Principal's Weekly Update

Earlier this week we celebrated Paraprofessional Appreciation Day. Our Paras do so much to support the academic as well as the social/emotional needs of our students-- I cannot thank them enough for the essential yet often underappreciated work that they do each and every day. In the insert photo this week, you see Anna Lage and a student she works with-- many of our Paras form very special bonds with our students. You can see evidence of that in the smiles on their faces.

On Wednesday our 6th graders enjoyed a day out of the building as they attended a Bridgeport Islanders hockey game. In a "Big Photo" below you can see our students' rapt attention as they follow the sliding puck across the ice. Not to be outdone, our 7th graders can look forward to a trip to Lake Compounce, and our 8th graders will once again enjoy a day at Holiday Hill. We manage to fit in some fun for everyone in the final stretch of the school year.

A quick note on attendance-- the district's automated letters continue to be sent as students hit certain attendance thresholds. We completely understand that this has been an especially difficult year for illnesses, in particular some strains of the flu. We monitor attendance to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to support regular attendance at school and to prevent "chronic absenteeism". We always want students with legitimate illnesses to stay home and take the time necessary to get well. At the same time It remains a district goal to minimize the number of students who miss more than 10% of the school year (18+ absences).

Announcements:

Banner contest

The Town of Trumbull announces a parade-theme contest for any Trumbull student in grades 6-8. The theme should be centered around the meaning of Memorial Day. If your theme is selected, the town will create a banner containing your theme, your name, grade, and school and you will march behind your banner, along with the Grand Marshal, in the 2025 Memorial Day Parade!

Please submit your entry by May 1, 2025, using this link/ form: Memorial Day Parade Contest

Questions? Please contact Kathleen McGannon at kmcgannon@trumbull-ct.gov

Upcoming PTA Events:

Madison PTA is partnering with a pair of restaurants in April. A portion of all Madison bills will be donated back to the school. Please come out in support, to help fundraise and to take a night off from cooking.

First on deck is: Mex on Main for Taco Tuesday April 8th

and then: Trumbull Pizza Co. April 22nd.

** Speaking of the PTA-- the next meeting is scheduled for this upcoming Wednesday, 4/9 at 7:30pm. You can attend in person in our Learning Commons, or you can tune in virtually.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86329717632?pwd=wFU6YEWw7UpUu2zIAeaxVY17X7Bg6M.1

Meeting ID: 863 2971 7632

Passcode: 629072

Attention 7th and 8th Graders: Invites have gone out for the National Junior Honor Society at Madison. Please check your Gmail to see if you received an invite to the NJHS Google Classroom. If you are interested in applying for membership, please submit a completed application no later than 2:30 PM on Wednesday, April 23. Late applications will not be accepted.

Clubs & Activities:

Literary Magazine Club will meet next Wednesday, April 9th in Room 106.

The 3-D Printing Club will meet next Wednesday, April 9th

To prepare to write this letter, every week on Friday morning I send out an "invitation" for staff to send me some pictures from the week. I had initially thought that this past week was a "slow" week at Madison, but you will notice that there is an extra set of pictures this week-- I should have realized that even when there are fewer big events going on, our classrooms are always very cognitively busy places. Just one more week,-- hopefully one just as engaging as this week-- and then our staff and students have earned a nice mid- April vacation week. Enjoy your weekend !!

Take care,

Peter Sullivan