Greetings MacArthur Families,
Happy Friday! As we head into the weekend, we wanted to share an update on some upcoming safety practice occurring at MacArthur over the next week. As you know, safety is and always will be our top priority when supporting students. This includes working to ensure students' physical and psychological safety throughout their learning days. Thank you for your reaching out to communicate if we can support any conversations you are having with your children related to safety drills.
On Monday, our Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will take part in their annual fire safety training with members of the Waltham Fire Department during Fire Prevention Week 2024. The Waltham Fire Department will host its annual Open House in honor of National Fire Prevention Week on Sunday October 13th. The event will be held at Moody Street Station from 12 pm to 3 pm. The public will be able to tour the apparatus and meet with our S.A.F.E. educators.
In addition, MacArthur School will be practicing our first ALICE Safety Drill later in the week. This safety drill helps to prepare faculty and students in case the school needed to lockdown or evacuate. ALICE is an acronym that stands for A-Alert, L-Lockdown, I-Inform, C-Counter, and E-Evacuate. See the visual below. Teachers help prepare the students for these drills in a developmentally appropriate way. It gives everyone the opportunity to practice with how to respond in different situations. If you have questions about ALICE, please don't hesitate to call 781-314-5720 to schedule at time to speak to either of us or stop by and ask about it during Back to School Night.
Less than a week away: Our Back to School Night Open House event on Thursday, 10/10 from 6pm - 7:30pm. Students and families are invited to this special opportunity to join us and learn more about your child's learning day. Our students will act as tour guides and serve as your ambassadors to their MacArthur School experience once again this year. Click here for more information.
Waltham Public Schools is holding two Flu/COVID Vaccine Clinics open to the community. Here is the link for community members to sign up.
10/10 from 3pm - 6pm will be held at 617 Lexington Street
10/11 from 3pm - 6pm will be held at Whittemore Elementary School.
We love celebrating the diversity of our MacArthur community and are eager to have families join us for our annual Multicultural Festival on Thursday, November 14th from 3:45pm - 5:15pm. Click here to sign up to present and share your family's cultural background with our MacArthur Family. This is always a fan favorite community event that continues to grow each and every year! If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Stephanie South, our MacArthur School Librarian, who has spearheaded this event since its inception. stephaniesouth@walthampublicschools.org
In addition, see below for how to share a recipe in our MacArthur Cookbook! This wonderful idea is shared in this week's PTO Notes once again.
Speaking of November... the 5th grade committee is sponsoring an Election Day Bake Sale. Please see the fliers below or click here for more information about how you can support this event.
Have a wonderful weekend!
In Partnership,
Mr. Kmiec - (781) 314-5721 kevinkmiec@walthampublicschools.org
Mr. Howes - (781) 314-5725 roberthowes@walthampublicschools.org
