From the Middletown Patch

Middletown Elementary Earns Teaching Garden

Aimed at elementary school students, Teaching Gardens provide hands-on experience nurturing growing plants, harvesting produce and ultimately understanding the value of good eating habits.

Posted by Cassandra Day (Editor), May 11, 2013 at 09:47 am

The American Heart Association announces that Macdonough Elementary School in Middletown will receive a Teaching Garden thanks to Aetna and its team of nurses.

The school’s Garden Club will receive the materials needed to plant a real-life laboratory with garden-themed lessons in nutrition, math, science and other subjects.

The garden is possible through a unique sponsorship provided by Aetna and its nurses, who will lead the Plant Day Celebration on May 17 and provide continuous support through the harvest.

The Macdonough Elementary School Teaching Garden was created using American Heart Association science and nutrition guidelines coupled with information from gardening and education experts, all thanks to Teaching Garden founder Kelly Meyer.

Aimed at elementary school students, Teaching Gardens provide hands-on experience nurturing growing plants, harvesting produce and ultimately understanding the value of good eating habits.

Numerous studies have shown that participation in school garden programs can have a positive impact on student’s attitudes toward fruits and vegetables.

Macdonough currently works to educate students through their Garden Club, which meets weekly. The new Teaching Garden will provide staff and students upgraded materials and curriculum.

“We are thrilled to have been selected to receive an American Heart Association Teaching Garden and thankful for Aetna’s sponsorship,” said Amy Waterman, program coordinator, Family Resources Center, Macdonough Elementary. 

Thank You Home Depot

The Middletown Home Depot facilitated the final meeting of pen pals in the Equal This Program.  Miss Weindruch's class and Mrs. Totten's class, of Colchester's Jack Jackter School had a blast!  Workers helped students create a cork bulletin board to assemble, decorate, and take home.  They were incredibly patient and kind.  We also had staff members that took us on a guided tour and demonstrated how math is used daily at the store, with both staff and customers in a multitude of real life applications- whether it be comparing the price value of annual or perennial plants, or calculating the area that a carpet will cover, or understanding the volume of appliances to ensure that they will fit in planned spaces.  

Our Model of Middletown

For a cumulative project in our Equal This program, 5th grade students designed and constructed a model of their town to share with partner schools.  These models were intended to give our partners a more comprehensive look at similarities and differences between the landscapes of urban Middletown vs. a more suburban/rural Colchester.  Miss Weindruch's students really embraced this project and were tremendously imaginative in their engineering and construction.  Look carefully and see if you can find all of the executed details: like a fully suspended basketball that has just gone through a hoop at the YMCA, a functioning ferris wheel that can spin representing Coleman's Carnival,  the crew shells adorning the Harbor Park area of the river, a mobile swing set in Macdonough's playscape, and a truck crossing into Portland over the Arrigoni Bridge. 

Planting Seeds

The kindergarten students planted radish seeds in class today. The children are learning about living and non living things.

Habitat for Humanity

Macdonough staff members lent a hand at the North End's newest Habitat for Humanity project on Liberty Street.

A Mother's Day Celebration

Today the kindergarten children invited their mothers in for a special treat. The children sang songs for them, treated them to strawberry shortcake and gave them home made gifts. Happy Mother's Day!

New Garden Beds!

The Garden Club has been really busy lately. After receiving a generous grant from the American Heart Association funded by Aetna, Macdonough is going to have a state of the art "Teaching Garden". On Friday, May 3rd, volunteers from Aetna, The American Heart Association, Wesleyan University and our very own Garden club parents, the students put together our new ADA approved garden beds. Next week, we will be receiving soil and on Friday, May 17th we will have our official Plant Day! We are looking forward to growing lots of fruits and vegetables!

Fifth Owl Prize!

Students in Mrs. Klein and Miss Cipriano's first grade class earned a Fifth Owl Prize!  They voted to have Pajama day and Popsicles!  Great job first graders!  Keep up the good work!

World Book Night 2013

Did you know Macdonough School has a parent book club? Our first book, Playing for Pizza by John Grisham, is in conjunction with World Book Night 2013. You can participate online at BOOKCLUBIT.COM by joining the Macondough Parent Book Club after creating an account or come to the Family Resource Center on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 3:00. Call 860-638-3742 for more information.

Project ACES: All Children Exercise Simultaneously

Macdonough School participated in this year's Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously) on May 1st at 10:00 a.m.

The event took place as part of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month along with National Physical Education Week. It has been labeled as "the world's largest exercise class" by the media.

Macdonough students, teachers, and parents walked the North End Trail in Middletown. The trail is a one mile loop through historic sections of the city's North End neighborhood. Following the walk, a fresh fruit snack was enjoyed by all!

Macdonough Awarded Grant from MSAPC

The Middletown Substance Abuse Prevention Council awarded Macdonough School a grant to support the spring edition of the Macdonough School Running Club.

The Macdonough School Running Club provides opportunities for students to participate in running practices to enhance their abilities and compete in local road races with parents and school staff.

 

 

Mrs. Ellis's Class "Equal This" Project

Mrs. Ellis's class has been busy creating their own model of Middletown for their culminating project for "Equal This". "Equal This" is a program targeted towards math.

 With this project, the students had to make a model of their town, and determine the area and perimeter of it. Their partnering school, Jack Jackter in Colchester ,also did this as well. When they were finished, students from Jack Jackter and Mrs. Ellis's class met to showcase all their hard work.

Great job Mrs. Ellis's class. You did a fantastic job!

Take a look at all their hard work!