MUHS Community Newsletter

Dear MUHS Community,

Don't miss this newsletter, which is full of highlights about academics, athletics, activities, and more. Wishing you all a joyful vacation. We can't wait to see you again in the new year!

Warmly,

Caitlin Steele, Principal

Ben Weir, Assistant Principal

Sean Farrell, Activities Director

Our FY26 Budget development process is underway and we invite the ACSD community to learn more and share feedback as we build toward a final budget:

• On January 6 at 6:30pm, the ACSD Board meeting will offer an overview of the full ACSD FY26 Budget spending plan (MUHS Library or virtual).

• On January 9th at 6:30, Superintendent Baker will host a virtual Public Input Session where the ACSD community can ask questions and share feedback. (Use this meeting link (password: ACSD)

• Find these meeting links and more information, resources, and opportunities for community engagement on our FY26 Budget webpage.

If you have driven through the MUHS parking lot at the end of a school day, you have probably seen how backed up the traffic pattern can get. We're trying to make the pick-up hour safer and more efficient. You can help:

1. Remember, the bus circle is reserved for buses only at drop off (8:00-8:45 AM) and pick up (3:00-4:00 PM).
2. To drop off or pick up students during those times, please pull past the bus circle to the sidewalk between the high school and career center. Pull forward to make room for people coming behind you.
3. When using the visitor lot (the first lot north of the bus circle), please do not park anyone in or block a fire lane. Reserve accessible parking spaces for those with tags. When leaving the visitor lot, please pull out onto Charles Ave, not into the bus circle.

We have requested signs for the outside to help with clarity. In the meantime, don't be surprised to see a helper or two outside after school pointing folks in the right direction to keep the traffic flowing smoothly and safely for all. Thanks for your help with this.

The MUHS Wellness Team is excited to announce an 8-week session of Student/Staff Yoga, beginning on Thursday, January 16 at 3:30 in E108. Instructor Prem Prakash will lead both students and staff through this 8 week yoga experience. Feel free to bring your own yoga mat or use one that will be provided. If you have any questions, please reach out to Chris Giorgio at cgiorgio@acsdvt.org. Join as you're able. Participation is free.

Thanks to Kurt Broderson and the staff at Middlebury Community Television, a 20-minute documentary of last week’s Grade 10 Personal Project Exhibition is now ready for viewing. Many students were interviewed about their projects. Click the video to hear about Wylie’s death metal vocal regimen, Taylor’s process of improving his three-point percentage in basketball, Evelyn’s wood canvas canoe building, Toby’s 46-day poetry writing journey, and so much more.

In Health class students were tasked with creating a poster that educates their peers about a chosen topic related to mental health and wellness. They worked hard to use their own knowledge and research to create these posters that include very important topics for our school community to keep in mind. The Wellness Team then came together and voted on the most engaging to be shared with the school. It was hard to judge with so many amazing posters, but the top 10 were decided and can be seen here. Keep an eye out at school as these posters will also be displayed for everyone to learn from our students’ hard work!

This week, all 9th and 10th grade students attended a presentation by the School Counseling team on opportunities to earn MUHS credit in various ways through Flexible Pathways. Topics included such programs as the Hannaford Career Center, the IB Diploma Program, Dual Enrollment, Branching Out Independent Study courses and more! For additional information, refer here for the presentation. We look forward to supporting students in accessing these dynamic and varied opportunities!

On Thursday, January 16th we will host our Annual DP Information Night at MUHS in the Auditorium at 6:30 pm. The primary focus of this event is to support Grade 10 students and families who are considering the pathway of either a full diploma candidate or as a certificate candidate. This event is open to all families, for students of all ages, who would like to learn more about the Grade 11/12 IB options.

The winter sports season has begun! The Tiger Fan Club (formally known as SPARK) is promoting good sportsmanship and school spirit. This season there will be weekly school spirit theme designations. Stay tuned for the first theme coming after the break!

Several of our fall student-athletes received post-season honors this year.

Cross Country

Beth qualified for the New England Cross Country Championships.

Field Hockey

Metro First Team: Lila

Honorable Mention: Maya, Quinn

Twin State Team: Lila

Rising Stars Game: Maya, Kenyon, Quinn

Football - All-State

First Team: Angus - Offensive Line, Outside Linebacker; Kyle - Offensive line, Defensive Line; Cooke - Tight End; Avery - Running Back, Inside Linebacker; Tucker - Kicker; Alex - Defensive Back

Second Team: Steven - Offensive Line; George - Tight End, Defensive Back; Tucker - Wide Receiver; Luke - Quarterback; Logan - Running Back; Avery - Returner

Honorable Mention: Tassilo - Running Back; Callan - Defensive Line; Steven - Defensive Line; Tucker - Inside Linebacker, Outside Linebacker; Brady - Defensive Back

Boys Soccer - Lake Division

First Team: Ollie, Jonathan, Ian

Second Team: Annan, Theo, Benjamin

Honorable Mention: Oscar, Noah, Joshua, Barlow

All-State Team: Ollie - Midfield; Jonathan - Goalie

Girls Soccer

All Lake Conference: Solstice - First Team; Meredith - First Team; Jazmyn - Second Team

All State Team: Solstice, Meredith

Volleyball

All State First Team: Emma - Libero; Ronan - Setter

All State Second Team: Aven - Outside Hitter

All State Honorable Mention: Tenny - Defense

Middlebury Model United Nations hosted our annual home conference this past Saturday! Four schools attended the conference, which consisted of two committees (the conflict in Sudan and deep sea mining) of about 25 students each. Thanks to our committee chairs (Kaden, Esra, Max, and Peter) and all the delegates from MUHS, Vermont Commons, The Sharon Academy, and St. Johnsbury Academy for a great day of debate and negotiation!

Members of the Student Coalition on Human Rights (SCOHR) volunteered as elves at the Polar Express last weekend. This is a fundraiser for the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation, which supports community-based prevention programs. The elves had a blast and many are featured in this video of the event created by Lot 7 Media.

Here are some holiday tips from the Middlebury Environmental Action Club (MEAC):

Sustainable Gift Ideas

• Food based gifts: Make cookies, gift canned goods like jam, or homemade baking mixes in a mason jar!
• Homemade and repurposed items: DIY your gifts! You can make candles, sew pillows, embroider clothing, and create whatever you can imagine!
• Items people will use forever! (Think about what someone would really appreciate receiving)
• Regift: Do you have any clothes or items in good condition that someone else would love?

Wrapping from Your Home

• Fabric (Dish towels, cuts from old sheets, and bandanas)
• Shopping bags and used gift bags: Decorate and repurpose gift and shopping bags (Paint on them, draw designs, and write people’s names)
• Repurpose shipping packages: Cardboard boxes collaged, painted, and decorated make beautiful wrapping!
• The wrapping can be a gift too! Give a basket, tote bag, or a little box along with your gift!

Save your wrapping paper from the holidays to make paper with MEAC when we come back from break!

10th graders will meet individually with their school counselors in late January to discuss courses and pathways for next year, and 9th graders will complete course registration in early February. Applications for Career Center programs will be available by mid-January (and due February 21st).

For more information, please visit the Hannaford Career Center website here, or speak with your school counselor!

If you have questions about your child's schedule, please reach out to their School Counselor for help.

There are several illnesses circulating at school, so we wanted to share some guidance and reminders during this time to help minimize the spread of these illnesses. We are seeing strep throat, influenza, viral colds, COVID, stomach viruses, and pneumonia.

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 handwashing is the #1 way to prevent the spread of contagious illness!

We expect students and staff 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.

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

Please take a moment to read this information from the Vermont Department of Health regarding preventing transmission of Influenza. 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.

Thanks for your help with keeping our students and staff as healthy as possible during this challenging time of year.

Kelly McGovern, RN, MSN

kmcgovern@acsdvt.org

802-382-1190

Caroline Choudhury, RN

cchoudhury@acsdvt.org

802-382-1704

December 21-January 1 - Winter Break

January 16 - DP Information Night

February 21 - PAHCC Applications Due

Music Department Calendar

January 11 - All State Auditions- Hartford High School

January 29 - Diploma Program Recital

Check out the MUHS Events Calendar online here.

For students who fall behind in coursework, Success Saturday is an opportunity to spend some time catching up with the support of MUHS educators. This year's Success Saturday dates are: September 28, October 19, November 16, December 7, January 11, February 8, March 22, April 12, and May 31.