Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

Tomorrow is Green Up Day and we are hosting a super fun event at Mary Hogan from 9-11am. We have a Green Up, Clean Up Day and will be hosting folks to do some work in the garden and greening up around school. We will have community partners at school with some fun activities and there will be a chance for students to bring home a pot with some seeds. We hope to see you tomorrow!

There is a lot going on around town tomorrow as well as at Mary Hogan. There is a great bike swap at Frog Hollow in the morning, so if you are looking for bikes, it is worth checking out. The swap also supports our Walk and Roll and biking program. And, swing by the Marbleworks for more Green Up activities. It will be a great weekend in Middlebury!

💙, Jen

Monday 5/4 - 5th graders head to Keewaydin Environmental Education Center (KEEC) for the week

• 5 or 5.30 - Cooking with NOM - Sign up HERE before Sunday 5/3

Wednesday 5/6 - Early Release Day (preschool at 11.30, K-5 at 12.35)

• 9am - All School Meeting - Led by Kindergarten

Thursday 5/7 - 1st grade field trip to Kayhart Farms and Bridport School House

It takes a whole team to get the garden ready and keep it going. We hope you can help us out on our Green Up, Clean Up day on May 2nd from 9-11. We will be greening, gardening, and having fun with local organizations who are coming to support the fun.

Our 1st Year End Celebration of Learning will be on Thursday May 21, 5.45-7pm. Mark your calendar. More information will be forthcoming in next week's bulletin!

Field Day - 5/19

Progress Reports come home - 6/8

5th grade promotion - 6/10 at 1.30pm at Memorial Sports Center

Last day of school - 6/11

Class placement letters sent home - end of June

As our school year wraps up, teachers and staff at Mary Hogan would like to invite you to a Celebration of Learning May 21st from 5:45 - 7 p.m. Each grade level will have a room for you to explore the great work students have been producing all year including the presentations 5th graders shared this week for Exhibition. Join us for ice cream, a scavenger hunt and pictures of the learning students have been doing this year.

The May Reading Challenge theme is Around the World. People come from all different cultures and places. Read two picture books or a chapter book that portray these differences. It can be a book that takes place somewhere else in the world, or a book whose character is from a different culture than your own.

Our 5th grade students have been working hard over the past month to dig into the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and research a connected topic of their choice. The students did research, organized their notes, analyzed what they found, wrote an essay, created brochures, designed a poster, wrote a bibliography, took action, and got ready to present to others. Phew! That was a TON of work in a short period of time.

On Thursday, they presented to our school and wider community at Exhibition. The students did such a great job sharing what they learned. Topics ranged from endangered Vermont animals to plastic pollution in the oceans, healthy food to dress codes, deforestation to space trash. It was great to see the enthusiasm of younger students at Exhibition as they heard older students present.

Excitement was palpable. Way to go, 5th graders!

Below you will see one of the flyers on healthy relationships as well as many photos from this week!

Mr. Burke's class has put out the Mary Hogan Messenger different years in the past and this year, the students wanted to write this year's edition. You can check out the first edition of the year HERE.

Jeanne Neu, Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Statewide Consultant on Deafblindness, visited Mary Hogan today for a short presentation with Kindergarten and 3rd grade classes. Her presentation helpers were Emily Algrnati (a guide dog mobility instructor), Milo (a kindergarten student who has ocular albinism), and Luna (dog). Milo helped answer many questions about guide dogs! The students were introduced to Braille books and those who attended today will be given a card with their name in Braille.

If anyone would like more information, one can visit these two websites:

Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired - https://www.vabvi.org/

Guide Dogs for the Blind - https://www.guidedogs.com/

1st graders are working on their paddle skills. No, they are not paddling a canoe, but instead they are working on using paddles, like tennis racquets and big lolly pop looking racquets. They have to work on balance as well as bouncing the ball to themselves. This is serious hand-eye coordination!

The 2nd graders' visit to the Middlebury College library made it into the Middlebury College news - Midd Stories. Check out the post HERE.

Do you need child care for your 3-5-year-old? Our new Shoreham preschool has openings for children who will be 3-years-old by September 1, 2026! Our Shoreham preschool program will open in August 2026. It runs for 35 weeks per year and is free for all participants. The program has 2 licensed teachers and is open to all children. Read more about our ACSD preschool program here and fill out this form to apply. Share this link with friends and neighbors with young children!

We are so grateful to our family and community volunteers! If you plan to volunteer for an event or activity this year, now is a great time to apply or make sure your paperwork is up-to-date!

• Learn more about the volunteer process here.
• Check in with your front office if you've volunteered in the past to make your paperwork is up to date.
• Fill out this form if you've never volunteered before and plan to this year.

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