Thanks to our Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant, many of the classrooms had a pineapple treat this week. The students learned a few things about pineapples and got to taste the delicous fruit.
As the city gears up for the annual football game between Middletown High and Xavier, Macdonough School welcomed a football star to its classrooms.
Basketball season has started! This year's team is being coached by third grade teacher Teresa Morello. The team will face each of the other city elementary schools during the next few months and conclude the season with a game against the teachers in late February.
The Hartford Courant published a story on the North End Children's Laptop Project entitled "School's Computer Club A 'New Way' To Learn" Click on the links to learn more!
Third grade students at Macdonough School welcome a member of the Middletown Fire Department into their classrooms each year.
Miss Claffey has begun work with a motivated group of fourth grade students in the winter session of the Computer Club. Students meet once each week to work in the computer lab and to learn about the new XO laptop computers.
It was a "November to remember" in terms of this month's SURFS Up Celebration!
Most people know that Nurse Parmelee takes care of children when they are not feeling well. She is wonderful at that part of her job!
Students at Macdonough School participated in a Read-a-thon on Thursday, November 13th.
Miss Beideman and Miss Loiseau helped all of the students select "gently used" books to read with friends. More than two hundred books were donated for the read-a-thon!
mile children's race which were run adjacent to the State Capitol and through Bushnell Park.
In addition to patriotic race t-shirts each child was awarded a race medal as he or she crossed the finish line.
There is great new program that Laura Maturo is offering at the Macdonough School Family Resource Center.For the past 5 weeks, Laura has been offering Nurturing Pathways for babies ( birth to pre-walking) and caregivers. The classes combine developmental activities, music, movement and bonding activities. It really is a cutting edge program and the parents/caregivers coming just love it. You can tell the children also respond positively and are very engaged because everyone is ready for a nap afterward. They give it their all! Hopefully, the Family Resource Center will be able to offer classes again for "waddlers" and preschoolers.
The Family Resource Center is a "must visit" for families with little ones. For more information, feel free to contact Laura Maturo at Macdonough (347-8553).
The gift was made possible through the Dr. Wilfredo Nieves Dictionary Project.
Students at Macdonough School participated in a Mock Presidential Election on Monday. Mrs. Brick coordinated voter registration for each third, fourth, and fifth grade student and conducted the actual election.
On Tuesday, October 28th, the third graders in Miss Morello and Mrs. Waterman's classes went to the Russell Library. The students had hoped to walk but due to the rainy day they traveled by school bus.
The trip ended with some spooky and funny stories about Halloween. The classes jumped back on the bus and were back at school just in time for lunch! Special thanks to several parents who came along on the trip to help out as chaperones.
Students and staff enjoyed some Halloween excitement at Macdonough School this week. Thanks to the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Grant, each student was presented with a small pumpkin. Two hundred and fifty pumpkins delivered to the school set the stage for some seasonal learning and fun!
activities. Students measured pumpkins, weighed pumpkins, wrote about pumpkins, read stories about pumpkins, learned how pumpkins grow, and even painted pumpkins. The children were surprised at the many different ways that pumpkins could support their learning.
Holly Black. It is the story of the three Grace children --- Jared, his twin brother Simon, and his older sister Mallory --- whose life has been positively full of changes lately. They have moved to a house that looks as if it might collapse at any moment and Jared has been getting into all sorts of trouble. Time for a fresh start, you might think. The problem is that something, or someone, seems to be trying to make life very difficult for the new residents of the Spiderwick estate...
Representatives from the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) were at Macdonough School on Tuesday to interview parents, teachers, and staff members regarding the school's recent success on the Connecticut Mastery Test.
Members of the Macdonough School Running Club attended the 15th Annual Pumpkin Run in Higganum on Sunday, October 26th. The young runners had a choice of competing in the 1/2 mile kids run or taking on the 3.1 mile adult run. Special guest Ronald McDonald led young runners in warm-up activities prior to the start of the race.
In addition to colorful race t-shirts each child was awarded a race medal from Ronald McDonald as he or she crossed the finish line of the children's fun run. Macdonough School's participation in the race was sponsored by the Hartford Marathon Foundation and 21st Century Schools Program.
The aquarium measures 6 feet in length and stands a bit taller than the typical kindergarten student. It contains 150 gallons of water and enough fish to keep curious students entertained."A library should be the focal point of the school," commented one Macdonough teacher. "The fish tank brightens the room and creates an atmosphere where our students want to be!"
The Macdonough School's Parent - Teacher Association hosted a night of Halloween fun for students and families on Friday, October 24th in the school gymnasium.
The team from Macdonough School selected to received a book entitled "Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships" in recognition of their work at the meeting from Donna Marino, Middletown Public Schools.
Each week children at Macdonough School are visited by students from Wesleyan University. There are several initiatives which provide opportunities for college students to support elementary students.
access to one of the newest and hottest educational tools on the market, the XO laptop computer. It’s an effort by One Laptop Per Child to develop a low-cost, high-potential computer for educationally underserved children.
am for the school's third, four, and fifth grade students. Sarah Claffey and Teresa Morello have been providing an overview of the laptops to get children started. Once oriented, the students have the option of taking the computers home for a few days to share new learning with their families. The laptops are also making their way into classrooms to support a variety of learning activities.
“Free Book Friday” is Back at Macdonough School
The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) recognized Macdonough School has one of its 2008 Success Story Schools for gains made on the 2008 Connecticut Mastery Test. The school was listed as the third most improved school in the state for performance gains by students and the fourth most improved school overall.