- Morningside Elementary School
- MES Administrators
- Audrey Sofianos
Phone: 404-802-8950
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Elementary Education - Indiana University Master's in Leadership - Butler University
Mrs. Audrey Sofianos: Principal
♥ Here you will find a glimpse of student, staff, parent and community life at Morningside Elementary School!
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From the Principal's Desk
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March 18, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 3/18/2024 1:30:00 PMWe have a new partnership with Beech Hollow Farm! This past Saturday, two of our 3rd grade classes hosted a booth at their annual spring fling, with a theme of biodiversity. When you stopped by the Morningside area, not only were you asked to complete a survey, you also received a student-made sticker and information about a class podcast called Ask Me! A podcast by kids, for everyone! This podcast produces a few episodes each year. Be sure to check it out on your favorite podcast platform, such as Amazon, and it is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
This letter was sent home today from all the Midtown Principals via Campus Parent Portal at 1:30pm, regarding the APS Designated Asynchronous Day for Midtown Cluster on 5-23-24. We will also send in the Digital Dolphin as well as in Wednesday folders. Here are the contents of the letter:
The district has set the Midtown High School Graduation date and time as Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 11:00AM. Atlanta Public Schools has decided to make this day an asynchronous day for Midtown Cluster Schools to allow students, families and staff an opportunity to attend ceremonies. As we approach the date, we will send more information home regarding an end of year activity that can be done asynchronously. The last day for in school attendance this year will be May 24, 2024.
Sincerely, The Principals of the Midtown Cluster
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March 15, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 3/15/2024Last weekend, our rising kindergarten families (plus Ms. Hamilton's 1st grade) had a play date at Noble Park. This was very well attended, and it was great to meet so many new families. Dr. Sinclair and her dog Biscuit also stopped by as we welcomed our newest students to the Morningside family. Registration is open for kindergarten students for 24-25. Please use this link or call the school for assistance in officially becoming a part of our school. Kindergarten Enrollment
Meanwhile, our 5th graders were able to spend a lot of time outdoors these past weeks outside of Toccoa, Georgia at our annual camping trip. Outdoor games, waterfall hikes, creek studies and team building fill the days as students spend two nights in cabins. Morningside has attended camp at the Blue Ridge Outdoor Education Center for 23 years! A huge highlight is learning about Appalachian traditions, including square dancing! There was a smile on EVERY face, as they learned in small groups and then had an entire grade dance party!
Students met the camp's goal of producing much less trash and waste during their stay. Victory at the camp last meal - they were below the target! Food waste and trash were weighed after breakfast, lunch and dinner during the stay. The 5th graders learned that they can have a personal impact by only taking the portions they will fully eat while being more mindful about the waste created in daily living. It is a great lesson for all of us!
It is Girl Scout Week, and we have many students showing their Girl Scout spirit today! Recently, some of the troops with Morningside students visited the Georgia Capitol to learn about our political process as well as issues that impact girls across the state.
I am so excited for our PTA Bust a Move Bash & Auction tomorrow, March 16th! My husband and I will be there to have some fun and help raise money for our school. This event helps PTA to support the amazing enrichment that occurs at our school for our kids. I am very thankful that our community can provide all that we do for our students, families and staff. After your beautiful children, it is a big part of what makes Morningside so special!
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January 24, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/24/2024It is a Winter Wonderland and the MES Reading Bowl team with Volunteer Coach Alexander and Coach Dr. Sinclair! They are READY for Saturday and assure me they have been studying and preparing for the big competition this Saturday. I know this team has worked hard and each has done his or her own personal best. They were victorious at the Midtown Cluster level, and now we meet the top reading bowl teams from each of the clusters in APS. It is going to be an exciting day and competition!
Speaking of working hard, there is so much learning going on in this building. I have been visiting all over seeing everyone in action. When I was in kindergarten today, it was almost like I could just "see" and "feel" the brains working, the kids were so focused. They have really built up stamina and resilience this first semester. Mrs. Schill practices with the students to sound out words as they read the story in a small group where she can observe individual progress. Our kindergarten teachers are exemplary in building the skills needed to produce strong readers.
5th grade kids continue to live their best lives in the 5th Grade Penthouse. Students read kid-style newspapers, analyzing the content and reading for understanding, review and new knowledge. We purchase the carpets, desks, chairs, and the "oodle/wobble" stools, while teachers add to that with either additional school supply or PTA money to tailor their classroom with age appropriate seating, as in Ms. Blair's room. Our kids are thriving in this environment, which takes the learning to a higher level.
PTA General Meeting is tomorrow 1/25/24 at Morningside at 8am, with our MES Talent Show this weekend. Look for the Digital Dolphin school newsletter, organized and sponsored by our PTA, sometime tomorrow in your email to get all the news and details on Morningside events and happenings!
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January 19, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/19/2024Ooh, it has been cold outside this week! Below 35 (factoring in wind chill) is our benchmark for shifting to indoor recess. Teachers make that decision, based on their recess times and weather apps. Luckily, the weather is holding today, so the kids are outside. The 1st grade children are THRILLED that our bouncy seesaw has been repaired just in time for today's recess! They are patiently awaiting their turn while enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Inside, lots of classroom visits this week, where I love to see the work kids are doing and how teachers run their classrooms. I get the pleasure of visiting EVERY class, and it continues to be one of the most favorite parts of my job. In 4th grade, students work on math - focusing on division. Ms. B. Hamilton was working in a small group, with students dividing using partial products to find the quotient. This group was playing a monster math game with equations, while also trying to strategize to get 4 in a row for the win!
For some reason, I was picturing these students in the future as twenty or thirty-year-olds, working at their jobs in a similar setting, on some really advanced computer algorithms or on an artificial intelligence platform yet to be created. They were loving this work space and quite focused, choosing between programs like 99 Math or Math Facts Lab.
In case you need help with all the math academic vocabulary, Ms. B. Hamilton has you covered with what we call an anchor chart. This one highlights partial quotients, arrays, remainders - plus also helps you remember to Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down with the phrase Does McDonald's Serve Burgers?
In a first grade gifted class, students create a penguin hangout, after reading a story about Tacky the penguin needing shelter from both hunters and predators. Mrs. Patel highlighted both 1st grade and gifted standards to lead an activity that involves STEAM principles, integrating solving a problem, design, and working together as a small team. She shows the students the supplies they will get, prior to each student thinking through their own design.
Students were put into groups, where they decided on one design to build. Each group used criteria to decide on the one to build - which happened a lot faster than I predicted! The cooperation was impressive as they were very motivated to create the hideout for Tacky and his penguin friends.
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January 10, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/10/2024We have a Morningside Reading Bowl team, made up of 4th and 5th grade students. The kids read a pre-determined set of books and then compete to answer questions about those books. Today our MES Reading Bowl team was victorious within our cluster, with the highest score after a cluster-wide competition! Centennial, Hope-Hill, Kindezi O4W, Mary Lin, MES, SPARK and Virginia Highland competed in four matches to determine the cluster winners. Our coaches, 2nd grade teacher J. Davis, Asst. Principal Dr. Sinclair, as well as a parent volunteer, are so proud of the team and their hard work. Along with Mary Lin, our team will now move on to the APS Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl to compete for the championship later this month. The best quote from today from one of the 5th graders, "I feel exhilarated!" We do too, and congrats to the team and coaches!
2nd grade students work hard on analyzing a piece of writing to find the topic, main idea and supporting details, in Ms. Lozano's class. Some students work with their small group in the library area of the class.
Students rotate in small groups with the teacher throughout the day. This increases the teacher to student focus and contact time. There are times to work with the teacher, independently, with a partner or within a group. Teachers also tailor the actual work, depending on student needs - which was the case in this class as students have different writings to analyze.
Ms. Lozano keeps the kids organized and ready to learn. I love her poster of what the inside of your desk should look like. When I examined the students' desks, the kids are on top of it! I might need this teacher to come and help me with my own desk.
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January 9, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/9/2024Today was an indoor recess day! What happens at an indoor recess? Here are a few pictures from some of our 3rd grade classrooms from today's indoor recess as the rain passed through our area:
Kids play with Play-Doh! Teachers keep supplies like this around for academic and social uses - like playing with friends when it is raining.
Students love to build during recess - teachers have so many supplies that promote creativity, problem-solving, and cooperation, which are all awesome STEAM type aptitudes.
These students never even knew I visited the room during recess. They were so intent on their use of these materials and their creations.
What I love about our indoor recess plan is the student choice - we try to provide many options for kids that DO NOT include technology! This is a great time for free play, choice, interacting with your classmates and friends.
Students even go "old school" and play games that we all enjoyed - like Twister!
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January 5, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/5/2024Fridays bring special events, like our upcoming 100th day of school on January 19th. On Fridays, our 5th grade teachers have started to feature 5th grade student musicians. What a great way to learn about student talents - some even developed completely outside of school. I really love how our 5th grade team of teachers and students have embraced the "5th Grade Penthouse". This has really turned into their own space, where they can thrive as the oldest students at our school. They use every inch of it - including the hallways. In the 5th Grade Penthouse hallway, the students were treated to a performance of "Come Together" from The Beatles by today's featured drummer.
4th Grade students from Ms. Ahmed's classes were in the auditorium throughout the day, reading their original narrative stories during an author's party to showcase writing. Everyone wrote narratives and volunteers presented their stories. The teacher also taught a lesson for all on proper audience etiquette, listening and how to support your peers who elected to share.
Please note the new and beautiful stage curtains. These were purchased for our school through PTA funds - thank you parents and PTA!
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January 4, 2024
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/4/2024It is a beautiful day here at MES! To start the day, this is exactly what a principal wants to see - students arriving to school bundled up in warm coats, hats, and hoods! These are some of the coldest days in Atlanta, and our students need to be prepared - so thank you parents and guardians! I don't want anyone getting sick and missing school.
Our students have recess outdoors on most days, unless it is very cold or raining. This is a great time to run, play with friends in your own class/other classes, and get more exercise and movement. This is so important to development, as it is their own time for unstructured and child-organized play. We are in the planning stages of our 3rd annual Global Day of Play, celebrated by schools and organizations around the world and here at MES on February 7th, 2024.
I cannot share any pictures of our current LOST & FOUND! It would not be a pretty picture! We have a lost and found problem at MES, and I am determined that we make vast improvements in this area. I know of many families who have to replace coats, water bottles, lunch boxes, sweatshirts, etc. - the list goes on and on. As we problem-solve, please help out by putting your child's full name on all items that come to school.
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Welcome Back from Winter Break!
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 1/3/2024I was so thrilled to see the kids today! As I visited all the rooms this morning - it was very quiet. It takes a few days for all of us to get back to our normal school schedule and pace! Of course, the library is a popular place today, as students visit and return their books to get new ones for 2024!
Yesterday, our teachers and staff returned for a day of planning, meetings and professional development. A group of us met with Social Worker Scott La Salle, who is the team lead for our MES Mentor program, in its second year. About 25 of our students will participate in the program, which gives individualized support to students once a week during a non-academic time of the day. This approach helps the mentee build upon his or her unique strengths and aspirations, while practicing goal-setting around academics, social growth or other school skills.
Our entire staff attended session #2 of Culturally Responsive Teaching with Dr. Crystal LaVoulle. Thank you to the MESF for sponsoring these two sessions, through a request from our Whole Child and Intervention Team of staff. These engaging and interactive small group sessions spark lots of discussion and planning as we ensure all of our students thrive at MES. Our kids come to us with so many strengths and a lot of knowledge and skills. These sessions have helped us to build upon that and develop our activities and state curriculum to reflect the diverse world we live in, while connecting learning to students' own lives and our MES community.
We have 91 days remaining of school and many events and activities to come! Thank you to all of you and our PTA for a successful fundraiser that makes so much of what we do possible at Morningside. The enrichment provided to our students through PTA also helps our students to thrive and love school. Below you can see "Big Blue", our dolphin mascot, who made an appearance at the Boosterthon Fun Run and was certainly a fan favorite. Always be on the lookout for "Big Blue" and "Little Blue", who both make appearances throughout the year.
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October 5, 2023
Posted by Audrey Sofianos on 10/5/2023Morningside is one of the Georgia DOE Recognized Schools as 22-23 Literacy Leaders!
Yesterday, teachers and staff representatives attended a ceremony with State Superintendent Richard Woods, to receive a Literacy Leader award. The Georgia Department of Education is recognizing 155 schools with exceptional achievement or growth in third-grade reading as 2022-2023 Literacy Leaders. Morningside is one of them, and received a banner for exceptional achievement in reading. We are being recognized as a school with 90% or more of its third-grade students reading at grade level or above, as evidenced by GA Milestones scores. The GA DOE knows that it is so important that schools do all that we can to ensure our students’ ability to read by third grade. Superintendent Dr. Battle, our Associate Supt. Mr. Brown, Deputy Supt. Dr. Gadson as well as state senators Becky Evans and Nan Orrock also came to celebrate this honor with some of our 22-23 3rd grade teachers!
At Morningside, we have a long history of a focus on literacy. We receive support from our foundation, MESF, to send teachers to training sessions such as Orton Gillingham and Complete Reading Series. This gives teachers many tools in the teaching of reading to all of our students. 71% of our current reading teachers are at various levels of Orton Gillingham training, with 3 of our new teachers in classwork this year. We also continuously research and develop our curriculum to meet the various needs of our kids, while also learning and implementing successful best practices from each other.
In addition, we know that Mr. Rawls views his library as the biggest classroom in the school! What flows from that belief is an amazing combination of kids + books + reading. We have schedules and processes built to invite kids into the library to read, participate in literacy activities and check out books! When we last received data, we had the highest circulation rates in APS. He also leads classes in the library. I love Mr. Rawls in his taco hat, as he is teaching a lesson to 1st graders in preparation for the upcoming K, 1, 2 visit of Steve Shaskan, author of Pizza and Taco.
The library is open as soon as students arrive. Students can get a pass from their teacher to go to return or check out books, participate in activities. Students love to play chess in the early morning before the bell rings. These activities draw kids into the library and they can also return and check out books. Nothing makes me happier than seeing kids with books in their hands or spending time in the library!
Reading aloud to students is done throughout the day from K - 5. Reading aloud helps model fluent reading, brings words alive through the images and/or students' imaginations, increases listening and reading comprehension and is such a bonding experience for all involved. When I taught 4th and 5th grade, I LOVED reading aloud to my students and it was a favorite time of the day. When I stopped by Mrs. Snapp's kindergarten room, she was highlighting the book Pinata, weaving in two important things - read aloud and Hispanic Heritage Month. The kids were so engaged and she was masterful at increasing vocabulary and capturing their interest in the story.
At MES, our teachers work in small groups with students to reinforce literacy skills. Our teachers are so purposeful with their minutes in our school day. In the first picture, students were practicing phonics and the understanding of sounds and words with Mrs. Morel, using their voices and hand motions. We call this multi-sensory instruction and this daily practice helps our students build more and more complex vocabulary, as well as their reading comprehension and understanding of passages and books. In the second picture, Mrs. Waye's small group was notating the schwa sound as a shortened vowel sound that occurs in many English words. While both teachers work in small groups, kids in the room may be reading, working on writing, or other literacy-based activities during the reading block.
We are continuously finding ways to excite and engage students in reading. Authors of DogTown, Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko visited our 3rd and 4th graders recently for a special author event. They signed books for kids and then shared their teamwork, book and their writing process. We encourage our kids to both read and write, and what better way to be inspired than by meeting published authors.
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