Upcoming Events / Meetings

FUNDRAISER – CLUB’S CHOICE

NOW – September 26th 

ENDS TOMORROW – Forms due to main office

Pick up – October 27th 3:30-4:30

HOMECOMING WEEK

September 29 – October 3

7th – 12th grade students

More information below

WELLNESS DAY 

*7th-12th grade students

October 3rd

More information below

HOMECOMING DANCE

Saturday, October 4th

Middle school students 5:00-7:00 pm – tickets available at the door with permission slip : $10

High school students 7:30-10:00 pm – purchase tickets in the main office or at the door: $10

COUSINS SUBS FUNDRAISER →

Tuesday, October 7th

4:00-8:00pm

1150 Miller Parkway

EARLY RELEASE DAY

Wednesday, October 8

2 hour early release – exact time TBA

9th GRADE EARLY ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE – FLYER
For 8th grade students and their families
Monday, October 13th
5:00-7:00 pm –MacDowell Montessori 

SAVE THE DATE – FAMILY-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Family-Teacher Conferences will be held on the evening of Monday 10/13 and Wednesday 10/15. Conferences will be held in person.

Stay tuned for more information, including Conference sign ups!

7th-8th grade students will conduct Student Led Conferences.

High School – New this year : Walk in conferences, no pre-signups, with the exception of specialists.

~~~ Plan to visit our Book Fair on both Monday AND Wednesday, sponsored by Rainbow Booksellers.~~~~

NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 17th & Monday October 20th

MILWAUKEE MAKER SCHOOL FUNDRAISER

October 20th – November 2nd : Online

A selection of items created by local Milwaukee artisans. Flyer and webpage coming.

40% of sales come back to MacDowell

TITLE 1 MEETING

Wednesday, October 22nd

5:00pm

Room 103

Please join us to learn more about this program and what the funding means to MacDowell. More Info : HERE

PTO MEETING

Wednesday, October 22nd

5:30pm

Room 103

ALL ARE WELCOME!

General Reminders

IMPORTANT: REVIEW THE MPS VISITOR POLICY

MPS welcomes families in our buildings. To maintain a safe, productive learning environment, we have policies to ensure visits do not interrupt teaching and learning during the school day.

When family members are visiting a school, please remember that:

• Families are always welcome to observe their child’s classroom.
• A staff member must accompany any tour or visit to a classroom during instructional time.
• Staff must stay with the visitor to escort them back to the office once the observation concludes.
• Family members looking to meet with staff must schedule meetings in advance.
• Meetings should occur during non-instructional time to avoid disruptions to the school day.
• During meetings, conferences, and classroom visits, each student may have TWO visitors present, unless additional visitors are approved in advance. The school leader, or a designee, must approve any additional visitors.
• Meetings with families should be scheduled to take place in the office or another designated space that will not interfere with school activities.
• Visitors must always be accompanied by the school leader, or a designee, while touring a school.
• When dropping off items at school, students will be called to the office to meet visitors.

Read the full Visitor Policy in the Parent/Student Handbook on Rights, Responsibilities, and Discipline at mpsmke.com/rights.

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

September Meeting Minutes : HERE

Our PTO is a volunteer organization made up of parents/guardians, teachers, administrators, and staff. We work to improve the educational experience for the MacDowell students by organizing and supporting community events and fundraising for items that are not otherwise in our school budget. PTO meetings are held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 5:30pm and anyone is welcome to attend. Dates and times are posted in our school newsletter and on our website. Additionally, our PTO has a Facebook group which you may request to join HERE  

The next PTO meeting of the year is October 22nd at 5:30pm. After the 5:00pm Title I Meeting.

Club’s Choice PTO Fundraiser going on now until TOMORROW 9/26 

• • Forms and monies are due by September 26th to the school office.
  • One check payable to MacDowell PTO
  • Pick up will be October 27 

• PTO raises funds for events and programs that are not covered by the school budget, such as prom, back to school picnic, field trip transportation and more.

 If you wish to support the PTO but do not want to fundraise, please consider a donation to the Un Fundraiser. 100% of your donation goes directly to the PTO. Cash or Check only. Un fundraiser form HERE

COMING LATER THIS FALL -> Milwaukee Maker Fundraiser October 20 – November 2. Excellent selection of locally made goods. Wonderful for Holiday shopping early. 

PTO is offering this option to provide a different selection than other fundraisers.

Middle and High School Families 

The school day starts at 8:00am. REMINDER – any 7th-12th grade student arriving after 8:10am will need a tardy slip.

WELLNESS DAY  – October 3rd

October 11th *7th-12th graders

On Wednesday, September 17th, middle and high school students were shown the opportunities and choices for Wellness Day during their Advisory Class.  On Thursday, September 18th, students signed up for activities on a first-come, first-served basis. Seats in each activity are limited, so it’s important to have more than one option. Students absent Thursday chose an activity as soon as they returned. Forms were distributed during advisory on 9/22 to all students signed up. A returned form, as well as any payment are due by TOMORROW September 26 to the teacher running the activity.  HERE are the Wellness Day Choices for 2025.

A NOTE TO 8TH GRADE FAMILIES: 

High School enrollment for current 8th graders will open on October 3rd and close November 4th.
If you would like to stay at MacDowell for High School, make us the #1 choice on your application in order to guarantee your seat next year. 

MacDowell’s Admissions Open House will be October 13th from 5pm-7pm. (alongside Parent-Teacher conferences)

By next week, parents/guardians of grade 8 students will receive emails with letters attached that contain their child’s preliminary scores and last year’s cut score ranges for high school admissions. The purpose of this letter is to help parents/guardians work with their child to make an informed decision when selecting their first-choice school. At MacDowell, we only use these scores for students who don’t attend our middle school already. 

Any families without an email address on file will receive a paper copy of the letter via U.S. mail. 

 Parents/guardians with questions about the scores, scoring process, or criteria should email highschooladmissions@milwaukee.k12.wi.us. Additionally, district staff will be available for questions at the high school enrollment fair on Saturday, October 11th at Milwaukee HS of the Arts between 9:00 am and noon.

Sports and Activities Update

High School Fall Sports:

Athletic Schedules:  https://www.mccathletics.org/public/genie/1190/school/64/

Purchase Online Tickets:   https://gofan.co/app/school/WI19445 

Winter sports season (basketball, cheer, and wrestling) will begin in November. Stay tuned for more details in upcoming newsletters.  If you have any questions, reach out to the athletic director, Ms. Schenk at schenkao@milwaukee.k12.wi.us

Elementary & Middle School Fall Sports: **Please return any uniforms from last school year.

Coaches Needed

We’re in need of a parent volunteer to step in as the head coach for a 6th-8th grade Boys Basketball this winter and 1st-3rd grade Soccer team this spring. If you are available or interested in more information please contact Ms Wanta at wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us. 

Join Remind!

Questions about your students’ sports teams? Join the Remind group where all practice and game information is updated regularly, or email Ms Wanta at wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us 

Spring Sports Remind Links

• ⚽1-3 Soccer TEAM 1 Coach Josh: https://www.remind.com/join/e74hh6h 
• ⚽1-3 Soccer TEAM 2 Coach Katie:  https://www.remind.com/join/h62e48 
• 🏐4-5 Volleyball: https://www.remind.com/join/346288 
• 👟5-8 Track & Field: https://www.remind.com/join/eehh64 
• 🏀6-8 GIRLS Basketball: https://www.remind.com/join/a2k6e9 

In Case You Missed It

Check out this article Six Things Every Parent Should Know About Music Education

Please take the time to fill out the MPS School Engagement Survey– takes 5 minutes.

Your responses help identify improvement areas in our school’s engagement efforts and can provide valuable insights into family involvement, satisfaction, and connection with MacDowell. Let your Parent Coordinator know what your family needs. 

https://mpsresearch.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8vthsN2BBv09xpY

💉VACCINES – ALL STUDENTS

School Required Vaccines Include:

K-6                                                                                                    7th thru 12th

DTaP                                                                                                 ALL those in K-6 AND

MMR                                                                                                 Tdap Booster

Polio                                                                                                  Meningococcal

Hep B

Varicella

Clinics to be held at:

Northwest Health Department 

10/3/2025 from 3pm-6pm

10/11/2025 from 10am-2pm

Southside Health Department

10/4/2025 from 10am-2pm

10/10/2025 from 3pm-6pm.

On Monday September 22nd the first round of letters go out to those who are behind on immunizations.

Tuesday October 7th the second letter and exclusion notification goes out to those who are still behind. 

MANDATORY EXCLUSION PERIOD FOR ALL STUDENTS WHO ARE BEHIND ON IMMUNIZATIONS IS October 13th thru October 29th. This means if your student is behind on immunizations they are required to be out of school during this time until immunizations are updated or a current waiver is on file with the school nurse and updated in Infinite Campus. 

The waiver form can be found here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/f04020l.pdf

Once completed and signed, it needs to be turned into the school nurse.

Big Brothers Big Sisters – BBBS is Enrolling Now!

BBBS Mentor 2.0 (grades 9-11)

BBBS Mentor 2.0 is a separate program open to any MacDowell 9th-11th grade student. Mentor 2.0 provides support and guidance, helping high school students graduate and succeed in both college and the workforce. We are fortunate in that MacDowell is the only school in MPS to host the Mentor 2.0 program. Mentors and mentees interact weekly online and meet monthly in-person at the school.  Once approved, matches are made when classes begin in the fall, and are based on shared interests, personalities, and experiences.

What does the Mentor 2.0  curriculum focus on?

• Relationship Building: Fosters a strong mentor/mentee relationship through sharing professional experiences, networking skills, short/long-term goal planning, and leadership development.
• Non-Cognitive Skills: Develops study skills, social skills, and learning strategies to enhance students’ educational achievement.
• College Knowledge: Strengthens college aspirations, and builds an understanding of college eligibility, the application process, and support systems.

• For more information on how to apply: contact Natalie at njackson@bbbsmilwaukee.org or 414-831-4591

Students at MacDowell start this program any year and continue it throughout the rest of their high school career. For more information on Mentor 2.0 see the video here https://youtu.be/dL2EHmhF9ug 

APPLY HERE: https://bbbs.tfaforms.net/f/youthenrollment-m20-0405

Big Brothers Big Sisters is enrolling MacDowell students now! (grades 1-8)

Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is a one-on-one mentoring program. We are very fortunate that BBBS has been a part of our MacDowell community for the last 19 years. There is no cost for families, and there are no household guidelines or qualifiers to enroll. Matching is done based on common interests and personality. Students meet with their mentor once a week during the school day.
If you are interested in BBBS for your child(ren), enroll here: https://bbbs.tfaforms.net/f/youthenrollment-school-0405

If you have questions about BBBS at MacDowell, please reach out to Pam Hinton.
Email: phinton@bbbsmilwaukee.org or at 414-831-4573.

OUR 2024-2025 YEARBOOKS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!

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

Elementary Yearbooks – $15, 

Middle / High School Yearbooks – $25

How To Reach Me
If you need to reach me, my phone number is 414-935-1339 and my email is: mossergj@milwaukee.k12.wi.us Welcome Back – I look forward to a fun and exciting year! ~ Ms. Jaeger 

STAY CONNECTED – OPT IN

If you want to receive a newsletter link via text message you must opt into the system. To opt in, families should send a text message to the number 67587 with “Y” in the message.

School Hours:

K3-K4,  8:00 am – 11:25 am, dismissal beginning at 11:15 am

K5-6th grade,  8:00 am – 3:00 pm

7th–12th grade,  8:00 am – 3:25 pm

QUICK LINKS:

MPS School Calendar

MacDowell School Handbook

School Website

Lunch Menu – K-8th September
Lunch Menu – 9-12th September

Staff Preference 

Elementary Classroom Heartbeat / Primary Classroom Heartbeat

MacDowell  Spotlight

BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC

Thank you to all that attended our Back to School Picnic this past Saturday. We had a great turnout! It was wonderful to see so many faces, new and returning. As always, a great spread of food was contributed from our families with hot dogs courtesy of the MacDowell PTO. We hope your children enjoyed the playground, trails and scavenger hunt. Thank you to ALL of my dedicated volunteers that helped make the picnic a success!!! We made it before the storm rolled in. 

Look ahead to our next family event in November – The Ethnic Potluck. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL – IDENTITY

Our Middle School semester theme is Identity. Part of the Montessori curriculum is to have a thematic kick off. Students were asked to think about different parts of their identity, those they can and cannot change. We listened to Michael Franti’s “Work Hard and Be Nice to People” song, which is our theme song of the year. We then concluded the activity by asking students to think about what they learned from this activity. 

Community Resources and Opportunities

FEMA Flood Assistance Applications Now Open !!

First Come- First Serve Basis

Individuals and business owners can apply for assistance at:

https://www.disasterassistance.gov/  or by calling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-FEMA (3362).

DISTRICT ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING (DAC)

Thursday, October 2nd

6:00-7:30pm

*Milwaukee Public Schools established the District Advisory Council (DAC) to ensure that parents of all students have an opportunity to share their ideas about the needs of children, assist in the planning and operation of Title I programs for children and participate in evaluating the success of Title I efforts. Today, the DAC is a diverse group of families committed to lending their voice on current issues faced by Milwaukee Public Schools.

DAC meetings occur on the first Thursday of each month from October to May, except January 1.  Meetings are held virtually via Zoom from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

School DAC Representatives, as well as other families or community members, are welcome to attend. Translation services are always available.