PIRATES’ SPYGLASS

www.phillipsprep.com April 2015

THIS MONTH’S CONTENTS: Important Dates

Need to Know” Info from PTSA, Mrs. Hartzog, & from Teachers, Administration & Staff

In the NEWS Sports

IMPORTANT DATES

April 2 - INow grades up-to-date; academic progress can be checked on iNow 24/7. If you do not know your I.D. or password, please check with our registrar, Ms. Bolden, in the front office.

April 4–12 SPRING BREAK! PPS Band to Disney World!

April 13-17 High School Registration for 8th graders (HS representatives will be on campus to register our students)

April 13-17 PPS Volleyball Try-outs

April 17 – SPRING FLING!

April 20-May 15 ASPIRE TESTING WINDOW (only one subject area and grade level tested each testing day – see enclosed letter from Mrs. Hartzog, including the testing schedule)

April 22 – PPS Senior Reunion April 23 & 24 – PPS Chorus Spring Show (see newsletter announcement) April 28 – PPS Bands Spring Concert April 30 – iNow grades up-to-date; academic progress can be checked on iNow 24/7.

If you do not know your I.D. or password, please check with our registrar, Ms. Bolden, in the front office.

“NEED TO KNOW” INFORMATION

From PTSA

MANY THANKS FOR A GREAT TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK AT PPS! PTSA would like to thank all the families who showed their teacher appreciation by sending food, snacks, and gift cards, and giving of their time to help during teacher appreciation week! We would also like to thank Bonefish Grill, Chick-Fil-A and Carpe Diem for their contributions. The teachers really enjoyed the breakfast, lunch and snacks! They were each presented with a handcrafted plaque (made by our PTSA president Kathryn Foster) and each received a gift card. It was a grand week enjoyed by everyone!

FROM MRS. HARTZOG…

ASPIRE TESTING (April 20 – May 15) Dear Parents, All students will be administered required state assessments during the testing window as indicated above. We will be in testing mode from 7:30 AM to 12:00 noon each day. To ensure students are alert and ready on their days of testing, please make sure your child gets a good night’s rest each day. The teachers have done an excellent job preparing the students for the tests so please encourage your child to do his or her best. Please review the schedule below and make sure your child is on time each morning, especially on a day when your child is testing. Once a testing session begins, no one is allowed to enter the room, and we want every student to be present, if at all possible. 6th Grade – April 22 – ENGLISH April 23 – READING April 30 – MATH (Barnes/Eiland) May 1 – MATH (Foster) May 11 - SCIENCE (Morris, Prewitt) May 12 - SCIENCE (Lloyd) May 15 - WRITING 7th Grade - April 21 - ENGLISH April 27 - READING May 4 - MATH May 7 - SCIENCE May 14 - WRITING 8th Grade - April 20 - ENGLISH April 28 - READING May 5 - MATH May 13 - WRITING

ALL ABOUT ASHLEY… Special thanks to our PPS family for supporting our “All About Ashley” drive. Ashley and her family are so appreciative for the visits, flowers, balloons, cards, gift cards, and monetary donations received. Ashley continues to make progress and we are hoping for a speedy recovery. Thank you for being such a caring PPS family!

BAG LUNCHES AT PPS AFTER SPRING BREAK Beginning April 6, the cafeteria kitchen area will be under renovation; however, “hot” bag lunches will be served daily. Our cafeteria staff will prepare the lunches at Old Shell Road Magnet School (behind PPS) and transport them to our school each day. Please check the PPS website for the monthly menu because it may be different from that of the rest of the county.

From TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATION, & STAFF

SENIOR REUNION for FORMER PPS STUDENTS -Wednesday, April 22, from 3-5 PM in the cafeteria- All former PPS students who are graduating from high school this spring are invited to attend. Please pass the word!

2015 SPRING CHORUS SHOW - MICHAEL MEETS THE GIRLS Our PPS chorus of 81 girls will present a night of singing and dancing on Thursday, April 23, at 7:00 p.m. in the PPS gym. This show is for family and friends and is open to the public. Tickets are $5.00. Two school shows for students and faculty only will be held on Friday, April 24. Tickets will be $1.00. Please support our chorus as they sing and dance “the night away” to the songs of these artists: Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Gloria Gaynor, Katrina & the Waves, Cyndi Lauper, Destiny’s Child, Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield, Beyonce, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift.

PPS YEARBOOK BALANCES ARE PAST DUE! If you purchased a yearbook and owe a balance of $19.00, please see Mrs. Fosnight in room 4. Late balances may be paid no later than Friday, April 3. If balances are not paid, the child will not receive a yearbook on Yearbook Distribution Day. If paying with a personal check, please remember: all checks written to PPS must have: 1) phone number 2) child’s name; 3) homeroom teacher; and 4) driver’s license number. MIDDLE YEARS COUNSELING NEWSLETTER – PARENTS of ALL GRADE LEVELS The April issue of Middle Years, from PPS counselors, Madonna Burden (6th grade) and Stacey Eiland (7th & 8th grades), is attached to this newsletter email and has been posted on the PPS website. The purpose of each newsletter is to promote ways for home and school to work together for school success.

IN THE NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHILLIPS BAND MEMBERS!! On Friday, March 6, the Concert and Symphonic Bands performed at Music Performance Assessment (MPA) at Baker HS. Each group performed three pieces on stage for three judges and a live audience. After each group performed on stage, they then went to

the Sight-Reading Room. There, they were given only seven minutes to study a piece of music they had never seen before. At the end of the seven minutes, they were required to perform it for the judge. They had to perform it from beginning to end without stopping. The judge then gave them a rating based on how well they performed. We are very pleased to announce that the Concert Band earned all Superior ratings on stage and also a Superior rating in the Sight-Reading room!! The Symphonic Band performed a very difficult level of music on stage. One of the pieces they performed had actually been written for The Arkansas State University Wind Ensemble. The Symphonic Band earned an extra special designation which is rarely given out, especially among middle school bands. They earned the ratings “Superior With Distinction!” Both groups did an amazing job of representing Phillips and we are so proud of their efforts. Way to go, Phillips Band Students!

AMAZING PERFORMANCE AT ALABAMA HISTORY DAY BY PPS PIRATES

2nd Place Individual Performance -Kayla Mitchell for her recitation of the "Ain't I a Woman Speech" by Sojourner Truth.

1st Place Group Exhibit - Parker Inman and Maria Moxey for their project about Ho Chi Minh.

1st Place Group Website - Addie Allred and Abby Foster for their site about the Demise of the KKK 1st Place Individual Website.

Cassandra Taylor for her site about the Legacy of the Battle of Mobile Bay. Cassi also took home the Overall Best of Show award for the entire Junior Division!

We are also proud of Kayla Choruzek, Alyssa Flowers, Haylee Lynd and Cailin Allen who also competed at state. All of these students also competed in the Mobile History Day on Friday, March 20th, and all 1st and 2nd place State winners and their sponsor, Cheryl Burch, will be going to Washington, D.C. this summer for National History Day where they will compete with over 6,000 students from across the world. SCIENCE BOWL SUCCESS Phillips Prep was a force to be reckoned with at the Middle School Science Bowl Competition held at the Alabama School of Math and Science the first weekend in March! People from all over the state were amazed at how much our Pirates knew! One of our teams scored 2nd place in the state! We would like to congratulate the students who participated in this year’s competition:

Ed Costa Blake Davis Emilee Glover Seth Huddleston Parker Inman Grayson McGoogan Caroline McGrath Griffin Noble Ivy Nguyen Carte Richardson Joseph Stauter Alex Wichmann Stephen Wood Cecilia Woodford Allan Zhu

PPS STUDENTS CARE

The Club Care and Pirates Care Club went on a field trip to the Ronald McDonald House on March 18. They painted canvases to be hung in the house and collected snacks for distribution to the families that stay in the house. While there, students and their sponsors, Mrs. Kim Catlett and Mrs. Bethany Martin, toured the house and found out about different volunteer opportunities. BOYS’ PE FIELD TRIP TO NASSAR GYMNASTICS ACADEMY Our boys’ PE classes had a great time on their field trip to learn about and practice gymnastics.

PPS SPORTS VOLLEYBALL TEAM TRYOUTS – CURRENT 6th & 7th GRADE GIRLS

Volleyball tryouts are April 13th-17th, the week following Spring Break. Ladies interested in trying out should have already signed up with Mrs. Waters. All students trying out for sports must have a current physical and be passing their courses with an average of 70 in all classes. See Mrs. Waters if you have questions.

TRACK Our PPS Pirates Track girls’ team finished first in both meets this season and the boys’ team finished second. Other schools in the meet were Semmes, Chastang, Booker T Washington, Pillans, Causey, Burns, Grand Bay, and Scarborough.