Mary Hogan Family Newsletter

Dear Mary Hogan Families,

We had an amazing week here drumming, dancing, biking and more. It was joyful to have Jeh Kulu here to teach us some drumming basics for the djembe as well as some dancing moves. The students enjoyed the drumming and dancing, but I think that the dancing was the more popular with the students, who were real risk-takers when they danced together in the gym. I was so inspired and impressed. It was a great residency!

We are all so very grateful to the Vermont Arts Council and ACEEF for the grants they funded to help bring Jeh Kulu to Mary Hogan. We are also incredibly grateful for the generosity of Neat Repeats, who also donated funds to cover this residency. Residencies at Mary Hogan are often expensive and take a lot of piecing together of funds. We are grateful for all of the support!

💙, Jen

Wednesday 3/26 - 9am - All School Meeting led by 2nd grade

Thursday 3/27 - 5pm - Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence at MUHS

Friday 3/28 - after school baking for Student Council Bake Sale

Sunday 3/30 - 2-3pm Country line Dancing at Mary Hogan and bake sale (see below)

Monday 3/31 - No School - Inservice

Join us at Middlebury Union High School on March 27, 2025 (5:00 - 7:00pm) for Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence, a community discussion for local parents and guardians. We will hear from special guest Jessica Lahey, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence.

We had a ball drumming and dancing. There are a LOT of videos and photos on Instagram, so check it out there, but here are some good ones too!

Our biking unit began this week with three days of basics in the gym. Students worked on control of the bike in a smaller space as well as starting and stopping - and being aware of who was around them!

Preschoolers were full of fun and creativity with light this week. This has been a real area of inquiry and play for them for a while now and it was amazing to watch the projection of light - and shadow - evolve over time. These Hawks, they are so creative!

The Winter Reading Challenge through the Ilsley library is now complete 7 books in 7 weeks). If your child did not yet hand in their paperwork, it should be turned in by Monday at the latest! Please hand them in to Liz!

We are having a bake sale at MESA's line dancing on 3/30. We will use the money we get to improve the GaGa pit on the playground. We hope you can help us raise money to do this by donating some treats or coming to bake with us after school on 3/28. If more students sign up to bake than we have space for, we will pick names randomly and let everyone know by 3/24, so be sure to sign up before then!

Thanks for your help to make Mary Hogan playground even better!

- Mary Hogan Student Council

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. SIGN UP HERE!

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! SIGN UP HERE!

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.

802 Smiles Dental Hygiene Program is returning this Spring to offer free dental screenings and preventative care to all ACSD students.

Please complete the forms below if you would like your child to participate in this event. Any student that was enrolled in the fall will automatically be on the list to receive services and does not need to fill out the forms again, but if you do not want your student to receive services in April, you should reach out to the school nurse to take them off the list.

Enrollment deadline is April 1st.

ACSD 802 Smiles Letter

802 Smiles Consent Form

802 Smiles Enrollment Form

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.

Do you know Mary Hogan School offers one-of-a kind Girls on the Run program? Girls on the Run is for students in grades 3-5. Not only does the program inspire girls to get and achieve movement goals, but it unlocks confidence and compassion in girls when they need it the most.
Join us from 3:15-4:45 on Mondays and Thursdays starting 3/17 for a season your girl will always remember. Register today: gotrvt.org
The registration fee is $130. GOTRVT provides financial assistance for the registration for qualifying families. Please contact GOTRVT directly at (802) 871-5664 regarding financial assistance options.

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