MacArthur Messenger

Dear MacArthur Family,

It is hard to believe that we are already well on our way into the second half of the school year. Our students have enjoyed having snow on the playground and it is safe to say everyone has had a good dose of winter in the last month. We will be working our way through February now with lots of exciting events. In addition to the anticipated MacCarnival, we look forward to a staff lip sync battle for our scholars to enjoy as the audience and the 100th day of school celebration for our younger scholars.

Thank you for your support as we conducted Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing in January for all K5-5th graders. Your child’s report has been uploaded onto Skyward, so you can see their progress. Since winter was the first test for our kindergarteners, you will only see one data point if you have a kindergartener. Our 1st-5th graders now have two data points and we are carefully looking at the growth happening. The results help us understand your children’s academic needs more, and tailor our instruction to meet those needs.

We will do one more round of MAP testing in the spring. The goal at that point is to have 70% of our students meet the year-end goal in math and 65% of our students meet their year-end goal in reading.

Again, thank you for your continued support as we continue to grow MacArthur!

Sincerely,

Mr. Gonzalez

Fridays in February: Wear Your Flannel Clothes!

Thursday 2/8: PTA Meeting, 7pm

Monday 2/12-2/23: PTA Silent Auction

Monday 2/12: Show Our Love for Comfy Clothes! (pajamas, sweatshirts)

Tuesday 2/13: 1st Grade Concert, 6:30pm

Tuesday 2/13: Show Our Love for Our Favorite Sports Team (wear colors and clothes of your favorite team!)

Wednesday 2/14: ❤️ Wear Red and Pink ❤️

Friday 2/16: No School

Tuesday 2/20: Group Photo Day (Girl Scouts, DI, etc.) at MAC

Friday 2/23: PTA's MacCarnival in the evening

Thursday 2/29: Rare Disease Day

Friday 3/1: EXTENDED! Yearbook Order Deadline

Friday 3/1: International Wheelchair Day

Monday 3/4: Art Show at the Germantown Library, 5:30-6:30

Wednesday 3/6: School is in session for everyone except 4K (no school for 4K)

Wednesday 3/6 Evening: Conferences

Thursday 3/7: No School (Conferences)

Friday 3/8: No School

Thursday 3/14: Summer School Registration will begin (more info to come)

Thursday 3/14: PTA Meeting, 7pm

Tuesday 3/19: 4th Grade Concert, 6:30pm

Wednesday 3/20: Last Day of Art Display at the Germantown Library

Thursday 3/21: World Down Syndrome Day

Monday 3/25 - Friday 3/29: No School

Monday 4/1: No School

Hello!

We have our huge MacCarnival this month! For those of you that haven’t had the chance to experience it before, we will have games in all of the classrooms, including horse races, golf and a cake walk! There will be food for sale and inflatables in the gym. Finally, the basket raffle and silent auction will in the library. In order to make this the most funtabulous night for everyone, we still need some help. If you can donate some time or even a baked item or two, we appreciate your support.

Volunteers

Please take the time to look at our volunteer list. We have positions for middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults. Parents, please share this opportunity to contribute with family.

MacCarnival is a two hour event and the volunteer positions are for one hour shifts so you can spend time with the family and still help out! If you have any questions, Maggie Dore's info is in the signups below under Organizer Info.

High School sign up List here

Adults and middle school here

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Cake Walk

Everyone loves to compete in the cake walk because they get to take home delicious desserts!! We currently only have 11 dessert donations so if you want to show off your baking skills (or the ability to buy an awesome dessert), please sign up here.

Basket Raffle

Each classroom has a basket that MacCarnival participants will be able to win. The baskets will be on display in the library and you can drop your raffle tickets in the container to get a chance to win the baskets. The drawings will occur at the end of MacCarnival and you can take your baskets home that night! Our fabulous parents are helping to ensure the baskets are full of amazing items. Each class has a collection basket you can drop items off in. Each classroom also has an Amazon wish list where you can purchase items or you can donate items in the theme of the classroom if you have other ideas. Please find all of the classroom themes and Amazon wish lists here. The deadline for contributions is February 15th. We appreciate your support!

Silent Auction

We reach out each year to business around the county, the city, and the state to offer wonderful items and experiences people can bid on to raise money. We are still accepting items so if you, your business or someone you know has items that can be contributed, please contact us! The auction officially opens at midnight on February 12th and will close 30 minutes before the end of MacCarnival. All bidding and payments will occur online so make sure you have good connectivity at the school for that last minute bidding! You can view the items currently in the auction here. Make sure you check back often as items will keep being added up until the start of the Silent Auction.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more information on the MacCarnival including highlights of the Silent Auction items. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to send them to us via email.

Every student should have brought home the MacCarnival flyer yellow paper. Please note that the presale ends on February 15th. Fill in your flyer and send it to school as soon as possible!

Facebook Groups

Finally, each class has traditionally started a Facebook group to keep your fellow parents informed of items pertaining to your grade. I try to share information on those pages but noticed there are no groups (that I know of) for 1st grade, K5 or K4. Please reach out to me via email to coordinate sharing of PTA info for those groups.

Thank you!

Robert Sanchez: President - robkiana@gmail.com - 858-663-8819

Nicole Christensen: VP - nicoleriege@gmail.com - 414-379-1600

Coral Kline: Secretary - coralrae.kline@gmail.com - 608-658-0475

Alexis Melby: Treasurer - leximelby0110@gmail.com - 414-331-4102

Great news! The deadline to order 23/24 yearbooks has been extended to March 1st. This year, there is not a personalization option (doing this allows production to go further into the school year, and more spring photos will be included in the yearbook). The cost of each book is $15.75.

Please CLICK HERE (or click the button below) to put your order in!

Please reach out to the MacArthur PTA at ptamacarthur@gmail.com with any questions.

Due to the dismissal congestion we are experiencing, we will no longer be allowing pick ups in the office past 3:55pm. This will make sure students can pack up and transition to their appropriate location by the 4:02 bell. Our school dismisses at 4:06. We are doing this because there is a lot of traffic at the end of the day, it can be a bit chaotic in the office with after-school activity check-ins. In addition, we also cannot have families picking up their children at the bus dismissal doors. This poses safety concerns and congestion when families are picking up and the buses are parked/arriving. All parents will need to pick up their students before 3:55 if there is an early pick-up.

After 3:55 the office will be closed for early pick-up, students will be sent back to their classroom and parents will need to use the parent pick-up line or the parent walk-up line.

Please review the below points as we work to keep everyone safe and be as efficient as possible.

• Dismissal Concerns: Please be mindful of where you are parking and picking up your children at the end of the day.

• With the snow in our parking lot, parking is more restricted. The buses need to be able to move freely and with ease in our parking lot on the west side of the school by doors 1-5. If you are parking in that area because you are attending an after school activity, please make sure you are parked in a spot, and pulled in all the way so buses can get by the rear end of your vehicle as they are navigating the space. Students and families should not be walking between buses. All guardians who are walking up to retrieve children should be meeting them at door 12 (the same doors as the Parent Pick Up line). Students who are identified as walkers (i.e. they walk home on their own) exit through door 11 (by 2nd grade/the playground). Children should not be getting picked up at the bus dismissal doors (doors 1 or 5).

• If you are a family that picks up your child(ren) at the end of the day, the best way to do so is to remain in your car and go through the parent pick up line on the southeast side of the building (door 12). If you need to park and walk up to get your child, please park on Gettysburg Drive and go to Parent Walk Up at door 12. Please make sure your child’s teacher and the office knows where/how your child will be dismissing from the school.

There is no school Friday 2/16. 4K students do not have school on Wednesday 3/6 (but everyone else is in session). There is no school for all students on Thursday 3/7 and 3/8.

Group Photos will be taking place Tuesday February 20th. These photos will include students in DI, scouts, Kids' Choir, and MAC Leaders. If your child is new to our school, or did not get a photo taken at Open House or at retakes, please make sure to alert your child's teacher and we will make sure to get them photographed that day. Please look for more communication coming out regarding the different groups and the schedule.

If you have not viewed your child's report card or MAP Report, they are available on Skyward. Please log into your family account, click Report Cards/Portfolio on the left hand side, and you will see both reports there.

The Health Room is looking for gently used donations of boys athletic pants or sweatpants in all elementary sizes, especially smaller sizes for 4K - 2nd grade students. If you have any to donate, please send them to school with your child or bring them into the front office. Thank you for your consideration!

When possible, please launder and send back clothing from the health room that comes home on your child.

Please click below for February menus! If your child will be late to school and would like to purchase lunch that day, please remember to let the front office know the lunch choice before school begins.

We have an exciting art show coming up at the library! Click the button below for details and more news from Ms. Hulsey!

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 focuses on specific areas in the school as we teach the students how to practice the value word in their lives. So far, we have focused on Kindness, Respect, Responsibility, Gratitude, Empathy and Perseverance.

This month is all about Honesty. One way to think about Honesty is “being truthful in what you say and do.” Practicing Honesty helps strengthen our relationships and reduce stress. Honesty is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well. Throughout the school, students will be developing skills like emotion regulation, positive self-talk, and stress management.

Have some fun connecting as a family this month while practicing Honesty. Here are 2 “PurposeFull Pursuits” for you to complete together. How many can you do this month?

Pursuit 1:

Create a simple sign with some emotion words or faces/emojis. Create a space where your family can see emotion words or faces in 1 place near an entrance of a space. Each time someone walks through the entrance this week, have them tap the emotion they are feeling and name their feelings Honestly. Work together to help regulate or manage those emotions to be more confident, calm, or focused.

Pursuit 2:

Set aside some time to gather as a family and check in with each other. Ask each family member, “How are you feeling today?” Practice Honesty when responding and listen carefully as each family member shares. Use the emotion check-in questions to learn more. Challenge yourselves to check in with each other on a regular basis!

Emotion Check-In Questions:

• Tell me more about that feeling.
• Why do you think you are feeling that emotion?
• What do you need right now?

The Germantown Park and Rec. Department’s Winter/Spring Recreation Brochure can be viewed online here.

Upcoming Programs to register for include:

Night Tball

Pee Wee & U6 Soccer

Parent Child Basketball

Track & Field Program

Gymnastics

Golf

Egg Hunt

Afterschool Volleyball, Legos Classes

Snowman/creature Contest

Schools Out – Stream Sampler

Babysitters Classes/Stay Home Alone

Art Classes

Check out this link for program specifics!

Please complete the DISTRICT VOLUNTEER APPLICATION using the button above if you are interested in volunteering at school or chaperoning a field trip with MacArthur. This form MUST be filled out and the background check needs to be cleared (it can take up to two weeks to clear) if you would like to help. The background checks are good for 3 years, after which they must be renewed.

If you are visiting the school and have an appointment, please bring your I.D. with you so you are able to get a visitor's badge to enter the school.

We plan to post many updates and school happenings on Facebook. Please be sure to follow us so that you can celebrate the student learning and school happenings with us!

Website: gsdwi.org/o/macarthur
Location: W154N11492 Fond Du Lac Ave, Germantown, WI, USA
Phone: 262-253-3468
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MacArthurGSDWI