Mackay Newsletter

Dear Mackay Families,

It is so hard to believe that June is here and the school year is coming to a close! As our summer begins, I would like to express how grateful I am to be leading such an amazing community of students, parents & staff. It has been an amazing year! I am so proud of all of the achievements and accomplishments of our teachers and students here at Mackay. Reflecting back on the school year, we have had so many great memories and exciting events to remember. We are so very proud of all of our students and their successes.

Field Day was amazing despite a crazy rain shower! We made our own sunshine and had a fantastic day! Our field trip to the Norwalk Aquarium was also a huge hit! We had a wonderful time exploring together! The 4D Movie, Octopus, the seal feeding, the touch tank and all of the amazing fish were awesome to see! Click the button below to check out some photos!

I would like to especially congratulate our 5th graders, who will move up to Tenafly Middle School in the fall. We celebrate them this month with a pool party, yearbook signing, their Moving Up Ceremony and more. We wish all of our 5th grade graduates and their families much continued success in the years ahead.

There is still lots of fun to be had here in June! Each day brings another special event including our Art Show this Thursday. We hope to see you there! It was great to see so many of you at the TEF 5K yesterday!

​​A special thanks to our incredible HSA, and the parents who have contributed in ways small, large and unimaginable! Thank you for the partnership between home and school, which is so important. We appreciate all that you do each and every day for our school and our children!

We are busy making plans for the fall. We have lots of exciting things on the horizon. I would like to wish you all a safe, wonderful and memorable summer vacation, and I look forward to welcoming you all back, refreshed, for an exciting, new academic year in the fall.

Until next school year, here’s wishing you love, laughter and learning,

Heidi Chizzik

Principal

If for any reason your child will not be attending Mackay School next year, a district withdrawal form must be submitted so they can successfully be removed from our enrollment system. A record release request must also be submitted so that your child's academic records can be forwarded to their new school.

Please reach out to Ms. Haines, mhaines@tenafly.k12.nj.us, as soon as possible for assistance with the withdrawal process.

Hello Mackay Families! Joyful June is here! I looked up the difference between joy and happiness. I always knew they were similar, but there are clear differences. Happiness is the emotion you feel from a situation or experience. We feel happy feelings when we experience something that makes us happy. The happy feeling is usually short-lived. Joy, on the other hand, is more of a state of mind rather than an emotion or feeling. Joy is not a result of a situation or circumstance. Joy is an attitude that can be molded, shaped, and cultivated. Joy is long-lasting. Take some time to find your JOY by following the daily suggestions in the Joyful June Calendar!

Congratulations to our 5th grade students! Wishing you much luck and success on your next journey! To all of our students, families, and staff: I wish you a joyful, relaxing, fun-filled summer vacation! I can’t wait to see you in the fall and hear about your exciting summer adventures! Until then, let’s bring on the Joyfulness of June!

- Mrs. Angerson

Hello everyone!!!

The time has finally come for our end of the year Art Show and you are all invited! The date is Thursday, June 6th from 6-8 PM. I welcome you to come and enjoy a walk through our halls learning about and experiencing all the work we have completed throughout the year. This is such a special opportunity for the students to be able to show all their hard work and have their friends and family experience that with them. Words cannot express how hard they have worked and how proud of them I am. I know they are so proud of themselves as well and are eager to share that excitement with you all. Unlike past Art Shows, there will be no make and take stations in the gym to accommodate for more space to display EVERY SINGLE work created. That’s almost 2,000 art pieces combined! So many exciting things to come on this special night!

Additionally, I would like to give a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU for the constant support I have had from our Mackay community this year. It means so much to see the excitement and passion for the arts here for both myself and the students. It’s been a great year and I look forward to all the great things to come next school year! Have a great summer break!

With love,

-Ms. Bracero

Our Chorus, Orchestra, and Band students had a phenomenal Spring Concert; thank you to all of our evening attendees and congratulations to our outstanding young musicians! To our 5th graders: we hope you continue your musical endeavors at TMS and wish you all the best. To our 3rd and 4th graders: we hope you continue to pursue the performing arts and join Chorus, Band, and/or Orchestra next year!

Our 5th grade Chorus and Band will get to “catch” a fun baseball game; the New York Boulder’s Baseball Field Trip will take place on Tuesday, June 4th. This trip is in conjunction with students from Mackay, Maugham, Smith, Stillman, and TMS! Students should arrive at TMS no later than 7:45, so all schools may rehearse together before we leave Tenafly.

On June 5th, all 3rd grade students enrolled in our Instrumental Music program will be performing at the Third Grade Instrumental Concert during school for our second grade students! They will demonstrate some of the skills they have learned this year and play the piece “Rock This Band!” by Robert Sheldon.

The Tenafly Elementary Schools Symphonic Orchestra (more commonly known as the Super Orchestra) will have their concert on June 13th, at 7pm. The Super Orchestra is composed of nominated Band and Orchestra students from Mackay, Maugham, Smith, and Stillman. The concert also features an accompanied soloist or small chamber ensemble performance from each school. 4th and 5th grade students will also get the chance to hear this extraordinary group during school the following day.

Lastly, our 2nd grade students will have their Recorder Concert on Monday, June 17th, at 9am. An email was sent out to families of all 2nd grade students. Since March, 2nd grade students have been learning the fundamentals of the recorder, and are ready to share their skills with you! Parents/guardians of 2nd grade students, we ask that you RSVP using the link from the original email. Please reach out if you did not receive this email or have any questions.

Don’t stop the music just because school’s over—whether it’s playing tunes on the radio or listening to live music, there's music around us all summer long! We can’t wait to make music with you again in September.

Musically,

Mr. Fugaban and Mrs. DeJoseph

Dear Summer Readers,

It is our pleasure to share the 2024 Summer Reading List with you!

The district summer reading list was compiled to include a variety of genres, interest levels, and diverse authors. These titles are only recommendations, NOT requirements. We highly encourage you to explore other titles and authors as well.

It is most important that students continue to read over the summer. Our goal is to develop lifelong readers by providing positive reading experiences.

Don’t forget to use your local public library and all of the resources they provide, including electronic books at tenaflylibrary.org

Happy reading!

Sincerely,

Jill Brave - Stillman School Librarian

Keryn Brenzel - Mackay School Librarian

Jennifer Griffiths - Smith School Librarian

Luiza Herbst - Maugham School Librarian

Lisa Krommenhoek - Literacy Staff Developer

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