Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We had an awesome 4 day week at Mary Hogan! The kindergarteners had their official first day of kindergarten with their classes on Tuesday. Preschoolers also started the year on Tuesday. The energy in those classes and older ones was positive and full of inquiry and risk taking. Way to be, Hawks!

This coming week is our first 5 day week and you may have noticed that your children are feeling more tired today than they did at the start of the week. Try to help them get more sleep, no matter how old your child is. They need more sleep than you think with this change in schedule and routine - and they are working so hard while they are here. The Cleveland Clinic says kids ages 6-12 need 9-12 hours of sleep each day. 5 year olds need even more - 10-13 hours! Build your bedtime routine to support your child in getting this much sleep. Here is a bedtime routine checklist from Dayton Hospital you can use or adapt for your own child. You can also add times of the evening on it.

I can't wait to see everyone on Monday morning!

Best,

Jen

Wednesday 9/10 - 6pm - at MUMS - The Flynn presents The Playing Fields - Free!!

• This free back to school celebration comes to ACSD from The Flynn Theater in Burlington. Schools around Vermont, including all of ACSD, have the chance to gather as a community for a joyful and inspiring performance on the school fields at MUMS.

• Les Giraffes de la Compagnie de Off will be there to celebrate the start of the year with us. Check out more about them below.

Thursday 9/11 -6.30pm - MESA meeting in the Mary Hogan Library

Tuesday 9/16 - Picture Day

Thursday 9/18 - 6-7pm - Back to School Night

Students got into their classes and settled into the classroom routines in 4 kindergarten and 2 preschool classrooms this week. Students did a lot of playing and learning, working hard to have fun and meet new people. Here are a few happy faces.

Students were delving into art class with Ms Hartman this week. The older students have been doing some sun printing - using photosensitive paper and objects to create art when the paper is exposed to the sun. The resulting print is darker where the paper was covered and lighter where it was exposed to the sun. Younger students have been exploring the art room and making collages and more as they lean into learning about the artistic process.

As a whole school community, we work on developing all 10 of the learner profile attributes. This week, a 3rd grade class was focused on how they could be risk-takers and communicators as they worked together in teams of 3 to build the tallest tower that they could. The work required all of the students to communicate about their plans as well as how to try new strategies and support each other when they took risks. It was joyful and such a positive challenge!

One thing that all students at Mary Hogan do at the start of the year is to write their hopes and dreams for the year. These are really focused on the question "What do you hope to do in school this year?" These goals help the classes develop rules or essential agreements about how they will help fulfill their hopes and dreams for themselves and their classmates.

This week, a 5th grade class was using this idea as a prompt for building out their writing from kernel sentences to an expanded sentence. It was a gift to hear the students thinking together about how to build more complex sentences - and to see their hopes!

We enjoyed some perfect weather on Wednesday for our September Walk and Roll to School Day. These days - the first Wednesday of each month - encourages all students to walk, roll (bike, scooter, etc), carpool, or take the bus to school. The goal is to have a healthy start to the day and one that supports our community's health and wellbeing as well. Students who walk or roll on these days get small prizes - and help our school get entered for larger prizes and access the bike trailer for PE. Thanks for walking and rolling, Hawks!

Having proper foot wear in physical education is important for skill development and safety. On occasion, students may need to borrow a pair of sneakers. We are looking for gently used sneakers in a variety of kid sizes that will fit students in grades K - 5. These sneakers will be lent out for PE class and returned at the end of class. Please drop off donations to Cyndi Palmer or Stephanie Bull in the PE office next to the gym.

As the leaves on the trees begin to change from green to yellow, orange, and red this autumn, so do Vermont's peppers! And, peppers are this month's Harvest of the Month across Vermont.

For varieties, like sweet peppers, range in color indicates its stage of ripeness, with green being less ripe, and red being most ripe. Versatile full of flavor and packed with nutrients such as Vitamin C, peppers can be incorporated in a variety of different recipes.

Try stuffing a pepper with your favorite fillings and baking it in the oven, chopping a pepper up and sprinkling it on your salad, grilling strips of pepper and throwing them into a taco, or munching on a raw pepper straight from the garden!

Here are some fun recipes:

Pickles & Spreads

• Ajvar (Balkan Bell Pepper Spread)

• Pickled Banana Peppers

• Pikliz (Spicy Haitian Pickles)

• Roasted Sweet Pepper Salsa

Dinners

• Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe from Egypt

• Chile Relleno (Stuffed Poblano Peppers)

• Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hello Mary Hogan Families! It's time for our 4th annual MESA Staff Appreciation Fall Brunch! The fall brunch will be Friday September 12th, 2025. This is a great way to celebrate our wonderful staff with a delicious brunch buffet. If you would like to contribute by bringing items for the brunch, please indicate on the sign up below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48A5AA2EA2F8C43-58347655-mesa

Alternatively, if you would like to contribute financially to the fall brunch (to help us buy any needed items) you can donate via MESA's Venmo: @MESAMaryHoganSchool , or by using this link:

https://www.paypal.com/qrcodes/venmocs/533ad668-3f21-4644-adec-ad1562395437?created=1696248105

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.