MUMS Family Newsletter

I hope this message finds you well!

We had an awesome morning on our early release day, learning about student council, reviewing the overall team scores for the Pride Cup and also playing a friendly game of "head, shoulders, knees and cups" in the gym! It was super fun to watch students and staff participate and laugh together and fun to watch our student winner, top our staff winner as the overall champion!

Additionally, we had four guest speakers who engage in civic action within our community join our 8th graders to talk about what it means to be a part of a community and the importance of civic activism. We are so grateful when our community comes into MUMS to work with our students and appreciate their service.

After another winter weather day, we plan to have a great day at school as we head into our final week before February break!

Thanks for your continued support!

Best,

Michaela

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 Wisell, Principal

Zach Jerome, Assistant Principal

Dustin Hunt, Activities Director

• February 16th - Bingo POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER

• February 24th thru March 3rd - February Break
• March 4th - Parent Teacher Conferences - (12:00-7:30)

Activities Calendar

Last week, all 6th grade students had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Jordan Romero, American mountaineer and author of No Summit Out of Sight. As a part of their adventure unit in Language and Literature, students read and analyzed selections from Romero’s memoir, which tells the harrowing, suspenseful true story of how Romero climbed the highest peak in each of the seven continents and became the youngest person ever to climb Mount Everest at the age of 13. Students asked Romero questions, expanded their global understanding through his stories from around the world, and enjoyed having him as a gracious virtual visitor! We appreciate our students’ curiosity and Romero’s willingness to join us! A special thanks to Ms. Bauer, L&L Team 1 teacher, for reaching out to Romero several times to invite him to speak to the 6th graders. Her persistence paid off! Below, a photo of Romero from his memoir as he stood on top of Everest, and two more from last week’s presentation (one of Jordan Zooming from his car and one of a student asking him a question he’d prepared).

Eileen Sears, MYP Coordinator

& ACSD Curriculum Leader

esears@acsdvt.org

802-382-1753

Pam Quinn, MYP Coordinator

pquinn@acsdvt.org

802-382-1243

Hello Families,

I am writing to let you know that at the end of this school year, I am resigning from my current position as Assistant Principal at MUMS. I have really enjoyed my two years here working alongside such dedicated students, staff, and families. I have had the privilege of watching your students' growth and achievement, and I know this will continue in the years to come. I want to express my thanks for your support, trust, and collaboration during my time at MUMS. I will miss my daily interactions with the MUMS community, but I am excited for the next chapter in my professional journey.

Thank you,

Zach Jerome

We cordially invite guardians and caregivers to our spring parent teacher conferences on Tuesday March 4th, 2025. Please review the information below for details:

• Conferences will occur between 12:00 and 7:30.

• If you would like to attend a virtual conference please sign up for a slot between 12:00 and 3:30.

• If you would like an in-person conference please sign up for any time slot between 3:30 and 7:30pm.

• In response to feedback, all of our teachers will be hosting PT-conferences individually. You will be able to sign up for 2 Core Teacher conferences.

• We would suggest that you sign up with the core teachers that you did not meet with in the fall.

• MIXT team, Wellness, Language acquisition, Special Education & Interventionists will meet independently with caregivers as folks sign up.

• Conferences will be 13 minutes long with a 2 minute break between each conference.

• The focus of our conferences will be on how students are navigating their school day as well as to discuss strengths & an area of growth/focus.

• Caregivers please sign up HERE via PTCFast. The deadline for signing up for conferences will be Wednesday February 26th at midnight.

Please direct any conference questions to Megan Curran at mcurran@acsdvt.org

Parental Notification Letter

February 7, 2025

Dear Parent or Guardian:

Our school is taking part in the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey March 10 - 12 during Wellness class. This was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Health and Agency of Education. The YRBS has been administered every other year in Vermont since 1993. Separate versions of the survey ask middle or high school students about health behaviors and assets or protective factors. Topics include personal safety and injury prevention, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, substance use, and protective factors. At the same time as the YRBS, we will also be administering a short survey in collaboration with the United Way of Addison County (UWAC) February 19-21. The UWAC survey is administered by Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and includes some additional questions about alcohol and other drug use and the strengths and concerns of youth.

Results from the surveys help us determine the extent to which adolescents engage in or experience health risk behaviors. The results support public health officials, educators, and community organizations ability to assess and improve efforts to reduce health risk behaviors among adolescents throughout the state and nation. They help us develop and evaluate health-related programs and securing their future funding.

Both surveys are anonymous. They have been designed to be confidential and to protect your child’s privacy. Students will not put their names on the surveys and student login information is not recorded. Individual survey responses will not be revealed in a report of the results or disclosed to any school employee.

For these surveys to be accurate, it is important that all students, regardless of whether they have engaged in health-risk behaviors, are given an opportunity to participate in the surveys. We would like all students to take part in the surveys to best understand the issues and experiences of youth, however, the surveys are voluntary. Students may skip any questions they do not wish to answer or stop taking the surveys at any point without penalty. As a parent, you have the right to view the surveys before they are administered and to have your child opt out. A copy of the YRBS survey is available on the Department of Health YRBS webpage (http://www.healthvermont.gov/yrbs). The UWAC survey can be viewed here. If you have any questions or concerns, please call Katie Ford at 382-1218.

Please visit the Vermont Department of Health website at: http://www.healthvermont.gov/yrbs for more information about the Vermont YRBS including previous reports. Links to the CDC’s YRBS page, FAQs, and other background information are available by clicking “Learn more about the YRBS” on the website.

If you have questions about your child's rights as a research participant in the UWAC survey, you may call Elizabeth Waiters at PIRE’s Office of Research Integrity and Compliance at 866-PIREORG (866-747-3674) ext. 1 or email her at irb@pire.org.

Please notify Kandy Kinne, Administrative Assistant at 382-1204, if you wish to opt your child out of taking the survey by Monday, February 17th. If you have any questions please contact Michaela Wisell, Principal at 382-1202 and thank you in advance for supporting this important work.

Sincerely,

Michaela Wisell, Principal

8th Grade End of Year Trip fundraiser/event

Scheduled for Sunday, February 16th

at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

has been postponed due to the upcoming weather we are supposed to get.

We want to thank our thirteen ACSD School Board members for the time, collaboration, and deep investment they make to ensure a brighter future for our students, our district, and our community. We want to send a special appreciation to Chip Malcom and Joanna Doria who are leaving the Board this year. Chip has served on the ACSD board since unification in 2016 and previously served on the UD3 Board from 1985-2000, including 6 years as chair. Joanna has served on the ACSD Board since 2022. School board members are elected officials who live in one of our district towns and represent all members of the ACSD community. School board elections are held each Town Meeting day with a rotating number of our thirteen seats up each year. Learn more about the board: www.acsdvt.org/school-board/

MUMS families: Do you have all-black dress pants, collared shirts, dresses, or dress shoes taking up room in the back of your closet that a child in your family has outgrown? The MUMS Tiger Concert Closet is a newly formed initiative that is seeking donations of all-black concert attire for kids to borrow for the winter and spring concerts. This school-based "borrowing closet" will be available for all band and choir students to use throughout their years at MUMS. They will borrow what they need for each concert and return it afterwards.

Whether it's being short on time, schedules, transportation, finances, or some combination of these things, the hope is that the Tiger Concert Closet will make things easier for families and students. A special shout-out goes to Junebug, who is graciously donating two huge rolling racks, sizing dividers, bins, hangers, and their time to help us set this up at MUMS! You are an amazing organization and we are lucky to have you as our partner!

Beginning this week, you can bring in your donation to either the front office of MUMS during regular school hours (8:00 am- 3:30 pm) or to Junebug (9 am- 5pm, 211 Maple Street, Middlebury). There will be a bin clearly marked "Tiger Concert Closet" where you can leave your donation. You can also donate clothing or money at Junebug (they'll have a collection jar earmarked for MUMS Tiger Concert Closet). We will add clothing and shoe donations directly to the Closet, and turn any collected money at Junebug to purchase high-need items. We can accept sizes from kids 10-12 to adult XL.

If you have questions or want to join our committee, please email etothsears@gmail.com and we will be in touch. Thanks for supporting our young musicians!

Please see the below link to access our Finalized 2025-2026 School Calendar.

If neither you or your child’s other biological or adoptive parent have a 4 year college degree, your child may be eligible for the program! Please fill out this quick form and our VSAC Counselor will reach out to you with the application.

It's that time of year again! Several positive flu cases have been reported here at MUMS, with an increase over the last week. With that in mind, we wanted to share some guidance and reminders to help minimize the spread of illnesses. Please remind your students not to share water bottles, food or anything else that can further contribute to the spread of illness. Please also encourage your students to eat well, stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. Good hand washing is the #1 way to prevent the spread of contagious illness!

We expect students to stay home with any potentially contagious illnesses or symptoms including the following:

1. Vomiting/diarrhea-must be 24 hours symptom free before returning to school

2. Fever 100.4 or greater -stay home until fever free without use of medication for 24 hours

3. Any infection requiring antibiotic-keep your student home until they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours

4. Persistent cough that disrupts normal activity

5. Unexplained rash

6. Influenza and COVID-stay home until fever free without medication for 24 hours

7. Any other symptoms or illness that impedes a student’s ability to learn or staff’s ability to work.

Students may return once feeling well enough to be at school and fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.

If your student tests positive for Influenza or COVID, it is very helpful if you are able to call or email the school nurses to report this so we can track trends and determine if we are having outbreaks.

Thank you!

Liz Palko, BSN, RN

• To report your child absent from school or notify us of an early dismissal please leave us a message on our attendance line by calling 382-1297 before 8:30 AM.
• If you send a student to school with an early dismissal note or bus note they should bring them the office before TA.
• All bus notes need to be stamped/signed by one of our Administrative Assistant's in the front office. Students will not be allowed to ride a bus to another location without a note from home that is stamped/signed by the office.

Do you volunteer in our schools? Join Superintendent Wendy Baker for a discussion about how to streamline, strengthen, and improve our volunteer program at ACSD schools. We will schedule a time to meet this fall to gather your feedback. Interested?
Button or link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1H6laR0CJwNAVk9RKvXDYd2kvHeiw0vzwBb_9qcRNwg4/edit

To view monthly school menus click here.

Here is a list of the 2024-2025 ACSD Bus Routes.

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