MONROE, CT — McDonald’s parking lot filled up quickly and families parking in the Village Square shopping center had to brave the crosswalk on Monroe Turnpike for their children to exchange high fives and pose for pictures with the Hamburglar and Grimace, who greeted patrons on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant Tuesday evening.
It was McTeacher’s Night and Monroe Elementary School children got to see their teachers and principal, Kelly Svendsen, who served as greeters, poured sodas, carried out trays, assisted people at kiosks, delivered bags of food to cars, and worked at the cash register and the drive-thru window.
The event lasted from 5 to 8 p.m. and McDonald’s donated 10 percent of its profits during the period to the elementary school.
“I’ll be here all night and the teachers will do one-hour-shifts — some took two shifts,” said Svendsen, who worked as a greeter outside the entrance. “The kids were thrilled. They’ve been talking about it all week, saying, ‘see you at McDonald’s!'”
McTeacher’s Night was organized by Nick Marques, a guest service department manager for McDonald’s.
“We’ve been doing it for three years in Fairfield. Now we’re doing it in the Monroe community to bring more of a sense of family here,” he said. “We had a Coffee with Cops recently and will have more community events.”
Maria Maderna, the restaurant supervisor, said McTeacher’s Night is a great event for the community.
Michelle Vanderheyden, a second grade teacher at MES, said she had encountered four of her students and one former student so far. “It brings our Monroe El community together,” she said. “It’s pretty special.”
Derya Peltek brought her daughter, Ela, 7, an MES first grader, to McTeacher’s Night.
“She’s very excited,” Peltek said. “She was waiting for this. They know what time their teachers’ shifts are.”
Upon entering the restaurant, Ela immediately made a beeline for her teacher, Leslie Sekelsky, who greeted her with a warm smile.
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