April 18, 2024

Upcoming Events / Meetings

IB ART OPENING

TOMORROW, April 19th

6:00 – 8:00PM

Charles Allis Art Museum

PROM

Saturday, April 20th

6:30 – 9:00 pm

Tripoli Shrine Center

Tickets available in the main office – $50

MIDDLE / HIGH SCHOOL SPRING CONCERT 

April 23rd

6:00 – 7:00 pm

MAD HOT RHYTHM DANCE COMPETITION

Thursday, April 25th

UWM Panther Arena

10:00 am, Finals and Awards 12:30pm

The competition will be livestreamed on Facebook!

50th MPS BIENNIAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

May 1st and May 2nd

UWM Panther Arena

6:30 – 8:00 pm 

SPRING OPEN HOUSE with END OF YEAR PICNIC

Friday, May 3rd 

Classroom Visits 4:30 – 6:00 pm

Potluck and Frozen Treat Picnic 5:30 – 7:00 pm

WATCH FOR MORE INFO NEXT WEEK, including RSVP and volunteer opportunities.

ELEMENTARY SPRING CONCERT

Thursday, May 16th

6:00 – 7:00 pm

YOU ARE INVITED! TOMORROW

SENIOR IB ART EXHIBIT OPENING RECEPTION

MacDowell IB art students, Anna Heffernan, Selah Whaleysmith, and Sofia Ruffin, invite you to the opening reception for their IB Art Showcase at the Charles Allis Art Museum Friday, April 19th from 6:00-8:00 pm. The IB Showcase presents work that is the result of the MacDowell 2-year IB Diploma rogram in the Visual Arts. Their artwork will be on display through April 26th. 

The Charles Allis Art Museum is located at 1801 N Prospect Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

The work will again be on display at MacDowell for our Open House, May 3rd 4:30-6:00 pm.

OUR 2023-2024 YEARBOOKS HAVE ARRIVED!

All pre orders were delivered to classroom teachers. 

Extra copies are available in the main office on a first come first serve basis. 

Elementary Yearbooks – $15, 

Middle / High School Yearbooks – $25

LOOKING AHEAD: SUMMER READING!

Milwaukee Public Schools offers Passport to Summer Reading to keep students engaged over the summer break and to stem “summer slide” when children’s progress can slip. 

In the summer, Passport to Summer Reading holds events around the Milwaukee area to highlight the summer’s selected children’s books. At the events, one free book per family (for the first twenty-five families) will be given away.  

https://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Programs/Literacy/MPS-Passport-to-Summer-Reading.htm

Let’s stay engaged and share the books or stories children and families read over the summer with a “shelfie”. Post to the MacDowell PTO Facebook page. If you are not already a member – join us and share fun happenings within our MacDowell community, stay up to date on meetings and family engagement. MacDowell PTO Facebook.

DANCEWORKS MAD HOT RHYTHM COMPETITION

NEXT WEEK ! This year’s Mad Hot Rhythm Competition will take place on Thursday, April 25th at the UW-Panther Arena. Our Upper El students have been hard at work on their routines – come cheer them on in person or virtually if you can! This incredible annual celebration shows off the hard work of 4th – 6th grade students from 44 teams and 37 Milwaukee area schools, as they compete in three dance styles: Afro Fusion, Swing Tap, and Samba. 

The competition starts at 10AM with Finals and Awards at 12:30 PM.

The competition will also be livestreamed on Facebook!

CASTING CALL FOR MILWAUKEE FILM TAKE 2 PROGRAMS: Short films

Senior Anna Heffernan is a participant in the MKE Film course Take 2: Teen Filmmaking Lab (second year).

For more information on Take 1: Teen Filmmaking Lab visit their website here: HERE 

The Take 2: Teen Filmmaking Lab, sponsored by Milwaukee Film, is in production for a short documentary film centered around the growing pains and joys of parenthood. TO THOSE WHO PARENT, is a film that seeks to explore the beauty of coming-of-age through the perspective of parenthood. Through a generational lens, the film wants to chart the milestones that define our lives. 

**They are looking for individuals who are parents and/or who have parented someone in their lives, from a variety of different backgrounds and perspectives. They welcome all identities, backgrounds, and familial styles. Interest Form HERE

Time frame of documentary: Interviews will take place in May

Level of Commitment: Minimal. Be available for at least one day for principal interview and an additional day for the possibility of pick-up shoot days. 

Library News from Ms. Raasch:

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

COMMUNITY DAY for Middle and High School students – April 26th

What is Community Day? It is a special day for every 7th-12th student to engage in projects that provide service to our community – projects which are in alignment with our Service and Action goals of our Middle Years Program and our Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) goals of our Diploma Program. During this year’s Community Day students will be taking part in a number of different activities such as blanket making for the Humane Society, cleanup at local parks and on our school grounds, making sandwiches, and sorting items for homeless shelters. 

**Watch for communication on activities that are off-site which require a permission slip and may require a bagged lunch or money to purchase lunch.  

Sign ups occurred today, April 18th – permission slips will be handed out by week’s end. Check in with your activity supervisor if a student has not received a slip. (Only off campus activities require a permission slip). 

TENTH GRADER REFLO INTERN PROJECT

MacDowell 10th grader Jayana Scott-Warner has begun an internship with Reflo. As a nonprofit organization, Reflo’s mission is to catalyze sustainable water use, green infrastructure, and equitable water resource management that support triple-bottom-line outcomes that are grounded in strong partner relationships. Her intern project is focused on raising awareness about water quality issues and impacts on the environment. 

One piece of her project is collecting data and input on water quality- please help Jayana by filling out the attached survey:

Water quality assessment https://tinyurl.com/ytfskcr3

Jayana and her intern partner are hosting a clean up site and post-clean up party as part of Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s Clean Up on THIS SATURDAY April 20th at McGovern County Park ( link to register to participate) 

Sports and Activities Update

SPRING ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS:

Spring Sports Schedules have been posted on Remind & sent home this week. The most up to date schedules are also available at milwaukeerecreation.net from your mobile device. Press the 3 lines on the top right corner, Sports, Youth Sports, League Information, Spring League, then the corresponding sport, age group, & location. Our team name is MacDowell-Juneau.

Spring Sports Remind LInks

⚽1-3 Soccer: https://www.remind.com/join/fkhbfdf Sijan Field AM

⚽4-5 Soccer: https://www.remind.com/join/7cfg78 Sijan Field AM

⚽6-8 Soccer: https://www.remind.com/join/4k9kk9 Early Start, Jimmy Banks AM

🏃5-8 Track: https://www.remind.com/join/ed8eg7 

Winter Sports have ended. Please return all uniforms to Ms Wanta as soon as possible.

JUNEAU ATHLETICS:

Save the Date: High School All Sports Banquet : May 17, 2024

MPS NEWS

MPS SUMMER SCHOOL

2024 Online Registration: Download the 2024 Summer Academy Enrollment Guide.

K5–grade 8 – MacDowell is the Montessori location for Summer School 

• 5-Week Session: June 24–July 26, 2024, 8:00 a.m.–noon
  • Registration for 5-Week Session closes on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

High school

• Session I: June 13– July 2, 2024, Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
  • Registration for Session I closes on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.
• Session II: June 24–July 25, 2024, Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
  • Registration for Session II closes on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m

Specialty programs

• For specialty programming with Session dates (July 8–25, 2024)
  • Registration closes on Friday, May 31, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

**Check out the music courses offered this summer at Bradley Tech in the July 8-July 25 Session. Popular and Classical Piano is a new summer course being offered to all students 6-12 who want to explore playing piano. This course includes students with no previous to extensive experience on piano.  

More information HERE – 2024 Summer Academy

This Summer! Free Overnight Camp for MPS Students in Grades 4-8!

Overnight camp is an opportunity to make friends, enjoy nature, and create lifelong memories. For more information about the initiative click here.

Please note: The long standing Camps for Kids program will again award over 100 MPS students with a “full campership” to attend a weeklong residential summer camp in Wisconsin. For additional information about Camps for Kids, please visit their website.

MACDOWELL SPOTLIGHT

MIDDLE SCHOOL FOODRIGHT

This past week a group of Mr. Lippert’s Middle School scholars participated in their last FoodRight session. Students worked together to prepare a Root Soup and Potato & Sweet Potato Latkes. Instructors guided students in proper food handling, knife skills, and food preparation. Children tried all dishes but were especially pleased with the Latkes. For more information on FoodRight and their Young Chefs Academy visit www.foodright.org. You can find the recipes HERE.

HIGH SCHOOL JOB FAIR

Our 11th/12th grade students recently attended district wide Job Fair events hosted at UW-Milwaukee. Students were able to interact with over 50 different Milwaukee area employers looking to hire MPS students for a variety of summer jobs and internships

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QUICK LINKS:

Lunch Menu – April

Staff Emails

MPS Early Start School Calendar

MPS 2024-2025 School Calendar

School Website

IB March Newsletter

Juneau Athletics Feb/Mar Newsletter

Resources & Events

MPS TEXTBOOK REVIEW:

MPS Community/Parent Advisory Group: Math K-12, and English as a Second Language (ESL) 9-12 Textbooks/Instructional Materials Evaluation 

Milwaukee Public Schools is in the process of adopting new textbooks for Math K-12, and English as a Second Language (ESL) 9-12.  We would like to have community/parent insight and perspective in this important process.  Therefore, we would like community/parent members to participate in an advisory capacity. The community/parent advisory group shall serve to review the materials and make recommendations. The advisory will not be a final decision-making body but will offer suggestions as to which textbooks they believe would best support student learning. The community/parent advisory group will have access to  review materials virtually or in-person.

If you would like to view the materials in-person please contact Ja’Quita Murphy murphyj1@milwaukee.k12.wi.us,  414-212-0130 to schedule an appointment.  

 If you are interested in participating, please complete the form for additional information. 

MPS Textbook Adoption Interest Form