Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We are so excited to welcome Assistant Principal candidates next week. Matt DeBlois and Daniella Sutherland will visit Mary Hogan on Monday and Joe Hennessey will visit on Wednesday. This is a change due to weather and travel, but it will make it easier to meet them all!

On Monday, you can meet:

• Matt at 7.45-8.15
• Daniella at 8.15-8.45

Both will be in the North Gym. If you can come, please let me know so I have enough muffins and coffee. If you are not able to come in person, you can join online with this link.

More info will be coming next week with timing for Joe's visit. Thank you so much in advance for your help in finding the next Assistant Principal for Mary Hogan.

💙, Jen

PS - This photo comes from growth mindset week. It was an awesome celebration of growth and practicing how we can keep working on things - and learn from mistakes. I hope you get a chance to talk with your own children about their brain and growing from mistakes. I had SO many rich conversations with your children about this over the week!

Week of 3/16-3/20 - Neurodiversity Week

Monday 3/16 - Meet Matt DeBlois at 7.45 and Daniella Sutherland at 8.15 in the North Gym

• 5pm - Cooking with NOM

Thursday 3/19 - Bus Evacuation Drill

Friday 3/20 - No School - Spring Conferences

Monday 3/23 - MUMS Band and Chorus comes to perform for 5th graders (and more!)

Tuesday 3/24 - VTCAP testing begins for 3rd and 5th grades

Thursday 3/26 - VINS visits preschool and kindergarten

We are building on our Growth Mindset Week this week and celebrating Neurodiversity Week next week. This week is to learn more and celebrate neurodivergent individuals in our community. Neurodiversity is about recognizing the people whose brains think differently and bring strengths to our community.

This week we will be celebrating how all of our brains work differently through our guidance curriculum, with opportunities for students to represent how their brains look to them, and learning more about neurodivergent people in stories.

We began this conversation as a school in February when our Community Read was Henry, Like Always. This book provides a mirror and a window for kids on the autism spectrum and their friends to see themselves in the stories they read.

Look at this beautiful new Garden Shed!

This shed has been a labor of love over the past year+ to get it framed with the help of Goosewing Timberworkd and Middlebury College JTerm students and now finished off by Jordan and Jon Martin thanks to our VT Agency of Agriculture Farm to School Capacity grant. This will serve Hawks out in the garden for MANY years! Thank you all!!!

2026 Readathon Song and Music Video

End of Readathon Slideshow - You will need to click on the speaker icon on the first slide to have the music playing as you watch the show!

Many thanks to the Dishaw's for welcoming preschool and kindergarten to their house this week to learn about maple sugaring. Students saw how to tap and boil to make syrup. Students had fun learning and trying the sap and maple syrup. Yum!!

Our 4th and 5th grade chorus and 5th grade band performed twice on Tuesday in a rehearsal for the school and an evening winter concert. These students worked so hard since the start of the year to master the songs (and instruments). They worked together, encouraged one another, and learned the songs and movements with Mrs. K's leadership. They sounded AWESOME! Good work, Hawks!

On Thursday, Miss Kim's preschool class celebrated 2 important people to their classroom - Nana and Deb. Nana is a grandmother of former students in Miss Kim's class. She comes to volunteer each week, reading and playing with the students. Deb Brousseau is a food nutrition specialist at Mary Hogan and makes delicious meals for us every day. She helps take care of preschool meals and they are so grateful for her work.

The preschoolers and honored guests had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, quiche, parfaits, and fruit salad. Students enjoyed the meals and conversation at the tables. It was a great way to start the day.

Our Jr. Iron Chef Team will be competing this Saturday in the Jr. Iron Chef competition. The team has been practicing each Friday for a few months to get ready for the competition. They have made their dish many times, perfecting the compote, the maple cream sauce, how the parsnips are chopped, and how to present and talk about their dish. Good luck, Hawks!

1st graders walked over to the Mahaney Art Center at Middlebury College on Friday to explore the exhibits and art as well as make a craft. It was a super fun morning of creativity and exploration.

In the photo to the left, you can see the students in the foreground working to mimic the art that is hanging from the ceiling. In the midst of this, they made art of their own!

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We’re excited to invite all Mary Hogan families to a FREE afternoon of Family Line Dancing in the Mary Hogan gym on March 29 from 2:00-3:00 PM.

Andrea from Good Time Line Dancing will once again lead the fun and teach the basic steps. Whether you’ve been line dancing for years or have never tried it before, this event is for you. Learn a few moves, laugh together, and enjoy a fun afternoon with other Mary Hogan families.

This event is completely FREE and just for our Mary Hogan community, so bring the whole family and join in the fun.

The Student Council will also have baked goods for sale, so bring a few dollars if you’d like to grab a treat and support them.

We hope you’ll come out, kick up your heels, and spend a fun afternoon together!

Warmly,

Meghan Dishaw

MESA Co-Chair of Events

There is currently one open seat on the ACSD Board for a representative living in Middlebury. If you live in Middlebury and are interested in serving on the ACSD Board, please send a letter of interest to Board Chair, Steve Cash, at scash@acsdvt.org by March 20, 2026. If you know a Middlebury resident who would make a great Board representative, encourage them to reach out to scash@acsdvt.org. The Board plans to appoint someone to fill this seat at the March 23rd meeting of the ACSD Board. Read the full Notice of Board Vacancy here.

The ACSD Board’s mission is to provide high-quality, equitable, and varied learning environments that inspire a passion for learning and growth among our students. Board members represent the interests of all students in the district, not just the town in which they live.

We are thrilled to announce the start of the IB PYP Exhibition for our 5th grade students. This is a monumental milestone in our student’s elementary education—a "capstone" project that celebrates everything they have learned during their time in the Primary Years Program. Exhibition is a student-led, collaborative inquiry process. Students identify a real-world issue they are passionate about, conduct research, and take meaningful action to make a difference.

5th grade families will receive a longer email with more details, but our entire ACSD community can support our students: 1) If you know a student involved in Exhibition ask them what they are discovering and how it affects our world! 2) If you want to be a mentor or offer your real-world expertise for students whose topic relates to your work, contact your principal or Brandi Corbett, PYP Coordinator, bcorbett@acsdvt.org

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.