Upcoming Events / Meetings

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. 

40% of sales come back to MacDowell

TITLE 1 ANNUAL 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

CLUB’S CHOICE FUNDRAISER PICK UP – 

Monday, October 27th 

3:15-4:30pm – west side of green space

PARENT EDUCATION SESSION – 

Focus on Literacy/Grammar

Wednesday, October 29th

5:30-7:30pm OR

Friday, October 31st

7:45am-9:45am

NO SCHOOL

Friday, November 7th

PICTURE DAY

Tuesday, November 11th

📣Locks, Lights, Out of Sight: Today MacDowell students participated in a district wide Lockdown drill. Students followed direction, were quiet and in place as instructed. Students may have questions or related discussions while home for the 4 day weekend. 

General Reminders

COLDER WEATHER: As the season has turned colder, please remember that younger students should have spare clothing for colder weather in their backpack/bookbag. If you have not already done so, now is the time to replace their clothing with warmer weather attire. Please label items!

BLACK ARTS MKE Fall Session is starting! 

Families have been notified if their child has been placed on dance or drumming as the interest form entry due date has passed. There are still some spots open for drumming with Ms Oju. Please contact Ms. Bruce-Konuah brownc5@milwaukee.k12.wi.us or Ms. Jacobson jacobsr@milwaukee.k12.wi.us if your 2nd-5th grade child would like to join the drumming session. All classes start Wednesday Oct 22nd from 3-4:30pm. Classes continue Oct 27th on Mondays and Wednesdays until January 21st. 

Save the Date:

Forms will be sent home just prior to the picture date.

Middle and High School Families 

SENIOR PICTURE SESSIONS

A parent volunteer has offered to provide our Seniors with a free photo session at MacDowell on October 22nd and 23rd. Spots still available for Thursday October 23rd!!

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. Parents can help sign up students here: https://tinyurl.com/2rzas8dv.

A Note To 8th Grade Families:

It’s time to enroll in High School…

High School enrollment for current 8th graders is open now thru 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. 

Click here to see the MPS admissions site, including the online application:

https://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Schools/How-to-Apply/High-School-Enrollment.htm

If you have any questions, please reach out to MacDowell’s middle school counselor, Jonathan Marks at 414-391-3068 or marksjt@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

Sports and Activities Update

High School Winter Sports Deadlines

Register online: https://mpsathletics-ar.rschooltoday.com/home

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

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

Elementary & Middle School Fall Sports:

👟👟👟👟5-8 Cross Country

This weekend is the last meet. Please return uniforms to coaches before you leave. Pizza Party on Tuesday Oct. 21st in the cafeteria during practice.

Coaches Needed

We’re in need of a parent volunteer to step in as the head coach for a 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. 

Elementary Chess Clubs Remind Links

• ♟️Tuesday Chess Club: https://www.remind.com/join/c68gd4 
• ♟️Thursday Chess Club: https://www.remind.com/join/g7b2kf2 

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 
• 🏀6-8 GIRLS Basketball: https://www.remind.com/join/a2k6e9 

TABLETOP ADVENTURE GAMING

4th-6th Grade Interest Form

This is an opportunity to learn & share the joy of role-playing games, foster creativity, develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.

• The club meets on Mondays from 3-4:15 PM, in the library. Starting Monday November 3. Last Day March 23, 2026
• No school days 11/24, 12/22, 12/29, 1/19, 1/26, 2/16
• There is no fee for participation.
• Parents are responsible for transportation of students after the club ends. 
• Pick up at the Main Entrance at 4:15. Being late for pickup twice (after 4:30) will result in your student being unable to continue to participate.
• Returning players get priority so campaigns can keep rolling without breaking the story. RPGs are all about continuity, and it’s way more fun when characters and plots can grow over time. That said, any open spots go into a lottery, so new players still have a fair shot to jump in! 
• ALL Students interested in participating should have this form filled out by 10 am Tuesday Oct 28th
• Any questions? Please contact Ms Wanta at wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us 

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

September Meeting Minutes : HERE

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

Thank you to all that participated in the Cousins and Papa John’s Fundraiser!~

SAVE THE DATE:

Upcoming Restaurant Fundraisers

Lou Malnati’s November 13

Saz’s State House December 11

~We are thrilled to announce that MacDowell Montessori is partnering with the locally run Milwaukee Maker School Fundraiser to bring you an opportunity to shop locally this holiday season while also giving back to the efforts and initiatives of our PTO. This initiative is designed to support our school while celebrating creativity, innovation and community spirit.

The fundraiser features a variety of local makers and artisans offering unique products that are perfect for everyone on your holiday shopping list through a single e-commerce fundraising website. By participating, you’ll not only find fantastic items, but also contribute directly to our school programs and resources. 40% of every purchase will be donated back to the school, and these funds will help us reimburse teacher funds, provide field trip transportation, contribute to swim lesson costs, prom, social events and more.

Families will find a direct link and QR code on our FB page on the morning of October 20th when the fundraiser officially goes live (Oct 20-Nov 2). The sales webpage will be shared in next week’s newsletter after sales have begun. We encourage you to share this link with family, friends and neighbors who might also be interested in shopping local while supporting our school – even if they are out of town, orders can be shipped. Pick-up orders will be ready the first week of December at the school with $6 shipping available.

Start making your gift idea list now! Thank you! 

 

LINKS: October Newsletter, September issue, Required by Law, Viewing explicit or violent content, ChatGPT updated parental controls, Snapchat guide to digital safety

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED TO OUR TEACHER MEAL WEDNESDAY NIGHT OF CONFERENCES!!

The selection and spread was fantastic! The teachers were so grateful and pleased with the support and generosity of our families. Your donations helped boost them through a successful second night of conferences.

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. 

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

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

September IB Newsletter

Successful Book Fair Sales!

Thank you to all the families and staff who made purchases at our Book Fair, there were sales of over $4700! Rainbow Booksellers gives back 25% of purchases to support our library program. We are so grateful to Mary Beth’s continued support of MacDowell’s Book Fair! Thank you also to the volunteers who helped with set up, sales, book viewing, supervising and take down: Katie Plautz, Suzie Considine, Keri Whitmore, Kim Michels, Samantha Hofmann, and Kristen Gunderson. MacDowell’s supportive families purchased over 150 books for primary, elementary classrooms, plus many new books for the library that will be processed for circulation soon!! Some of the proceeds from this book fair will be used to purchase supplies to support our book repair station, like a cutting board, rotary cutter, and special glue and tape to repair damaged books. Last year’s book fair proceeds purchased a fancy Demco Cover One machine that can reglue the spines of well-loved books, giving them new life! We have already repaired 17 books in the two days our repair station has been open. Thank you MacDowell Community ! ♥️

MacDowell  Spotlight

HIGH SCHOOL BOOK TASTING: Welcome to Café MacDowell!

9th- and 10th-grade students at MacDowell enjoyed a Book Tasting – a fun and creative library orientation with a delicious twist! Students sampled a variety of genres and formats, exploring new reads at tables set with menus, placemats, and stacks of books. The result? A total of 216 books were checked out in just two days.