Second Grade Visits Bushy Hill Nature Center

Second graders met their Essex NUMBER Kid Buddies last week at Bushy Hill Nature Center. They learned how much time and effort goes into making real Maple Syrup. They measured trees, went in a real sugar shack, and experimented with pints, quarts, and gallons. It was an educational and fun day!

Donors Choose Macdonough 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.

In the past three years, 60 projects have been funded for the students of Macdonough School totaling more than $25,000 worth of supplies and materials.

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

Rainbow Snacks!

First graders were treated to a healthy snack today.  Students ate their rainbow snack of red, orange, yellow and green bell pepper slices with cauliflower.  Thank you Miss Ripley for making these yummy snacks for us!

Building our Neighborhood

Fifth graders worked hard today on building their interpretation of what the neighborhood around Macdonough looks like. Students chose buildings they felt were important to our community. These 3-D buildings will be put on a big poster and then presented to our Equal This buddies from Colchester as a gift to remember us. After constructing and decorating their buildings, students found out the area and perimeter of each building. Stay tuned for a picture of our completed neighborhood and see if you can recognize any of the buildings students are constructing from the pictures below!

 

Eggs, Eggs and more eggs

Decorating eggs in Kindergarten!

Spirit Week

This week, students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade celebrated their success with the CMTS with Spirit Days.

Students collected tickets for trying their best on their CMTs last week. To participate in the Spirit Day, the students had to give two tickets for each day.

Last Friday was "Pajama Day", Monday was "Crazy Hair Day", Tuesday was "Mix and Match Day," and today was "Favorite Team Day."

Take a look at our week!

 

 

 

Easter in Kindergarten

The Easter Bunny came hopping into the kindergarten classrooms last night and left a bit of a mess.

MARC and Macdonough

Andy Heuer, Director of Development & Fundraising of MARC Community Resources accepts a donation from Ms. Jukins on behalf of Macdonough School Dress Down Fund. Ms. Jukins worked at MARC as Recreation Director before she began her teaching career in Middletown and she is now on their Board of Directors.

We are excited to add MARC as another one of our community partners.

For more information about this wonderful agency please visit their website at www.marccommunityresources.org.

 

 

Soro Bindi at Macdonough

Tuesday, students at Macdonough enjoyed a performace from Soro Bindhi. We learned about different types of instruments and dances from Ghana. Students participated in sing-a-longs, dances, and played instruments. He showed us that in Ghana they balance things on their heads. He even balanced a table on his head!

Thanks for coming

 

 

Middlesex Hospital's Fit for Kids Program

 

Macdonough School has been selected to host a special program presented by Middlesex Hospital called Fit for Kids!

The event will take place on Thursday, May 16th beginning at 6:00 p.m.

 

This family friendly event is sure to be fun for all ages!

American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart at Macdonough School

Thanks to Mrs. Oszurek, our physical education teacher for coordinating this year's Jump Rope for Heart event!

 

Macdonough students will participate in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart Event during the first week in April. They'll learn about the importance of regular physical activity, good health & nutrition and volunteerism.

SURFS Up Assembly

Friday, students and families at Macdonough attended the SURFS Up Assembly. Students and families enjoyed singing along to "Knowledge is Power," and listening to the second graders fable. The second grade teachers then did a read aloud of one of the new books about bullying to the students. We also welcomed new staff and family members to Macdonough. Afterwards, we watched a video of the fifth graders and Wesleyan students doing their own version of the "Harlem Shake," and congratulated Macdonough's basketball team and Coach Jukins for their hard work at the Staff vs. Students game. Other students and classes received certificates and books, and won golden awards. We ended the assembly by recognizing our SURFS Up winners.

A special thanks to all of the families that were able to attend our assembly today!

 

Teachers Run for a Cause

This morning, some of our Macdonough teachers ran in the Sandy Hook Run for the Families.  There were 15,000 runners at the 5K race that took place in Hartford.  The Macdonough team raised over $125 for the cause!  It was a very cold morning, but the teachers had a great time!

Our New Custodian!

 

Please help us welcome our newest member to the Macdonough family, our new custodian, Mr. Martin Martinez! Mr. Martinez has transferred from Snow School. Martin attended Macdonough School as a child (in Mrs. Spaman’s class) and currently has a daughter at Macdonough School (also in Mrs. Spaman’s class).  He also had Ms. Jukins as a teacher!

Terrific Treats for Outstanding Work on the CMTs!

Today marks the last week of CMTs! Mrs. Ellis's class enjoyed their last bunch of encouraging treats for CMTs. They received "You're O' "Fishally" done with testing" with Swedish Fish, "Let's not have any Snickers. Do your Best on the test!" with a Snickers bar, and "You're on a roll keep up the hard work!" with a tootsie roll.

Good job on the CMT's fifth graders!

Wes Lacrosse comes to Miss Claffey's class!

 

 

 Over their spring break, the Wesleyan lacrosse team came to volunteer in Miss Claffey's class. The fourth graders worked with Wesleyan athletes to make "My Polygon Chart Books." In the books, students demonstrated their knowledge of polygons and of measurement in inches and centimeters. Plus, everyone had a lot of fun!  

 

Special thanks to the Wesleyan Lacrosse Team for all your help with these projects!

Macdonough Staff Featured in Documentary!

Did you know that staff members at Macdonough School are featured in a film produced by a national organization called "Every Mother, Inc."  The documentary highlights companies and organizations who support mothers in the workplace and stars Mrs. Waterman, Mrs. Brick, Mrs. Currier, and Nurse Parmelee!

Click on the photo below to preview the clip!

Students - Staff Basketball Game

TIED AT HALFTIME

posted in The MiddletownEye

By 4 pm today, the annual Teachers vs. Students basketball game at Macdonough School was tied at half time.

In the second half, the teachers showed no mercy. After leaving considerable skin on the gym floor, the teachers had scored 24 points, while the students had only 22.

Even though her team didn't win the game, congratulations go to Coach Joanne Jukins for teaching the kids about good sportsmanship and the fundamentals of the game. And remember, if the teacher who accidentally aimed a shot at the kids' basket had actually scored, it would have been a tie!