It was a festive week at Middlebrook School! On Monday, our Band, Orchestra, and Grade 5 Chorus put on a fantastic Winter Concert that filled the school with holiday cheer. A big thank you to Mrs. Savkovic and Mr. Turechek for their hard work in preparing the students for such a wonderful performance!

Thank you to all our Middlebrook family members who participated in Pajama Day! The funds raised will be donated to Connecticut Children's Hospital to support students battling cancer. We raised $324.00! Your generosity and school spirit make a difference

Warmly,

Debbie Ponte, Principal

Michele Molloy, Assistant Principal

Delayed Opening Hours

1 ½ hour Delay – 10: 05 AM – 3:20 PM
2 hour Delay – 10:35 AM – 3:20 PM
2 ½ hour Delay – 11:05 AM – 3:20 PM

Please be sure your child comes to school each day with a warm jacket or coat, hat, and gloves. We do try to get our students outside even in the cold weather so it is important that they are dressed properly so they can keep warm. Please remember to label all items so they can be returned if lost.

Friday, December 20th

Spirit Day - see flyer below from Student Council
Reflections due
Early Dismissal 1:00pm

Saturday, December 21st
First day of winter

Monday, December 23rd - Wednesday, January 1st
Winter Break

Wednesday, December 25th
Christmas Day
Hanukkah begins in the evening

Thursday, December 26th - Wednesday, January 1st
Kwanzaa

Wednesday, January 1st
New Year's Day

Thursday, January 2nd
School resumes
Hanukkah ends in the evening

Senator Murphy is inviting students to participate in his Office’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest. Students from elementary, middle, and high schools from across Connecticut are eligible to participate in honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by submitting essays that reflect on Dr. King’s dream, their own aspirations, and the importance of what Dr. King means to them.

Submissions are now open and must be received by Saturday, January 11th at 11:59pm.

Essays can be submitted online or mailed to our Hartford Office.

Essay instructions and FAQs can be found here on our website. This site includes word count guidelines, submission guidelines, and information on what we look for in essays.

We look forward to reading and reviewing your student’s work! If you have any further questions, please contact Sarah Lopez at 860-549-8463 or email at MLK_Essay@murphy.senate.gov.

Students in Grade 2 listened attentively as Mrs. Stanton read aloud to the children. They were challenged with expansive vocabulary and given the opportunity to extend their thinking during writing.

The Student Council would like to thank the Middlebrook Community for all their support this month!

We collected many winter accessories for "Mittens for Many" throughout the last 2 weeks.

We also collected over $300 for the Connecticut Children’s Hospital from our PJ Day today!

Next Friday, 12/20/24, we’d like to encourage all students and staff to wear comfy, festive and fun clothing and accessories to kick off our winter break!

Today was Pajama Day! It was a fun and cozy event where students and staff came to school dressed in their favorite pajamas. This year, we also raised money for the children's hospital, making it a day of comfort and kindness!

On Monday evening, our Middlebrook families were dazzled by the talents of our teachers and students! Thank you for an amazing performance!

We welcome our next group of Middlebrook mentors who are sharing kindness and friendship with our youngest of students.

Mrs. Balzano is the Teacher Librarian at Middlebrook, and as expected, she has a deep passion for reading in her free time. She also enjoys family game nights, with her current favorite game being Rummikub. In addition, she loves to travel and is excited for an upcoming trip to Portugal this summer. One of her big goals is to visit all 50 states, and she’s already checked off 35!

Join Us for an Unforgettable Middlebrook Hockey Night!

Shake off those post-holiday blues and join the Middlebrook Fathers Club for an exciting Hockey Night at Sacred Heart University on Saturday, January 11th, at 7:00 PM!

We’ve reserved special center-ice seating exclusively for our Middlebrook community, ensuring the best view of the action as the SHU Pioneers take on the Cornell Big Red.

Purchase your tickets online at this link.

See the below flyer for more details!

To purchase hockey tickets, please click the link below:

https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Middlebrookpta25

Ryan Mones & Max Palmer

Co-Presidents, Middlebrook Fathers Club

**If you have any questions about the club, please email your Co-Presidents** at middlebrookfathersclub@gmail.com

At the Board of Education meeting this week, the board unanimously approved the PTA's donation of Inchy's Book Worm Book Vending Machine. The PTA has worked very hard raising funds for this astounding machine. We cannot wait for our children to enjoy it.

Stay tuned for more info!!!

Do your kids enjoy art, music and dance or have an interest in writing, producing films and taking photos? Then have them submit their creations to the PTA Reflections Program. This year's theme is: Accepting Imperfection.

For inspiration, visit the Reflections virtual art gallery and learn more about prizes and scholarships.

Click here for full details and how to submit your creation. Submissions are due on December 20th.

https://files.constantcontact.com/c02813e3301/ea671c89-03c1-4f27-870f-f95135409a9c.pdf

YEARBOOKS ON SALE

See below for flyer with the QR code to pre order.

Our next virtual meeting for the 5th Grade Activities committee will be Thursday, January 9th at 7pm. Please join us to get involved in events! Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89071693835?pwd=Djm4SKiMYJJaYQiIZDJuatjYuy2aDN.1

Please take note of the save the date flyer for our January and February events. Tickets will be for sale on the membership toolkit on January 2nd!

Durham has upgraded our bus tracking system. The new platform is called BusZone ®. It allows you to view your students current school bus location & information about the route in near real time, including the scheduled and estimated arrival times to your stop.

Parent's Guide 👇