Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

This week marked our 4th Community Day on the early release day. These days are always the highlights of each month for me because they let us live into our core values of belonging, connection, growth, and respect.

This month, the 3rd graders led us in All School Meeting. They taught us a greeting they had learned: saying hello in Mandarin Chinese. They also shared facts about the prehistoric creatures they studied like the titanoboa (that can grow to 42 feet long!) and the megalodon (that can fit a whole family in its mouth). They also helped us learn about and practice being open minded. Then, we met the new Student Council members!

After this, was a time for our buddies to spend time together. The older students are such great leaders of their buddies and helped as they wrote stories, drew together, crafted, and learned more about each other. Every interaction was sweet, generous, and fostered connection between students in different grades. What a great day!

💙,
Jen

Monday 12/15 - MESA December Teacher/Staff Appreciation - Cookie Swap - Sign up here to help

Tuesday 12/23 - Comfy Cozy Day!

Wednesday 12/24 - Start of Dec. Break

Sunday 1/4 - End of Break - see you tomorrow!

Last week, we were SO lucky to have students in Ben Graves' literature class come talk with our 4th grade students about the book A Different Pond and its backstory. The college students helped the students in their unit of inquiry with their work as our 4th graders are in the midst of an inquiry into immigration. Some of the activities had the students trying to move through a room connected, thinking about their own pond, and learning vocabulary about migration and immigration. Many, many thanks to the students and Dr. Graves for coming as well as Dr. Rizo for coordinating this visit.

Check out the read aloud of A Different Pond. It is a beautiful story about a boy and his father as they go fishing.

The 3rd graders were focused on being open minded and were courageous leaders of our All School Meeting. If you want to see their slide show, HERE it is.

Our December Community Reads book is Saturday by Oge Mora. This book tells the story of a girl and her grandmother on a Saturday. Things go differently than they expect so the characters have to be open minded - and in the end have a wonderful day. All students read this so check it out with your kids!

Buddies did lots of fun activities on Wednesday when they were together. 2nd and 5th grade buddies got to know one another more, did some reading, and made their own bookmarks. 1st and 4th grade buddies did some collaborative drawing and writing. Kindergarten and 3rd grade buddies did some crafting and got out in the snow. Check out these photos, below!

The 5th graders learned how to play broomball at recess as they got some new equipment from Mrs. Palmer. We had a chance to learn the rules together, figure out how to use the "brooms" and play together on the blacktop together. It was SO fun - and a big learning curve. We are excited to add it into the recess game rotation!

As part of their unit of inquiry into Who We Are, the 1st grade walked (on a chilly morning) over to the Middlebury Fire Dept. There, they got a private tour from volunteer firefighter (and MH parent) Andrew L'Roe and learned about the roles and responsibilities of the Fire Department. They also learned about how the fire equipment and department has changed over time. It was such a cool experience and wonderful to have these connections to our community help our students learn.

Our preschoolers have been taking Music Together this fall and celebrated music and community this Thursday evening at a potluck and music at school. Students had so much fun singing and being together after school. There were about 80 guests all together for the time!

Preschoolers also got over to the Sheldon Museum this week to check out the model trains at the museum. If you haven't checked them out yet, with your family, these preschoolers recommend going with 2 thumbs up!

Student Council members started their 2025-26 session with a meeting on Monday. They shared their hopes and dreams for the work and got started by choosing a first spirit day - 12/23 will be COMFY COZY DAY! So bust out those comfy clothes and celebrate our awesome community.

The FRIDAY NIGHT COMMUNITY SUPPER is held at The Congregational Church of Middlebury, UCC. Families are welcome to come for a free, hot meal from 4:45-5:45 every Friday in Fellowship Hall (accessible from Seymour Street). Friday Night Community Supper offers a space where everyone is welcome. Come by for a delicious meal. Bring a friend. Bring the family. We hope to see you soon.

The Congregational Church of Middlebury, UCC
2 Main Street, Middlebury
802-388-7634

MESA has partnered with UVM Athletics again this year to sell tickets to select hockey and basketball games. A portion of the ticket sales goes to MESA.

Men's Basketball 12/20 2pm vs Iona

Men's Hockey 1/10 7pm vs Northeastern

Women's Basketball 1/24 2pm vs Bryant

Women's Hockey 1/31 1pm vs Providence

Please use this link to purchase tickets: https://uvmathletics.evenue.net/promotions/MESAMHS

Due to some feedback about our meeting day/time, we decided to change our upcoming meetings to allow for more people to participate. We welcome you all to join us in the Mary Hogan Library.

Jan 8 - 6pm

March 12 - 6pm

May 14 - 6pm

Here are the minutes from November's meeting: November Minutes

Please check out our website: Middlebury Elementary School Association to see what MESA does at Mary Hogan and how we use the money that we raise from events and donations.

For any questions or if you want more information about how to get involved with MESA, please contact us at mesa@acsdvt.org

The charge of the Wellness Policy Working Group is to monitor, support, and evaluate the implementation of Addison Central School District’s local wellness policy (C9). The working group will assess the policy’s impact on student health, nutrition, and overall well-being, ensuring alignment with state and federal requirements as well as district priorities. The group will provide recommendations for policy adjustments and implementation strategies to ensure that the district fosters environments that promote healthy lifestyles and student success. We welcome students, staff, families, and community members who are passionate about wellness to join our group. Please reach out to Dr. Sonya Oefelein at soefelein@acsdvt.org for more information or to join our next meeting.

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.