MUMS Family Newsletter

Dear MUMS community,

Week two has been busy and productive! All of our students have now experienced their first assembly at MUMS, where we reviewed expectations in preparation for our first all school assembly which is today! Our monthly assemblies mark an opportunity for our school community to come together, laugh and celebrate all of the wonderful things that are going on here! We are looking forward to it!

We began our fall athletics season this week! It is always so incredible to see so many students joining teams and trying new things so early in the school year. A big thank you to all of our coaches for stepping up to support our athletes as they develop lots of new skills! If you have any questions about activities or athletics please don't hesitate to reach out to Dustin Hunt at dhunt@acsdvt.org.

Lastly, please remember to send "first day of school" paperwork to school with your child if you haven't already. This paperwork was mailed home in the beginning of August, but if you need a new set of copies, please contact our main office at (802)382-1600 and we can send home a new packet.

Again, thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing all of you soon!

Best,

Michaela Wisell ~ Principal

If you have questions, please reach out to us:
MUMS office 802-382-1600 or visit the MUMS website.
Michaela Wisell, Principal mwisell@acsdvt.org

Fieh Chan, Assistant Principal fchan@acsdvt.org

Erin Jipner, Student Response Coordinator ejipner@acsdvt.org

Dustin Hunt, Athletics and Activities Director dhunt@acsdvt.org

• Sept 10th: Playing Fields - Back to School Event -Flynn Center/ACSD joint event (6:00-7:00) see flier below

• Sept. 17th: Early Release Day (Dismissal at 12:45)

• Sept. 25th: Back To School Night (6:00 pm - 7:00 pm)

• Oct. 1st: Picture day (see information below)

• Activities Calendar

Greetings, MUMS families! I am very excited for the new year, and look forward to giving you weekly “peeks” into our many classrooms at MUMS. My name is Michelle Steele, and I’m the new MYP Curriculum Coordinator at MUMS!

An important component of the MYP Curriculum is “Approaches to Learning”, or ATLs. ATLs include things like Communication, Social Skills, Critical and Creative Thinking, Information and Media Literacy, and Self-Management.

Last week the Math department jumped right in with an activity called “Hundreds Challenge”. Students were completing a challenge in small groups, finding sequential numbers on a page. The task was cleverly designed to go faster if students collaborated and worked together, and to go slower if students worked individually. This gave students a chance to work on the Social ATL of collaboration. They also used critical thinking skills by sharing and analyzing their group strategies, focusing on what successful group work feels like, looks like, and sounds like. These social skills will transfer into more group work throughout the unit and the year.

For more specific details on which ATLs are taught when, you can always check out our complete curriculum via the MUMS homepage under “Curriculum” or at https://www.acsdvt.org/curriculum/middle-years-program-6-10th

We look forward to meeting many of you at our MUMS Back-to-School Night on the 25th!

Picture Day!

MUMS will have Picture Day on Wednesday October 1st. Order forms for LifeTouch will be handed out in TA the week prior. If you prefer to order your student’s school pictures online please visit mylifetouch.com and use the Picture ID EVTX28MPF. Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on Picture Day. Picture Retake Day is scheduled for Wednesday November 12th.

If you have any questions please contact Megan Curran at mcurran@acsdvt.org.

We know that social emotional learning (SEL) is crucial for our students’ success in school and in life, so across ACSD we are working on systems to support strong SEL teaching and learning in our schools. As part of that work, we are using Panorama surveys, research-backed SEL measurement tools. We will use the data we collect with this assessment to reflect on student learning and strengthen our programs and instruction to help all students succeed.

ACSD students have been taking this survey for 3 years now and we are actively using the data at the school and district level. At MUMS, it helps us to know both how students are doing as well as respond with the whole class, grade, and individual support as needed.

This survey will be given to students in grades 3-12 between this week and September 20th. The survey asks students to self-reflect on skills related to self-management, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. We ask that all students participate, because their feedback provides valuable insights to help us improve and adapt. K-2 students do not participate directly in the survey. Instead, K-2 teachers complete an SEL Teacher Perception checklist for each student.

Please fill out this google form on or before September 11th only if you wish to opt your child out of taking this survey. Thank you in advance for supporting this important work. If you have any questions please contact Michaela Wisell, Principal at 382-1202.

MUMS and ACSD are hosting a joint event with the Flynn center on September 10th here at MUMS!

The intention is to share food and a performance together here at MUMS as we welcome our students back to school!. All of ACSD is welcome and we hope to see you here!

Key components of the 25-26 Waterfall schedule

• This year, the waterfall rotates in the opposite direction from last year. This means, students begin the day with the class they didn't have the previous day.
• To preserve Band and Choir ensemble practices, which occur daily, lunch & WIN blocks are guided by Band and Choir groups. This means that lunch groups are not specific to a grade or team.
• Language Acquisition and Health are on a joint rotation this year. Students will have three quarters of language and one quarter of Health. If you don't see Health or Language in their quarter one schedule, you can expect to see them in upcoming quarters.
• We've added one minute of passing time between most periods to better support the pace of passing times.

• School year calendar with waterfall rotation
• Daily schedule

If you have questions or concerns about your student's schedule, please reach out to your child's school counselor:

6th grade - Lauren Daley ldaley@acsdvt.org

7th grade - Heather Smith hsmith@acsdvt.org

8th grade - Laura Emilo lemilo@acsdvt.org

If your student will be absent from school, needs an early dismissal, or will take a different bus, please follow these directions:

• Absence / early dismissal: Call 802-382-1297, the MUMS attendance line, before 8:30am (helpful tip: add this number to your phone now as "MUMS attendance line")
• Early dismissal + bus notes: Students must deliver a caregiver's note to the front office when arriving at school (before TA).
• If taking a bus other than their regular bus: Students must bring a caregiver's note and have it signed by a MUMS Administrative Assistant in the front office to be valid.

Please use the "button" above to preview our ACSD bus routes.

Also please note a few caveats that impact students who ride Cornwall or Shoreham buses home.

Cornwall and Shoreham buses do not come to MUMS at pick-up time. Students who ride those buses must take a shuttle from MUMS to MUHS to meet their bus.

Cornwall students use the Bridport bus as their MUMS-MUHS shuttle and get on the Cornwall bus at the High school to ride home.
Shoreham students use the Weybridge bus as their MUMS-MUHS shuttle and get on the Shoreham bus at the High school to ride home.

We are so excited to welcome parents and community members back into our buildings this year! If you are interested in substitute teaching or volunteering this year, please start an application now!

If you are interested in joining our new Friends of MUMS group, email friendsofmums@gmail.com