Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We are so lucky to have awesome partners in you as well as the wider Middlebury community, as you help Mary Hogan as a school and our students in so many ways!

Volunteering at Mary Hogan is one way that you can help support the learning and experiences for your child and many others. Volunteers could be regular - like in our lunch room, with Chorus, or part of a literacy rotation in a class. They can also help on our field trips and community days, like the one coming up this Friday 10/10, when we have a Fun Run and then everyone is going out to the apple orchards.

THANK YOU to the many folks who have already signed up to volunteer. If you haven't already, you can do it HERE.

Best,

Jen

Monday 10/6-Wednesday 10/8 - Visitors from New England Association of Schools and Colleges visits ACSD schools for reaccreditation (see below)

Tuesday 10/7 - We will be running the FRIDAY schedule for specials today as students will be missing Friday specials 3 times this month.

Wednesday 10/8 - Fire Safety Prevention Day at Mary Hogan

Friday 10/10 - Fall Fun Day (see below)

• 9am - All School Meeting led by 5th grade

Saturday 10/18 9-11am - Fall Garden Clean Up Day!

Friday 10/24 - No School - Parent Teacher Conference Day

• Your child's teacher will be in contact with you soon about how to schedule a conference. It may be this day or within our conference window of 10/6-11/7.

We are having a Fall Fun Day on 10/10/25. We will be having an all school Fun Run at around 9.45. Buddy classrooms will also be going to local orchards. We are looking for volunteers who have been approved as unsupervised volunteers to help support the run and/or our trip to the orchards.

SIGN UP HERE to volunteer to help on Fall Fun Day!

Next week, we are excited to welcome visitors from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). Our guests will be colleagues from across the nation and the globe. They will be observing classrooms and schools throughout Addison Central School District. ACSD is proud to be the first U.S. public school district to pursue a joint accreditation with both organizations, a process that helps us grow and strengthen our work for students through. This district-wide accreditation process will support a cohesive, PK–12 approach to learning and aligns with our shared goals and priorities. We are grateful for your partnership as we take this exciting step together. If you want to learn more about the NEASC and IB accreditation process, please visit our webpage.

We are pleased to announce Mary Hogan School has been awarded a FFVP grant for this upcoming year. The FFVP is a federally funded program that promotes fresh fruits and vegetables to the classroom. Guidelines to the grant requires fresh fruits and vegetables be served during the day when no other meal is being provided. They also like to have informational material on the product being served so students learn where their food is sourced, growing seasons and the origin of the product.

This is the outline of how the FFVP will work.

• The program will be offered every Monday Wednesday and Friday beginning October 1st.
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables will be available from 1:15 –2:00.
• Items will be ready to eat - no cutting in the classroom needed!
• Baskets of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables will be delivered to all K-3 classrooms.
• A kiosk will be stationed in E wing for 4th & 5th grade. Kids can pick up as they come in from recess!
• We ask that all baskets are set outside the classrooms by 2:30 for cleanup.
• Extra snacks can be shared with students or left in the baskets for pick up.

We encourage all students (regardless of grade) to have a change of clothes at school. You never know when you will need them. And...

We try to keep some clothing items on had in case of an emergency and we could use your help in collecting items that are frequently needed. We are looking for new socks and underwear for all genders (sizes 4/5T and young child sizes). We are also looking for pants of all sizes 4/5T through 14/16) to have on hand in case children have accidents at school and don't have a change of clothes.

All clothes can be brought to the main office. Thank you in advance!

Thank you for working with us during the first month of school to help your children build strong attendance routines. As a reminder, if your child has a planned absence for more than three days, you need to request the superintendent’s permission for that absence to be excused. Absences are generally considered excused only if a student is sick or their absence is approved by the Superintendent as an educational opportunity.

Our attendance protocol is based on the new Agency of Education guidance. We know these new rules may take some getting used to, and we appreciate your support as we work through them together. Please view the full protocol here and reach out to your principal or the superintendent’s office with any questions.

Our Chorus this year is HUGE! We have 63 students in grades 4 and 5 who are part of chorus this year, which is going to make for an amazing concert when they perform in March. Until then, they will be learning songs and singing together each Wednesday afternoon with Ms. K. We also have 43 students in Band! Both groups require 2 photos to get everyone in there!

If you are free regularly from 2.15-3 on Wednesdays or Thursdays - even if a regular week each month - and are able to help, please reach out to Ms. K - skulhowvick@acsdvt.org and sign up to volunteer if you haven't already.

On 10/1, Mary Hogan students participated in the October Walk and Roll to School Day. Students who walked, bussed, biked, or carpooled to school got thanked and a small prize for their work to be healthy and contribute to our community by reducing traffic and pollution.

5th grade students also collected data from each classroom on Wednesday to find out how many students walked, biked, bussed, carpooled, or drove to school that day. The class with the highest percentage of walkers and bikers will be shared this Friday 10/10 and the class will win the Muddy Boot Award!

The next Walk and Roll Day is Wednesday November 5th.

On Tuesday, the 3rd graders went to Dead Creek Visitor's Center in Addison for the first bus field trip of the year! There, they saw how biologists catch song birds and band them. Students had a chance to help release the birds after they were banded. Some students had their birds fly right off and a few had a bird that was happy to hang out on their hand for up to a minute!

The students also learned about the different animals that criss cross the Dead Creek Wildlife Management area and explore the visitor's center. Each class enjoyed reading together from their shared first read aloud Poppy and have some lunch in a beautiful location on a beautiful day. It was a stellar field trip!

Preschoolers get out on adventure days each week and explore our community in many ways. This week, they were enjoying the fall leaves on their walk as well as enjoyed collecting items of interest in Battell Woods. If you haven't yet, try to get your child out to enjoy the fall - the leaves, the woods, and more - on this long weekend!

Most days in math, students are playing math games to support their math skills as well as communication, self-management, and thinking skills. We call these math games "Math Workplaces". Sometimes these games are card games and other times they have a game board. Sometimes, the class plays together to learn a game and other times students work in teams to play the games. Ask your child what math workplaces they played this week!

Some Kindergarten and 3rd grade buddies got together this week to read together. The 3rd graders were great mentors for their buddies, reading engaging books, like Who Would Win and more!

ACSD Board School Board Town Hall Meetings are a chance to share what is important to you about your student’s education, help shape budget priorities, and help the Board understand the hopes and values you have for our schools, our district, and the future of public education in Vermont. The first two meetings are planned with more on the way. All ACSD Community members are welcome at any event. Can't attend in person? Share your thoughts here: tinyurl.com/ACSDtownhall

2025-2026 Schedule:
September 29, 6pm at Bridport Central School
October 20, 6pm at Cornwall Elementary School
November TBD at Mary Hogan Elementary
December TBD at Ripton Elementary School
January TBD at Salisbury Elementary School
February TBD at Shoreham Elementary School
March TBD at Weybridge Elementary School

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.