MacArthur Messenger

Families of MacArthur,

What a wonderful first full week of learning! It’s such an honor to spend these school days with your amazing children.

During the next few weeks, we will have scholars taking a variety of benchmark assessments; K5-2nd grade will be doing the Literacy Screener and 3rd-5th grade will be taking the MAP assessment. The Literacy Screener and MAP are assessments that are administered several times a year to monitor growth. These assessments provide us with important information regarding each child’s academic achievement level and progress, thus allowing us to create individual learning opportunities for our students. We want to ensure our teachers have the opportunity to provide instructional practices that meet the needs of all students, allowing them to develop and grow skills needed to meet grade-level benchmarks while also addressing the potential areas of focus. Research indicates the need for schools to know where all students are in their achievement so they can address any gaps they may have. Therefore, it is more important than ever to implement these assessments throughout the 2022-2023 school year.

Sincerely,

Mr. Gonzalez

Sunday 9/18: Last day to order Spirit Wear! (see below)

Tuesday 9/20: Girl Scout Recruitment Night, 6pm

Sunday 9/25: PTA Golf Tournament

Friday 10/7: Picture Re-Take Day (10:45am-1:45pm)

Thursday 10/13: PTA Meeting, 7pm

Friday 10/14: Non Attendance Day

2022-23 School Year District Calendar

A medication form needs to be turned into the office for any medication (prescription or over the counter meds) you would like your child to have at school. Further, these medications need to be stored in the health room. This includes any sunscreen or cough drops.

Please be advised that your child will not be allowed to keep any sunscreen or over the counter meds in their backpack to apply or take by themselves. Sunscreen is considered an over the counter medication because it has active ingredients and can cause harm if not used appropriately.

Please find various health forms here and let us know if you have any questions at all.

Home-School Connection

Every month, we will have a new "value word" that our scholars at MacArthur are working on as part of our Character Strong program. We talk about this during assembly time and as part of the Monday videos that are shared school-wide. The students continue learning about the value word within their classrooms. MacArthur will focus on specific areas in the school as we teach the students how to practice the value word in their lives. We will keep you updated on what we have been learning about each month in our newsletters!

This month's value word is: Respect

Definition: seeing value in all people and things and treating them with care.

Focus Area: Lunchroom

• Students will remain sitting at all times during lunch.

• If a student needs a teacher’s attention at this time, they may raise a quiet hand.

• Use the bathroom and wash your hands before lunch.

• Students will not put food directly on the table, play with food, or throw food.

• Students will notify teachers of any spills that need attention by raising a quiet hand. Students may be asked to assist in cleaning up.

• Students will promptly clear their trays when given the signal from the teacher. No food or garbage will be left on the table or floor.

• Students will form a straight line at volume 1 after dumping their trays.

Drop off/Pick Up:

• Thank you for following the planned traffic pattern outlined on the map below while in the MacArthur parking lot during arrival and dismissal. We appreciate your help. Doors open promptly at 8:50 in the morning, and 4:06 at the end of our day.
• At pick up (for guardians walking up or driving), please continue to have a sign with your child's first and last name, and grade level.
• When we are calling children to be dismissed, we place priority on the kids getting picked up from vehicles in the car line in order to keep the line moving and prevent traffic jams in intersections. However, we will continue to work diligently to ensure all students are dismissed in a timely manner.

Please do not get out of your vehicle...

If you drive to drop off or pick up your student at arrival or dismissal, please DO NOT get out of your car in the vehicle line. Instead:

• at arrival, your child should be able to get out of the car independently. Staff members can open and close the car door for your child. If you are unable to unbuckle your child without getting out of the car, or they are not able to do themselves, you should plan on parking your car, and walking them to door 12 at 8:50.
• at dismissal, have your child get in on the passenger side and sit in the car seat. If he/she cannot buckle themselves, then please pull ahead and park in the lot on the right. There, you can get out and help with buckling.

If you get out in the pick up line, it causes backups and safety concerns. Parking and walking with your child is required if you need to get out of your car to help your child safely get into school.

Bus Alerts

Thank you for your patience as we continue to work with Riteway to have buses depart MacArthur in a timely fashion at the end of the school day. Going forward, a notification will only be sent out if a bus departs MacArthur after 4:20PM.

Eagle Notes!

Whenever there is a planned change to your student's day (absences, leaving early, different dismissal plans, arriving late, etc.), please send an Eagle Note to school with your child. Your child's teacher will first see the note, and then the note is sent to the office. This process allows us all to be on the same page to ensure the safety of our students.

• If you have an unplanned absence (you did not know of it until the day-of), please call the office before 8am.
• If you have an unplanned change to dismissal, please notify your student's homeroom teacher directly AND call the office. This is especially important if you are communicating the change during the school day as teachers are often unable to check their email while students are in session.
• If you need to pick up your student early, please try to let us know before noon so teachers are able to get your student organized before they need to leave.
• You can reach us at 262-253-3468.

If you are in need of more Eagle Notes, alert your child's teacher.

• If your child was photographed at open house, either a proof form or a picture packet you ordered is coming home today (or will be coming home early next week).
• If you would like to order school pictures for the first time (and your child already had their photo taken), go to networkphoto.net (click STORE at the top, and enter your student's private gallery password found on the proof from Network Photography).

• If your student did not have their picture taken at our MacArthur Open House, please be prepared to have them photographed on re-take day. Whether you want to order a picture packet or not, every child needs to be photographed for our yearbook.
• If you would like a re-take of your student’s original portrait, please return the original package/proof form in its entirety to the photographer. A replacement package will be printed and delivered to the school with your student’s new image.
• If you would like to prepay for retake photos, Network Photography will have updated information on how to do so about 10 days before retake day. We will have this information in our next newsletter at the end of the month.
• If you do not order your student’s portrait on re-take day, you will still be able to order online for the entire school year. This order would be placed with Network Photography directly using this link (at STORE - once you have your child's private gallery password).
• Approximately 3 weeks after the retake portrait is taken, your student will bring home a proof form with their own secure private gallery password. Online orders will be mailed directly to your home and will include a shipping charge between $5.50 and $5.80.

We have some new staff members at MacArthur! Stay tuned for more new staff members to be introduced in our next MacArthur Messenger.

Hello, I am Mrs. Armstrong and I am very excited to join the MacArthur family as the new 4K aide with Mrs. Simonis. I used to work in Menomonee Falls at the preschool co-op for the past 5 years. I live in Germantown with my husband, Andy, my daughter Ella (15), my son Ben (12), and our dog Lucy. I enjoy reading, walking, dancing, singing, and watching my kids in their various activities, especially running.

Hello! I'm so excited to be a part of the MacArthur Family, working as part of the front office team. I had spent the better part of the last decade teaching kindergarten and first graders in the Chicago suburbs, before my family relocated to Germantown. I live with my husband, Cody, and two girls, Gracie and Ellie. We also have our beloved 11-year old golden retriever, Lucy. I enjoy reading, doing anything outdoors, painting, and watching my girls get immersed in the MacArthur and community activities.

My name is Jessica Eckert and I am excited to be joining the special education department at MacArthur. I have been teaching special education for 14 years. Our family moved to Germantown a year ago. I am married to my wonderful husband, Mike. We have three children: Levi, Oliver and Adler. Finally, we have a dog named Storm who is 6 years old. We love to bike ride, go on family walks, and go to Robert’s for ice cream! I am so excited to join the MacArthur family!

Hi Mac Families! I am moving into a 4th grade classroom role this school year. Last year was my first at Mac, teaching special education. Previously I taught 4th grade in Delafield, and Deaf Education for ten years out of state. While originally from Michigan, my husband is an Amy Belle alum and we moved to WI a few years ago to be closer to family. My oldest daughter attends Amy Belle and my youngest started 4k here at MacArthur this year. In my spare time, you'll find me reading, coaching, snuggling with my kids, or cheering on my Michigan State Spartans from afar.

Hello! Thank you MacArthur for welcoming me this year to the Four-Year Old Kindergarten Program! This is my twenty third year working as a speech language pathologist in the Germantown School District. My family and I love the outdoors, particularly spending time in the Minnesota Boundary Waters. I also enjoy relaxing with a good book (usually Stephen King,) listening to true crime podcasts, and going to concerts. My favorite holiday is Halloween, and you can probably tell I love all things spooky! I am looking forward to a wonderful year with you and your little ones!

Hello! I couldn't be any happier to join this wonderful family at MacArthur as the school counselor! I have worked the last four years for Milwaukee County working primarily in youth crisis services. I graduated with my Masters in School Counseling from Concordia in Mequon. My husband, Kyle and I welcomed our son, Gordon on Valentine's Day of this year. In my spare time I love going on walks with Gordon and our eight year old Springer Spaniel, Uecker. I also enjoy spending as much time with my family and friends as I can, attending Brewer/Packer games and enjoying time in Duluth, where I grew up. I look forward to this school year and getting to know the wonderful community that is MacArthur!

What a start to the year!

It was great to see all of the kids walking down the red carpet to be the stars in a brand new school year!! Pictures will be uploaded to our Facebook page and Instagram so check them out this week.

Thank you to everyone who showed up to the Pizza Party and thank you to all of the teachers who volunteered. The kids enjoyed a vigorous kick ball game and next year, we will get more parents to join in the game!

The school spirit wear website is still open to take orders.

The site will close at the end of day this Sunday, September 18th.

Orders will arrive mid-October and they will be delivered to the school.

There will be another apparel order window in the spring.

Click the button below or order on the website here!

Our 1st Annual Golf Outing is going to be on 9/25. Information is attached below and we need people to sign up ASAP so we can finalize the contract. You can sign up here. If you don't want to golf but want to come out to a beautiful golf course and help out, you can volunteer here.

Our next big event will be the Fall Festival on October 7th. If you want to bring your car and hand out candy and/or if you want to make a crockpot of chili for the chili cook-off, please sign up here.

Thank you!

MacArthur PTA Board ptamacarthur@gmail.com

President- Rob Sanchez, robkiana@gmail.com

Vice President-Nicole Christensen, nicoleriege@gmail.com

Secretary-Caryn Pawlak, caryn76@gmail.com

Treasurer-Alexis Melby, leximelby0110@gmail.com

Come join this coming Tuesday if your student is interested in trying out Girl Scouts!

There Germantown Park & Recreation Department's Fall/Winter Recreation Brochure can be viewed online here. Some of the upcoming programs you can register for include:

• Gymnastics
• Girls Softball Hitting Clinic
• Pom Pons
• Dance
• After School Legos
• Afterschool Mad Science Classes
• Schools Out Stream Sampler
• Babysitter’s Training
• Bucketeer Basketball
• 1st/2nd Grade Buckets
• Cake Decorating, Sewing & Art Classes and more!

Check out this link for program specifics.

We hope this app is a way to keep users up-to-date with access to school news, student stories, daily dining menus, upcoming events, documents, and more. You can download the app for free on both Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Download for Android

Download for iPhone

Once downloaded, click the "Schools" button on the bottom. Use the + button to click MacArthur and follow our schools. We recommend following the District and MacArthur, along with any other schools that interest you.

We will continue to send emails over Skyward when necessary.

Website: gsdwi.org/o/macarthur
Location: W154N11492 Fond Du Lac Ave, Germantown, WI, USA
Phone: 262-253-3468