Dear Mary Hogan Families,

It was a short 3 day student week so this is a shorter newsletter. We had a TON of fun in 3 days and students showed how adaptable they were in the wild March weather. They got back into their routines and found new things to do at recess when they were limited to the black top areas. At 5th grade recess, it was so interesting to watch how students made changes to games, shared the space, and found out you can use sidewalk chalk on ice! It was a really fun recess, despite the loss of snow.

It is going to keep being wild outside so be sure to send in extra clothes and send in boots and snow pants still until we really hit spring! Thanks!

💙, Jen

Tuesday 3/11 - 7pm - 5th grade parent informational meeting about KEEC - Virtual, so join with this link

Wednesday 3/12 - Walk and Roll to School Day

Thursday 3/13 - VTCAP begins for 5th graders

Week of 3/17 - Jeh Kulu residency at Mary Hogan!

Thursday 3/20 - 6.30pm - MESA Meeting in the Mary Hogan Library

Second Step Child Protection Unit - Mary Hogan School is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students. As part of this effort, we will be implementing the Second Step Child Protection Unit, which aligns with Vermont’s Act 1 mandate for sexual abuse prevention education.

Through these lessons, students will learn about personal safety, touching safety, and assertiveness, empowering them to recognize unsafe situations and seek help from trusted adults.

For more details, please read the full letter HERE or reach out to our school counselors with any questions.

All Vermont School Districts are required to administer the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (VTCAP). This computer-based test is adaptive and will assess our state standards for English Language Arts (ELA), math, and science. ACSD schools will administer these assessments this year between March 10 and April 25. These assessments include:

• VTCAP Language Arts and Mathematics: Grades 3-9

• VTCAP Science Assessment: Grades 5, 8, and 11

Your school's principal will be in touch with specifics about the timing of the VTCAP at your school.

We still haven't gotten the Principal's Challenge video but will share it as soon as we have it!

Dear parents and guardians,

Since we've just come back from a long winter break and spring is on the horizon, I'd like to send out a request that you please check your student(s) hair for evidence of lice. I have heard reports of a case here and there, and if we all take the time to check our own kids, we can prevent the spread and make lighter work of it.

Please see the National Association of School Nurse's position statement on head lice here.

To reiterate, per CDC and AAP recommendations, we do not do whole classroom/school head lice screenings, and we do not exclude when lice/nits are present.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need information on care or have any other questions. Your pediatrician is also a great resource if you have questions!

Thanks so much and be well!

Nurse Becky

MESA has a website! https://www.mesamaryhoganschool.org/

2025 Read-A-Thon - please read this letter from our Read-A-Thon Chairs: Closing Letter

Upcoming Events:

Line Dancing - Sunday, March 30th - Join us for a free, family-friendly beginner line dancing lesson at the Mary Hogan Gym from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Local instructor Andrea from *Good Time Line Dancing* will guide us through simple, easy-to-follow steps that promise lots of laughs! All ages are welcome to this boot-stomping good time! *Free to all Mary Hogan students and their families.

Cookies & Canvas - Sunday, April 13th - join us from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Mary Hogan gym for a Cookies & Canvas Painting Party! Local artist Gail Dorman will lead a fun, step-by-step painting session where you’ll create a beautiful spring-inspired artwork to take home. Pre-registration and payment is required—stay tuned for more details!

Vermont Lake Monsters Game - Saturday, May 31st. First pitch at 3:05pm. Ticket Link

Mary Hogan Field Day - Thursday, May 29th w/ a June 2nd rain date - We will need a lot of volunteers to help run this event. If you would like to help, please email us! You must be registered as an official volunteer with ACSD. Please let us know if you have questions about that process.

Dance Party - Friday, June 13th - come celebrate the end of the school year with your friends and family. This free event will take place at the Town Rec gym. Concessions will be available for purchase. More details to follow.

If you have a child who will be 3 or 4 before September 1st, 2025, they are invited to attend our free developmental screening days. You can attend any of the following screening dates:

• Friday, April 4, 2025 at Bridport Central School, 3442 VT 22A. Contact Linda Barrett with questions 802-758-2331. Or;

• April 4, 11, or 18, 2025 at Mary Hogan Elementary School, 201 Mary Hogan Drive, Middlebury. Contact Deb Martin with questions 802-382-1761.

What to expect: Come and play with the ACSD Early Education team! They will engage in activities to help observe your child’s physical, social-emotional, speech/language, and cognitive development. Observations will be shared with the family/caregiver.

If you are interested in having your child attend one of our ACSD preschool programs, please read the informational letter and fill out our preschool interest survey.

Substitute teachers are crucial for our students, staff, staff, and schools! We are increasing our daily substitute teaching rate to $160/day for unlicensed subs and $200/day for licensed subs. This change begins on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 when students return from winter break. This flat rate replaces our sliding rate of pay for subs depending on the number of days worked.

To apply, you can email your interest to HR@acsdvt.org with "Substitute Position" in the subject line. You can also visit this listing on school spring.

Although the Readathon has concluded, we hope that everyone continues to read! The Ilsley library has created a reading challenge for us all!

Winter Reading Challenge

Last 7 weeks of Winter, February 1st - March 20th

Read 7 Books in 7 Weeks

Red Clover, MIDD Reads, Golden Dome

• Prize CHOICE of either a ticket to our special movie showing OR fidget OR a mini first aid kit

The form should be turned into Julie Altemose in the library!

Mini Ilsley is looking to have a soft opening next week for school vacation. We are almost ready to rock and roll! One task we are lagging on, however, is stickering the 12,500 books we are circulating from our Main Street location. Can you help out?

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