U M E P R E P A R A T O R Y A C A D E M Y Eagle Update Happy Holidays EDITION! Volume 2, Issue 3 Inside this issue Pride of Texas Music Festival: 1 UME Prep Gives Back: 2 Holidays at Duncanville Campus: 3 Upcoming Events: 3 Happy Holidays from UME Prep!: 4 Enrollment Info: 5 This HOLIDAY SEASON support UME PREP by shopping with Amazon Smile. Simply choose UMEP as your organization to support, and UME Prep will receive a percentage of the sale. THANK YOU! UME PREP REPRESENTS AT PRIDE OF TEXAS FESTIVAL UME Prep s 8th grade music class and Middle school VMC (vocal Master Class) participated in Pride of Texas Festival at Dallas Arboretum on Dec. 9. WE HAD A BLAST! Our scholars sang four holiday songs beautifully and shared the spirit of this Christmas season with people at the arboretum. Parent, and UME Prep Teacher, Mrs. Coulter shared, "After a very warm November (the warmest on record, in fact), we had some bitterly cold (for Dallas) weather last week-- it was in the 30s, which will make made my friends in the North laugh, but for folks here, it felt very cold! It was in the mid-30s late Friday afternoon when Cameron's choir got to sing at the Pride of Texas Festival at the beautiful Dallas Arboretum. The kids did a great job! The spirit was warm despite the chilly temps. My favorite piece they sang was "Et in Terra Pax" ("And on Earth, Peace")-- so lovely! The choir sang outdoors; we ate a picnic, outside, by the lake; and we enjoyed wandering through the 12 Days of Christmas outdoor displays after dark-- the Arboretum was truly a winter wonderland. We are thankful for Cameron's UME Prep music teacher, Mrs. Lee, who has incredible energy and enthusiasm to plan opportunities like this for the kids in addition to her regular teaching responsibilities!" Mrs. Lee would like say Thank you to all of the parents who came out to support and share this fun day with our scholars! Thank you Mrs. Lee and scholars for representing UME Prep so well! 1
UME PREP ROBOTICS SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT UME's Robotics Team, Metamorphosis, partnered with DBU's Robert Erickson and grounds crew, for a service project to install a butterfly garden for UME Preparatory Academy. Due to this service learning project, Metamorphosis won the Project Award at the First Lego League Robotics Qualifier. Congratulations, team, and thank you for your service to our school! STUDENT LED CANNED FOOD DRIVE UPDATE UME Prep scholars contributed a total of 759 cans of food, which were donated to the North Texas Food Bank. North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a hunger relief organization and one of the largest charities in North Texas. NTFB serves Dallas and 12 surrounding counties. Fourth grade topped the contributions with 159 cans, followed by 11th grade with 103 cans donated. On behalf of the Student Government Association, thank you for your part in helping to provide meals for hungry children, seniors, and families in our community! 2
UME PREP DUNCANVILLE CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS! A big thank you to all the Grade Level Moms who made this event possible! UME Prep Duncanville held its first Holiday Concert this past Tuesday! Scholars and families both had a fun evening enjoying the music of the season as well as selections worked on this semester in Music. Great job scholars and teachers! The Campus First Holiday Parties were held during Music time on Thursday. Students participated in all kinds of creative activities in celebration of the season! The festivities continued with the Jingle Bell Run: an event created by our own Coach Laclede as a fun seasonally themed activity during PE. He introduced this idea with the Turkey Trot before Thanksgiving. All the teachers, staff, and now the parents also, were invited to participate with the students during their PE time on Wednesday Dec 14. Each participant ran/walked a mile around the field (that's 4 laps) to receive their sticker and then could participate in events like hula hoops, jump rope, soccer, and scoopball. A great way for our school to be active and healthy and connect families together! HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM UME PREP DUNCANVILLE! UPCOMING EVENTS DATE EVENT LOCATION Fri Dec 16, 2016 - Sun Jan 8, 2017 All day Christmas Break - NO SCHOOL Thur Jan 5, 2017 8:30am - 3:30pm Teacher Inservice Fri Jan 6, 2017 8:30am - 3:30pm Teacher Inservice Sat Jan 7, 2017 8am - 12pm High School All-State Area Audition Off Campus Mon Jan 9, 2017 All day Spring Semester Starts Tue Jan 10, 2017 6pm - 7:30pm New Family Information Meeting Dallas Campus Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:50am - 8:10am FCA Meeting Room 219 Thu Jan 12, 2017 9:40am - 10am EAGLE Servant Leadership Planning Committee Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:25am - 8:25am Dads and Donuts 6pm - 8pm All-Region Choir Audition - 6th Grade Off Campus Sat Jan 14, 2017 8am - 4pm All-Region Auditions (7th-8th Grade) Off Campus Mon Jan 16, 2017 All day MLK Day - No School Mon Jan 16, 2017 - Tue Jan 17, 2017 All day Open Application & Re-Application Period Begins Tue Jan 17, 2017 230pm - 3:30pm Monthly Faculty Meeting (Opt. 1) 6pm - 8pm Board Meeting 7:50am - 810am FCA Meeting Room 219 Wed Jan 18, 2017 2pm - 230pm [UPDATED] Title I Part A Schoolwide Parent Info Meeting 2pm - 3pm Leadership Meeting - 11th & 12th Grade Room 211 2:30pm - 3:30pm Monthly Faculty Meeting (Opt. 2) Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:30am - 10am Parent Snack & Chat (for both campuses) Dallas Campus Tue Jan 24, 2017 1:45pm - 3:15pm Eagle Servant Leadership Series #4 6pm - 8:30pm PAC Leadership Team Meeting Portable Wed Jan 25, 2017 7:50am - 810am FCA Meeting Room 219 Sat Jan 28, 2017 8am - 7pm Middle School All Region Choir Clinic and Concert (6th - 8th) Off Campus 8:30am - 2pm Family University 3
As we close the first semester of our inaugural year, I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to all our Duncanville families for partnering with us and leading the way in replicating this method of education in our first UME satellite campus. You are truly pioneers and have been so encouraging and supportive along the way! May your family experience all the joy and peace of this holiday season. Merry Christmas! - Principal Horton, UME Prep Duncanville Christmas is a perfect time to stop and reflect on the important things in our lives and what we are thankful for. I am very thankful to be a part of the UME family. You have all become a very special blessing in my life. I wish you all a joyful Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Joni Holder, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Thank you for being such a special UME Prep Family. We have the best students, parents, and staff, and it is a pleasure getting to know each one of you as we serve alongside each other through the various student leadership teams, parent teams and volunteer opportunities, as well as the daily operations of the school. Hope you all have a restful and blessed Christmas and holiday season. - Dr. Brance Barker, Dean of Parent Programs and New School Development Dear UME Families, I truly cannot believe that it is already Christmas break! I know you must feel the same way. The school year is flying by with so many exciting, challenging, and rewarding opportunities for our scholars. It has been so wonderful to see their growth and celebrate their accomplishments with them during the fall semester. I'm excited to see what the spring semester holds for each of our scholars, but for now, enjoy a long, well-deserved break with your precious children. Enjoy every moment of this time with wishes for a blessed holiday season for your family! Holiday blessings, Kayla Smith, Principal Dallas Campus I would like to wish all of our UME Prep parents/caregivers, scholars and friends a safe, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Mr. Anthony Hunt, Assistant Principal 4
Open Enrollment for 2017-2018 begins January 16, 2016 at 8:00 am. Dallas Campus: K-12 (K-2 day, 3 day and 5 day options) and Duncanville campus K-6 (K-5 days). Intent to Return Forms will go out with existing students mid-january. Parent Information Meeting for Prospective Families on Tuesday, January 10 at 6:00. **Currently taking applications for Duncanville Campus grades K-5 and Dallas campus 2nd grade only. Contact Weekly Events Day Event & Time Location Contact Mondays 2pm - 3:30pm Robotics - High School Robotics Portable Mr. Stallard 2pm - 3:30pm D.R.U.M. line Rehearsal Music Room - Room 230 Tuesdays 2pm - 3pm Karate Cube Mr. Stallard 2pm - 3pm Vocal Master Class - Middle School Room 235 Mrs. Lee Wednesdays 2pm - 3:30pm Robotics - High School Robotics Portable Mr. Stallard 1:45pm - 3:15pm Vocal Master Class - High School Room 235 Mrs. Lee Thursdays 2pm - 3:30pm D.R.U.M. line Rehearsal Music Room - Room 230 2pm - 3pm Karate Cube Mr. Stallard Fridays 2pm - 4pm Robotics and Robotics Portable Mr. Stallard Saturdays 9am - 1pm Robotics and Robotics Portable Mr. Stallard *All events at UME Prep - Dallas unless otherwise noted. UME Preparatory Academy P.O. Box 543366 Grand Prairie, TX 75054 Phone: (214) 445-6243 Fax: (972) 709-7951 E-mail: news@umeprep.org UME Prep Mission Statement UME Preparatory Academy exists to produce college- and work-ready graduates who have a strong work ethic, firm grounding in core academic content, and major academic and vocational skills, and to offer parents, as their child s first and lifelong teachers, time and training so that they will have enhanced opportunities to strengthen their families as they exercise greater influence over the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional growth of their children. The UME Prep Eagle Update is a monthly publication of UME Preparatory Academy. Contact Information: news@umeprep.org. Mike Spurlock, Superintendent; Kayla Smith, Principal - Dallas, Shannan Horton, Principal - Duncanville Editors: Christina Bock, christina.bock@umeprep.org 5