MacArthur Middle

It's Family Academy Friday! Check out the Family Academy Newsletter at https://aacps.edurooms.com/engage/family-academy/newsletters/family-academy-fridays-1-16-26. Visit the Family Academy anytime at www.aacps.org/familyacademy or in Spanish at www.aacps.org/academiafamiliar! #AACPSFamily #BelongGrowSucceed

On this week’s Thursday Thoughts, Superintendent Dr. Bedell highlights our county’s delegation to the Maryland General Assembly. #BelongGrowSucceed

Spanish: https://youtu.be/7gDrH2g-Kg4
English: https://youtu.be/WjinHal_4P4

Mapping out the future, one mile at a time! 📍Our 7th grade AVID scholars are creating “Road Maps to Success” to navigate middle school, high school, and beyond. They’re becoming experts on their path to post-grad dreams! #aacpsawesome #ibworldschool #belonggrowsucceed #AVID

Things are getting... Strange in 6th Grade! Warning: A gate to the Upside Down opened briefly in Room 103, but don’t worry—Ms. Graziano’s 6th graders handled it like total pros! Our classroom transformed into Hawkins as students teamed up to tackle the Quarter 2 Benchmark Review. To defeat the Mind Flayer of Math, students had to channel their inner Hawkins heroes, showing off massive amounts of collaboration and focus. But the stakes were higher than a game of Dungeons & Dragons! Even Vecna made a guest appearance to challenge us on the twisted world of inequalities. (Turns out, solving for x < 11 is the only way to escape his curse!) Great job, 6th Graders! You proved that when we work together, we can conquer any dimension (and any test)!

Attendance matters—and it comes with perks! 🏆🎳 Celebrating our December Attendance All-Stars who were in class 90% of the month. Keep up that incredible momentum! #aacpsawesome #belonggrowsucceed

Our former alum Brienna Blackwood came out to speak to our students about the ROTC at Penn State! #avid #ib #aacpsawesome #belonggrowsucceed

Science 6 students are hard at work modeling what forms when two convergent tectonic plates collide! #volcanoes #aacpsawesome #belonggrowsucceed

MacArthur chorus students represented well and a had a great day making music at the Severn Run choral feeder event on Friday! #aacpsawesome #aacpsmusic #belonggrowsucceed

The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County is scheduled to vote on changes in its policy regarding graduation requirements for students at its next meeting, set for Wednesday, January 14, 2026. For complete information, including proposed changes in the administrative regulation regarding graduation requirements, go to the AACPS News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2625723.

This week on Thursday Thoughts, Superintendent Dr. Bedell shares more about the district’s mentoring program.

English: https://youtu.be/D0a2RMQtGJw
Spanish: https://youtu.be/F-WJVQjDE3A

Calling it a “proactive and responsible step” to address growing pressures as the Fiscal Year 2027 budget process begins, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell today announced an immediate hiring freeze for the school district’s central and satellite offices.

For more information, go to the AACPS’ News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2619561.

The Board of Education has scheduled two public hearings and a public workshop on Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget recommendation.

Public hearings will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at Severn Run High School, and Thursday, January 8, 2026, in the Board Room at the Parham Building in Annapolis. Both hearings begin at 6 p.m. The workshop will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in the Board Room at the Parham Building.

More information, including the process for signing up to speak at the hearings, can be found on AACPS' Budget page at www.aacps.org/fy27budget.

The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of School and Family Partnerships is looking for candidates for its 11th annual International Parent and Community Leadership Academy (IPCLA), which begins February 17, 2026.

The seven-week academy is aimed at improving communication between the school system and international families as well as diversifying the pool of leaders in schools and communities who can better support the academic achievement of international students and multilingual learners. Meetings will be held during the day at various Anne Arundel County Public Schools locations.

For details, go to the News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2608959.

Beginning with freshmen in the 2026-27 school year, all Anne Arundel County Public Schools students will be required to earn one-half credit in financial literacy in order to graduate, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell has announced.
For details, go to the News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2606299.

The Board of Education of Anne Arundel County will host elected officials representing the county and the City of Annapolis at its annual Legislative Breakfast on Monday, January 5, 2026.
For details go to the News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2606278.

The Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils (CRASC) will launch the 2026–2027 Student Member of the Board (SMOB) election cycle by hosting a virtual information night on Tuesday, January 7, 2026.

For more information and details on the process, go to the News Release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2606248.

Continuing a pattern of prudent and responsible budgetary decisions and placing a clear emphasis on prioritizing people over launching a slate of new programs in light of budgetary constraints at various levels, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell tonight recommended a Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget to the Board of Education tonight that dedicates nearly 49 percent of new funding to employee compensation and benefits.

For details, go to the AACPS news release page at https://www.aacps.org/article/2605182.

Congratulations to our spelling bee winner and runner up! We are so proud of you! 🐝 #aacpsawesome #belonggrowsucceed