Mary Hogan Family News

It has been a great four day week at school this week. Students were really digging into routines and getting used to our new arrival and breakfast routines. To help you and your children with the routine, we have some social stories that you can share with your child about the routine:

• Kindergarten & 1st Grade
• Grades 2-5

It is really important for students wanting their breakfast at school to come at 7.45 to have enough time to eat before the day gets rolling. Thanks for your help with this.

The bus routes also started to get back to "normal". The district is looking for feedback on how bus routes have impacted you and your family this year. More info is below but you can fill out THIS SURVEY to share your perspective.

Thank you for your support of your children in this transitional week and for getting your child to school each day! September is National Attendance Awareness Month. Check out this information that has information about why attendance matters and how important coming to school on time is for all students. You will also see posts on Instagram this month about the importance of attendance. If you have any questions, please reach out.

💙,
Jen

Friday 9/4 - No School

Monday 9/7 - No School, Labor Day

Wednesday 9/9 - 6.30pm MESA meeting in the Mary Hogan Library - Note change in date! and see info below about the meeting (Hint: 🍕)

• 7.30pm after the MESA meeting - Annual Title 1 meeting (see image for more info).

Thursday 9/17 - School Picture Day 📸

• 5.45-7pm - ⭐ Back to School Night

Friday 9/17 - 6pm - Playing Fields at MUMS (See below)

Please join us on Friday September 18th for a special welcome back event hosted by the Flynn Center and ACSD! This Whimsical interactive back-to-school party will feature PEARL by Plasticiens Volants. FREE and open to everyone in the ACSD Community.

6pm at Middlebury Union Middle School

We have a lot of sunflowers and pumpkins growing still in our school garden. They are the literal fruits of the work of many Mary Hogan students, staff, and families over the past growing season to get the garden ready and planted. Over the summer, we had a TON of help from Nancy Nicosia, who helped keep the garden watered and tended. Thank you so much Nancy!

We will be hosting our fall Garden Clean Up Day on 10/11 from 9-11am. There will be donuts, friends, and lots of fun. We hope to see you there!

Our Preschool students started their year this week on Monday. The second year students have been helping their new classmates learn the ropes and all of the students have been enjoying being together and playing on the playground. We learn so much from our youngest learners and are happy to have them started and with us each Monday to Friday!

After a three day stint of Kindercamp, the Kindergarteners got settled in their classrooms this week with their teachers and classmates for the year. They are doing an awesome job not only navigating the hallways but also asking for help when they aren't sure. They are playing with friends, learning new routines, and have been such great classmates to each other!

The 5th graders have been rocking it in their sportsmanship on the playground. They have also been working hard in their classes to build a classroom community. Check out this video below to see how supportive they are while collaborating on a challenge.

We had an awesome first Walk and Roll to School Day on Wednesday this week. Over 20% of students rode bikes or scooters to school. More walked and rode the bus. Some carpooled. It was fabulous! Getting outside and exercising in the morning before school helps students brains get ready for the day ahead, so even on those days that aren't official Walk and Roll Days, try to keep walking, rolling, bussing, and carpooling!

Your school counselors have important information to share about who we are, what we do, and how and why students and families can access our support! Click here to learn more about our school counseling program.*Scroll through for translations in Spanish, Chinese, and Burmese.

Each month the library will have a Reading Challenge for students. The students earn a small prize if they complete the challenge and submit the required paperwork. The paperwork is available at the library circulation desk. Prizes are given out the first week of the following month. Families can check out the current reading challenge by visiting this website. The site will include the required paperwork so you can print it off at home if needed.

The September challenge is to read (or read again) a book from one of your favorite areas in the library and fill out a book recommendation form. We hope that students will fill our library's walls with book recommendations for others!!

Please email jaltemose@acsdvt.org if you have any questions.

Wednesday, September 9th

6:30-7:30 p.m.

Mary Hogan Library

Kids are welcome, and pizza will be provided!

MESA is Mary Hogan’s parent and caregiver organization, supporting students, staff, and families through events, activities, and enrichment opportunities that help bring our school community together.

At our first meeting, we’ll introduce our newest Executive Board members, hear from returning board members, share upcoming events and activities, and discuss ways you can help shape the year ahead.

Whether you’re new to Mary Hogan, have been here for years, want to get more involved, or are simply curious about MESA, come join us! We’d love to meet you and hear your ideas.

Can’t make it in person? Join us virtually here:

https://meet.google.com/xmv-ebvg-kaz

Across our district, we are facing significant transportation challenges caused by driver shortages on multiple bus routes. You can find revised bus routes here based on Week 1 changes, and also in your principal’s newsletters. We hope the changes we made in Week 1 will offer stability moving forward and we will continue to make adjustments as needed and hope to get back to our normal bus routes as quickly as possible. However, we are also working to capture the full impact this challenge has had on our families as we escalate this situation to the the Secretary of Education and BetCha’s parent company, STA. Please use this form to document the impact any bus disruptions had on your family so that we can act on and/or pass along the information as we seek resolution.