Hunt PTO Update 5/14/12

Hey There Hunt families - It's that time of year, concerts, endless sporting events, final projects... lucky for us, the daylight is increasing.  Hope you can find/make the time to take advantage of some of these upcoming opportunities.  Enjoy! Kate


ATTENTION 8th Grade Parents:  Therese Barcomb in the Guidance Office is in need of a couple of parents to roll diploma's. She will have them ready for the week of May 28 and you can return them by June 4. That would give you a week at your convenience to perform the task. If you can help with this project, please contact Therese Barcomb at tbarcomb@bsdvt.org.


Hunt PTO meeting this Thursday from 7-8pm in the Library. There will be childcare provided in the cafeteria. Everyone is welcome. The draft agenda is included below.
Spiral International Cultural Summer Camp - 10 minutes - Susan Greenfield
Garden Update - 15 minutes - Susan Rutherford
Fundraising Update -15 minutes - Gabi Baumann
Leadership for 2012-13

May is the traditional Staff Appreciation month at schools across the country. Hunt parents will be thanking our terrific team of educators, administrators and support staff with a special afternoon snack this Wednesday. Staff will gather at dismissal time on Wednesday before their PLC(Professional Learning Communities) time. The PTO will provide the paperware and drinks. Parents will provide an array of yummy snacks. We encourage families to send in a little something that can be enjoyed by Hunt Staff - ideas include cheese/crackers, hummous/veggies, baked goodies, fresh fruit, chocolates.. Food can be sent into the office this Wednesday, May 16th at morning drop-off OR be brought into the office right before the 2 pm dismissal. We thank you in advance for spreading the love...

Perennial Plant and School-wide Yard Sale at L.C. Hunt Middle School

Saturday, May 26th from 8:30-2:00pm

100% of the proceeds from this sale will be used for the Hunt Front Entrance Garden Project to create a peaceful garden setting in front our of school including a stone circle, a vertical garden, a perennial garden designed by a local garden designer, and benches where students, staff and Hunt families can relax and talk. Together we can make the entrance to Hunt a place we can be proud of!

Thanks to everyone who donated plants this past week!! We will continue to receive perennial plants until the sale date. If you are unable to re-pot your donated plants, please email or call Susan Rutherford so she can re-pot them. Plastic pots and soil are available for this purpose, if you are able to do this yourself at home.

When will yard sale items be collected for the sale?? Start cleaning out those closets now and save all the household items, sporting goods, games, toys, DVDs, kids and teen books, holiday decorations, and other yard sale items in clean and good working condition. We will gratefully accept these items on Friday, May 25th from 3:00pm-7:00pm. Due to lack of space at our school, we are unable to accept yard sale items before this date.

Any other ways you can help? Glad you asked! We need many volunteers on May 25th from 3-9pm, the night before the sale, to help organize the yard sale items collected. The day of the sale, May 26th, from 7-3:00pm many volunteers will be needed to help set-up, sell plants and yard sale items, and clean-up.

To volunteer or Contact Susan Rutherford at susanrutherford@hotmail.com or 951-2571 or Gabi Baumann at gamabaumann@burlingtontelecom.net or 660-9189 to volunteer or with any questions. Direct donations for the Hunt Front Entrance Garden Project can be sent to the main office of the school with checks written to Hunt School PTO with garden project in the memo line please. Thanks!!

Diversity/Equity/Racism in Burlington schools has been in the news lately. Below is a link to the BSD webpage with recent articles about BSD in the local press. There is a very vocal group of Burlington folks asking for the resignation of our Superintendent, Jeanne Collins and the BHS Principal, Amy Mellancamp. What do you think? I encourage you to educate yourself about the issues facing our schools, talk about it with BSD families, think about where you stand on the issue and let someone know. I am including all the contact information for our school Board Representatives and the next full School Board meeting will be held on June 12th.

Recent Press: http://district.bsd.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=268284&sessionid=384acf0ba81b8510251bafd8d4393500&sessionid=384acf0ba81b8510251bafd8d4393500

Board Members: http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/Board/BoardDirectory.php


Come, Eat, View, Discuss : Miss Representation
Who: Hunt Parents and their middle school or high school children (grades 6 and above only)
What:  Free dinner (5:30), movie screening (6-7:30) and facilitated discussion (7:30-8)
When: Wednesday, June 6th from 5:30-8pm
Where: Miller Center
Why: Media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader.

About the film: Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation (90 min; TV-14 DL) uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.
In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.  Learn more at CommonSenseMedia.org
 

Spiral International  July 25-August 6

Fellow New North Ender/ L.C. Hunt Parent:

Please consider opening your home during 2 weeks of July this summer for visiting Chinese students. This is a fantastic opportunity for these students and your family! We have a group of 30 or so students (approximate ages 12-15) coming from China on July 25th and we are looking for host families. The students will depart on August 4th.  The Chinese students will attend a Summer Cultural Camp at Lyman C. Hunt during the weekdays of their visit. Your child can also attend the two-week camp at no cost to you, provided they are approximate middle school age. There are stipends available to help offset the home stay cost.

Please consider opening your heart, mind and home to this rich experience, therefore supporting this cause of fostering global intercultural connections. 

Contact Susan Greenfield – Site Coordinator, Hunt Spiral International Summer Cultural Camp: susdg@comcast.net/802-862-0773   Or Michelle Virun –Administrative Assistant, Lyman C. Hunt: mvirun@bsdvt.org/864-8469

Please learn more about Spiral on facebook or at spiralinternational.com

DVD's are being burned! If you'd like to order a DVD of Grease and haven't done it yet, this is your chance! (DVD's are being burned this week.) Forms are available in the main office. It's a great memory of the production and you'll support the play at the same time!

Grease - Final Accounting  Greetings fellow Hunt parents!

Congratulations on another terrific theatre production this year! Two years under our belt and look how far we’ve come! In order to continue to build the foundation for a long term successful drama program at Hunt, we need to consider trying to build a bit of savings in our bank account. We know that some years may be leaner than others and we want to be prepared for that. It would also alleviate some of the stress of fundraising  if we are not having to begin each year with a zero balance.

For this reason, we’re hosting 2 more bake sales, one this Wednesday evening at the Hunt Band Concert and the other on May 30th for the Chorus Concert. We hope that you will join us in baking and buying some goodies. Baked goods, bottled water, fruit and bagged chips/snacks can be dropped by the office on the day of the event or brought to school in the evening when you bring your child.  Pass the word on to your friends and neighbors.

Below are some approximate numbers to give you a sense of what the play accounting looks like:

Income:

Ads:                                  $900

Playbill Sales:                 $700

Dance                               $550

Grant from BSF             $1000

Bake Sales                       $1200

Donations                        $700

Dinners                             $1200

Silent Auction                 $250

DVD sales                         $350

TOTAL                               $6850

Expenses:

Very Merry Theatre    $4200

Playbill printing               $700

Supplies                            $500

License Fees                   $600

Sets                                    $500

Costumes                        $100

TOTAL                            $6600

Thanks to some great fundraising and a small amount of carryover from last year, we have a small balance.(yay!) We feel that it is important to look into improving the light and sound system in the auditorium and would like to put some of this money to that use. We would also like to have some savings to roll into next year.  Our hope is that these last 2 bake sales will bring in a few hundred dollars and give us the savings to at least order the scripts next winter.  Thank you again to Norm Tremblay for taking care of all the accounting.  And thank you for supporting Hunt MS and our children in the theatre arts.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our production managers:  Kim Hunt at khunt@bsdvt.org and Sarah Smith at sarah@esptrans.com

Save the Date....

• May 16 - Staff Appreciation at Hunt - 2pm - Send in a goodie to thank our fabulous staff!
• May 16 - Band Concert/Bake Sale - 7pm
• May 17 - PTO Meeting - 7pm in the Library
• May 18 - Progress reports, School Dance sponsored by STOP
• May 23 - Strings Concert - 7pm
• May 23 - Hunt Gardens - Spring Kick-off
• May 26 - Perennially Green plant/yard Sale
• May 27 - VCM Marathon - Support the Hunt students running in relays!
• May 28 - No School
• May 30 - Chorus Concert/Bake Sale - 7pm
• June 13 - LAST DAY - Early Release Also, 8th Grade Graduation