The Community Connector
Sunday, September 24, 2023
The Community Connector for September 24, 2023:
Oops! Sorry for the absence.
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month!
October 10, 2023: Middletown Board of Education (BOE) Meeting
21C After School Programs Start This Week!
FoodCorps Partnership
Composting in School Cafeterias
Regulations around Outside Food
Change in Service: School Based Health Centers
New! Parent and Family Info Hub
Reminder: Communicating and Connecting with MPS
Reminder: MPS Community Hub
Opportunity to provide Feedback and to Connect
Oops! Sorry for the absence.
We didn’t mean to skip two weeks of publication; we’ve been sick.
If you didn’t know, The Community Connector is curated, written, and published by Jessie Lavorgna, MPS’s Director of Communications. Jessie is also mom to a delightful little one, who tends to get sick at the start of each school year. And, we know how it goes: kid gets sick, parents gets sick, and work gets put on the back burner.
Nonetheless, we’re back with The Community Connector, a weekly e-newsletter that features news and information from around the District of Middletown Public Schools. If you’re interested in getting The Community Connector emailed directly to you each Sunday morning during the school year, click the subscribe button below.
If you’re interested in accessing previous editions, they can all be found here.
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month!
Every year from September 15th to October 15th, the US celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. Three years ago, Middletown Public Schools began a tradition of declaring this period of time Hispanic Heritage Month for the school district. We’ve kicked this off with a proclamation read at the September 2021, September 2022, and September 2023 Board of Education Meetings.
We’ve expanded our celebrations to include “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month through the Five Senses”. Click the image below to visit the District’s website and to learn more about this celebration.
We’re excited to announce that we will host a Hispanic Heritage Month community celebration on Saturday, October 14, 2023. This will be a free event, open to all. Stay tuned for more details!
Important Dates in October 2023
Mark these dates on your calendar for this month:
Monday, October 9, 2023: District & Schools Closed in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023: Board of Education Meeting (Click here for details)
Tuesday, October 17, 2023: Early Dismissal for all students (schedule here, lower part of the page)
Our 2023-2024 school year calendar can always be found here: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/district-calendar
October 10, 2023: Middletown Board of Education (BOE) Meeting
The next Board of Education Meeting for the 2023-2024 school year will be on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. It will begin at 6:30 PM and will be held in the Auditorium of Beman Middle School. When the agenda is available, it will be posted here: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/2423
21C After School Programs Start This Week!
21C After School Programs will start this coming week (the week of September 25, 2023) at:
Beman (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:00 PM to 5:15PM),
Bielefield and Snow (Mondays through Thursdays from 3:50 PM to 6:15 PM),
Farm Hill and Spencer (Mondays through Fridays from 3:50 PM to 5:30 PM).
FoodCorps Partnership
The Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness is proud to announce our continued partnership with FoodCorps; a national non-profit organization that provides Food Educators into our schools to teach students about Nutrition, Gardening, Culinary Skills and much more. We will have Three (3) FoodCorps Service Members attending throughout all our schools this year. To Learn more information about our partnership, check out the link here: Middletown FoodCorps.pdf
Composting in School Cafeterias
The Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness is proud to continue our partnerships with the City of Middletown and Blue Earth Compost to continue composting our food scraps in all of our kitchens across the district. To Learn more, please see the link here: Composting in School Cafeterias
Regulations around Outside Food
Middletown Public Schools’ Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness would like to share the summary of requirements for all staff and families as it pertains to regulations on outside food. This resource can be found on the Food and Nutrition webpage or via the direct link here: HFC Guidelines in MPS - For Public Distribution.
As a reminder, any food sold or provided to students during the school day must comply with the State Department of Education standards under the Healthy Food Certification. Please use the resource provided as it relates to district procedures that are in compliance with these guidelines. This provision does not pertain to food adults provide for themselves or other adults, this is only in relation to the sale or provision of food to students during the school day.
Change in Service: School Based Health Centers
If your child receives health services through our Community Health Centers (CHC) School Based Health Center, beginning October 1, 2023, you may begin to see billing statements from CHC for any deductible or copay responsibilities determined by your plan. If you have health insurance, CHC SBHC will continue to bill services to your insurance. Applying for the Sliding Fee Scale Discount Program could result in reductions to your out-of-pocket costs. See attached letter here for more information: SBHCLetterV4_English.docx.pdf
New! Parent and Family Info Hub
The Parent and Family Information Hub serves as a one-stop shop for quick information for MPS Parents and Families. On this webpage, you'll find links to the most frequently visited parts of our website. Find the page here: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/parent-info-hub
Reminder: Communicating and Connecting with MPS
When you have questions, concerns, and/or feedback regarding your child, your child's school, and/or the school district, please visit the “Communicating Effectively with MPS” located on the lower half of this webpage. This is designed to ensure that your voice is heard and your concerns/questions are addressed.
Reminder: MPS Community Hub
In previous years, we had a “News from the Community” section in The Community Connector. With a renewed focus on sharing what’s happening in Middletown Public Schools, the “News from the Community” section will no longer be part of this publication. Instead, we now have a webpage dedicated to community events.
Please find that page here: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/community-hub
If you’d like to submit a flyer to appear on that page, please read these guidelines and submit your flyer here.
Opportunity to provide Feedback and to Connect
The Community Connector is made to serve our community. Tell us what you think!
Connect with us! Learn how here.
Contact Mrs. Jessie Lavorgna, Director of Communications, here: hello@mpsct.org or
860-661-6239 (call or text).