Happy Holidays!

As part of a special Macdonough School tradition, teachers presented families with holiday wreaths at dismissal today. 

The wreaths were donated to our families from Middletown High School's Vo Ag program!

 

 

Thank You and Farewell!

 

Fourth graders in Miss Claffey’s class enjoy a special day with Miss Sutay as she wraps up her student teaching. We will miss you!

Ms. Jukins' Class Prepares for the Holidays

After learning about Hanukah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas the second grade set out to make the classroom a festive place! Happy Holidays to All!

 

We made 100 words out of the letters in "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

 

 

Warm and Cozy Hats

Ms. Maria, a paraprofessional in our kindergarten classes, knitted hats for each of the kindergarten students.

What a lovely present!

Green and Red Tacky Day!

The teachers wore their best green and red tacky outfits. Some teachers even wore tree skirts!

Pancakes with the Principal

Three Macdonough School students took a special field trip to the world famous O'Rourke's Diner to have pancakes with the principal.

They were treated to a delicious pancake breakfast. The group also saw important people like Miss Maley (a former Macdonough teacher) and Firefighter Al.  It was a fun morning! 

Students were selected for exhibiting SURFS up behavior (Self-responsibility, Understanding, Respect, Fairness, and Safety).

Books and Bikes

Today, children at Macdonough School participated in a winter book swap.  As a special treat, we added a dozen bikes to the fun….   Books and Bikes!

All students had the opportunity to receive a book and one student from each class received a bike!!

A Meeting with an Author.

     Today Mr. Ferrero’s and Miss Claffey’s class went on a field trip with their writing buddies through the LEARN program.  We got to meet the author Kenn Nesbitt.  Kenn Nesbitt is an author of many books of kids poetry.  His work is funny and fun to read.  Some poems he wrote include, The Tighty Whitey Spider, The Invisible Dog, My Hippo has the Hiccups, and The Armpit of Doom.  On the field trip he read several of his poems to us, and talked about how he writes poems. We even wrote a poem together! 

Macdonough Students Selected for Book Donation!

The National Reading is Fundamental program in partnership with Macy's has selected Macdonough School for a holiday book donation. 

Nearly three dozen beautiful hardcover books were sent to our school through the generous support of RIF and Macy's.  The book donation helps our teachers to support the continued academic growth of students by matching them with high quality fiction and non-fiction reading materials.

The Macdonough School community is grateful for the continued support of the Reading is Fundamental program and corporate sponsors like Macy's who support children's literacy initiatives!

Whooo's Here and Ready to Learn?

Students at Macdonough have been working on an attendance goal of being On Time, All Day, Every Day! 

Each day that an entire class is on time to school, they earn an owl for their classroom door.   Once the class is on time for 5 days, they earn the "golden owl" and a special class treat!

The class that has the best attendance each month is recognized at our SURFS Up Celebrations!

    

Eli Cannon's Owner Gifts 'A Christmas Carol' Tickets to Fifth-Graders

From the Middletown Patch

Eli Cannon's Owner Gifts 'A Christmas Carol' Tickets to Fifth-Graders

Posted by Cassandra Day (Editor) , December 17, 2013 at 01:18 PM

Twenty Macdonough Elementary students will experience Hartford Stage's festive holiday production — starring two of their classmates — thanks to the generosity of Middletown businessman Phil Ouellette.

Twenty Macdonough Elementary School fifth-graders and their parents are heading to Hartford Thursday to see Charles Dickens' holiday tale live on stage — starring two of their classmates.

Eli Cannon's Tap Room co-owner Phil Ouelette says Macdonough parent Ed McKeon, whose sons Dermot and Aidan McMillan are acting in the Hartford Stage production of A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, approached him to say help was needed to fund the trip.

"I told him I'd cover it," says Ouellette, also co-owner of NoRA Cupcake Co. in Middletown and a mentor at the North End elementary school. An artist himself whose eclectic sculptures, paintings and other work adorn the walls of his two businesses, Ouellette says he enjoys "supporting the arts and keeping it local." 

Painting Poetry

Due to great behavior in Miss Erasmus' room the class earned the privilege of painting! After reading the poem Grandmother’s Brook by Rachel Fields the class painted what they were visualizing. It was so neat to see how everyone’s visual or perception of the poem was different from each other. Thank you to Mrs. Zakarian for helping us paint!

Third Graders Rock!

Third grade has been very busy studying rocks and minerals. Last week they focused on igneous rocks and volcanoes! They even melted chocolate chips to better understand this type of rocks. Here are some busy friend’s reading and labeling igneous rocks.

Ms. Carrier's Last Day

Today was Ms. Carrier's last day. She spent the semster student teaching in Mrs. Lenihan's class. As a treat she read the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas and made Grinch heads out of fruit to eat. We will miss Ms. Carrier.

Family Survey Results

The Fall Parent Engagement Surveys have been tabulated by our wonderful Parents in Action group.  The results… 

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
1. Macdonough School is a friendly and welcoming environment for students, parents, and families.	83%	15%	1%	1%
2. When Macdonough School communicates with me, it is easy for me to read or understand.	80%	17%	2%	1%
3. If I have a question, concern, or comment about my child, the teacher, principal, or staff member gets back to me right away.	81%	17%	2%	1%
4. Macdonough School is a place where all cultures are respected and diversity is valued.	80%	17%	2%	1%
5. There are many different ways that I can be involved with Macdonough School, either at school itself, at home, or in the community.	74%	26%	1%	0%
6. Efforts are made to welcome all families at Macdonough School.	83%	16%	1%	0%
7. I can be involved in school improvement planning and decision-making at Macdonough School.	72%	26%	2%	0%
8. I receive information on what I can do at home to help my child improve or advance his/her learning.	72%	22%	3%	2%
9. I receive regular updates from my child's teacher on my child's progress.	79%	20%	0%	2%
10. I feel comfortable approaching Macdonough School staff with questions, comments, or concerns.	83%	12%	3%	2%

Thanks to all for their feedback about Macdonough School!  We will use the results to continue to plan, to improve, and to make our school community one that we can all be proud of!

Great Attendance in First Grade!

Mrs. Walsh's class was on time for school for 5 days
and earned the reward of popcorn and a movie

3 Kings Day

Today the kindergarten children learned about 3 Kings Day. We read a story, had a snack, and even made a poinsettia. The children also left their shoes in the hallway and waited for the 3 Kings to fill them.

Letters to Santa

The kindergarten classes sent their letters to Santa today. Let's hope he can get them soon!

Letters to Santa

First graders mailed their letters to Santa

today.  We are so excited to see if Santa or one of the elves writes back to us!

Mrs. Spaman's class had 5 days of perfect attendance they had pops and movie

First Grade's Greatest Gifts

First graders talked with their teachers and classmates about who in their lives they were grateful for this holiday season.  Please read about our "greatest gifts" on our bulletin board, which is outside the first grade classrooms. 

Middletown’s Racial Imbalance Plan Approved by the State Board of Education

On December 4, 2013, Superintendent Patricia Charles presented to the Connecticut State Board of Education (“CSBE”) Middletown Board of Education’s Plan to Correct Racial Imbalance at Macdonough School. 

The Middletown Board plans to establish a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Talented and Gifted (TAG) program at Macdonough.  The district plans to identify TAG students in Grades 3 and 4 during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, and will recruit these students to attend the TAG/STEM program at Macdonough. During the 2013-14 school year, the district will develop and plan the TAG/STEM curriculum and program, which shall include professional development and training for Macdonough teachers, recruitment of TAG/STEM personnel, and the creation of after-school and summer enrichment programing.

The plan will allow students at Macdonough to remain at their neighborhood school as well as invite gifted and talented students throughout the district to participate in this program.

 

The Middletown Board will designate Macdonough as an elementary school of choice for all identified TAG students beginning in the 2015-16 school year.

The CSBE approved the revision and Superintendent Charles reports that the district is very pleased with this result and looks forward to implementing this plan, as she believes it will support high levels of rigor and instruction at Macdonough School, while providing the opportunity for gifted and talented students in grades 4 and 5. This plan will allow students at Macdonough to remain at their neighborhood school as well as invite gifted and talented students throughout the district to participate in this program.

 

Miss Claffey's Class Had Perfect Attendance for 5 Days and Earned a Pajama Day!