Mathewson Elementary School
PAWprint October 13, 2023
Hello Bulldog Families,
We hope you had a PAWmazing week. It is definitely starting to feel more like fall. Be sure to bundle up as we do get outside for recess when conditions are good. Fresh air is always a good thing. Thank you to our families that joined us for our PTA meeting on Tuesday night. Be sure to check out the flyers for Halloween Hoot and Parents Night Out below! We look forward to seeing you at conferences next week. Enjoy the weekend.
With Love,
Melissa Currier, Principal
Important Dates
*10/18: Wednesday, Early Release at 1:15 pm for Parent Teacher Conferences.
Conferences 1:45-4:45 pm by appt.
*10/19: Thursday, Early Release at 1:15 pm for Parent Teacher Conferences.
Conferences 5:30-8 pm by appt.
*10/20: Friday, Early Release at 1:15 pm for Parent Teacher Conferences
Conferences 1:45-4:45 by appt.
*10/25: Wednesday, Early Release at 1:25 pm for Professional Learning
*10/27: PTA Sponsored Halloween Hoot at night--see info
Upcoming Information to Know:
Robert Taylor Photo Order Info
Mathewson School prepay is now active until October 24th. If there are underclass siblings in the same school, then you may enter the next child's name after placing the first child's package in the cart.
Also note, Robert Taylor offers the underclass 3rd child free package for the same school. Use the prepay link, enter each child's name and select a package, once all 3 are in the cart, start to check out and the 3rd child will come up free. This is a special only available thru the end of the prepay period (Oct. 24th) and at the same school.
The link is listed below:
Mathewson photo prepay now active until Oct. 24.
Mathewson code is: mat23
Mathewson Costume Parade
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 9:15 am
Students will come to school in their costumes! Please have students wear their costumes over their regular clothes and bring a labeled bag for their costumes. (It's a long day to stay in your costume).
Children must have a costume appropriate for elementary school aged children. Gory/violent images are not good for our little ones.
No props, toy weapons, face masks, or make-up, etc., are allowed.
All guests must stay outside for the duration of the parade. If parents are assisting with a learning activity after the parade, it must be pre-arranged with the classroom teacher and we ask that you please wait until the parade is completely finished prior to entering.
We ask that families line up in the front lawn by the West River Street entrance or the side field of the school to get a great view of children marching . Parking will be limited so arrive early but not earlier than 9 am please this way buses can complete their drop off routines! Please use side streets for parking rather than the lot.
The parade will start from the back of the school and walk along the soccer field, and sidewalk all the way to the West River Street entrance. You will have plenty of photo opportunities. Please know we walk by grade level with a short break in between each grade so the next set of parents/guardians can be ready for their photo opp.
*Should there be inclement weather that morning, the parade will be held indoors. In that case we will only have enough space for all staff and students. We will be sure to post lots of pics on Twitter should this happen.*
Any family who does not wish their child to participate should contact the teacher in advance so that we may make appropriate arrangements.
We look forward to sharing this festive event with your children and family!
Minute Meetings For Grade 4 and 5 Students
We are excited to start Minute Meetings with all of our 4th and 5th graders this year. Minute meetings are brief, face-to-face conversations that our school counselor will have with each 4th and 5th grader in October and January. The purpose is to get to know our students better so we can best service their needs, and to make sure all of our students are connected in school and have someone to go to if they need support. School counselors get to know each child by asking them a few simple questions about their friends, what adult they go to if they need help, their challenges, and their interests. Our School Counselor, Mrs. DaCrosta, will not be back from maternity leave until mid-October so we will begin then. Please contact our school counselor if you have any questions about Minute Meetings and she will be happy to get back to you once she returns.
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Mathewson PTA News
Our next meeting is…..
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
IN PERSON in the Library
We will be offering child care (Foran, Law and Harborside Key Club Members)
Get excited Halloween Hoot is almost here!!!
Thanks to our highly successful fundraising efforts of Bulldog Run our Hoot is free to all Mathewson Families this year!
Please use this link to help make our event PAWsome!
We need all paws on deck!
We are excited to offer our first Mathewson Parents Night Out on 11/2!!
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Getting to Know Your Bulldog Staff!
Meet Mrs. Swaller, Kindergarten Teacher
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News Already Shared But Still Important….
We love to celebrate your child’s birthday and make holidays throughout the year special; however, we do not allow goodie bags of any kind to come into school. Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you wish to come in and be a guest reader for the class or hand out a pencil, crayons or bookmark instead. To ensure all items are safe for all children we just ask that a gift bag of any kind not come in for birthdays or holidays. Thank you.
Family Arrival and Dismissal Reminders (sent out in opening letter)
Student Absence Reporting Procedure:
The school attendance line is no longer the means for reporting student absence. A new requirement is for parents/guardians to fill out the Attendance Absence Form within PowerSchool any time their child is absent.
The procedure for notifying the school of your child’s early dismissal or late arrival is the same as previous years. If your child will be arriving/joining late or leaving early, please email the building secretary and classroom teacher.
This form must be completed on the day the child is absent and must be completed on each day
Absent. If you fill out the form more than once in a day, only the latest will be seen.
You can watch the steps below in this video:
The purpose of this form is to keep everyone safe and healthy by verifying the child’s symptoms.
1) Start by logging into PowerSchool (https://gradebook.milforded.org)
2) After logging in, click Forms in the left navigation.
Note: If you are on a phone’s browser and don’t see Forms at first, tap the little right-facing
arrow in the upper-left corner to show the left navigation.
3) If you have more than one child, make sure you click/tap the correct child’s name in the
upper-left corner first.
4) On the Forms page, look for the Attendance section. Click/tap the Attendance Absence Form -
Parents link.
Note: If the form never loads, please make sure you are not using the Firefox web browser.
5) Answer Yes or No to the questions and then click/tap Submit.
6) If you answer No for the following question “Even though your student is out sick today will
he/she be participating in class as a distance learner” a follow up question will appear.
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District News….
Check out this event! Community Conversation: Think Big! Dream Big! The link to an updated flyer is here: https://drive.google.com/file/...
Friendly Reminder: No Food or Drink on School Buses: Just a friendly reminder this year. Food and drinks are not allowed on our school buses when students are being transported to or from school. Consuming these items while in transit can cause a safety concern; your bus driver will be reminding you as the school year gets underway.
Chromebook Insurance: You Can Renew Right on the Parent Portal: Our low-cost Chromebook Insurance program is WELL worth the annual renewal fee ($25 per year). If you’ve got kids, then you already know there’s always the potential for something to happen to the Chromebook during the year: lost (~$230 replacement cost), replacement mainboard (~$90), cracked screen (~$40), broken hinges (~$15), or broken keyboard (~$60), just to name a few. For $25, you can have peace of mind and save a lot of aggravation when something goes wrong. You can reserve your Chromebook insurance right on your Parent Portal account. If you have any questions, please contact our BIDS dept. at (203) 783-3446.
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Community Connections Center News
This week's CCC News contains information and links for Milford's National Drug Take Back Day, CT FoodShare, CT Historical Barns Trail and the Riverton Country Fair.
Remember that the CCC Website is updated with links to community resources.
Have a Great Weekend!
To locate the CCC’s web page go to Milford’s main page and click on the Menu tab & scroll down under district Information to find the Community Connections Centers!
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Mary-Kathryn Williams, Coordinator
Milford Community Connection Centers
203-882-6094
Mwilliams@milforded.org
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@ BePAWsitiveMPS
