Mathewson Elementary School
PAWprint December 8, 2023
Hello Bulldog Families,
We hope to see you at our PTA Sponsored Holiday Fair tonight 5:30-7:30pm. There will be fun games, raffles and vendors there! Next week we look forward to celebrating our Fifth Graders completion of the DARE program on Tuesday. As always thank you for your support of all things Mathewosn! We couldn’t do it without you. We hope you have a PAWmazing weekend ahead and be sure to check out upcoming information below.
With Love,
Melissa Currier, Principal
Important Dates
*12/8: Mathewson PTA Holiday Cheer @ 5:30 pm-7:30 pm
*12/12: Grade 5 D.A.R.E Graduation @ 1:45 p.m.
*12/19: Mathewson Pizza Night at Silver Sands Pizza (see below)
*12/22: PJ/Cozy Spirit Day
*12/25: December break thru January 1st
*1/2/24!!!: Happy New Year and welcome back!
Upcoming Information to Know:
Attention Grade 5 Families! We are happy to report that our fifth grade classes are finishing up their D.A.R.E. Program soon. They have learned a lot and we appreciate the collaboration with our Milford Police Department. On Dec. 12th we will have a brief ceremony to celebrate their completion of this program.
Need dinner ideas? Consider supporting Mathewson at Silver Sands Pizza on Mathewson Pizza Night 12/19/23! See information here
Our next Spirit Day is December 22nd--Pajama and cozy day! Let’s launch into winter vacation in a cozy way!
News for Incoming K Students 24-25: The December assessment appointment window is closed for those families that have requested a waiver for their child to enter into Kindergarten for the 2024 - 2025 school year. If you requested a waiver, but did not have the opportunity to schedule a December appointment, you will receive a communication in the near future to make an appointment for the next Kindergarten Waiver assessment. The online Kindergarten registration will remain open, if you have not had the opportunity to register, please do so.
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Mathewson PTA News
Our next meeting is…..January 9th @ 7 pm in the Mathewson Media Center
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Getting to Know Your Bulldog Staff!
Meet Ms. Sinski, Art 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, the greeter 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….
Kindergarten registration - We are pleased to announce that Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year opens on Monday, November 13, 2023. If you have a child who will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, registration information will be posted to the district website www.milforded.org. You must register your child for Kindergarten at the school determined by your street address, unless placed by Pupil Personnel Services. School/Street Assignments are available on the district website under “District Information.”
Children born on or before September 1, 2019 are eligible to register for Kindergarten. If your child is not age eligible (born September 2, 2019 through December 31, 2019), please use the online registration form to request a waiver.
Any current MPS Preschool or Ready To Learn (RTL) students will need to complete an online registration form in Powerschool - See Below
If you need assistance with the registration portal, please contact the main office of your district assigned school. School contact information can be found on the district website under “ Schools.”
We are excited for your children to join us! Fully registered families, please be on the lookout for more information from your school’s Principal about an in person kindergarten event in the spring. In the meantime, click here for a sneak peek of what to expect in Kindergarten!
We look forward to welcoming the Class of 2037!
Current RTL and Preschool Families - We are pleased to announce that Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year will open on Monday, Nov. 13th, 2023. Students attending either Ready to Learn or a Preschool Program within our district must complete the kindergarten notification form in PowerSchool. If your child is not age eligible (born September 2, 2019 through December 31, 2019,) please indicate on the kindergarten notification form in PowerSchool to request a waiver.
If you have already set up a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, you can log in at any time to review your contact and emergency contact information. If you do not have a PowerSchool account, please contact the main office. If you are having trouble logging in, please email computerhelpdesk@milforded.org for assistance.
PowerSchool Parent Portal link: https://gradebook.milforded.org/public/
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Community Connections Center News
This week's CCC News contains information and links for a mix of resources & fun seasonal activities. Among the community services you will find links for the CT FoodShare Mobile Pantry, Winter preparedness and CT's warming centers. Enjoy a free "Milford Holiday Concert", by the Miford Concert Band, The YMCA's "Cookies with Claus" or Therapy Minis, Piglet's Playdate with Santa's Reindeer.
Remember that the CCC Website is updated with links to community resources.
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!
Have a wonderful weekend!
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@ BePAWsitiveMPS
