MUMS Family Newsletter

Dear MUMS community,

Thank you so much for all of the support you've shown us over these past few weeks! We've benefited from your support as chaperones, fundraisers, audiences, club leaders, coaches and cheerleaders and for all of these reasons we are so grateful!

We hope that you enjoy a restful and rejuvenating week with your families and look forward to seeing many of you back here on February 29th or March 1st for Parent teacher conferences.

If you have questions generally, please reach out to us at mwisell@acsdvt.org (Michaela)

or zjerome@acsdvt.org (Zach) or dhunt@acsdvt.org (Dustin) or by calling the MUMS office at 802-382-1600 or by visiting the MUMS website for more information.

- Michaela, Zach & Dustin

Michaela Wisell, Principal

Zach Jerome, Assistant Principal

Dustin Hunt, Dean of Culture and Climate

• February 19th thru February 23rd - February Break/No School
  
• February 29th - Parent Conferences PM
• March 1st - Parent Conference Day - No School
• March 6th - Early Release Day
• March 8th - MUMS Dance 7:00pm-9:00pm

This week has been full of giggles and smiles. What a way to end the week before a break. Good job to students and staff for making this week a fun one.

We cordially invite parents and guardians to our spring parent teacher conferences on February 29th and March 1st, 2024. Please review the information below for details:

• Conferences will occur in-person on February 29th, from 4:00-8:00pm. Conferences scheduled on March 1st from 8:00am-12:00pm will be via google meet.
• Core teachers will do conferences in pairs. (Math and I&S together and Lang & Lit and Science together)
• Due to limited conference slots, caregivers can meet with one pair or the other, but not both core team pairs. We would suggest that you sign up with the core pair that you did not meet with in the fall.
• MIXT team, Wellness, Language acquisition, Special Education & Interventionists will meet independently with caregivers as folks sign up.
• Conferences will be 13 minutes long with a 2 minute break between each conference.
• The focus of our conferences will be on how students are navigating their school day as well as to discuss strengths & an area of growth/focus.
• Caregivers please sign up HERE via PTC Fast on or before 9:00 am on Monday February 26th.

Please direct any conference questions to Megan Curran at mcurran@acsdvt.org

In Grade 6 science, students are conducting an investigation to determine which type of road salt is more effective at treating roads and parking areas. Currently, students are designing and conducting a valid investigation, documented in a lab report, to determine the best road salt to use at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. They will be sharing their findings with the manager of the Middlebury Snow Bowl about the most effective type of road salt to use at the Snow Bowl. They will be sharing their findings with the manager of the Middlebury Snow Bowl about the most effective type of road salt. Ask a 6th grader about what they’re discovering! Thanks to Amie McCarthy and Molly Roach for designing rich experiences that allow students to learn about the impacts of science on our decision making.

Pam Quinn and Eileen Sears, MYP Coordinators

In their unit on Adventure, 6th grade Language & Literature students had a visit from MUMS staff member, Mr. Sam, who gave a very cool presentation on his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail! He related this experience to the texts studied in class, answered questions, and let students try on the backpack he carried on his trip.

Vaping is a catastrophic public health problem that affects many of our students. It is not uncommon for young people to be using these products and be addicted and caregivers may not be aware. Tobacco companies and companies who produce vaping products target young people and want to get our kids hooked. The creation of vaping products that are easy to obtain and easy to use are creating a generation of kids who are getting addicted to nicotine quickly and sometimes without even realizing that the vape product they are using may contain nicotine. Vaping devices can also contain THC/Marijuana.

It is easy for kids to engage in “stealth vaping” as the devices used are sleek, small and often look like other common items like USB/thumb drives, asthma inhalers and pens. There are also newer nicotine pouches that are becoming more popular with youth.

Below are some resources to help educate caregivers on the effects of vaping, the products currently available and resources to help talk to your kids about vaping and how to help if they are addicted to nicotine.

Vaping Visual Dictionary-Resource from Centers for Disease Control on how vapes work, what they look like, and different ways to use them

Vermont Department of Health Vaping Toolkit-Great info and resources for caregivers, educators and students

Info about oral nicotine pouches (such as Zyn)

United Way of Addison County

Hidden in Plain Sight-substance use/product awareness resource

Cessation Resources:

802 Quits

My Life My Quit

Unhyped

Become an Ex

Knowledge and awareness around vaping is so important. If your student is addicted to nicotine based products and you are looking for help, the best first step is to make an appointment with their pediatrician or primary healthcare provider. Please reach out to the school nurse if you have questions or need support.

Elizabeth Palko, RN, BSN

MUMS School Nurse

epalko@acsdvt.org

(802)382-1207

Come out to cheer our MUMS teams on and Learn about Afterschool Clubs! Find our schedule of activities below. Also, although we don't have a skiing team, we want to remind families that there is an ACTR bus that stops at MUMS on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and goes to the Middlebury Snow Bowl and students may leave any ski/ride equipment in our lobby if that interests them.

There has been a request to reinvigorate our School Store in time for the Holidays. For those of you interested in purchasing "MUMS Gear" please use this link.

Staff Wish List

• Our Staff Wish List includes lots of things you might have around your home unused, like magazines (for Ms. Ambrose's classes), milk crates (for Ms. Cosgrove's classes), tools, scrap wood, craft supplies and more!

We are so excited to welcome parents and community members back into our buildings this year! If you are interested in substitute teaching or volunteering this year, please start an application now!

If you are interested in joining our new Friends of MUMS group, email friendsofmums@gmail.com