Upcoming Events / Meetings

SPRING CONFERENCES

March 17th and 19th

3:45 – 7:30pm

Sign up link below

BOOKFAIR

Monday, March 17th 3:30-7:30pm

Wednesday, March 19th 3:30-7:30 pm

3rd Floor Library

SEC MEETING (School Engagement Council)

Wednesday, March 19th

5:00 pm

ALL VOICES WELCOME !

Location: TBD

PTO MEETING

Wednesday, March 19th

5:30pm

NO SCHOOL 

March 21st – 28th

Conference Day and Spring Break

SPRING PICTURE DAY

Tuesday, April 1st

PTO APRIL RESTAURANT FUNDRAISER – ARTISAN RAMEN

Tuesday, April 8th

SPRING MUSICAL – ONCE ON THIS ISLAND JUNIOR 

April 9th and 11th 

Check the MacDowell webpage calendar for future events.https://mps.school/macdowell/calendar/

Save the Date: 

Spring Open House – May 8, 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Middle School / High School Spring Concert – May 22nd

Elementary Spring Concert – May 29th

Spring Conference sign ups are OPEN: https://tinyurl.com/5fhpsmuy

Monday slots are filling up – be sure to check the link and sign up for your student’s teachers. 

DONATIONS / VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

TACOS FOR TEACHERS: NEXT WEEK !!

Still some items needed.

On Wednesday, March 19th we will again 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/2d3autf2 

 ~Families have been tremendous supporters in the past – your generosity is immensely appreciated, Thank You!

 

Still craving some Girl Scout Cookies?  

Troop 13024 will be selling cookies at conferences March 19th. Please support your local building troops. 

Cookies will be $6 per box with the following cookie options: Adventurefuls, Trefoils (AKA Shortbreads), Caramel deLites, Toast-yays, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Lemonades, and Thin Mints.  

BOOKFAIR

We continue to partner with an outstanding local business, Rainbow Booksellers, to bring a book fair to MacDowell for our students and families. We will host our spring Book Fair on both nights of conferences. All families are welcome to visit the fair during any of the posted hours. Rainbow Booksellers brings a wonderful selection of books for our fair and graciously donates 25% of the sales to support our library!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Check slots for specific times – there are daytime and after-school hours available!

Volunteers are essential in making our book fair a great success! We need helpers to set up the fair, to supervise the Book Fair inventory during open circulation time, and also to work as sales assistants and cashiers during the Book Fair. Please take a look at the shifts available and sign up if you can do so. Your time and assistance are greatly appreciated! 

The daytime supervision slots were added with the hope that the library can remain open for circulation while the Book Fair is set up. These daytime volunteers would monitor the book fair setup to ensure our inventory count is accurate at the end of the sale.

Thank you!!

Sign up link: https://tinyurl.com/volunteerbookfair25

School Engagement Council

Please schedule your conferences so you can join Principal Corona and Ms. Jaeger at the School Engagement Council (SEC) meeting on Wednesday March 19th at 5:00pm. These monthly meetings are presented by Principal Corona, where she shares and discusses school climate. Topics include attendance, discipline trends, test scores, staffing and budget. Stay informed about MacDowell Montessori and join us, ALL are welcome. Allow your voice to be heard. 

Notes From Your Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

Next Meeting – March 19th 5:30pm 

(after the SEC meeting led by Principal Corona)

February PTO meeting minutes : HERE

Restaurant Fundraisers

Artisan Ramen – April 8th

Parent Pick Up Reminder: BUS ZONE

Reminder-

Families that pick up students ARE NOT to park on the west side of the school. That street is for bus parking ONLY. Cars have crept up the block and are preventing our buses from pulling into their pickup zone. 

Please park on Fairview or 64th Street.

Where’s the Bus? App

Student safety is a top priority in MPS. District families now have access to an exciting app to help track their child’s bus—WheresThe Bus! This app allows families to track their child’s bus in real time. 

The app is free! Families can access WheresThe Bus from any internet-enabled device—smartphone, tablet, PC, or iPad. Apple iOS and Android apps are available. 

To access WheresThe Bus, families must have a Campus Parent (parent portal) account with a login and password. These can be set up two ways: 

• At each child’s school during regular school hours; an ID is required; OR
• At MPS Central Services, 5225 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, WI 53208, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; an ID is required

Learn more and read how to access the app on the MPS website at WheresTheBus.

SPRING PHOTO DAY: 

Spring Photos are different from traditional school photos – they are meant to be more fun and informal and are not required to be taken. Only students who have ordered Spring Photos online in advance, or brought the order form back to school, will be sent to the library for photography. If you would like to order online, please use our mylifetouch.com Picture Day ID: EVTD77T3Z and inform your child’s teacher.

DON’T FORGET: PRE ORDER YEARBOOKS – Final Order Date March 31st!!!

We are taking preorders for our school yearbooks! All students who had their photo taken will be in their classroom / grade level layout in this yearbook. We create two separate yearbooks, one for K3-6th grade students & one for 7-12th grade students. Yearbooks are delivered at the end of the school year. There are separate yearbook order links for each yearbook, please see order information below:

• K3-6th grade yearbooks will cost $15 – order online at ybpay.com code is     14324525
• 7-12th grade yearbooks will cost $25 –  order online at ybpay.com code is 15393925

Middle and High School Updates

IB UPDATE

IB Learner Profile of the Month

There are 10 learner profile traits which describe a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. This month we are spotlighting: Open-Minded: Students that are open-minded critically appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. They seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and they are willing to grow from the experience.

Naia Nash, 9th grade, was nominated and voted for the month of February by staff as a student that shows what it takes to be open-minded. Naia embodied this attribute during our Washington D.C. trip. She seemed to soak up all the knowledge, sites, and wouldn’t hesitate to ask questions about what she was seeing. Even considering the fact that the weather wasn’t great (snowstorm, rain, cold), she was still appreciative of this new first time experience of being out of state for a school trip. 

Congrats Naia!

You can find this and more in the February IB Newsletter HERE

2025 PreACT District Testing Day April 8

District PreACT day will be an all-school attendance day. Students should arrive at school at their regular start time to allow testing to be completed in a timely manner.

Growing Readers DONATION REQUEST-

Middle School teacher, Mr. Gioia has started implementing Solo Time in his advisory on Wednesdays to help encourage students to read, who aren’t naturally drawn to read for leisure. He is looking to build a small collection of magazines and newspapers to encourage students who might feel intimidated by long books to engage with reading something shorter and maybe align more with their interests. 

Please consider donating any old magazines your household no longer needs. Below is a list of some popular magazines parents might have that could be appropriate. Mr. Gioia’s students can bring to his class; other families: feel free to bring to Ms. Jaeger or Ms. Raasch in the library and we will distribute them to teachers. 

Thanks so much for your help!

• TIME for Kids
• The Week Junior
• Smithsonian Magazine
• National Geographic Kids
• National Geographic
• Scholastic News
• Junior Scholastic
• Popular Science
• Scientific American
• Discover Magazine
• Astronomy Magazine
• Cobblestone (American History)
• Smithsonian Air & Space
• BBC History
• Muse (History, Science, & Culture)
• Sports Illustrated for Kids
• ESPN Magazine
• Runner’s World
• SLAM (Basketball)
• Game Informer (Video Games)
• Art, Design & Creativity:
• The New York Times Upfront (Teen-Focused News & Issues)
• The Week (General News)
• Junior Scholastic (Current Events for Middle Schoolers)
• New York Times Learning Network (Select Articles & Student Editions)
  

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Save the Date

Junior / Senior Prom

May 31st

Sports and Activities Update

ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS

Uniform Return Time

For 1st-5th Basketball & 6th-8th Volleyball the end of the season is here. Please return uniforms ASAP.

⚽🎾🏃⚽🎾🏃⚽🎾🏃⚽🎾🏃⚽🎾🏃⚽

1st-8th Grade Spring Sports Interest Form

Starting next school year, we will be transitioning to an online interest form. Please give it a try this season. Paper interest forms will also be handed out for the spring season. Any questions? Comments? Contact Ms Wanta at wantalm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us 

Scan QR Code for an online Google Form

https://forms.gle/VKVGt8Mz9ojtHzAt7 

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 

Winter Sports Remind Links

• 6-8 Cheerleading: https://www.remind.com/join/29f846 
• 6-7 BOYS Basketball: https://www.remind.com/join/74af88a 
• 6-8 BOYS Basketball: https://www.remind.com/join/ce2kk4   

Club Remind Links

• Tuesday Chess Club: https://www.remind.com/join/c68gd4 
• Thursday Chess Club: https://www.remind.com/join/g7b2kf2 
• MS/HS Chess Club: https://www.remind.com/join/chessmsh 
• Tabletop Adventure Gaming: https://www.remind.com/join/8e39k3f 

HIGH SCHOOL SPRING SPORTS – 

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

Registration is open NOW 

See flyer HERE

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

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

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

Summer Academy

Enrollment for MPS Summer Academy has begun. Register by May 26th. MacDowell will be the site for K5-8th grade Montessori Academy. More information and registration can be found at mpsmke.com/summeracademy 

🌷Montessori at Home- Spring🌷

FINE MOTOR SKILL TUNING

Tasks to help your child build fine motor skills are critical in their journey toward writing with a pencil.  With our society’s ever growing use of technology children are not engaging in activities to help grow their fine motor skills at home as often as they used to.  The development of these skills however are very important in assisting children in holding the pencil correctly, being able to move a pencil to write and having enough hand strength to write for any extended period of time.  If you would like to give your child more ways to build their fine motor skills at home here are some ways that you can do that!

• pouring liquids-to help serve food or just for practice
• using spoons- mixing food, transferring things from bowl to bowl
• playing with playdough 
• stringing beads-on string, yarn or pipe cleaners
• buttoning clothes, zipping clothes, snapping clothes
• sponge squeezing- to help with cleaning or in a bowl 
• building with blocks or legos
• hand crafts like weaving or sewing
• painting 
• doing puzzles
• planting or working in the garden
• clipping items with clothes pins
• crafts- especially those that involve cutting

Spring Testing

MPS students in grades 3-11 will take part in state testing this spring. The district is required to use standardized exams to measure student achievement in English language arts, math, science, and social studies. The type of test and testing dates vary by grade level.

For a complete schedule and more information, download a family letter.

Spring Testing Letter – English and Spanish

MacDowell Spotlight

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PERFORMANCE- February 28th: A Tribute to Quincy Jones

NATURE’S CLASSROOM INSTITUTE – Upper Elementary

**PARTICIPANTS- please check the lost and found for snowpants, gloves, shoes, laundry and SO MUCH MORE!!!  A lot of items were brought back that were left in the dormitories.

Last week 87 MacDowell 4th-6th graders attended Nature’s Classroom Institute. Despite a day of rainy, cold weather they had a fun time learning in the environment. Activities included squid dissection, hikes, team building exercises, country creation, yoga, making fire, folklore, Ellis Island education and more.

QUICK LINKS:

MPS School Calendar

2025-2026 MPS School Calendar

School Website

Staff Emails

IB Newsletter – February

Lunch Menu