The Middletown Minute for April 22, 2024

The Middletown Minute for April 22, 2024

Middletown Public Schools

April 19, 2024

UPCOMING DATES

Tuesday, April 23, 2024: Early Dismissal for Students; PD for Employees

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

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - IMMEDIATELY

Reminder: Field Trip Policy & Medical Preparations

Central Office contact on this matter: Jasmine James

As we navigate through the academic year, please remember a crucial aspect of our field trip policy: ensuring the safety and well-being of all students and staff during off-campus activities. As such and in accordance with our established protocol, it is imperative that all field trip requests be submitted to the school nurse at least 15 days in advance. The trip coordinator must also provide the school nurse with this information prior to the trip to facilitate the communication of pertinent medical information concerning the students to the staff involved in the field trip. The regular school nurse can determine if the presence of a nurse is necessary for the trip. 

To uphold the health and safety standards, we must ensure that all participants in the trip have the required medications and supplies, especially for students with complex medical needs. Failure to adhere to the specified notice period for field trip requests may result in denials; this is in alignment with the policies and guidelines established by the Board of Education. 

In the event that any health concerns are identified that could potentially impact a student's well-being during the trip, corrective actions will be taken promptly. Your cooperation in reinforcing these procedures is greatly appreciated, as it directly contributes to the safety and success of our field trips. If you have any questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - ONGOING

Reminder: Who are your superstars? We want to highlight them!

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna

The first part of each BOE meeting we celebrate the extraordinary things happening in our district. We are currently looking for highlights for May and June. We know you have something or someone highlight worthy in your school/office. Complete a proposal (link below) so we can celebrate them! Proposal for a District Highlight at a BOE Meeting

Reminder: Website Updates

If there are any updates/changes/edits to be made to your school’s website and/or the district’s website, please work with your school’s ETS and/or Danielle Gagnon-Smith. Thank you!

INFORMATION for ALL

New! District Wide Dress Down Days

An enormous thank you to everyone who submitted an application for a district wide dress down day. A committee met in mid-March and selected the following organizations and dates. 

  • Project Grad - Tuesday, April 30, 2024

  • LaRosa Scholarship - Tuesday, May 7, 2024

  • Unified Sports (for new uniforms & shirts) - Tuesday, May 28, 2024

  • Hinka’s Cupboard - Tuesday, June 4, 2024

The process for district wide dress down days are as follows:

  • Donations can be made in the form of cash or check. (In the days leading up to the scheduled dress down day, all MPS employees will receive a reminder email; within this email, it will be stated to whom donation checks should be addressed.)  

  • $5.00 is the minimum donation for each day. 

  • Please submit your donations to your school's secretary or designation donation collector. 

  • At the end of the dress down day, all collected donations should be sent via interoffice mail or delivered to the Business & Finance Office in Central Office.

Please note that we will reopen the application process in August 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year. The goal for the 2024-2025 school year is to have one district wide dress down day each month.

New! Thank You! MPS Family Culture and Climate Survey

Thank you for all of your efforts in a successful administration of the MPS Family Culture and Climate Survey. We closed the survey window with 1,592 responses, an improvement of over 600 responses from last year! Over the coming weeks, Paul Griswold will be working to share the data in a presentable format and analyze trends and patterns in the open-ended responses. Stay tuned!

New! May 3rd is National School Lunch Hero Day

During the month of April, we will be preparing for our annual celebration of our School Nutrition Staff called School Lunch Hero Day which will be celebrated on May 3, 2024. As is our tradition, we ask for those interested to work with staff and students to help recognize our amazing Cafeteria Team on May 3rd. For those interested, we have some free resources here which include some student activities. The Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness will be providing gifts, cards and will be decorating the cafeterias in celebration of School Lunch Hero Day. We thank you all for your support of our Cafeteria Team in all they do to support student learning and achievement. Link: Ways to Celebrate School Lunch Hero Day

New! Community Math Workshop on April 29, 2024

Central Office contact on this matter: Richard Cordaway

On Tuesday, April 29, 2024 from 6:00-6:45pm at Middletown High School Library, the Math Department will be hosting a math workshop to engage in the mathematical units and offerings for high school mathematics.  All families and community members are welcome.

New! Strategic Operating Plan (SOP) Community Workshop

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna

Join us for a community workshop on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM to participate in the process of developing a new Strategic Operating Plan (SOP) for Middletown Public Schools.

This one-hour session will include an overview of the process and facilitated small group discussions to build out ideas for ways to make MPS better. Your participation will help us identify key priorities, drive practice across our schools, and ensure the representation of all voices within our community.

Agenda:

  • 6:30 - 6:50: Welcome, Overview, and Background of the SOP

  • 6:50 - 7:00: Reflection Time (Independent or with a Partner)

  • 7:00 - 7:25: Group Time to Generate Ideas Aligned to SOP

  • 7:25 - 7:30: Closing and Next Steps

If you have any questions or concerns about the town hall, don’t hesitate to email Jessie Lavorgna at hello@mpsct.org.

New! Awareness Days/Weeks & Holidays in April

Some upcoming dates and weeks to be aware of (plus, more here):

New! Seed to Spork (April Edition)

Central Office contact on this matter: Randall Mel

The Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness would like to share our April Edition of our Community Newsletter "Seed to Spork" for all families and staff. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x4bJg3FoiK_KuZEDIcqzfArKjgIJ7Zsz/view?usp=drive_link  

New! Tuesday, May 14, 2023: Middletown Board of Education (BOE) Meeting 

The February Board of Education Meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14, 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