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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Hunt PTO Update 4/16/14

Hunt PTO Update 4/16/14



The Hunt PTO and the Family School Partnership invite
You & Your Family to the

HERITAGE POTLUCK DINNER

Thursday, April 17th       6:00 – 7:30 pm
In the
Hunt Middle School Cafeteria

******With Live Student Entertainment!******


Do you cook a recipe at home that reflects your heritage?  We would love to try it!

Please bring a Main Dish potluck item to share

We also encourage you to wear any clothing that reflects your heritage. (but please do wear clothing!)

Drinks, Salads, Rolls and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream will be provided!

During the Dinner we will also host a Title 1 Parent Informational Meeting.
There will be a table set up where you will be able to review:
·         The Hunt Home School Compact
·         The Burlington's District Parent Involvement Policy.

Your feedback is always welcome and important.

For questions or to help with the dinner contact Jennifer Sutton


 at 310-4998, or jsutton@bsdvt.org 








The Vermont City Marathon needs a WATER STATION in the NEW NORTH END.  They would like it to be organized by parents or faculty from one of the three neighborhood schools and staffed by students.  The marathon will be run on Sunday, May 25th at 8 am.  The water stop will be "open" from 9 am to 1:30 pm.  It will be located on the bike path at the end of North Ave and requires about 20 students to operate.  If you are interested, contact J.P. Gagnon at jpegagnon@yahoo.com or jpgagnon@bsdvt.org.


 

From Burlington Friends of Education


In case you're not on the Partnership for Change email list, we wanted to pass along this great editorial by Director Hal Colston. The headline says it all.
A Budget Is A Moral Document
by Hal Colston, Partnership for Change Director

A school district budget is reflective of public and collective priorities. A budget is a social contract. A budget is a moral document. As such, it must serve to advance our vision.

Recently, the Winooski/Burlington School Districts set about to create a joint vision to be “an innovative, collaborative, and equitable learning organization that inspires all learners to lead their communities to a dynamic and sustainable future.”

The Partnership for Change endorses this vision as it supports the Winooski and Burlington School Districts to create a student-centered, personalized, proficiency-based learning system that supports all learners in our communities to pursue excellence. We are fortunate that a 3.5 year, $3.7M grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, for which the Burlington School District acts as fiscal sponsor, provides us the opportunity to jumpstart our work. What we aspire to do can be accomplished more quickly and more effectively with this generous infusion of funding.

The Nellie Mae grant has allowed us to involve the many stakeholders in our community in defining the levers of change that will move our work forward. They are: family-school partnership; youth engagement and leadership; proficiency-based learning; community-based learning; and teaching and learning environments. It is through these levers that we will accomplish our mission and realize our vision.

Our school system is like an orchestra with many different instruments all adding value to the music that is made. Our schools bring together students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and community partners with one goal in mind: creating a score of music that allows all of our students to achieve success.
In my view, our public school education system is an investment in our future, our community. What are the goals and outcomes we expect of our schools so our community will thrive for all? Let’s remember that a budget is a moral document.


Hunt Gardens Update

Our beautiful front perennial garden, herb spiral, and stone circle garden are beginning to bloom again. If well taken care of, these gardens will continue to produce colorful perennial flowers and green shrubs and trees for years to come.

These gardens create a welcoming environment at Hunt and can help instill a sense of pride in Hunt students. The gardens act as a place of shade for those waiting for rides and as an outdoor classroom for all our students.

How can you help to keep the Hunt gardens in great shape for all to enjoy?

Volunteers are needed to cut last year's dry grass from the perennial grasses to allow for new plant growth. Help will also be needed to spread mulch and to water and weed during the summer. 

If you can volunteer any amount of time to keep the Hunt gardens looking great, please contact Susan at susanrutherford@hotmail.com

**Hunt will need a parent liaison next year as our present parent liaison is the parent of an 8th grader and moving on to BHS next year. If you love to garden and are looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community, please contact Kate at akbelluche@aol.com or Gabi at gamabaumann@burlingtontelecom.net


Summer Camp Opportunities
Kids4Peace Camp
 

Kids4Peace is looking for some amazing 12 and 13 year-olds (current 6th & 7th graders) to join our community!  It all starts with a two-week summer camp, August 7-17, at Windsor Hills Camp, Windsor, NH, with other Jewish, Christian & Muslim youth from Israel, the West Bank, NH and VT.  Learn about other religions and cultures, develop skills to be a peacemaker, meet Israeli & Palestinian youth and be part of a movement for lasting change.  Contact Camp Director Jeff Mandell to learn more (jeff@k4p.org).  New Hampshire camp application here.


Due to the additional snow day, one day has been added to the end of the school year. 8th grade Graduation/ Dance has been moved to June 10th. Last day for 6th and 7th grade will be June 11th with an 11:30am dismissal.


Save the Date!
  • April 17 - Heritage Potluck Dinner - 6-7:30 in the cafeteria - live student entertainment and free ice cream 
  • April 21st - 25th - April vacation - No School
  • April 28th - School starts up again
  • April 29th - First Track & Field meet at Essex High

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Hunt PTO Update 4/9/14

Hey There Hunt families - Did you notice the new sign in front if Hunt?  This is your PTO dollars at work!  Coming soon to the sign will be a brick base, shrubs and electricity.  Soon you will see events listed on the sign similar to the sign at BHS!  Have a great week!


West Side Story was videotaped and we are now taking orders.  If you did not order at the show, you are welcome to download the form and send your order in to the HMS office.  Click the link here:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/121aGPBSKN__RIYIOmW-n2CTEQGHGkNTkkbuzzvq2KDw/edit?usp=sharing


Report Cards come out at the end of the week.  Keep your ears open for on team celebrations for students achieving honor roll/high honor roll.



Burlington Friends of Education hosted an organizational meeting on Tuesday to help pass an amended budget.  Info below from the Facebook page
If you missed the meeting last night, here is a great story from WPTZ News Channel 5 about our core message, and the work we need to do to get a budget passed.

“We’ve really built an exceptional school system in a lot of ways, and it would really just be heartbreaking to take so many steps backwards." — Sarah Woodard, parent (and BHS graduate).
A quote from the last school board meeting: "What we're doing is working. Why would we choose to break it?"

We're not the only ones who think Burlington Schools are doing great work. Just read this article from The Atlantic.



The Hunt PTO and the Family School Partnership invite
You & Your Family to the

HERITAGE POTLUCK DINNER

Thursday, April 17th       6:00 – 7:30 pm
In the
Hunt Middle School Cafeteria

******With Live Student Entertainment!******


Do you cook a recipe at home that reflects your heritage?  We would love to try it!

Please bring a Main Dish potluck item to share

We also encourage you to wear any clothing that reflects your heritage. (but please do wear clothing!)

Drinks, Salads, Rolls and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream will be provided!

During the Dinner we will also host a Title 1 Parent Informational Meeting.
There will be a table set up where you will be able to review:
·         The Hunt Home School Compact
·         The Burlington's District Parent Involvement Policy.

Your feedback is always welcome and important.

For questions or to help with the dinner contact Jennifer Sutton

 at 310-4998, or jsutton@bsdvt.org 

Save the Date!
  • April 10th - Track & Field - Parent Info Meeting, 5pm
  • April 11 - School Dance - 7pm
  • April 17 - Heritage Potluck Dinner - 6-7:30 in the cafeteria - live student entertainment and free ice cream 
  • April 21st - 25th - April vacation - No School
  • April 29th - First Track & Field meet at Essex High

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Hunt PTO Update 4/3/14

Welcome April!
Good riddance, March!

Hunt PTO Update
4/3/2014

Hunt Drama Program Presents


 Show Times: ALL shows open to the community
Thursday, April 3rd at 4:00
Friday, April 4th at 7:00
Saturday, April 5th at 7:00
************************************************************
West Side Story is a musical translation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the gang-ridden streets of 1950s Manhattan, dominated by the Sharks and the Jets, two teens from the bitter-enemy gangs meet and fall in love at a fateful gym dance.
************************

Enjoy the show! There is no entrance fee but we do hope you will purchase a playbill, goodies from our bake sales on Friday and Saturday nights & tickets to our City Market raffle basket at Saturday night's show!! The Drama Club must fund raise all the money to pay for our shows each year. We are not a part of the Hunt PTO or funded by Hunt Middle School. Thanks so much for your support!!


Hunt Track & Field practices have begun!


The sun is shining and Hunt Track and Field practices have begun!  If your child is a Hunt track and field athlete, she/he has received a handout with the names of the new coaches and the team expectations.  Please ask to check that out.   Athletes  practice M-F starting at  3:30.  

The first track meet is April 29th at Essex High School.

If you have any questions, please  contact  the coaches - 
Anthony Dennis : adennis@bsdvt.org
Bill Gay: wgay@bsdvt.org

Soon you will be able to check out all of the Hunt Track and Field meet dates on the HMS Athletics page: 
https://sites.google.com/a/bsdvt.org/lyman-c-hunt-middle-school-athletics/ 




RIF Process (from Jeanne Collins' blog)

This year, with the budget defeated, Burlington School District is facing a larger than usual “RIF” or Reduction in Force process in order to make all options available to the Board as they decide a new budget proposal for voter approval.
Because the teacher contract and central office administrator contract have a March 15 deadline for notification of possible RIFs, these two groups received the first RIF notices. And because the teacher group is our largest group of employees, the list is quite large in that area.
How were the RIF positions identified?
As superintendent, I was asked to identify non mandated programs and staffing that we have. About 80% of our programs and related staffing is mandated (see zero based budgeting work http://tinyurl.com/lx9z67v). Thus, we have to look at programs that are valued but go beyond the basics. That started the RIF list identified positions.
On March 15, we notified the BEA  union president of a possible 48 positions being RIFfed. This post will focus on the teacher RIFs as there are so many questions in this area.
The process of reducing teaching positions and the associated rights to “bump” a less senior teacher or be recalled to a position is documented in the BEA Master Agreement, a copy is on the BSD website.  Specifically, articles 11, RIF’s; 14, Bumping; and 15, RIF Recall; cover this process.
Once the district identifies the positions for potential elimination, we then work with the BEA to identify the teacher currently holding that position. This is not an easy task, as we must first decide if the position is district wide or building based. If building based, the least senior teacher with the same license of the reduced position is subject to the RIF. If district based, such as unified arts at the secondary level, the least senior teacher district wide with the same license as the teacher in the reduced position is subject to RIF. Middle school positions are reduced by building by subject. High school positions are reduced by subject.
Next, before a teacher is sent a RIF notice, we must identify any vacant positions, such as retirements, and transfer them if they are licensed and qualified.
This process is completed by March 28. However, the list is not yet final even then. Next, teachers who have received RIF notices may then exercise their “bumping” rights. Bumping is the displacement of a less senior teacher in a position for which the RIF’d teacher is licensed and qualified.  This is a district-wide process, thus a RIFfed teacher who has seniority over another teacher in the district with the same license and qualifications may bump anywhere in the district. Teachers displaced by a RIF’d teacher may exercise bumping rights as well and may displace a less senior teacher in a position for which the initial “bumped” teacher is licensed and qualified district-wide. Another confusing factor is that an elementary teacher is licensed for grades K-6; thus an elementary teacher can “bump” into 60th grade or vice versa.
I have had questions about qualifications, particularly in the area of the magnet schools. This clause is not defined to identify the skills of the magnet school teachers at this time in the contract. Thus an elementary licensed magnet school teacher is on equal footing with a non magnet school elementary licensed teacher.
Finally, we have a RIF recall list. RIF’d and displaced teachers who are not transferred to vacant positions or cannot displace as less senior teacher are eligible to be on the RIF Recall List for two (2) years. Teachers on the RIF Recall List are recalled to vacant position in reverse RIF order, with the requirement that the teacher must be licensed and qualified for the vacant position.
We cannot RIF recall until we know what our approved budget amount will be this year. We can transfer to vacant positions as retirements and resignations come in. But total RIF recall depends on an approved budget.
This is a time of great uncertainty in the district. It is also likely we will lose newer teachers who are not able to wait for things to sugar out. I am very sorry for the anxiety this causes and hope that the budget decisions are made soon in order to keep as many new hires as possible.
BSD HR April 2, 2014

Update from 3/25 School Board Meeting:


Dear faculty, staff and administration:

What a turn out you had tonight at the Board meeting. For 3.5 hours, the Board heard testimony that supported the schools budget and requested a new budget to bring to the voters. The energy in the room was inspiring. Thank you for standing up for our kids.

The Board did vote to take Option 3 off the table. This was the option that cut $4.1M from the rejected budget including full day K and magnet coaches. While the Board cannot restore everything in that budget option, as they still need flexibility to build a new budget, the intention was clear. Thus at this time, we will not RIF the K positions or the magnet coach positions. Everything else in Option 3 is still in the air, however.

To see all three options, go to tonight's meeting on Board Docs https://www.boarddocs.com/vt/bsdvt/Board.nsf/Private?open&login# and look under finance. 

The timeline for the next vote starts when the new Board agrees upon a budget proposal. It is anticipated that will happen in three weeks. If it does, they will need to hold hearings, then decide on the budget number and the vote can occur 45 days after the ballot is warned, likely June 10. If they decide earlier, everything moves up from there.

Sadly we still need to issue more RIFs that we believe we will need and hope to send these RIFs out tomorrow, or by Friday at the latest. Who is actually going to be affected by not RIFfing K positions will be reviewed by administration and the BEA tomorrow. 

Please know your voice was heard and please  know that it still needs to be until we have an approved budget by the voters. This vote demonstrated that your engagement can make a difference, and a lack of engagement also makes a different type of difference." 

-- 
Jeanné Collins, Superintendent Burlington School District 
PH: 802.864.8474 FAX: 802.864.8501 
Follow us on Twitter @BTVSchools.

                                             

Burlington Friends of Education is a group of people committed to ensuring quality education in the Burlington schools.

A group of parents, teachers, students and community members are meeting to work towards passing a school budget that supports quality education in Burlington. We will need many volunteers to get this done. 

Please come to a meeting on Tuesday, April 8th at 7 PM at the Burlington High School cafeteria. 
For more information, please contact Chris Hood at chood@cvuhs.org or Barb Prine at prine05401@gmail.com

Facebook Event Page for 4/8 meeting:
 https://www.facebook.com/events/1418287778429704/



                                         A SPECIAL INVITATION!



The Hunt PTO and the Family School Partnership invite
You & Your Family to the

HERITAGE POTLUCK DINNER

Thursday, April 17th       6:00 – 7:30 pm
In the
Hunt Middle School Cafeteria

******With Live Student Entertainment!******


Do you cook a recipe at home that reflects your heritage?  We would love to try it!

Please bring a Main Dish potluck item to share

We also encourage you to wear any clothing that reflects your heritage.

Drinks, Salads, Rolls and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream will be provided!

During the Dinner we will also host a Title 1 Parent Informational Meeting.
There will be a table set up where you will be able to review:
·         The Hunt Home School Compact
·         The Burlington's District Parent Involvement Policy.

Your feedback is always welcome and important.

For questions or to help with the dinner contact Jennifer Sutton


 at 310-4998, or jsutton@bsdvt.org 

The Hunt Student Council is partnering with Shoe Box Recycling to recycle paired, wearable shoes. The shoes will be reused for individuals here in the U.S. and throughout the world.
This program provides affordable shoes to those in need such as those suffering from Hurricane Sandy and many others. This will keep used shoes out of the landfill, creating a cleaner and greener planet. Recycling shoes also creates micro-enterprises for individuals throughout the world, fueling local economies here and abroad. 

* All paired men’s, women’s and kids shoes that are still usable. That means no holes in the soles and no wet or mildewed pairs. This includes athletic shoes, dress shoes, timberland type work boots, sandals, heels, flats

Shoes We Don’t Accept:

* Heavy Winter Boots, Skates, Blades, Flip-Flops, Slippers, Singles, Unusable, and Thrift Store Shoes.

Where to bring your reused shoes?

Place your reused shoes in the specially marked box ShoeBox Recycling found in the main lobby of Hunt School.

Questions or for larger pick-ups, contact Susan Rutherford at 951-2571 or susanrutherford@hotmail.com
 “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”



Save the Date!
  • April 3-5 - West Side Story at HMS
  • April 8th - Burlington Friends of Education meeting, BHS
  • April 17 - Heritage Potluck Dinner - 6-7:30 in the cafeteria - live student entertainment and free ice cream sundaes (more info coming...)
  • April 21st - 25th - April vacation - No School
  • April 29th - First Track & Field meet at Essex High