January 11, 2024
Upcoming Events / Meetings
FAMILY LITERACY NIGHT 📚
TOMORROW – Friday, January 12th
6:00 – 7:30 pm
See Flyer Below
NO SCHOOL – MONDAY January 15th: MLK Jr. Day
January PTO Restaurant Fundraiser – JERSEY MIKE’S
Monday, January 15th
4:00 – 9:00 pm
7925 W. Layton Ave LOCATION ONLY
FSA ID Parent Virtual Session (needed for FAFSA application)
Tuesday, January 23rd
3:30 – 6:00 pm Open Forum
See flyer below
PERSONAL PROJECT SHOWCASE – presented by MacDowell 10th graders
Open to ALL
Wednesday, January 24th
12:30 – 3:00 pm
MacDowell Gymnasium
50 YEARS OF MONTESSORI OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, February 10th
1:00 – 4:00 pm
MacDowell Montessori
More about the event : 50 Years Montessori
NO SCHOOL –
Friday, February 16th and Monday, February 19th
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
Thursday, February 22nd
6:00 – 7:30 pm
SEC-School Engagement Council MEETING
**This will be a Budget proposal and feedback session
Please join us for this important engagement !
Wednesday, January 31st
5:00 pm
Room 103B
OPEN TO ALL
PTO- Parent Teacher Organization MEETING
Wednesday, January 31st
Room 103B
5:30 – 6: 30 pm
Winter weather has arrived! As winter conditions continue, please be alert for school closings. The decision to close school will be posted on the MPS website, MPS X and Facebook pages, and on all major television and news stations.
!! OPT-IN TO TEXT MESSAGING ! To receive notices via text message be sure to OPT-IN to text messaging from MPS. Text “Y” to 67587 to receive school notifications, transportation updates, newsletters and important messaging.
LOST AND FOUND – LAST CALL
Our Lost and Found is overflowing! HATS, GLOVES, LUNCH BOXES, HOODIES, JACKETS, T-SHIRTS. At the end of the month, and each following month, any unclaimed items in the lost and found will be donated. If your child is missing clothing, shoes, water bottles, lunch boxes- stop in the front lobby and check out our lost and found table across from the main office. Items currently in the lost and found will be boxed up and available for review until January 15th. After that time, items will be donated. Label all of your child’s items, it helps us find their homes.
Elementary FAMILY LITERACY NIGHT-
January 12th
6:00-7:30 pm
Family friendly crafts, story time, display/demonstration of sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, grammar boxes and sentence analysis.
Volunteer : https://tinyurl.com/MacDLiteracyVolunteer24
RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/MacDLiteracy2024
MYP PERSONAL PROJECT HIGHLIGHT – Teens Guide to Culinary Delights
For 10th grader Lavayah Carter’s IB MYP Personal Project she decided to create a cookbook for teenagers that gives them detailed instructions on how to cook specific recipes. The inspiration behind this cookbook was to help prepare her peers and other teenagers to cook for themselves. For her research on how to create a cookbook she visited her local library for inspiration. She also used websites for tips for the layout and used social media for trending foods to cook. During the process she came across a website called Mixbook.com that has many different book templates to choose from that allowed her to have the result she was looking for.
See Lavayah’s project and more at MacDowell’s Personal Project Showcase on January 24th in the MacDowell Gymnasium.
Calling all POP TABS
TAB WARS IS ON !
Let’s see how much money MacDowell can raise for The Ronald McDonald House
NOW until January 25th
**Send your Kindergartener, your 3rd graders, your 8th graders with pop tabs…All grade levels and families can participate – place tabs in the grade’s bottle you’d like to support**
9-12th graders compete to win a pizza party and drinks while helping support the Ronald McDonald House.
CYBER CIVICS- LEVEL 1, UNIT 4
Our Middle Years program has just begun their fourth unit of Cyber Civics “digital citizenship” lessons. This series of lessons will teach them how to apply their emerging ethical thinking skills to a digital world. The attached letter has some suggested at-home activities that will support what they are learning in school. Remember, it takes a village to raise ethical, safe, and productive digital citizens.
MPS Kindergarten Enrollment – Save the Date!
Will your child turn 3, 4, or 5 by September 1, 2024? Don’t forget to enroll them at MacDowell!
Kindergarten Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year will begin Saturday, February 3, 2024, and will end March 4, 2024. Current MacDowell students need not reapply. We will send enrollment directions closer to the enrollment date.
Save the Date – 50 Years of Montessori Open House
February 10th 1:00 – 4:00 pm at MacDowell Montessori
Sports and Activities Update
ELEMENTARY: 🗣️Call For Coaches
The Spring season is right around the corner, and we are looking for coaches. The more coaches we have, the more kids can participate. Coaches are paid through Milwaukee Recreation. We are currently looking for a 5th-8th Track coach, and 1st-3rd/4th-5th Soccer coaches. Please contact Ms. Wanta if you are interested or have any questions: wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
All schedules for the winter sports season are posted on Remind.
- 🏀1-3 Basketball Team 1-Coach Glenn https://www.remind.com/join/ead63a
- 🏀1-3 Basketball Team 2-Coach Shawn https://www.remind.com/join/b2d448
- 🏀6-8 Boys Basketball https://www.remind.com/join/34cgf3
- 🏐6-8 Volleyball Team 1-Coach LJ https://www.remind.com/join/ggahg8h
- 🏐6-8 Volleyball Team 2-Coach Maiter https://www.remind.com/join/dhc274
- 📣6-8 Cheerleading https://www.remind.com/join/ecfb6h6
- 🏀4-5 Basketball https://www.remind.com/join/g898dbg
In Case You Missed It:
MPS moves to a single, districtwide calendar, starting with the 2024-25 school year:
The Milwaukee Board of School Directors voted Thursday, December 21, 2023, to adopt the single calendar. The next school year will begin on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. The move to a single calendar is expected to bring cost savings in bus transportation, lessen the impact of extreme heat on school days, and streamline district operations. The single calendar also will be more convenient for families with children in different schools that previously were on different calendars. The 2024-25 MPS school calendar can be found HERE.
STAR testing dates are 1/8/24 – 1/26/24.
This involves Grades 1- 10. Please have students get plenty of sleep and eat breakfast either at home or at school.
~Ms. Wetzel
FAFSA Is Moving to January!!
Help is available! Your school counselor, Ms. Bruce-Konuah, and College and Career Center staff, Julie Schneider, can help you complete your forms and upload documents.
Parents need to create an FSA ID in order for their child to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which is a graduation requirement. Please complete this form to receive the link to the zoom session on 1/23/24. Ms. Schneider will be available during this session from 3:30pm-6:00pm
MacDowell Spotlight
ART CLUB
MacDowell Montessori School’s 4-8th gr. ART CLUB is an after school program designed for all students interested in creating art as well as creative service. In addition to providing students an extension to their studio and personal work, the Art Club can function as a service organization, making artwork for the school and community throughout the year. Last year, students decorated duffle bags provided by Ms. Ruiz and her sister. The bags were donated to kids who experienced tragedy and needed basic supplies to get through the crisis. The art club helped design wings for the school opera and musical. They also decorate a tree every year at Hawthorne Glen for the Winter Wonder Woods event.
Hawthorne Glen ornaments
MIDDLE SCHOOL – SOCIAL ISSUE POSTER PROJECT
Students in PBL (Project-Based Learning) worked on a project where they got to select and research a school-related social issue. They concluded their research by creating a poster and giving a short presentation to their class on that issue. Here is a selection of their work –
REMINDERS:
We are always looking for volunteers! Contact Parent Coordinator Gail Jaeger if you are interested in volunteering. There are opportunities available as classroom reading and math support, coaching, special events and library assistants.
How To Reach Me
If you need to reach me, my phone number is 414-935-1339 and my email is: mossergj@milwaukee.k12.wi.us
~ Ms. Gail Jaeger
QUICK LINKS:
Lunch Menu – January
Highschool Juneau Boys Basketball Schedule
Resources & Events
Milwaukee Rec Dept – Daddy/Daughter Dance
Save the Date! The 2024 Daddy/Daughter Dance is right around the corner!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 17 as we celebrate fathers, daughters, and father-figures in this classic Milwaukee event.
Event Information
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024
- Where: North Division HS Community Center
- When: 5-8 p.m.
- Dinner & Dance Option: $30 per adult, $10 first child, $5 each additional child
- Dance Only Option – $20 per adult, $5 each child (limit three children per adult)
- Register Here!
Adult registration includes a complimentary photo.
Doors open at 5 p.m. for pre-registered dinner & dance guests only. Dinner will be served from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for dance guests only.
WI FACETS –
Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education Training and Support – Newsletter
WI BPDD- Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities Newsletter