MUMS Family Newsletter

We hope this message finds you well! As always, it was a busy week at MUMS!

As forecasted, last Friday, on Tuesday a group of students from Student Council attended the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education (VAMLE) student conference for the day. Our student council members represented MUMS well, networked with other middle school students from across VT and also engaged in inquiry around current social issues impacting students. Thanks to Dustin Hunt and Bethany Morrissey for organizing and chaperoning the trip.

This afternoon we have two candidates visiting MUMS for the second round of our Assistant Principal interviews. Those candidates will meet with students, tour the school, visit with our teachers and connect with a few members of our screening committee a second time. I hope to provide information on our candidates and an updated message about the process and progress in next week's family newsletter.

Next week we will send our sixth grade to the Citizen Summit at Middlebury College and also host our March dance on Friday March 21st from 7:00-9:00. Sixth grade parents please look for a stand alone email in the coming days with more information and for permission slips which went home with students yesterday.

Thank you for your continued partnership and have a great weekend.

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

• March 21st - 6th Grade Citizen Summit (9:00-2:00)

• March 21st - Early Spring Dance (7:00-9:00)

• April 4th - Quarter 3 Ends

• Activities Calendar

In General Music, 8th graders are deep in their advanced guitar unit, during which they continue to develop their technical proficiency and personal style. As you may know, learning how to play the guitar takes patience, perseverance, practice, and receiving feedback (all important Approaches to Learning skills). It’s amazing how much many of our students have grown over the course of three years of General Music guitar instruction! Ask an 8th grader what songs they know how to play!

Eileen Sears, MYP Coordinator

& ACSD Curriculum Leader

esears@acsdvt.org

802-382-1753

Pam Quinn, MYP Coordinator

pquinn@acsdvt.org

802-382-1243

The inaugural season of PAHCC's competition drone club, the "Flying Tigers" is meeting with great success! The club consists of two teams - one Middle School team, and one High School team. Both teams have competed in two tournaments so far this season and have displayed exceptional teamwork, grit, and perseverance. Their hard work is evident in the tremendous improvement they have displayed - in our last competition, the High School team finished in the top 8 in the alliance mission, and the Middle School team finished 4th in the skills mission - out of 23 teams! In fact, our Middle School team (pilot-Zephyr Haugen and co-pilot/programmer - Finn Roark) are ranked 2nd in Vermont in the skills category and have earned a spot at the regional championships in Fairmont, West Virginia to be held on the 29th and 30th of May! - Congratulations Zephyr and Finn!

The club is hoping to expand next year - adding a First Robotics First Technical Challenge team. The club is open to all interested Middle School and High School students and meets at PAHCC on Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 in room A118. If you'd like more information, please contact the club's advisor, Dan Arensmeyer at darensmeyer@pahcc.org.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. The goal of the SEPAC in drawing attention to Neurodiversity Celebration Week is to recognize and celebrate the naturally-occurring neurodiversity among us. Please check out the SEPAC website for information about neurodiversity and what it means to celebrate it – and join us for the following upcoming event!

Neurodiversity Celebration Night

Marquis Theater Cafe (65 Main St, Middlebury)

March 19th, 7:00- 8:00 pm

Pop in for a short hello or to stay the whole time!

The VT Dept. of Health confirmed the first measles case in Vermont in 2025. Measles is an extremely infectious, airborne illness that can cause severe illness and even death. Babies, young children, and people with weak immune systems are at higher risk of getting very sick from measles.

Important facts to keep your family safe:

• Symptoms usually start with high fever, cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes. The characteristic rash usually appears 3-5 days after first symptoms. Call your healthcare provider with any symptoms.

• Measles is one of the most contagious diseases. It is airborne and spread through direct contact with infectious droplets.

• Vaccination is the best way to prevent and protect your family against serious illness. The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective. Two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93% effective.

• Contact your health care provider to ensure your family is up-to-date or to get vaccinated. Measles vaccines are free in Vermont.

Learn more about measles symptoms, spread, and prevention in the full update from our ACSD nurses and at HealthVermont.gov/measles

Spring Dance- Help Needed!

We will be hosting our next dance on Friday March 21st from 7-9pm. Permission slips will be sent home in TA's early next week. There is a $5 admission fee and snacks and drinks will be sold to help raise funds for the 8th grade class trip to Boston.

If you are interested in donating items or chaperoning (must be an approved volunteer with the school district) you can sign up here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0548AFAF29AAFA7-55492410-spring#/

Last Call for Spring Sports Sign-ups-

Registration for spring athletics will close on Monday March 19th. To view our offerings and to sign-up please click here https://forms.gle/qWJa9YziBesj1F7W8

This past Fall, ACSD schools participated in the 802 Smiles Dental Hygiene Program and this was very successful. I'm excited to share that we are once again partnering with dental hygienist, Michael Messina, to offer free dental screenings and preventative care to all ACSD students this Spring. He will be providing these services the week of April 14-18 with the specific schedule to be determined.

Please complete the forms below if you would like your child to participate in this event. Any student that was enrolled in the fall will automatically be on the list to receive services and does not need to fill out the forms again, but if you do not want your student to receive services in April, you should reach out to the school nurse to take them off the list.

Enrollment deadline is April 1st.

ACSD 802 Smiles Letter

802 Smiles Consent Form

802 Smiles Enrollment Form

Substitute teachers are crucial for our students, staff, staff, and schools! We are increasing our daily substitute teaching rate to $160/day for unlicensed subs and $200/day for licensed subs. This change begins on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 when students return from winter break. This flat rate replaces our sliding rate of pay for subs depending on the number of days worked.

To apply, you can email your interest to HR@acsdvt.org with "Substitute Position" in the subject line. You can also visit this listing on school spring.

• 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 students taking a bus to another place other than home need a bus note from their caregiver. This note needs 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