Macdonough Mariners at Wesleyan

Coach Teresa Morello brought the Macdonough Mariners basketball team to Wesleyan University this weekend.  The team watched the Wesleyan Womens' Basketball team lose a close game to Bates College. 

At halftime, the Macdonough students took the court for a scrimmage before a packed house at Bacon Fieldhouse. 

Special thank to Miss K, a former standout on the Wesleyan squad, for making arrangements for this terrific experience!

Target Grant Awarded to Macdonough School

A group of Macdonough School students will be visiting the Connecticut Science Center thanks to a grant from Target. 

As part of its commitment to provide educational resources for America’s schools, Target launched the Target Field Trip Grants program in 2006. The program is designed to help teachers bring learning to life for students and enhance classroom studies.

Macdonough School teachers have planned for a spring field trip!

Third Grade Hosts Career Day Speakers

Two Macdonough parents came in to third grade classrooms to speak about their careers.  Special thanks to Mrs. Dunkley and Mrs. Gross!

Where in the World...

A huge map of the world was added to Macdonough School's center stairwell this afternoon. 

The map is a mural size representation of the world.  Each country is outlined in vibrant colors to allow for detailed views of current political boundaries.  The map also features major cities, bodies of water, and other geographical information.

Special thanks to Mr. Nelson and Mr. Jeremy for working to hang the map.

Recess Plus Club - Knitting with Nurse P

Visitors to the main office during one of the school's lunch waves are bound to see an unusual site: groups of students knitting!  Thanks to Nurse Parmelee, dozens of students are learning to knit. 

The school's third, fourth, and fifth grade children receive instruction, materials, and guidance in knitting as part of Nurse P's Recess Plus Club.

While most are new to knitting and focusing on the basics, Nurse P has some of the children off and running on some more complex projects.  The young lady pictured to the left is well on her way to completing a scarf, just in time for this cold blast of wintry weather!

Macdonough Goes Green!

Green Street, that is...

The students and staff of the Green Street Arts Center began the first in a series of weekly visits.  Each Friday afternoon during the next few weeks a variety of exciting activities will be offered at Macdonough School. 

Children made music with African drums, learned science concepts in the lab, painted murals in the gym, and danced the afternoon away in the library.

Grant Awarded to Macdonough School

Congratulations to Macdonough School! The school was awarded a $500 grant from the Community and University Services for Education (CAUSE) committee. The grant is targeted for use in supporting the Literature for Lunch program at Macdonough School.

Special thanks to Miss Sarah Claffey for coordinating the grant application!

The Ribbon Project

Students at Macdonough School had the opportunity to show caring and compassion by creating handmade pink ribbons for breast cancer patients in Connecticut.

"The Ribbon Project" is a community art project founded by highschool senior, Jenny Roach. Participants craft handmade pink ribbons using non-ribbon materials. These “ribbons” are then distributed by Jenny to breast cancer patients in local hospitals and cancer treatment centers.

The Kids’ Korner at Macdonough School program contacted Jenny Roach via The Ribbon Project website (http://www.theribbonproject.webs.com/) after the Hartford Courant had posted an article about her work. Jenny immediately sent out a publicity packet, including posters, postcards and websites about the project. Jenny agreed to visit our site and speak to the children about creating and planning service-learning projects, including how she turned her inspiration into a reality.

A PINK DONATION BOX can be found in the school cafeteria, looking for donations of fun pink materials for Jenny. She accepts a variety of materials, including fabric, ribbon, beads, fake flowers (and more!).

Before our holiday break, Jenny brought pink foam sheets that she had formed into ribbon shapes and bag full of decorative pink objects. Over 20 Macdonough students worked together to create several decorative ribbons that Jenny was then able to take for distribution to patients in Connecticut.

To date, The Ribbon Project has created well-over 1000 “ribbons” for breast cancer patients. We are glad to have contributed to this achievement.