MVPA Weekly Update

Dear Parents and Greyhounds,

This Monday and Tuesday we will be administering required TEA Interim Assessments to all students. The assessments are used to further expose students to the format of the upcoming STAAR assessments and to provide us with valuable assessment data that let us know what concepts our Greyhounds need more instruction in.

Please help us by making sure that our students arrive to class on time with a fully charged Chromebook.

Finally, this Friday is a school holiday as we observe and honor the legacies of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

Let’s make this a great week!

Respectfully,

Mr. Sarabia

Know anything about vaping or the effects of doing so on your life? Catch up with the kids! They may know more about vaping than you think they know! Learn more about vaping with Dr. Lisa Ghiloni, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, MSN, RN, of Turning Point Psychiatry. We promise to provide parents a safe, virtual learning space!

MPVA will host a virtual Title I Part A Annual Spring Meeting/FACE Parent Meeting. We will review the Title I Part A components and how the FACE Department will help us create a more family-friendly campus.

Breakthrough Houston is seeking motivated 6th and 7th grade students who have a desire to go to college, do well in school, and join their premier program which supports them for 10+ years or until they graduate from college. As MPVA is a school-wide Title 1 school, all our 6th and 7th grade students are eligible to apply.

If you are in need of any non-academic support, please fill out a SAF (Student Assistance Form) at: www.HoustonISDsaf.com or contact Mrs. Perez-Williams at Brittany.Perez2@houstonisd.org or at (713) 726-3616 ext. 055286

We have an amazing Creative Writing program that has now stepped out into podcasting! I encourage you to listen to their podcasts ranging from the move to a 4-day school week in Crosby ISD to a Zombie Apocalypse and share their thoughts on a school lock-down that happened earlier in the year. In the episode that includes the lockdown, they also highlight some of the issues we have with cell phones and people not taking lockdowns seriously. If you want to get an idea of what conversation inside a middle school classroom sounds like, tune in. They are smart, funny, and a little sassy too. Everything you would expect from middle school students who are finding their voice and are questioning the world around them:

- Why Can’t HISD Have a 4-Day School Week?

- Bagels and Waffles

- A Zombie Apocalypse/Thoughts on the School Lockdown

Our Creative Writing teacher, Ms. Nash, also partnered with New York Eatery on March 11 for a “Story Time and Brunch” kick-off into Spring Break. Do not be surprised to find out some day that the author whose book you hold in your hand is an MVPA Greyhound! #WeAreMeyerland

Lots of sports this week at MPVA! Good luck to all of our hard-working, talented Greyhound student-athletes!

Also big congratulations to all of our students who were selected to be part of the 2023/24 Greyhounds cheerleading squad!

Thank you everyone who came to this week's PTO meeting. There was a lot of good information shared and I wanted to highlight a few things:

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

1. Greyhounds Get Down Total - $13,000!

2. Flash Fundraiser for Wireless Mics for Cade Auditorium (Details Below)

3. Remaining PTO Volunteer Opportunities for April/May (See List)

4. 8th Grade Event (Now is the time to get payments, forms in)

5. Open PTO Leadership Roles for 2023 -2024 (Google Form Coming Soon)

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1. Greyhounds Get Down was a super fun event that we are excited to bring to campus again next year. After some expenditures already made - Grand total raised for the PE department was $13,000!!! PTO leadership is taking your polling info and working with PE Department Head Coach Aust and Susan Brock, MPVA PTO Athletics Liaison, to prioritize spending. Thank you to everyone who donated and participated!

2. Flash Fundraiser for Mics - When MPVA PTO leadership put out a community poll asking for feedback on how to spend the Greyhounds Get Down funds, one consistent response for a campus need outside of PE’s wishlist was if the PTO could focus on supporting the audio/mic upgrades in the Cade Auditorium.

PTO has heard you! Theater teacher, Ms. Duran-Hays, partnered with sound techs at the Alley Theater/TechLand to get a quote for upgrades to our wireless mic capabilities that work with the current sound systems we have in place. The quote for this upgrade is for $20,000.

PTO already has some funds from our 2022 -2023 budget earmarked for auditorium needs that we will be allocating towards this upgrade and if you would like to help fill the gap for us to move swiftly to have this technology in place for the new school year, please follow this

Link/QR code to contribute.

Direct Link: https://mpva.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/5059

QR Code:

3. Remaining PTO Volunteer Opportunities for April/May - We have a number of great things coming up. Check out the list below to mark your calendars and be on the look out for sign ups. If you are interested in helping with the Band Festival, they need 4-5 adults. You can email Pam Shefman at mpvabandbooster@gmail.com

4. 8th Grade Events - Now is the time 8th Grade Families. Turn in your forms, make your payments (Dance and Field Trip), and make plans for all of the good stuff we have planned with your MPVA Deans and 8th Grade Teachers.

You can find all of the details here: https://www.houstonisd.org/domain/55929?fbclid=IwAR1MCTTSgbJ3oR-dRrc_eAX3Dj7UEAj-uu7ELU1JWUb5YiDmUNnPsPvTcq8

5. Open PTO Leadership Roles for 2023 -2024 - A google interest form will be circulated soon with job descriptions and details for how to raise your hand for a leadership role within PTO next year.

Some of the bigger roles we are seeking to fill are board roles of - President Elect, VP of Magnet, Secretary, VP of Fundraising, and Teacher Appreciation Chair. There are also a number of different committees and smaller roles if you are looking for a way to be more engaged on campus.

We're almost done with the year Greyhounds!

Subscribe to emails here: mpva.membershiptoolkit.com

Facebook: Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School PTO

Instagram: @mpvapto

Twitter: PTO of MPVA Middle School

*Please note, the following dates are school holidays – March 31, April 7, and April 21st.

Upcoming Events

• Monday, March 27 (Grey Day)
• 7th/8th Boys District Track Meet @ 6pm – 9pm
• Tuesday, March 28 (Purple Day)
• Baseball (D1) vs. Hogg @ 4:30pm – 6pm
• 7th/8th Boys District Track Meet @ 6pm – 9pm
• Wednesday, March 29 (Grey Day)
• Band UIL Concert & Sightreading Contests
• 7th/8th Girls District Track Meet @ 6pm – 9pm
• Thursday, March 30 – (Purple Day)
• Band UIL Concert & Sightreading Contests
• Baseball (D1) vs. Westbriar at 4:30pm – 6pm
• Softball at Marshall MS @ 5pm – 6:30pm
• Dance 1 Showcase @ 6pm – 7pm
• Boys/Girls Soccer vs. Tanglewood @ 6pm – 8pm
• 7th/8th Girls District Track Meet @ 6pm – 9pm
• Friday, March 31 – SCHOOL HOLIDAY: CHAVEZ-HUERTA DAY
• Saturday, April 1
• MPVA Track @ Ranger Relays Track Meet

Just Around the Corner

• Monday, April 3 (Grey Day)
• Spring Dance Concert: Load-In and Rehearsals
• Baseball (D1) at Pershing @ 4:30pm – 6:00pm
• Marshall MS at MPVA Softball @ 5:00pm – 6:00pm
• Spring Dance Concert at 6:00pm – 7:30pm
• Tuesday, April 4 (Purple Day)
• MPVA Sprit Night at La Fresca! @ 11am – 10pm
• Wednesday, April 5 (Grey Day)
• Frank Black MS @ MPVA Softball @ 5pm – 6:30pm
• Title I Annual Spring Meeting @ 6pm – 7pm
• Thursday, April 6 – (Purple Day)
• Baseball vs. Hogg @ 5pm – 6:40pm
• Boys/Girls Soccer at Rice K-8 at 6pm – 8pm
• Friday, April 7 – SPRING HOLIDAY