Principal's Weekly Update

I will begin this week with the two most important reminders:

1) Back to School Night is this Thursday, 9/19 from 6:30 - 8:30.

On that night we will be following a Day 1 schedule. Please make sure you can access your child’s schedule in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. You can view the schedule on your phone using the Campus Parent app. If you wish to print your child’s schedule prior to Back to School night you can find a printable version under the “Documents” tab. If you are having trouble getting into the Infinite Campus portal please contact the main office. More information about Back to School Night can be found in this letter.

2) School Picture Day is Friday, September 20th

A prepay link with the password mdu24 has been set up for ordering through October 4th. Please see the Information Sheet for all photo package options.

More Announcements:

The last day for students and families to purchase Chromebook Insurance is on Monday, September 30th. Please avoid any unnecessary fees as carrying an unpaid balance could prevent you from participating in extracurricular activities and events.

Yearbooks are on sale for $38. Parents and guardians may go to jostens.com to purchase.

Parent Portal Power Up Workshop

Join Trumbull’s Technology Integration Specialists for a Parent Portal Power Up! This virtual workshop will take place at this Google Meet Link: meet.google.com/kpu-stjc-xiq on Friday, September 20th at 8:30 AM. Any parent/guardian is welcome to join and there is no need to register. Come hear about the differences in Infinite Campus and Google Classroom. We will discuss Infinite Campus Gradebook, Google Classroom Guardian Summaries, and tips on how you can help your child navigate these digital platforms.

On Wednesday, 9/25 the Town of Trumbull is hosting a Community Forum to discuss the proposed rebuilding of Hillcrest Middle School, so that Trumbull residents are fully informed in advance of the referendum on this topic which will be on the ballot in November. Obviously, this is the first step of a plan to address the needs of all school buildings in Trumbull, and we encourage your active participation in the process.

Our math teachers this trimester are piloting two primary resources that our middle school educators are considering as a way to enhance our programming and revise our mathematics curriculum in grades 6-8. You will receive a letter early next week from Dr. Iwanicki and our district Math Team Leaders which further explains theses resources.

In the insert photo this week you will see some of Tricia Marini's students helping to create a classroom "Word Wall"-- they are matching words that begin with the prefix "re" to the appropriate definition. This is an example of our school wide embrace of "morphology" in day to day action.

On Tuesday night the Board of Education recognized teachers in the district who have achieved tenure, to include Madison Special Education Department Chair Michele Zalewski and Math Intervention Specialist Roza Canaj. In the “final photo” below you can see Roza’s moment in the spotlight. Congratulations to both of these distinguished teachers !

Start with Hello Week

Next week is Start with Hello week! This is an age-appropriate Social-Emotional Learning and violence prevention program that welcomes students back into the classroom. The program teaches students to: minimize social isolation, empathize with others, and create a more inclusive and connected school culture. Want to learn more about Sandy Hook Promise’s Start with Hello week mission? Click here to view the parent guide.

Click here to see the activities that students will participate in throughout the week. Wednesday’s “Wear Green Wednesday” will help launch our middle school Advisory program for the year.

Late buses will begin on Monday, September 23rd with two buses leaving from Madison at 3:20PM. Please familiarize yourself with the ROUTES for each bus. With the onset of late buses, we will see a wide selection of clubs host their initial meetings. During that week, clubs such as Madison Read & Roar, the Chess Club, the Robotics Club, the SHADES Club, and the Pokemon Club will meet. Students can find information about exact dates/rooms on the Daily Notice. As always, I will also preview the club schedule in each weekly letter. There will also be an Activities Fair in homeroom this week-- students will see a slideshow presentation which highlights the many clubs and activities which we offer after school at Madison. We truly believe that there is something for everyone.

Yesterday was a Friday the 13th--thankfully there was nothing at all unlucky about our day at Madison. I have noticed however, on my drive to and from Trumbull that many people are getting an early start on their Halloween decorating. On another note, if you are looking for a cause for why we have gone from flooding rains to an exceedingly dry stretch of weather-- it's probably because I planted grass seed (ironically enough, to patch up areas of my lawn which were torn apart by said flood waters). That never fails. The sunny weather did allow us to begin letting students into the courtyard during lunch waves, starting with our 7th & 8th graders-- 6th graders will begin this week. We know how much our students benefit from some fun and fresh air at lunch. It looks like another sunny and summery weekend, so I hope you all enjoy some outdoor time as much as our students do. Have a great weekend !!

Take care,

Peter Sullivan