MacDowell Main Office : 414-935-1400

Upcoming Events / Meetings

DISTRICT ADVISORY COUNCIL (DAC)

Today, October 2nd 

6:00-7:30 pm

Join Zoom Meeting Link: HERE

Meeting ID: 875 3889 7498

Passcode: 589892

WELLNESS DAY 

October 3rd

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

K3-K4 dismiss at 10:00am

K5-6th grade dismiss at 1:00pm

7-12th grade dismiss at 1:25pm

FAFSA NIGHT – CLASS OF 2026 – FLYER

Thursday, October 9th

5:00-7:00pm

Room 103

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, 3:45-7:30pm. 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!

FUNDRAISER – CLUB’S CHOICE PICK UP

Monday, October 27th 

3:30-4:30pm

Check This Out!

COMMON SENSE MEDIA-

This week and in future newsletters, watch for this series of tips and strategies from our school librarian, Ms. Raasch, to help our families thrive in the digital world. We’ll focus on tips and advice to help families manage screen time, streaming, social media, YouTube, online interactions, identity protection, online gaming safety, and much more!        Links: Supportive Conversations , Role-Modeling

Black Arts MKE Fall Session is starting! 

This program allows students to choose to participate in either dance, or drumming. Black Arts MKE programming is designed to help youth express their creativity and take risks, while learning important social emotional skills.

 Students must be able to commit to ALL session dates, and a final performance. 

• Open to students grades 2nd-5th.
• Mondays & Wednesdays
• 3:00pm – 4:30pm (Students must be picked up by 4:30)
• October 22nd, 2025 to January 21st, 2026 (10 weeks) with the final mandatory performance on THURSDAY 1/22/26

Please sign up using this link. The deadline to apply is 10/13. There is limited space, and you will receive confirmation of your child’s acceptance into the program.

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.

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 

 

**MIDDLE SCHOOLERS (7/8th grade) must purchase dance tickets at the door with signed parent permission slip

**High school outside guest forms can be picked up in the main office

 

 

SENIOR PHOTOS 📷
Senior Photos are due March 1st.
Baby Photos & Quotes are also due at this time.
**Once again a professional photographer Parent Volunteer has offered to provide our Seniors with a free photo session at MacDowell on October 22nd and 23rd. 

Check your email or texts for a signup distributed to the Senior class. Parents can help sign up students here: https://tinyurl.com/2rzas8dv. Fifteen minute sessions will be offered with the option to take photos outside. Students are welcome to use this service or acquire Senior pictures on their own. 

Hello Senior Families! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application is now open. You are invited to the MacDowell FAFSA Night on Thursday, October 9th from 5-7pm. All you and your student should need are your FSAID logins (if you have one) or just your Social Security Numbers to complete the FAFSA. 

Please RSVP at tinyurl.com/FAFSAMAC. See you there! 

 

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.

Volunteers Needed

TACOS FOR TEACHERS: On Wednesday October 15th we will host dinner for our teachers and staff immediately after school – before Conferences. If you are able to make or buy an item to contribute to this meal, or help with set up or clean up, please sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/yp6vb5ex

BOOK FAIR HELP: We need help setting up our book fair the morning of October 13th, browsing hours during the afternoon, as well as working the book fair during both sessions, 10/13 and 10/15.  Sign up HERE : https://tinyurl.com/macdbookfair25

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:

**4-5 Volleyball This week’s game on 10/4/25 is cancelled.

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. 

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 

2nd-6th Grade Fall Chess Club Interest Form LINK HERE

2 Club Levels each meeting for 8 weeks

Beginner Chess Club: will meet on Tuesdays 3:00-4:15

Oct 14, 21, 28, Nov 4, 11, 18, Dec 2, 9

Experienced Chess Club: will meet on Thursdays 3:00-4:00

Oct 16, 23, 30,  Nov 6, 13, 20, Dec 4, 11

• Sign up will be a lottery. Students interested in participating should have this form      filled out by 10 AM TUESDAY OCT 7th 
• Students selected in the lottery will be given a form to complete. The registration fee of $45 will be due at this time.
• Parents are responsible for transportation of students after chess club and to/from any tournaments that you choose to participate in.
• Any questions? Please contact Ms Wanta at wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us 

In Case You Missed It

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.

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

PARENT COORDINATOR CORNER

LOST AND FOUND: Please check the lost and found when you are in the building. Please label items! Light jackets and hoodies are often a large part of our lost and found – labeling these items will help us return lost items to their owner. At the end of the month and each subsequent month we will box up all items to prepare for donation. 

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

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

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.

QUICK LINKS:

MPS School Calendar

MacDowell School Handbook

School Website

Lunch Menu – K-8th October

Staff Preference 

Elementary Classroom Heartbeat / Primary Classroom Heartbeat

MacDowell  Spotlight

LOWER ELEMENTARY AUTHOR VISIT 

Many of MacDowell’s Lower Elementary classes were treated to an author visit last month. Salina Yoon has her own website and introduced her new book I Like Cheese to the students. She was inspiring and engaging as she showed them how she creates her books. She has written over 200 children’s books.https://www.salinayoon.com/