Edward W. Morley School is an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in the West Hartford Public School District. The school is named after

Edward W. Morley Edward Williams Morley (January 29, 1838 – February 24, 1923) was an American scientist known for his precise and accurate measurement of the atomic weight of oxygen, and for the Michelson–Morley experiment. Biography Morley was born in New ...

, a professor of chemistry at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

who was famous for the

Michelson–Morley experiment The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to detect the existence of the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 ...

(effort to detect aether that came up empty).

Recognitions

Dr. Ellen Stokoe, former principal of Morley Elementary School, was named 2010 National Distinguished Principal by the

Connecticut Association of Schools The Connecticut Association of Schools and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) is the governing body for secondary school athletics and other interscholastic competition in the state of Connecticut. Sports offered Fall * ...

(CAS). The CAS program recognizes an outstanding principal in each state who has made a difference and brought about positive change in their school. These principals must demonstrate leadership and organizational skills that have reached beyond their buildings and instill in others a sense of purpose. Under Dr. Stokoe, Morley was the first elementary school in the district to introduce and implement professional learning communities and individual student improvement plans.

Special Activities

Following the 2010

Haiti earthquake Some of the earthquakes in Haiti have been very destructive to the country. The widespread damage and high-number of casualties of events in 2010 and 2021 can be partially blamed on the fact that most of the population in Haiti resides in struct ...

, students at the Morley school took up a collection in honor of Dr. Anton Alerte, the husband of fifth grade teacher Heather Alerte, who did part of his residency in Haiti. The funds raised were sent to

Doctors Without Borders Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

for use in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Every year Morley school holds a "Backpack Brigade." Teachers and students collect school supplies for needy families and deliver them, packed inside backpacks that will also be donated, to West Hartford's town hall for distribution. Morley school also holds an annual "Red Wagon Food Drive" to benefit the West Hartford Food Pantry. Students in kindergarten, first and second grades pull wagons containing donated food items from the school to town hall. The Morley school holds a special annual celebration to mark the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

, a 15-day celebration that emphasizes family and reunion.

MEDC

Morley Extended Day Care Inc. (MEDC) is an extracurricular program for students attending the Morley school. The summer and vacation camps are open to any elementary school students in the West Hartford Public School District as well as students from other towns.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110714114650/http://morleyextendeddaycare.com/ {{West Hartford Public Schools Public elementary schools in Connecticut Schools in Hartford County, Connecticut