SURFS Up Celebration

The May SURFS Up Celebration had something for everyone... students, teachers, volunteers, and, of course, our SURFS Up winners were all honored.

Highlights included:

• Three Macdonough staff members were honored for earning degrees. Miss Green and Miss Johnson were awarded Bachelors Degrees from Central Connecticut State University while Mrs. Walsh earned her Masters Degree.
• Scott Santos, Macdonough Spelling Bee Champion, and Shakiera Hernandez, Runner-up, received special recognition for their accomplishment.
• Representatives from Liberty Bank presented Macdonough School with a check in the amount of $2,000 for the Scholars Academy program.
• Volunteers from the Middletown Mentor Program were honored for their service.

Macdonough Marathon Team

On October 10, 2009, teachers from Macdonough School will be running in the Hartford Marathon. The race will be completed as a relay made up of five runners, where each runner will complete a leg consisting of 5.5 miles, 3 miles, 5.6 miles, 7.5 miles and 4.6 miles.

Teachers have already begun training for the upcoming race. The Hartford Marathon Foundation will also be sponsoring a Kids Relay Team from Macdonough School.

Please save the date and come out to support our students and teachers!

North End Nights

On Friday night, about 200 kids, parents, community members and teachers came out to Donovan Park for the first North End Nights Basketball Tournament, hosted by Macdonough School and the North End Action Team.

The games were serious but friendly, the hot dogs were cooked to perfection, thanks to the grilling skills of Deputy Police Chief, Pat McMahon and the expertise of Elsie Arnold and Laura Hall, and everyone had a great time. It was a perfect night. In fact, it was such a success, that we've decided to run these once a month throughout the summer. Mark your calendar for the third Friday in June. 6:00 pm.

Thanks to the Park and Rec department for supplying the hoops, the cityf or supplying the grill and to NEAT for their continuous support. And, especially to all of the great kids and families who came out to enjoy one of the nicest evenings of the year.

Marine Science Day

Eight fifth grade students from Macdonough School attended the Connecticut Association of Schools' Marine Science Day.

The day long conference was held at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex on May 14th.

Macdonough students had the oppportunity to participate in experiments, take a boat ride on the Connecticut River, and learn more about the importance of the marine environment.

Musical Macdonough at Kids Korner

The boys of a local band, named LoveBad, dropped by Macdonough School on Tuesday May 12th for an after school mini-concert. LoveBad performed most recently for the Buttonwood Tree's 20th Anniversary North End Arts Rising Celebration Extravaganza and were happy to perform for the children in the North End again.

The band shared their "folk-a-billy punk 'n' bluegrass" versions of The Beatles, Toy Dolls and Gorilla Biscuits, as well as traditional Scottish and American songs, like "I Will Go" and "Old Slew Foot." After the band played for the children, the children sang for them. They shared the newly-recored version of our school song, "Knowledge is Power" (with the special Macdonough verse) that was created at the Coffeehouse Recording Studio.

You can see a video clip of our Macdonough students at the Coffeehouse Recording Studio on The Hartford Courant's iTowns.

Macdonough School Spelling Bee

Fourth and fifth grade students participated in the annual Macdonough School Spelling Bee. A group of students from each class were selected as finalists as a result of class spelling bees.

A special guest judge was on hand to read words to the children. Mrs. Shalan Paul returned from her maternity leave to participate in this fun filled event.

Parents and friends joined our fourth and

fifth grade classes to watch the event. The

third grade students came too for a

preview of the spelling bee.

The Macdonough School PTA donated a dictionary for the champion and a thesaurus for the runner-up. Each of the finalists were presented with a certificate and passes to A New World Laser Tag.

Kids' Korner at Macdonough School

Nineteen Macdonough School students have been learning about the music-recording industry, hands-on, at the coffeehouse recording studio during their after school program. Each "Studio Day" a group of children walk to the coffeehouse on Main Street and work with Michael Arafeh, the propietor.

The coffeehouse has been in business since 1988 and Michael has been a friend to the Kids' Korner at Macdonough School program since

2007, by offering his time and space for special group tours, instrument-sharing, and technology demonstrations. This Spring, Michael is working with the children to complete a special recording project. He has volunteered much of his time and effort to make this an incredible experience for the children.

Melanie Carfora, Director of School Age Care for the YMCA, proposed this recording project idea to the Connecticut After School Network and was awarded a competitive "Quality Improvment Grant" to further fund the project. The children have had a chance to use some special technology and computer programs to create sound tracks and have also laid down some vocal tracks. Most importantly, they've all had a voice in creating the final product. They are very excited and can't wait to share it with everyone. The coffeehouse is one of our great North End resources. We are so thankful to have this community connection and unique opportunity.

Walking the North End Trail

Students, parents, and staff at Macdonough School participated in this year's Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously) on May 6 at 10:00 a.m.!

We walked the North End Trail in Middletown. The trail is a one mile loop through historic sections of the city's north end neighborhood. Following the walk, there was a fresh fruit snack for all.

Macdonough Students Selected for Marine Science Day

Eight fifth grade students from Macdonough School were selected to take part in the Connecticut Association of Schools' Marine Science Day.

The day long conference will be held at the Connecticut River Museum in Essex on May 14th. The purpose of this conference is to educate students about Long Island Sound and Marine Science. Students will have the opportunity to participate in hands on science programs to investigate the Connecticut River and discover the impact it has on the Long Island Sound watershed area.

Macdonough School's participation in the Marine Science Day program was partially funded through a grant from the Connecticut Association of Schools.

United States Map Donated to Macdonough

Macdonough School received a donation of a custom made wooden map of the United States. The colorful map measures more than three feet in height and is six feet across. Each state is hand painted in bright colors.

The map was installed on a wall on the lower level next to the cafeteria. Be sure to check it out on your next visit to Macdonough School!