ACSD Newsletter Spring 2022

Highlights & Celebrations from Our Schools

Incoming MUHS Peer Leaders train to support our incoming 9th graders!

Dear ACSD Community,

As we enter the final weeks of school our schools will be hosting field trips, concerts, school celebrations and graduations! Below, please find photos and highlights from our schools, several ways to engage with ACSD, and resources as we head into the end of school.

Wishing you all a happy, restful long weekend,

Peter Burrows, Superintendent

School Highlights launch

Chalk Fest at MUMS

6th, 7th, and 8th grade students enjoyed popsicles and chased the rain away with their vibrant chalk drawings during their first Chalk Festival!

PreK at MUHS

Environmental Science students designed stations for Mary Hogan PreK friends to plant seeds, do art project, and taste test kale cupcakes and smoothies!

Weybridge Birdhouses

Working in teams, Weybridge students designed and constructed birdhouses for their school and Otter View Park.

Salisbury at the Capital!

Students at Salisbury visited the state capital and the Vermont Museum!

Ripton Dances

Students in Ripton learned to dance and drum together with artist in residence, Jeh Kulu!

Science at Cornwall!

With special scientist visit and simple ingredients, Cornwall students made bubbles, lava lamps and used their bodies as human scales!

Green Up MaryHogan

Students at Mary Hogan greened-up their school and then helped to compost and plant in their community garden!

Shoreham Explores

Shoreham students found color and new growth in their nature walks!

MUHS Personal Projects

10th graders at MUHS completed their year-long Personal Project and presented them to the community.

Bridport Cooks

Students got comfortable tasting and preparing fresh fruits and vegetables in the Bridport kitchen!

Green Up Day

Across our district, students helped green-up our schools and community!

Field Trips

MUHS students visited Montreal to explore the culture and practice language skills!

RESOURCES

MUHS + MUMS Student Mental Health Zoom Conversation

Staff and students from MUHS + MUMS joined with community partners to talk about issues and resources to support student mental health. Watch the zoom recording at the link above.

Sign up for Summer Meal Kits for ALL ACSD Students!

We have two ways for kids to access meals this summer!
1. Daily meals at select locations (details coming) for all children 0-18
2. Meal kits for any child not receiving meals at locations above (Sign up to help us determine how many kits are needed)

Health and Safety Updates

Ongoing updates from our COVID Coordinator, Nurse Kelly Landwehr, RN, MSN

Engage with ACSD!

Athletics and Events Calendar

Come out to cheer for our students at their athletic events and artistic celebrations! The MUHS events calendar has something for everyone.

Share your thoughts about Strategic Plan priorities

Answer three questions to help the new Advisory Committee on Equity and the ACSD Board set priorities for the next strategic plan.

Equity Advisory Committee

In addition to sharing your thoughts about our Strategic Plan priorities, you can stay up to date with the work of our Advisory Committee on Equity.

Nominate an Amazing ACSD Teacher or Staff!

Share anytime an ACSD teacher or staff does something that makes our community better! We will also use this form to gather nominations for our annual Outstanding Teacher of the Year and Barbara Whittemore Support Staff Award (due by 5/31/22).

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End of Year Celebrations

We are proud and excited for each of our schools as our 5th, 8th and 12th grade students prepare to move on to new schools and post-secondary plans. Here is an overview of upcoming events*:

June 7 @ 1:30 Salisbury 5th Grade Celebration

June 7 @ 1:30 Mary Hogan 5th Grade Celebration

June 8 @ 1:30 Cornwall 5th Grade Celebration

June 9 @ 9:30 Shoreham 5th Grade Graduation

June 9 @ 6:30pm Weybridge 5th Grade Celebration

June 9 @ 1pm Bridport 5th Grade Celebration

June 9 @ 6pm Ripton 5th Grade Celebration

June 10 @ 11:30 MUMS 8th Grade Celebration

June 11 @ 10am MUHS Graduation

*Please refer to your principal communications for exact times and locations of these events as some may change.

Teaching Highlights

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ACSD Shares Best Teaching Practices

ACSD teachers from Mary Hogan and Cornwall lead by Curriculum Leader and IB PYP Coordinator, Joy Dobson, hosted teachers from Littleton NH who wanted to see our teachers in action. The NH teachers are working toward the best practice of inquiry based teaching that our teachers use. The NH team expressed appreciation for our willingness to share our time, space, and resources. They also shared four overall observations about ACSD from their visit:

Strong collaboration and sense of community
Significant academic vocabulary used by students in all grade levels.
Children’s strong use of inquiry practices in language during classroom discussions.
Strong coherence of the taught and observable curriculum across classrooms.

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Statewide Teacher Recognition

Several of our teachers attended the Vermont-NEA Recognition Ceremony for new and renewed National Board Certified teachers. This is the most respected professional certification available in education! More ACSD teachers were recognized than any other district and additional awards went to Izzy Gogarty from Middlebury Union Middle School who received the SHAPE Rising Star Award and Amy Clapp from Salisbury received the Presidential Award for K-6 Excellence in Math and Science teaching.

Board Resources

Please find board updates, meetings, and agendas here.

Connect in person and Follow ACSD on Social Media

Website: acsdvt.org
Location: 49 Charles Avenue, Middlebury, VT, USA
Phone: 802-382-1274
Instagram: @acsdvtschools

Facebook: @acsdvt
Twitter: @acsdvtschools