THE UPSON CONNECTION
Dr. Terri Stahlman, Principal
Mrs. Yvonne Spinner, Assistant Principal
January 12, 2016
Principal’s Message
The end of the second nine weeks is Wednesday, January 20th. This is the midpoint of the school year and a critical time to review your child’s grades, assessment data and progress to date. Teachers will be sending home report cards and mid-year assessment results in the next two weeks. Please take time to review your child’s progress and meet with teachers as needed.
We are 45 days away from taking our state Reading, Math and Science tests in grades 3, 4, and 5. Daily attendance is critical to prepare our students for success on this rigorous test. If you are a parent of a third, fourth or fifth grade student, please be sure your child is here on time, every day ready to learn. Every day and every minute counts!
Dr. Stahlman
THANK YOU MURRAY HILL COMMUNITY!
We continue to be blessed by our community of Murray Hill who seizes every opportunity to help our school. Thank you so much for the wonderful donations of soap and disinfecting wipes that you collected at the Very Murray Christmas event in the Four Corners Park over the holidays! Your support and well wishes continue to fill many unmet needs in our school!
CONGRATULATIONS JOSH WHITKER! WE LOVE YOU!
We are excited to share that the videographer that has so generously developed our school videos has made the first cut of American Idol! Congratulations to Josh Whitker! Josh has supported Ruth Upson through the creation of wonderful videos for the campus cleanup and the first day opening events! Check out his videography work on our website and follow his journey as his makes his way to Hollywood!
CONGRATULATIONS TO 5TH GRADE!
Twenty four of our 5th grade students were able to attend Air Velocity Sports last Friday to celebrate their passing of the Mid-Year Science Scrimmage. Students worked very hard to learn the science content and did an excellent job on their assessment!
Thank you to the District Church and Pastor Boyd for helping to fund this celebratory event which would not have been possible without their generous donation!
WELCOME VICTORIA ADLER!
Last week we welcomed a new first grade teacher – Ms. Victoria Adler. Ms. Adler will be co-teaching with Ms. Leblanc and Ms. Davidove providing more individualized instruction for our students. We are so happy she has joined our team and are excited for the extra support in our large first grade classrooms!
DROP BACK IN DAY
Calling all 16-20 year olds not currently enrolled in school!Duval County Public Schools is hosting its Drop Back In Day on Wednesday, January 13 from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Those currently not enrolled in school can meet with school counselors and graduation coaches at all DCPS high schools in order to map out their path to obtaining a High School Diploma. No appointment is necessary. Those interested will need to report to their last school of attendance and bring a photo ID and any available academic transcripts or records. Anyone under the age of 18 will need to bring a parent or guardian to the appointment. Visit for more information.
GOLDEN LUNCH BOX WINNERS!
Each week we recognize the class that demonstrates the best behavior and manners in the Dining Room. This is quite a challenge as many of our students don’t eat at the dining room table. We encourage parents to plan dinner at the table at least one night a week to practice table manners and table conversations. This is a good time to listen and let the children talk about their day. Congratulations to the following classes who have earned the Golden Lunch Box award this week.
- PK/1 – Ms. Leblanc
- 2/3 – Ms. Grause
- 4/5 – Mr. Dowen’s Girls
DATES TO REMEMBER:
- January 18Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday-No school
- January 20End of the Second Nine Weeks
- January 22Teacher Planning Day- No school
- January 27Early Dismissal at 1:30 pm
- January 29Vision Screening
- February 5Schoolwide Flag Raising