Virtual Graduation ceremonies begin tonight with East (7pm) and La Follette (8pm). Ceremonies will wrap up tomorrow with Capital High and Shabazz at 6:30pm, JMM at 7pm and West at 8pm. Learn more at mmsd.org/graduation .
ICYMI: Here are the May 22, May 29th and June 5th editions of MMSD Connect.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The 2020 Black Girl Magic Conference was held virtually last week. Check out the first part (w/ keynote speaker Dr. Jamila Lyiscott ) and the rest on the Black Girl Magic Conference YouTube channel .

Nine MMSD schools participate in Overture’s Disney Musicals in Schools program, which helps build sustainable musical theater programs in elementary schools. Because of COVID-19 all shows had to be cancelled, but  Glendale Elementary School ’s Theater Club stayed connected to put together one number that would have been in their show .

In an effort led by Randall Elementary, participation in painting Black Lives Matter murals included about 150 artists from 5 MMSD high schools, 10 MMSD middle schools, and 21 elementary schools!

Japanese legend holds that whoever folds 1,000 paper cranes will be granted a wish. Madison East High School's Katey Henkel, with help from sisters Sarah and Kaela, folded 13,889 paper cranes while Sheltering at Home. She wishes for peace and wellness for our community.

Muir held one last school assembly for the year -- virtually !

For almost 50 years, Fine Arts Week has been a large part of the culture at Madison West High School. Each Spring, they honor the talent and hard work of the students in performing and visual arts classes. One solid school week is filled with art exhibits, musical concerts, dance recitals, plays and other events. Even a COVID-19 Quarantine couldn't stop these students' creative impulses this year .

Check out this 2020-2021 grant opportunity from the Healthy Classrooms Foundation to help implement health-related projects in our schools. These funds could be used to support your idea for a project to improve the physical, mental, or emotional health of scholars at your school.


All MMSD employees are invited to participate in an online study to look at emotional and mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to better understand how the pandemic is affecting people’s lives and whether the Healthy Minds Program – an app that integrates mental exercises into daily life, with an approach that parallels the way physical exercise becomes a part of healthy living – might improve well-being. Participants are eligible to receive $150.

Hidden Barriers to Equity in Education : A 3-session virtual course free to Wisconsin educators (July 14, 21 and 28)
"THERE IS POWER IN 'WE'":
SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT IN TIMES OF
RACIAL VIOLENCE AND INJUSTICE

This week, four MMSD educators came together for a special Facebook Live session on dismantling racism and empowering our young MMSD scholars as they navigate daily life amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently, mass protests and demonstrations stemming from racial violence across America.
In this session, our Black teachers informed the community on how they discuss racial injustices with their students. They shared best practices for promoting anti-racism in the classroom and community, and gave their advice on how to talk to your children about racism. Angela Fitzgerald Ward , MMSD’s Director of Family Youth and Community Engagement led the session, joined by MMSD educators, Camara Stovall ; Frank Allis Elementary, Alexis Dean ; Mendota Community School and Jessica Fleischmann ; Wright Middle School.

We encourage you to tune into this special conversation to gain more insight on racial injustices from the lens of these seasoned educators.
MADISON ARTS TEACHERS MAKE A PROMISE
On March 16, 2020, school changed.

But arts teachers in Madison kept doing what they had always done:

Strengthening relationships and exploring what makes us human.

Through music, art theatre and dance. #MMSDArts
SUMMER FOOD FOR OUR FAMILIES
The MMSD Summer Food Program provides free, nutritious meals during summer vacation. Children can eat breakfast, lunch and snack for free Monday - Friday starting June 22nd. Meals vary by location, and no application is required. All sites will be closed on Friday, July 3rd. All children 18 years of age and under can receive up to two free meals per site. 

We will be following best practices for social distancing at all our sites. Meals can be picked up by parents and/or students to take off site with them. No meals will be eaten on site. Breakfast and lunch will be provided at the same time. You can find more information online using the summer meals map , call 2-1-1, or text ‘food’ to 877-877.

Times and locations (beginning July 22)

11:00 – 11:30am: Mendota, Lapham, Sandburg, Glendale and Jefferson

11:45am – 12:15pm: Lake View, Emerson, Hawthorne, Badger Rock and Toki

12:30 – 1:00pm: Sherman, Schenk, Allis, Lincoln and Midvale

1:15 – 1:45pm : Leopold Elementary

Community sites ( serving times will vary per site): Allied Learning Center, Neighborhood House, Theresa Terrace, Elver Park Neighborhood Center, MSCR East, Packers Apartments, Northport Apartments
POP UP FOOD PANTRIES
East YMCA - Thursdays @ 3 p.m.
La Follette High School - Tuesdays @ noon
Leopold Elementary - Tuesdays @ 11 a.m.
These pantries will continue until the end of summer. We will be adding 2-3 more sites in the near future.
SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
In response to recent national events, the FYCE team has begun to offer coaching sessions for school leadership on school capacity building for targeted family engagement. These sessions will utilize FYCE's Lifting Voices guidance, and will result in the development of a strategy for schools to develop, implement and evaluate their family engagement practices, and with an emphasis on historically marginalized family groups. For more information, reach out to Angela Fitzgerald Ward, Director of Family, Youth & Community Engagement, ayfitzgerald@ .
CONFIDENTIALITY AND COVID-19:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and more students and colleagues are diagnosed with COVID-19, we need to remember to not share this information with others. People can choose to share their own information, but it should never be shared second hand.

MMSD works diligently to ensure that the health information of staff and students remains confidential and follows federal laws that are designed to protect this information. Read more .
SUMMER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PLAN
This Summer 2020 Professional Learning Plan has been developed to guide your summer of learning as we prepare for re-entry and recovery this fall. The bulk of the centrally organized professional learning focuses on either required maintenance learning (such as being trained in particular interventions) and learning that will prepare us for re-entry with students in the fall, all in support of our anti-racist stance. All professional learning sessions will be virtual and recorded for staff to return to.
STAFF LAPTOP REPLACEMENT DELAYED
UNTIL AT LEAST JULY
We were scheduled to refresh Staff laptops this spring. Due to the pandemic, computer vendors have had substantially longer lead times than usual due to increased demand for mobile computing devices. Under normal circumstances, the laptops would have been received by now.

Currently, the soonest we can expect to receive new staff laptops appears to be July. These will be the
HP G6 laptops for all staff eligible to receive a district
laptop (approximately 3200). Read more .
MSCR PRESENTS 'SUMMER INSIDE OUT'
Madison School & Community Recreation is pleased to present VIRTUAL & OUTDOOR summer programs starting June 29!

Summer offerings include arts & enrichment, camps, dance, fitness classes, nature, boating, sports and tennis. Virtual classes take place through live Zoom streaming, recorded lessons and Google Classroom. All in-person classes take place outdoors and will follow current social distancing
and safety guidelines from local health officials.

Registration is open . Check our website , Facebook & Instagram for news, ideas and resources.
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