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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Hunt PTO Update 6/11/13


Happy LAST week of school!

Enjoy the week and have a 
FUN and SAFE summer!


Don't forget to check out the Hunt JUNE newsletter!


http://hunt.bsd.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/announce.phtml?sessionid=f2a98e473195df3dd34b94006d93dff4&sessionid=f2a98e473195df3dd34b94006d93dff4

While you are all gearing up for the arrival of SUMMER, be sure to check out the Hunt web site for...

- a completely new and updated JUNE newsletter

- an incredible list of great summer reading ideas for your kids

- a video highlighting the BSD Middle School Summer Program which will run from June 24th through July 26th
Download this year's flyer HERE!


and so MUCH more!

FREE summer meals June 24th - August 16th!

FREE SUMMER MEALS IN BURLINGTON FOR ALL KIDS 18 AND UNDER!

No fees. No registration. Just show up! Meal sites are located at Hunt and other New North End locations and at the Sustainability Academy and the Riverside Apartments in the Old North End.  

For more information, call 802.864.8416 or visit http://burlington-school-food-proj.district.bsd.schoolfusion.us/modules/locker/files/get_group_file.phtml?fid=21837254&gid=3796089&sessionid=f09947d7b095518398fbaafe1ad09416

Call 2-1-1 for information on free summer meals for kids across Vermont. Text mealsVT to 877-877 for information on meal sites nearest you. Breakfast will also be served – times to be announced soon.


CONGRATULATIONS to our departing 8th Graders.
Wishing you all many successes at BHS!

8th grade graduation is on Thursday, June 13th at 1 pm.  8th graders are required to come to school that morning to practice for graduation and should be done around 10.  (Please, if you're getting your hair done, make it after 10:30!) Students will return to school at 12:30 for line-up.  After the graduation there will be a reception in the cafeteria for families and that evening is the 8th grade dance from 7-9pm.  As always, please no limos!!!


Speaking of Graduation....  Hunt needs some 6/7 grade families to help throw a graduation party!!!



Michelle Virun is looking for a few volunteers from our 6th and 7th grade parents to help with the reception after the 8th grade graduation.  

Everything will be provided from balloons to cake, we just need some helping hands for set up and to pour punch and cut cake.
Volunteers are needed to set-up and serve from 12:30 to approx 2:30 on Thursday June 13th.

To volunteer or ask questions, please reply to Michelle at 802-864-8469 mvirun@bsdvt.org


Letters of Thanks from Teachers & Staff for the Staff Appreciation Treats from the PTO:


I want to thank the PTO for the fabulous treats at our staff meeting today. It was a real pleasure. The cards were beautiful too. Thanks to all.
--
Kathy Hevey 

From Chris Couture, Cafeteria Supervisor:



...This note from Ms. Orlando starts at the bottom and then the second page is on the top!




Help is Needed Watering OUR beautiful New Front Entrance Gardens this Summer
 (The gardens to the left and right of the front door to the school)

We all raised the funds to put in some great new gardens this year and last, now help is needed to keep the gardens looking healthy and growing strong. Without help watering this summer, some plants will die and others will not grow as strong in the years to come. We all love the way the garden looks in front of our school, now let's ALL help to keep it looking good.

Volunteer to water for one day or one week, but please volunteer! No amount of time will be turned down.

Did you know that your soon-to-be freshman in high school can receive credit this summer for community service, required by the high school for graduation, by helping to water the Hunt Gardens?  Perhaps your boy or girl scout would like to water to receive credit toward a gardening badge. 

For questions or to offer to help watering this summer, contactsusanrutherford@hotmail.com or 951-2571 and thanks!!


Honors Level Classes being evaluated at the High School 

There has been some chatter about Honors level classes being cut at the HS level. BHS Principal Amy Mellencamp confirmed this and assured us that Honors and College Prep classes will continue in 2013-14. The discussion they have been having about honors relates to work on what the education world is calling "proficiencies." For instance, students who want to take on the challenge of learning at the honors level would need to demonstrate they are truly meeting honors standards at a proficient level. This designation would come not just because one had signed up for an honors class but because one had earned that distinction through demonstrations of academic work. 

This shift to proficiencies across the country is requiring schools to be clearer about curriculum, the distinction between honors and college prep work, and what assessments would best reveal this distinction. There is active discussion about whether a student in an honors class receiving a C is really that different than a student in a college prep class earning an A. Are certain students with support from certain parents being encouraged to take honors classes, while other qualified students end up in college prep classes? So lots of questions, but they are not undertaking any major changes next year except to be clearer to students about what quality honors level work looks like, encouraging as many students as possible to aim towards that work, and being clearer to students and parents when students are not earning at that level and why. Ms Mellencamp recognizes this discussion is very important to parents and plans to take time to involve those interested to be in the conversation next year as they consider these and other questions for the future. 

It can't hurt to let Ms. Mellencamp know if you are interested in continuing this conversation. Her email is amellenc@bsdvt.org.


                                             


Want an easy way to support Hunt Middle School's Student Council and all Hunt's students? It won't require volunteering or cost you a dime?  Save Box Tops for Education!
Here’s how to help:
**Box Tops for Education are on the packages of hundreds of participating products that you probably use every day. All you need to do is cut them off the box they are on, stick them in a baggie, and send them to school with your middle school student. There is a container for the Box Tops in the main office.
**Did you know that Box Tops are dated and cannot be used if they are past this expiration date??

Make yourself a note on your home or electronic calendar to send in those Box Tops!! Saving them is the first step. Sending them in before they expire is the next.
The student council will be collecting Box Tops all year long, so start saving and sending in your Box Tops today! The collection box is located in the main office.
Thanks for choosing to support the student council by collecting Box Tops!
Hunt's Student Council collects used shoes, sandals and boots for Hunt's shoe recycling program!!


The collection box went missing for a few days, but it's back in the front entrance of Hunt and ready for the collection of your pre-loved shoes, sneakers, boots, athletic foot wear, and sandals. Don't let those shoes fill our landfills! ShoeBox recycling will get them to people who need them, because most shoes still have some life left in them. Simply bring your old shoes to Hunt, place them in the specially marked box, in the front entrance of the school, and a member of the student council will send them to ShoeBox Recycling. Thanks for doing your part! Contact susanrutherford@hotmail.com with any questions. 

Save the Date...
  • June 13th - Early Release Day for 6th and 7th Graders
  • June 13th - 1 pm, 8th Grade Graduation
  • June 13th - 7-9 pm, 8th Grade Dance
  • June 14th - Last Day of School 
  • June 14th - Early Release Day for 6th and 7th Graders
  • June 24th - July 26th - BSD Middle School Summer Program
  • June 24th - August 16th - FREE summer meals for kids


Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Hunt PTO Update 6/4/13


Welcome to JUNE!

http://hunt.bsd.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/announce.phtml?sessionid=f2a98e473195df3dd34b94006d93dff4&sessionid=f2a98e473195df3dd34b94006d93dff4

While you are all gearing up for the arrival of SUMMER, be sure to check out the Hunt web site for...

- a completely new and updated JUNE newsletter

- an incredible list of great summer reading ideas for your kids

- a video highlighting the BSD Middle School Summer Program which will run from June 24th through July 26th
Download this year's flyer!

and so MUCH more!





Come to the Very Merry Theater's production of the show "13". Many Hunt Middle School 7th & 8th graders will be in the play. Come see this great play and support your classmates!

Show times:
Thursday, June 6th at 4pm and 7pm
Saturday, June 8th at 2pm and 6pm

See Verymerrytheater.org for directions to the 333 theater.

When his parents get divorced and he's forced to move from New York to a small town in Indiana, Evan Goldman just wants to make friends and survive the school year. Easier said than done. The star quarterback is threatening to ruin his life and his only friend, Patrice, won't talk to him. The school freak sees an opportunity for blackmail and someone is spreading the nastiest rumors.

With a superb rock score, 13 is a hilarious, high-energy musical for all ages about discovering that cool is where you find it, and sometimes where you least expect it.


8th grade graduation is on Thursday, June 13th at 1 pm.  8th graders are required to come to school that morning to practice for graduation and should be done around 10.  (Please, if you're getting your hair done, make it after 10:30!) Students will return to school at 12:30 for line-up.  After the graduation there will be a reception in the cafeteria for families and that evening is the 8th grade dance from 7-9pm.  As always, please no limos!!!



Speaking of Graduation....  Hunt needs some 6/7 grade families to help throw a graduation party!!!
Michelle Virun is looking for a few volunteers from our 6th and 7th grade parents to help with the reception after the 8th grade graduation.  
Everything will be provided from balloons to cake, we just need some helping hands for set up and to pour punch and cut cake.
Volunteers are needed to set-up and serve from 12:30 to approx 2:30 on Thursday June 13th.

To volunteer or ask questions, please reply to Michelle at 802-864-8469 mvirun@bsdvt.org


HMS Faculty Appreciation sponsored by the PTO

As they arrived to their meeting on Tuesday, May 28th, 30 teachers shared their surprise upon noticing a lovely dressed buffet, tables with floral centerpieces, signs and cards expressing appreciation for their hard work, and sunflower seeds to plant in their summer gardens.  Kathy Butts and Amy Stuart coordinated the event setting up parent donations of flowers, juices, sweets, fruit, crackers and dip.  Amy verbally thanked the faculty because, “We usually remember our teachers from middle school and our friends from high school.  Thank you for helping our children build their capacity to develop and nurture healthy friendships.”  Team leaders took the bouquets to their classrooms and HMS staff will enjoy leftovers for the rest of the week!  And, the entire faculty now own a lovely April Cornell tablecloth which they may use at meetings and events.  Maybe they’ll share it with the PTO…
We’d like to thank the following people for their generous donations:  Dawn Barring, Kate Belluche, Michele Bottino, Kathy Butts, Molly Bucci, Liz Curry, Siobhan Donegan, Jessica Francis, Martine Gulick, Rosalie Ann Hinkley, Holly Jeffers, Kathleen Lynch, Tammy Kuypers, Kara Mahoney, Susan Rutherford, Sarah Smith, Jessica Story-Huston, Amy Stuart, Jenny Tomzak, Kate Wheeler, Anne Williams, and others kind folks whose names we did not get!



Hunt Garden Committee is looking for a few people to help with watering the front entrance gardens this spring and summer. If you can help water for one week or if you can help water one day per week, anything you can do will help. High school students and scouts are welcome!! Contact Susan if you can help. at 951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com.


Honors Level Classes being evaluated at the High School There has been some chatter about Honors level classes being cut at the HS level. BHS Principal Amy Mellencamp confirmed this and assured us that Honors and College Prep classes will continue in 2013-14. The discussion they have been having about honors relates to work on what the education world is calling "proficiencies." For instance, students who want to take on the challenge of learning at the honors level would need to demonstrate they are truly meeting honors standards at a proficient level. This designation would come not just because one had signed up for an honors class but because one had earned that distinction through demonstrations of academic work. 

This shift to proficiencies across the country is requiring schools to be clearer about curriculum, the distinction between honors and college prep work, and what assessments would best reveal this distinction. There is active discussion about whether a student in an honors class receiving a C is really that different than a student in a college prep class earning an A. Are certain students with support from certain parents being encouraged to take honors classes, while other qualified students end up in college prep classes? So lots of questions, but they are not undertaking any major changes next year except to be clearer to students about what quality honors level work looks like, encouraging as many students as possible to aim towards that work, and being clearer to students and parents when students are not earning at that level and why. Ms Mellencamp recognizes this discussion is very important to parents and plans to take time to involve those interested to be in the conversation next year as they consider these and other questions for the future. 

It can't hurt to let Ms. Mellencamp know if you are interested in continuing this conversation. Her email is amellenc@bsdvt.org.


                                             


Want an easy way to support Hunt Middle School's Student Council and all Hunt's students? It won't require volunteering or cost you a dime?  Save Box Tops for Education!
Here’s how to help:
**Box Tops for Education are on the packages of hundreds of participating products that you probably use every day. All you need to do is cut them off the box they are on, stick them in a baggie, and send them to school with your middle school student. There is a container for the Box Tops in the main office.
**Did you know that Box Tops are dated and cannot be used if they are past this expiration date??

Make yourself a note on your home or electronic calendar to send in those Box Tops!! Saving them is the first step. Sending them in before they expire is the next.
The student council will be collecting Box Tops all year long, so start saving and sending in your Box Tops today! The collection box is located in the main office.
Thanks for choosing to support the student council by collecting Box Tops!
Hunt's Student Council collects used shoes, sandals and boots for Hunt's shoe recycling program!!


The collection box went missing for a few days, but it's back in the front entrance of Hunt and ready for the collection of your pre-loved shoes, sneakers, boots, athletic foot wear, and sandals. Don't let those shoes fill our landfills! ShoeBox recycling will get them to people who need them, because most shoes still have some life left in them. Simply bring your old shoes to Hunt, place them in the specially marked box, in the front entrance of the school, and a member of the student council will send them to ShoeBox Recycling. Thanks for doing your part! Contact susanrutherford@hotmail.com with any questions. 

Save the Date...
  • June 6th - Musical 13 at 333
  • June 8th - Musical 13 at 333
  • June 7th - 8th Grade Trip to Six Flags
  • June 11h - Picnic Day
  • June 13th - Early Release Day for 6th and 7th Graders
  • June 13th - 1 pm, 8th Grade Graduation
  • June 13th - 7-9 pm, 8th Grade Dance
  • June 14th - Last Day of School 
  • June 14th - Early Release Day for 6th and 7th Graders
  • June 24th - July 26th - BSD Middle School Summer Program