Mary Hogan Family News
August 28th, 2026
Hello Mary Hogan Families!
It was so great to have your children back at school this week! Students were eager to see friends and get to know their teachers. Classes were not only reviewing routines but digging into grammar, the brain, math, great read alouds and more. There was A LOT of joy out at recess as students played tag all over Hawk Zone, used the swings with friends, played gaga ball, and so much more. It was a great way to start the year!
Thank you also for your help and patience with our new morning routines. All students arriving before 8 should plan to come into school unless they are waiting with their caregivers.
An important update for next week is that 2nd grade will enter through the south gym. This will allow our kindergarten and 1st graders a smaller setting for breakfast, and the 2nd graders will do well with their peers who know the routine for breakfast from last year.
There is a lot of information below, so I hope you have time to read through it.
💙,
Jen
Walk and Roll to School Info
Middlebury Safe Routes welcomes students and families back to school. Middlebury Safe Routes is a local advocacy group that works to increase walking and biking in town and promote walking and biking as viable means of transportation around town, including to and from school. In addition to advocacy work, we partner with Mary Hogan School and the student council to host a Walk and Roll to School Day each month on the first Wednesday. The Walk and Roll to School program celebrates students and staff who walk, bike, scooter, skateboard, take the bus, or carpool to school. The purpose of the program is to encourage more active, healthier, and sustainable transportation modes. Parents interested in helping hand out prizes on one of the Walk and Roll Days throughout the year (it’s a 30 minute commitment from 7:40 - 8:10) should email Erik Remsen (erik.remsen@gmail.com).
The first Walk and Roll Day will be on Wednesday, September 2nd. Please consider walking, biking, skateboarding, scootering, taking the bus or carpooling to school on that day. Alternatively, please consider dropping off your student at the Memorial Sports Center parking lot or north end of the Mary Hogan lot in order to alleviate vehicle traffic in front of the main entrance to Mary Hogan.
Elementary Outstanding Teacher of the Year - Kim Forbes
Seen here with Katie Mitchell (L) and Laura Charron (R) work closely with her, Kim collaborates with them and many others in ACSD to help our preschoolers thrive in class and in the community. You will often see her class - and Deb Martin's preschool class - out and about in Middlebury!
Barbara Whittemore Support Staff of the Year - Chris Pratt
Imaginative Play
We know that students benefit from imaginative play at all ages. One of the ways we support imaginative play in Kindergarten is through the options available in the classroom during free play times. The 1st grade's first unit of inquiry has students engaging in learning through imaginative play. Mrs. Bibb's class got into the dress up box this week and LOVED it!
Learning about & Using Our Brains
The 4th graders were hard at work this week learning about how our brains work. They had such great questions about the brain and also used evidence to explain why they thought our brains didn't turn off when we sleep. They cited a lot of reasons why our brains keep working. Ask any of them, they can tell you at least 3-4 parts of the brain and what they do.
They used their brains to think about parts of sentences, pulling apart the subject and predicates in sentences. They collaborated on this work and weren't tricked by sentence fragments!
Kindercamp
Students in Kindergarten had three different days as they learned about Mary Hogan and what the daily routine looks like here. They went to library, art, music, and PE. They explored the space. They played and learned the lunch routine. Everytime I saw the kindergarteners, they were hard at work learning - sometimes through play and sometimes with the whole class.
We hosted our first Community Welcome Day this past Tuesday. We had times to visit classes, learn more about LAMS (library, arts, movement, and Spanish classes), and more about routines and expectations. Here is the link to the slideshow with information about morning routines, busses, counseling, and more. Please check it out!
This Community Welcome Day was our first time with an expanded welcome time and more indepth sessions. We already have some ideas for how to improve next year, but if you have a moment to give us your feedback, please either respond to this email or fill out the form below. Thank you so much!
Meeka Sands (Señora Sands)
Meeka is a Montpelier native with a long time love of the Spanish language and working with children. She has a Masters degree in Spanish from the Middlebury Language Schools and has been teaching in ACSD for the past five years.
And some VERY fun facts about her are:
- She has met the king of England (and he told her how to cure hiccups).
- Her family has roots in Spain, which is a favorite place to travel to.
- Her favorite sport is water skiing.
- She plays the concert harp.
- Her favorite thing to do is spend time with her daughter.
Rachel Angell
Hello Mary Hogan Families,
My name is Rachel Angell and I am the Administrative Assistant for Special Education, supporting our primary schools.
Throughout the school year, you may receive emails from me as I help to coordinate and schedule meetings for our Special Educators. You may also see my name on meeting notices, as I will be taking the minutes for many of our special education meetings.
I’m looking forward to working alongside you all and here’s to a wonderful school year!