Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

Happy Fall Friday! It truly feels like fall now with cooler weather and the fully rainy day we had this week. We are now a full 5 weeks into the school year and are settling into a good routine here at school. This week we had our first All School Meeting as well, where we focused on the learner profile trait for September - Caring (more below). Buddy classrooms got together for a scavenger hunt, students got out in the puddles, and classes went on their weekly walks.

First grader in Mrs. Flint's class read the book Enemy Pie and then made some pie (or apple crisp!) together. They enjoyed the apple crisp in their class and then shared it with others around school. The crisp was sweet because of the apples and sugar but mostly because it was made with care and love. What a great way to care for each other!

💙, Jen

Saturday 9/28 - MESA fundraiser - Cyndi Palmer Photo Shoot

Wednesday 10/2 - Walk and Roll to School Day!

Thursday 10/3 - Bus Evacuation Drill in morning

Saturday 10/5 - 9-11am - Fall Green Up, Clean Up around Mary Hogan

Wednesday 10/9 - 12.35pm Early Release Dismissal K-5, Preschool dismissal at 11.30am

Thursday 10/10 & Friday 10/11 - No School - Fall Break

Walk and Roll to School returns next Wednesday, October 2nd!. It is also the annual Muddy Boot contest. Teachers next week will be asking their students how they got to school. The classroom with the most walkers, bikers, scooter riders, skateboarders, bus riders, and carpoolers combined with be awarded the Muddy Boot trophy. Last year’s winner was Kate Conklin’s class. Can she defend that title or will a new classroom be anointed champion? We’ll find out next week!

We had our first All School Meeting on Thursday and focused on the Learner Profile attribute CARING. It was so amazing to be together as a whole school of over 360 students and about 100 staff. We shared a greeting, heard stories and saw pictures of caring from the last month, and learned about the Day of Kindness. This day was an idea by a 4th grade student who wanted to help spread kindness across the school.

HERE is the slideshow we used for the meeting and you can see more - and listen to the songs we sang together!

As a school, we go outside in most weather - from rain to sun, warm to cold. This week, we had our first really heavy rain since school started. While we didn't go out for recess because it was pouring, classes still went out at other times in the day.

Preschoolers get out in all weather with these amazing rain suits they got from a grant in past years. They find deep joy in the puddles and exploring the world around them.

Please ensure your child has the right clothes for the weather since they may go out in any weather. Other than the preschool rain suits, we do not provide extra clothes for kids at school.

If you need help getting weather clothes, please reach out to me or Nurse Becky who can help families navigate these needs.

1. Provide opportunities for caregivers to connect and collaborate with teachers about how their child is doing
2. Create a record of student progress towards grade level standards for families, teachers and schools.

Teachers will meet with parents/guardians for parent-teacher conferences TWO times during the year. These conferences will be 20 min. long, in person or virtual/by phone. They will be focused on goal setting and the student’s learning and progress. Conference windows will be: October - November and March - April

In early February, after the winter progress reports are sent home, teachers will reach out to families to answer any questions they have about the report and their child’s progress.

Students will receive progress indicators on a 5 point scale for each subject area and a 4 point scale for Approaches to Learning skill development.

There will be comments from all teachers addressing the student’s developing Approaches To Learning skills (ATLs).

Progress Reports will be sent home in January and June.

Parents/Guardians will be given At A Glance documents at the start of the year specifying the end-of-year grade level learning expectations (standards) in each subject area. If you ever need a copy, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Students’ progress will be discussed in relation to these standards during conferences and are used to determine proficiency in the January and June reports.

Everybody Wins! Vermont, a literacy based mentoring program open to Mary Hogan students in grades 2-5, is looking for volunteers. Student participation in Everybody Wins is completely voluntary and many students at Mary Hogan are hoping to be matched with a mentor this year.

Mentors are matched with a student and these mentor/mentee pairs meet once a week (choice of Tuesday, Thursday or Friday) over the student's lunch/recess period to read, play board games, and get to know each other.

Everybody Wins! is NOT a tutoring program. Our goal is to provide kids with a caring adult and help nurture a love of books and reading. No special skills are needed- just a willingness to spend an hour each week with a child.

To apply please visit Vermont Mentoring Database (civicore.com)

If you have any questions contact Sarah at Middlebury@everybodywinsvermont.org

In addition to our phone/email communication, ACSD has a text messaging system. Families must opt-in to receive texts. ACSD will only use text messaging for short, time-sensitive messages (like early dismissal and snow days). Your school may also text you for important school updates. We will tested this service on Thursday Sept 19th after the school day.

To receive texts, you must opt-in. If you think you signed up to receive text messages but did not receive one last Friday around 4pm, please contact your school to make sure your wireless phone number is in our student database. If you want to receive text messages you can sign up by Texting “yes” to 67587. You will get a reply confirming your registration. (If you ever want to stop receiving texts, just text STOP.) The district and school will only use text messages for important, time sensitive communication.

Due to growing instances of phishing scams and concern for potential hacks of our computer networks, we will be removing all staff email addresses from our website directory. This change comes at the direction of our Technology Dept and we join many K-12 schools, colleges, and businesses in making this change. Staff phone numbers will still be available in our staff directory. You may also request a teacher’s email by phone or by calling our front office 802.382.1412. Thank you for your understanding as we balance family communication needs with tech privacy and safety.

Want to know more about the Volunteer Process? Check out more information HERE.

ACSD 5th grade boys and girls interested in working on their basketball skills and playing more games, we have a great opportunity for you. Mini-metro basketball has been around for more than 30 years. Come try out for the 5th/6th grade Tiger teams! We have both boys and girls teams. Games are every Sunday starting the first week of November. We will have one or two practices a week throughout October in Middlebury. Practices during the school/rec basketball season will be once per week, and will not conflict with school or Rec practice schedules. We work on fostering a positive environment and focus on skill and team development.

Tryouts will be on October 5th at the MUHS gym as follows:

5/6 Boys 2:30 PM – 4 PM

5/6 Girls 5 PM – 6 PM

The Middlebury Basketball Association provides uniforms free of charge. Registration fees will be ~$75 per athlete. Players will need to travel for some games, we will also host games in Middlebury at the Town gym. Parents will be asked to commit to volunteer for a minimum of two 1 hour shifts during the season on a Sunday when the games are hosted in Middlebury.

For more information please email info@middhoops.com.

Dive into a season of swimming, personal growth, and fun with the Addison Otters Swim Team. We have five practice levels to serve youth swimmers of all ages (minimum skills are required to join the team). Our practices start on 11/1/24 and the season runs until 3/9/25. Practices are held at the Mt. Abe high school pool from 4:00-6:00 each weekday (check out our website to see the schedule for each practice group)

Join us for a free practice session or swim test: If you are curious about competitive swimming and want to try it out, we are offering some free practice sessions. Sessions are scheduled for 10/1, 10/4 and 10/8 from 4-4:45pm. Email us at aostcoaches@gmail.com to reserve a spot or to ask about additional dates.

We have an informational meeting scheduled for 10/3 from 6:30-8:00 at the Mt. Abe high school cafeteria. All are welcome to attend to meet our coaches and learn more about the team.

For additional details, or to register for our winter season, please visit http://www.addisonotters.com or email us at aostcoaches@gmail.com. We can't wait to see you at the pool!