MCPASD Families,
I hope the first month of the new year has brought you opportunities for happiness and new beginnings. We have been working hard here at MCPASD and would like to share with you some of the recent events, successes, and challenges that we have recently faced.
BUT FIRST– We’ve taken this month’s monthly update with Monogue on the road! We recently visited the 7th and 8th grade Spanish language arts class from Glacier Creek!
We are so proud of our students for immersing themselves in the language of Spanish. We know it’s becoming the second most dominant language in our community, behind English. It’s important to MCPASD that we not only help our students write, read and speak the language but also help our Spanish-speaking families feel more included in their child's education.
Jose Velarde Aguilar is our amazing district translator and interpreter. He and our communications team have created a Facebook page catered to our Spanish-speaking families. They are working on creating content and posing vital information– all in Spanish.
We want our Spanish-speaking families to know they are valued. You can find our Facebook page at Distrito Escolar del Área de Middleton-Cross Plains.
We would like to remind families that our West Middleton Elementary COVID-19 testing site is once again open. The site remains a drive-thru service and will now be located outside of the secondary building next to the school.
They are open during the hours of 8am - 2pm. Monday through Friday.
We also have a new change to our policy, we will no longer be requiring a student to be present if a household member is getting tested.
If you have any questions please contact our COVID hotline listed in the photo below.
During the last school board meeting, a team presented information and potential recommendations for the 2022-2023 school year calendar. Included in this discussion was information regarding the potential of adding asynchronous learning days throughout the year at the high school level only. We are encouraged by the conceptual support for this innovation, but will not be recommending its implementation until the 2023-2024 school year to allow for more time to plan, prepare and communicate to all stakeholders.
The school year calendar for next year will be approved by the board of education during their regular meeting on Feb 14th.
On January 24th, Middleton High School was placed on lockdown by our School Resource Officer after he received information from staff members about a potential threat to school safety. While this situation was resolved quickly, we realize how significant the event was for our students and our staff. The high school has been focusing on caring for students and educators and we have been debriefing the incident with our law enforcement partners so that improvements in our incident response protocols can be made going forward. It is important for everyone to understand that once law enforcement makes the decision to place a building on lockdown, they take over and school staff follows their lead in what happens at the building until the incident is resolved. Our law enforcement partners are highly trained for these kinds of incidents and we appreciate their quick response and support.
We’ve also received many questions from families regarding adding a texting option to our communications toolbox. We are pleased to announce that this feature will soon be available to families. This texting capability will send vital information to families, students, and staff within seconds.
Now let's talk about some celebrations...
Congratulations to MHS Senior, Lauren Pansegrau for being named the Gatorade Wisconsin Girls Cross Country Player of the Year! This is a huge accomplishment for student-athletes as they are ranked not only by their athletic ability but their academics as well. Lauren has scored highly in both. She now ranks among other Gatorade Athletes from previous years who went on to participate in professional sports, including Peyton Manning and Sydney McLaughlin. Congratulations once again Lauren! We wish you the best of luck in your future in athletics and otherwise!
Reading is such an instrumental part of learning, which is why I am excited to share that the Madison Reading Project has teamed up with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This collaboration will provide a free book every month for children under the age of 5 across Dane County. Families can learn more and sign up here.
Please join us in celebrating Black History Month! The district would like to take this time to celebrate the incredible people of color that have influenced our history and continue to make incredible contributions to our nation. Throughout the month we look forward to highlighting our staff that are champions for equity and serve as role models to all of our students.
Our senior class continues to exceed our expectations in both academics and extracurriculars. Today I would like to congratulate the 11 MHS seniors for qualifying as 2022 Presidential Scholar Candidates! This is one of the highest academic honors for high school students and is meant to recognize some of the most distinguished graduating seniors. Approximately 161 students across the country are named as finalists, so it is an incredible accomplishment to make it this far! Congratulations!
We can never say thank you enough to our amazing school bus drivers but in just a few weeks, they will get a week where they are recognized. Last month, Governor Tony Evers proclaimed the week of Feb 14th - 18th as Wisconsin school bus driver appreciation week. In the proclamation, Evers mentioned his sincere gratitude to our bus drivers, managers, and operations team who are doing this important work for our students and families. Thank you once again to our transportation team and make sure to show them a little extra love that week.
This has been another monthly update with Monogue. We look forward to meeting with you next time! Adios!