Mackay Newsletter

Dear Mackay Families,

We had a wonderful Halloween here at Mackay, and we are already feeling thankful! It was great to see so many of you last week at our Trunk or Treat and our Halloween parade. Special thanks to our HSA and all of the parents who were involved in the planning and preparation, decorated a car, and came to support the HSA! November is a great month for family time and reflecting on how lucky we are to have such an amazing Mackay family.

November is one of my favorite months of the year at school because we are in full swing with our curriculum, our classroom communities and students are growing and thriving. We are almost 40 days into school, and students have their routines down and expectations are clear. With this can come complacency, so it is important that we continue to follow all of the rules and guidelines in place regarding safety, attendance and behavior. We have noticed that a large number of students are leaving school early for various reasons. While we always try to accommodate your schedules, early dismissals are disruptive to your child’s learning and students should not be leaving school before 3:10 without a valid reason that cannot be avoided. Please make every effort to schedule doctor visits and other appointments outside of the school day.

Please also label your child’s sweatshirts, coats and water bottles. We are really trying to keep our lost and found items to a minimum! Help us help you and your child’s things by labeling them! As a reminder, student lunches should not be delivered during the school day.

I hope you will join me for our first Mrs. Chizzik’s Chat and Chew of the year on November 17th at 8:45 A.M. in the library. This is a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about curriculum, Mackay happenings, etc.

I hope you enjoy both the Teachers’ Convention days off as well as the Thanksgiving holiday with your wonderful families. I hope to see you at the Turkey trot on Nov 19th.

Happy November everyone!

Heidi Chizzik

Principal

1st place: Neda 5G and Layla 3R

2nd place: Sol 4R
3rd Place: Emma 3R

Alma KM

Siyoon KM

Hilo 4B
Ray 3R and Richard KM
Goni 5A
Ellie 3W
Tyler 3W and Chloe KM

Tuesday, November 17th

8:45 -10 AM in the Mackay Library

Come ask questions, express concerns, and chat with our school principal!

Please enter through the main entrance.

Happy November, Mackay Families!

We are happily rolling along and getting into the groove of the school year! At Mackay, we believe that small acts of kindness can make a BIG difference in creating a warm, caring environment. Our 5th Grade Peace Builders have been spreading messages of kindness by welcoming our new students in grades 1–5. They created personalized welcome bags filled with all sorts of goodies to help each student feel at home in our school community.

Character education lessons are also underway! I have been making my way through the grade levels, bringing lessons into classrooms where we explore different ways to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Students have learned:

• Our words matter and have the power to impact others

• Strategies for standing up for others if they see someone being treated unkindly

• How even one small act of kindness can make a BIG difference

Throughout these lessons, we continue to reinforce an important message:

Treat Others the Way YOU Want to Be Treated.

As we glide into November, it is the perfect time to focus on gratitude! Our Peace Builders will visit classrooms to lead a brief activity encouraging students and staff to reflect on what they are thankful for. Taking a few simple moments to recognize the good in our lives can help foster a more positive mindset and strengthen our sense of connection and appreciation for one another.

Wishing you a November filled with kindness, gratitude, and opportunities to make someone’s day a little brighter (and hopefully, your day will be a little brighter in the process)!

With Gratitude,

Mrs. Angerson

In November, students will begin their Literature and Informational Text and Digital Literacy units. All grade levels will focus on nonfiction reading and explore a variety of informational texts in the library as part of KNOWvember! Students will practice identifying and evaluating credible sources to help them find accurate and reliable information. We will strengthen our digital citizenship skills by learning how to stay safe and make responsible choices both online and offline.

Best,
Ms. Brenzel

Although Halloween is on the last day of October, music is getting a little spooky and a whole lot of fun this November!

In general music, our upper-grade students are going trick-or-treating with candy rhythms! Students are using the names of their favorite candies to create rhythmic patterns and compose their own musical treats. Are we composing or de-composing? Either way, we are making some sweet music!

We are also turning our attention to Veterans Day and exploring the patriotic music that honors the brave men and women who have served our country. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect music with history and appreciation.

For our band, chorus, and orchestra students, please remember that arriving on time for early morning rehearsals and coming to lessons prepared and ready to go are important parts of being a successful musician. Keep practicing your concert music at home so you can perform your absolute Mackay best!

Our winter concert is right around the corner on December 17, and we cannot wait to share all of our hard work with you!

Musically,

Mrs. DeJoseph

Mr. Fugaban

-Mr. Arias

This month in the art room we are finishing up our designs for our dream playgrounds! We are helping design what could be the new playground for Mackay.

We are learning the compositional components of a landscape including elements such as foreground, middleground, background, and horizon line. We are hoping to see our dream playgrounds come true one day in the near future!

Until next month!

Ms. Bracero

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