Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

This week really represented the early spring season to me. We started the week with a bunch of snow and then it quickly melted and we had some amazingly beautiful and sunny days. It rained but that didn't damper our enthusiasm in getting outside and playing. Another sign of spring and longer, sunnier days was the time change this past weekend. It has been awesome to have more sun at the end of the day but it certainly made all of us - adults and students alike - pretty tired this week. I hope everyone gets caught up on sleep and a chance to rest this weekend. I can't wait to see you all next week!

Be well,

Jen

Week of 3/18 - Neurodiversity Celebration Week!

• We have the solar eclipse museum visiting us this week. Students will get a chance to engage and participate in the learning over the week!

Tuesday 3/19 - 6.30-8pm at MUHS -Screenagers Next Chapter: Addressing Mental Health in the Digital Age

Wednesday 3/20 - 9-9.30am - All School Meeting, led by 2nd grade - 2nd grade families invited

- Neurodiversity Celebration Night - Marquis Theater Cafe (65 Main St, Middlebury) - put on by ACSD Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)

Thursday 3/21 - 6.30pm - MESA Meeting in the library

Friday 3/22 - No School - Family - Teacher Conference Day (Teachers will schedule this day or at other times. Be on the look out for info from your child(ren)'s teacher(s).)

Monday 3/25 - Shine a Light on Neurodiversity in ACSD - ACSD School Board Meeting (208 Charles Ave, Middlebury)

Tuesday 3/26 - 1.45pm - All School Concert by the 4th and 5th grade chorus and band students

• 6.30pm - Band and Chorus Concert

Thursday 3/28 - Students meet virtually with Kate Allen Fox as she talks about her book, A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse

Wednesday 4/3 - Walk and Roll to School Day

• Early Release Day - 11.30 for preschool, 12.35 for K-5th grades

Thursday 4/4 - 9am - All School Meeting led by 1st grade

Week of 4/8 - Week of the Young Child

Monday 4/8 - Early Release Due to Solar Eclipse - 11.30 for preschool, 12.35 for K-5th grades

Ms. Hartman just opened up the construction center in art and it was so popular, she could use your help! Please consider sending in these items with your child to bring to the art room. We are always in need of these materials:

• Toilet paper and paper towel rolls

• Gift and Shoe Boxes

• Broken down cardboard boxes

• Bottle caps

• Packing peanuts

• Styrofoam Trays

• Bubble Wrap

• Newspaper

• Clean yogurt cups

• Paper Bags

There is a lot going on in PE these days. We have been working on paddle sports and skills, hockey skills, and we had a special skating event for our Kindergarten students and their 5th grade buddies.

In April, we are transitioning to our outdoor biking unit. Here, our older students will learn bike safety, rules of the road and how to navigate traffic. We even have an opportunity to take a biking field trip through some local neighborhoods. Our younger riders will be working on balance bikes and starting and stopping safely in our obstacle course.

We will also be working on manipulation skills like juggling, hand-eye-coordination and balance with some fun circus type activities.

We are so excited to celebrate the neurodiversity around us at Mary Hogan this coming week. Many posters about neurodiversity will be around school. This one was adapted by Xanthe and gives a great overview of the benefits of our neurodiverse community. Mary Hogan students will be making announcements with information about neurodiversity as another way to celebrate how neurodiversity makes our community stronger.

We hope this week will be a moment to highlight and celebrate neurodiversity. And, our aim is always to recognize the awesomeness we each bring to our community each day.

MESA is excited to invite you to join us for our first Cookies and Canvas painting event! Sunday, April 7th from 2-4 p.m

Local artist, Gail Dorman, will provide step-by-step guidance to help you create your piece of art to take home. Don't worry if you have no previous painting experience, this event is for everyone!

The theme "Lights out, Green Mountains", is a celebration of our community being in the path of totality for the solar eclipse occurring the next day!

$35 per student or adult includes all the necessary painting supplies required to make an 11 x 14 canvas painting. Preregistration and cash or check payment is required before March 31st to confirm your spot. Complementary cookies will be provided.

Adults can attend with or without children, but children must be accompanied by an adult.

To register: Click Here to Sign Up

We look forward to painting with you!

**Payment is nonrefundable, however, reserved spots can be filled by someone else if you aren't able to attend**

MESA has 26 Funky Chickens hats left, plus some patches. They will have them at the Band and Chorus Concert and you can reach out to mesa@acsdvt.org if you would like to get one beforehand.

Next week, our schools will be celebrating neurodiversity in our community. Neurodiversity refers to the biological fact that everyone has a uniquely wired brain and their own way of thinking, learning, and experiencing the world. Learn more at https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/introduction! School leaders will share more about upcoming Neurodiversity Celebration Week events at your school. SEPAC also invites you to connect with them through the SEPAC website and join them for two upcoming events:

• Neurodiversity Celebration Night - Marquis Theater Cafe (65 Main St, Middlebury) - March 20th, 5:30-7:00 pm

• Shine a Light on Neurodiversity in ACSD - ACSD School Board Meeting (208 Charles Ave, Middlebury) - March 25th, 6:30pm

Dates:Thursdays March 28-April 18

Time: 2:52 PM until 5:15 PM.

Student Ratio: 1:6, we will have room for 12 students and if registration is in high demand a lottery will be used

Cost: $60 for members, $100 for non-members. ($15 per session, $40 additional cost for non-member)

Pick up location: Chipman Hill.

Contact: Please email rachel@maltvt.org if you are interested

Details:

MALT's education programs provide an experience that not only gives your child the opportunity to explore freely and adventure in the outdoors but works to create a land ethic where respect for nature and other living beings are of the utmost importance. We spend all our time on MALT’s conserved lands and Middlebury Town Forests. Sign your kiddos up and help them get in touch with their wild side as they bolster their classroom learning.

MALT instructors meet students at Mary Hogan (students from other schools may take the afterschool bus to the Mary Hogan program OR be dropped off). Pickup will be at Chipman Hill off Seminary St Ext in Middlebury.

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

For more awesome photos, check out the Instagram account, below!