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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hunt PTO Update 10/31/12 (Wed)






Hunt Newsletter soon-to-be online!

Click on "Newsletters" on the left hand side to read the November news.

http://hunt.bsdvt.org/

Read the Principal's Message, catch up on your child's team news, and learn more about the special events and activities going on at school!


Printed copies of newsletters are available and can be sent home with your child upon request.



From Mr. Amato:

Hunt Principal Search  

Earlier in the week I sent out an email about the Hunt Principal Search. For those of you without a google account, the link was inaccessible. Ms. Collins created a new survey at Survey Monkey below - anyone can access the link and it is confidential. Please take time to let your thoughts be heard. Below is the link and below that is the original email in case you want to re-read what Ms. Collins had to say about the Principal search.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R36Y9PY

Dear parents:

It is time to start to gear up for the principal search at HMS. I am considering a second year interim and postponing the search until next year and would like your input prior to making this decision. My first focus is stability for the students in the school. A search at this time means a current 7th grade student may potentially have a new principal each year of their Hunt career. The school is in restructuring and is making good progress. The current admin team is communicating well with faculty and staff and parents, from what I hear and see. I feel a second year interim, which I did at IAA and SA, allows for greater stability and does not rush a search.

However, I would like to hear from faculty and parents on this consideration. This is a simple survey with one question and a comment box. Please take a few minutes before Nov. 5 to let me know what you think. Thank you!




Thanks to everyone who came out to Hunt's First Ever Boloco Night, on Oct. 24th. Some of you took delicious burritos and Nutella shakes "to go" while others of you ate in the restaurant amongst many Hunt families, but all who attended supported the effort!

Boloco generously donated 25 % of the evening's revenue to Hunt, which we are pleased to say was close to $400! The money will be used to cover the remaining cost of our beautiful new stone circle/outdoor classroom.


We would also like to thank everyone who donated to our direct appeal campaign, in response to the letter sent out last month. The money we earned from the direct appeal, in addition to our wreath sale profits, will not be used for our Front Entrance Beautification Project. Instead these two sums of money will be spent on yearly PTO programs including the International Taste Tests, Iron Chef Competition, school assemblies, food baskets, the Community Dinner, and many other valuable and educational activities for our kids.

Thanks again to you all for your continued efforts in making Hunt a great place to go to school.

Your fundraising team,
Gabi, Susan, Tammy and Chris
P.S.: Look for the next Boloco Night in the spring!

Here are some highlights from the October PTO meeting last week.  The PTO Secretary position is vacant, so there will not be full reporting until the position is filled.  Might you be the person to attend monthly meetings and produce minutes????

* 2012-13 Budget approved

* Principal reported: 

1.  Nov 6 bullying assembly at 8:20.  There is room for parents - please RSVP to the office to claim a seat. 

2.  Nov. 8, 6pm in the library, Officer Berti will present to parents on Cyber Bullying and Digital Citizenship.  I attended this presentation last year and it was VERY informative and eye-opening.  It was also great to hear what kind of information the students are getting at school.  Every Hunt student will meet with Officer Berti on this subject. 

3. Honor Roll format is being looked at.  Climate committee will determine what changes to make.  At present, plans are to celebrate student achievement on team instead of as a student/parent assembly afterschool.  Parents are encouraged to let Mr. Amato know their opinions.  Is this a student only event?  Should parents be invited?  What are your thoughts?  Let Mr. Amato know at ramato@bsdvt.org  

4. Mr. Amato looking for feedback about parent conferences.  Did you attend one?  why or why not?  Did the format/sign-up work for you?  Is this the right time of year or would later be better.  Email you thoughts to Mr. Amato at the above address.

*  Boloco Fundraising Dinner raised $395 for front entrance improvements

*  Intergenerational projects between local Senior Citizens and Hunt students begin next week - contact Jen Sutton for more info jsutton@bsdvt.org.  

* Other upcoming outreach includes a food drive to benefit Hunt families.  Items will be collected during the concerts and distributed to Hunt Families after the new year.  Also, Jr. Iron Chef has been moved to February 2nd.  Hunt will be hosting 2 teams of students.  Sign-ups are NOW and 10 students will be chosen to participate (randomly drawn).  Contact Jen (above) if your child wants to try for a slot.

* Sports communication has been tabled until the November meeting.




Hunt School Magazine Drive 

Did your child bring home information about a magazine drive last week?  The magazine drive is a traditional fundraiser that has happened every year for a long time -more than 25 years! The student council organizes the drive and then is responsible for the profits. The goal of the drive is to raise money that is in the hands of students to use for kid-directed and kid-inspired school purposes.


The Student Council generally ends up with between $2000 and $3000 to work with for the year. The student council reps and officers truly make all the decisions about this money. Regarding how the money is used, every year is different, with some "regular" items that they always support in one way or another. Besides the regular items or ideas the reps bring to meetings from other kids, Hunt Teachers can request money for a particular purpose and the kids discuss the request and decide whether to fund it. Often they do, but not always. Requests have to be submitted in writing, addressed to the student council. Here are some examples of what the Student Council has spent their funds on:


-$1000, plus the profits from the first dance, went to the eighth grade trip fund. (They support this every year, with their donation ranging from $500 to $1500 depending on the year. $1000 seems to be the most typical.)


-$500 went back to teams. (They always send some money back to teams. The amount varies a lot, as does the means of determining how to allocate it. They have given from $250 to $1000 in the past. Sometimes they distribute it proportionally, based on the percentage sales that came from the different teams. Last year they gave the same amount to each team.)


-supplies and drinks and some snacks for each honor roll reception


-all expenses for eighth grade dance - DJ, food, drinks, supplies - everything is free for the kids at that dance


- prizes and supplies for many events and spirit days, such as the talent show


-start up costs for first dance of the year, giving more to eighth grade trip fund


-STOP requested money to help pay for a guest speaker and they donated $50, I believe.


-games and sports equipment to be used at lunch


-eighth grade gift: last year, 2 iPads, which will be arriving any day, to be housed in the Learning Center and to be signed out for team use or used by kids coming into the library.


-snacks for the student council meetings themselves!





BHS Drama presents "Legally Blonde", 
November 15-17 at 7:30 pm, at Burlington High School. 

 Elle Woods can handle anything. So when her boyfriend, Warner, dumps her she decides to follow him to Harvard Law School and win him back. With some help from new-found friends Paulette, Emmett and her chihuahua Bruiser, she learns that it’s so much better to be smart.

Hunt School students are invited to attend FREE of charge thanks to a generous support from the Burlington Students Foundation. http://www.bsfvt.org/

Ticket prices for others: Adults: $8, Students & Seniors: $5


Balsam Pine Vermont Wreaths for sale


2012 Holiday Wreath Sale Ongoing through November 12th- Your PTO's annual Holiday Wreath Sale has begun! We are selling fresh, locally sourced and crafted, reasonably priced Balsam Wreaths. This year's offerings also include traditional centerpieces and kissing balls to brighten your home or table. These wreaths are the finest found anywhere, hand-crafted in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, and make wonderful gifts for family and friends.


All proceeds will go directly toward PTO activities including team field trips, school-wide assemblies, 8th grade graduation, 6th grade orientation picnic, the community dinner, diversity day, and other enrichment activities. Orders forms were sent home last week but additional order forms can be found in the main office or print a copy from the Hunt PTO blog spot, or the Hunt website.

Orders for wreaths must be placed by November 12th and can be brought to the main office or given directly to a member of the fundraising team. Any questions? Contact Gabi Baumann at 660-9189 or email gamabaumann@burlingtontelecom.net or Susan Rutherford at 951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com 

If you think you can bring an order form to your office or don't mind selling door to door, please contact a member of the fundraising team. We are happy to bring you a copy of our "Super Seller" order form with more space for additional orders. 

Thanks for your support!!

Your fundraising team,
Gabi Baumann at gambaumann@burlingtontelecom.net or 660-9189
Susan Rutherford at susanrutherford@hotmail.com or 951-2571
Tammy Kuypers
Chris Horton




Hunt Middle School now has BOTH a Facebook and a Twitter account!  Interested Hunt community members or school supporters can go to the school website and link to either/both of these accounts:  http://hunt.bsdvt.org/

If you "like" these pages, you will get notifications of events happening at the school, such as early closures, no school, sports cancellations, etc.  The Hunt middle school team is very excited to offer these new communication tools.  Their success depends upon families using them -- Please "like" these pages today to stay connected!  


Mark your calendars!!!

JJ Flynn Elementary Bottle Drive
Saturday, November 3rd from 9am to 5pm

At Merola’s Market

1563 North Avenue
(the corner of Tracy Drive and North Avenue)

Help support the Flynn PTO and clean out those bottles from your garage.

Drive down the right side of the building to the drive-up bottle drop off and say you are donating the cans and bottles to the Flynn PTO.

Merola’s will donate 10% in addition to what is collected to the school.

Tell your friends and neighbors as well!  

Can’t make it that day?  Questions?  Contact Mary Mitchell and you can drop them at the school or her house. 
(863.8983 or Maryellemo1@hotmail.com)

Save those bottles and cans!  This is a quick and easy way to help support our school.

We will also be having a second bottle/can collection Saturday, March 10th
(The Saturdays of Daylight Savings Weekends.)

November 6th, 2012
Anti-Bullying assembly

We have invited Mr. John Halligan to speak to all Hunt students at an assembly.  He will relay his own tragic experience as a dad whose 13 year old son took his own life in 2003, after incessant bullying by peers since the 5th grade, both in school and online.  His story is riveting and powerful, and reminds students that there is a face, a person, a heart on the other end of a computer screen.  

His presentation will begin with a short video collection of home movie clips and still pictures of Ryan.  John will then begin to tell the story of Ryan and the factors that led up to his son's suicide.  The students will gain a perspective from inside a family of a child who is a victim of bullying and cyber bullying.  They will also gain awareness about the signs and risk of teenage suicide and how best to help a friend.  As part of Mr. Halligan's presentation, students will have the chance to ask him questions.  We encourage you to visit http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/ for more information.  

Please call Mr. Amato at 864-8469 prior to November 2nd if you prefer your child not attend this assembly.  There are also a limited number of seats for parents to attend this assembly on November 6th.  Please call the school before November 2nd if you would like to attend. 




November 8th, 2012
Cyber Bulling and Digital Citizenship

presented by Rene Berti, our School Resource Officer
in the Hunt library

A discussion with parents to follow-up on the bullying assembly for students on Nov. 6th with Mr. John Halligan.

Daylight Savings Time ends on 
the first Sunday in November (November 4th,) 
which is when all of our clocks will FALL BACK.  




Vermont State Jr Iron Chef Competition
Saturday, February 2, 2013

Hunt Middle School Junior Iron Chef Applications Available
Applications Due:  Friday, November 2, 2012


Jr Iron Chef VT is hosted by the Burlington School Food Project and Vermont FEED.  It is a statewide competition that gives students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience preparing and cooking nutritious, farm-fresh foods. The program highlights local agriculture and encourages students to make healthy eating choices and understand more about nutrition, farm-fresh foods, the culinary arts and school food systems.      See the website  http://www.jrironchefvt.org/   for more details of the competition. 

If your child is interested in submitting their name for one of Hunt Middle School’s Jr Iron Chef teams, they can pick up an application in the Hunt Library. The student and parent/guardian must fill out and sign the Jr Iron Chef contract AND the permission slip and the student must return both documents to the library no later than Friday, November 2, 2012.  Please note that if we receive more applications than there are slots, names will be pulled out of a hat.

Practices will be held after school in November, December and January.  Dates will be determined by the team coaches.  Please check your current commitments and be sure you have time to participate in the Jr Iron Chef program before signing up. Each team will have an alternate who will replace any team member who has unexcused practice absences. Students can only be excused from practice if they are sick from school the day of the practice. Since students will be using knives and food processing equipment it is essential that they attend practices to learn proper procedures to ensure the safety of all participants.  

Questions Contact:  Jennifer Sutton, Hunt Community Outreach Coordinator, 310-4998, jsutton@bsdvt.org



Hoping that everyone had a happy one...

    Save the Date.... 
  • November 3 - JJ Flynn Elementary Bottle Drive
  • November 4 - Daylight Savings Time ends
  • November 6 - Early Release Day
  • November 6 - Bullying Assembly
  • November 8 - Cyber Bullying and Digital Citizenship discussion 
  • November 12 - Deadline for getting wreath orders in
  • February 2nd, 2013 - Jr. Iron Chef


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