Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

While the sky was grey and the temperatures cool, this week was full of moments of gratitude that were felt by students and staff. Just a few of these moments included:

• Thank you from all of us for the delicious MESA Staff Appreciation Lunch! We had a ball enjoying a lunch together in the Conference Room and not having to make our own lunch on Wednesday. Thank you!
• The moment the students heard from the college football team they would get a brand new Middlebury College Football t shirt they spontaneously broke into cheer at the surprise and with excitement.
• Preschoolers were so lucky to connect with PAHCC and MUHS students all year. This week, they met a chicken, and enjoyed the new greens in the greenhouse with MUHS students. We are grateful for this partnership!
• The Middlebury Skatepark Project came to Mary Hogan and provided 3rd through 5th grade students a lesson on how to skateboard on the blacktop, building their skate boarding skills!

There were more small moments of gratitude this week. Ask your child(ren) what was fun and how they enjoyed the week.

💙, Jen

PS - More on the 5th grade trip to the Montshire next week!

Monday May 26 - No School, Memorial Day

Tuesday May 27 - Kindergarteners do yoga with Prem Prakash thanks to MESA funding

Wednesday May 28 - morning - 5th graders go to MUMS for Move Up Day

• 3rd grade goes to the Swing Bridge

Thursday May 29 - Field Day! and VT Department of Health Puppets visit grades pk-3

Our preschool through 3rd grade students have an exciting Thursday coming up. They have field day as well as Puppets in Education performance. Here is the flyer if you want to know more about the performance. If you want to keep the conversation going with your child, here are some links and questions to ask.

If you want to come to the BBQ next Thursday during Field Day, you must email Jill Laberge (jlaberge@acsdvt.org) by Tuesday at 1pm if you are coming and hope to eat lunch. This will allow Steve to have the correct numbers for his ordering (and be able to feed everyone!). Thanks for your help.

Two members of the Middlebury Football Team, Owen and Ethan, came to Mary Hogan on Friday afternoon for an All School Meeting. It was a chance for us to be together and thank the team for their mentorship and leadership this spring with our students. And, it was a chance to hear about them and think about how our students might envision themselves like them. They also came with the most generous gift: The football team got every Mary Hogan student a Middlebury Football t shirt. We need to sort the sizes, but they will come home with a shirt on Tuesday. What a wonderful and generous gift!

Students in Kindergarten had a chance to explore the parachute this week. It is one of all students' favorite PE activities and there was a lot of smiles from the time outside of and underneath the parachute. The whole activity required a lot of coordination, concentration, and cooperation. Good work, Kindergarten!

We were SO lucky this week to have the Middlebury Skate Park Project collaborating with us this week to bring skateboarding lessons to our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. It was a chilly week but that didn't dampen the spirits of the students out on the blacktop as they learned the basics of skateboarding. The students helped each other and learned a ton of new skills from the skatepark volunteers. Thank you for helping to make this happen!

Be on the look out for skatepark meet ups as the weather gets warmer. These will be for students and on the Mini Ramp over by the pool!

Third Graders traveled to Retro Realm Arcade to experience social gaming and celebrate their sense of community by supporting a new local business within walking distance of the school.

Kindergarten has been doing yoga this month with Prem Prakash. This is a kindergarten tradition that is funded by MESA. Students have a chance to practice the different poses and stretch their body and mind during the sessions. Students LOVE doing yoga. Many thanks to MESA for making this happen!

The preschoolers had another visit with the students at MUHS this week. They went to see the green house and the greens that MUHS students are growing for their cafeteria. When there, they also had a chance to try the greens in a smoothie as well as meet a chicken named Burger! It was so, so much fun!

The last day to check out books will be Friday, May 30th. We ask that all students return their library items by June 6th. Please search your homes for any overdue Mary Hogan Library books and return them as soon as possible. Thank you for your support!

We will hold a free book give-away for students during the last couple weeks of school so all students can go home with some new books for summer reading!

The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award list recommends 25 books for students in grades 4-8. Many Mary Hogan 4th and 5th graders read at least 5 books from the list and voted last week. The most popular book for our students was The Windeby Puzzle. The following students read at least 17 out of the 25 books on the list and will represent Mary Hogan at the annual ACSD Golden Dome Competition on Tuesday, May 27th. Congratulations to Elka, Patrick, Noëlle, Hazel, Flora, Felix, Sylas, Joni, Zara, Maëlle, and Ainsley!

All students in grades through K-4 have voted on their favorite picture book of the year. The top choice for Mary Hogan students was Who's Afraid of the Light?

Here are some highlights coming up:

• 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 at mesa@acsdvt.org! You must be registered as an official volunteer with ACSD.
• Dance Party - Friday, June 13th 5-7pm - come celebrate the end of the school year with your friends and family (not a drop-off event). NEW THIS YEAR - from 7-8pm, the dance will be open for rising 6th graders and their families only. This will be their final event as a class before heading to middle school.

Our teachers and staff are amazing! At ACSD, we turn Teacher Appreciation Week into Teacher & Staff Appreciation Month. You can help! Share an appreciation HERE.

• Parents ~ Ask your child if a teacher or grown-up has done something to make their school day better. Open the form and fill it out together or share something you have appreciated!

• Students ~ ALL appreciations matter...but hearing your words is especially meaningful!

The form will be open all month. You can also nominate our ACSD Teacher & Staff of the Year awards (presented at our August 2025 staff Welcome Back week)!

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