Principal's Weekly Update

The first thing you might notice this week is that we have a second row of photos at the bottom-- that is the result of the flurry of recent activity and my recent reminder to teachers to overcome any shyness about sharing visual evidence of the amazing things which they oversee each and every day. I am especially excited about two things which I personally observed this week-- in the insert photo you can see the intensive investigation of some science students in Ryan LaSella's class, and in the "final photo" at the bottom, you witness Wes Bartosik, our SRO (School Resource Officer), serving as a "guest lecturer" in Liz O'Hagan's 8th grade ELA class. Wes was offering the students some legal perspective on a climactic event in The Outsiders. Needless to say, it was great for our students to see Officer Bartosik in a different light-- he has always been remarkably approachable-- now perhaps students will start to engage him in "book talks".

Perhaps coincidentally, The Scholastic Book Fair begins October 8th. Click HERE for Madison’s book fair website and set up your eWallet for cashless shopping. Sixth grade attends the book fair on Tuesday, 10/8, seventh grade 10/9 and our 8th grade on Friday, 10/10.

The Fun- a-Thon fundraiser is now underway. Students learned all about it during an extended homeroom on Friday. Please see the PTA Fun-a-Thon PowerPoint for information on this fundraiser, which will help to support many of our activities, special events, field trips/assemblies, and classroom enhancements (teacher mini-grants) this year. All students are being asked to register (by homeroom) with Schoolfundr and to share links with relatives, friends, parent coworkers, neighbors. Every student that registers and receives at least 1 donation is eligible for prizes. Grand prizes (Beats earpods, $50 Amazon card, Owala Water Bottle) go to students that raise the highest number of donations (NOT $ amount!). **Note: There will be an extra raffle drawing for students whose families have signed up for the PTA **.

Madison’s Got Talent is next Thursday, 10/10 from 7-9 pm. Come see some of Madison’s amazing talent! KARE is asking for a $5 donation, payable on Infinite Campus or at the door. All proceeds will fund our different community service projects throughout the year.

Madison Middle School is supporting the PINK PLEDGE again this year, on Friday, October 18th, in support of patients receiving care through the Norma Pfriem Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Wear PINK on that day and bring a $1 donation to the Main Office or donate HERE.

On October 10, Madison will be conducting a Chromebook case check during Homeroom. TPS requires students to have Chromebooks in cases at all times. Cases are not to be left at home. Chromebook insurance will not cover damage if the student damages their Chromebook and is not using their case. New cases are $25. Please help to ensure that our students utilize their Chromebook cases to avoid any unnecessary damage.

Community News:

Last week, the Town of Trumbull and the Trumbull Board of Education hosted just under 300 people at the Hillcrest Community Forum. This event provided important information regarding the upcoming referendum on the construction of a new Hillcrest Middle School. In case you missed it, here are some important highlights from that evening:

• The video of the community forum on 9/25 can be found here.

• A copy of the presentation slides can be found here.

• The referendum will be on November 5th (Election Day), and the question will appear on your voting ballot;

• The project has a one-time reimbursement rate of 44% from the state of Connecticut, representing an approximately $60 million dollar savings for Trumbull taxpayers;

• Hillcrest is the only school without sprinklers;

• Hillcrest is currently approximately 80 students over capacity, with that number expected to grow to 100 in the next several years;

• This project represents the first step of a larger plan to address all of the buildings in our district. Information about the district’s master plan can be found here.

Clubs & Activities:

The next Crochet Club is Monday, 10/7 in room 101.

Our next Science Club will meet on Monday, 10/7 in Room 217. We will be creating our own bio-bottles! All are welcome!

The next Cartooning Club is Monday, 10/7 in Room 102.

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY CLUB will be starting on Wednesday, 10/9. Please see Mrs. DiScala or look on your grade level classroom for the google classroom code and join for more information

Pokemon Club meets every other Thursday in Room 122. Our next meeting will be Thursday,10/10.

Reminders:

8th Graders and families are invited to Trumbull High School’s Open House on Wednesday, October 23rd at 6:00PM in the Trumbull High School Auditorium.

Students should consider entering the VFW Patriot’s Pen Contest which is an essay writing contest for 7th and 8th graders with local and national prizes. This year’s theme is, “My Voice in America’s Democracy”. Deadline for entry is Thursday, October 31st.

For my final thought, I return to the topic of the upcoming Talent Show. You might recall how I always mention to the students at their opening day assemblies that one of the challenges of middle school is that it is a time when students are at their most self-conscious. In spite of this, every year at the Talent Show, we witness students who are willing to "put themselves out there", to literally stand on a stage-- the most conspicuous of all settings-- and perform for a large crowd. As a pianist who still can feel the nerves which came with each and every recital/ public performance, I marvel at the confidence of our young students. You should come and check them out-- you will be impressed with both their talents and their "stage presence". Have a great weekend !!

Take care,

Peter Sullivan