Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We had such a great week this last week of school. There was so much joy, so many connections, and lots of fun together for these last few days of school. Highlights from this week abound, but having a chance to send off the 5th graders at promotion was one of my favorites!

As we close out the school year, I find myself reflecting on just how much growth I've witnessed in every single student here at Mary Hogan. The work was hard at times, but no one gave up. That persistence adds up, and those small, steady gains become something remarkable over the course of a year.

I hope you're seeing that growth in your own children too. And I'm deeply grateful for all they gave this year as well as for the dedicated educators who showed up for them every day.

Have a wonderful summer. We will be in touch in the next week about timing for class placements and more. Please consider taking advantage of the summer meals program (more info below).

💙, Jen

ACSD will again be providing summer meals to students 18 years and younger. Here are the dates, time and location for meal pick up.

Mary Hogan School: June 15th - August 14 Monday through Friday (Weekend Meals will be available for pick up on Fridays). Pick up time is 11:00 - 12:30. Lunch for that day and breakfast for the next will be available.

MUMS: June 15th - August 14 Monday through Friday (Weekend Meals will be available for pick up on Fridays). Pick up time is 11:00 - 12:00. Lunch for that day and breakfast for the next will be available.

Shoreham: July 6th - July 31 Monday through Friday. Pick up time is 11:00 - 12:00. Lunch for that day and breakfast for the next will be available.

Third graders ventured out and up Chipman Hill this past week. They worked hard to reach the top after a bit of a climb. Sometimes it felt too hard to make it but they all did with the encouragement from a friend or teacher. This climb was mirrored how learning sometimes feels - hard but if you stick with it and have a good support network, you can do things that are hard. They can also be fun!

Two students in Mrs. Poulin's class studied plastic pollution in the ocean for Exhibition. They kept taking action all spring to study our use of plastic. They collected all of our school's plastic for a whole week (and we reduced our plastic use!). They then took this trash together and created a piece of art, a whale amidst a sea of trash, that they gifted to Mary Hogan. Way to take meaningful action on your learning!

4th graders in Kate's class had their Invention Convention this past week. The students considered a problem that needed to be solved and took the time to devise a new solution to the problem. Inventions ranged from helping you brush your teeth and a machine to help educate voters to a heated coat and cereal vending machine for hotels. It was great to see the solutions proposed!

We also were visited on Friday by a young black bear who meandered along the pathway behind E wing. It looked curiously at Mary Hogan, wondering if perhaps we had some tasty treats for him (we don't) or if we could come out to play (we let him be).

5th grade promotion was a chance for our school community and families to celebrate the hard work of the 5th graders. Some had been at school for 7 years (attending preschool here through 5th grade) and some just joined the class this year. They are an amazing bunch of humans and we will miss them so much.

The 5th grade reflection video by itself is on the MCTV Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/xWn-iop7FWE

The promotion ceremony as a whole is here: https://youtube.com/live/vu9v0uaaHOA

Below are some photos that were taken by Cyndi Palmer for the ceremony. Here are more of them.

The 2nd graders did a reprise version of "Kiss the Sky" for their 5th grade buddies. The song is all about growth, independence, aiming high, and resilience as well as letting go, so it is a perfect song for them to give to their buddies as they send them off to Middle School.

The performance was full of poise, beauty, and generosity. Way to go, 2nd grade!

We welcomed the 5th graders to school on the last day of school with a breakfast full of fruit, bagels, mini omlettes, coffee cake and other tasty treats. This was a chance for the 5th graders to have a yummy start to their last day at Mary Hogan and for them to enjoy being together.

Thank you to the many families who helped make this annual celebration happen. The students LOVED seeing and being able to take all the photographs that were up.

We finished the year off with a great Talent Show, featuring 4th and 5th graders and a few faculty members. I will be posting videos on Instagram of many of the awesome performances. Some students created a stop motion video and others created new songs - on the computer and piano. We had a jazzy Pink Panther performance, some skits, dances, and more. The whole thing was so joyful and a wonderful celebration of community.

Thank you to all those who performed and were risk-takers. You brought us a lot of fun together the last day!

Many thanks to MESA for the 18 hole Mini Golf Course to help us celebrate the end of the school year. Students had a blast playing with buddies (5th and 2nd grades) as well as with their classes. There was some interesting technique out there on the course but everyone had SO much fun. At least one student even got a hole in one! What a great way to have fun on the last day of school!

Each year, the 1st and 2nd grade students have celebrated the end of the year with a dance party in C Wing. This year, the heat and humidity made the party even more sticky. The spirits were still high and full of connection, silliness, and fun together. A perfect way to end the year!

We modified our final walk out for all students this year as an improvement on last year. This is a chance for our students to be together one last final time in the last minutes of the school day. Everyone cheered for one another and the 5th grade got one last big cheer before heading out for the day. We ended with a lot of smiles and good cheer!

Summer reading builds a positive relationship with books. It helps children maintain and strengthen their literacy skills when school is out. Without regular reading practice, many students experience the “summer slide,” losing progress in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and confidence. Consistent access to books and engaging reading activities can make a measurable difference in keeping kids on track.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)is an organization that donates thousands of dollars in books for our students to take home free books! They also offer a summer reading challenge! Head to our Summer Reading Camp page to learn about our Summer Reading Challenge and discover easy, fun ways to build reading into each day. Get free virtual storybooks, recommendations, hands-on activities, and fresh inspiration to keep kids excited, motivated, and exploring, while avoiding the dreaded summer slide.

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.