Principal's Weekly Update

Well, we all made it to the Labor Day weekend, and all Madison students and staff should take great satisfaction in a "week well done". I typically witness much more uncertainty on the first couple of days, as students do their best to learn knew schedules, and maneuver the halls, as well as to master lunchroom and dismissal procedures. Our 6th graders politely and adorably asked for adult assistance whenever they found themselves confused about any aspect of daily life at Madison. Some of the 6th graders shared with me that they love the new freedoms which come with middle school. They seem to be transitioning nicely-- some of the credit for this goes to our older students, who have been helpful to our newest students and who look to set a good example of appropriate behavior and attitude. In our opening day grade level assemblies, Mr. Coppola and I emphasized the fact that, like it or not, middle school is the time period when students are at their most self-conscious, that they all share similar concerns/potential anxieties, and that therefore-- the best thing that they can do is to be supportive of each other, and to build each other up. We will look to do our part to promote similar positivity throughout the school year.

It was also the first day at Madison last week for 3 new teachers. Kiersten Fallon joins us as a special education teacher after having taught for 7 years at Frenchtown Elementary School. Amanda Pfohl comes to us from Westport, also as a special education teacher. This week’s “fun fact” is that Amanda is the latest in a line of former Madison students to come back to teach at Madison. I was the Assistant Principal here when she was a student. She is also the second Pfohl to join us, as her sister, Victoria DiScala, is a Madison P.E. teacher, as well as the department leader for our Unified Arts program. Hannah Mata is our third new addition this year– she will teach our art classes. Hannah has prior experiences in both Bridgeport and Westport.

We were also thrilled to welcome back Trumbull Police Officer Wes Bartosik as our SRO (School Resource Officer). Wes will split his time between Madison and Hillcrest. We are obviously grateful to have such a positive police presence in our building following a couple of years where we did not have an SRO. Wes is the very definition of “approachable”-- our students know that he is here to help them as another “trusted adult” who will listen to any concern and help in any way which he can.

Madison also has several new Paraeducators on our roster this year. We are lucky to have the following people work with our student this year: Steve Black, Maura Curtis, Anna Lage, Therese Palmieri, Patricia Proccaccini, Nivedita Sarkar, and Johanna Simmel. Paraeducators are true “unsung heroes” of the teaching profession.

Announcements:

Chromebook Insurance Reminder

The Trumbull Public Schools will be offering the option for parents to purchase Chromebook Insurance for grades 5-8 students as part of our 1:1 Device Insurance Program. The 1:1 Device Insurance Program is designed to protect students and families in the event that the Chromebook issued to a student is stolen, damaged, or malfunctions due to no fault of the student. Students and parents may be charged for any damage resulting from intentional damage to the device caused by the student or for lost devices.

This program covers all accidental damage to the Chromebook or theft of the device subject to the following: $0 deductible for the first two occurrences per year and $50 deductible per occurrence thereafter. This coverage is effective for the duration of the school year. Insurance must be renewed annually.

The cost for the 2024-2025 school year is $25.00 per device, per child. This represents a reduction from last year to try to make it more affordable for families. If a family does not elect to purchase the insurance, the family will be responsible for the full cost of replacement parts plus labor or full replacement cost of the Chromebook. Chromebook insurance does not cover intentional damage or lost devices, chargers or cases. For a full list of costs please click here.For additional information on the program please refer to the Board of Education 5143.2 Student One-to-One Device Insurance Program. Families experiencing economic hardship may request a fee waiver by contacting the appropriate school administrator and following the process outlined in Board of Education 5138/Pay to Participate Policy

Enrollment and payment for the 1:1 Device Insurance Program will be processed via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. To purchase the insurance login to your Parent Portal, select School Store on the left menu > Select the school for your child > Technology Fees > 1 to 1 Device Insurance Grades 5-8, 2024-2025

Parents must elect the insurance no later than 9/30/2024. If you experience any issues with the payment page, you may contact the Digital Learning Office at mmirmina@trumbullps.org. If you do not have access to a parent portal please contact your child school office.

Regarding Absences:

Beginning this school year, parents in PK-12 will now have the ability to report full day absences, late arrivals and early dismissals via their Infinite Campus Parent Portal using the mobile app or website in place of calling the school attendance line. Any parent absence requests should be submitted by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Known absences may be submitted in advance. The absence request feature is ONLY available to parents via the Parent Portal. For specific directions on how to report an absence via the Infinite Campus Portal click here.

Click here for the video and slides from the August 20th Parent Infinite Campus workshop. The next workshop will be held on Friday, September 20th at 8:30 AM at this Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/kpu-stjc-xiq This workshop will go over tips and tricks for navigating Infinite Campus and Google Classroom.

Madison Joins the Relief Effort:

Starting next Wednesday, 9/4 and running through Friday, 9/13, NJHS and KARE are teaming up to sponsor a drive to help the victims of the devastating flooding that hit CT two weeks ago. Needed items include toiletries, cleaning supplies, paper goods (paper towels, tissues, toilet paper), diapers (sizes 3-7), baby wipes, and children’s books for babies and toddlers. Donated items will go to both the Seymour-Oxford Food Pantry and the Creative Starts Learning Center in Oxford. Thank you in advance for helping those in need!

To conclude this week, I hope that everyone is feeling better now that we have several days under our belt. Four full days of school gave everyone a chance to re-establish routines, and in particular, a chance to get a handle on the Day 1 vs. Day 2 aspect of our schedule. We all really seem ready to hit the ground running next week, but in the meantime I hope that all of our staff and students take some time this weekend to celebrate a great opening week, to hang on to some summer, and to rest up after suffering the shock of those early morning alarm clocks (or phones, or watches, or whatever it is that wakes them up).

NOTE: In our "big photo finish" at the bottom, you will see that in our initial fire drill practices, we ask the students to line up by homeroom in designated spaces, and for the geese to form a similarly ordered line just to the side of the students on the grass.

Take care,

Peter Sullivan