Flag Day 2011

Macdonough School celebrated Flag Day 2011 in style!

Special Olympics Torch Run

Area Special Olympic athletes and Middletown Police officers ran through the streets of Middletown on Thursday for the annual Special Olympics Torch Run. As the runners approached Pease Avenue, they were welcomed by hundreds of Macdonough School students, staff, and parents.

Among the runners was Miss Antonucci, who received the largest ovation of the day as she high-fived people in the cheering crowd!

Field Day 2011

Down on the Farm

The Kindergarten kids went to the 4-H Farm.
The children were able to plant seeds, touch farm animals and take a hay ride through the fields.

We ended our trip with a picnic lunch at the Farm.

What a Baa-a-rific day!

Macdonough's Spring Concert

Thanks to Miss DeAngelis and Mr. D'Amato for their work in preparing students for a wonderful spring concert!

This year's theme was "Celebrating America" and the students were very patriotic as they entertained us with a variety of songs to celebrate our great nation.

Middletown Fire Department visits Macdonough School

Third graders were delighted with a recent visit from the Middletown Fire Department. 

Our good friend Firefighter Al brought the Smoke Trailer to Macdonough School to teach children about fire safety!

Senator Blumenthal Visits Macdonough!

United States Senator Richard Blumenthal visited several classes at Macdonough School on Monday, calling the school “among the best in the state.”

“I have visited a lot of schools, and it’s among certainly the best in the state in producing better students,” Blumenthal said. “That is, better performing students, happier kids, involved parents, as well as an enthusiasm and excitement among teachers that is very, very apparent.”

Topping Off Ceremony

Macdonough School students had the opportunity to attend the "Topping Off Ceremony" at the new Community Health Center building located on Main Street.

As part of the ceremony, each Macdonough School student had the chance to sign the last beam to be hoisted on top of the new building.

Thanks to the CEO of the Community Health Center, there was som history and math added to the ceremony.  Students learned about the Scandanavian tradition of placing a tree on the top of new buildings and also used their math skills to estimate the weight of the beam.

Students were promised an invitation back to the construction site for the laying of the building's cornerstone in the fall.

Macdonough School Students Honored!

Congratulations to the many Macdonough School students who were recognized as part of the Russell Library’s Edna and Benjamin Shenker Creative Writing Contest.

The contest is held in memory of Mrs. Shenker who was an avid reader and Dr. Shenker who was a wonderful supporter of the library. This year, nearly two dozen Macdonough School students who honored at the library’s Literary Tea Celebration.

Mr. Art Meyers, the Director of the Russell Library, recognized each student with a certificate.

New England Air Museum Field Trip

Fourth grade students at Macdonough School attended a field trip to the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks. The day consisted of a guided tour, as well as a hands-on experiment. Students were able to look into the windows of planes from the different world wars. The tour was concluded by an activity where students were able to fly wooden airplanes. After each flight, they made a change to the airplane, such as replacing the wings with a different size wing to see how it affected the flight of the plane. Students learned about the four forces of motion: lift, drag, thrust, and weight.

Men at School Book Program

Macdonough School kindergarten classes welcomed very special visitors to class this morning. 

Students from Middletown High School's Men at School program came to read with students, lead literacy activities, and donate books to each child.

The children were thrilled to learn that a few of the Men at School volunteers attended Macdonough School when they were younger!

Special thanks to Mr. Malik Pemberton for leading the visit and to Middletown High School's Assistant Principal, Mr. Andy O'Brien, for coordinating the visit.

Book Bower Field Trips

Did you know that many of our classes take walking field trips to the Book Bower on Main Street? This wonderful store provides gently used books for very reasonable prices. They have a wide selection of children’s books.

As part of our walking field trips, every child at Macdonough School gets to select a book for free!

Macdonough School Spelling Bee

Our star spellers were showcasing their talents at the 2011 Macdonough School Spelling Bee. 

Special thanks to Mrs. Brick for organizing the spelling bee, to our fourth and fifth grade teachers for calling words, and to our students.

Congratulations to one and all for a great job!

Book Swap Day at Macdonough

Thanks to the efforts of reading teachers Miss Maletta and Miss Green, every child at Macdonough School received a gently read book during the Spring Book Swap!

Blooming in Kindergarten

Students in kindergarten are using food coloring to see how flowers use their stems to drink water. The students put food coloring in a vase with a white flower. They were surprise to see the flower is now changing it's color.

Mother's Day

Kindergarten celebrated Mother's Day with strawberry shortcake. Children made gifts for their moms, sang songs and enjoyed strawberry shortcake. What a great day!

Junior Achievement Day at Macdonough School!

Macdonough School participated in a one day program by Junior Achievement on Friday, May 6th.

Junior Achievement Worldwide is a partnership between the business community, educators and volunteers — all working together to inspire young people to dream big and reach their potential.

The program was hands-on, experiential programs teaching the key concepts of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy to young people all over the world.

More than two dozen Junior Achievement volunteers were on hand to lead the student activities.

A Book for Macdonough

A Book for Macdonough is a new program that provides the opportunity for people to donate a book to our school library in honor of someone.

The newest book donation is the Children's Book of Music by DK Publishing. This book was donated by the Macdonough School staff in honor of our amazing art teacher: Mrs. Alison Kaye.

The book takes children on an international tour of the world's greatest art, from the first daubs of paint in prehistoric caves to today's performance art. It includes all of the important art movements, from Renaissance to Rococo, as well as the great painters from all these eras.

For more information about A Book for Macdonough program, please click here.

Wesleyan Jazz Band comes to Macdonough!

Professor Jay Hoggard of Wesleyan University brought a 20 piece jazz band to Macdonough School for a Thursday afternoon concert.

The band delighted students and staff with the sounds of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Among the crowd favorites were "Don't Be Sassy" and "Pick Me Up."

Yet it wasn't all entertainment. Students learned about various instruments including the drums, guitar, bass, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. They saw first hand how many individuals working together can make wonderful music.

The Macdonough School staff donated a book to the school library in honor of Professor Hoggard.  The book, Dizzy by Jonah Winter, chronicles Dizzy Gillespie’s life and his music.

Special thanks to the Wesleyan Office of Community Partnerships for coordinating the performance for Macdonough School.

O for Octopus

For the letter "O" week, the kindergartners had a special visitor. "Ollie the Octopus." Children were able to take a closer look at the octopus that they heard about in a non-fiction read-a-loud done by the kindergarten teachers. Ollie will be back to visit next year!

Turn Off the TV Night

Thanks to the Macdonough School PTA for hosting a "Turn Off the TV Night" at Macdonough School on Wednesday, April 20th. Activities ranging from board games to art activities were held for some old fashioned fun!

We Love Mrs. Spaman!

Students and staff honored the one and only Mrs. Spaman this morning for her 35 years of dedictation to our learning community.

Mrs. Spaman's family and friends were on hand as a tree was dedicated to her.

Twin Day at Macdonough!

Students were amazed to see so many sets of "twins" and "triplets" at Macdonough School today!

From Apr 19, 2011

"Can You Hear Me Now?"

Hooray! 

Thanks to a technology grant and our wonderful technology department, each of the classrooms at Macdonough School is having a new phone installed. 

The phones are state of the art and will provide additional options for enhanced home-school communication!

Spring Pictures at Macdonough!

Everyone had a smile day today at Macdonough... It was school picture day!

Pictures will be available from Grynn and Barrett Studios in a few weeks. For more information, parents may visit the Grynn and Barrett website.

2011 Connecticut Higher Education Community Service Awards

A student group from Wesleyan University was honored with a 2011 Connecticut Higher Education Community Service Award.  The ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 12th at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford.

The Wesleyan students who were honored are part of the WES Reads / WES Math initiative at Macdonough School.  This program provides small group enrichment support to more than fifty students each week.

The program was co-sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education and the Connecticut Commission on Community Service.

Keigwin Band Performs at Macdonough School

The Keigwin Middle School Band was at Macdonough for their annual spring concert.

The band played a variety of songs and introduced the elementary school students to an assortment of instruments (brass, woodwind, percussion, and strings). 

Former Macdonough School students who now play in the Keigwin Band received big ovations from students and teachers alike. 

 
Special thanks to Mr. Daddario, Director of the Keigwin School band for making this performance possible.

Macdonough Teachers Present at Literacy Essentials Conference

Congratulations to Sarah Claffey and Michelle Maletta! 

The pair was invited to Central Connecticut State University's 5th Annual Literacy Essentials Conference to discuss reading initiatives in place at Macdonough School.

Their presentation, "12 Things You Can Do Tomorrow to Raise Reading Achievement," was modeled after the work being done at Macdonough School.

Macdonough Students attend An Evening with Author Bryan Collier

Children from Macdonough School were invited to a very special literacy event to kick off this year's Literacy Essentials Conference at Central Connecticut State University.

An Evening with Bryan Collier is the first annual community literacy event sponsored by the Literacy Essentials Conference. The event was held at the New Britain High School on Friday, April 8th at 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Grades 3 to 5 students, teachers and parents were invited to an evening that celebrated the work of award-winning author/illustrator Bryan Collier, who has illustrated numerous children's books, including Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport and Rosa by Nikki Giovanni both of which were awarded a Coretta Scott King Award and a Caldecott Honor. Included in the evening’s program were literature circles, dinner, an art walk and a presentation by Bryan Collier.

Special thanks to Miss Claffey and Miss Maletta for arranging this wonderful experience for our students!

Julia's Star

Macdonough School fifth graders participated in a Wesleyan University outreach program connected to a book that a Wesleyan student, Johanna Justin-Jinch, wrote when she was 15 years old.  The outreach project is another example of the strong connections between Wesleyan University and Macdonough School. 

Julia's Star tells the story of a young girl who wears the Star of David on a necklace to school and how when her friends ask her questions about it she becomes uncomfortable.  The young girl is unsure of what her friends think about her and her religion. The outreach activity provides elementary school students with an opportunity to discuss differences, stereotyping and how to sensitively ask questions about their friends to learn more about the cultures, beliefs, and families.

A Cheetahriffic Staff

We took part in a cheetahriffic day at Macdonough.

The staff was in a jungle spirit!

All City Music Festival

The All City Music Festival showcased the music programs in the city schools on Saturday night. The Festival, hosted by Wesleyan in the ice hockey arena, students from all of Middletown's schools, starting with the 4th grade bands and ending with the high school band and chorus.

Congratulations to our music teachers Mr. D'Amato and Miss DeAngelis as well as to all of the Macdonough students who participated. 

Special recognition was given to Macdonough School by Mr. Gaylord, Director of Fine Arts for Middletown Public Schools, for our participation in a world premiere of a piece by composer Glenn McClure, Dear Mother Earth: Letters to the Planet.

Connecticut Student Poet at Macdonough School

In only the second time in its history, Middlesex Community College has an official “Connecticut Student Poet” among its ranks. The student, Hannah Watkins, is the first MxCC student to receive this honor in more than 36 years. As part of this honor, Watkins will read her poems at events throughout the state, and will have some of her work published in the fall 2011 issue of the prestigious “Connecticut Review” creative arts publication.

Hannah visited Macdonough School today to share some of her poetry with students and talk about the writing process!  She was accompanied by Professor Christine Ruggiero from MxCC.

Walking Wednesdays are Back!

Macdonough teachers joined students and families for a brisk walk to school as part of our Walking Wednesdays program. 

 As a special treat this morning, two lucky students were awarded bicycles by their teachers in recognition of hard work in and out of the classroom.  Thanks to Miss DiBacco and Miss Claffey for presenting the bicycles.

Macdonough Students at Connecticut Odyssey of the Mind Competition!

We are so proud of Macdonough's first Odyssey of the Mind team and their performance at this weekend's statewide competition!  The Macdonough team, coordinated by Miss Jillian McKenzie, was comprised of a group of enthusiastic second graders.


Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving program for students K-12 and college. Odyssey provides teams with the opportunity to learn creative problem solving, teamwork, brainstorming, self-reliance, and respect for individual strengths -- unique, unforgettable experiences that will serve them in every aspect of their lives now and in the future.

"Bikes for Kids" at Macdonough!

Students were in amazement today as more than thirty bicycles were donated to the school by the Bikes for Kids organization and unloaded into the school gymnasium.

Bikes for Kids takes donations of gently used bicycles, repairs them, and then gives the bikes, along with safety helmets for each rider, to deserving recipients. Over the 20 years of its existence, Bikes for Kids has given out some 12,000 bikes.

The bicycles will be distributed to students in the coming weeks to reinforce SURFS Up behaviors of Safety, Responsibility, Understanding, Respect and Self-Responsibility.

CMT Fun

To celebrate the conclusion of this year's CMT, teachers and students participated in the annual Wacky and Tacky Day.

Students came in all sorts of Wacky and Tacky outfits.  Not to be outdone, the teaching staff were sporting mismatched clothes, crazy colored hair, and even a tiara! 

Governor kicks off anti-hunger program at Macdonough!

MIDDLETOWN — More than 127,000 Connecticut children are at risk for going hungry, but the new No Kid Hungry program aims to get those kids fed.

That was the message Gov. Dannel Malloy shared at the No Kid Hungry kickoff event at Macdonough Elementary School Wednesday. The new program aims to end childhood hunger in Connecticut by 2015.

Middletown hosted the launch event for a good reason, explained Dawn Crayco, deputy director of End Hunger Connecticut! She said organizers chose Macdonough to host the kick-off because Middletown had made great strides toward providing healthy food to children, especially in the city’s North End.  “It’s just the epitome of what we’re trying to achieve statewide,” Crayco said.

Second Grade Visits Nature Center

Did you know that it takes about 40 buckets of sap to make one bottle of Maple Syrup? That's only one amazing fact we learned at the Bushy Hill Nature Center this week. The sap gets boiled in the Sugar Shack and then you have sweet, yummy homemade maple syrup.

We also experimented with gallons, quarts, pints and cups, visited a wildlife museum, and played "camouflage" in the woods. We ended the visit sharing a picnic with our classmates and friends.

It's Parent-Teacher Conference Time at Macdonough School!

Parent - Teacher Conferences are being held on March 22nd, 23rd, and 24th! 

Did you know that our goal is for every single family to attend a parent-teacher conference?  That is how much we value the opportunity to share the highlights of our students' growth.

Judging from the first day, we are well on our way to an A+ for attendance at our Parent - Teacher Conferences!

Mobile Dental Clinic visits Macdonough School

Our Health Center was transformed into a dental clinic this week as Macdonough School was visited by the Mobile Dental Clinic. Many of our students had the opportunity to see the dental hygienist for check-ups and cleanings!

The Mobile Dental Clinic visits Macdonough School twice each year - once in the fall and again in the spring.

If you would like your child to have access to this program, please call the school and ask for information on the Community Health Center at Macdonough School.

Macdonough is a "Donors Choose" School!

Did you know that Macdonough School is a "Donors Choose" school? Many of our teachers have projects posted on the Donors Choose website.

Supporters of our school donate to the projects and when a project is fully donated, materials are sent to our school.  It's a simple way to support the work of the Macdonough School staff. 

Interested? Check out the Donors Choose web site for great Macdonough School projects by clicking here!