Middlebrook Lion's Link

There will be no school on Monday, September 7th, in observance of Labor Day. Labor Day is a national holiday that honors and celebrates the contributions and achievements of American workers. We hope our families enjoy this long weekend together and take some time to relax, recharge, and enjoy time with loved ones. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Tuesday, September 8th!

We are excited to welcome Sherri Hay, our new 10-month secretary, to the Middlebrook Elementary School community! We are so happy to have Sherri joining our office team and look forward to all she will bring to our school. We also want to extend our very best wishes to Silvana Wilzcek, our former 10-month secretary. We are grateful for all she has done for Middlebrook and wish her all the best in her next chapter.

We also welcome Sue Peters as our new PPS Secretary. Sue joins us following the departure of Colleen Schexnaildre, our former PPS Clerk, and we wish Colleen all the best moving forward. We are excited to have Sue as part of our school community and look forward to working with her!

Moving forward, when contacting the Middlebrook office by email, please include both Dawn Vega (dvegag@trumbullps.org) and Sherri Hay (shay@trumbullps.org) so that we can ensure your questions and messages are received and addressed promptly. For questions specifically related to PPS, please contact Sue Peters at speters@trumbullps.org.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Mrs. Picano, Principal

Ms. Molloy, Assistant Principal

SEPTEMBER

Monday, September 7th
No School - Labor Day

Tuesday, September 8th
BOE Meeting 7:00pm

Saturday, September 12th
Rosh Hashanah

Monday, September 14th
PTA Meeting 7:00pm

Tuesday, September 15th
Early Dismissal 1:00pm
National Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept. 15 - Oct. 15

Monday, September 21st
No School - Yom Kippur

Tuesday, September 22nd
First Day of Autumn

Thursday, September 24th
Picture Day

Tuesday, September 29th - Thursday, October 1st
Hearing/Vision Screenings - grades K-1 and 3-5

Middlebrook's Picture Day is scheduled for Thursday, September 24th. Robert Taylor Photography Studio will take individual and classroom photos and ordering will be done online. More information about purchasing photos will be coming soon.

Summer Reading & Math Google Form:-Form Closes 9/11/26

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DppiPmra6v6ut8YhBQMcN5asvt4ABlLx-9Giseo42ds/viewform?edit_requested=true

• K-5 Summer Reading Overview: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UpwsQjDisVIMPPb0MksMj5EjW4anpd4-/edit

• Summer Math: https://sites.google.com/trumbullps.net/trumbull-elementary-summer-mat/home

• First Selectman's Reading Challenge (Grades 4-5): https://drive.google.com/file/d/10XGmbsb_NF18fKG0A65l3XUXBzGmTniJ/view?usp=sharing

All individuals seeking to volunteer in the Trumbull Public Schools must complete a “School Volunteer Security Check” form prior to volunteering and forms must be completed annually.

Please use the form: Volunteer Form Tier 1

BusZone App: Please use the following link for information BusZone Directions. Please note: it may take a few days to make sure the app is working at its full capacity.

Lost Items on the Bus: Any items left on the bus are brought to the Bus Depot at the end of the day. Please call Durham at 203-261-4329.

The Middlebrook Strings Program (directed by Mrs. Savkovic) is open to students in grades 3, 4 and 5 and the Band Program (directed by Mr. Piraneo) is open to students in grades 4 and 5. More information will be available soon!

Elementary afternoon conferences are scheduled for October 27th and October 29th, which will be early release days for students. Evening conferences are scheduled for November 5th which is also an early release day. These conferences will give you an opportunity to learn more about your child’s effort and academic progress in school. This is also a chance to offer your insights about how your child learns best and to discuss ways to work together to ensure your child’s success at school.

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be scheduled using the on-line scheduling system,

School Appointments. Our sign-up window will open today at 4:00pm and will close Thursday, October 22nd at 12:00 PM-noon.

Parent Instructions on how to access School Appointments - use the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tsu2lEbuVbZS9ntyR1bBTHCUYPZJeHJEW2dE9BEE3f8/edit?usp=sharing

• Use the translate and accessibility buttons at the top of the page to make the newsletter format work for you.
• Previous newsletters are stored on our school website as the year progresses.
  
• Use the Table of Contents on the upper left side of the newsletter to quickly navigate to a specific section with just one click.
• Open the weekly newsletter before the weekend begins so your family is ready for all that is happening at Middlebrook and can relax Sunday night.
• Share the newsletter with your child.

Students in Grades 2 - 5 will begin our district-wide iReady testing. These tests measure a student's benchmark performance in the areas of literacy and mathematics. The assessments are spread over 2 days for each assessment. We encourage all students to put forth their best effort so we can obtain meaningful data so we can target each child's instructional needs.

I-Ready dates - grades 2-5

9/8/2026 - 9/30/2026

Students in Grades K - 3 will begin our districtwide DIBELS testing. DIBELS is a universal screener that asses the acquisition of foundational literacy skills.

DIBELS dates - grades K-3

9/14/2026 - 10/5/2026

Welcome back – below are a few important reminders to keep everyone safe, happy and healthy!

💊 Medications

If your student has a severe allergy or asthma, please bring their medication and completed authorization forms (dated within the last year) as soon as possible. Please, do NOT send medications in student backpacks.

🤒 When to Keep Your Child Home

Help us keep everyone healthy by keeping your child home if they have:

• A fever of 100°F or higher
• Vomited or had diarrhea in the past 24 hours
• A persistent cough
• Signs of a contagious illness (pink eye, flu-like symptoms, unknown rash, etc.)

📌 Reminder: Students must be fever-free for 24 hours without medication before returning to school.

👕 Extra Set of Clothes

Please pack an extra set of clothing (including socks and underwear) in your child’s backpack to keep in their locker. Accidents, nosebleeds, and wet playground slips do happen at all ages — and a change of clothes helps avoid discomfort or a call home.

🩺 Required Physicals

The following grades must submit updated physicals this school year:

• Kindergarten – Physical must be completed on or after your child’s 5th birthday
• Grade 3 – Physical must be completed between June 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027
• 
  

ü Please check your records and schedule annual well check appointments as needed!

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

LeAnn Creutzmann, RN, BSN
School Nurse | Middlebrook Elementary School

Email: LCreutzm@trumbullps.org or MiddlebrookNurse@trumbullps.org

Office: 203-452-4412
Hours: Monday–Friday | 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Miss Ferguson's 4th grade class engaged in a group activity to promote class community. The students passed a ball of yarn to each other in a circle. Students held onto "their piece" of string as the ball moved through the circle. By the end, they had created a beautiful design. To conclude the activity, the class discussed the importance of holding onto their part of the yarn to maintain the class design. Finally, the class related this to the importance of keeping up with their responsibilities to maintain a strong class community!

The CHET Dream Big! Competition launched on August 19, 2026! K-12 students in Connecticut have the opportunity to enter the Competition and be awarded a scholarship of up to $20,000 to help pay for their future education! Dream Big! is brought to you by the Connecticut State Treasurer’s Office as Trustee of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET).

This year, we will be awarding $350,000 in CHET 529 College Savings Plan account contributions to over 250 students in grades K-12 and technology prizes to schools. For the winning students, we will be awarding:

• Three prizes of $20,000
• 24 prizes of $5,000
• 240 prizes of $500

With the help of a parent or guardian, students will submit an answer to a grade-appropriate question about their dreams or how they could help their community. They can answer by submitting a drawing or painting, essay, or video, and must be included with an entry form.

Submissions must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. on November 6th. There is no cost to enter. For program details, rules and the entry process, visit: www.chetdreambig.com

Please join us at our first PTA meeting which will be held on Monday, September 14th at 7:00pm in the cafeteria. If you are unable to make it in person, you can log on via zoom

https://meet.google.com/zgk-fwtq-juk

The PTA Executive Board members::

Merrilee Ganim DeFarias and Haley McCarthy– Co-Presidents

Adrianna Andrade, and Jennifer Favichia, - Co-Vice Presidents
Mandy Gargano – Treasurer
Bari Mariani – Secretary

middlebrookpta@gmail.com

Middlebrook School Hours

Doors open at 8:20 AM

Regular School Hours: 8:35 AM - 3:20 PM

Early Dismissal Hours: 8:35 AM - 1:00 PM

Delayed Opening Hours

Early Dismissal Hours:

8:35 AM – 1:00 PM

Middlebrook WEBSITE LINK: https://mes.trumbullps.org