MUMS Family Newsletter

Dear MUMS community,

We are looking forward to tonight's beach themed dance! Our student planning group has been hard at work creating other options for students who don't like to dance, so we are excited to see what those options will be.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who have signed up to bring snacks, decorations and also to chaperone. We couldn't do it without you!

Have a great weekend!

If you have questions generally, please reach out to us at mwisell@acsdvt.org (Michaela)

or zjerome@acsdvt.org (Zach) or dhunt@acsdvt.org (Dustin) or by calling the MUMS office at 802-382-1600 or by visiting the MUMS website for more information.

- Michaela, Zach & Dustin

Michaela Wisell, Principal

Zach Jerome, Assistant Principal

Dustin Hunt, Dean of Culture and Climate

• March 8th - MUMS Dance 7:00pm-9:00pm
  
• March 22nd - Inservice Day (No School)

In 8th grade science, students are conducting an investigation to determine how well several materials conduct or insulate the transfer of heat energy. They are testing the % mass change of an ice cube when it is heated on a material placed on a heating pad for several minutes. This data will help them design tiny houses that will be tested for energy efficiency, an ever- important topic in today’s world of global warming and climate change. Two guest speakers, Dwight DeCoster from Champlain Valley Weatherization Services, and Peter Schneider from VEIC, presented information about the importance of weatherization of homes and energy efficiency in communities. Ask an 8th grader about the choices they are making in their tiny house design. Thank you to Ms. Perry-Askew and Mr. Montague for making your project so relevant to our world’s current concerns and areas of focus.

Pam Quinn and Eileen Sears, MYP Coordinators

Students in Ms. Bickart’s 6th grade Spanish class had a visit from Mrs. Quinn who shared her experiences traveling to Nicaragua. She discussed the impact that education can have in the lives of many of the children she met, who often have to work picking trash to support their families. She also shared her photography and the class noted ways people experience joy and community across the world even in very different circumstances. They looked at art and money from her travels and talked about how learning new languages can open up doors to understanding other cultures and yourself! #ibmyp #ibmypspanish

Circle of Parents

Circle of Parents is a professionally facilitated, peer led self-help support group for parents and other caregivers. Circle of Parents offers participants the opportunity to explore their parenting in a safe and confidential weekly group. Parents come together and share their experiences, challenges and successes. Parents learn they are not alone and they can change the way they raise their children. Circle of Parents is co-led by professionally trained volunteer(s) and a parent leader, who is a group member. Meetings are usually for 1.5 hours. There are no fees or dues to attend.

If you are interested, please contact Michelle Parent, Family Support Programs Coordinator at mparent@pcavt.org or 802-448-0264

Remember, Monday April 8th, is an early release day due to the eclipse (this is in addition to the scheduled early release day on April 3rd). Every ACSD student will receive eclipse glasses. Visit our eclipse web page to learn more about what your students may be doing at school and activities to try at home! For eclipse-specific traffic and weather updates, VT Emergency Management is offering a text update system. Text VTECLIPSE to 888777.

Laundry Love: Laundry Love occurs the 4th Tuesday of every month from 5:30-8:00pm at the Vergennes Laundromat. Volunteers from the church provide quarters, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, snacks, and conversation for folks seeking to do their laundry. At this time, transportation to and from the laundromat is provided for folks living in Vergennes; however, due to the lack of volunteers, transportation outside of Vergennes is not available at this time, but Laundry Love is available for folks in Addison County.

On the May 1st Early Release Day, MUMS will be hosting a morning of career exploration with our students. The purpose of this event is to help introduce students to the variety of careers and opportunities available to them and begin the process of planning for their lives after school. Career exploration has a variety of benefits for students including building a sense of identity, discovering their unique interests and abilities, as well as practice with goal setting.

We are looking for interested community members to help make this day a success! Would you be willing to host a session with students in which you share information about your career? Sessions will be approximately 30 minutes and should include information about what's needed to be successful at your job, what's part of your daily work, and a hands-on activity related to your career field. We are more than happy to help you design a session if you need ideas or inspiration.

Please complete this survey if you are interested in joining us!

Come out to cheer our MUMS teams on and Learn about Afterschool Clubs! Find our schedule of activities below. Also, although we don't have a skiing team, we want to remind families that there is an ACTR bus that stops at MUMS on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and goes to the Middlebury Snow Bowl and students may leave any ski/ride equipment in our lobby if that interests them.

For those of you interested in purchasing "MUMS Gear" please use this link.

Staff Wish List

• Our Staff Wish List includes lots of things you might have around your home unused, like magazines (for Ms. Ambrose's classes), milk crates (for Ms. Cosgrove's classes), tools, scrap wood, craft supplies and more!

We are so excited to welcome parents and community members back into our buildings this year! If you are interested in substitute teaching or volunteering this year, please start an application now!

If you are interested in joining our new Friends of MUMS group, email friendsofmums@gmail.com