UPCOMING DATES

Tuesday, February 13, 2024: Board of Education Meeting (details below)

Monday, February 19, 2024: District Closed in observance of Presidents’ Day

Tuesday, February 20 & Wednesday, February 21, 2024: Winter Recess - No School

Our 2023-2024 school year calendar can always be found here: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/district-calendar

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - IMMEDIATELY

New! Emergency and Weather-Related Messaging

Our mass notification system (Thrillshare) pulls all of the contact information from PowerSchool. If your staff profile (In PowerSchool) doesn’t have a phone number, mobile number, and/or an email address, you won’t receive text messages, phone calls, and/or the emails regarding weather-related closures and/or delays.

If you are not receiving these notifications, please work with your school's secretary to have your contact information updated in PowerSchool. If you work in Central Office, please work with Danielle Gagnon-Smith or Mike Skott to have your information updated.

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - ONGOING

New! Mid-Year Update Request to Parents/Guardians

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna or Mike Skott

On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, families (districtwide) received THIS EMAIL and THIS TEXT MESSAGE requesting that they update their annual forms in powerschool.

The follow up to this is that on our end, forms will need to be approved in order for the information to be completely updated in PowerSchool. Danielle Gagnon-Smith informed school secretaries of this via email on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.

The steps for updating these forms can be found on our website here, under Annual Forms: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/powerschool-parent-portal

New! 2024 Black History Month - MPS Employee Spotlight

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna or Dr. Waters

As part of our ongoing efforts to create inclusive schools and offices that celebrate diversity and cultivate a sense of belonging, we are seeking to highlight our employee diversity throughout the school year.

February is Black History Month. During this period of time, we would like to feature our employees who identify as African, African American, AfroLatino, Afro-Caribbean, and/or Black. If you identify as such, please consider completing this form: https://forms.gle/dQPwPrPYkEFC8eFx8

If you agree to participate in this social media feature, please complete the form by Friday, February 9, 2024. This will allow us to feature you within the month of February.

Reminder: Submitting Items for Distribution & Comms Support

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna

Please use the forms linked below (also accessible on THIS PAGE) to submit the following items: flyers to be shared internally and/or externally; cheers to peers, district highlight proposal, and sharing good news. These items, when sent through email, often get looked over.

GENERAL INFORMATION

🌟Cheers to Haylie Kerkes! 🌟

Cheers to Haylie Kerkes from Farm Hill K-ICM.

“We work in ICM with Haylie who is our RBT, and an absolutely amazing one! Recently Haylie has worn many hats, but still comes in to work everyday with a great attitude, trying the best she can to try to get things together to support our kiddos! No matter what is going on she remains calm and professional and always has a smile on her face. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful coworker, who makes coming to work so much fun! Our classroom could not run without the amazing effort that she puts in day in and day out! Truly the best RBT and an inspiration to all!”

🌟Cheers to Lauren Mikulak and Amy Senna! 🌟

Cheers to Lauren Mikulak and Amy Senna from John Ferrero.

“Both do so much to support STEM project based learning at Macdonough and were recently featured on NBC news.” https://www.nbcconnecticut.com...

🌟Cheers to Valerie Zimmer! 🌟

Cheers to Valerie Zimmer from Jenn Krapf.

“Valerie did an amazing job planning the All Pro Dads breakfast for the students and their families. Everyone had a wonderful time and all the students and parents who came through for breakfast that day were very happy to be a part of the breakfast. She always goes above and beyond for our students with her positive attitude and showing them how she truly cares for them and their well being.”

New! Awareness Days/Weeks and Holidays in February

Some upcoming dates and weeks to be aware of:

February 2024: Black History Month - Have you seen the Black History in Middletown website? https://sites.google.com/mpsct.org/black-history-in-middletown/home
February 2024: Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month
February 5 - 9, 2024: National School Counseling Week
February 10, 2024: Lunar New Year
February 11, 2024: International Day of Women and Girls in Science (More information here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day)
February 14, 2024: Valentine's Day
February 17, 2024: Random Acts of Kindness Day (Random Acts of Kindness Foundation)
February 19, 2024: Presidents' Day

New! Tuesday, February 13, 2023: Middletown Board of Education (BOE) Meeting

The February Board of Education Meeting will be on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM and will be held in the Auditorium of Beman Middle School. When the agenda is available, it will be posted here: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/2423

We would love to highlight your work and/or your students at this month’s BOE meeting. Be sure to submit your proposal here: Proposal for a District Highlight at a BOE Meeting

Information: MPS Employee Info Site