It has been another wonderful week at Mac El with some fantastic performances by our high school Next Level and Counterpoints groups. The students were all singing and clapping along, making it a great experience for everyone. We would also like to thank the Mac El PTO for organizing a fantastic Holiday Family Fun Night. It was wonderful to see so many families attend and participate in the activities. The event included making ornaments and bookmarks, coloring pictures, doing crafts, and enjoying cookies and punch. The highlight of the evening was the selfie booth - everyone enjoyed taking selfies and capturing the memories!

A reminder that next week will be a short week with only three days. If your child will be absent during any of those days, please make sure to inform the school. Students will be taking Chromebooks home over the break in case of any winter weather in January. Chromebooks may continue to be sent home on a daily basis depending on the weather.

Finally, we wish you all a wonderful break and hope you get to relax and enjoy time with family during the holidays. We will see you next year ... Jan. 4, 2024!

This week has been an exciting week! Students saw the high school choir perform for us and had many fun dress-up days this week with a lot of participation by students and staff. As your child might have informed you, I will take a pie in the face by an elf on Wednesday, Dec. 20th, during each grade level lunch as they have raised money for The Miami County FOP Coin War! Lastly, congratulations to the following students as the Brave of the Week: Keegan Belzer, Max Rojo-Aguirre, Alex Howard, and Sawyer Beitz! Have a great winter break and BRAVE PRIDE!!

All students from all grade levels participated in guided meditation. During the lesson, they learned techniques to control their breathing and visualize calming scenes to help them gain better control over their bodies and minds. Many students were so relaxed that they even fell asleep during the 6-minute meditation. This highlights the importance of providing students with such relaxation techniques to help them cope with stress. These techniques can also be used when they are feeling stressed at home. The small groups that were initiated at the beginning of the semester have now come to an end. New groups will be forming for the second semester.

Chromebooks and chargers are being sent home on the last day of school for the semester. This is being done as a precaution should we have a weather-related virtual day when we return from break. Please keep the Chrome Book in a safe place and make sure students bring them back when we return to school. These are school-owned devices and are intended for school use only. Please do not allow siblings or other people to use their Chromebooks.

Should we have a virtual learning day, please refer to the link below and on our website for the Virtual Instruction Learning Plan. Your child's teacher has reviewed this, and students should know how to access the Google Meet. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions.

December

• 12/1 - 12/20 - December Dress-Up Days (see calendar below)
• 12/19 - 5th grade Field Trip - Children's Museum
  
• 12/20 - End of 2nd 9 weeks
• 2nd-grade celebration - Polar Express Movie & Popcorn
• 12/21 - 1/3/24 - Winter Break

January

• 1/4/24 - Classes begin - 2nd semester
• 1/8 - 1/19 - iReady Mid-Year Diagnostic Testing Window
• 1/11 - 2nd marking period Report Cards sent home

We assist those in need in our community with food, gas vouchers, utility bills, rent, prescription assistance and many other essentials. Call us at (765) 472 -1875 and we will gladly walk you through the steps on how to become an eligible beneficiary. Se habla español

Keep conversations open about their day and encourage them to share things they learned today, something they read, or someone they helped today. Ask them what is something hard they want to keep learning and improving on. Together we can encourage them to keep working hard because they have the ability to learn with hard work, they can do it!

As it is the season for weather to change rapidly, please watch the temperature and make sure your child has a jacket, gloves, hat, etc. If you do not have these things for your child, please contact the school. Also, if the weather warrants a virtual learning day, the schedule and expectations are on our website.

Email: tidds@maconaquah.k12.in.us
Website: https://mes.maconaquah.k12.in.us

Phone: 765-689-9131 x 3000