MacArthur’s Planting Day

MacArthur School is growing!
Yes, vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs.  Our planting day on May 14^thwas a huge success….from seed to plant!  Every grade level participated in building the raised beds, filling in the dirt and planting the seeds and seedlings.  Our enthusiastic volunteers came from Zurich Insurance who also supported our project financially, the American Heart Association  who instituted the program and videotaped our adventure, and the PTA who helped with the plant sale and supervising.  On hand for our dedication ceremony was Mayor McLeod with village trustees, Mary Kay Prusnick from the school board and parents, staff and children.   In addition, Mr. Johnson will be working on a fence to protect our beautiful garden.  We have received a large donation from Schaumburg’s Auto Body Shop to pay for our fence materials.  Please sign up to care for our garden during one week during summer vacation!  We will be looking forward to Harvest Day in the fall!

Wait until we see our plants in the fall!

Mac Update

Dear MacArthur Community,

Thank you so much to our PTA and parents for all the nice treats, fruit, and flowers that make our staff feel so special this week. We are all so grateful to work in such a wonderful community. Many thanks to Mrs. Mangino for running such a great Plant Sale to support the MacArthur PTA.

On Thursday, we held our Second Annual District 54 Speech Contest. Over 80 students entered the contest and there were 12 finalists chosen from six schools in District 54. Everyone in attendance was so impressed with the quality and level of preparation of all the finalists. Congratulations to the following winners from MacArthur:

3/4  Native Speaker

Jessica E.  2^nd place
Lupita O. 3^rd place

5/6  Native Speaker

Sebastian R.  1^st place

5/6 Spanish as a Second Language

Anna M. 2^nd place
Tara S. 3^rd place

MacArthur Alumni, Juan S., Lauren S., Joey T. and Andy H., currently students at Eisenhower Jr. High, were also winners.

We are looking forward to our first planting day on Monday, May 14^th. Please be sure to send your child to school in clothing and shoes that can get dirty because everyone is going to have a part in planting the garden. Our AM kindergarten friends will be planting their seedlings on Tuesday morning after the beds are built and filled. Please stop by the dedication ceremony at 2:30 if you are available.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms in our MacArthur Community. Enjoy a great day.

Danette

Golden Apple Award Winner – Miss Barba

Dear MacArthur Community,

We are so glad to share with you the fantastic news that Miss Barba was awarded the Golden Apple for excellence in teaching. As you know, Miss Barba was selected from over 560 nominees as a finalist for the Golden Apple. Today, members from the Golden Apple Foundation came to MacArthur to surprise Miss Barba with the announcement that she is one of the ten winning teachers. Mayor McLeod, Hoffman Village Trustees, the District 54 School Board and Cabinet along with Miss Barba’s family were there to share in the celebration with the students and staff. Click here for the article in the Trib local for photos and quotes from Miss Barba and for the posting on the School District 54 Website.

On May 17th, the District 54 School Board will recognize Miss Barba for this achievement at the School Board meeting held at 7:00 p.m. at the District Office. Please feel welcome to attend in support of Miss Barba and MacArthur School.

Many thanks to the parents, students and staff who helped us plan this special surprise event.

Danette

Celebrate Reading and Writing Night – Tuesday, May 1st – 6:00 PM

Dear MacArthur Community,

Writing, editing, illustrating, and publishing….our students have been hard at work preparing their books to share with you during our Celebrate Reading and Writing Event on Tuesday May 1^st at 6:00 p.m.  Flyers were sent home on Friday with details about all the great events our staff has planned and the entertainment provided by our PTA.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our first MacArthur Teaching Garden with your plant sale orders. These funds will help us purchase plants to put into the planting beds that are provided by the American Heart Association that our students will assemble, fill and plant on May 14^th – our first Planting Day. With the help of PTA, we are raising funds for a fence for our garden. If you did not have a chance to donate and would still like to, we will be selling paper pickets for $1.00 on Tuesday evening and at other events to support the fence purchase.

As students continue MAP testing next week, please continue to support your child to be sure that he or she gets plenty of rest and have a  good breakfast. The students have been working so hard to show all that they have learned this year.

As a final note of good news, forty-two MacArthur students are recipients of the District 54 Foundation Memorial Scholarship Grants to participate in enrichment activities over the summer. A big thank you to all the MacArthur staff and especially to Mrs. Janes and Ms. Carabajal for their support in helping families complete the applications.

Enjoy a great weekend.

Danette

Goodies with Grandparents – This Friday, April 13th

Dear MacArthur Community,

We are looking forward to seeing our MacArthur grandparents on Friday, April 13 for Goodies with Grandparents. Grandparents can enjoy some breakfast treats with their grandchildren at 8:00 a.m. and then visit their grandchild’s classroom. Please be sure to send in your RSVP by tomorrow to let our PTA know how much food to order.

School District 54 and the Schaumburg Park District will present a multicultural fair from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2012, at the Community Recreation Center, 505 N. Springinsguth Road in Schaumburg. The event’s theme is A Garden of Diversity – Celebrating Our Community’s Cultures. MacArthur’s dance groups and groups of our Spanish Language Learners from our Dual Language primary classes will be performing. We hope to see many of you there.

The Hoffman Estates High School Community Literacy Outreach Barnes & Noble Bookfair is scheduled for April 14th. All proceeds will benefit District 54 literacy programs. To maximize the fundraiser potential we have also coordinated with Fuddruckers for a Books and Burgers fundraiser on the same day. If you are unable to make it the Barnes & Noble Bookfair is good for online purchases, just put in the Bookfair ID when checking out.

Bookfair flyer

Fuddruckers flyer

Finally, we are always so glad to have our PTA and parent volunteers here helping in our building. Please be sure to come into the office  and sign in so that we know you are here. This is for your safety in case of an emergency and necessary for the safety of our students. Also, there is a lunch cart by the front office in case your child forgets his or her lunch at home. Please do not walk down to your child’s classroom to deliver the lunch or put it in your child’s locker since this can distract children from learning and most of our students share a locker with another child. Thank you in advance for your help in maintaining a safe and productive learning environment.

Danette

Welcome Back & Happy New Year 2012 from the MacArthur Staff!

Happy New Year from the MacArthur Staff!

Spanish Speech Contest / Concurso Anual de Oratoria

MacArthur School is hosting a Spanish Language Speech Contest. Students in grades 3rd through 8th are eligible. Application, speech drafts written by applicant himself/herself, and video recordings no more than 3 minutes (one video recording per participant) must arrive at Macarthur School by April 11, 2012. The maximum length for speech drafts is 2 pages. The paper for speech drafts and application forms are now available online at http://macarthur.sd54.org.  The finalists will be notified via mail by April 25, 2012.

Spanish Language Speech Contest Flyer

Spanish Speech Contest English Application

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La escuela MacArthur será anfitrión este año del Concurso Anual de Oratoria. Los estudiantes de 3er a 6to grado pueden participar.  Forma de inscripción, borrador del discurso escrito por el concursante, y una grabación de video de no más de 3 minutos (un video por participante) debe llegar a MacArthur School para el 11 de Abril del 2012. El discurso debe ser de dos páginas. La forma para participar esta disponible en la Internet http://macarthur.sd54.org.  Los finalistas serán notificados por correo para el 25 de Abril, 2012.

Panfleto del concurso

Aplicación en español

Help Websites for Reading and Math Practice

Want your child to keep up with his or her math and reading skills throughout the school year?  We have put together a list of websites that are frequently used in the classrooms that your child can access at home. Click on the link below to access our recommendations.

Teacher Recommended Student-Friendly Websites