximately $270 which includes charter buses, lodging, food, etc. There will be a bunch of information about the trip provided at the beginning of the school year, but I wanted to put this on your radar early! The trip is currently scheduled for November 5 - November 7.

SAFETY CONCERNS AT DROPOFF

- EAST ROCK SPRINGS: We are still having students dropped off directly on East Rock Springs Road. At no time should any student be dropped off from a car other than in the car line due to safety concerns. New cones are being used to indicate no drop off

- DRIVEWAY: Reminder that there are no turns into the driveway at drop off time. Please queue up on Barclay

PARENT PORTAL UPDATE!
Please make sure you update/verify your information in Parent Portal. APS sent communication directly regarding this information. Thank you!

Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

2025-2026 School Year Staffing Updates

As we depart for Spring Break, I wanted to share our staffing update as it stands today. For the upcoming year, we are projected for a student enrollment of 694 Dolphins. The breakdown of grade levels stands as follows:

Kindergarten - 6 teachers, 6 paraprofessionals
Teachers: Holmes, Georges, Grier, Jennings, Nguyen, Snapp
Paraprofessionals: Banks, Davis, Frazier, Letchumanan, Romero, Wicker

1st Grade - 6 teachers
Davis, Dickerson, Oglesby, Sayers, Warren, Westwood

2nd Grade - 6 teachers
Bakich, Brown, Hogan, Lozano, Lieb, O'Neill

3rd Grade - 6 teachers
Acton, Milam, Morel, Nordmann, Varino, Waye

4th Grade - 5 teachers
Ahmed, Cherry, Ellison, Khalili, Rhodes

5th Grade - 5 teachers
Espinosa, Mallory, Shivani, Tyner, Vacancy

Ms. Carla Daniels will be joining Jackson Elementary as a 4^th grade teacher.  We are super grateful for Ms. Daniels' unwavering service to both 2^ndgrade and 5^th grade Dolphins!!

Mr. Trey Hatcher will be retiring in May after serving Morningside Dolphins since 2015. We are so happy for Mr. Hatcher in his next chapter!!!

Dr. Zina Rhodes will join the 4th grade team and Mrs. Jen Lieb will join the 2nd grade team.  This has created a vacancy for our 5th grade team which has now been posted on the APS HR website. We aim to have an amazing 5th grade teacher recommended for hire by the last week in April.. Additionally, we will be hiring two hourly paraprofessionals to join our team - more information will be shared (including the postings for the para openings) after we return from the break.

I will continue to share updates as they become available.   Happy Spring Break!!

Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

• SUMMER CAMP/PROGRAM INFORMATION
• In addition to Power Up Midtown Academy for students over the summer, I am asking for some help in sharing names of great summer camps that our Dolphins have attended. I'm putting together a list of community recommended camps to share out with families.  Please click https://forms.gle/ts1xoMxhAMSqkVvT6 to share information about your camp/program!

• LAST CALL FOR PARENT INPUT FORMS FOR CLASS PLACEMENT
• Because we are all overly swamped with all things, I am offering ONE more opportunity to complete the parent input form for class placements. I will close the form at 2PM on Friday...and as Porky Pig so eloquently says…. "That's All Folks!" Parent Input Form: https://forms.gle/WhY2PHVbWAfCprhA6

• VISITORS DURING MILESTONES (4/28-5/9)
• Please note that there will be no visitors allowed in the building between Monday, 4/28 – Friday, 5/9 during Georgia Milestones testing. This is a practice that we are aligning with the other Midtown elementary schools on this year.
• This means no lunch visitors, mystery readers, etc. during that time. Although the majority of our testers will be completed by 11 am, we will have testers in small groups as well as rolling make ups testing throughout these days. Thank you so much!

• BUS RIDING POLICY
• Per APS, students are allowed to ride only the bus they are assigned to based on primary home address. Although you have the ability in PikMyKid to select buses, that is only a technical piece in PikMyKid. The APS bus riding policy can be found here listed under #9: https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/domain/10570

• SPRING SHOES WITH BACKS!
• As the weather is getting warmer (finally!), I want to remind you to please make sure that kids' shoes have backs on them to prevent accidents in the building. Safety first!
   
• SPRING GARDEN DAY
• A huge thank you to Ms. Acton and the countless volunteers who made the Spring Garden Day a big success. It was a beautiful day in the garden with hands-on experiential learning. There were such fun stations that our Dolphins had an opportunity to participate in that included:
• Planting in Cups
• Sowing in Beds
• Transplanting
• Seed Bombs - wildflowers
• Seed Bombs - sunflowers

STUDENT SHOUTOUTS!

STATE SCIENCE FAIR

On Friday, March 28, 2025, 3rd Grader Charlie D. attended the GA State Science Fair, where his project, Hoverboards and Decibels, won first place in the Physics category!!! Congratulations to Charlie for winning  first place at the GA State Science Fair! Charlie’s experiment was inspired by riding his hoverboard with built-in speakers around his house. He noticed that the sound seemed louder on certain surfaces and wondered why. To investigate, he measured the decibel levels—units that measure sound intensity—reflected off different floor surfaces from his hoverboard's speakers. How cool!!!!
(Thank you Anne-Marie for the info and content)

KID CHESS ATLANTA TOURNAMENT

(Thanks to Mrs. Lee for providing this content)

Among the Atlanta schools competing, MES students clinched 1st place during the tournament playoffs. Individually, our students achieved remarkable results at the championship on May 4th, earning 1st, 2nd, 6th, 8th and 10th places. The talented students who represented us are:

5th Graders:

• 1st Place: Isaac K
• 2nd Place: Theo K, Paul K, Max F
• 6th Place: Paulo C
• 8th Place: James P

3rd Grader:

• 10th Place: Jackson P

Wishing the entire Morningside Community a safe and restful Spring Break Week!

Until Next Time...

Warmly,

Brian Baron
Interim Principal

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL MONDAY! (3/17/25) - This is a professional learning day for staff!

POWER UP SUMMER SCHOOL 2025  

Invitations to attend Power Up Summer 2025 were sent directly from APS to families yesterday via Infinite Campus, Constant Contact, and text messaging. I understand there has been some confusion regarding the origin of the invitations. Please note that teachers did not inform this automated invitation for students, but rather the list for invitations was generated by APS based on the following Fall OR Winter MAP Assessments:

While summer school is optional, it does provide a great extension for students to work on standards and skills in preparation for the next grade level!

On that note, all APS traditional school students are welcome to register for Power Up Summer 2025:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DTGAYy-cBc_XYCqWot84WYer1Mj9J-3aX94bYk3cPZ0/viewform?edit_requested=true

Power Up Summer 2025 will be held at Virginia Highland Elementary from June 2nd - June 27th from 7:45 am - 2:15pm daily. There will be transportation provided by the APS Transportation Department.

And now a few highlights of our amazing Dolphins' accomplishments…
 

99 MATH FLUENCY CHALLENGE
Congratulations to Ms. Acton and Mrs. Morel's third grade class for winning the 99 Math Fluency Challenge! Today this class went head to head with Perkerson Elementary and were victorious!  Well done 3rd Grade Mathematicians!

DRONES FOR GOOD
This in from Mr. Richard Hatcher:
Last Saturday (3/8), 13 MES students competed in the "Drones for the Good" competition at Midtown High School. The day started with former MES student, Kate Berg, senior at Midtown and soon to be at GA Tech student, welcoming us to Midtown. She was the principal organizer of the event!  Our parents and teachers watched as the kids showed amazing tenacity in the face of many technical obstacles and ended up winning the "Broken Prop Award" for sportsmanship and perseverance. We had the most spectacular crash landing at the end of the day. Way to go Lucas! Mr. Hatcher, Mrs. Milam, and Mr. Shivani couldn't be prouder of this group of kids including Asa B, Nick C, Luca C, Francis C, Parker D, Paul K, Isaac K, Amar K, Adam L, Tristan M, Garrett M, Graeme L,  & Simon O.

SOCIAL STUDIES FAIR
Congratulations to Phillips M for presenting a top project at the APS Social Studies Fair! Her project that earned a top slop presented was called Anna Strong: Petticoats and Patriots. Great job!

Until Next Time…
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

Dear MES Families,

As part of the APS Human Resources principal hiring process, all staff, parents/guardians, and community members are invited to share their voices in a survey for the creation of the leadership qualities profile for the Morningside principal search. The survey has been extended until March 3rd. There will be a live opportunity for engagement on March 6th at the times listed below in the document linked for the Principal Search Flier. Thank you for sharing your voice in this process!  

Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MorningsidePrincipalSurvey

Click here to view the Principal Search Flier

Additionally, following is a brief outline of the HR principal hiring process:

Tier 1 involves candidates applying for the position and initial screening to determine those who meet minimal requirements regarding certification, references, degree requirement and experience. 

Tier 2 screening activities include a Hirevue assessment that is scored by cluster principals and the cluster superintendent.  In addition, the principal profile developed via the staff and community survey is used to further determine top candidates for consideration.  The HR strategic director, cluster superintendent and Go team chair and co-chair review candidates to identify the top 6 to advance to the tier 3 panel interviews.

Tier 3 panel interviews include all Go team members, two cluster principal representatives and a few other individuals as panel members.  The top 6 candidates will interview in front of the panel and the top three candidates will be determined and advance to tier 4 of the interview process.

Tier 4 is the final interview for each candidate as they individually meet with the cluster superintendent, chief of schools and superintendent.  The superintendent will select the top candidate for the role of principal at the school.

I hope that helps answer a few questions for you!

Until Next Time…
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

• Dear Families,
  
  FEBRUARY WINTER BREAK: As February Winter Break approaches, we want to provide students an option to continue exploring and learning while enjoying time away from school. To support this, our amazing grade levels have compiled continued learning activities for our Dolphins to remain engaged during the break. These activities are organized for each grade level below:
  
  Kindergarten
  1st Grade
  2nd Grade
  3rd Grade
  4th Grade
  5th Grade - work is posted in the 5th Grade Rocks Google Classroom

  **These activities are not mandatory, but rather an opportunity to help engage students!

  In addition, students can access APS created self-paced activities on the new Tech-Tivities website. Options include activities suitable for all grade levels across a wide range of subjects. The Tech-Tivities website can be accessed at the following link:  http://tinyAPS.com/?tech-tivities

• ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The next Caffeine Conversation will be Thursday 2/27/25 at 4:30 PM on Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent in a message prior to that date.
  
  Additionally, there will be another upcoming Dialogue Den with Mr. Baron scheduled and announced in the 2/27/25 Digital Dolphin. Stay tuned.

  Wishing you and your family a safe and wonderful winter break!
  
  Until Next Time…
  Warmly,
  Brian Baron
  Interim Principal

National School Counseling Week - Please join me in celebrating our amazing counselor, Mr. Oseni! Mr. Oseni is a true exemplar of a school counselor who builds supportive relationships with students and staff at MES. He provides classroom guidance lessons on a variety of SEL topics, and fosters a high level of inclusivity for all members of our MES community. Thank you Mr. Oseni for all of your work and dedication to MES!

Today is Global Day of Play Day! So you ask yourself - what does that mean? Global Day of play began in 2015 and was created to allow students ample time for free play without the use of screens, structured games, or adult direction on activity (of course there is adult supervision :). The idea is to let children explore their creativity, problem-solving skills, and social interactions in an unstructured and spontaneous environment. We have coupled this day over the last few years with an annual school-wide service project. Thanks to countless parent volunteers and our PTA's Dolphins Do Good program, all students put together "comfort bags" filled with essential hygiene items for individuals in need. Today has been an amazing day of service learning! Big thank you to all who volunteered to make this a reality and huge success.

APS Science Fair Results
All of our incredible kids who participated (see the blog entry from 12/19/24) were recognized for their hard work!  Following the district fair from this past weekend, 1st place finishers move on to the state Science Fair competition. Thank you Ms. Felton for organizing, and to the parent volunteers who made this happen. We are so proud of our Dolphins and the hard work that went into achieving these results! 

1st place moving to the state competition: Charlie D.
2nd-Catherine T.
3rd-Sohan S.
Honorable Mention- Amar K. & Francis C.

Adoption of ELA materials
Georgia House Bill 538 was adopted in April 2023, a bill whose goal is to increase literacy outcomes for all students. One of the components of this bill is to provide high quality instructional materials that are aligned to the Science of Reading and to Georgia’s new K-12 English Language Arts standards. In the Fall, a state committee reviewed K-3 core reading programs and created an advisory list of the recommended curriculum sets. 5 of those curriculum sets from the list are available for you to review on February 4 - 6 and February 11 - 13, 2025 from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM at Virginia Highlands Elementary. For those parents that can not attend, a link will be sent for you to view the curriculum sets online. 

Another component of HB 538 is providing training for teachers in the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills. The state of Georgia launched the Georgia Literacy Academy which all APS teachers have been required to complete. In addition, our MES Foundation has supported Orton Gillingham training for several years. Members of our staff are trained at the Classroom Educator, Associate, Certified, and Fellow levels. We also have many staff that have completed or are working on practicums. 

If you like additional information regarding upcoming ELA standards as well as the House and Senate bills, please visit: https://gadoe.org/learning/literacy/

We're in the winter sickness season!
Please keep in mind these guidelines for keeping kids home when they are sick. This is coming home in Wednesday folders as well!

GO Team Elections
It's GO Team candidacy declaration time!  (information below is from the GO Team website - https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/domain/15150)

Each school in APS has a governance team—a GO Team. This team is composed of parents, teachers, and community members, and its job is to develop a school's strategic plan, set priorities, monitor progress, and approve a budget that is in alignment with the plan. 

For the upcoming FY26, we have a parent seat and a staff seat up for election!  Declare Your Candidacy Today at http://tinyAPS.com/?2025GOTeamDeclaration

• Declarations: Now - Feb. 28th
• Voting: April 16th - 25th 

• The Voting Process: Households and staff will receive their voting credentials through email, text message, or household mailer, based on information in Infinite Campus.
• Update Infinite Campus: Please update your information in Infinite Campus to ensure they receive their voting credentials.
  

  Until Next Time…
  Warmly,
  Brian Baron
  Interim Principal

  
  
  

Dear MES Families,

Sharing some important updates for the week!

RECENT CHANGES IN FEDERAL POLICY: Please click HERE for a statement regarding the recent changes in federal policy around immigration and school protections.

CULTURAL PERFORMANCES: Thanks to PTA support, we were able to bring back the Chinese Dance Company to perform for all students this past Monday to help celebrate Lunar New Year (which is today!). We are also looking forward to celebrating Black History Month in February with performances for all Dolphins from the Manga African Dance Company.

UPCOMING NEXT WEEK: Family Science Night is next week (2/4 and 2/6)! Please join us for this incredibly engaging tradition of STEAM related programming. Click HERE for more information. On Wednesday 2/5, all students will be participating in our annual Homeless at Heart Community Service Project, led by our Dolphins Do Good. Please see the Special Edition Digital Dolphin that was sent yesterday for information on how to volunteer.

PARKING ON FORDHAM CT: As we know, parking at MES is scarce! As we have upcoming events this spring, I do want to bring forth a concern that has been lifted multiple times from our neighbors on Fordham Ct. There are no parking signs that line the side of the street adjacent to the front turf field (left side of Fordham as you exit the MES driveway). As Fordham Ct. is city jurisdiction, we unfortunately have no leverage from APD towing cars if they are parked illegally along the fence. There will be additional "no parking" signs going up soon along that side of the street. Thank you!!!

ABSENCE NOTES: We have transitioned to fully digital submissions of absence notes! Please attach a scanned document to an email sent to MESNotes@atlanta.k12.ga.us. This system will help us ensure more accurate coding of absences!

GEORGIA SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY: The 2024-2025 Georgia School Climate Surveys (GSCS) provides actionable data to help create safer, more engaging schools! Please help us earn the stars we deserve by completing the survey before March 14.  before March 14. 

APS UNIVERSITY FOR PARENTS: APS is announcing the launch of the University for Parents 2025 Spring Semester Courses running virtually from February 4 to April 18. These free 10-week courses are specifically designed to equip parents with valuable skills and knowledge to improve their lives, families, and careers—all while accommodating busy schedules. Click HERE for a flier.

ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: I will be holding open office hour Friday, February 7th from 10:00am - 10:30am. The Zoom link will be found in the February 6th Digital Dolphin. Additionally, the February 27th Caffeine Connection (formerly coffee talk) will move from 8:00am to 4:30pm and will be held in a virtual format in hopes of engaging more families. The link for the Caffeine Conversation will be shared as we get closer to the 27th.

Until Next Time…
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal

Dear MES Families,

It has been wonderful return to Semester 2 with smiles, hugs, and excitement!  

A short blog today with some important pieces of information:

1) SCHOOL CLOSURE: CLARIFICATION: School will NOT be asynchronous tomorrow, meaning it will not be counted as a school day. Packets that are coming home - use optionally. Go play in the snow and have fun.  School will resume Monday, 1/13/25. 

2) REPORT CARDS: I know that communication went out yesterday from APS regarding report cards. The message did not indicate however that many schools mailed report cards vs. sending them home. Our report cards were mailed out today rather than sending home in bags. Parent portal is open so you can view grades ahead of the mail arriving!

3) WINTER MAP: Scores will be sent home in Wednesday folders next week!

4) EXCUSE NOTES: Moving forward, any absent notes should only be sent to MESNotes@atlanta.k12.ga.us (copy the teacher). We will no longer be accepting paper copies.  Thank you so much!

Please be safe with the winter weather tomorrow and Saturday!!!!

Until Next Time…
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Interim Principal