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

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

Mac Update

Dear MacArthur Community,

It was a showcase week for MacArthur talent. Miss Bamzai led our 3^rd and 4^th grade students in two beautiful concerts these past weeks. Thank you to all the parents and extended families that come to watch and support the students. On Saturday, the primary dance group and folkloric dance group performed at the District 54 – Schaumburg Park District Multicultural Fest.

Please be sure your child gets plenty of sleep on and a good breakfast these next two weeks because we will start MAP testing this Monday, April 23 and continue until May 4. We are all so excited to see the results of the students’ hard work and effort in meeting their goals.

Please be sure to open the attached link for this week’s issue of MacNews. It contains information on upcoming events and activities. We are looking forward to seeing you at Mac soon.

April 23^rd – “ Art to Remember”  orders due

April 24^th – 5^th/6^th grade art night – ceramic tile painting

May 1^st- Celebrate Reading and Writing

May 14^th – MacArthur’s Planting Day

Have a wonderful weekend.

Danette

Newsletter English 042012

Newsletter Spanish 042012

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

Principal’s Message – April 5th, 2012

Dear MacArthur Community,

It was so nice to see the students back from Spring Break and hear about their adventures at home or their  travels with family. Thank you so much to those of you who have returned your registration materials for the coming year already. Please remember that they are due by April 13.

In order to reduce the size of our e-mails in your inbox, we are now including a link to MacNews on the MacArthur website. Please be sure to click on the link below to connect to this week’s MacNews for information regarding upcoming events such as Celebrate Reading and Writing on May 1^st and MacArthur’s first all school planting day on May 14^th. We are hopeful that you can support our Teaching Garden by volunteering to help on planting day, by ordering flowers and plants through the PTA plant sale or by donating for the purchase of seedlings.  With this fantastic weather, you may be inspired to start a garden at home with your children whether in your yard or in containers on your balcony or patio.

Please remember that there is no school on Friday, April 6. I hope you all enjoy this weekend with your families.

Danette

MacNews in English

MacNews in Spanish

Spring Break

Dear MacArthur Community,

It was so nice to see so many parents in the building for the Spring parties! This is a day the kids have been looking forward to and they truly appreciate all you do to kick off a great Spring Break.

We are so glad to share the exciting news the Miss Barba, one of our third grade dual language teachers, has been selected as a Golden Apple Finalist. The Golden Apple is a very selective award and Miss Barba was one of thirty-two finalists of over 500 teachers nominated throughout the Chicagoland area! She will be honored at an award ceremony in Chicago on April 21^st.

We have also received word that MacArthur School has received a $250 grant from the Schaumburg CAN (Children, Activity, Nutrition) partnership to support our family fitness nights. This is great news that supports the work of our staff and PTA efforts to work together for the health and wellness of the MacArthur community.

Finally, please check your child’s backpack before hanging it up for the week. Included is information on our class placement process for the coming year along with a request for your input in that process. If you would like to write a letter, please be sure to return it to school by April 9^th.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Spring Break with your families and that the great weather continues. Please be sure to find time to read to your children and encourage them to read every day over the break. We are looking forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday, April 2nd.

Danette

Mac News – las noticias de Mac- March 16th

Dear MacArthur Community,

What a beautiful day! The morning got off to a great start with our pancake breakfast to celebrate the students’ achievement of reaching their Bear Buck goal and the end of ISAT testing. Thank you so much to our staff and our parent volunteers for cooking and serving over 1,000 pancakes in record time. A special thanks to Dr. Perez, Mrs. Lipman and the PBIS team for organizing the event. The students were just wonderful and so many said thank you to our volunteers. We know that comes from your efforts at home to teach respect and gratitude. We also saw the important traits of hard work and perseverance in your children during ISAT testing this week. We are very proud of the students’ effort and we will be looking forward to sharing the scores with you in the fall.

• If you are a parent of a 6^th grade student, please consider attending the 6^th Grade Farewell Planning Meeting to be held on Tuesday, March 20^th in the teacher’s lounge at 6:30 p.m. If you are a parent interested in volunteering, please attend. You can contact PTA president, Mikel Eppenbaugh, with any questions.
• On Wednesday, March 21^st at 6:00 p.m., Abel Montoya, Director of Outreach Operations at Illinois Student Assistance Commission, will present to parents on planning and paying for college. We are very fortunate to have Mr. Montoya, who does not represent a financial institution, coming to MacArthur to speak with us and answer our questions in English and Spanish. It is never too early to get the college conversation started and learn about financial aid opportunities.

Please open the attached MacNews for more information about our 5^th and 6^th grade college and career week, information on the PTA scholarship program, and other MacArthur events and activities.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day weekend. We had a record of five classrooms showing 100% green in the Student Council’s competition. It looks we’ll have many a lucky leprechaun enjoying their Green River party next week!

Danette

Mac News – March 16th Edition

las noticias de Mac – 16 de marzo

Monday’s Road Closure

Dear MacArthur Community,

Our 3^rd-6^th grade students have done a great job on their ISAT tests this week. They have been focused on doing their best thanks to your support at home. We will continue testing next week so please make sure your child gets enough rest especially with the time change on Sunday.

You may want to leave extra early or plan a different route to school this Monday. We have received word from the Village of Hoffman Estates that Hillcrest Boulevard at the intersection of Heather Lane will be closed to thru traffic on Monday, March 12^th for the entire working day.  Local traffic will still be able to access Hillcrest Boulevard from Chippendale Road and Jones Road, but will not be able to drive thru the intersection of Heather Lane.

Plans are underway for our Pancake Breakfast for the students on March 16^th. Please call the office at 847-357-6650 if you have a half hour or more to help us on Friday morning. It will be a great way to celebrate the achievement of earning over 10,000 Bear Bucks last month and the end of ISAT testing. We could really use parent help and I guarantee you will have fun seeing the students celebrate.

A final note: We have many pairs of glasses here in the office. If your child is missing his or her glasses, please stop in to check our collection.

Have a great weekend!

Danette

“Rock the ISAT’s”

Dear MacArthur Community,

It was so wonderful to see so many families on Friday at the Family Dinner and Picture night. Thank you so much to Suzanne Fawbush and Mikel Eppenbaugh for planning the event and to all the parent volunteers. I can’t wait  to see the family pictures when they are delivered. Thank you also to Kristina Knapp for her work on the auction to support the Springfield trip for our ¾ and 4^th dual classes and to the staff and community for their support through donations of auction items.

We are looking forward to recognizing our students of the month at tomorrow’s assembly and to seeing if they met their 10,000 Bear Buck goal.  We are counting down the days for our students to “Rock the ISAT.” Thank you so much to all the parents who have already sent in letters of encouragement for their children taking ISAT in grades 3-6. If you have not sent a letter in, please be sure to print out the ISAT stationery and take a few minutes to write a letter of support for your child and send it in as soon as possible. It makes such a difference to them on Monday to see your letter just before they begin their tests and we are hoping for 100% parent participation.

Danette

Rock the ISAT – Parent letter in English

Rock the ISAT – Parent Letter in Spanish

MacArthur Update

Dear MacArthur Community,

Your kids have been hard at work this week writing quality responses to literature and describing the processes they use to solve math
problems as we prepare for ISAT testing for our 3^rd – 6^th grade students that begins March 5^th. We are again asking for you to
write a letter to your child to encourage your child to do his or her best on the test. The students are so excited to open and read your letters before they start their first exam. Please open the attachment for “Rock the ISAT” stationery for your letter and return it in a sealed envelope to your child’s teacher.

Also please open the attached MacNews for information about upcoming events including:

• February 21 – Fitness Night for 3^rd/4^th Grade Families
• February 24 – MacArthur Family Dinner and Picture Night held at Eisenhower Jr. High

Whether you come just for the picture or to enjoy the dinner and auction, we are hopeful that we will have a picture of each MacArthur family to
display in our school halls. If you would like to take a portrait home for your family, packages are available for purchase.

We are looking forward to kindergarten registration on Thursday, February 23. If you have a child entering kindergarten this fall, you will need
to register at your child’s base school. If your base school is MacArthur, youcan register between 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 pm or 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. If your child will attend MacArthur as a school of choice for the dual language program, you would need to register at your child’s base school and complete an application for the dual language program here.

I hope you all enjoy a great weekend. We hope you find time to read with your child each day – the most important factor in your child’s
success at school.

Danette